History
Healing Cultures was a concept envisioned by Mukund Subramanian for many years during his study of the culture and healing practices in north eastern Japan. Coming from South India and having grown up and lived in Japan for many years, he felt the power of bringing together the spiritual and healing traditions of different cultures - both to provide individual healing and to help society learn how to creatively and respectfully work across cultures. As cultural and racial tensions stress all levels of society, this vision has become even more important today.
While living in Japan, Mukund learned of the rare practice of Ninniku Okyū over many years from his teacher, Ōmuro Toyo. She practiced Okyū in a unique way – from a place of deep intuition and connection with each patient. He writes,
“My encounter with Ōmuro Toyo began in 1989 when I was working as a journalist in Tokyo (having already lived in Japan for 7 years) and traveled to a festival of ancestor worship in the northeastern tip of the main island Honshu, in Shimokita Peninsula. While a healer in her early 60’s renowned for her work with cancer patients and numerous ailments, her sense of playfulness and yet captivating awareness in matters of healing, renewal and resting inspired me tremendously. I eagerly returned to meet her at the festival for 4 years, which then led me to begin working as an apprentice with her. This marked the beginning of a deep relationship that continued until her passing in 2011.”
Mukund was so inspired by Ōmuro Toyo Sama and her community of seers and healers that he decided to pursue a PhD in Cultural Anthropology in order to live with them and immerse himself in their world. He began his studies at Stanford in 1990 and built a deeper relationship with his teacher over a few more years, before he began to live in her small fishing village in the north east of Japan for two years. This was a time when he learned to shovel snow and swallow squid despite his lifelong vegetarianism. The power of the healing traditions of different cultures, and specifically the depth of the healing possible with Ninniku Okyū became clear to him in this time and the seed of the idea of Healing Cultures was born. Mukund did return to academia to finish his PhD and complete a post-doc at Harvard, but eventually, was drawn to practice healing as a way of life. He was Ōmuro Toyo’s only student. It took 12 years before he received his teacher’s blessing to practice the work in 2004.
Mukund’s spiritual background (not religious) in South India and connection to Carnatic music through his mother, grandmother, aunt and a deep lineage in the family, was a great inspiration during his time with his teacher in Japan. Ōmuro Toyo’s healing hands deeply reminded him of his grandmother Savitri Rajan’s hands playing the Veena. He realized that learning healing was as subtle and powerful as learning singing. His connection to the ascetic Siddha tradition in South India was also awoken in reflecting on the depth of spiritual practices and acts of healing, and the journey of individual self discovery. That was a deep root to later inspire the creation of Intuitive Healing methods.
In 2012, Mukund began teaching the art of Ninniku Okyū and Intuitive Healing to Toni Cupal. After more than three years of deep one on one study, Mukund felt Toni was beginning to receive the gift of healing and he felt that together they would be able to manifest his vision of Healing Cultures. Together they co-founded Healing Cultures in January, 2016.
Toni, the staff and the entire community are deeply grateful to Mukund for all he has shared and offered during the foundational years of Healing Cultures.
Today, Toni carries on the practice of Ninniku Okyū and continues to offer healing retreats and yoga classes. She also leads the Healing Cultures Training Program. The hope is that eventually, a few of these select students will be called to learn Ninniku Okyū so that this powerful practice can be kept alive in the world.