12/13/2025
Stay calm and warm this winter with the Tibetan medical external therapy Hormé.
From “Tibetan Healing Massage: A Guide to Kunyé. and the External Therapies of Sowa Rigpa” by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang:
“Hormé is a contraction of the words hor kyi metsa, popularly translated as ‘Mongolian moxibustion.’ The name Hor is associated with various peoples of the Tibetan plateau who trace their origins to the Mongols.
Chinggis Khan himself was said to have received a special treatment every day that gave him strength and calmness, in which a piece of felt soaked in hot oil was placed at key points on his body, such as the kidneys and joints, and then covered with a hot stone.
This therapy was practiced by Mongolian and Tibetan nomads with the same felt that was used to make clothes, hats, footwear, and yurts. Older pieces of felt were used, especially those that had been exposed for long periods to sunlight or the heat of fire and had become dry and lightweight, as well as imbued with the elemental energy of fire.
The felt was immersed in warmed aged yak butter and then wrung out and pressed as a warm compress onto points or areas requiring treatment. Heated stones were also placed over the felt to weigh it down and to increase its warming effects. This was an excellent remedy for various ailments arising from the cold winters of the region.
The first records of this external therapy can be found in the oldest treatise on Tibetan Medicine, the Bum Zhi or ‘The Four Thousand,’ a collection of the medical teachings given by the ancient Bön master Sherab Miwoche to his son Chebu Trishe, the first historical Tibetan physician.
Today, we modify the ancient technique by using sesame oil in place of yak butter, and by using cotton or flannel fabric bundles filled with powdered herbs for the oil-soaked compresses. Since red is symbolically connected with the fire element, fabric or thread of this color may be used to enhance the compress’ warming effect.”
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