3-in-1 therapy

The Sundardas Naturopathic Clinic was one of the recipients of the Promising SME 500 award in September last year.

The clinic, which prides itself on a wide array of natural and non-invasive treatments, is the first and only full-time naturopathic clinic to be registered in Singapore.

It was founded by Dr Sundardas D. Annamalay, 50, a Singaporean who has been practising naturopathy for the past 25 years.

Dr Sundardas (right), who holds licences in naturopathy from Australia and acupuncture from Singapore and Australia, is also trained in homeopathy, clinical nutrition, kinesiology and Total Body Modification among other forms of treatments.

"Naturopathy is a system of natural medicines with principles similar to ayurveda, homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

"Treatments are natural and non-invasive, using the forces of nature through herbs, vitamins, nutrition, diet, bodywork and working with emotions to heal," explains Dr Sundardas.

The term bodywork refers to therapies and techniques in complementary medicine which involve manipulative therapy, breathing or energy medicine.

It aims to improve posture and create an awareness about the energy field surrounding the human body, which affects health and well-being.

His clinic, which specialises in the treatment of pain and allergies, also offers treatment for attention deficit disorders, autism, women's health issues, fertility, beauty, weight loss, pain management, general wellness, prevention of disease and other health conditions.

However, since naturopathy does not include invasive procedures as part of its treatment, the clinic does not handle cases which require surgical procedures.

The therapies are generally priced between $20 and $250, depending on the nature of the programme, and the clinic strictly works on an appointment basis. Dr Sundardas sees about 15 to 20 patients daily.

Among them is writer Tan Mei Ching, who has been suffering from aches in the neck, back, elbow and fingers. In her testimonial, she said: "After the first treatment, my back and neck ache was gone, and with more sessions I generally feel better."

Another patient, HR manager Angie Maniam, who had been suffering from eczema and atopic dermatitis since birth, said: "After about three weeks, my skin began to improve. Although the diet was not easy to stick to, after about 21/2 months, my skin cleared up noticeably. Now I only use moisturiser."

With a passion for health and wellness, Dr Sundardas has been studying different forms of complementary medicine and meditative practices for more than 30 years, with experts in the field like Dr Thomas Rau of the German Cancer Clinic and Dr Peter D'Adamo, the founder of the Blood Type Diet.

Apart from practising naturopathy, Dr Sundardas is also the CEO of NTC Alliance, a group of companies involved in education as well as dissemination of information and services on wellness, director of the Institute of Natural Therapies, focusing on naturopathic educational programmes, and the dean of studies at the Youngson Institute of Natural Sciences colleges worldwide, which conducts certification courses in naturopathy.

"Students graduating from the institutions meet the requirements to be licensed as naturopaths in Australia. Singapore currently follows the Australian guidelines for naturopathy," said Dr Sundardas.

He is also the owner of Mind Strategics Learning Consultancy which organises his seminars and workshops on energy psychology and success mastery and wellness.

Author of 20 books on health and wellness, of which nine are e-books, he says that what takes up the longest amount of time in the whole process is the preparation and research.

"Planning and research for a book takes between five and eight years. Once that is done, I start writing the book and manage to finish it within one to three months," he said.

The book titled Out Front, published in 2012 and which he co-authored, did well on Amazon.com.

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