We drink chamomile tea to relax, peppermint helps us to release gas, many women swear by St. John’s Wort to ease pre-menstrual symptoms and a growing number of men take Saw Palmetto for good prostate health. In all cases we ingest the herb.

Herbs are also widely used to season food. Their pungent aromas evoke certain moods and form the basis of aromatherapy.

But did you know that medicinal benefits of herbs can be derived from rubbing them over the body? In a technique indigenous to Thailand herbs are bound in cotton gauze, heated and massaged into the body.

Local massage therapist Jerome Knights stumbled on Samunprai on a recent trip to the Far East. “I was training for Thai massage when I learned the benefits of Thai hot herbal compression,” he said, “So I decided to train in it and incorporate it in my practice. It was part of a ten-day course in Thailand where I learned the use of specific herbs, how to make the balls and how to apply them.”

It’s only been a few months but Mr. Knights said his clients love the new technique. “I would say 85 percent of my clients have tried it and have felt improvement after the first treatment,” he said. “They just love it.”

He added: “Its benefits are that it helps remove toxins, reduce spasms, helps clear away stagnant blood, eases pain, reduces inflammation and it makes muscles and tendons more flexible and supple.”

Jocene Wade, a human resources executive with responsibility for five companies, swears by the treatment. “As a group executive director I have an overwhelming role. I am battling every day. There are days I am a firefighter, days I am a social worker, days where I’m a mom and some days I just have to stroke people’s egos,” she said.

The stress and tension of her job takes its toll on her physically. “I suffer with tension in my shoulder and neck area. I feel it in the elbows initially then it radiates up my arm and eventually locks in my neck and shoulder,” she said.

Ms Wade said heavy use of her office computer with not enough attention to ergonomics exacerbates the problem. She said weekly samunprai sessions have left her feeling: “In a word — uplifted.

“I walk away feeling relaxed and also energised. I feel loose after and can drop my shoulders. It’s like unlocking a door.”

The process involves steaming the herbs in the cotton gauze pouch. While this is taking place the client is massaged with oil. This helps warm the body and causes the pores of the skin to open. Next the hot pouch is applied all over the body in a pressing motion.

“This allows the herbs to be absorbed by the body for the most beneficial effects,” said Mr. Knights.

He said ailments that can be eased with this treatment include swelling, blood clots, open wounds, extremely high blood pressure, and broken blood vessels.

Practising massage for the past seven years in Bermuda, Mr. Knights said the joy in his work comes from helping to heal people.

“It was by fate that I became a masseur,” he said. “I was training to become a personal trainer and my school had a massage programme. I thought I should give it a try and turned out I was good at it — so seven years on here I am.

“I enjoy helping people that are in pain and massage allows me to do that naturally.

“Whenever I can help someone out, whether they’ve hurt their neck, back, legs or whatever I get a great feeling of accomplishment that I’ve helped them feel better.”

Mr. Knights offers the samunprai treatments in sessions of 35, 70 or 100 minutes, the price starts at $65.

In a word, uplifted ... it’s like unlocking a door