Dr. Andrew Urbiš is a highly regarded psychologist from the Czech Republic, with a holistic therapy clinic based at the Beskydské Rehabilitation Center in Celadna. In addition to psychology, he has also extensively studied Chinese medicine, feng shui, Tao Yin exercise and homeopathy, with his theoretical foundation being in both the Tao and quantum physics.
However, of particular interest to us is Dr. Urbiš‘ research into Darkness Retreats, which he is very well known for, especially since authoring the book ‘Terapie Tmou’ (translated as ‘Darkness Therapy’), in 2012.
Part of his research involved Dr. Urbiš participating in 3 different Darkness Retreats himself, varying from 10 to 50 days. The reason for such an extended duration for the latter was because in Tibet, where he says Darkness Therapy (they call it yang-ti) is said to have originated from, the ancient monks regularly retreated into dark underground vaults for 49 days, and he wanted to put it to the test himself, and see what benefits it would bring.
Apparently it was Dr. Helmut Kalweit who introduced Darkness Therapy to the Europeans, initially in Germany, but he predominantly focused on the spiritual and sensory processes on the psyche, such as the subconscious and so on. However, despite Dr. Andrew Urbiš being a psychologist himself, much of his own work has also focused on the healing impact of a prolonged stay in darkness on physiological problems of the body, as well as the mind and soul.
He describes the body as being a universal energy system, whose components connect and interact. So in other words, anything affecting the psyche impacts the physical body and vice versa. He says that discord and disharmony in one part of the system causes a mismatch in all other part of the body, which is why you have to look at the whole person, not just one part of the system.
Some of the benefits Dr. Urbiš believes Darkness Therapy/Terapie-tmou has are:
- Production of the anti-oxidant hormone ‘melatonin’ which can help prevent some types of cancer;
- Bringing the body back in harmony with nature;
- Healing skin diseases;
- Space to realise what is most important in life;
- Reducing stress and calming the body, mind and soul, whilst slowing the pace of life.
According to the BRC clinic’s website Darkness Therapy/Terapie-tmou is also effective in:
- The prevention of lifestyle diseases – oncological diseases and metabolic disorders, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, vascular and cerebral incidents, burnout and fatigue syndrome (CFS);
- Regenerating the psyche, through releasing old stored trauma and soothing a disturbed, uncertain mind, helping to treat personal problems;
- Heightening the senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste);
- Allowing for the development of creativity, imagination, and various internal experiences that are under normal circumstances may have been subdued.
Below is a short documentary made by Czech television about Dr. Andrew Urbiš and his work in Darkness Therapy/Terapie-tmou (with English subtitles) if you would like to know more, as well a video diary of a Czech TV reporter and film director called Silvie Dymáková, who spent 7 days at Dr. Urbiš darkness facility at the Beskydské Rehabilitation Center in Celadna, called Vila Mátma (literally means ‘My Darkness’), who was also involved in the making of the follow up documentary. The video diary begins from her 3rd day, after she slept for the first 2. (She won the Czech Lion Award for the documentary.)
Finally, to find out more about how to work with Dr. Andrew Alois Urbiš go to www.brc.cz/terapie-tmou-1