A GNA feature by Paul Eduarko Richardson
Accra, June 20, GNA — At age 100, Mr Kwabena Danso still possesses a sturdy mascular physique, with a sharp memory.
He has a youthful voice and clear eyesight. Walks briskly without any walking stick or special aid.
Mr Danso wakes up early morning to have his bath, sing devotional songs, dance, meditate, and perform yoga exercises called asanas.
He repeats these practices in the evening too, a routine which he says gives him inspiration and keeps him always in high spirit.
He has been a member of the Ananda Marga yoga organisation for about 50 years and attributes his long life and vibrant health to the practice of the organisation’s principles, including physical exercises, meditation and vegetarian diet.
“I have been in the yoga organisation for many years, and because of our yoga exercises and discipline, we are always in good health,” Mr Danso says.
“The practices encourage you to always be up and doing. You are encouraged to work hard and that helps you remain fit all the time.”
Ananda Marga, meaning the Path of Bliss, is a global socio-spiritual and cultural organisation whose teachings and practices are geared towards holistic health, self-realisation and service to mankind.
On what Ghanaians, young and old, can do to avoid physical ailments and enjoy continuous health, Mr Danso emphasised the importance of yoga exercises, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and taking special herbs.
“You must also detoxify your body regularly—that helps to remove the toxins from your body,” he adds.
“We should detoxify about twice or once in a month. Detoxifying the body helps to cleanse the body and fills the body with new blood that helps you to stay healthy all the time.”
Besides the strength and vitality that he derives from his yoga practice, Mr Danso says another secret to his good health is the preparation of herbal medicine.
Being a professional herbalist, he explains that, as he goes out to harvest the plants, wash and cut and prepare the medicine—he inhales the essence—and that gives him sufficient strength similar to actually taking the medicine.
“What I have observed is that if I stop preparing the medicine for a while, I begin to feel symptoms of ailments but once I start preparation again, I begin to feel better,” he says.
Born in 1923 at Anum in the Eastern Region of Ghana, Mr Danso was introduced to the herbalist profession at the age of five by his maternal grandfather who was a professional herbalist.
Mr Danso was taught names of various plants and their efficacies.
Because he was still a child when he learnt about herbs, he did not practise as a professional herbalist until he grew older.
He has practised as a professional herbalist for more than 60 years.
He combines various herbs in the treatment of diseases.
Some diseases he says he can heal are fibroid, infertility, tuberculosis, asthma, malaria, elephantiasis, and sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea and syphilis.
“Herbalist profession is not about idol worship. It is about combining various herbs to heal diseases,” he says.
But it is not just physical health that Mr Danso emphasises.
He believes that truthfulness, hard work, service to God, and a principled lifestyle are equally key components to living a long, healthy life.
“We should not shy away from hard work—because hard work gives us strength. We, therefore, remain strong all the time,” he says, adding that “truthfulness is the key to success in life”.
He says a lot has changed in the present day Ghanaian society as compared to the past, with such societal values as truthfulness, obedience, and respect having been abandoned.
Mr Danso says sexual promiscuity is a major cause of diseases in Ghana.
Increased sexual promiscuity, he says, has resulted in high incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) especially gonorrhea and syphilis leading to many deaths among Ghanaians.
“I have a cleansing procedure I perform to diagnose the cause of one’s sickness. Many times gonorrhea shows up as a major sickness, ” he stresses.
“And gonorrhea is affecting both the young and the old. Because of sexual promiscuity, when one person contracts it, it spreads fast to so many people. And it is causing a lot of deaths among Ghanaians.”
He notes that sexual promiscuity is on the increase among young people because most of them hardly listen to advice, and that, “when they are moving on the wrong path and you point out to them, you rather become an enemy to them.”
He urges everyone to be careful about their diet, take good care of their health, and avoid drunkenness and sexual promiscuity.
Mr Danso’s prayer for the coming years is that God adds 100 years more to his age so he can live up to 200 years.
“Turning 100 years now is like being born afresh and I hope to continue to be truthful and hardworking, and to follow all the other good practices so that God will help me live for another 100 years. And it is the same that I wish for everyone else,” Mr Danso says.
He indicates that when his earthly life is over, he wants to be remembered for his healing practice—that he was able to use herbs to cure diseases and bring relief and restoration to people.
Mr Danso says his greatest belief is in God, and his greatest inspiration comes from the word of God. He says God is central to everything he does.
“We are precious children of God. He created us in His image. He needs us. He wants us to accomplish great things for Him. If He didn’t have any purpose for us, He wouldn’t have created us,” Mr Danso says.
GNA