Making aches, pains and injuries go away is all in a day’s work for Tho, who knew he wanted to become a chiropractor when he was just a child. When he was seven, his father suffered back pain so debilitating he couldn’t move — until he sought chiropractic treatment.
Now 35, Tho is using his skills to improve the quality of life for his patients. The father-of-two, who left Australia to set up home in Singapore in 2007, travels to Cambodia every year, where he spends several days at Kampong Trabek Provincial Hospital, providing chiropractic care to residents in the vicinity. His clinic ChiroWorks is also a partner of social enterprise B1G1, through which he contributes a percentage of every dollar earned from his practice.
Why is doing good important
I believe I can impact people and their families to live life without limits. I’ve written five books to help others resolve their health issues, and designed a pillow to alleviate neck pain and stiffness for quality sleep.
Since 2013, I’ve been volunteering at Kampong Trabek Provincial Hospital in Cambodia. One gentleman whose back pain I helped treat returned the next day with a van full of people; he had driven for three hours to the different towns to pick up 10 others who needed chiropractic treatment!
My work is meaningful because it allows me to help others change their mindsets. I was a national badminton player for Australia and exerted great pressure on myself. So when a client who aspired to become a cheerleader hurt a ligament in her knee, I encouraged her to think of the injury as a blessing, and to not just focus on rebuilding her knee but on other areas that were weak. Guess what? She got stronger and decided to become a track and field athlete.
It also blows my mind whenever I am reminded of how much impact can be created with the smallest amount of giving. Recently, I donated $35 through B1G1 to people in Malawi, which will provide them with 9,125 days of access to clean, life-saving water. This is how much difference we can make.
What makes you feel good?
To me, good health is linked to happiness. Feeling good and enjoying good health and happiness are not as simple as buying a health supplement. They are about decisions we make, about having an intention and putting it into action. If you have a backache and want to complain, ask yourself, will complaining make you better or bitter?
Celebrate the process of having improved and appreciate small wins instead of just the big victory. Whenever I need to clear my mind, I use the 4-6-2 technique — breathe in for a count of four seconds, breathe out for six, and pause for two. I’m on a 21-day meditation challenge and it helps me stay focused every day. It’s phenomenal how much meditation can help.
Your secret to looking good?
If you are healthy and love yourself, you will look good. You will have that confident smile and send out good vibes. Like what a mentor shared: “How you do one thing is how you do everything.” So if we dress and act the way we’d like to be perceived, we’ll make the best impression.
This is part of our series on men who have made doing good an integral part of their lives — and encourage others to do the same. For the full story, click here.
This story first appeared in the Apr 2020 issue of A Magazine.