Alternative Medicines

I have been asked several times about the different types of medicine that fall under alternative medicine.  Here is a partial list with a bit of information on each. 

Naturopathy - the belief that the body can heal itself if provided with the proper diet, exercise plan, and mental well being.  Ailments are warning signs that the body is not healthy and changes must be made to one of the three pillars to bring the body back to a healthy state.

Homeopathy - the belief that small preparations of natural remedies will stimulate the immune system to heal itself.  Similar to immunizations - give a diluted form of the disease in small amounts to stimulate the body to create natural immunity to the disease. 

Reflexology - massaging of the hands, feet, and ears to stimulate internal healing.  Our hands, feet, and spine all have points that are all directly related to our organs.  If you run your hands lightly over your hands, do you have any tender spots? knots? pain? Massaging these areas will also stimulate the directly related organ.  The webbing between your thumb and pointer finger - if massaged - has been known to relieve migraines.  Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed, you rub your temples?  It automatically calms and relaxes you.  Have you ever found yourself touching your chin when you are thinking?  Yes, another acupressure / reflexology site.  http://www.reflexology-research.com/

Acupressure - applying pressure to specific sites to induce a change or stimulate an organ.  By applying pressure or centering energy at specific points you can change the energy flow and stimulate the immune system.  Many have used acupressure to quit smoking, to stop addictions, to heal emotional scars, and to heal ailments.  http://www.acupressure.com/

Acupuncture - inserting needles into specific points on the body to relieve / heal ailments and to relieve pain.  This is a very well known Chinese therapy that many people use for many of the same reasons as acupressure - the primary difference between the two are the needles.  http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/acupuncture-whatis.html

Chiropractic Medicine - adjusting the spine to relieve ailments.  As with reflexology, the understanding that there are points along the spine that directly relate to organs http://www.dorn-method.com/index_files/SpineOrgansConnectionsTable.htm  With Chiropractic medicine, the proper adjustments to the spine will extend to the connected organs and aid in healing.

Aromatherapy - in the simplistic of terms, aromatherapy is healing with scents.  Smells carry the strongest memories we have.  How often have you smelled something and immediately thought of an ex boyfriend / girlfriend?  Or smile because that smell brings a flash of a favorite childhood memory?  My favorite smell is cinnamon - it carries with it the memory of my grandparents and my childhood.  Smell is a very STRONG healer.  Aromatherapy can involve baths, candles, massage, pretty much any where and anything.   

Massage - healing through touch and pressure points on the body.  The healing power of touch is HUGE.  We transfer energy when we touch one another.  Massage for some is intensely personal and intimate.  Someone with energy medicine back ground is able to feel spots on the body that need attention.  Knots / tenderness in certain areas may relate back to organs.  If you visit a masseur, make sure to pay close attention to any sore spots and check online to see what organs they relate back to - and check to see if you have a problem, disease, illness related to that organ.

Energy Medicine - healing by transferring, realigning, and / or absorbing energy from others.  Donna Eden is the first person to openly discuss energy medicine.  She is able to see energy, like some can see auras and is able to use her energy to fix energy paths in others.  She related a story in her book about a woman that had a bad hip - it had bothered her for years.  Donna ran her hands lightly over the area and both women began to quietly weep - in repairing the energy flow in that area, she had released a memory that had been trapped that was very painful.  Once relieved, she never had pain in that hip again.

Herbology - using herbs to heal.  This can be by eating the fresh herbs, creating tinctures, poultices, etc.  Herbs have a lot of power in them.  Using them requires an experienced hand - herbs can cause the same adverse reactions as pharmaceutical drugs - so please use caution and study the herbs before using.  Some herbs do have reactions with pharmaceutical drugs. 

Energy of Life

There are a many pieces to Natural Medicine.  We have the shamans of the world - Tibetans, Ayurvedas, Indians of North America, and the Mayans of South America are just a few... These shaman have passed down ancient beliefs from generation to generation.  We have many pieces that interconnect - Acupuncture, Reflexology, Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Chiropractic Medicine, Meridians, Herbology, Chakras, Energy Medicine among others. 

I am just a beginning student of the various wise tribes of the world, and am very interested in learning more.  If you have any links or info to pass along, I would be very happy to hear from you! 

There is much known about many of the pieces - but I am most intrigued by Energy Medicine.  If you have never heard of it, you may have a hard time believing in its capabilities - please take the time to test out a couple of the practices before you pass judgement.  I believe that we each have "gifts" that make us unique... we can ignore those gifts, or we can embrace them and help strengthen them.

The lady behind Energy Medicine is Donna Eden.  As a child she was allergic to everything but sugar and meat and had tuberculosis.  She was diagnosed with MS in her early 20s and then had a heart attack before she was 30.  She had asthma and was also hypoglycemic.  In short, she was a mess.  Donna's "gift" was the ability to SEE energy.  Yes, physically see energy waves.  She was able to move energy and repair meridians - heal physical and mental ailments by moving the energy around people. 

We are all made up of pure energy.  Some can see the energy, some can feel it, others can hear it.  I am sure others can taste it.  Some have the ability to absorb energy, some can give energy.  Understanding that we are energy - that energy flows through our body via the meridians - and that we can heal by realigning the energy flowing through our bodies is quite important. 

To understand this principal, we need to understand Chakras and Meridians.  I am going to give very simplistic descriptions here - and point you in the direction for more in depth knowledge.  If there is anyone interested, I will happily go into more depth in another post. 

Chakras - this comes from Sanskrit and describes the seven energy centers of the body.  Each Chakra relates to both an emotional and a physical part of the body.  For example, the fourth Chakra affects the Heart, Lungs, Blood vessels, Shoulders, Ribs, Breasts, Diaphragm, and the Upper Esophagus.  And the emotional issues related are emotional expression, the capacity to feel fully, express joy and love, resolve anger, hostility and grief, experience forgiveness, relationships, capacity to from mutually reciprocal partnerships with balance of nurturing vs. nurturing of others, intimacy with others vs. capacity to be alone.  What this means is that if you have issues with any of these organs - it relates directly back to these emotional issues.  Resolve the issues, and you will alleviate the organ related issues.  This takes us back to our MENTAL WELL BEING.  This example is found in Dr. Christiane Northrup's book "The Wisdom of Menopause," and she does a great job of explaining the chakras and how they relate back to our organs. 

Meridians - these are energy pathways that move from our extremities to our organs.  If we have broken pathways - it is just like having a highway under construction with no detour.  If the proper energy flow can not get to our organs, we fall into ill health.  There are fourteen meridian pathways.  You can find diagrams of these in Donna Eden's Book, "Energy Medicine." 

Sit in a quiet place - make sure you are comfortable, and won't be interrupted or disturbed.  Relax completely and open your mind.  Think of each Chakra - put chakra into a search engine and you will be able to visually see all seven - you should feel strongly about one more than the others.  Picture the chakra as a flower bud and envision it opening.  The center is bright with energy.  Let that energy flow out to your hands.  Your hands should get warm.  Slowly run your hands (without touching) up and down your body.  Do you feel hot spots?  Do you have a spot that hurts?  Concentrate your energy in that area.  Does your skin get warm there?  It may take several attempts to open up enough to be able to feel this. 

Energy flows through all of us - and every living thing.  In her book she teaches you how to "energy test" for many things, the food allergy one was quite amazing to me.  In seconds you can tell if you will have a reaction to any food you pick up and hold in your hand.  I have tried this and was quite amazed by the results.  I highly recommend both books for anyone serious about Naturopathy.