Holistic Healings
Mind, Body and Soul Therapies for holistic healings
As a Holistic Practitioner, it is great to see that more spas are looking at more than physical treatments; they look at the total person, mind, body, and soul therapies. Yes, many spas indicate that they treat the total person, but it is very superficial.
Others have individuals who do not have the proper credentials to perform the treatments. With this issue, we will look at some holistic therapies that are making their way onto spa menus. In future editions, we will examine the credentials you should look at.
Holistic Healing (Alternative Health) means addressing the whole person on all levels – looking at lifestyle, family, work, and diet to find the cause of the problem in order to bring about a complete recovery where possible and to prevent a further recurrence.
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Here is a summary of the key points about holistic healings:
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Our bodies reflect what is going on in our lives. Every ache, pain, and even accident indicates an area where we must pay attention and make changes. As we think, we become; therefore, as we have become, we can see how we have been thinking. By listening to what the body is trying to tell us, we can heal the cause and, subsequently, the effect of the problem.
Our bodies are like the black box on an airplane; they record every emotional experience. When the body/mind is out of balance, it is reflected in the immune system, and we become susceptible to illness.
However, the healing begins when we understand and work with this process. A dossier of alternative therapies is available worldwide; more than 300 alternative therapies have been identified, and many are available at spas throughout the USA. Other alternative health therapies include acupressure, acupuncture, aromatherapy, reiki, pranic healing, ayurvedic treatments, and guided imagery.
Today, alternative health science therapies are gaining ground worldwide. Together with the modern system of medicine, alternative health sciences, and therapies offer cheaper and easily adaptable solutions to various ailments for positive health.
Acupressure
Acupressure, one of the many holistic healings, is a traditional Chinese medicine that concerns itself with the anatomy and physiology of the human body.
It maintains the regular flow of bio-energy (or chi, as the Chinese refer to it) in our body. According to this science, the human body is divided into 14 meridians, which are situated in the back and in the front.
Each of the meridians, identified as the Yin (the female) or the Yang (the male), has specific points linking it to different glands and organs. The urinary tract, gall bladder, stomach, liver, and kidney fall under the Yin meridian.
Though the aim of the therapy is to increase our body’s resistance to disease, many aches and pains can also be eliminated. Generally, a patient can undergo a 20-minute therapy at a time.
Acupressure is easy to learn and can be used daily, especially when one suffers from a headache or a common cold. The Eastern system entails using one’s fingers, thumb, elbow, palm, and blunt metal or wooden instruments for self-help.
The advantages of acupuncture include relieving pain, balancing the body, and maintaining good health. Acupressure’s healing touch reduces tension, increases circulation, and enables the body to relax deeply. By relieving stress, acupressure therapy strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness.
Acupressure may be used as a part of many spa treatments.
Varying rhythms, pressures, and techniques create different styles of acupressure. Shiatsu, for instance, the most well-known style of acupressure, can be quite vigorous, with firm pressure applied to each point for three to five seconds, while the Jin Shin style gently holds at least two points at once for a minute or more.
Acupressure is also used in Tuina (Tui Na) Chinese as a trigger point and therapeutic touch and may be incorporated into Swedish and Therapeutic massage.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a branch of Chinese Medicine with over 3,000 years of history. The acupuncture method encourages one’s body to promote natural healing and improve its functioning.
Acupuncture starts the therapeutic ball rolling by stimulating the appropriate organs and systems to create more chi and blood in the body and address specific problems.
Classical Chinese theory behind acupuncture: In the body, there are energy channels running all over its surface. These channels are called meridians.
They are like rivers flowing through the body, irrigating and nourishing the tissues, allowing a smooth flow of chi and blood, which runs through the body to various parts, structures, and organs.
An obstruction in the movement of these energy rivers is like a dam. The obstruction backs up the flow in one body part and restricts it in others. Any obstruction, blockages, or deficiencies of energy, blood, and chi eventually lead to disease.
Needling the acupuncture points can influence the meridians. It unblocks the dam obstructions, re-establishing the regular energy flow through the meridians. Acupuncture treatments can help the body’s internal organs to correct the imbalance of digestion, absorption, and energy-producing activities. They can also help in the circulation of energy through the meridians.
Modern science explains the functions of acupuncture thus:
Needling the acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals either change the experience of pain or trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones. These chemicals and hormones influence the body’s own internal regulating system.
Facial Acupuncture works by increasing and balancing energy to circulate properly around the face and neck, thereby helping to improve muscle tone and dermal contraction. These treatments also noticeably improve the complexion by substantially increasing the circulation of blood, lymph, and qi to the head.
Healthy facial coloring can be restored, and the pores can be tightened. Additionally, Acupuncture Facial has been shown to increase collagen production and aids in its dispersal, thus helping to firm the skin and fill out wrinkles. Fine lines are eliminated, and larger, deeper wrinkles are softened. Puffiness, bags, or sagging around the eyes and face can be significantly reduced and toned up. Furthermore, metabolism is also improved, resulting in reduced puffiness.
Acupuncture has also been shown to affect the regulation of hormones in the body; conditions like acne and dry or oily skin can be quite improved. In recent years, many people have used acupuncture for “face-lift” or “facial-toning” spa treatments. Also known as Cosmetic Acupuncture or Acupuncture, Facial Rejuvenation is an effective, safe, traditional method to turn back time and halt the physical manifestations of aging.
Acupuncture Facelift has been used for centuries in China for emperors and royalty. It is also a modality that has been used in Europe, Korea & Japan for decades.
Alexander Technique
The Alexander technique is an intelligent way to solve body problems. The Alexander Technique is a method that teaches people how to sit, stand, and go about their daily activities without unnecessary tension. Using a combination of verbal instructions and very gentle guidance with their hands, Alexander Technique teachers show their students how to recognize and release restricting habits of posture and movement.
Many people are mystified by their own back pain, excess tension, or lack of coordination. They often see problems in their joints or muscles as structural or unchangeable. But, as they learn the technique, they are surprised that they can make lasting changes in how they walk, their degree of muscular tension, or the shape of their posture.
They learn how dynamic and changeable the body really is. They find that learning the technique can improve their overall movement and achieve optimal health for both body and mind.
We all have unconscious movement habits. Without realizing it, we put undue pressure on ourselves. We use more force than we need to lift a coffee pot or a weight bar. We slouch as we sit, unaware that our way of doing things gives our bodies a certain look. We blame body problems on activities – carpal tunnel syndrome on computer work, tennis elbow on tennis. But often, how we do something creates the problem, not the activity itself.
An Alexander technique teacher helps you see what in your movement style contributes to your recurring difficulties – whether it’s a bad back, neck, and shoulder pain, restricted breathing, perpetual exhaustion, or limitations in performing a task or sport.
Analyzing your whole movement pattern – not just your symptom – the teacher alerts you to habits of compression in your characteristic way of sitting, standing, and walking. He or she then guides you – with words and a gentle, encouraging touch – to move in a freer, more integrated way.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy means “treatment using scents”. It is a holistic treatment of caring for the body with pleasant-smelling botanical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender, and peppermint. The essential oils are added to the bath, massaged into the skin, inhaled directly, or diffused to scent an entire room. Aromatherapy is used to relieve pain, care for the skin, alleviate tension and fatigue and invigorate the entire body.
Essential oils can affect mood, alleviate fatigue, reduce anxiety, and promote relaxation. When inhaled, they work on the brain and nervous system by stimulating the olfactory nerves.
The essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses, and seeds with distinctive therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties that improve and prevent illness.
There are about 150 essential oils. Most of these oils have antiseptic properties; some are antiviral, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, anti-depressant, and expectorant.
Other properties of the essential oils that are taken advantage of in aromatherapy are their stimulation, relaxation, digestion improvement, and diuretic properties. It should be made from natural raw materials to benefit from essential oils. Synthetically made oils do not work.
Essential oils extracted from plants possess distinctive therapeutic properties, which can be utilized to improve health and prevent disease. There are some 400 essential oils extracted from plants all over the world. These natural plant oils are applied in a variety of ways:
* Massage (most used method)
* Baths (add a few drops to warm water)
* Inhalations (not for asthmatics)
Aromatherapy and Pregnancy Aromatherapy is an especially effective treatment for stress-related problems and various chronic conditions. Aromatherapy is not intended to replace traditional medicine or traditional healthcare. It is simply an avenue for you to take more responsibility for your own health and to allow nature to do what it does best – balance and heal body, mind, and spirit.
Bach Flower Remedies
“There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of mind, and inner happiness” – Dr Edward Bach, 1934.
Roses on Valentine’s Day, chrysanthemums on Thanksgiving, evergreen or holly on Christmas – flowers definitely impact people’s moods.
This understanding was converted into therapy by an English physicist, Dr. Edward Bach, in 1930. Dr. Bach’s Remedies are an easy way to heal oneself of various mental and emotional conditions like fear, anger, anxiety, and despair.
Bach Flower Remedies are an effective and private alternative to going to a psychiatrist or counselor.
Dr. Bach noted that all patients reacted differently to the same disease, so there had to be a link between physical and emotional health. Inspired by his work in homeopathy and disappointed with the approach towards healthcare in his era, he wanted to discover natural means of healing.
That is when he researched the remarkable effects that flower essences have on the moods and emotions of a person. He found that certain flowers correspond to certain human emotions. Hence, he used these flowers as healing aids. He took the flower, immersed it in water, and kept it in the sunlight for two to three hours. The water, which then became potent, was used as a remedy.
Bach Flower remedies are 38 in number and are strictly English flower extracts. In India, Drs. Atul and Rupa Shah have created extracts of such indigenous blooms as lotus, Gulmohar, morning glory, and bougainvillea. The Rescue Remedy offered by Bach Flower is particularly effective in treating shock, buying the victim time till medical treatment is administered. There are no known side effects since the treatment does not involve administering any chemicals. It simply uses the energy fields of flowers.
Flower Remedies are increasingly becoming popular thanks to the media and positive word of mouth. There are several books and online help available on this topic. Flower essences are available over the counter at most homeopathic pharmacies. It is also open to self-treatment. However, it is always preferable to choose professional advice.
Biochemic Tissue Salts
This is a rather popular method of treating ailments. There are people who regard biochemical salts as a part-and-parcel of their domestic first-aid kits. Wilhelm Henrich Schussler discovered that when a body is completely combusted at the cremation, 12 salts were always found in the ashes.
So whoever said that ashes are all that remain of us could as easily have said salts are all that remain of us. Schussler called them Tissue Salts. Biochemic tissue salts are minerals, such as rock salt, prepared using the homeopathic method. There are 12 tissue salts in total.
He then propounded that these salts are really the material basis of organs and tissues of the body. Hence, they are particularly important in maintaining the well-being of a person at the organ level. The deficiency of one or more of these salts can cause diseases in the body. So, two pills for a headache can cure the same by restoring that salt whose deficiency caused the headache.
Many books are available on this topic, and plenty of material is available online. However, it is advisable that such medication be done under supervision. These salts are available at leading homeopathic pharmacies in powder and pill form.
Schussler believed that tissue salts could restore mineral deficiencies that made the body susceptible to illness. The homeopathic method of preparing tissue salts involves mixing 1 part of the mineral salt with nine parts lactose. This mixture is diluted with nine parts lactose. It is repeated six times in total.
Conditions Treated
* Colds, cough
* Sinusitis
* Hay fever, allergies
* Anxiety, depression
* Muscle aches and pains
Tissue salts are small tablets. They are placed under the tongue, where they are left to dissolve. In a typical treatment, Biochemic tissue salts may be prescribed by homeopaths or naturopathic doctors as part of a complete health program or recommended as self-care. They are recommended either singly or in combination.
Chelation Therapy
Practitioners claim chelation therapy is a safe and effective for drawing toxins and metabolic wastes from the bloodstream. Intravenously Chelating agents have been proven to increase blood flow and remove arterial plaque. Chelation therapy can help reverse atherosclerosis, prevent heart attacks and strokes, and is an alternative to bypass surgery and angioplasty.
Chelation therapy is used to rid the body of unnecessary and toxic metals. A growing number of physicians employ it to reverse the process of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
The reversal is accomplished in part by removing the calcium content of plaque from the artery walls through the injection of chelating agents. Chelation therapy can help avoid bypass surgery and reverse gangrene, alleviate intermittent cramps in the legs, and restore memory by restoring good circulation to all body tissues.
Due to its ability to remove toxic metal ions, chelation therapy reduces internal inflammation caused by free radicals (highly reactive destructive molecules) and as a result, can ease the discomfort and disability from degenerative diseases such as arthritis, scleroderma (a hardening that occurs in skin and certain organs), and lupus.
Colon Hydrotherapy
Have you experienced any of these health problems? Constipation, diarrhea, frequent headaches, backaches, fatigue, bad breath, body odor, irritability, confusion, skin problems, abdominal gas and bloating, lower back pain, sciatic pain, low resistance to colds and infections, low energy and vitality. You may need these indicators to cleanse your body’s elimination system. Colon hydrotherapy is an excellent way to accomplish this objective.
A visit to a registered colonic therapist will involve taking your case history, followed by an explanation of the procedure.
The colonic itself will take 30-45 minutes. During that time, approximately 15 gallons of highly filtered water, warmed to the correct temperature, will be gently introduced into the colon via the rectum at low gravitational pressure. Your therapist uses special massage techniques to stimulate the release of stored matter.
Your modesty is preserved at all times. Herbal and probiotic implants may be used, and your practitioner may advise beneficial dietary changes to enhance your treatment further. No fasting or special measures are necessary prior to the first treatment, but colon cleansing programs may be advised between sessions
Benefits accomplished by colon hydrotherapy:
- Cleans out toxic material and fecal buildup
- Improves colon muscle function
- Reshapes distorted colon
- Stimulates reflex points connected to organs
Dowsing
Dowsing is the ability to find objects and the answers to questions that the five physical senses cannot obtain. The ancient art of dowsing has been misunderstood and condemned throughout history, mainly because it could not be explained how one could find out in great detail about people and places by dowsing. Very often, distances made no difference.
With the aid of one’s superconscious mind, using a suitable device, one may gain unseen information at a distance (even through material barriers) about a person, creature, object, substance, place, or “thing” beyond the limitations of one’s five senses and so-called logical, thinking mind.
In the right order, a combination of mental, emotional, and intuitive faculties is focused on the object of one’s quest. According to a pre-established code, the device moves beyond one’s physical control.
Dowsing for health enables Medical Practitioners to determine and locate illness and disease and select the most suitable treatment and remedy.
Dowsing for safety enables one to check before purchasing to ascertain whether or not certain foods, drinks, or medical drugs are good or bad for you, what vitamins and minerals to take, and what quantity. Watch out; your body may accept or need something one day but not another.
Dowsing is an intuitional science and can be learned. Divining is not just a gift miraculously bestowed upon a “few”.
The quality of dowsing efforts varies, depending on how one approaches the work. To dowse, you must have a suitable device and be simultaneously aware of two planes. We live in the material outer and imaginative inner worlds of existence.
As to specifics, there are two basic targets – tangible and intangible. Tangible targets are things like “Where did I lose my wedding ring?” or “I’m lost in the woods, where’s my car?” Dowsing is also used to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions.
The answer ‘Yes’ is not a physical target. It is intangible. You can’t touch a ‘Yes’. Other intangible targets are things like auras and energy leys. The “Higher” (knowing) mind flourishes within the realms of intuition and responds to noble questions posed by the “thinking” intellect. Quality and quantities of valuable information may be tapped from this great universal source beyond material considerations.
Hypnotherapy
The brain operates in four general states determined by the frequency of the electricity generated by the exchange of chemicals in the neural pathways. The four states include full conscious awareness, the hypnotic state, the dream state, and the sleep state.
Full conscious awareness is where we spend most of our waking hours. In this state, our mind is attentive and uses logic to reason, evaluate, assess, judge, and make decisions. Unfortunately, the conscious mind often gets in the way when making life changes.
When visiting a hypnotherapist, what you are actually doing is using hypnotic techniques to pull yourself out of a current undesired trance state and, with help from the therapist, create a new reality or experience of life – one that lets you achieve your goals and aspirations to live life more fully.
In the hypnotic state, the doorway between the conscious and the subconscious is opened, memories become easily accessible, and new information is stored.
In the hypnotic state, you are not “thinking” in the traditional sense. You are “experiencing” without questioning, without critical judgment or analysis, like when you watch a movie, and the hypnotherapist can make suggestions that are likely to “stick” – precisely because your conscious mind is not getting in the way. You are not “judging” or being “critical” of the suggestions.
They will located in the conscious way of functioning is always present, always working. If, for some reason, you will not allow the suggestions to be accepted, they won’t be. The smoker who comes in to quit smoking but is not really committed to that goal cannot be forced to do so.
With the critical faculty bypassed, specific thoughts/suggestions can be lodged in the subconscious to propel the client toward a desired goal or change behavior positively and permanently. Any such suggestions must be acceptable to the client, of course. They would have no effect otherwise.
Iridology
Iridology is the scientific analysis of patterns and structures in the eye’s iris that locate areas and stages of inflammation throughout the body. The iris is the portion of the eye showing color. It reveals body constitution, inherent strengths and weaknesses, health levels, and transitions in a person’s body according to their way of life.
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he complex iris is comprised of hundreds of thousands of nerve endings connected by impulses to every body tissue through the brain and nervous system. The nerve fibers, or trabecula, respond specifically to tissue and organ conditions with a corresponding physiological reflex manifested in the iris as lesions and color variations.
The iris chart, which results from many years of clinical observation and intensive research by Dr. Bernard Jensen and others, represents the basic placement of body organs and tissues like a map. An accurate iris analysis is possible by superimposing the chart over an iris image projection, allowing detailed observation of the valuable and reliable data recorded there.
A complete iris analysis will show whether a person exhibits a generally good constitution or a poor one, depending upon the density of the iris fibers. The patterns, structures, colors, and degrees of lightness and darkness in the iris tell if an area of the body is inherently strong or weak. It also reveals the relative site of over-activity, irritation, injury, or degeneration of the tissues and organs. Toxic accumulation levels and nutritional and chemical imbalances can be observed.
Kinesiology
Kinesiology is a holistic system of natural health care that uses muscle testing to communicate directly with the body. It can assess a person’s response to any stimuli. It draws on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and can evaluate body function through the muscle/meridian relationship.
It can also establish connections between imbalances, put them in order of priority, and determine the most effective treatment. Kinesiology applies a wide range of gentle yet powerful techniques. These restore balance and create and sustain health, well-being, and more effective functioning.
Kinesiology also draws on and integrates other therapies and healing modalities and can be used as an adjunct to any therapy. Kinesiology is renowned for uncovering and helping the underlying causes of health problems that are difficult to find by any other means.
Kinesiology restores the whole system to balance, thus facilitating the self-healing process.
Procedure It can increase energy and vitality, prevent illness, improve posture, relieve physical pain and tension, help people manage emotions and stress, enhance brain function and coordination, and discover individual nutritional needs and sensitivities.
As we are all biochemically and emotionally different, there is no one treatment that suits everyone. Depending on the individual concerned, a kinesiologist may use various treatments and specific reflex massage.
These treatments can include:-
Mechanical Adjustments such as Chiropractic
There are 206 bones attached to hundreds of muscles in the human body. Muscles need to work properly, and bones need to be in correct alignment for the proper flow of blood, nerve impulses, lymph, etc., around the body. Illness often means muscle strain or bones are out of alignment, interrupting this flow. Gentle muscle massage or bone re-alignment may be used to bring the body’s physical structure back into balance.
Nutrition and Diet
The human body requires food to build and maintain power. Hence, nutrition plays a huge role in health and general well-being. In a modern world of fast food and high stress, we often do not eat or absorb all the nutrients our body needs. We could also be eating foods or additives which may cause unwanted reactions.
Energy Meridian Balancing
According to traditional Chinese medicine, energy meridians flow around the body. Blockages or disruptions to these energy flows often manifest as illnesses. Kinesiology uses gentle, non-invasive techniques to detect and remove blockages in the meridians, bringing balance and well-being back to the body.
Flower Remedies
There are 38 Bach Flower remedies, as well as Californian Flower Remedies, which are made from tree and flower essences. They are chosen according to the emotional and personality traits of the individual. Flower Remedies are helpful in coping with emotional difficulties like grief, anger, and depression.
Homeopathic and Energetic Medicines
These include tissue salts and homeopathic preparations that use substances’ vibrational energy to stimulate the body’s unique healing responses.
Chakra Balancing
The human body has seven main chakra energy centers for transforming subtle energies. Kinesiology can detect and correct chakra imbalances with crystals, colors, and other tools.
Labyrinth
Labyrinths have existed for over 4,000 years and are found in almost every major religious tradition worldwide. They have been integral to many cultures, such as Native American, Greek, Celtic, and Mayan. The Hopi called the labyrinth the symbol for “mother earth” and equated it with the Kiva. Like Stonehenge and the pyramids, they are magical geometric forms that define sacred space.
During the Crusades, they symbolically represented the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Today, labyrinths are used for reflection, meditation, prayer, and comfort. They are found in many sizes and shapes. They are created in sand, cornmeal, flour, painted on canvas, fashioned with masking tape or string for a temporary design, or built in a permanent fashion from stones, cut into turf, formed by mounds of earth, made from vegetation, or any other natural material.
Laughter Therapy
The experience of Dr. Mohan Kataria, pioneer of Hasya Yoga, with laughter clubs worldwide, taught him that people were definitely deriving health benefits from laughter yoga exercises.
But Dr. Kataria could offer no scientific proof to satisfy logical-minded people, especially in the West. “I had no problems in India as more than 100,000 people laughed every morning without asking me for any proof, but when it came to the West, everybody asked, do you have the data?”
Finally, in 2003-04, Dr. Ilona Papousek from the University of Graz completed the first authentic research in the early fall of 2004. According to the news release by Ananova – March 2004, a new study shows that laughter really is the best therapy for stroke patients, according to scientists.
A study was conducted at a computer company where Mr. Thomas Flindt led a session of laughter yoga at the beginning of the day throughout the month of May 2004.
This project clearly shows the effect of a regular laughter yoga practice on stress levels. The results are remarkable on an individual level. The body’s stress levels are significantly reduced.
Laugh yoga is a discipline practiced by individuals, usually in a school-type environment. The laughter is not in response to some form of comedy or physical stimulus like tickling: It’s a forced exercise-like routine in which the participants laugh together as a group, much like the aerobic exercises common in the United States.
In a sense, I suppose, it’s pretty much simply an alternative form of aerobic exercise. It starts off with breathing exercises followed by a gentle “hee, hee, hee” that eventually builds up into a raucous “ha, ha, ha.” When you think about it, are we dealing with anything new? Similar exercises have long been acknowledged as ways to improve your circulation (including blood pressure) and your health in general.
Even Kataria seemed to agree when asked whether a good sense of humor is required to perform the routine and stated, “It’s not about humor or being funny. It’s about exercising the diaphragm with laughter.”
Magnetic Therapy
At the beginning of the 21st century, the most promising pain relief therapy is Biomagnet therapy. Biomagnet therapy has at least six advantages compared to other pain relief therapies, causing explosive worldwide growth today.
• Biomagnets relieve the root cause of pain, not just the symptoms.
• Biomagnet are safe. They have no known side effects since our bodies live in the earth’s natural magnetic field.
• Biomagnet is simple. Anyone can use them in the privacy of their home.
• Biomagnets are non-consumable. You don’t have to buy another bottle or schedule another appointment every month!
• Biomagnet works quickly, often in a few minutes, sometimes in weeks.
• Biomagnets are affordable. Especially since you can use them again and again for years.
And this is only the beginning. The history of magnet therapy is a fascinating account of a famous queen, philosophers, doctors, and scientists. For thousands of years, magnet therapy has been advancing toward its latest discovery of the newest and most powerful Biomagnet.
In 1983, one of the greatest discoveries ever in magnetics was announced. Rare earth neodymium biomagnets were invented, 700% as powerful as the older ceramic magnets. The neodymium Biomagnet holds its charge indefinitely, with no significant loss of power after ten years. At first, their cost was prohibitive, but now they are very economical.
“Today, magnet therapy is seeing a resurgence in use and is an officially approved therapy in over 45 countries worldwide,” writes William H. Philpott, MD, author of the book Magnet Therapy: Alternative Medicine, the Definitive Guide.
Studies show that magnets can be an effective therapy for pain relief by blocking pain sensations. Applying magnetic fields to an injured area improves blood flow and oxygen, enhancing the body’s natural healing process. The improved blood flow and fluid exchange to the injured tissue helps reduce pain and inflammation.
Do not use magnets or magnetic therapy with a pacemaker, implanted medical device, or insulin pump, as they may interfere with the delicate electronic equipment. Magnetic products are not recommended for use during pregnancy.
They are not proven beneficial or detrimental. Be on the safe side; do not use. Keep magnetic products at least six inches away from objects such as credit cards, computers, diskettes, audio and video tapes, and similar items, as data loss may result.
Mantra Therapy
It is believed that mantras work directly upon our karma: the accumulated latencies and tendencies with which we are born. The vibrations of these ancient formulas work through the chakras to increase the flow of beneficial energy throughout the subtle body where these latencies and tendencies are stored.
Mantra Therapy starts by increasing the total amount of energy available for all of our activities. Certain mantras used singly or in combination can greatly accelerate the quality and quantity of energy used in the healing process. However, if the karmic propensity for a given condition is overwhelming, mantra therapy will not remove the difficulty any more than conventional therapy. However, it will reduce the karmic baggage you take into future lives.
The energy created through mantra practice may lead one to forms of therapy quite different from the ones used initially. Thus, some unexpected new forms of treatment may appear due to the practice of mantra. Investigate it. Ultimately, we do not know through which door the route to recovery might manifest, and it may be in some form of conventional or traditional care of which we had been previously unaware.
A mantra is a mystical energy encased in a sound structure. Every mantra contains a certain power within its vibration. Upon concentration and repetition of a given mantra, its energy is liberated and takes the form
There are different types of mantras. Some called the Bija (Seed) mantra. They have no exact meaning but act directly on the nerves of the astral body. The other type of mantra, which combines words and some meaning, also creates powerful vibrations in the body.
Most common, however, is the deity mantras, in which a specific form with attributes is visualized along with the repetition of the sound.
Initiation – If possible, one should seek out a guru and receive mantra initiation from him before attempting Japa. Only those who are themselves pure can give initiation to others. Therefore, finding a qualified guru to implant the mantras successfully in the disciple’s body is important.
If no guru can be found, one may select any mantra that seems appropriate to fulfill his desires, assuming Lord Shiva as his guru, and start repeating it mentally with faith and devotion every day.
OM is one example of a mantra to improve your life.
1. “OM ”
It consists of three letters: A, U, and M. It signifies three periods of time, the three states of consciousness, and all existence. A devotee can soon feel its effect by including it in his daily routine or meditation.
At the very basic level, mantras help you to concentrate on meditation. Once you enter its auspicious circle, the mind instantly becomes focused, and you discover a new realm of peace and tranquility.
The original of all mantras, Om, is the root of all sounds, thus letters, and therefore of all language and thought. The “O” is generated deep within the body, from inside the navel, and slowly brought upward, joining with the “m,” which then resonates through the entire head. Chanting Om correctly in a whisper for twenty minutes relaxes every atom in every cell of your body.
Past Life Therapy
You saw it on Oprah with Dr. Oz. “Past life regression therapy includes the mental act of returning to a time prior to this life to retrieve memories that may still negatively influence a person’s present life. They are probably the source of symptoms running the gamut from phobias to addictions,” says R. Chandran, a past life therapist.
Past life regression is a tool for re-experiencing our lives before this current lifetime. It is a guided journey within in order to access our soul’s memories of who, what, and where we have been in previous incarnations.
It is based on a belief in reincarnation, the concept that a part of us never dies and is born repeatedly into countless existences. Most cultures worldwide believe in reincarnation and those that do not believe there is some existence beyond death.
It can, for instance, be very therapeutic in uncovering the physical or emotional issues we may have in this lifetime. Many people are born with physical or emotional scars that do not seem to have any connection to their experiences.
Explanations for these issues that we bring into this life are often found in past life experiences. The recall of this information can often lead to the spontaneous healing of these problems
Under hypnosis, it is possible to envision what seems to be a memory from a time other than the life you are presently living. Many of these experiences appear to give credence to the theory of reincarnation.
To experience this, the hypnotherapist guides the client backward in time, through the birth experience and out the other side – usually entering another lifetime as a witness to their own apparent death. The client may find they are looking out from the perspective of someone else’s eyes.
For more information, you may want to read books by Dr. Brian. People healed through past life therapy remember names, dates, and geographic details. But perhaps, even more important than curing physical and emotional symptoms is the knowledge that we perhaps do not die even if our bodies do.
Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives
Through Time Into Healing
Same Soul, Many Bodies: Discover the Healing Power of Future Lives through Progression Therapy
Reiki
Reiki is one of the more widely known forms of energy healing. Energy healing involves the direct application of chi for the purpose of strengthening the client’s energy system (aura).
Reiki is easily learned, simple to use, and beneficial for all.
Reiki healing is very simply performed. The practitioner places his or her hands upon the person to be healed with the intent for healing to occur, and then the energy begins flowing.
The Reiki energy is smart since the Universe is a very smart place. The energy knows where to go and what to do once it arrives, or a higher intelligence directs it.
The energy manages its own flow to and within the recipient. It draws through the healer exactly that amount of energy that the recipient needs. All this happens without direct conscious intervention by the healer. The healer’s job is to get out of the way, to keep the healing space open, and to watch/listen for signs of what to do next.
Reiki can heal anything because it works at fundamental levels of reality. Even though the capability is there, this is not what always happens. The limits to Reiki seem to be in the recipient’s willingness to cast off old habits and patterns, accept change, and accept healing.
Spiritual Healing
Spirituality involves recognizing and accepting a God beyond our intelligence and with whom we can have a relationship. This God can provide an experience of inspiration, joy, security, peace of mind, and guidance that goes beyond what is possible without the conviction that such a power exists.
Spiritual healing is when energy is transmitted to the person who needs it. The treatment works on the body, mind, and spirit, one unit that must harmonize for good health.
If a separate healer is involved, the healer will place the hand on the person being treated to channel the energy from the Higher Source. Spiritual healing can help with mental and emotional problems and physical conditions such as a frozen shoulder.
Spiritual Healing is the practice of attuning to Divine or Life Force energy by meditative means or prayer, to be the instrument or the means through which this energy can be channeled to a person, place, or object, present or not, via the Hands of Loving Thoughts, to have a beneficial effect upon the person as a whole, or any or all levels of Body, Mind, and Spirit.
Such energies are only now starting to be recognized by Western medicine. Most eastern medical systems have acknowledged and used such forces for hundreds to thousands of years. Chi and prana are two of the better-known names for these energies. They are related to and can be directed by a person’s consciousness. Because of this, one can receive such healing forces in the presence of, or at a distance from, the healer being worked with.
Developing a relationship with God will guide you in making decisions and solving problems. God has a universal wisdom that goes beyond what you can accomplish through your own intellect. In traditional religions, this has been called the “divine intelligence.”
Through connecting with God, you can draw upon this greater wisdom to help you resolve all kinds of difficulties. By learning to ask God for guidance, you’ll be surprised to find that every sincere request is answered sooner or later.
And the quality of that answer generally exceeds what you could have figured out through your own conscious intellect or will. Here, God is like your co-pilot. God is always available in the instant of need to those who have made a habit of waiting quietly before Him for insight and guidance.
Follow these guidelines for an effective relationship with God:
- Be quiet, patient, and open before God
- Be confident that he will communicate his wishes and help you execute them.
- Do not tempt God or make terms with Him. Gandhi said, “Not until we have reduced ourselves to nothingness can we conquer the evil in us. God demands nothing less than complete self-surrender as the price for the only real freedom worth having. And when a man thus loses himself, he immediately finds himself in the service of all that lives. It becomes his delight and his recreation.”
- Be willing to accept what God provides. He knows best. “Thy will, not mine, be done.” Have full trust in the wisdom of God.
- Ask for God’s help.
- Let God speak to you through his Word. Read spiritual and religious books such as the Bible and learn about the rules of victorious living.
These are some of the characteristics that define a close relationship with God. All of them can significantly contribute to your personal healing process. The extent and sincerity of your commitment will determine the degree of personal healing you experience.
Methods that are commonly used for spiritual healing work include:
- Prayer
- Visualization (understanding, caring, healing, protecting)
- Channeling of spiritual energy (for instance: chi, prana, reiki)
- Devices that transmit healing forces
- Channeling of spiritual helpers and guides
- Personal spiritual realization
- Advanced levels of concentration
- Psychic abilities
- Universal compassion
Which problems can Spiritual Healing help?
Spiritual healing can help with any problem, mental, physical, or emotional. Healers are especially effective for muscular-skeletal problems. Such as frozen shoulders, stiff necks, and bad knees.
What Can You Do To Develop Your Spiritual Life
You can deepen your commitment to spirituality through any of the following means:
- Regular participation in church or your preferred spiritually based organization.
- Regularly read the Bible or other inspirational literature of your preference. It’s good to do this at least once daily, either upon awakening, during your lunch break, or before retiring.
- Regular practice of meditation.
- Regular practice of prayer or spiritual affirmations.
- Get help from others (Healing practitioners, intercessory prayer, etc.)
- Join a prayer group
Many spas also incorporate spirituality into their programs, such as the Chopra Center and Deepak’s book
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams (One Hour of Wisdom)
Sound Therapy
Sound therapy refers to a range of therapies in which sound is used to treat physical and mental conditions. One of these therapies is music therapy, which can involve a person listening to music for conditions such as stress and muscle tension.
Music is one component of this therapy. Others use sound wave vibrations to treat physical and mental conditions. In general, this therapy is based on the theory that all of life vibrates, including people’s bodies. Physical and emotional health is affected when a person’s healthy resonant frequency is out of balance.
Treatment by sound waves is believed to restore the body’s healthy balance. Healing is done by transmitting beneficial sound to the affected area. A voice or an instrument such as electronic equipment, chanting bowls, or tuning forks may produce a healing sound. Sound Therapy is a series of frequencies and waveforms. We can describe all matter as organized by waveforms and frequencies. This includes our bodies.
The body has specific frequencies for each gland, organ, system, and subtle body. Each resonates at a certain frequency. Each must resonate at that certain frequency for health, balance, and harmony with all other parts and within itself.
We might liken each frequency of that particular body part to a note a member of an orchestra would play. When all the notes coming forth from the orchestra flow together and work synergistically, we have beautiful music. If they do not, what do we hear? A sour note. When the body part does not resonate appropriately, our body hits sour notes, which manifests as an ache, pain, or illness.
The gland, organ, or system may begin to function at a low level, causing functions to slow down or cease. Or perhaps the gland, Organ, or system begins to hyperfunction, eventually leading to burnout and the function slowing down or ceasing.
The orchestra may begin to sound like a series of discordant notes, with little harmony and no enjoyment to the listener.
Sound therapy is like a person who retunes the instrument. As your parts are returned and come back into harmony and balance, your internal orchestra begins to once again make beautiful music.
Your body is a marvelous creation. Given the right instructions, It can correct itself and begin to resonate at the frequencies that create good health.
Sound Therapy has been effectively used in hospitals, schools, corporate offices, and psychological treatment programs.
Some of the results of Sound Therapy have been:
- Better sleep.
- Stress reduction, anxiety relief, and assisting in alleviating stress-related disorders such as high blood pressure.
- Improved hearing.
- It helps with dyslexia, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems in children.
- It helps improve mental concentration, learning abilities, and creativity. Sound therapy is a technology designed for accessibility, affordability, and ease of use. Its health benefits are extensive and include the following effects:
- New vitality and sense of well-being
- Obliteration of tiredness and stress
- Deep relaxation and relief of anxiety
- Heightened creativity and mental capacity
- Increased energy, focus, and performance
- Deep, beneficial sleep and an end to insomnia
- Improved hearing for those with industrial deafness or hearing loss due to aging
- Relief of tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Better balance and recovery from Meniere’s vertigo and BPPV
- Improved concentration and learning ability
- Recovery from learning problems such as ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, etc.
- Improved behavior and communication in children
- Increased voice quality and vocal range
- Better relationships and greater family harmony
- Improvement for sufferers of epilepsy, schizophrenia, stroke, and dementia
Sound therapy is simple, effective, and effortless. Listening to specially recorded music tapes while you go about your daily routine can create the changes needed to enhance your quality of life.
Specially recorded analog tapes of highly filtered classical music are used to rehabilitate the ear and stimulate the brain. Sound Therapy stimulates the ear by presenting it with constantly alternating sounds of high and low tone. This, in turn, exercises the middle ear muscles and stimulates the receptor cells in the inner ear.
As the ear becomes open and receptive to high-frequency sounds, these are passed on to the brain. The brain is recharged by means of sound, releasing latent vitality, obliterating tiredness, lessening the need for sleep, and inducing a permanent state of peace and relaxation.
Yoga Therapy
An emerging field in America, yoga therapy hovers somewhere between a doctor’s visit and a stretching class. Yoga therapists work in small groups or private sessions, addressing specific health problems and adapting poses accordingly. A steady stream of interest has become a flood: According to the trade group International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), membership has more than tripled in the last three years, and the number of schools offering training has doubled over the past two years.
Modern yoga therapy can be traced back to the yoga master T. Krishnamacharya, who produced students who became the West’s most influential therapeutic yoga teachers, including his son TKV Desikachar and BKS Iyengar.
Many have since used yoga for managing high blood pressure, coping with the effects of cancer treatments, or treating symptoms of HIV, depression, or anxiety. But lately, it’s become especially popular for musculoskeletal issues like lower and upper back pain, sciatica, and shoulder, neck, and hip pain.
Physical therapists use many methods, from targeted stretches to deep tissue massage; exercises with a Theraband, foam noodles, belts, physioballs, wobble boards, Bosu Balls, or a wall; and heat and/or ice therapy at home. After a physical therapy session, you’ll usually leave with a photocopied sheet of exercises.
A yoga therapist works primarily with yoga moves, and clients typically leave with instructions on a custom series of poses that change each week according to the student’s progress.
Yoga therapy advocates believe that yoga is a holistic discipline that teaches that the mind, body, and spirit are connected. Yoga therapy can go beyond the results that are possible with physical therapy.
What are a yoga therapist’s credentials?
Many yoga therapists are licensed physical therapists or nurses or have advanced training in Iyengar yoga. Some use the title CYT, a certified yoga therapist, after graduating from a yoga therapy teacher training program such as Integrative Yoga Therapy. Others are yoga teachers who declare themselves yoga therapists.
So check the credentials of the person you see. As with any massage therapy, inexperienced teachers or practitioners who lack the ability to diagnose a problem correctly are the biggest danger.
Needless to say, with any alternative therapy, you should always speak with your medical professional first before having an alternative treatment.
Yoga itself is being embraced as a health and wellness practice in America: Yoga is offered at 93 percent of 755 integrative medical centers, which combine Western and alternative healthcare methods, according to Cary Wing, executive director at the Medical Fitness Association in Richmond, VA.
While it’s unclear how many of those centers offer yoga therapy specifically, there is evidence that some yoga poses offer effective treatment for one of the most common complaints that land patients in physical therapists’ offices: chronic back pain.
Yoga therapy tries to re-establish the inner balance by various means, working from the gross to the subtle. On the physical level, it uses:
Asanas energize the organism, create awareness of the body and its function, and stabilize the mind.
Kriyas: These simple hygienic procedures support the body’s cleansing mechanisms and draw the mind’s attention towards the affected area.
Pranayamas: These breathing techniques have very subtle influences on the whole organism.
Diet: Many diseases are directly or indirectly linked to wrong food habits. A change in diet can stimulate the whole system.
Simple Nature Cure Techniques: The elements water, air, sun, and simple procedures like massaging or steam inhalation are used as support.
The second line of therapy is the work on the mind. Mental disturbances – anxieties, confusion, and unsteadiness- are the most important factors that can cause a disease condition. Therefore, various techniques have been developed to create positive mental states.
Among others, there are:
Relaxation: both physical and mental.
Conditioning: Sitting meditatively, one tries to calm down and center oneself. Yoga has claimed that tension is disease and relaxation is health. To this end, the whole eightfold path of yoga is to purify the body-mind complex.
Bhavana: Contemplation on certain basic ideas, like the transition of all things, can stimulate a change of attitude towards life.
Best Known Holistic Spas
More than just a fabulous vacation, Canyon Ranch is an experience. This is where it all comes together, and in one amazing moment, you realize how great you can feel when living healthy.
8600 E. Rockcliff Road Tucson, Arizona 85750 800-742-9000
A health spa vacation retreat north of San Diego where guests come to be nurtured and inspired. A visit to this top California health spa will revitalize the body, mind, and spirit.
29402 Spa Havens Way Vista, CA 92084 (760) 945-2055
Find true serenity at Turtle Bay Resort’s Spa Luana. Our luxurious spa takes its name from the spirit of relaxation it provides. Pono in Hawaiian means ‘the true condition of nature.’ Regarding well-being, Pono is when the entire person–body, mind, and spirit are in harmony.
57-091 KAMEHAMEHA HIGHWAY KAHUKU, O’AHU, HAWAI’I 96731 800.203.3650
Nestled at the base of the stunning Catalina Mountains, Miraval Tucson’s 400 acres of lush Sonoran Desert creates an inspiring backdrop that is warm and welcoming any time of the year. The luxurious accommodations and world-renowned spa have led the readers of Travel & Leisure, SpaFinder, and Conde Nast to vote for Miraval Tucson as the #1 spa in the world.
5000 E. Via Estancia Miraval Tucson, Arizona 85739 800.232.3969
The profound treatment programs at the heart of The Raj programs help restore balance and reawaken the body’s natural healing mechanisms. However, the treatments are only a part of a comprehensive approach to creating health.
1734 Jasmine Ave Fairfield, IA 52556 (641) 472-9580
Balance of Life
The next time you develop an ache or a pain, consider seeing a Holistic Practioner or Naturopathic Doctor. If you are interested in one of the many holistic healings, Be open to learning more about your body and mind and how your beliefs can affect your feelings and the illnesses you develop. There are many books on the topics outlined in this edition of Spavelous’s “Now You Are in The Know”. One of my favorites is Louise Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life (Gift Edition)
Remember that holistic therapy includes healing the body, mind, spirit, and emotions. The next time you visit a spa, why not try a full body massage, personal visualization, and Chinese acupuncture? With all the elements combined, you will find the holistic therapy approach will leave you feeling like a new person in the luxury spa.
