pathic medicine are being considered in concert more often as practitioners find practical common ground in hospi- tals and clinical settings throughout the United States.
Energy Therapies
Current energy therapies comprise a broad range of hands-on healing modalities, ranging from Reiki, Heal- ing Touch and Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping), to an increasing array of hybrids. The Energy Medicine Institute (
EnergyMed.org), in Ashland, Oregon, notes that energy medicine can employ a variety of non-invasive methods intended to trigger the body’s natural healing powers, working to acti- vate energies that have become weak- ened, disturbed or unbalanced. According to the institute, flow, balance and harmony can be restored and maintained within an energy system by tapping, massaging, pinching, twisting or connecting specific energy points (known as acupoints) on the skin; tracing or swirling the hand over the skin along specific energy pathways; exercises or postures designed for specific energetic effects; focused use of the mind to alter specific energies; and/or surrounding an area with healing energies (one person’s energies impact another’s).
Nicolas Ortner, founder of The Tapping Solution, calls this Emotional Freedom Techniques-based energy modality, “…a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology.” By tapping on meridian points of the body while repeating cer- tain helpful affirmations about health or emotional situations, energetic blockages can be removed, allow- ing profound physical and emotional changes to take place.
Ortner is excited about the grow- ing awareness of self-guided healing through energy modalities, includ- ing his technique. “We had 350,000 people at our online Tapping World Summit last year,” he says. “That says something about the need that we are fulfilling.”
Herbalism
Herbalism is widely practiced world- wide to heal body and mind, and herbs and other plants are sometimes used in spiritual healing. Herbs are commonly prescribed by conven- tional physicians in Europe. In 1978, the German Commission E published a list of more than 300 herbs, noting research attesting to their safety and effectiveness, as well as possible side effects and drug interactions. The United States has lagged in its acceptance of herbal interventions. Still, Susun Weed, founder of the Wise Woman Center, in Woodstock, New York, and author of four herbal books, including Healing Wise, points out that drug companies have been quick to isolate various herbal medicine components and market them as prescription drugs.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy, operating on the prin- ciple of “like treats like,” involves the use of highly diluted substances to trigger the body’s natural process of healing. According to The Society of Homeopaths, “A substance which causes symptoms when taken in large doses, can be used in small amounts to treat those same symptoms.” For example, drinking too much coffee can cause sleeplessness and agitation. Thus, when caffeine is made into a homeopathic medicine, it could be used to treat people with these symptoms.
Dana Ullman, author of The Homeopathic Revolution and Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines, notes that the trend in homeopathy in the United States has its debunkers. He attributes this to establishment fears that, “If homeopa- thy is true, then everything about mod- ern medicine and science is false.” But, he adds, “The homeopathy deniers ignore or downplay the substantial body of verifying evidence from basic science and clinical research—from outcome studies, cost-effectiveness studies and epidemiological evidence.”
Meditation and Related Therapies
“In the ’60s, I discovered that the weeds in my garden were bet- ter medicinal plants than the ones I intentionally planted,” recalls Weed. “Back then, there was a general belief that these alternative systems weren’t ‘real’ medicine.” But it’s more a matter of the Western world catching up with the rest of the world, she notes. “The World Health Organization says that 90 percent of the health care given on this planet is given by women in their own homes, using local plants.” Weed reports that across the United States, attendance at herbal conferences has soared. Herbalism is a big idea whose time has come again, and is now being rewoven into family life. “I call it re-weaving the healing cloak of the ancients,” she says. “This is evolutionary medicine.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that 90 percent of all doctor office visits are related to stress. Meditation, breath work, guided imagery and some yoga disciplines are effective ways to slow down the mind, relieve stress and bring body , mind and spirit into balance. More than 1,000 pub- lished studies have linked various types of meditation as well as contemplative yoga to changes in metabolism, blood pressure, brain activation, stress relief and pain reduction.
Angela Wilson, assistant director of the Institute for Extraordinary Living (IEL), affiliated with the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, in Lenox, Massa- chusetts, reports burgeoning interest in these therapies. “Doctors have become very interested in any practice that can help people slow down and calm down,” observes Wilson.
natural awakenings January 2012 33
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