Consider This
Therapy For...
The flower extracts recommended in this form of therapy are intended
to relieve various unwanted, counterproductive emotional states.
Advocates say that diminishing these negative emotions can, in turn,
remedy any physical symptoms the emotions may have fostered.
Although many physicians would agree that emotional stress can contribute
to illness, the effect of flower remedies on emotions has never
undergone formal clinical trials, and there is no scientific proof
that the remedies have any therapeutic value.
The extracts used in this form of therapy are extremely diluted solutions produced from 38 different blooms. The so-called "mother tinctures" are made by either floating the blossoms in water for a number of hours or boiling them for half an hour. Each tincture is preserved by mixing it 50/50 with full-strength, 80 proof brandy. Drops of this mixture are diluted in additional brandy and bottled for personal use. Before ingesting, patients are advised to further dilute the remedy by putting two drops in a 30-milliliter (1-ounce) dropper bottle and filling it with mineral water. The bottle should be refrigerated.
The entire set of remedies is intended as a self-help system simple enough to use without professional advice. Manufacturers provide self-administered questionnaires to aid in the selection of the proper flowers, each of which is thought to correspond to an emotional or psychological state. Users are advised to ignore any overt illness, instead asking themselves how they feel and what emotions they are experiencing, since the remedies are intended to treat psychological states, not physical disease. Remedies can be combined, but no more than six or seven should be used at once.
The problems that the remedies purport to relieve
range from fear of the unknown to intolerance. Here's a complete
list.
Agrimony...mental torture behind a cheerful face
Aspen...fear of unknown things
Beech...intolerance
Centaury...the inability to say "no"
Cerato...lack of trust in one's own decisions
Cherry Plum...fear of the mind giving way
Chestnut Bud...failure to learn from mistakes
Chicory...selfish, possessive love
Clematis...dreaming of the future without working in the present
Crab Apple...the cleansing remedy, also for self-hatred
Elm...for those overwhelmed by responsibility
Gentian...discouragement after a setback
Gorse...hopelessness and despair
Heather...self-centeredness and self-concern
Holly...hatred, envy and jealousy
Honeysuckle...living in the past
Hornbeam...procrastination, tiredness at the thought of doing something
Impatiens...impatience
Larch...lack of confidence
Mimulus...fear of known things
Mustard...deep gloom for no reason
Oak...for the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustion
Olive...exhaustion following mental or physical effort
Pine...guilt
Red Chestnut...for those overly concerned for the welfare of loved
ones
Rock Rose...terror and fright
Rock Water...self-denial, rigidity, and self-repression
Scleranthus...inability to choose between alternatives
Star of Bethlehem...shock
Sweet Chestnut...extreme mental anguish and hopelessness
Vervain...over-enthusiasm
Vine...dominance and inflexibility
Walnut...protection from change and unwanted influences
Water Violet...pride and aloofness
White Chestnut...unwanted thoughts and mental arguments
Wild Oat...uncertainty over one's direction in life
Wild Rose...drifting, resignation, apathy
Willow...self-pity and resentment
If you feel you need help with your diagnosis, you can consult a practitioner trained in selecting the remedies. He or she will question you about your emotions and attempt to intuit the emotional state underlying your condition. However, practitioners are expected to encourage patients to choose their own flower therapies once they're sufficiently knowledgeable.
Treatment Frequency: Take 4 drops of each diluted remedy 4 times a day. Alternatively, put 2 drops of the solution from the manufacturer's bottle into a glass of water and sip from the glass at least 4 times daily.
Flower remedies were developed in the early 1900s by Dr. Edward Bach, an English homeopathic physician, who believed that negative emotional or psychological states underlie physical illnesses. The remedies are designed to treat these emotional states rather than any specific disease. For this reason, people with similar physical conditions may need different remedies, based on their psychological needs. Dr. Bach identified the 38 wildflowers used in the remedies while searching the English countryside for blooms with healing effects. He determined which flower helped which emotional state by trying various plants on himself when he experienced a particular feeling.
Although the brandy used as a preservative is taken in extremely diluted form, recovering alcoholics and those who wish to avoid alcohol for other reasons may wish to forego these preparations. Alternatively, the concentrated drops can be boiled to evaporate the alcohol without affecting the remedy's potency.
Proponents of the remedies warn that they may "(stir) up repressed feelings that need to be cleansed before complete healing can be achieved." Mainstream physicians, however, seem unconcerned. Most regard the remedies as harmless unless they're substituted for needed medical care.
Advocates cite no physical side effects. Indeed, they say that the remedies can be taken more frequently in moments of crisis without risk of overdose, addiction, or tolerance. The solutions do not affect other courses of treatment, and are unaffected by them. Some practitioners add that the remedies are a self-limiting form of treatment, asserting that the need for and effectiveness of the remedies decrease as the patient's emotional health improves.
Practitioners using the original 38 remedies developed by Dr. Bach are certified by The Bach Foundation, and sign a Code of Practice that includes ethical standards. The code specifies that practitioners are not licensed to diagnose medical illness or otherwise practice medicine. (You can find the complete text of the code on the Foundation's web site.) About 350 practitioners are registered with the Foundation, according to a 1997 report.
Floral essences are available from a number of sources. Some lines, however, may include plants excluded by Dr. Bach, or offer other herbal therapies prepared using the Bach method.
When you feel that the emotional problem you've addressed has been resolved, you can discontinue therapy immediately. There's no need to taper off the remedies. According to the Bach Centre and Foundation, the remedies should be used only to relieve existing emotional problems, not as a means of preventing their development.
Music therapy is the prescribed use of music and musical interventions in order to restore, maintain, and improve emotional, physical, physiological, and spiritual health and well-being. Within this definition are the key elements which define interventions as music therapy.
Music therapy is prescribed by members of the client's treatment team. Members can include doctors, social workers, psychologists, teachers, case workers, or parents. Music is the primary therapeutic tool. Using music to establish a trusting relationship, the music therapist then works to improve the client's physical and mental functioning through carefully structured activities. Examples can include singing, listening, playing instruments, composition, moving to music, and music and imagery exercises. Music is administered by a trained music therapist. A music therapist's education and training is extensive. Musical interventions are developed and used by the therapist based on his/her knowledge of the music's affect on behavior, the client's strengths and weaknesses, and the therapeutic goals. Music therapy is received by a client and it targets a wide range of clinical populations and client ages.
Music therapy works towards specific therapeutic goals and objectives. Goal area include communicative, academic, motor, emotional, and social skills. It is important to be aware that while clients may develop their musical skills during treatment, these skills are not the primary concern of the therapist. Rather it is the affect such musical development might have on the client's physical, psychological and socio-economical functioning.
The age-old set of exercises known in the West as "yoga" offers a significant variety of proven health benefits. It increases the efficiency of the heart and slows the respiratory rate, improves fitness, lowers blood pressure, promotes relaxation, reduces stress, and allays anxiety. It also serves to improve coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration, sleep, and digestion. It can be used as supplementary therapy for conditions as diverse as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, migraine, and AIDS, and helps to combat addictions such as smoking. It is not, in itself, a cure for any medical ailment. But as part of the well-known Dean Ornish program of diet and exercise, it has contributed to the reversal of heart disease.
Yoga exercises are usually conducted in group classes, although private instruction is also available in many areas. You should wear loose, comfortable clothing to the class, and should bring a "sticky" mat with you to prevent slipping during the exercises. No equipment is needed, although advanced students often use a strap to assist in leg stretches. Wall-mounted devices are sometimes available to help you maintain balance during difficult exercises. The exercises are almost always performed in bare feet. A typical session includes three disciplines: breathing exercises, body postures, and meditation. You may also be given advice on nutrition and lifestyle.
Many proponents feel morning is the best time to practice yoga, but classes are offered throughout the day and evening. It's advisable to avoid eating for 1 hour before class. Each session usually begins with a set of gentle warm-up exercises. The teacher will then ask you to focus on your breathing, and may take you through several breathing exercises. At the very least, you'll be asked to breathe through your nose, evenly through both nostrils. Then it's on to the yoga postures, a series of poses that typically must be held for periods of a few seconds to several minutes. Unlike the routine in calisthenics or weight training, you will not be asked to repeat postures more than three times, and some will be done only once. Some of the postures, such as shoulder rolls or neck stretches, will probably be familiar to you, while others may seem extremely complicated or even contorted.
Despite the difficulty of such postures, however, contortion for its own sake is never the point. Instead, the goal is to mildly stretch all the muscle groups in the body, while gently squeezing the internal organs. To balance the muscle groups, the postures follow a specific order. As you assume the various postures, you'll be asked to move gently, without jerking or bouncing. Breathing techniques remain important. You'll need to focus on exhaling during certain movements and inhaling during others. Likewise, as you hold certain postures, you may be instructed to inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other. You'll be allowed to rest after every three or four postures, and at the conclusion of the exercises, there's usually a period of rest or meditation. You should remain comfortable throughout the session, and should leave with both body and mind relaxed.
Treatment Time: Classes usually last 45 minutes to an hour, but experts stress that even short sessions can be beneficial if you make them a regular routine.
Treatment Frequency: Classes may be taken once a week, or more often, as desired. Your teacher will probably ask you to practice new positions at home, and will encourage you to run through at least a portion of the yoga routine each day. Regular practice, even if brief, is recommend for the best results.
Although the yoga we know today is practiced mainly for its health benefits, it is rooted in Hindu religious principles some 5,000 years old. Derived from the Sanskrit word for "union," the term yoga refers to far more than exercise. In fact, it encompasses a variety of disciplines designed to ultimately bring its practitioners closer to God. Dynana yoga, for instance, seeks union through meditation, while jnana yoga entails the study of scriptures and karma yoga calls for selfless service to God and mankind.
The exercises we now call simply "yoga" are actually hatha yoga, a discipline intended to prepare the body for the pursuit of union with the divine while raising the practitioner's awareness of creation to a higher, keener state. Through controlled breathing, prescribed postures (called asanas), and meditation, hatha yoga seeks to enhance the prana, or life force, that resides in the body and achieve a state of balance and harmony between body and mind. Each of these three disciplines contributes to the search for union in its own unique way:
Breathing. The life force prana is believed to enter the body through the breath, and much of hatha yoga is concerned with helping you control your breathing properly. Shallow, hurried breathing is believed to inhibit the life force, and affect mind and body adversely. Deep, slow breathing is encouraged.
Postures. Some yoga postures are intended to stretch and strengthen muscles, others to improve posture and work the skeletal system, while others aim to compress and relax the organs and nerves. The underlying purpose is to perfect the body, making it a worthy host for the soul.
Meditation. Meditation supplements and reinforces the disciplines of hatha yoga, focusing the mind and relaxing the body. Closely linked with focused breathing, it aims to produce a quiet, calm frame of mind. Many people find that it reduces stress and increases energy. The interplay of this and the other two facets of hatha yoga, and the quiet, considered repetition of each, is considered key to achieving yoga's benefits.
Despite its use of physical exercises, yoga is perhaps most closely related to the mind-body family of therapies, which includes meditation and biofeedback. Research shows that, like other mind-body practices, yoga produces measurable physiological changes in the body, including a decrease in the respiratory rate and blood pressure, and an alteration in brain-wave activity reflecting increased relaxation. Yoga has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, both immediately and over time, and is often recommended to relieve the pain and anxiety of chronic illness. When practiced regularly, it promotes relaxation and enhances the sense of well-being. It also improves physical fitness and circulation, and some advocates say it improves memory. When combined with a low-fat diet and moderate aerobic exercise, it has been found to reverse the build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries--and the more it's practiced, the greater the improvement. Although yoga's effects are unquestionable, scientists still don't know exactly how it produces them. Some speculate that, like other mind-body therapies, it works largely by relieving stress. Others suggest that it promotes the release of endorphins, the brain's natural pain killers. The Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health has several studies underway to clarify the matter. In the meantime, yoga continues to be practiced by some six million people in the United States.
Avoid yoga completely if you've had a recent back injury or surgery. Check with your doctor first if you have arthritis, a slipped disk, heart disease, or high blood pressure. (Although yoga tends to relieve high blood pressure, certain postures must be avoided. Be sure to alert your instructor to the problem if you decide to proceed.)
Although some postures are not recommended during pregnancy, special classes are available for expectant mothers. Some experts also warn against strenuous postures during menstruation, and when you are ill with a cold or infection.
At the outset, you may suffer some stiffness while your body adapts to the postures. When done properly, however, yoga is not stressful or tiring, and any stiffness should be short-lived and minor.
Each yoga instructor has his own style, and classes range from mildly taxing to extremely strenuous. To make sure you'll be comfortable with the teacher's approach, ask to observe a class before you sign up. You should select a program that will leave you rested and relaxed, not totally exhausted.
There are no standard certification or licensure requirements for yoga instructors. However, a number of reputable yoga schools do certify their graduates. You can check with the associations listed below for a list of recognized schools. Experts recommend that you look for an instructor who remains an active student himself, and who practices yoga daily.
You may continue yoga as long as it is helpful to you. Many people who find yoga beneficial continue to practice it for life.
Yoga can alleviate a variety of chronic conditions, but it won't cure an acute medical problem. You should continue to see a doctor for regular check-ups and treatment. Be sure to call the doctor immediately if the exercises cause any new symptoms, such as unusual headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, or severe pain in your back, legs, or joints.
back to topPrana is a Sanskrit word meaning "life-force," the invisible bio-energy or vital energy that keeps the body alive and maintains a state of good health. The Japanese call this subtle energy “Ki,” the Chinese “Chi,” while the Greeks refer to it as “Pneuma.” In Polynesian it is known as “Mana” and in Hebrew, “Ruah” meaning “Breath of Life” as in the Old Testament. Vital energy is found in several forms: earth prana, air prana, solar prana and Divine prana. As an art and science, Pranic Healing was widely practiced in the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt and India. In Pranic Healing, healing is accomplished by removing negative or disease energy from the patient's energy body and transferring fresh prana to the affected areas.
Pranic Healing is based on the principle that body has the ability to heal it's self. It utilizes life force as fuel to initiate the necessary biochemical changes to make this happen. Using a scientific “no-touch” methodology, Pranic Healing can prevent and heal a whole spectrum of physical, emotional and mental ailments. Because the methods are simple a easy to understand, anyone can learn and apply pranic healing in a short amount of time. Pranic Healing was reintroduced in its present form by Master Choa Kok Sui, best selling author of the books Pranic Healing and Pranic Psychotherapy (translated into over 16 languages.) Based on the ancient texts and traditions of Chinese medicine, esoteric healing and a synthesis of many other Oriental healing techniques, Pranic Healing was developed after decades of investigation and further experiments with medical doctors. Healing centers have been started in over 30 countries, many in Third World countries where inexpensive medical care is urgently need.
back to topAyurveda is the world's oldest science of health care. The written tradition dates back around 5,000 years, but the oral tradition in India is timeless. Ayurveda views the person as a composite of 3 forces: Vata The force symbolized by AIR, Pitta The force symbolized by FIRE, Kapha The force symbolized by WATER. Due to foreign intervention in India for hundreds of years, Ayurveda became fragmented, and it has been revived over the past 35 years by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. As a result of growing scientific verification at major research institutions, it is the worlds' fastest growing health care system .
The basic principles of Ayurveda include: Mind, body, emotions, and spirit are more than connected, they are one. There are 3 fundamental principles of nature called Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which govern all processes in all levels of our life. Vata governs all movement, Pitta all heat and transformation, and Kapha all growth, structure and lubrication. Everything we experience influences these governing principles. If these principles that guide the processes of our body, mind, etc. get “out of balance” due to poor diet, activity, etc. they can become overactive, and disease results. If vata gets out of balance, for instance, it leads to overactive mind, poor circulation, poor nerve conduction, loss of memory, irregular elimination, uncomfortable menses, etc. - all things related to movement. If pitta is out of balance, we can get excessive digestive fire, resulting in heartburn, excess stomach acid, a hot temper, inflammations, etc. -all things related to heat and digestion. If kapha gets out of balance, it can lead to chronic congestion, weight gain, cellulite, cholesterol buildup, acne, oily skin, etc. - all things related to structure and lubrication. Herbs in synergistic combination, diet, routine, meditation, etc are used to restore balance to restore proper operation of the various systems. Balance restores health. Ayurveda does not focus on decreasing symptoms, it focuses on increasing health. Where there is health, there is no room for disease.
For hundreds of years, it has been acknowledged, "Laughter is the best Medicine". Breakthrough medical research is shedding new light on the physiological beneficial effects of humor on health. A sense of humor can come in handy, whether it's for dealing with an illness, the pressures of daily living, or coping at work, humor can dramatically change the quality and outlook of our lives. Humor is an easy way to get in touch with your feelings and control them in difficult situations.
Laughing makes us feel good for a reason. The physiological effects on our body do some pretty amazing stunts. For instance: