The body has a powerful ability to heal itself when given the tools it needs to stay healthy. We cannot entirely remove anxiety from our lives, but we can create lifestyles that reduce stress and toxins so the natural healing process can take place.
In the eastern hemisphere, medicine targets the mind, body and spirit while western medicine tends to treat symptoms through time-tested scientific methods. Although the two approaches represent opposite ends of the same spectrum, practitioners and clients are discovering that they actually complement each other. Using western and eastern philosophies together is known as integrative medicine.
Scientists now know that everything consists of energy, and that includes everything from our mitochondria to our thoughts and feelings. Our cells send out electrical impulses, collectively creating magnetic energy fields around our bodies. When this energy becomes imbalanced by stress, trauma or toxins, we develop diseases.
The goal of natural medicine, also known as energy healing, is to remove blockages in the body's energy system so it can return to ideal health. Although new to traditional medicine, this philosophy originated thousands of years ago. Today it encompasses countless methods and theories.
Eight Kinds of Energy Healing
- Energy healers use their hands to send vital life energy to the magnetic field around the body. Modalities include Healing Touch, Pranic Healing, Reiki and medical qigong.
- Chinese medicine revolves around energy channels called meridians. Acupuncture uses needles to stimulate energy points along the meridians while acupressure applies physical force. Energy in Chinese medicine is known as "chi."
- Qigong is an ancient form of martial arts that uses soft, sweeping motions to bring qi into the body and balance its magnetic field. "Qi" is the Japanese word for energy.
- Yoga, Sanskrit for "joining of the body, mind and spirit," dates back to Vedic teachings in early India. The practice promotes clean living, gentle poses, breathing techniques and meditation as a way toward balanced living and union with source energy. In yoga, the word for energy is "prana."
- Massage is a broad term that refers to the physical manipulation of the body's connective tissues and muscles to bring about healing. Kinds of massage include craniosacral therapy, deep tissue, Swedish, Shiatsu and Thai. Soothing music and aromatherapy go well with the art of massage.
- Emotional Freedom Technique involves the process of tapping on various parts of the body to release buried emotions so it can replenish its own energy.
- Sound therapy uses sound vibrations to resonate with different parts of the body. Like energy, sound waves vibrate at specific speeds and are able to repair subtle energy patterns.
- Meditation refers to a group of techniques that use the mind to change one's state of awareness. Its physical, mental and spiritual benefits are well-documented by scientific research.
Although there are many other techniques of natural healing, all seek to return the energetic body to its original state so that physical and emotional healing can occur. All kinds of healing are most effective when used as part of a daily practice. Most methods complement each other and western medicine.
Serena Li enjoys exploring the topic of Complementary and Alternative Medicine as she believes in the power of natural healing through natural foods, a green lifestyle, and alternative therapies. She is a regular content contributor to Basic-Natural LLC, a natural living website providing practical information on a way of living that's more in tune with nature, our environment, and our inner self.
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