One the edge - alternative therapies

On the edge - investigating alternative therapies

Alternative therapies. In my day that just meant acupuncture, chiropractic and osteopathy - the ones that the doctor tutted over if you suggested that they might help your backache or stress or whatever. But these days, no-one bats an eyelid if you pay £40 an hour to have someone stick needles in your body and tell you it will help your migraines or sciatica by rebalancing your energy. Don't get me wrong, whatever works for you can't be a bad thing, but nowadays there are so many alternative therapies, where do you start? Here are just a few of the (slightly) lesser known ones.

Ayurvedic medicine

I'm beginning to regret including this because it's not really an alternative therapy, although it is alternative in the Western World. It's an holistic system, which means it treats the whole person, rather than a specific ailment. It's also very interesting....

The word Ayurveda comes from two Sanskrit words - Ayur meaning life, and Veda meaning knowledge. This traditional Indian life science is the oldest form of medicine known to man; its guiding principles are said to have been handed down from the Hindu gods and written texts date back 3500 years. Ayurveda still forms the basis of much medical practice today in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, where Orthodox doctors work alongside ayurvedic physicians.

Ayurvedic medicine is a complete healthcare system and involves detoxification, diet, exercise, use of herbs and techniques to improve mental and emotional health. Your individual constitution and how it relates to your energies is the key to understanding Ayurvedic medicine. Each of us has a unique constitution, determined by the balance of three vital energies in the body, known as the three doshas or 'tridoshas'. The three doshas are known by their Sanskrit names of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. You stay helathy by keeping them in balance.

Once your dosha has been determined through a series of questions and investigations, you learn how to create and maintain this balance. It's very complicated but if you are interested you can buy shedloads of books on the subject from Amazon. Go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/.

Bowen technique
Bown Technique is a simple and focused form of 'hands-on' bodywork that claims to bring remarkable results. The technique prompts the body to reset and heal itself, promoting relief of pain and recovery of energy. The therapist uses thumbs and forefingers to make Bowen's unique sets of gentle, rolling-type moves, which are then altered with leaving the client to rest for a few minutes. These short breaks allow the body to respond by making the subtle and fine adjustments needed for healing. The experience of a treatment is gentle, subtle and relaxing. Most of the work can be performed through light clothing. Two to four treatments, at weekly intervals, are often sufficient to acheive lasting relief from even long-standing pain and complaints.

Bowen Technique claims it can help help the following:
* back & neck pain
* tennis & golfers elbows
* respiratory conditions
* fibromyalgea
* frozen shoulder
* headache
* sports injuries
* lymphatic drainage
* chronic fatigue
* high blood pressure
* stress and many more..

Now I have actually had this. And it was very good for my lower backache, though it didn't even make a dent in my 20 year long battle with sciatica. But then neither has anything else really, apart from Ibuprofen.

Go to http://www.thebowentechnique.com/ for details of therapists and more information.

Colonic hydrotherapy
I lied.... this is one of the best known ones thanks to all the celebs and members of the Royal Family who admit (yes really) to having had someone introduce specialised, sterislied equipment into..... Enough said. Let's not go into too much detail.

To be precise, Colonic Hydrotherapy is an internal bath to help cleanse the colon (large intestine) of poisons, gas, accumulated fecal matter and the mucus deposits. Sterilised equipment is used to flush filtered water through the colon to help expel waste products and compacted deposits. The patients' modesty is maintained at all times and you would usually be given a special gown to wear. The therapist will work progressively around the structure of the colon allowing water to flow in and then release, thereby expelling accumulated toxins and impactions.

The whole process takes about 30 minutes and herbal preparations are sometimes used for specific conditions with regular implants of lactobacillus acidophilus given to assure normalisation of the bowel flora. Fans of colonic hydrotherapy claim that it cleanses the body and takes the strain of vital organs, thus helping prevent disease.

You can find more details at http://www.colonic-association.org/hydrotherapy.html

Kinesiology
Of all the therapies described here, Systematic Kinesiology is probably the least well known. It uses muscle testing to find problem areas and massage, touch, nutrition, and counselling to balance holistically. It is used to evaluate many functions of the body in the structural, chemical, neurological and biochemical realms.

It cannot diagnose disease, but it enables analysis which detects minor functional imbalance, which when not corrected, accumulate and cause compensations. These compensations compound each other, lead to functional changes, and give rise to symptoms of discomfort, pain or maybe allergic reactions. If these warnings are ignored, disease can follow. (No I didn't underatand most of that either!)

Supposedly Kinesiology can help with: emotions and anxieties, specific personal dietary intake and supplements for nutritional deficiencies, structural imbalances and energy blocks. It balances the whole person thus enhancing health and well-being. I do know someone who has had it to determine food allergies and found it very helpful.

For more information visit the website at http://www.kinesiologyfederation.org/

Reiki
Reiki is a system of healing originating in Japan. The word ‘reiki' means ‘universal life energy', the vital energy around and within all living things. It is a form of touch therapy in which the therapist uses both the laying on of hands and distant healing techniques. The therapist treats those parts of the body he or she senses are emitting weak energy, by laying his or her hands close to the site of the problem, this enables energy to start to flow through the therapist's hands to the patient.

During a Reiki treatment, the patient lies on a massage table to facilitate relaxation. The practitioner's hands rest lightly (or not at all for those who prefer not to be touched) in a sequence of positions on their fully clothed body, the aim being to provide a gentle warming vital energy.
Reiki can be used to treat acute problems, such as accidental injuries as well as chronic problems, such as asthma, eczema and headaches. I've had this as well in the past and it's incredibly relaxing. When it's over you feel as if you could lie there forever and at one point I felt the touch almost unbearable in one foot. I asked why and the practitioner explained that this represented pain somewhere else in the body and told me where it applied - he was totally right!

For more information go to http://www.reikifed.co.uk/

So that's the first five! In a couple of weeks I'll be back with a few more. See you soon!

Veronika
Health & Beauty Editor

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