Acupressure  Acupuncture  Apitherapy  Art Therapy  Bach Flower Remedies Biofeedback  Dance Therapy  Energy Medicine  Homeopathy  Hypnotherapy  Iridology  Kinesiology  Music Therapy  Osteopathy  Yoga 

-Acupressure-

• It is the application of pressure using the fingers, thumbs, palms, or elbows, in order to stimulate, disperse, and regulate the body's healing energy.  (Combination of massage and acupuncture)
• Based on traditional Chinese Medicine.
• Conditions that respond to it include:  allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, bronchitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist pain, chronic fatigue, colic, constipation, depression, disc problems, dizziness, eating disorders, fibroids, foot/ankle pain, hay fever, headaches/migraines, hormonal imbalance, hyper-/hypotension, immune system weakness, indigestion, knee/hip/pelvic pain, neck/shoulder pain, neuralgia, poor circulation, PMS, Restricted Breathing, Rheumatism, Sciatica, Sinus Problems, Skin problems, Sleep disorders, Stress, Swollen lymph nodes, Temporomandibular joint (TM) syndrome, Tennis elbow, Ulcers, Varicose veins, Water retention
• Pressure is placed on appropriate chi points, obstructions of healing energy dissolve, leaving the muscles and ligaments relaxed, allowing the body to return to a healthier state
• Many researchers believe that acupressure triggers the release of endorphins, which relieve pain

• Practiced in China for over 4,500 years and based on the idea that internal harmony is essential for good health (Chi)
• By inserting hair-thin needles at "chi gateways" throughout the body, acupuncturists seek to encourage chi circulation.
• There are almost 1000 puncture points along the meridians (tissues of the body).
• Used for primarily easing pain of ailments such as back problems, rheumatism, and arthritis.  Increasingly used to treat addictions such as smoking.
• Conditions that respond to it include:  acne, allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, Bell's palsy, bronchitis, bursitis, cerebral palsy, colds and flus, colitis, constipation, deafness, depression, diabetes, diarrhea, dizziness, earaches, eating disorders, eczema, eyesight problems, hay fever, headaches, hemorrhoids, hepatitis, high blood pressure, HIV, hormonal imbalance, hypoglycemia, impotence, indigestion, infertility, insomnia, menstrual irregularities/cramps, morning sickness, neuralgia, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), polio, PMS, Ringing in the ears (tinnitus), sciatica, sinus infections, sore throats, sprains, stiff neck, stress-related disorders, stroke, substance abuse, Temporomandibular joint (TM) syndrome, Tendonitis, Trigeminal neuralgia, Ulcers, Vaginitis
• Stimulates physical reactions in the body, such as blood chemistry, endocrine functions, blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity, and immune system response.
• Helps to regulate red and white blood cell counts, triggers the production of endorphins, and controls blood pressure

This picture shows the meridians as well as the points for acupuncture and acupressure

• The therapeutic use of any products of the honeybee.
• Honey can be used topically as a wound or burn dressing.
• Bee pollen is a potent dietary supplement and may also help treat seasonal allergies
• Venom therapy may help reduce pain and swelling from rheumatism, arthritis, etc.
• Royal gelly (food made specifically for the queen) is reputed to have energizing effects and to stimulate hormone production.  Has been used to treat vascular diseases and illnesses that cause weakness or tiredness.
• dates back to ancient civilizations of Greece and China.

• First developed in Britain in the 1940's, mainly through Adrian Hill's work, psychotherapist Irene Champernowne, and postwar rehabilitation movements.
• Used as an addition of psychiatric treatment to allow people relief and to express themselves through drawing, painting, or other art media.
• Primarily used for emotionally disturbed children and adults, those hospitalized on a long-term basis, or those who have physical or learning disabilities.

• Specially prepared liquid concentrates created by soaking flowers in pure spring water.
• Named after the orthodox British doctor, Edward Bach, who became committed to the belief that natural plant cures exist for every ailment.
• There are thirty-eight Bach remedies which are created to treat the whole person, primarily for mood and psychological outlook.
• Bach remedies include:  the rescue remedy to relieve shock and trauma (combo of cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, rock rose, and star of Bethlehem) crab apple remedy to relieve feelings of shame about ailments, Elm to overcome feelings of inadequacy
• Used to treat:  agoraphobia, anxiety, bites and stings, bruises, minor burns, claustrophobia, depression, fainting, fear, hysteria, mood swings, nervous disorders, panic attacks, phobias, PMS, postnatal depression, psychosomatic illnesses, sexual problems, stammering, stress, temper tantrums, and tension.
• Also used to treat emotional aspects of:  acne, addictions, allergies, amnesia, asthma, bulimia, chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, psoriasis, etc.

• Origins in early part of 20th century, began gaining attention in 1950's with the work of Neal E. Miller and other psychologists.
• Is a way of learning to be more aware of emotional, mental, and physical responses that are many times made beyond normal consciousness, but that can have a negative influence on health and well-being.
• Practitioners use an instrument that gives a clear signal of responses, including electromyograph (EMG), brain wave pattern measurement using electroencephalograph (EEG), and measuring nervous activity with a skin-resistance meter.  Collect information on vital body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, brain wave activity, and skin temperature.
• basic principle:  Changes in thinking and emotions will also effect changes in body.
• Used for:  anxiety, asthma, breathing disorders (like hyperventilation), high blood pressure, hypnotherapy, migraines, tension headaches, and as an aid to relaxation methods such as autogenics, breathing techniques, and meditation.

• Began in the 1940's when Rudolph Laban and Marian Chase began to use dance movements to help people with emotional problems.
• It is a form of communication based on body language expressed through dance movements.  Allows muscles to relax in warm up, and allows people to express their emotions.
• Especially useful for children with physical disabilities like deafness, children with learning problems, adolescents struggling with pent-up emotions, people with communication problems, people who have difficulty forming relationships, and those who are mentally ill.

• Based on idea that the body is composed of different energy fields and that when the fields are disturbed or are blocked, people become ill.
• Energy therapists try to restore the body's health by locating the blocked fields then removing the blockage.
• Some therapists use specific devises to pinpoint the disturbance in the energy field, while others rely on touch, such as therapeutic touch, Reiki, and polarity therapy.
• Earliest writings are from China written about 2,500 to 5,000 years ago.  Hippocrates also mentioned the healing powers of "the force that flows from many people's hands."  The Austrian physician Franz Mesmer popularized this technique with his "magnetic healing" treatments in the 1700's.  It gained popularity again in the 1970's when nursing professor Dolores Krieger began using the hands-on healing technique she called therapeutic touch.
• Target ailments include headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, pain/chronic, PMS, and Stress.  It is also known to help people overcome addictions and to ease the pain and anxiety of pregnancy, childbirth, and surgery.

• Based on the idea that like cures like; substances causing specific symptoms in a healthy person can also cure symptoms in someone who is sick.  It encourages symptoms to run their course instead of suppressing them.
• Remedies come from plant, mineral, and animal extracts that are highly diluted in a way that makes toxicity impossible.
• Modern method founded in the 1790's by Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician.  In the fifth century, Hippocrates, a Greek physician, also mentioned a system of healing by "similars."
• Especially effective for non critical ailments and those that do not involve severe structural damage or organ destruction.
• Appropriate for diseases that no effective conventional treatment is available for, ailments that require continuous drug use (ex.  allergies, arthritis, and digestive problems), and for behavioral and emotional disorders.
• Target ailments include:  acute infection, ailments of infants and children, ailments of pregnant and lactating women, allergies, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, athletic injuries, back pain after childbirth, balance/coordination disorders, bladder infections, Cardiovascular disorders, circulatory disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, common cold, digestive disorders, diarrhea, earache, endocrine disorders, fever and chills, flue, food poisoning, hay fever, headache, hemorrhoids, infectious diseases, insomnia, menstrual problems, motion sickness, pain, pneumonia, PMS, relief of muscular aches and pains, sinusitis, skin eruptions, sore throat, and substance abuse.
• Ex.  Aconite (Aconitum napellus) is a plant that grows throughout the mountainous regions of Europe, Russia, and central Asia, which produces blue-violet flowers that hang from the stems like monks' cowls.  Highly toxic, it was the preferred poison of the ancient Greeks.  In small doses, it produces physical and mental restlessness and tissue inflammation.  It was prescribed to people who had similar symptoms as those effects of the poison.  The target ailments are:  angina, arrhythmia, anxiety induced by sudden shock, arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, colds and flu, croup, fevers with rapid onset and chills that may be accompanied by restlessness or thirst, eye inflammations with burning pain and sensitivity to light, laryngitis, sore throat, middle ear infection, toothaches with a sensitivity to cold water.

• Ancient Greek priests and healers used hypnotism to aid physical and mental ills.  Franz Anton Mesmer (as in mesmerize and mesmerism) (1734-1815), an Austrian doctor achieved fame by putting on public displays of hypnotism.  Then Scottish surgeon James Braid (1795-1860) used the Greek word hypnos (meaning sleep) to describe the trances that he induced on surgical patients.
• It is a trancelike state that is between a day-dream state and sleep.  The conscious mind is relaxed, capable of intense concentration, to allow the practitioner to make contact with the unconscious mind and bring about changes of attitude at a deeper level of consciousness.
• Used for treatment of:  addiction, alcoholism, allergies, amnesia, anorexia, anxiety, arthritis, back pain, bedwetting, bulimia, pain during childbirth, chronic fatigue syndrome, claustrophobia, colitis, depression, fear, flatulence, forgetfulness, gout, hay fever, hyperventilation, hysteria, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, jet lag, menstrual problems, migraines, mood swings, nervous disorders, pain, panic attacks, phobias, physchosomatic illnesses, sciatica, sexual problems, shock, skin disorders, smoking, snoring, stammering, stress, and warts.

-Iridology-

• The Hungarian doctor, Ignatz von Peczely (1826-1911) discovered a relationship between the eye and healing from illness.  It was noted in both animals and humans.  He published his discovery and by the early 1900's it had reached the US.  In the 1950's, Bernard Jensen, an American physician, created a chart that linked parts of the body to specific areas of the iris.
• It is diagnosis through observations of markings and changes on the iris in order to determine physical constitution, tissue weaknesses, and psychological traits.
• The iris is divided into seven zones; the right iris being comparable to the right side of the body and vice versa.
• There are 90 known specific areas on each iris, and each iris is different
• It can be used to see if a person is healthy, especially if a person refuses to undergo x-rays, biopsies, blood tests or other invasive and harmful diagnostic techniques.

• Discovered by George Goodhart while treating a patient suffering from pains in his leg.  He was massaging only one muscle, the patient's fascia lata (muscle that runs from hip to knee).  Began to match pressure points, pinpointed by osteopath Frank Chapman, to a set of related muscles.  He discovered that the fascia lata was the only one that lay directly under a pressure point.  He then took Terence J. Bennet, another osteopath's, work (which claimed that circulation of blood to various organs could be dramatically improved by touching the pressure points gently on a patient's skull) and found that by doing this, it also strengthened specific muscles.  After studying acupuncture, he decided that there are common energy channels (meridians) for organs and muscles.
• It is a series of major muscle group tests that locate weakness in specific muscles.  The findings can allow an early alarm to possible health problems, or to diagnose existing problems.
• Kinesiologists work on the principle that toxins collect in tissues near pressure points, causing tenderness and discomfort.
• Kinesiologists claim that their tests can spot muscle weakness caused by food allergies, mineral and vitamin deficiencies, and stagnation of body fluids which in turn hinder the lymphatic system and blood flow.
• Once a problem is spotted, using the fingertips, the kinesiologist can massage the appropriate pressure point on the body or scalp to revitalize the flow of energy and reestablish a healthy balance.
• Used to alleviate: allergies, back pain, catarrh, colds, depression, headaches, indigestion, mineral and vitamin deficiencies, muscle weakness, neck pain, sciatica, tension, and tiredness.

-Music Therapy-

• Music has been recognized as containing healing properties since ancient times.  Recent studies confirm it as useful as a therapy.
• Music stimulates peptides and endorphins that produce a pleasurable feeling.
• Music practitioners unlock or reveal deeply based emotional blocks through making music.  It aims to restore, maintain and improve mental and physical health.
• The idea is to allow people to make sounds and music until they reach a phase where they can express long-repressed negative feelings, like resentment, anger, or jealousy, or repressed positive sensations such as joy.
• The practitioner's job is to encourage and observe, as well as to ask questions to draw out need-revealing responses.
• Used for children and adults with physical or learning disabilities, who are mentally or emotionally disturbed or ill, it can benefit the elderly, and has also been claimed to help those with autism, breathing problems, nervous disorders, communication problems, schizophrenia, speech problems, and stress.

• Founded by Andrew Taylor Still (1828-1917).
• The belief that the true alignment of the human skeleton allows us to move and function easily and efficiently, and that misalignment is responsible for pain, discomfort, common ailments, and serious health problems.
• Osteopaths use their hands to massage and gently manipulate joints (manipulation a three-fold job:  to relieve tension in the affected muscles and ligaments and to restore them to their proper positioning, to improve circulation and stimulate the nervous system, and to improve body mechanics, such as posture), giving special attention to the vertebrae and discs between them.
• Used for treatment of:  arthritis, asthma, back pain, bronchitis, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, constipation, cramps, earache, endometriosis, fibrositis, flue, foot problems, gout, headaches, hearing problems, heartburn, hemorrhoids, joint problems, lumbago, menstrual problems, muscle cramps, neck pain, neuralgia, osteoarthritis, postural problems, pregnancy (lower back problems), prostate problems, sciatica, sinusitis, slipped disc, snoring, sports injuries (to ligaments, muscles, and joints), teeth grinding, tennis elbow, and varicose veins.

-Yoga-

• An ancient philosophy of life developed over the course of thousands of years in India.
• By practicing yoga's precepts (including ethical principles, dietary restrictions, and physical exercise) one can unite (bring into equilibrium) the mind, body, and the spirit.
• The spiritual aim is to free people from being at the mercy of every passing fancy, distraction, thought, or feeling, and to be able to cope with every day problems.
• There are many forms of yoga.
• Patanjali, a great yoga scholar, taught that there were eight essential aspects to yoga:  the first two concern living a moderate, peaceful, harmonious life, shunning excess and avoiding anything that harms others.  The second two concern exercises and breathing practices for mental well-being.  The last four are concerned with learning to detach oneself at will from everyday life in order to achieve a free, expansive state in which spiritual transformations allow one to experience the true nature of reality.
• It is thought to be a powerful health enhancer, aiding the body to become stronger and more resilient against disease and injury.
• Yoga can work every muscle, nerve, and gland in the body.  The postures stretch and strengthen muscles, massage internal organs, relax nerves, and increase blood circulation.
• Yoga brings relief from many ailments and diseases including:  alcoholism, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, blood pressure (high), bronchitis, diabetes, heart disease, hemorrhoids, hyperventilation, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, menopausal problems, migraines, nerve or muscle disease, obesity, osteoporosis, panic attacks, postnatal depression, Premenstrual tension, preparing mothers-to-be for natural childbirth, rheumatism, smoking, stress, and varicose veins.