What is holistic therapy?
Some definitions
| holistic |
Holistic therapy is a generic term for any treatment / therapy session that is intended to treat the individual as a whole on all levels - mind, body and spirit. Most complementary or alternative therapies could be regarded as holistic. |
| alternative |
When an alternative medicine or therapy is used alone or instead of conventional medicine, it is called "alternative". Alternative medicine or therapy is outside the realm of conventional modern medicine. |
| complementary |
When treatment or therapy is done alongside or in addition to conventional medicine, it is referred to as "Complementary Medicine" as the two practices complement each other. |
| allopathic |
Conventional allopathic medicine is particularly successful for acute conditions and surgical repair or removal where a particular body part or organ receives specific attention. Drugs may be used as part of the treatment of both acute and chronic conditions although patients may sometimes suffer side effects which vary in intensity. In chronic as well as acute conditions the drugs alleviate the symptoms the patient is experiencing. |
What is the role of complementary therapy beside
conventional medicine?
Complementary therapies work with conventional allopathic medicine to ensure that the client/patient receives the best possible
energy work to bring the client into a place of vibrant well-being.
The origins of holistic therapy
Holistic Therapies have been around for thousands of years. The Chinese have known about the energy flowing through the meridians for over 4,000 years and developed acu-puncture to tap into and unblock the energy flows. Chinese Medicine uses acu-puncture and herbal remedies while from the Indian sub-continent we have Ayurveda - 'the Science of Life' - a system that has been around for 5,000 years.
Ayurveda deals with the principles for maintaining good energy balance and has developed a wide range of therapeutic measures to combat
disturbances within the body. These principles relate to
mind-body and spirit of human beings.
The North American Indians practised herbal medicine as did many of the 'wise' women in Europe.
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The developments of understanding and practice of holistic therapies in the 20th Century
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During the 20th Century many new holistic therapies emerged - Dr
Bach, the originator of the Bach Flower Essences, opened the way
for essences to be made from flowers, trees, crystals, light, sound,
and the sea. All these essences work to strengthen the existing energy
pathways.
Sound and Colour therapies are very effective therapies which have
come into prominence during the last 20 years.
Kinesiology stems from work done by an Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr Robert W.Lovett, from Boston, Massachusetts in 1920′s, although kinesiology itself originates with Aristotle (384- 322 B.C.) who is named the ”Father of Kinesiology”. |
One of the most exciting developments
for holistic therapies occurred in the USA when Dr. George Goodheart established the link
between meridian flow and muscle function.
The
origins of kinesiology
Kinesiology means "the study of movement". As a treatment
system, it involves testing muscles through their range of
movement and correcting any weaknesses detected. Because
muscles are linked to internal organs and to meridians in the
Chinese model of medicine, disturbances in muscle function
will flag up problems in internal function and energy flow
round the body. Correcting a weak muscle will improve
energy flow in the related meridian and function in the
related organ.
There are several types of kinesiology and they vary mainly
according to how corrections are carried out when a muscle
is found to unlock when tested.
In Health Kinesiology™
(HK)BioEnergy corrections are done by gently holding or
tapping acupuncture points with the fingertips.
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HK uses muscle testing and verbal questioning to pinpoint what is
unbalancing
the BioEnergy
System of the body sufficiently to cause
energy disturbances. Dis-ease
can be created from
the following:
toxins like heavy metals and solvents which the body is failing to eliminate,
allergens, electro-magnetic fields, micro-organisms, the body's misreading of its own bio-chemicals, and psychological factors such as worries, fears, or limiting assumptions a person
may have about themselves or other people.
When the body is in contact with a factor that stresses it, a muscle being tested will lose
tone slightly and unlock. This unlocking of the tested muscle indicates that some part of the
body is being deprived of its BioEnergy supply, or is in some way
confused about how it should function.
The effect of a stress can be likened to the shorting of an electrical circuit which results in a
power failure or over energising resulting in a fire.
The stress or linked group of stresses is defined by muscle testing. The body has the
intelligence to flag up the imbalances that most need to be dealt with in the order to be
more capable of addressing them. Muscle testing is then used to identify which acupuncture
points to gently hold or tap while the person is under the influence of the relevant stressor.
Holding the appropriate points on the body re-tunes the BioEnergy flow and instructs the body to correct the BioEnergy supply to the relevant part of the BioEnergy system that is struggling so that it can regain normal functioning. The corrective process continues for some days and when complete, makes for a permanent improvement in well-being.
Sometimes the body benefits from small changes in habit to do with rest, sleep, work,
recreation and fluid or food intake. HK calls these "adjunctive factors" and they are identified
via muscle testing. They can be as important as the corrections done during the session by
holding or tapping the appropriate acupuncture points and they should be taken seriously to
achieve the full results.
Why do so many people want to train in H K ?
More and more people from all walks of life are suddenly having the urge to make complete
career changes and move into the field of complementary therapy. They may,
through this have had help for a
BioEnergy disturbance
of their
own and are motivated to want to help and make a difference to other people's lives.
The number of people training as Health Kinesiology™ practitioners is growing steadily, but
interest in kinesiology is growing even faster. The Health Kinesiology™ UK web site attracts
over 3000 plus visitors each month. Many of them are people who are looking for a local HK
practitioner.
There are still many parts of the country where we need more practitioners. Maybe there is an
opportunity for you to help us fill this gap. Check out the area where you live, using the map
link opposite.
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Classes
in action.
Would you like to see some of the
many photographs taken at some
recent health kinesiology classes?
Just click the image on the left for a series or
pictures that are a bit too big to fit on this page layout.
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A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Some people refer to all non-conventional therapies
as being New Age - in the same context as everyone who is non-conformist
in the social sense was once called a drop-out or a Hippy.
In fact, the principles and thinking behind
complementary therapy go back some 4,000 years.......
In both India and China, it was accepted that
wellness and dis-ease were opposite forces where wellness held
dis-ease in balance. Therefore they realised that the focus should
be on achieving balance and harmony of body, mind and spirit
as a means of maintaining balance and vitality and keeping
dis-ease at bay. This is the origin of the yinyang symbol of the
sun and moon - opposites in harmony.
In the West, the science of medicine evolved
slowly from the Middle Ages - the days of potions, alchemy and
blood letting. In the C18th and C19th centuries in Europe, there
was great excitment and interest in discovering how the various
body parts fitted together. The body
was thought of as a self-regulating mechanism, composed of its
constituent parts. When one of the parts went wrong, then others tended to go out of balance too.
The C20th century saw the emergence of drug companies
that grew as a result of the perpetual search for new remedies
that could be produced in the laboratory, then mass produced
in special factories, to supply a growing health service.
The focus of the Health Service today is on treating
those who are unwell, primarily with medical intervention using
drugs and where necessary, with surgery.
In the West, there is
generally suspicion and sometimes hostility from many
doctors towards complementary therapies , although some therapies
like acupuncture and chiropractic are gaining acceptance in many
countries.
Acupuncture in the West
There
is an interesting article on how acupuncture came to the West
in the 1970's on this page: www.michaelrossoff.com/
acup-history.htm
TIMELINE:
KINESIOLOGY
The main principle used
in kinesiology is muscle testing.
The principle of muscle testing came from Kendall and Kendall's
kinesiology
research in the late 1940's. Then in the 1960's George Goodheart developed it,
finding a relationship between muscles, organs and meridians and
called it Applied Kinesiology.
In the 1970's John Thie simplified
it, driven by the urge to make it available to everyone to help
themselves, friends and family.
Today, known as Touch For Health, it is also the foundation training
course for all kinesiologists.
You can read more about Touch for Health on
the founder's web site: www.touch4health.com/
HEALTH KINESIOLOGY
Jimmy Scott Ph.D started developing
the Health Kinesiology™ System
of Bio-Energetic Kinesiology in 1978, following his Ph D in Physiological
Psychology. You can read more about its development on the following
page of this web site: Here
Health
Kinesiology™ in UK
The Health Kinesiology™ UK web site contains
over 100 pages of information, explanations, case studies, testimonials,
useful links, a schedule of training courses etc. Many practitioners have also taken
the option of having their own web page attached to
the site.
See: www.hk4health.co.uk/
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