Alternative 12 Steps: Nontheistic derivative of the Twelve Steps, expounded by Martha Cleveland, Ph.D., and Arlys G. in The Alternative 12 Steps: A Secular Guide To Recovery (1992). Three of their Steps affirm spiritual resources or spiritual energy.

(See also: Alternative 12 Steps , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

spirit healing (spiritual healing): therapeutic form of channeling whose proponents ascribe healing to divine power or to doctors in the spirit world.

(See also: Spirit healing , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

tai chi (tai chi chuan, Tai Ji, tai ji chuan, Tai Ji Juan, tai ji quan, Taiqi): A variation of self-healing. Tai chi is an ancient, yoga-like Chinese system of ballet-like exercises designed for health, self-defense, and spiritual development.

Practicing tai chi facilitates the flow of chi (life energy) through the body by dissolving blockages both within the body and between the body and the environment. Traditional tai chi involves about 108 to 128 postures, including repetitions. The difficulty lies in concatenating the postures into circular movements. Quan means boxing.

(See also: Tai chi , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

vibrational medicine (energetic medicine, energetics medicine, energy medicine, subtle-energy medicine, vibrational healing, vibrational therapies): Healing philosophy whose main tenet is that humans are dynamic energy systems (body/mind/spirit complexes) and reflect evolutionary patterns of soul growth.

Its principles include the following:

(a)   Health and illness originate in subtle energy systems.

(b)  These systems coordinate the life-force and the physical body.

(c)   Emotions, spirituality, and nutritional and environmental factors affect the subtle energy systems.

Vibrational medicine embraces acupuncture, aromatherapy, Bach flower therapy, chakra rebalancing, channeling, color breathing, color therapy, crystal healing, absent healing, Electroacupuncture According to Voll (EAV), etheric touch, flower essence therapy, homeopathy, Kirlian photography, laserpuncture, the laying on of hands, meridian therapy, mesmerism, moxibustion, orthomolecular medicine, Past-life Regression, Polarity Therapy, psychic healing, psychic surgery, radionics, the Simonton method, sonopuncture, Toning, Transcendental Meditation, and Therapeutic Touch.

The expressions energy healing, energy work, and energetic healing work appear synonymous with vibrational medicine.

(See also: Vibrational medicine , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

naturopathy (natural healing, natural health, natural medicine, natural therapies, nature cure, naturology, naturopathic healing, naturopathic health care, naturopathic medicine): Miscellany that encompasses auriculotherapy (ear acupuncture), Ayurveda, balneotherapy, bioelectronic diagnosis, biofeedback, cupping, electroacupuncture, fasting, the Grape Cure (and other mono-diets), hair analysis, herbalism, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, internal hydrotherapy (e.g., colonic irrigation), iridology, Jin Shin Do, Jungian psychology, macrobiotics, moxibustion, Oriental medicine, Ortho-Bionomy, orthomolecular psychiatry, thalassotherapy, Tuina, and zone therapy.

Naturopathy originated in the latter half of the nineteenth century, in Germany. Dr. John H. Scheel, a German-born homeopath, coined the word naturopathy in 1895, when he opened the Sanitarium Badekur in New York. Vitalism is fundamental to naturopathy.

(See also: Naturopathy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Mucusless Diet Healing System: Subject of Prof. Arnold Ehret's book of the same name. The Mucusless Diet Healing System encompasses the mucusless diet, fasting, enemas, eugenics, nude sunbathing, and sex psychology.

Ehret's formula of Life is V = P - O, where

• V stands for vitality,
• P for the power that keeps one alive, and
• for obstruction: all internal impurities.

(see: Bentonite Clay)

(See also: Mucusless Diet Healing System , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Norse magic: Western European magical tradition. It is a form of ritual magic that enlists:

(a)           the Aesir (Asa-Gods), whose mythical home is Asgard;

(b)           Light (helpful) elves;

(c)           good dwarves;

(d)           the rulers of the Elements; and (e) dead ancestors. Norse magic promotes mental, physical, and spiritual health.

(See also: Norse magic , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Self-Applied Health Enhancement Methods (SAHEM): Variation of self-healing developed by Roger Jahnke, C.A., O.M.D., author of The Healer Within: The Four Essential Self-Care Techniques for Optimal Health (HarperSanFrancisco, 1999). The methods fall into four categories: gentle movements and postures (e.g., tai chi); self-massage (e.g., auricular reflexology); breathing exercises; and (d) relaxation practices.

(See also: Self-Applied Health Enhancement Methods , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

2005-04-23

Creative Dance Therapy: Method taught by Kim Hirt and promoted by Life Spectrums, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is a means of exploring one's inner self, one's outer self, and their connection.

(See also: Creative Dance Therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

organic process therapy (OPT): way to rediscover one's body-feelings, mind, and spirit, and to return to one's unobstructed, unfractured Organic Self.

(See also: Organic process therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

somatic therapy (somatic disciplines, somatic methods, somatics, somatic techniques, somatic therapies): Field that encompasses aikido, the Alexander Technique, applied kinesiology, Arica, Aston-Patterning, Awareness Through Movement, bioenergetics, Body-Mind Centering, Capoeria, Continuum, CranioSacral Therapy, Eutony, Focusing, Functional Integration, Hakomi, Hellerwork, judo, karate, kundalini yoga, kung fu, Lomi (see lomi-lomi and Lomi work), Oki yoga (see Oki-Do), Process-Oriented Psychotherapy (process psychology), rebirthing, reflexology, Resonant Kinesiology, Rolfing, Rosen work (see Rosen Method), sensory awareness, SHEN, somasynthesis, tai chi, Touch for Health, Trager, Trans Fiber, yoga therapy, and Zero Balancing.

Subtle-energy elements are a commonality of somatic therapies. Thomas Hanna, founder of the journal Somatics, coined the word somatics.

(See also: Somatic therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Transformational Counseling (ASAT Transformational Counseling): Holistic system of facilitation taught by the American Association of Alternative Therapists (ASAT), in Rockport, Massachusetts. It encompasses Biogram Therapy, dream therapy, Parts Therapy, progression/regression therapy, and Psycho-Neuro Integration (PNI). the main premise of transformational counseling is that beliefs are the real cause of mental, physical, emotional, and etheric problems. (See ASAT C.O.R.E. Counseling.)

(See also: Transformational Counseling , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Seicho-No-Ie (SNI): Supradenominational truth movement founded in 1930 in Japan by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi (b. 1893), author of The Role of Mind in Cancer (1965) and The Truth of Life, a series of twenty books. Spiritual healing is a major component of Seicho-No-Ie, which combines Christianity and Buddhism.

In a nutshell, the principle of Seicho-No-Ie healing is that illness does not exist in Reality (the true spiritual world at the core of the phenomenal world) and that it is a false appearance. Seicho-No-Ie literally means House of Growth.

(See also: Seicho-No-Ie , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Jungian past-life therapy: Combination of Jungian psychology and past-life therapy promoted by Roger J. Woolger.

(See also: Jungian past-life therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Ki-Shiatsu/Oriental Bodywork (Ki-Shiatsu, Ki-Shiatsu/Oriental Bodywork Therapy, shiatsu oriental bodywork): Healing art encompassing manual and breathing techniques that balance-nurture the whole person.

(See also: Ki-Shiatsu/Oriental Bodywork , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

panchakarma (Pancha Karma therapy, rejuvenation therapy, Ayurveda): Ayurvedic group of five purificatory steps or elimination therapies. Panchakarma comprises:

(a)  emesis therapy (therapeutic vomiting);

(b)  purgation therapy - evacuation of the bowels with a laxative;

(c)  errhine therapy (nasal insufflation therapy) - intranasal application of decongestants such as medicated oils, powdered herbs, and ghee (fat derived from butter of cow or buffalo origin);

(d)  oily enema therapy; and

(e)  decoction (watery) enema therapy. Some Ayurvedists regard the two types of enema therapy as one step and bloodletting therapy (Raktamoksha) as the fifth.

See: Ayurveda

(See also: Panchakarma , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Viviano method: Approach to behavior modification developed by Dr. Ann Viviano, a New York psychologist, minister, reiki master, and NLP practitioner. It reportedly borrows from meditation, New Age mysticism, and quantum physics.

(See also: Witchcraft , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Chinese auricular therapy (Chinese auricular acupuncture, traditional Chinese auricular acu-points therapy, traditional Chinese auricular acupuncture, traditional Chinese auricular therapy): Group of TCM techniques whose channel theory differs from that of body acupuncture. Its apparent principle is that several areas and more than a hundred acupoints on the auricle (the outer portion of the ear) interactively relate to other areas or to diseases. The fetuslike contour of the auricle inspired the distribution of points thereon. Chinese auricular therapy, which differs from auriculotherapy, includes: auricular analgesia, auricular diagnosis, auricular magnetic therapy, auricular massage, auricular moxibustion, auricular point injection, the auricular point laser-stimulating method, bleeding manipulation, and the seed-pressure method.

(See also: Chinese auricular therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Kobayashi Technique (Applied Kobayashi Techniques, Kobayashi Techniques): rejuvenescent system promoted by Master Healer Ken Kobayashi. It encompasses acupuncture, Do-In, shiatsu massage, special diets, and the use of herbal tea preparations and the Shintsu-Riki (Healing Ki energy).

(See also: Kobayashi Technique , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

manifesting (conscious thought manifestation, conscious manifestation, creative manifestation, manifestation): Variable method for wish fulfillment that involves wholehearted visualization and positive thinking.

Its principle is that one can manifest (materialize) one's wants by consciously using the powers of the mind to design the mind's reality. Its theory posits Universal Life Energy.

(See also: Manifesting , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)