Nursing, Holistic: Trained in regular nursing programs, practitioners apply the principles of holistic medicine (see above) to their care of patients, incorporating many natural therapeutic techniques along with standard nursing practices.

(See also: Nursing, Holistic, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Holistic

Dealing with the patient as a whole human being-physical, mental, emotional, spiritual- as distinct from conventional medicine's view that physical ailments are separate and unrelated to non-physical aspects such as emotional state and belief system.

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

BEYOND MEDICINE (Future Medicine): Multi-dimensional approach promoted by Shoshana Margolin, M.A., N.D., D.H.M., P.M.D., author of the 400-page Homeopathy - Medicine of the Future, Futuristic Medicine, and Beyond Medicine, the Multi-Dimensional Approach. BEYOND MEDICINE is a group of nonmedical modalities, including Biological Archeology, full-spectrum homeopathy, holistic girth control, holographic bio-analysis, and physical and nutritional re-balancing. One of its principles is that people are multi-dimensional Beings.

(See also: BEYOND MEDICINE, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

holistic nursing (wholistic nursing): Form of nursing that exalts intuition and may include AMMA Therapy, biofeedback, guided imagery, Healing Touch, homeopathy, iridology, massage therapy, Oriental medicine (especially acupuncture), psychic healing, tai chi, and/or Therapeutic Touch. Its goal is integration of body, mind, and spirit.

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

Chinese Medicine: One of the oldest forms of holistic medicine. This complete system seeks to balance the flow of life force energy or qi through the use of acupuncture, herbs, massage therapy, exercise and food therapy.

(See also: Chinese Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

VIBRATIONAL HEALING - VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE: promotes healing by balancing the bodyÕs energy field. Can include acupuncture, homeopathy, flower essences, sound & color healing, crystals, gems, aromatherapy, and energy-based bodywork (Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Polarity Therapy).

(See also: Vibrational Healing & Vibrational Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Western medicine:

a term used by holistic health care practitioners to describe allopathic medicine, orthodox medicine, or the way medicine has traditionally been practiced in the United States and Europe. The basis for the separation and division of the mind and the body along with the diseased part from the whole is the Descartian system of analytic, reductive reasoning with human beings divorced from nature. Pharmaceutical products and surgery are the major modalities used to combat disease.

(See also: Western medicine, Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

Chinese Medicine: A holistic perspective on health and illness which treats the relationship of a symptom to the person as a whole. Traditional Chinese medicine encompasses a vast range of therapies including acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, exercise and diet.

(See also: Chinese Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Integrative Medicine: Unlike conventional doctors, integrative medical practitioners take a holistic approach to healing. Rather than treating symptoms, these practitioners seek out the root of the problem and may use a combination of conventional and alternative therapies in order to restore the body to optimum health.

(See also: Integrative Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Ayurvedic medicine:

5,000-year-old system of holistic and preventive medicine from India that treats illness as an imbalance or stress in the awareness of the individual, along with an imbalance of the doshas. The ayurvedic tradition employs diagnostic procedures such as reading the pulse and observing the tongue. Nutrition counseling, yoga, massage, herbal medicine, meditation, and other modalities are used to treat a broad spectrum of ailments in reaching a balanced state of inner harmony, health, and natural well-being.

(See also: Ayurvedic medicine, Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

Osteopathic Medicine

Today, the training of M.D.'s and Osteopaths (D.O.'s) is strikingly similar, but Osteopathic is a holistic discipline which emphasizes prevention and the individual, not just disease. Osteopath philosophy is based on the belief that the body cures itself, and doctors should see the relationship between structure and function, with a special emphasis on the musculo-skeletal system. Osteopaths are licensed to adjust the bones of the body, and manipulate the body, and they may also prescribe medications, give injections, and perform surgery.

(See also: Osteopathic Medicine, Alternative Health, Healing, Body Mind and Soul)

Chinese medicine (Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM): Ancient holistic system whose basics include herbology, nutrition, and the concepts of acupuncture meridians, the Five Elements (Five Phases), and yin and yang.

Traditional Chinese Medicine theory posits both Organs (the Triple Burner, for example) and Substances (such as Shen, or Spirit) for which scientific evidence is absent. Variations and hybrids of Chinese medicine include Korean medicine, Tibetan medicine, and Vietnamese traditional medicine.

Chinese medicine probably originated about 2,000 years ago, but it became dogmatic and stagnated for centuries; overall its development has been slow. It probably stems from shamanism. The basis of Chinese medicine is Taoism, a religion according to which spirits (shen) inhabit the human body and take care of its functions. The foundational text of Chinese medicine - known as the Classic of Internal Medicine, the Huangdi Neijing, the Inner Classic, the Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor, the Neiching, the Nei Jing, The Yellow Emperor's Classic, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, and the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon - was completed by the first century C.E.

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

Ayurvedic Medicine: Ayurvedic medicine is India’s traditional, natural system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. The patient is classified according to three metabolic body types: vata, pitta and kapha. This complete holistic health system for mind, body, and spirit treats the patient as a whole rather than treating symptoms alone. It works as a preventative means of coping with imbalance and disease.

(See also: Ayurvedic Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Naturopathy integrates a wide range of natural therapeutics emphasizing the healing power of nature to treat the causes of disease, rather than suppressing the symptoms.

As part of a holistic medical healthcare system with an emphasis on education and prevention, the naturopathic physician seeks to motivate the individual toward a healthy and balanced diet, lifestyle, and mental attitude.

Treatments such as homeopathic medicines, clinical nutrition, traditional Oriental medicine, and acupuncture are used to enhance the body’s natural healing process.

(See also: NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE, Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Naturopathic Medicine: Adhering to the principles of holistic medicine, naturopathic doctors can use various natural methods to treat patients, including nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, homeopathy and lifestyle counseling. In many states, naturopathic doctors (ND) are legally defined as physicians licensed to diagnose and treat in a general family practice. Some NDs are also licensed midwives or licensed acupuncturists.

(See also: Naturopathic Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Naturopathic Medicine: Adhering to the principles of holistic medicine, naturopathic doctors can use various natural methods to treat patients, including nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, homeopathy and lifestyle counseling. In the state of Washington, naturopathic doctors (ND) are legally defined as physicians licensed to diagnose and treat in a general family practice. Some NDs are also licensed midwives or licensed acupuncturists.

(See also: Naturopathic Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

HOLISTIC/WHOLISTIC

an adjective meaning targeted to the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. Wholistic medicine considers not only physical health but also the emotional, spiritual, social, and mental well-being of the person.

(See also: WHOLISTIC, Alternative Health, Healing, Body Mind and Soul)

aromatherapy (aromatic medicine, conventional aromatherapy, holistic aromatherapy): Branch of herbal medicine that centers on using fragrant substances, particularly oily plant extracts, to alter mood or to improve individuals' health or appearance. The benefits of aromatherapy range from stress relief to enhancement of immunity and the unlocking of emotions from past experiences. Although aromatherapy has ancient roots, proponents did not call it aromatherapy before the 1930s. It derives from the French word aromathŽrapie, coined by RenŽ Maurice GattefossŽ, a French chemist whose book of the same name was published in 1928. After a lab explosion GattefossŽ conveniently plunged his badly burned hand into a vat of lavender oil. He noticed how well it healed, and thus began the development of modern aromatherapy, which French homeopaths Dr. and Mme. Maury revived in the 1960s.

In aromatherapy substances are essential oils (oils that are volatile, aromatic, and flammable) from flowers, fruits, grasses, leaves, roots, and wood resins. Manners of use of such oils include sniffing, ingestion, addition to bathwater, and application to the skin (typically with massage). One of aromatherapy's principles is that essential oils have a spiritual dimension and can restore balance and harmony both to one's body and to one's life. One of its principles, the doctrine of signatures, holds that a plant's visible and olfactory characteristics reveal its secret qualities. For example, because the configuration of the violet suggests shyness, aromatherapists hold that its scent engenders calmness and modesty. Some proponents have characterized essential oils as the soul or spirit of plants.

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

QUANTUM THERAPY: advanced non-medical modality promoted by Shoshana Margolin, M.A., N.D., P.M.D. (see BEYOND MEDICINE). It includes Holistic Testing in which one allows determination by the body's internal wisdom of what is most suitable for recovery.

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

Meditation:

a technique of mind control with the goals of feeling an inner calm and peacefulness, profound experiences of self-realization and transcendental awareness. Meditation is a discipline found in many of the world's religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, but it is also advocated by many practitioners of holistic health for its impact on stress-related disease.

(See also: Meditation, Alternative Medicine, Body Mind and Soul)

Veterinary & Holisic Animal Services: Holistic veterinarians adher to the principles of holistic medicine, choosing to emphasize the use of safe natural methods when treating animals.

(See also: Veterinary & Holisic Animal Services, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)