Well-being Dictionary

Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing

is a simple, hands-on healing technique in which practitioners use the first two fingers of both hands to lightly touch specific points on the body. The light touching of the correct points enhances the body's natural healing ability. This simple, easily learned technique complements other health care programs, and is effective from the first time one uses it.

(See also: Bio-Magnetic Touch Healing , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Watsu

is experienced in a very warm (approx. 94 degrees) pool where the client is held in the water by the practitioner and moved using the water to massage the body. Shiatsu (acupressure) points are stimulated along the meridians of the body during the massage.

Watsu is used for pain reduction, increased range of motion, increased circulation, psychological problems, relaxation and reduction of stress. It has been used to help individuals for rehabilitation of physical problems and disabilities, for pregnant mothers, the elderly, as well as for those who have suffered abusive relationships.

(See also: Watsu , 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)

ACUPRESSURE: Based on the principles of acupuncture, this ancient Chinese technique involves the use of finger pressure, rather than needles, on specific points along the body to treat ailments such as tension and stress, aches and pains, and arthritis.  Although the older of the techniques, acupressure tends to be overlooked as the Chinese developed more "technological" methods for stimulating points with needles and electricity. However, acupressure is a gentle yet powerful healing technique which relies on senitivity of touch to locate and release imbalances within the body. Acupressure continues to be more effective in relieving tension-related ailments.

Theory of accupressure

Acupressure focuses on the natural bioenergy or Qi (pronounced Chi) flowing through the body. The theory was developed that if a stimulus in the form of heat, pressure, or a needle was applied to specific points on the body, it would relieve the symptoms of many conditions. It was determined that these points were not random but followed energetic pathways along the body, and each one was linked to a particular internal organ.

Technique of accupressure

The practice of acupressure has developed primarily through a combination of instinct and hands-on experience. Its principles and healing techniques have also been influenced by individuals who could feel or see trigger points and meridian pathways. Some healers integrated breathing meditations and mudras (hand positions) while others added herbal remedies and massage. A series of gentle stretches, joint manipulations, and noninvasive pressure to different pressure points will stimulate the corresponding glands of the body to balance the flow of vital energy through the body, thus stimulating the body's natural healing ability. A combination of pressures applied by the palms, thumbs, elbows, and sometimes the knees and feet are used.

Although acupressure is a holistic treatment encompassing the mind, body, and spirit, on a physical level it can have the effect of improving the circulation and the flow of lymph. Acupressure also works directly on the central nervous system promoting relaxation, calmness, and a sense of well-being. This technique is also used for general preventive health care.

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

Asana:

Asana: "Seat; posture." In hatha yoga, asana refers to any of numerous poses prescribed to balance and tune up the subtle energies of mind and body for meditation and to promote health and longevity. Examples are the shoulder-stand (sarvangasana, "whole body pose") and the lotus pose (padmasana). Each asana possesses unique benefits, affecting the varied inner bodies and releasing energies in different parts of the nervous system. While the physical science of hatha yoga can dramatically influence health and general well-being, it is primarily a preparation for the deeper yogas and meditations.

(See also: Asana , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Biofield Therapeutics

Healing science, healing touch, SHEN therapy, therapeutic touch; 'medical chi gong'.

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

Chakra System

The chakras are the bodies centres of energy and vital to the well being of the whole person. They are the energy centres through which our spiritual and emotional energies flow.

The word ‘Chakra’ is taken from Hindi and means ‘wheel of energy’ There are seven chakras or energy centres within the body. Each Chakra has certain characteristics and influences a different aspect of the personality. The correct flow of energies through the chakras is vital for health. When the flow of Prana, or energy is blocked, disease results.

The Base Chakra, Mooladhara

This chakra controls the basic human survival instincts and provides an essential ‘grounding’. Our most basic human instincts originate from this Chakra.

The Sacral Chakra, Swadisthan Manipura

This is linked to sexuality and reproductive capacity.

The Solar Plexus, Nabhi

This chakra is said to direct our awareness of self within the world. This is the seat of our emotional life and existence.

The Heart Chakra, Anhata

Connected to love and compassion. This chakra is the centre of feelings of love, harmony and peace.

The Throat Chakra, Vishuddhi

Linked to individual creativity and communication.

The Brow Chakra, Ajjna

This chakra forms the seat of both intuition and awareness. It is seen as the seat of perception, often perception beyond our physical senses.

The Crown Chakra, Sahasrara

This chakra links to the persons spiritual connection with the universe around them, the link with the divine. This chakra also balances the interior and exterior energies of a person's existence, linking them to the world around them.

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

Light Body Activation

The 'Light Body,' as described by Katreena Kremer in A Primer for Light Body Activation, is the aspect of oneself of such high and subtle frequency that it interacts with dimensions beyond our usual reality. Light Body Activation is an evolutionary process, occurring on a global scale, by which the functioning of the Light Body infrastructure, deep within the core of the self, is re-established. As the self de-densifies and harmonizes with the new vibratory frequencies of Light it undergoes conscious initiation into a state of being beyond the third dimension.

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

Ayurveda

is the ancient traditional healing system of India. More than 5,000 years old, Ayurveda is the science of developing health, vitality and harmony within our body and environment.

Ayurveda teaches how to keep the physical body healthy, and how this health relates to our spiritual journey. The results of diagnostic procedures, such as mind-body typing (pitta, kapha, vata) and pulse analysis, are employed to develop an optimized lifestyle of dietary habits, herbal supplements and physical and meditative practices.

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

karma

Physical, verbal, or mental action; one's destiny as shaped by one's previous actions. Karma is more often used to imply the process of physio-psychic evolution, which is controlled by actions of body, speech, and mind.

According to the laws of karma, no experience is causeless; rather, everything that occurs has its seed in a previous action and every action sows its seed in a successive action that will eventually ripen in accordance with its nature. In brief, an evil deed produces the seed of future suffering, and good deed produces the seed of happiness.

Technically, karma is of two main types: contaminated and non-contaminated. The latter refers to a deed done with awareness of emptiness; this produces no effect on the doer. Contaminated karmas are bad, good, or steady, resulting in lower rebirth, good rebirth, and rebirth in the realm of form, respectively.

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

Acupuncture

is an ancient Chinese system of healing that views health as the balance within an individual's healing energy, or chi. Acupuncturists help chi move along pathways, known as meridians, that connect various organs and systems within the body. The uninterrupted and balanced flow of energy along these meridians contributes to one's overall health.

However, blockages and imbalances result in pain and illness. The acupuncturist inserts very fine, sterile needles at specific acupuncture points along the meridians to redirect and reposition the flow of energy. Instead of or in addition to needles, small rolled-up cones of moxa, the dried leaves of the mugwort plant, are often placed on the point and burned until heat is felt.

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

PRANA

the yogic concept of a cosmic energy or life force, similar to the Chinese idea of chi, that enters the body with the breath. Prana is thought to flow through the body, bringing health and vitality. It is considered the vital link between the spiritual self and the material self.

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

Rebirthing

is a healing process that uses consultation, affirmations and a specific technique of conscious, connected breathing to release patterns and beliefs that may prevent full realization of goals and desires.

Rebirthing can help clear limiting psychological conditions, release toxins and tensions from the body, restore the body's naturally functioning breathing, and promote an increased feeling of safety and comfort in the body.

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

Osteopath

A physican that practices Osteopathy. Since its founding, osteopaths have been of the opinion that the human body has an ability to heal itself and that poor health and disease could be as a result of something being wrong with the musculo-skeletal structure of the body.

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

Massage Therapy

This long-respected healing art has a history which stretches back thousands of years and spans the globe. The first written records of massage date from 3,000 years ago in China, although it is certain that the use of touch to heal and soothe extends back to the earliest human experience. To rub a sore muscle or stroke another in comfort is a natural human instinct; and the "laying on of hands" has been valued among spiritual and healing traditions throughout history.

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

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION

In the mid-nineteenth century, a man was born into the “Tradition of Masters” in India, and who later became a guiding light in the proliferation of knowledge of the cosmos. He was affectionately known as Guru Dev, and according to this tradition, after he had attained illumination, he was Master to a number of disciples, amongst whom was His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In 1958 Maharishi was directed by Guru Dev to teach Transcendental Meditation in the West, and so began a marvelous odyssey of one man to help bring peace to the world through this remarkable, formal technique of deep meditation. It is now believed that more than eight million people have learned this technique all over the world, and which has been rigorously subjected to more than five hundred research studies also all over the world, and by some of the world’s most prestigious medical establishments. And so has Transcendental Meditation been supported with all this scientific research, to show that a simple, easy, natural, and effortless mental technique can produce such remarkable physiological, mental and emotional responses.

By practicing Transcendental Meditation twice daily for twenty minutes each time, you can expect to feel relaxed, calm, energetic, dynamic, mentally alert, peaceful, efficient, and a sense of well being. The list is endless, but suffice it to say that this technique is one of the most powerful means we have to eliminate stress easily, naturally and effectively.

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

Intrasound™

Body care products which are infused with high frequency sound waves that bring the body into balance and promote healing on a cellular level.

(See also: Intrasound , 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)

Hypnotherapy

utilizes hypnosis in the treatment of many complaints: a symptom, disease, or addiction; chronic pain; emotional trauma and anxiety. Also used to bolster confidence, to instill positive thoughts and feelings, to prepare for competition.

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

Music Therapy

Music therapy is a scientific method of effective cures of disease through the power of music. It restores, maintains and improves emotional, psychological and physiological well being. The articulation, pitch, tone and specific arrangement of swars (notes) in a particular raga (melody) stimulates, alleviates and cures various ailments.

Music therapy has a long history dating back to ancient Greece. King David's curing an illness by playing the harp would count for the same in the Old Testament. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used it extensively. In ancient Egypt pain of childbirth was reduced thus. In Indian legends Thyagaraja, the famous south Indian musician is believed to have sung back life into the dead. And in 1729 Richard Browne compiled the well-known Medicina Musica.

Music can be defined as "…a kind of inarticulate, unfathomable speech which leads us to the edge of the infinite and lets us for a moment gaze into that." Basically a sound (nada) generating particular vibrations which moves through space and effects the human body. In classical Indian system it usually takes the form of a raga which has four sources - folk songs, poetry, devotional songs of mystics and compositions of classical musicians.

Ragas are closely related to time of the day and seasonal changes and emotional status. Symphonies of raga have a definite soothing effect on the mind as well as the body. The muscles, nerves and chakras of affected parts go through alternate contraction and relaxation during impulses and the in-between intervals respectively. This enables energy from a universal energy field to flow into human energy field and affect the central nervous system - roots of auditory nerves being more widely distributed than any other. Also beats in music have a close relation with heart beats with those below the pulse rate calm & relax the system and those above excite & rejuvinate.

While ragas can cure tension, blood pressure, heart ailments, insomnia and other disorders, it should be kept in mind that such therapy treatment should be conducted either early morning, evening or late night, never long sessions on an empty stomach and ideally with regular short breaks in between.

(See also: Music Therapy   , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

FAITH

Current sloppiness of language attaches the same simple-minded and lackluster meaning to "belief" and "faith" alike. Faith is not a synonym for superstition, nor does it even mean strong belief. It is a state of mind characterized by a supreme trust in the rightness of whatever may happen and a sublime indifference to one's future well-being or survival. It need not be based on any religion at all. It doesn't even have to be specific.

(See also: FAITH , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Homeopathy

A therapeutic system of medicine that is based on the principle of similars- like cures like - which means that a substance that can cause certain symptoms in a healthy person can cure similar symptoms in an unhealthy person.

Homeopathy aims to aid and stimulate the body's own defense and immune processes. Homeopathic medicines are derived from a variety of plants, animal materials and minerals. These medicines are prescribed to fit each individual's needs, given in much smaller and less toxic doses than traditional medications, and are used for both prevention and treatment. Established 200 years ago by German physician Samuel Hahneman, and is recognized by the World Health Organization as the second largest therapeutic system in the world.

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