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Alternative Systems
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Alternative
Systems
A large section of the world’s population believes in
traditional medicine, despite the great advancements in allopathic
medicine. India has produced some well defined systems of medicine.
Indian systems of medicine hold that health is a dynamic process,
not just an absence of disease. These systems are more patient
centered (the personality of the patient as significant as what
the problem is) and less invasive. The idea that health involves
both the mind and body, emphasized in Indian philosophy and
medicine is getting worldwide attention today. Research is underway
in many schools of alternative medicine to cope with modern
maladies.
WebHealthCentre.com presents salient features of the following
alternative therapies and their relevance to common disease
conditions. Each section has been compiled by an expert in the
field.
Safeguards
Things to remember when adopting Alternative Therapy:
- Find out more about the practitioner and his/her qualifications.
- Meet patients who have been treated by the practitioner.
Do not go by claims in advertisements or newspaper articles.
- Discuss the possible side effects and worst case scenarios
with the practitioner. Get a second opinion, if possible.
- Though there has been much research in many fields of
alternative medicine, empirical double blind studies where
processes and results have been documented are few.
- See that the equipment such as acupuncture needles are
new/sterilized ones.
- If you are prescribed medication check the list of ingredients.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture/Acupressure.
Acupressure and Acupuncture are similar except for the fact
that in Acupuncture, the influential points are punctured by
needles where as in Acupressure the same points are pressed
by fingertips or other suitable appliances. As the basic principles
of both are same, in the information here, both terms are used
interchangeably.
Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese art of healing is experiencing
a revival.
Acupuncturists claim success in healing many diseases, which
are resistant to conventional forms of therapy. They also claim
that it is a simple, safe, effective and economical form of
therapy.
The evolution of Acupressure seems natural if we consider our
natural reaction to pain. We press the painful point. It is
said that experiences of soldiers also contributed to the evolution
of Acupressure and Acupuncture. Soldiers observed that arrows
which pierced specific parts of the body cured long standing
ailments of some other parts of the body.
Atma
Gnana - The Healer within.
Drugless
therapy through Atma Gnana Yoga
Stress and side effects of modern drugs are probably the twin
causes of a large percentage of ailments today.
We seldom let bygones be bygones. By brooding over the past
and being anxious about the uncertain future, we keep accumulating
a lot of tension, which manifests as psychosomatic diseases
that are incurable by medication. Medicines at best only serve
as palliative.
Atma Gnana Yoga
(AGY) is an experiential programme for ten days and two
hours each day. The purpose of the program is to realize the
divinity within ourselves and make us see only godliness and
goodness in others.
Being a simple, process-oriented program involving no stretching
or contraction of limbs such as Yogasanas, even a ninety-year-old
person can benefit by this program.
It has been designed in such a manner that practice of Pranayama
and Meditation for 15 to 20
minutes every day cures and prevents several physical and mental
ailments.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda means 'Knowledge of Life'. This system of medicine
is derived from philosophical theories propounded in India over
2,000 years ago. More than being a system of treatment this
system's thrust is the prevention of disease, through a harmony
in body composition.
The basic concept of ayurveda is that the body is composed of
three principles: pittha, kapha and vatha. These are called
the tridoshas. Each dosha is located in a certain organ of the
body and is a combination of the five natural resources (earth,
fire, water, air and space or ether). Depending on the predominance
of a particular dosha, an individual falls into a particular
character type and is prone to particular types of diseases.
For example people of the pittha type are said to be hot tempered
and competitive. They are thought to be more prone to ulcers
and rashes.
Depending on the analysis of the patient type, ayurveda advises
a particular diet, treatment and care. There are different types
of treatments in ayurveda.
History
of Homeopathy
Homoeopathy was discovered in Germany 200 years back by Dr.
Samuel Hahnemann.
He was a physician. However, he was getting disenchanted with
the kind of treatment doctors gave patients in his days. Most
of it involved purging, one way or another. Patients were given
laxatives, emetics or were made to bleed, in an attempt to cure
diseases. Hahnemann gave up medicine and worked as a chemist
.
He was also a scholar fluent in 14 languages. While he was translating
the work of a doctor he came across the detail that the bark
of the Cinchona tree could cure malaria. The doctor’s
arguments on the way this worked set Hahnemann thinking.
Having a scientific mind, he decided to experiment. He ate a
bit of a Cinchona bark and noted it produced symptoms similar
to malaria. He gave the same bark to few of his friends and
relatives and they experienced malaria like symptoms. But whenever
a patient came with malaria, administration of this bark cured
the disease condition!
He continued experimenting with different medicinal substances.
He noticed that those that produced symptoms similar to a disease
were capable of treating the disease. He formulated the principle:
SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURENTUR. (LIKE
Cures LIKE).
Homoeopathy was born.
Reiki
At every stage of human evolution we are given certain tools
to help us deal with our problems at that particular time.
Life today is more complicated than it used to be. We go through
complex and stressful situations. What we are now looking for
is something that will help us cope with life and live it as
it should be lived; in peace, joy, harmony and abundance.
There is an increasing awareness today that health deals with
much more than the physical body. The mind and spirit are equally
involved. It is actually “a healthy body in a healthy
mind” rather than the other way around. This awareness
has led to a search for healing systems that lay emphasis on
holistic health. Reiki is one such energy healing system that
brings about very positive and extensive changes in our health,
general well being and way of life, if practised regularly.
SiddhaSiddha, simply means perfection. A sense of mystery prevails
about siddhars, or people who achieved siddhi. They were philosophers,
healers and people with supernatural powers. While they were
reputed to be miracle men, the medical science they practised
is surprisingly well documented. In the recent times Siddha
medicine has revived.
Siddha medicine was developed by the ancient Tamils, Dravidian
people who lived in South India. The early Tamil epics mention
poets who were also medical men. In the seventh and 12th centuries
A.D. bhakti literature blossomed, so did medicine. This was
the period when most famous siddhars lived. Surgery was well
developed.
Kambaramayanam observes,
- Incising the haematoma,
blood letting was done
followed by cauterization and
healing it by external application.
According to Dawson's dictionary on Hindu mythology, Siddhars
were revered as much as the magi in Europe were. They were people
who strove for spiritual well being to achieve the highest goal
in life. Siddha, in fact, seems to be the by-product of certain
gifted people's quest for spiritual fulfilment.
Attempts are being made to reinvent this ancient form of healing
to deal with the ailments of today.
Yoga
Yoga is primarily a philosophical science, born out of man's
need to fathom the meaning of existence. Patanjali, the father
of yoga, states in the second sutra, (the yoga sutras):"Yogah
cittavrtti nirodhah." (yogah = integration of all levels
of our being; citta = consciousness; vrtti = fluctuation or
state of mind; nirodhah = restraint) - meaning, "Yoga is
the cessation of consciousness." The ultimate aim of yoga
is self-evolution. In ancient times, when people lived the yogic
way, good health was the natural result of their lifestyle.
But, as health deteriorated with man's changing values, yoga
gained ground in its use as therapy.
Patanjali explained that uncertain action, giving rise to violence,
whether done directly or indirectly, or condoned, is caused
by greed, anger, or delusion in different degrees. This causes
endless pain and ignorance. Through introspection comes an end
to pain and ignorance. This sutra explains the essence of the
genesis of ill-health in today's world and also the method of
management. Diseases are due not just to physical reasons but
to decay in moral standards also. So the curative methods, should
not be confined to the material plane alone. |
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