Alternative Medical Treatments Blog » Natural

Rolfing, Yoga, and Common Objectives

Andrew — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:32:31 +0000

There a re many similarities between rolfing and yoga, both in theory and in practice. Not only do both of these natural therapies involve the use of movement to strengthen the body, they both also employ breathing methods to lower stress in the body and to improve the body’s internal functions. But some of the most interesting similarities come in the common objectives of yoga and rolfing.

Both rolfing and yoga practices share purposes like the improvement of flexibility, coordination, and body posture and alignment. Many practitioners of both rolfing and yoga find they have greatly lowered stress levels, and they also can find relief from physical problems like breathing difficulties and chronic pain. One of the biggest benefits from both of these practices is increased energy, and along with increased body awareness, both practices bring about all-around wellbeing.

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Healing Your Body Naturally: Starting at the Bottom

Andrew — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:31:13 +0000

For most things in life, be it a work project, a school assignment, or a home repair task, the best thing to do is to start at the top and work your way down. This usually ensures that everything will get done one time and correctly. Unfortunately, this is not that way that body cleansing should work. The best thing to do when you begin detoxifying your body is to start at the bottom.

Cleansing the colon is the beginning of the long process of detoxification. This is because the colon can become built up, or even backed up, with waste. And if no waste is leaving the body, you body is not cleaning itself properly. After you have used a colon cleansing method recommended by a professional natural health practitioner, you can build up your immune system and internal organs with a natural food diet.

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Healing Your Body Naturally: Antioxidants

Andrew — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:08:02 +0000

Green and leafy. These are two of the most important things to remember when you are looking for foods high in antioxidants. But this is really not new information for most people, especially those who are natural healing proponents. But many people still aren�t sure why antioxidants are good for the body, or how they help.

Antioxidants boost the immune system. Basically, antioxidants help to protect the body at the cellular level. This can lower your risk of illnesses and infections. The chlorophyll in green, leafy vegetables will also help to protect the internal organs from damage. Plus, antioxidants promote the cleansing of the colon. It is important to take into consideration where your green, leafy vegetables come from; poor environmental conditions in the growing area can lower the vegetable’s ability to provide you with antioxidants. If this is a concern, take an antioxidant supplement.

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Should We Be Skeptical of Iridology?

Andrew — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:51:09 +0000

It is believed that the human iris cannot change during the course of a person’s life. The iris forms when the person is still in the uterus, and though there can be some color changes within the iris during the first year of a person’s life, this is generally the only natural change that occurs. Some glaucoma patients get iris variations after treatment, but there are no other changes to the iris, despite illness. This, of course, brings about the question what is the iridologist looking at if a person’s eye never changes?

Iridologists and proponents of iridology generally feel that the problems a person has, particularly illnesses, can be determines by whatever variations are visible in the iris. They do not necessarily look for changes in the iris. However, it can also be argued that if the iridologist is not looking for changes, he is not able to diagnose any illnesses at all.

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Healing Your Body Naturally: Drug Difficulties

Andrew — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:52:57 +0000

There is a lot that can be said for natural healing and alternative medical therapies. While some therapies don’t have very conclusive research results, the benefits of some of these therapies are often a much better option than resulting to traditional medicine and the prescription drug market.

It is a fact that there are an increasing number of problems resulting from prescription drug abuse, overuse, and misuse. While prescription drug abuse falls on the patient, overuse and misuse falls on the doctor and the drug companies. Many drugs are prescribed for illnesses that will not respond to drug therapy. Other drugs are given in doses that are higher than needed, risking the patient’s overall health. And some physicians prescribe contraindicated drugs to a patient causing serious medical problems. Of course this is not to say that prescription drugs are bad; they should be used for their intended, proven purposes, especially in emergencies.

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Consistency and Reflexology

Andrew — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:23:55 +0000

With most therapies, whether they are traditional medical therapies, physical therapies, alternative therapies, or natural therapies, consistency is key. Keeping up with treatments that help you feel better and lessen or relieve your symptoms is the ideal way to help your body deal with an illness.

Reflexology, like other alternative therapies such as massage therapy, should be done regularly if the patient is to reap long-lasting benefits. In China, reflexology is done six times a week for a period of two weeks; then the patient is reevaluated to see what his or her status is. For home reflexology, it can be as easy as having your partner give you a hand massage every night before bed, or using a foot roller while you watch TV or eat dinner. The best way to boost the efficacy of reflexology is to do it consistently, even if that is only for five or ten minutes every day.

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Criticizing Reiki

Andrew — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:24:43 +0000

As with almost all other forms of alternative medicine and natural healing therapies, reiki is subject to come criticism. While there are no known direct negative effects of receiving reiki treatment, some members of the professional medical community fear that recipients of reiki (and other alternative medicine therapies) might forgo conventional methods of treatment in favor of the reiki treatment. While this is certainly a legitimate concern, many reiki practitioners have begun to advise their patients to seek conventional medical help in addition to receiving reiki.

Of course, there is no complete, definitive evidence proving the validity or efficacy of reiki. Most of the benefits reaped from reiki are attributed to mindset and the placebo effect. While this may be true, it is definitely not harmful to the patient. Some of the most disturbing criticism comes from religious circles that deplore reiki as a method of communicating with “Satan” or other occult practices. This should be viewed as subjective as reiki is not directly linked with established religion in any way.

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The Philosophy of Herbalism

Andrew — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:25:32 +0000

Herbalists, or practitioners of herbal medicine, believe in the use of herbal medicines to treat common medical complaints. This is not to say that herbalists do not use, or believe in the use of, conventional pharmaceutical medications. Many herbalists simply think that the use of pharmaceuticals should be limited to emergency situations.

So the question remains, why do herbalists believe in the use of herbs to treat everyday problems and illnesses? Many herbal medicines are thought to actually help the person not only defeat the symptoms of a cold or other medical problem, but to actually help build a resistance to the illnesses. Herbs can do this because they provide natural and nutritional benefits to the person as opposed to introducing foreign chemicals to the person’s body. Herbs can also boost the human immune system, which in turn helps the person build resistance to disease.

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Rolfing and Yoga: Are There Drawbacks?

Andrew — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:09:39 +0000

There has always been a lot of controversy over natural healing and alternative medicines. And while some of the criticisms are founded in actual concern for the patient � such as physicians being concerned that seriously ill people will not seek traditional medical help – other criticisms are not realistic.

There has been almost no research to show that the average person won’t reap some kind of benefit from both rolfing and yoga. Be the benefits mental, emotional, physical, or social, almost everyone can count of some type of help from participating in these therapies. Of course, as with any physical activity, a doctor should be consulted before you begin; some people with skeletal deformities and other types of physical problems could have problems with these practices, especially if they are not provided by a trained professional.

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Healing Your Body Naturally: Detoxification

Andrew — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:21:48 +0000

Everyone has heard of detoxifying diets. They are all the rage now, and a person can find about one hundred different books on the subject at any bookstore. And while it might seem like a trendy or fad diet, there are actually quite a few reasons why a detox diet might be a good idea for almost anyone.

Detoxification diets cleanse the body of toxins and chemicals that processed foods can put in. Since our bodies are built to handle natural foods and not processed ones, natural foods are what most detox diets recommend. There are many things a person in detoxification should avoid: dairy, unfiltered tap water, sugar, artificial sweeteners, and white flour are just a few. Instead of these things, the detox diets recommend large amounts of organic fruits, vegetables � especially green, leafy ones � nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.

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