“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” — Aristotle

Let’s talk about quick fixes versus real fixes in health care options. Quick fixes may work quickly — and stop working quickly.

For acute problems, like an occasional headache, quick fixes like an aspirin can make a lot of sense. For chronic disorders and diseases, however, we need lasting — and more far-reaching — help.

It is no accident that more people search the Internet for keywords related to “alternative” medicine rather than “complementary” or “integrative” medicine. Clearly, most people with chronic disorders and diseases are likely to start off on one or more conventional drugs that they have to take. But many people want more options, i.e., alternatives.

Once the shock of a diagnosis wears off, what you need are true options — alternatives. Yet, as a consumer, you often assume that drugs — or treatments that you use in a drug-like way — must always be the centerpiece of the treatment. This all goes back to another unwise assumption, that is, that the way to treat symptoms in a body part is to block the body part from expressing the symptoms.

Suppressing the expression of symptoms cannot lead to true holistic healing, by definition. It simply re-arranges the disease so that the person develops a problem somewhere else. There can be a big cost to the person as a whole for blocking symptom expression in one place without truly healing the underlying problem. A useful analogy might be squeezing a balloon in one place, which forces the air inside to bulge into another. The air is still there, but the location is rearranged within the balloon.

For example, using steroid creams to stop a rash on the skin may lead to the later development of asthma or depression. The skin isn’t showing symptoms any more, but the lungs or the brain are. Conventional medicine might say that there is a different mechanism of disease in the lungs or the brain, making it “absurd” to think that the asthma is related to the suppression of skin symptoms. And it is true that the mechanisms of asthma are different from the mechanisms of a skin rash, if you focus just on local structures and processes.

However, even at the forefront of conventional medicine, scientists are beginning to recognize that the body is a network of networks of systems. Genes and proteins themselves function in networks of activity. There is a complex and coordinated organization of interrelated and interdependent functions at work all the time, behind the scenes of the obvious physical structures.

Well-established forms of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture, show you that you are an indivisible whole. Treating at a particular acupuncture point has far-reaching effects in body parts that are far distant from the specific location in which the needle was inserted. Acupuncturists believe that the information travels by way of special pathways called meridians. Even state-of-the-art scientific research with brain imaging technology shows that putting an acupuncture needle into a point in the foot can change activity in far distant, but specific regions of the brain other than those just involved in registering pain.

When people say they are getting “holistic” treatment, they often mean that the mind affects the body - and vice versa. They try to make a few changes in their lifestyle to reduce stress. But real holism is far more than just stress reduction.

A truly holistic way of looking at chronic health problems is that the symptoms are a major and persistent message from your body part that you as a whole living system are out of alignment with yourself. This situation can push you far off the path and away from fulfilling your unique life’s purpose.

In real holism, things that happen in one body part have consequences for function in the rest of the system as a whole. What this means for the best way to use alternative medicine is that you want to use the treatments to heal you as a whole, not as a collection of body parts. Constitutionally-oriented systems of care such as acupuncture/Chinese medicine, classical homeopathy, and Ayurveda are well-established holistic options that treat the person as a whole. Even if you come to the practitioner with a specific symptom or problem with a body part, their diagnostic and treatment approaches, though different from each other in the specifics, are geared to realign the function of your malfunctioning body part to resume its proper role within you as a whole.

Similarly, you could use a vitamin or an herb — or even guided imagery (e.g., killing cancer cells) - in a drug-like way to suppress symptoms in a particular body part. But, for real holistic treatment, it is wiser to learn more about how to use natural products and mind-body methods to support your overall healing process throughout you as a living system of interconnected and interdependent parts (e.g., dialoguing in imagery with the body part to ask what it is trying to express symbolically about your issues as a whole). That is true holism.

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line is kept intact.)

Iris R. Bell, MD PhD is an alternative medicine researcher, author, and educator. Discover a self-empowering system for treating arthritis with her new multimedia program, available at http://www.arthritiscaremap.com

Tags: Alternative Medicine, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Wellness, homeopathy, Iris Bell, MD

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The use of Echinacea on wounds, infections, snake bites, insect bites and stings is beyond the miracles of modern medicine ever. It boosts the immune system about 30% to help the body’s own T-cells fight infection and rid itself of poisons. It contains a natural antibiotic which is comparable to penicillin.

Used as a mouthwash will get rid of canker sores, painful teeth and swollen gums. I have advised many of my subjects to use a combination of Echinacea and Golden Seal as a cure for strep throat. The results have had immediate effect and the streptococcus was gone within a few days.

Combine in equal parts. Put about a tablespoon of the powder in a muslin cloth tea bag and steep in boiling hot water for 10 minutes. Using it as hot as you can stand but not too hot to scold the tonsils, gargle for about 5 minutes at least 6 times a day of not more. This will treat the strep and soothe the throat but most important of all it will eventually release the pus sacs, in tact, at the back of the throat. When you spit out the liquid after gargling you will spit out the pus sacs as well. You may do well to put 1 or 2 drops of the liquid in each ear. This will help the itching go away. Continue use for about 10 days.

Echinacea tea can be used for colds, smallpox, measles, mumps and arthritis.

Put about a tablespoon of the powder in a muslin cloth tea bag and steep in boiling hot water for 20 minutes. Remove tea bag and drink very warm, about 6 cups a day throughout the day. You will notice that urination is more frequent and may be a darker color than usual. This is normal don’t worry, its cleansing the system. You may also notice that if a slight fever is present, that it will be lessened if not gone.

If fever or symptoms persist with anything for more than three days, it would be wise to consult a physician, as other problems may be present.

About 1-1/2 X 2 inches in size and made of muslin with a cotton string. One tea bag can be used at least three times. So, after each use put it in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge. Discard product but do not discard the tea bag, wash it and reuse it.

My neighbor has a black lab named Abby. She is the sweetest old gal at the age of 14. The other day she got into a tiff with the other neighbor’s dog and acquired a gaping hole in her leg. My neighbor didn’t realize she was wounded until the fur on Abby’s leg started coming off in clumps. All he had on hand at the time was a bottle of capsulated Echinacea pills to treat the wound until he could take Abby to the Vet.

I told him to clean the wound with peroxide saturated cotton, let dry and empty 1/2 of the powdered Echinacea pill inside the wound, spray it gently with water to moisten, wrap and leave on until the morning. The next day when he removed the wrap, pus came out in a stream and you could see the swelling in the leg go down. He drained the wound for about 10 minutes then repeated my instructions. As the wound was too deep, Abby was unable to get stitches, so the wound was left to treat. He repeated my instructions reapplying fresh Echinacea twice a day. By the third day the wound was practically closed with the scab forming and the infection was gone. He was truly amazed at the Healing Power of Echinacea and quite frankly, so was I.

For Your Health Matters visit Shepherds Purse Naturals Herbs For Life

Tags: immune system, infections, diseases, dialternative medicine, echinacea, herbal remedies, herbs, tea,

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A host of opportunities to enjoy healing arts workshops and seminars are available. You can expand your expertise with a one-day, three-day, week-long, or longer workshop or seminar in any of the healing and holistic arts you may wish.

Most training programs for workshops and seminars are designed for continuation of adult education. Workshops and seminars are opportunities to quickly improve your understanding and practice in yoga, massage, aromatherapy, essential oils, bodywork, feng shui, reflexology, acupuncture, physiology, spiritual sensitivity, counseling techniques, self understanding, meditation skills, and much, much more.

Workshops and seminars each offer a somewhat different approach to learning. Workshops often require group participation, and workshops offer problem-solving techniques, as well as group discussion and hands-on participation. Workshop training sessions may last a few hours or they may be presented over the course of several days.

Seminars focus more on methodology. They are usually offered through a professional organization or a school, and seminars tend to offer a more academic approach than workshops. Papers or lectures on practices or research may be presented at seminars for the benefit of experienced professionals and practitioners. Attendees are able to key in on day-to-day problems that may occur in relation to the subject. Discussions are generally encouraged following the presentation.

Workshops and seminars are great ways to share practical experience, and learn from others who share a common interest in healing arts.

If you are interested in learning more about Workshops and Seminars for Natural Healing and additional learning programs, search our site for more in-depth information and resources.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved
Michael Bustamante, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com

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Tags: Workshops, Seminars, natural healing, alternative medicine, school, college, education, healing arts

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