Wellness - Glossary of Terms
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Acupressure(Shiatsu)
Shiatsu literally translated means 'finger pressure'. Chinese Taoist monks were the first to observe our self-healing instincts over 5,000 years ago and eventually they formalized these observations into a system for treatment. Their theories involved acupuncture, moxibustion and herbology. Chinese medicine was introduced to Japan by the Chinese Buddhist monks about 1,000 years ago, and by adding acupuncture points to their already existing massage techniques, Shiatsu emerged in Japan and is now a fully accepted medical treatment, authorized by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient system of healing developed over 1000 years in China and other Eastern countries which is increasingly being recognized as ‘effective’ by Western health professionals and patients. It is based upon detecting disharmonies within a person’s body and mind. These are determined by asking questions about presenting symptoms, life style, sleeping patterns, emotions, and feelings as well as examining the tongue, its color, shape, and coating and taking a series of pulses on both wrists.
A traditional diagnosis is then made leading to a treatment plan which will primarily involve the use of fine needles inserted into carefully chosen points.
Acupuncture alleviates pain and can increase immune response to balancing the flow of vital life energy throughout the body. It provides effective treatment for numerous conditions, from the common cold and flues, to addiction and chronic fatigue syndrome. It is also effective as an adjunctive treatment for AIDS.
Alexander Technique
A personalized learning process that increases the conscious awareness and integration of movement, balance, posture, and intelligence. By learning to overcome the harmful habits that cause physical and emotional stress in the body, daily activities can be performed more freely and efficiently. F. Matthias Alexander created the method after concluding that bad posture was responsible for his own chronic voice loss. Practitioners use gentle hands-on guidance, verbal instruction, teach simple, efficient ways of moving as a means of improving balance, posture, coordination and to relieve tension and pain.
Allopathy
The treatment of disease by creating conditions that are opposite or hostile to the conditions resulting from the disease itself; from Greek roots meaning other and disease. Drugs and surgery are allopathic treatments. The term is sometimes used to refer to conventional Western medicine to contrast it with alternative therapies, particularly homeopathy, which is based on like curing like.
Amma Therapy
A system of bodywork therapy that uses traditional oriental medical principles for assessing and evaluating imbalances in the energetic system. It aims to restore, promote and maintain optimum health through the treatment of the physical body, bio-energy and emotions. Used for a wide range of conditions.
Applied Kiniesiology
A system which is used by a primary health care provider to analyze our structural, chemical, and mental aspects of health. It uses muscle testing, postural analysis, gait analysis, along with other standard methods of diagnosis to assess and treat functional health problems as opposed to pathological health problems. Included in the Applied Kiniesiology approach are specific joint manipulations, various myofacial therapies, cranial techniques, meridian therapy, clinical nutrition, dietary management, and various reflex procedures.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the systematic use of essential oils in holistic treatments to improve physical well being. Essential Oils, extracted from plants, possess distinctive therapeutic properties, which can be utilized to improve health and prevent disease. Both their physiological and psychological effects combine well to promote positive health. These natural plant oils are applied in a variety of ways, including massage, baths, and inhalations. These are ready absorbed through the skin and have gentle physiological effects. Aromatherapy is an especially effective treatment for stress-related problems and a variety of chronic conditions.
Ayurvedic Medicine
A comprehensive system of medicine and the oldest healing art on the planet, Ayurvedic Medicine has been practiced in India for the past five thousand years; it combines natural therapies with a highly personalized approach to the treatment of disease and also places equal emphasis on body, mind, and spirit, and strives to restore the innate harmony of the individual.
Bach Flower Remedies
The Bach Flower Remedies are 38 plant and flower based remedies, each one specially devised to treat a different feeling.
They help you to manage the emotional demands of everyday life, the kind of feelings that affect everyday life in the 90s.They are the original flower remedies made according to the exact traditions of Dr. Edward Bach.
The Bach Flower Remedies work by stimulating the body’s own capacity to heal itself, by balancing negative feelings, helping you to take control, feel good about yourself, and get more out of life.
The Bach Flower Remedies are unique, simple to use, suitable for all the family and widely available from all major pharmacies and health food stores.
Bioenergetics
Bioenergetics is a method of studying and understanding the human personality in terms of the body and its energetic processes. In Bioenergetic theory, it is believed that the body and the mind are functionally identical. What happens in the mind reflects what is happening in the body and vice versa. It is a therapeutic technique that utilizes many bodywork methods and exercises to help an individual become aware of tensions in the body and release them through appropriate movement. Bioenergetics also involves verbal exploration of emotional conflicts and their relationship to an individual's personal history.
BioFeedback Training
This technique uses simple electronic devices to teach a person how to change or control his or her own vital, bodily functions; biofeedback has been particularly successful for learning to modify or reduce stress, relieve pain, control asthmatic attacks, recondition injured muscles, and eliminate headaches.
Breathwork
A general term for a variety of techniques that use patterned breathing to promote physical, mental and/or spiritual well-being. Some techniques use the breath in a calm, peaceful way to induce relaxation or manage pain, while others use stronger breathing to stimulate emotions and emotional release.
Chelation Therapy
A method used to rid the body of toxins, metabolic wastes, and unnecessary and toxic metals from the blood stream; it is often used to reverse the process of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or as an alternative to bypass surgery and angioplasty, and can also prevent heart attacks and strokes. It is accomplished by administering chelating agents into the bloodstream which, among other things, increase blood flow and remove arterial plaque.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a therapeutic system based upon the premise that interference with nervous system function predisposes the body to a disease state. The method of work focuses on restoring normal condition by correcting the vertebral segments of the spinal column, which are a primary cause of nerve dysfunction. Central to chiropractic technique is the "adjustment" of the specific spinal vertebra that are out of alignment or subluxated.
Colon Therapy (Colonics)
This therapy uses a series of water flushes directed into the colon through a disposable tube which is placed into the anus; these water flushes cleanse and detoxify the lower intestine and aid in the reconstitution of intestinal flora. The purpose of colonics is to balance the body chemistry, eliminate waste, and restore proper tissue and organ function.
Craniosacral Therapy
The craniosacral therapist focuses on releasing restrictions of the cranial sutures and the underlying membranes through gentle hands-on contact with the bones of the skull.
Craniosacral Therapy is gaining acceptance by health professionals worldwide as a successful treatment modality to improve overall body functioning, and treat a range of conditions, from headaches and ear infections, to stroke, Spinal Cord Injury, and Cerebral Palsy. It has been especially successful in treating newborns and infants for common conditions such as earaches, sinus congestion, vomiting, irritability, and hyperactivity .
Ear Coning or Ear Candling
Ear coning or ear candling is an ancient technique used for the relief of pain and pressure in the outer and middle ear. This technique assists people experiencing itching, equilibrium problems, pain, pressure, blockages, ear and sinus infections, and other problems related to the ear. The 30 - 45 minute process is painless, very soothing, and relaxing. Some people experienced improved physical balance, mental clarity and pain relief.
Feldenkrais Method (Awareness through movement)
The Feldenkrais practitioner helps to change habitual holding patterns in the patient's body, and reeducate people to become aware of how they move and how they could move differently, in order to reduce stress to muscles, joints and ligaments.
The effects of Feldenkrais often include a deep physical and mental relaxation, a new awareness of the body and the ways in which it can move, and the lessening of chronic and acute musculo-skeletal aches and pains.
Feng Shui
an ancient Chinese practice of configuring home or work environments to promote health, happiness, prosperity. Feng shui consultants may advise clients to make adjustments in their surroundings, from color selection to furniture placement, to promote a healthy flow of chi, or vital energy.
Guided Imagery
Using the power of the mind to evoke a positive physical response, guided imagery can reduce stress and slow heart rate, stimulate the immune system, and reduce pain. As part of the rapidly emerging field of mind/body medicine, guided imagery is being used in various medical settings, and, when properly taught, can also serve as a highly effective form of self-care.
Healing Touch
A practice used by registered nurses and others to accelerate wound healing, relieve pain, promote relaxation, prevent illness and ease the dying process. The practitioner uses light touch or works with his or her hands near the client’s body in an effort to restore balance to the client’s energy system.
Hellerwork
Developed by Joseph Heller, the purpose of this method is to get people to look at the connection between what's going on in their life and what's going on in their body. Heller's work is three-pronged: deep connective tissue massage, movement education, and dialogue.
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Homeopathy
First formulated in the early 1800's by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. Homeopathy's basic premise is that a substance, which, in overdose, causes symptoms in a healthy person, will cure these same symptoms in a sick person when given in infinitesimal doses. However, before a homeopathist prescribes, the entire person, as well as the symptoms, is researched quite carefully.
Hydrotherapy
A therapy which using water, ice, steam, and hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Treatments include full body immersion, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, colonic irrigation, and the application of hot, and/or cold compresses. Hydrotherapy is effective for treating a wide range of conditions and can easily be used in the home as part of a self-care program.
Hypnotherapy
A therapy that uses hypnosis as a psychotherapeutic tool. The altered state that occurs under hypnosis has been compared to a state of deep meditation or transcendence, in which the innate recuperative abilities of the psyche are allowed to flow more freely. The client can achieve greater clarity regarding his/her own wants and needs, explore other events or periods of life requiring resolution, or generally develop a more positive attitude. Hypnotherapy has also been particularly effective with stress disorders and various addictions.
Iridology
A means of revealing the pathological and functional disturbances in the body by reading the markings in the iris and surrounding areas of the eye. The iris is the most complex tissue of the body meeting the outside world. It is an extension of the brain, being endowed with hundreds of nerve endings, microscopic blood vessels, muscle and other tissues. Location of disease, its history and progression, and even clues to the cure, can be read in the eyes.
Macrobiotics
Begun over 70 years ago and popularized by Dr. George Oshawa who broadened the system to embrace the whole individual. He treated illness with natural foods and used no medicines. The diet is based on the yin-yang principle; all foods fall into one or the other category. If foods are properly chosen and combined, bodily balance can be restored in those who have fallen ill. Brown rice is said to he perfectly balanced between yin and yang. Proper or balanced diet is said to eliminate illness, fatigue, and to stimulate creative life.
Magnetic Field Therapy
Electromagnetic energy and the human body have a valid and important interrelationship. Magnetic field therapy can be used in both diagnosing and treating physical and emotional disorders. This process has been recognized to relieve symptoms and may, in some cases, retard the cycle of new disease. Magnets and electromagnetic therapy devices are now being used to eliminate pain, facilitate the healing of broken bones, and counter the effects of stress.
Massage Therapy
This is a general term for a range of therapeutic approaches with roots in both Eastern and Western cultures. Involves the practice of kneading or otherwise manipulating a person’s muscles and soft tissue.
Meditation
Discipline in which the mind is focused on a single point of reference. Employed since ancient times in various forms by all religions, the practice gained greater notice in the postwar U.S. as interest in Zen Buddhism rose. Meditation is now used by many non-religious adherents as a method of stress reduction; known to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. Enhances recuperation and improves the body’s resistance to disease.
Myofacial Release
Trauma, posture, or inflammation can create a binding down of fascia resulting in excessive pressure on nerves, muscles, blood vessels, osseous structures and/or organs. This hands-on technique seeks to free the body from the grip of tight fascia, or connective tissue, thus restoring normal alignment and function and reducing pain. Therapists apply mild, sustained hand-pressure in order to gently stretch and soften fascia. Treatment is used to treat neck and back pain, headaches, recurring sports injuries, and scoliosis, and other conditions.
Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Medicine treats health conditions by utilizing the body's inherent ability to heal. Naturopathic physicians aid the healing process by incorporating a variety of alternative methods based on the patient's individual needs. Diet, lifestyle, work, and personal history are all considered when determining a treatment regimen.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) helps people detect and reprogram unconscious pattern of thought and behavior in order to alter psychological responses and enhance the healing process. NLP has provided positive results for people suffering from various conditions, including AIDS, cancer, allergies, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and migraine headaches.
NeuroMuscular Therapy (NMT)
A form of bodywork which has diagnostic and therapeutic value, NMT is a soft tissue manipulative method which restores the structural, functional, and postural integrity of the body, removes pain, muscular tension, stress, and restrictions to health. Skillful palpatory diagnosis is the focus of the work.
Osteopathy
Osteopathy is a form of physical medicine that helps restore the structural balance of the musculoskeletal system. Combining joint manipulations, physical therapy and postural reduction, osteopathy is effective in treating spinal and joint difficulties, arthritis, digestive disorders, menstrual problems, and chronic pain.
Polarity Therapy
A therapy emphasizing energy-flow in the body, emotional tension and/or pain is released when the flow of energy is restored. Polarity is based on the belief that positive and negative poles exist in every cell. The body is gently manipulated to balance the positive and negative energies.
Qigong
Qigong combines movement, meditation, and breath regulation to enhance the flow of vital energy in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function. Because qigong can be used by the healthy as well as the severely ill, it is one of the most broadly applicable systems of self-care in the world. In China, it is estimated that 200 million people practice qigong everyday.
Rebirthing
A safe and powerful breathing process that releases tension from the body, freeing it, so that we may live to our highest vision and unlimited potential. The breath is the ultimate healer. It is the umbilical cord to the divine. By using a variety of smoothly connected breaths, energy which may be called Prana, Chi or Ki, or life force, is taken into the body dissolving and washing away anything that is contrary to life. When this takes place we become aware of our blocks and what has been holding us back; an inner cleansing occurs.
Reflexology
Strong massage of the feet at certain reflex points which correspond to the various areas and organs of the body. Reflexology points are different from acupuncture points. Foot treatments are said to dissolve the hardened toxins which accumulate in the body in the form of tiny crystals. Once the crystals are released into the bloodstream, they are eliminated naturally by the body. Circulation is increased and organs and glands are stimulated.
Reiki
An ancient form of healing traced back to Tibet thousands of years ago. This technique was rediscovered in the 19th century by Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese Christian educator. Reiki is a hands-on, non-invasive healing technique. The word "Reiki" is a combination of Japanese symbols when combined, present the concept of "Universal life-force energy." The client participates in their own healing. The Reiki practitioner is a channel and a clear vessel through which the healing energy flows. Reiki energy allows us to heal ourselves spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Rolfing
An original and scientifically validated system of body restructuring & movement education. It releases the body's segments-- legs, torso, arms, etc- from lifelong patterns of tension and bracing, and permits gravity to realign them. By doing so, it balances the body. Because the body is better-balanced after Rolfing, it expends less of its vital energies against gravity. This biological energy-efficiency is often experienced as a higher level of alertness and vitality. Movement becomes easier and overall personal functioning tends to improve.
Shiatsu
A form of acupressure, used in Japan for over 1,000 years to treat pain and illness and for general health maintenance. Practitioners apply finger pressure at specific points on the body in order to stimulate chi, or vital energy. Used to treat stress, circulatory problems, depression, asthma, headaches, diarrhea, and bronchitis.
Sound Therapy
Sound and music can have a very powerful effect on one's health. Sound therapy is used in hospitals, schools, corporate offices, and psychological treatment programs as an effective treatment to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, alleviate pain, overcome learning disabilities, improve movement and balance, and promote endurance and strength.
T'ai Chi
A Chinese Taoist martial art form of meditation in movement, combining mental concentration, coordinated breathing, and a series of slow, graceful body movements. T'ai Chi may he practiced for meditative and health purposes or, with increased speed, the movements may be used for self-defense. The practitioner allows the body weight or center of gravity to sink into the abdomen and feet; this relaxes and deepens the breathing, quiets the mind and, in turn, regulates the heartbeat digestion, and various other muscular neurological, glandular and organic functions.
Therapeutic Touch
A contemporary interpretation of several ancient healing practices, therapeutic touch consists of learned skills for consciously directing or modulating human energies by the "laying on of hands" above the body and moving the hands over the body without actual contact, with the intent of working the energy field surrounding the body.
Trager Approach
Based on a simple concept: much discomfort, tension, stiffness and fatigue can be released by imparting to the nervous system a different set of signals. In this case, motion in the muscles and joints is used to communicate the sensations of lightness, ease, freedom, pleasure and aliveness. To experience these feelings in moving and being is to learn how to replace restriction with freedom in moving and being. These positive pleasurings are imparted (1) via gentle, non-invasive bodywork (psychophysical integration), and (2) through the teaching of simple, mindful movement explorations (Mentastics) which the client uses to generate these sensations on his/her own.
Yoga
A spiritual technology or system whereby the practitioner can directly experience interior reality. The word yoga is derived from the Sand script, meaning to bind, to join, attach or yoke, to direct and concentrate attention on, to use and apply. Yoga techniques and postures often assist in adding flexibility to the body while focusing the mind. |
