Alternative healing is a broad term that encompasses any healing practice "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine", according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. In general, it's used to describe anything that's outside of a Western, science-based approach to treating illness and disease.
Alternative therapies can be traced back thousands of years to ancient civilizations in China, India, Egypt, Japan, and others. They've been passed down through generations since then and continue to evolve as new modalities emerge.
it is the art of treating the whole person. It's based on the idea that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. When this balance is thrown off, illness ensues. Holistic medicine strives to restore this balance and prevent illness.
Practitioners of alternative healing often focus on the whole person instead of just treating the symptoms they are experiencing. Patients may receive advice on lifestyle changes like eating healthier or meditating regularly, in addition to receiving specific treatments for their condition.
There are a bajillion different types of alternative healing modalities, but we'll try to list some of the most common here.
Homeopathy is system of medicine that originated in India but has now spread worldwide. It focuses on treating illnesses by administering small amounts of substances that cause similar symptoms in healthy people. Its goal is to stimulate the body's defense mechanisms and promote its own healing process.
Acupuncture is based in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and use acupuncture points as a way to regulate your energy flow. It's thought that by stimulating the meridians, you can stimulate your body's natural ability to heal itself.
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine developed in India. It focuses on balancing the body by using natural herbs, diet, exercise, meditation, and bodywork. It can be used to treat a variety of mental and physical conditions.
Naturopathy is a whole-body approach to improving health by using natural elements and processes, such as sunlight, fresh air, and water, and organic foods. Naturopaths believe in treating the body as a whole rather than just targeting specific symptoms.
Massage is a relaxation technique, an act of gentle stroking, kneading, rubbing, or massaging a part of the body to stimulate circulation and relieve tension in the muscles; usually done with the hands.
Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese tradition that combines meditation with slow, graceful movements to achieve physical strength and balance.
Yoga is a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline which includes breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures.
Qigong is an exercise and healing technique that involves meditation, controlled breathing, and movements in order to maintain the circulation of qi (energy) in the body.
Reiki is a form of alternative medicine that uses healing touch. Practitioners believe that a universal life force energy flows through them into the client in order to encourage mental, emotional, and physical healing. The word reiki (pronounced ray-kee) is made up of two Japanese words: rei, meaning “spiritual or supernatural” and ki, meaning “life force energy.”
Pranic Healing is a highly developed and tested system of energy treatment that uses prana to balance, harmonize and transform the body's energy processes. Prana is the Sanskrit word that means life-force. This invisible bio-energy or vital energy keeps the body alive and maintains good health.
Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness in which you appear to be in a trance or relaxed state. Your attention is highly focused, and your mind is usually more open than usual. Hypnosis can be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain. It's important to know that although you're more open to suggestion during hypnosis, you don't lose control over your behavior.
Aromatherapy is a type of alternative medicine that uses essential oils to improve a person's health or mood. Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts taken from parts of plants.
Bach flower remedies are an alternative or complementary treatment that is used for emotional problems and pain. They're made out of watered-down extracts from the flowers of wild plants. Edward Bach, a medical doctor and homeopath, created these remedies in the early 1900s
ThetaHealing is the registered trademark for a process of meditation created by Vianna Stibal in 1995. ThetaHealing claims to develop natural intuition through changing the brain wave cycle to the theta waves with the intention of exploring how emotional energy affects a person's health.
Access Consciousness is the ability to be present in your life in every moment, without judgment of you or anyone else. It is the ability to receive everything, reject nothing, and create everything you desire in life — greater than what you currently have, and more than what you can imagine.