The Alexander Technique is an Alternative Health therapy. It was developed by, F. Matthias Alexander, who was a Tasmanian.  Alexander was a talented actor and recitalist.  As a young man, during his stint as a miner and an amateur recitalist, he would lose his voice and none of the orthodox systems of medicine helped him.  He then resorted to studying his own posture in a mirror and he noticed that the position of the head was affecting his entire pattern of his body movement.   His head sagged and this depressed his larynx. He found that consciously lifting his head vertically, he was able to improve his vocal disorder.  Gradually, Alexander was convinced that the body should move with maximum balance and co-ordination, so that only minimal effort was made for any given activity.  He concluded that good posture, aided natural breathing patterns, good blood circulation and eased the pressure on the vertebrae.

There are seven basic movements of raising the head upward.

The head and the body should be maintained vertically during sitting.

The hands should be moved horizontally in front of the chest, then raised above the head and lowered to rest on the thighs.

Walking with ease so that the head moves upward and away from the body. Moving the legs, the right leg is raised until the thigh is parallet to the floor, so that the line of the hips should be parallel to the floor

Heel and toes, the toes should be placed on the floor while the heel is raised and lowered.  This helps in reducing the tension and makes the movement freer and more relaxed.

Knee bending should be done while the body is perpendicular to the ground. The hips and ankles should never be bent.

Standing up and sitting down should be with minimum amount of effort in rising from the sitting up to the standing position.

Conclusion: The Alexander technique is a Holistic therapy and stresses the direct relationship between the body movement and mental balance. The Alexander technique is very popular in the West and in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Introduction:

In the late 1970’s, allopathic physicians foolishly believed that the war on the bugs was won. It was during this period, when there was spectacular development of new antibiotics like Doxycycline and a new class of antibiotics called as the Cephalosporins.  The World Health Organization was talking of a slogan, ‘ HEALTH FOR ALL BY THE YEAR 2000 A.D.’

Little did allopathic physicians realize that the bacteria and the viruses were hatching their own diabolical plan to make man helpless against their onslaught.  In the 1970’s complementary systems were generally looked down upon and Alternative therapy schools were few and far between and people looked down upon Alternative health practitioners..

President Richard Nixon’s visit to the US to China did sparkle  a brief interest in Acupuncture.  Then we had the devastating epidemic of HIV-AIDS in the 80’s. It was becoming evident that the sexually transmittable diseases were making a come back. There were other viruses such as SARS, Bird flu. The humble staphylococcus was becoming resistant to Vancomycin and new terms called as MRSA, ESBL’s,  VRE’s  became common words to describe these super bugs. It now seemed that medicine had turned around one full circle. Practitioners of medicine realized that they should also concentrate on the immunity of the community, instead of going after the bugs alone. Complementary medicine made a big come back in the late 80’s and 90’s.

Alternative medicine schools:

Alternative medicine schools or Naturopathic schools provide unique teaching methods that are not available in allopathic schools. These schools incorporate the Mind-Body and the Soul concept in their teaching.  They integrate divine, , and religious traditions, along with emerging complementary systems of medicine in their teaching curriculum.    Alternative medicine schools often include many alternative healing modalities such as; Ayurveda; homeopathy naturopathy;; acupuncture and acupressure; chiropractic; hydrotherapy; hypnotherapy; and many other Holistic therapies

It is well known that a disease is caused by a triad of factors;  THE AGENT (bug), THE HOST RESISTANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.  The primary belief of holistic medicine schools is that the virus or the bug is not the cause of disease. They believe that diseases are caused as a consequence of the body’s reaction to the pathogen.  These practitioners focus on improving the person’s immunity to fight off disease.

Conclusion:

Various naturopathic medical schools teach natural healing methods that are effective in treating a wide array of major and minor medical conditions.  Medical research has proved that many of the complementary systems are indeed very effective.  It is seen that the demand for such schools and practitioners is growing.  Complementary  Medicine promotes patient empowerment and promotes health in a holistic way.  Alternative medicine schools also teach the value of good nutrition, supplemental vitamins and minerals.  It also promotes the use of herbal medicine.  More and more Alternative Medical Schools are springing up the world over and they offer a great career option to holistically minded students.

Introduction:

The late Prime minister of India, Mr. Morarji Desai created quite a flutter, when he openly propagated drinking one’s own urine for good health. Since then, a lot of laboratories all over the world have been engaged in research to find out the efficacy of this therapy.

Historical and Religious Evidence:

Ayurvedic masters like, Sushrutha, Vagabhatta and Harita have explicitly extolled the medical virtues of auto-urine therapy. In the Damar Tantra, Lord Shiva has given a discourse to Devi Parvati about the benefits of drinking one’s own urine.

Dr. John Armstrong of the USA has claimed that even the Testament extorts people to drink their own urine. To quote – “Drink waters out of thine own cistern” – unquote.

Tibetan and Buddhists lamas live long and healthy lives by drinking their own urine.

It is well known that Gypsies, sailors, criminals and dacoits drink their own urine to maintain health and strength.

The chemical composition of urine:

Urine is rich is Urea nitrogen, urea, uric acid, amino nitrogen, minerals and trace elements, enzymes (amylase, lactic dehydrogenace, Urokinase), hormones and urobilinogen.

Auto-urine therapy may be useful:

• Urine contains essential nutrients
• It contains highly active enzymes such as; urokinase, that can burst clots in the heart and prevent heart attacks.
• It contains valuable salts for the body.
• It possesses anti-bacterial properties.
• Increase the body immunity
• Improve the kidney function
• Confers longevity and good health and acts like an elixir for a healthy life.

Limitations of Auto Urine therapy:

• It should be avoided in Diabetes Mellitus.
• It should be avoided in all disorders where salt is contraindicated, example in severe hypertension.
• It should not be used in Kidney failure.

Conclusion:

This therapy is extremely controversial. Many Allopathic physicians are skeptical about the benefits of Auto-urine therapy and they argue that urine is a substance that has been rejected by the body, so why drink it?  There are others who feel that urine may contain pathogenic bacteria.  There can be endless debates, but numbers of persons drinking their own urine is on the rise.

Introduction:

The World Health Organisation states, “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. In more recent years, this statement has been modified to include the ability to lead a “socially and economically productive life.” (ref: WHO definition of health)

But most experts argue that Health is not a state, but rather a spectrum, where one end of the spectrum is death and the other end of the spectrum is complete health.  Most of us tend to fluctuate into states that are in between the two stated extreme bands.

The interest in Holistic Medicine:

In recent years there has been a plethora of new diseases such as AIDS, other viral infections like SARS and BIRD FLU, an increase of Stress related diseases such as Diabetes, Coronary artery disease, and an ever increasing list of psychiatric illnesses.

Faced with ever increasing nuisances of modern day diseases, Allopathic as a system has been found woefully inadequate. Many patients feel that the allopathic physician is very impersonal and treats only a particular diseased organ instead of treating the patient as a whole entity.

Dissatisfied with the Allopathic system, more patients are seeking treatment outside the allopathic system and resorting to Alternative systems of medicine.

What is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic medicine is not a single system like the Allopathic system. It is a Complementary system of Medicine that aims to treat the individual as a whole; MIND BODY AND SOUL. Here the practitioner aims to treat the whole individual, rather than one diseased part of the body.

Holistic medicine is based on the premise that for a body to be healthy, the mind should be at in harmony and tranquil so that the soul force may express itself throughout the individual and result in positive and vibrant health.

Holistic Health Practitioner may combine, Nutritional therapy, massage therapy, counselling, herbs, reflexology, acupressure, yoga, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Reiki and many other holistic methods to gently ease the body into health from a diseased state.

The advantages that Holistic health practitioners offer:

• The therapies are gentle and generally free from side effects.
• There are a wide variety of therapies for the patients to choose from.
• The body is cleansed of toxins.
• The patient experiences a genuine sense of well being.
• Most Holistic health practitioners are very attentive and take a detail history and the patients feel that they are being properly heard.
• The patients feel better when they are treated as whole.

Conclusion:

Holistic Health practitioners are becoming more sought after the world over despite the ridicule they constantly face from their learned allopathic colleagues.  Unfortunately, more research has to be done to scientifically integrate the complementary systems with the mainstream orthodox system of medicine.