Holistic Therapies - Holism Explained

Unerstanding Holistic Therapies begins with the answer to "What is Holism?"

Holistic healing then attempts to treat the whole person, concentrating on the cause of the illness as well as symptoms. This approach often focuses on traditional medicine, such as ayurveda, and avoid conventional pharmaceutical drugs. In philosophy, the idea of holism is that certain wholes or entities are greater than their individual parts. In ayurveda, the idea of holistic healing is to treat the person as a whole and not the symptoms alone. Many people turn to ayurveda, since they have found that allopathy (conventional western medicine) only seems to treat or suppress the symptoms of their condition. Ayurveda or alternative medicine aims to treat to the root cause of the condition.

In Ayurveda, a holistic system of healing is used. A holistic approach to healing realizes that the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical elements of each person comprise a system.

History of Holistic Healing The term holism was coined in 1926, in the publication Holism and Evolution, by Jan Christiaan Smuts. He was a South African statesman, who was also a naturalist and a philosopher, who had friends such as Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill. However, the idea of holistic healing is ancient and can stem back to over 5000 years ago. Its origins are thought to be from India and China. The concept was to treat the body as a whole, as "the part can never be well unless the whole is well" (Plato and Socrates, 4th century BC).

Methods of Holistic Therapies

Examples of some of the holistic therapies include acupuncture, Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, osteopathic manipulation, naturopathic medicine, qi gong, reiki and reflexology.

Through a variety of holistic therapies, we can discover many ways to vastly improve both our health and our overall lifestyles which are all directly related to spirituality and a sense of well being. Note that this spirituality is not based on a religious sense, but more of what we hold inside us.

How to Practice Holism

Holism involves many facets of living however I have listed below some of the more commonly practiced areas in an holistic lifestyle

• Using natural products, natural foods and avoiding anything processed
• Explore the many benefits and advantages of essential oils and natural herbs
• Meditation and yoga bring clarity to your mind and enhance your body
• Holistic practices improve your senses, particularly the smell
• Remove toxins from your life, improving your health, mood, and overall well being
• Helps you to feel better and be more productive with natural energy throughout the day
• Embracing nature and all things natural
• Appreciate beauty as a materialistic expression of love
• Use natural fibers such as cotton, silk, linen, & wool
• Use herbal supplements daily instead of over-processed filler vitamins

The list above is just a small sampling of avenues which can be explored or experienced.

Holistic living is more of a choice and a lifestyle. There is no exact science that you have to follow step by step to achieve this, but by following some of the above, we are sure to improve the way we act, the way we feel and ultimately, the way we live.

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