• Serious Fun™ Workshops
  •   Relax & Unwind ™
  •   Spell Check ™
  •   Compass Coaching ™
  •   Ice Cream Sampler ™
• Healthy Lifestyle
  •   The Basics
  •   Stress Management
  •   Fun Self-Help Activities
  •   Life Skills & Tools
  •   Joyful Reiki ™
  •   The Six Paths
  •   Health Articles
• Personality Type
  •   Myers-Briggs Overview
  •   M B Spell Check™
  •   The 16 Types
  •   Type & Fitness
  •   Type & Meditation
  •   Type & Health
• Inspiration
  •   Daily Joy™
  •   Life Lessons
  •   Spirituality & Health
  •   Inspiration Tools
  •   Nature Photography
• About Shared Paths
  •   Contact Information
  •   Joy Koenig, M.D.
  •   Ideas & Opinions
  •   Site Map

 

Holistic Health Techniques

       Every culture's practice of medicine except conventional Western medicine includes spiritual practices in the treatment and prevention of disease. However, our culture is increasingly moving towards the belief and practice that physical health is indeed partly spiritual.

       In a recent study, more than 8 in 10 Americans said they thought prayer or meditation was a necessary adjunct for medical treatment of an illness. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed felt a doctor should either discuss a patient’s spiritual needs, suggest prayer, or offer to refer them to a spiritual counselor.

       An increasing number of scientific studies conducted at major medical centers suggest that those who regularly participate in an organized spiritual practice experience better mental and physical health. There are even some studies suggesting that long-distance prayer can influence healing.

       Every culture's practice of medicine except conventional Western medicine includes spiritual practices in the treatment and prevention of disease. An increasing number of scientific studies conducted at major medical centers suggest that those who regularly participate in an organized spiritual practice experience better mental and physical health.

       Most complementary approaches are borrowed from other cultures and focus on using the mind and our vital force rather than our physical biochemistry. Many are popular methods of stress management and already used extensively in the fields of rehabilitation and behavior medicine. I strongly encourage each of you to use your spiritual intuition and your intellect, when choosing any modality as a health care treatment.

       Each culture has characteristic hand crafted items with special symbolic meaning -- Native American rain sticks, totems and dream catchers, Japanese wood block prints and bonsai gardens, African beaded jewelry and Adinkra cloths, Chinese calligraphy and teapots, Caribbean dolls, Mexican water pitchers, Aboriginal stone carvings, Chinese and Vietnamese lion dance puppets, and so on. Many cultures have symbolic masks, used for communication and ritual.

       Fabric, textiles and garments often have symbolic meaning, and are frequently used for spiritual and physical healing rituals. Each culture has its own rich history including Japanese kimonos, Vietnamese Ao Dai, African adire cloths and Native American hand-woven rugs. Basket weaving and quilting are also ancient healing traditions in some cultures. Every culture uses healing symbols in their drawings and paintings, often derived from animals and plants thought to have healing power. Many ethnic and religious cultures use body painting or oil anointing as part of their healing rituals.

       Music and story-telling are mystical ancient practice. Singing and chanting have been used for physical and spiritual healing since pre-recorded history. Each of the seven major energy chakras has its own musical tone from the standard octave, and many cultures have music instruments and melodies that encourage a relaxed alpha brain wave state. Carve or learn to play a musical instrument from your region of America or from your national culture -- marimbas, conga drums, shakers, sitars, finger cymbals, Celtic harps, dulcimers, flutes, and lutes. Learn the dances that are traditional to your ethnic or geographic culture -- Irish, African, Native American, Greek, Russian, Indian, or Asian. Explore ancient "dances" that don't use music, such as Tai Chi, Chi Gong (Qigong), or modern styles based on similar concepts.

        If you are new to the world of complementary and alternative medicine -- or even if you're not -- you might want to read the cautions on the next page, before moving on to Holistic Health Practices.

Reiki

Meditation

Visualization

Intuition

Playful Spiritual Activities (under construction)

 

Return to Top

holistic health, alternative medicine, complementary medicine, spirituality and health, spiritual health, spirit