HOLISTIC GLOSSARY OF TERMS


ACUPUNCTURE: A modality of Chinese Medicine that alleviates pain and  increases immune response by balancing the flow of vital life force energy (qi) throughout the body. Stimulating points on the meridians that run throughout the body, connecting organs, glands, and systems is believed to open energetic channels and remove blockages and imbalances.

ACUPRESSURE:
Based on the principles of acupuncture, utilizes finger pressure on specific points along the body to treat ailments such as tension, stress, aches, pains, cramps or arthritis.

AIKIDO: Is both a method of self-defense and a spiritual discipline, with the goal being to harmonize one's chi (vital energy) with that of one's opponent, so that the opponent's strength and weight are used against him or her. Many of the moves are flowing and graceful, similar to those of tai chi.

AKASHIC RECORDS: Akasha is Sanskrit for ether, and it is said that within this Etheric state of being, the records of everything is stored, the future, as well as the present, and past.

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE: The Alexander Technique is a system of reeducating your body and mind, to facilitate proper posture, ease of movement, and attainment of optimum health.
 

ALLOPATHIC MEDICINE: A term coined in the early 1800's by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, as a synonym of mainstream medicine. Also defined as the treatment of disease by creating conditions that are opposite or hostile to the results of the disease (treating the symptoms). Drugs and surgery are allopathic treatments. It is not a term that allopathic practitioners have adopted for themselves.

A1 AND A2 MILK: From Devil in the Milk by Keith Woodford, "Thousands of years ago a genetically different strain of milk appeared, now known as 'A1 milk'. The original 'A2' milk is generally produced by cattle in Africa, Asia, France and Guernsey. Goat and camel milk is also 'A2". Cattle in other countries generally produce 'A1' milk. There is only one genetic difference between 'A1' and 'A2' milk...However this small difference results in the milk having quite a different chemical - and perhaps physiological - effect", which is, the author writes, that "A1" milk may act as an opiate in the human body. 

Studies show that those who consume "A1" milk have a three-fold risk of heart disease over those who consume "A2" milk. Most commercial milk is "A1" milk. Licensed milk producers who have genetically tested "A2" cattle are available in AZ, but can be hard to find. 

Goat milk, anyone?
 

AROMATHERAPY: Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function or health.

Although the word first appeared in print in a French publication in 1937, aromatherapy dates back thousands of years. Aromatic oils were actually used by the royal families of ancient Egypt, Greece, India and Persia. Today, science is confirming what some cultures have known for centuries: scent can arouse feelings, suppress urges and even provide curative benefits to certain physical ailments.

The modes of application of aromatherapy include:
      Aerial diffusion: for environmental fragrancing or aerial disinfection

      Direct inhalation: for respiratory disinfection, decongestion, expectoration as well as  psychological effects

      Topical applications: for general massage, baths, compresses, therapeutic skin care

BACH FLOWER ESSENCES: "Health depends on being in harmony with our souls." Dr. Edward Bach

The Bach Flower Essences (pronounced "batch") are distillations of flower materials, similar to but not technically the same as homeopathic remedies. There are 38 Essences plus Rescue Remedy, a combination of five essences used for emergencies. Each Essence targets specific emotional issues.

The Essences were intuitively derived by Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930's, who believed his vibrational dilutions could help remove emotional and psychological blocks to healing.

Flowers are suspended in water and warmed in the sun or boiled and the water is mixed with brandy to create the mother tincture, which is then further diluted for use.
 

BIO-AVAILABILITY: In pharmacology, a measure of the amount of a drug that is actually absorbed in the target tissue from a given dose. When a drug is administered intravenously, it in 100% bio-available.

In supplements, which are generally taken orally, bio-availability is reduced to a less than 100% fraction of the ingested dose.

In nutrition, absorption depends on the nutitional status of the food and the physiological condition of the person. There can be a wide range of differences in the ability to absorb nutrients between individuals.

There is no significant difference between bio-availability of some natural and synthetic supplements, such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C).


BIOENERGETICS: Through physical exercises, breathing techniques, verbal psychotherapy, or other forms of emotional-release work, the therapist attempts to loosen muscular tension and restore diminished vitality and energy. 

BIOFEEDBACK TRAINING: Teaches a person how to change and control their body’s functions through the use of simple electronic devices. Particularly useful for learning to reduce stress, eliminate headaches, control asthmatic attacks, recondition injured muscles, and relieve pain. 

BIOFIELD: An energy field that suffuses living bodies and extends several inches beyond the body. This concept is employed in therapies such as healing touch, medical qigong, therapeutic touch, and reiki. In these therapies, the biofield from a practitioners hands is joined to the recipients biofield in order to treat an illness or to promote health. There is no consensus on what biofield is; some say it is spiritual energy, others say it is an electromagnetic field. source: http://healing.about.com


BODY STRESS RELEASE: Pioneered in South Africa, Body Stress Release (BSR) is a health modality that focuses on releasing stress gently from the muscles surrounding the spine. The result is an increase in communication between the spine and the nervous system which promotes self-healing. BSR also uses the body as a biofeedback monitor to locate the precise direction of the stress that needs to be released. BSR works on all types of stress including mechanical (physical), emotional, and chemical stress. Improving the body's natural healing abilities creates longer lasting results of healing.

BREATHWORK: A variety of techniques that use patterned breathing to promote physical, mental and/or spiritual well-being. Used as a calming, peaceful way to induce relaxation or manage pain. Used therapeutically, a stronger breathing technique can stimulate emotions and emotional release. 

BREEMA BODYWORK: Is an ancient non-diagnostic health-improvement method that uses a series of gentle, rhythmic movements to release tension and to promote health, vitality, and inner harmony. Breema Bodywork is done fully clothed, with the recipient lying or sitting.

BYCATCH: Bycatch is the word used for the “innocent bystanders” that are hauled in when fisheries go trawling for a specific species of seafood, such as shrimp or tuna, and are then discarded and thrown, dead or dying, back into the sea. Among the approximately 250 species at risk in this kind of “factory fishing” are dolphins, porpoises, several species of whales, including humpback and killer whales, sea horses, manta rays, all species of sharks, yellowtail, sea turtles, sea birds (albatrosses and sea gulls), sailfish, mackerel, skate fish, and many more.

According to Jonothan Safran Foer in his book, Eating Animals, every pound of shrimp you see at your local fish counter represents another 26 pounds of  other sea animals, or bycatch, that were caught and thrown away.In one two year study the  target species at one fishery only accounted for 10% of the total catch. 

CELTIC SALT: Most salt sold in stores today is heavily processed. Before selling the salt to you, the salt processing company has stripped it of most of the inherently useful minerals and sold these minerals to chemical companies to be used in other products. If you rely on table salt for your salt intake, your system may be badly out of balance. Gray Celtic Sea Salt is loaded with 84 minerals, chemicals, electrolytes and other elements that are missing in processed salt, even most of the "gourmet" salts you buy. Benefits of Celtic Salt include anti-aging, increased energy, stronger bones, healthier glands and nerves, increased libido, stable blood pressure and much more.

For a great read on salt, go to: Benefits of Celtic Salt

CHAKRAS: A Chakra is an energy center in or around one's physical body. The word comes from a Sanskrit word for wheel. Like a vortex, it spins in a certain direction, and is believed to be a source of life-force energy governing 1. the bodily functions around it and 2. an aspect of consciousness. Although opinions vary on how many Chakras there are, in the West most agree that there are at least seven, located between the base of the spine and the crown of the head. Some believe there are numerous minor Chakras in between the major ones, and that there are Chakras located in the energetic field that surrounds the body. There may be as many as 88,000 Chakras.

A Chakra Balancing is a ceremonial process that involves unblocking and cleansing the vortex and then correcting the direction of the spin before sealing it protectively.

CHELATION THERAPY: Typically administered in an osteopathic or medical doctor's office, chelation therapy is a series of intravenous injections of the synthetic amino acid EDTA, designed to detoxify the body. It is often used to treat arteriosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries." 

 

CHINESE MEDICINE: Chinese Medicine is an ancient healing paradigm, practiced for well over 3000 years. The uniqueness, strength of Chinese Medicine, is its ability to foresee and focus on preventive medicine, meaning, keeping the body's systems in balance and circulation regulated so as to prevent dis-ease.
Diagnosis is achieved through questioning, observation and palpating. After such diagnosis, the Chinese Medicine practitioner will determine which differential diagnostic pattern (imbalance) is predominate, and treat accordingly.
The Five Pillars (modalities used in healing) of Chinese Medicine are: 1) Acupuncture and Moxibustion 2) Nutrition 3) Tui Na (bodywork) 4) Herbology 5) Qi Gong. (source: )
http://healing.about.com

CHIROPRACTIC: Based on the premise that the spine is literally the backbone of human health. That misalignments of the vertebrae caused by poor posture or trauma result in pressure on the spinal nerve roots, which may lead to diminished function and illness. The chiropractor seeks to analyze and correct these misalignments through spinal manipulation or adjustments. 

COLON HYDROTHERAPY: Purified water is gently introduced into the colon through sterilized tubes in order to flush out toxins, gas, accumulated matter and mucus deposits along the walls of the colon. The results of a hydrotherapy session are increased energy, reduced cravings and better absorptions of nutrients. Is increased when the encrustation on the colon wall are cleaned. 

COLORPUNCTURE: Originated by German scientist and naturopath named Peter Mandel. Colorpuncture involves focusing colored light on acupuncture points on the skin to energize healing impulses in the physical and energy bodies. 

CONSCIOUS BODYWORK: A form of neuromuscular reprogramming and therapy which combines massage techniques with muscle testing, to help the client learn how to use their muscles with greater strength and less effort. 

CORE ENERGETICS: A form of body-oriented psychotherapy that aims to break down the client's defenses in order to reach the "core" level of consciousness, or spiritual self. Using bodywork and counseling techniques and offering spiritual guidance, the practitioner seeks to evoke cathartic reactions that open the way to "core energy." The goal is to enable the client to become a more loving, creative, receptive, and vibrant person. 

COUNSELING, HOLISTIC: This broad category encompasses a range of practitioners, from career counselors to psychotherapists. Formats can vary from individual counseling to group therapy. In addition to verbal counseling techniques, some holistic therapists may use bodywork, ritual, energy healing, and other alternative modalities as part of their practice. 

CRANIAL SACRAL THERAPY: Usually done by massage therapists, chiropractors, naturopaths, and osteopaths, cranial sacral massage is a form of gentle manipulation of the bones of the skull, the sutures and collagenous fibers that bind the bones with immovable joints, and the spine, enhancing the flow of spinal fluid between the spine and the brain and opening up blood flow, nerve passages and energetic meridians.

Cranial Sacral massage is used in the treatment of migraines, neck and back pain, stress, TMJ, and chronic pain.

CRYSTAL THERAPY: Dates back to Incan, Egyptian, Mayan, Atlantean, and Lemurian Civilizations. Quartz crystals, and other stones and crystals are placed on and around the body to stimulate and sensitize subtle vibrational patterns, release energy blockages, and harmonize vibrational frequencies.

For women whose metabolism of the so-called "good" estrogen  (2-Hydroxyestrone) and "bad" estrogen (16Alpha-Hydroxyestrone and 2: 16Alpha-Hydroxyestrone) is out of balance, taking DIM may be a way to restore a healthy metabolic response. Bottom line? Eat your broccoli!

DIATHERMY: Diathermy is deep-heat therapy that uses high-frequency electric currents to produce heat in body tissues. Physical therapists and sports physicians use diathermy to treat arthritis, bursitis, and fractures. It also may help treat gynecological diseases and sinusitis.
 

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT: Products intended to supply nutrients and other healthful substances that may be lacking in a diet. Term used to apply only to vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Herbs are now classified as dietary supplements, and the definition also includes amino acids, glandulars (processed animal glands), enzymes, fish oils, and various extracts, such as flower essences. 

DRAGON'S BLOOD:

Dragon's Blood (aka Sangre do Grado) comes most commonly from the red sap of the Dragon Blood Tree, a species of the Dracaena Cinnabari found in the Socotra archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It has been used through history in many different cultures as a cure-all for skin disorders, gastrointestinal problems, menstrual irregularities, for healing ulcers and respiratory problems, for reducing fevers, as well as for attracting love and casting spells for protection and banishing. It was often used as a dye, prized for it's deep red color.

Nowadays it is sold as an antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, coagulant, anti-inflammatory, and is a major ingredient in Peter Thomas Roth's Laser-Free Resurfacer, for skin repair, resurfacing and renewal. It is also used as  a component in incense, as a varnish for violins, and in the process of photoengraving.   Busy Dragons!

DOCTOR OF NATUROPATHY (D.N.): The scope of a naturopathic doctor's practice includes all aspects of family care from natural childbirth through geriatrics. Naturopathic doctors are licensed in a number of states and several Canadian provinces. These physicians are trained in natural medicine. Training involves four years of postgraduate study, including two years of medical sciences and a diversity of natural therapies. The therapies studied include herbal medicine, hydrotherapy and manipulation, with specialty areas of natural childbirth, homeopathy, and acupuncture. Naturopathic Medicine is a unique and comprehensive approach to improving health and addressing illness. Focusing on prevention and using natural approaches, naturopathic doctors (ND's) support and stimulate the body's ability to heal it’s self. The primary goal of naturopathic treatment is to address the cause of illness, rather than simply treat or suppress symptoms. The patient is seen as a whole person and the ND takes the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions into account when making an assessment and developing strategies for recovery of health. 

DOCTOR OF OSTEOPATHY (D.O.): This discipline was begun by Andrew Still in the late 1800s to teach bone manipulation to promote natural healing. Osteopathy helps the body to stimulate and restore its own immune systems and is very effective in treating many autoimmune disorders such as arthritis. Osteopaths use a system of healing that emphasizes realignment of the body through manipulation to correct faulty structure and function. They specialize in manipulating muscles and joints to treat problems. Doctors of Osteopathy are fully trained and licensed according to the same standards as M.D.'s and receive additional extensive training in the body's structure and function 

DREAMWORK: Counselors use a client's dreams to help awaken a better understanding of psychological or emotional disturbances. Some methods focus on teaching a client to do effective dreaming to change basic behavioral patterns or overcome certain problems.

EAR CANDLING: Is an ancient technique, which involves placing the narrow end of a specially designed hollow candle at the entry of the ear canal, while the opposite end is lit creating a vacuum with the ear. Primarily used for wax buildup and related hearing problems, ear candling is also used for ear infections and sinus infections. 


EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): EFT is an emotional healing technique which works by tapping with the fingertips on various body locations. This tapping serves to balance energy meridians which become disrupted when the client thinks about or becomes involved in an emotionally disturbing circumstance. The actual memory stays the same, but the charge is gone. Typically the result is lasting. Cognition often changes in a healthy direction as a natural consequence of the healing. (From
www.eftuniverse.com):

ELDERBERRY: Elderberry contains concentrated amounts of vitamin C, flavinoids, fruit acids, and anthocyanic pigments. It also is a good source for vitamins A and B. Recent studies have also indicated that elderberry may have antiviral activity, increasing its value as a preventative measure. In addition, the Herbal Information Center reports that new evidence has found that elderberry has remarkable value in fighting flu and similar viruses. One benefit of elderberry is its ability to help break fevers as it promotes profuse sweating. These properties help make elderberry valuable as an “after the fact” supplement to speed the healing process. From an article by Marian Brown.

EMOTIONAL RELEASE WORK: There are a number of bodywork techniques, which can be adapted for emotional release work. Practitioners often combine bodywork with verbal counseling to encourage the spontaneous release of fears, emotional traumas and phobias. 

ENERGY BALANCING: Is the practice of realigning, balancing, and re-attuning the body’s electro-magnetic energy field. Everything in creation is energy, and we, as energy, relate to it harmoniously or inharmoniously depending upon the degree to which we are in a balanced state of harmony within ourselves. 

ENERGY FIELD WORK: By using natural plant and pancreative enzymes as supplements, practitioners seek to improve digestion and correct potential problems created by the malabsorption of essential nutrients. Practitioners look for weaknesses in the energy field in and around the client’s body and seek to restore its proper circulation and balance. Energy channeled through the practitioner is directed to strengthen the body’s natural defenses and help the client’s physical, mental, emotional and/or spiritual state. 


ENVIRONMENTAL THERAPY: Through environmental therapy, practitioners seek to identify significant factors and probable causes of illness or allergy in the individual's life, home, and work. They then work with the individual to lessen or eliminate the impact of toxins and allergens. 

ENZYME THERAPY: During digestion, the bodies own digestive enzymes are not the only ones at work; the enzymes present in raw fruits and vegetables also contribute to the breakdown of food in the stomach. Because the average diet is low in raw foods, enzyme therapy advocates supplementation to reduce the work that the body has to do. Enzyme supplements are available over the counter in health food stores. 

EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES: Is the use the arts to promote physical & mental health and personal growth. Examples of expressive therapies include art therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, poetry, and psychodrama.

FASTING/NATURAL HYGIENE: Natural Hygiene is a health system that seeks to remove the causes of disease and encourage the body's self- healing capacity through natural-food diets and therapeutic fasting. Professional Natural Hygienists are primary care doctors (M.D.s, osteopaths, chiropractors, and naturopaths) who specialize in fasting supervision as a part of natural hygienic care. Natural Hygiene is employed for a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions. 

FELDENKRAIS: Teaches, through movement, how to use our bodies in a way that improves the capabilities to function with a greater range of ease and skill, thus improving well-being.

FENG SHUI: Is an ancient Chinese practice of configuring home or work environments to promote health, happiness, and 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. 

FLOTATION: Is experienced in a flotation tank, which is a specially designed chamber containing sufficient salt-saturated water to enable one to float. In this state of suspension, floating effortlessly, allows the mind and body to release tension. 

FLOWER ESSENCES: Are intended to alleviate negative emotional states that may contribute to illness or hinder personal growth. Drops of a solution infused with the captured essence of a flower are placed under the tongue or in a beverage. The appropriate essences are chosen, to focus on the client’s emotional state rather than on a particular physical condition. 

FREE RANGE EGGS: Back on Old MacDonald's Farm, things have changed. "Imagine a poutry shed containing 30,000 chickens with a small door that opens on one end that opens to a 5x5 foot durt patch - and the door is closed all but occasionally." In Eating Animals, author Jonathon Safran Foer says the concept of free-range and cage-free has little meaning in factory farming. 

In this country 95% of eggs and poultry production come from factory farms. "Cage-free means literally thay are not in cages", but they are still crowded into windowless sheds with artioficail light, polluted air, and about 67 square inches per bird, which is about the size of a sheet of paper.

Additionally, writes Foer, "free-range" and "cage-free" hens are debeaked, drugged and cruelly slaughtered once they are 'spent' as egg-layers. Millions of male chicks of the 'layer' breed, useless to the grower, are "discarded'". 

Learn all you can about factory farming and please make conscious choices in how you shop and eat!

A GENTLE THANKSGIVING:

As we become more aware of the plight of factory farmed animals, many of us have chosen to celebrate our holidays without the traditional centerpiece of a roasted turkey.

If this is your desire this Thanksgiving, you have many resources available on-line to help you create a festive, delicious, equally satisfying feast without including poor old Tom!

One of my favorite websites has recipes from actress Alicia Silverstone that include a Real Pumpkin Spice Soy Latte, a Butternut Squash Dip, a Golden Orchard Quinoa, Wine Glazed Brussels Sprouts and more yummy possibilities, plus sources for stuffed vegetarian "turkey" breasts and Field Roasts. Go to: A Gentle Thanksgiving to view these and more.

If you feel that you'd like to do more to promote a compassionate Thanksgiving, you'll find ideas at the same website on this page: Promote a Gentle Thanksgiving

GESTALT THERAPY: This psychotherapy aims to help the client achieve wholeness (gestalt is the German word for "whole") by becoming fully aware of his or her feelings, perceptions, and behavior. The emphasis is on the "here and now" of immediate experience rather than on the past. Gestalt therapy is often conducted in a group settings, such as weekend workshops. 

GLANDULARS: Freeze-dried animal glands, processed into pill form and taken to provide the body an extra dose of a hormone. Typically made from cow, sheep, or pig glands, glandulars on the market include adrenal, testicular, ovary, pancreas, pituitary, prostate, and thymus products. 

GUIDED IMAGERY: Also known as Guided Meditation or Guided Visualization. This experience is achieved by listening to the narration given by a practitioner guiding the visualization or "journey," or by listening to an audiocassette tape or CD. The experience allows one to travel within the mind to areas of beauty and peace, and further allows the individual to release any stress and tension.

HCG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin: HCG is the hormone produced during pregnancy that turns the pregnancy test strip a different color. It serves to stimulate the hypothalamus of the mother, moving essential fats and nutrients into the placenta.

The use of HCG in weight loss diets is spreading rapidly, but is still considered controversial. In the diet, HCG is taken as injections or as oral drops and is coupled with a highly restricted low calorie regimen. If you are considering this diet, do your research, don't buy the drops from questionable or inexpensive sources, and read up on the dangers and side effects.

HELLERWORK: Developed by former aerospace engineer (and one-time Rolf Institute president) Joseph Heller, this technique combines systematic structural bodywork and movement reeducation with dialogue about the emotional issues that may underlie a physical posture. Participants go through eleven sixty- to ninety-minute sessions. Stressing the mind-body connection, Hellerwork is used to treat chronic pain or to help "well" people learn to live more comfortably in their bodies.

HERBOLOGY: Also known as HERBALISM, is found in practically all the ancient cultures throughout the world, and utilizes plants and trees, and their derivatives for preventative and curative medicine. Herbs are prepared for internal and external use in various ways, including teas, tinctures, extracts, oils, ointments and compresses. Herbal therapy is used to strengthen the immune system, and heal the body naturally. 

HEIRLOOM SEEDS:

An heirloom plant is a variety of plant that dates from as early as prehistoric times to as recently as 1951 when hybridization of plants began to take over industrialized agriculture. As mono-cultivation has increased, reducing the gene pool of plants that are grown commercially to the hardiest and easiest to pick mechanically, it is thought that as many as 2000 of our older varieties have been lost.

But as far back as World War II a movement began to save the old varieties and to pass them along as heirlooms, in the truest sense of the word, to our children. There are about 1300 seed banks or genebanks around the world tasked with preserving the biodiversity of plants. These include the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a frozen tunnel inside a mountain on a Norwegian Island, and The Millennium Seed Bank Project in West Sussex, England.

In addition, one can order heirloom (aka heritage) seeds on-line from a wide variety of reputable dealers who guarantee their seeds to be organic, pollinated, non-hybrid and chemical-free.

Visit: www.seedsofchange.com and www.victoryseeds.com.
 

HOLISTIC/WHOLISTIC: Is an adjective meaning targeted to the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. Holistic medicine considers not only physical health but also the emotional, spiritual, social, and mental well-being of the person. 

HOLISTIC MEDICINE: An approach to healing and wellness that focuses on the whole person, including analysis of physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual and lifestyle values. It includes all legitimate modalities of diagnosis and treatment and seeks to discover and treat the cause rather than just the symptoms of a disease or illness. Holistic medicine supports the concept of each individual taking personal responsibility for his own healing process. Some holistic medical practitioners combine conventional forms of treatment (such as medication and surgery) with natural or alternative treatments. 

HOLISTIC PHYSICIAN (DOCTOR OF MEDICINE, M.D.): Holistic Physicians are medical doctors who practice some type of natural therapy, such as homeopathy, acupuncture, nutrition, or other specialty. Holistic physicians assume that all aspects of life create and comprise a total state of health. They analyze nutritional, emotional, environmental, spiritual, and life-style values of the client to treat the individual rather than the disease. 

HOMEOPATHY: Homeopathy utilizes minute doses of natural remedies that are created from herbal, mineral and animal substances to stimulate a person’s immune and defense system. Homeopathic remedies are named for the plant or animal ingredient they are made from. 

HYPNOSIS/HYPNOTHERAPY: A state in which the practitioner has accessed the subconscious mind in order to address the condition that influences a particular activity or attitude. It may be regarded as a trance-like state, which is artificially produced. This state allows the subject to bypass the limitations of dealing with and healing anything which has been suppressed, repressed, and in many situations, unresolved elements from previous lives (past life recall). The subject is susceptible to suggestions by the practitioner, to help the subject heal, even the most traumatic of conditions. 

HYDROTHERAPY: Hydrotherapy is the use of water, ice, steam, and hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Treatments include full body immersion, stream 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.

IV THERAPY: Also known as "nutrient therapy" in naturopathic medicine, IV therapy involves injecting vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies, amino acids and other supplements directly into the blood stream via an IV drip. It is commonly used for heavy metal detoxification, allergies, migraines, heart disease, cancer, depression, Alzheimer's, pain, and much more.

JIN SHIN JYUTSU: Jin Shin Jyutsu is an oriental system intended to harmonize the flow of energy through the body. The system holds that tension, fatigue, or illness can trap energy in the body's twenty-six "safety energy locks": Practitioners use their hands to restore balance and reduce stress. Jin Shin Jyutsu is not a form of massage, however, as it does not involve physical manipulation of the muscles. 

JUICE THERAPY: Juice therapy uses the fresh, raw juice of vegetables and fruits to nourish and replenish the body. Used as a nutritional support during periods of stress and illness, juice therapy can also be used as part of a comprehensive health maintenance plan.

KARMA: A basic concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The doctrine holds that one's state in this life is the result of physical and mental actions in past incarnations and that present action can determine one’s destiny in future incarnations. Karma is a natural, impersonal law of moral cause and effect. 

KINESIOLOGY/APPLIED KINESIOLOGY: Can determine health imbalances in the body's organs and glands by identifying weaknesses in specific muscles. By stimulating or relaxing these key muscles, an applied Kinesiologist can diagnose and resolve a variety of health problems. 

KRIPALU BODYWORK: Based on the principles of Kripalu Yoga, this bodywork method seeks to promote a deep state of relaxation and to help recipients reconnect with the healing wisdom of their bodies. Along with specific massage strokes, Kripalu bodyworkers use verbal and nonverbal means to guide recipients into a meditative state wherein physical and mental tension may be accessed and released. 

KRIPALU YOGA: Developed by Yogi Amrit Desai, Kripalu Yoga uses classical hatha yoga postures and breathing techniques to help students enter a state of "meditation in motion." Besides offering guidance in these yoga techniques, Kripalu Yoga teachers provide an atmosphere where sensations, thoughts, and emotions can be experienced in safety and relaxation. The principles of Kripalu Yoga are the foundation for Phoenix Rising yoga therapy and Kripalu Bodywork.
 

LICENSED ACUPUNCTURISTS (L.Ac): An acupuncturist is a licensed health care professional who, based on the concepts of oriental medicine, maintains the health of patients and evaluates and treats their illness and pain. Using the principles of oriental medicine, the acupuncturist will examine you by looking, listening, asking questions, and touching. 

LIGHT THERAPY: Light and color have been valued throughout history as sources of healing. Today, the therapeutic applications of light and color are being investigated in major hospitals and research centers worldwide. Results indicate that full-spectrum, ultraviolet, colored and laser light can have therapeutic value for a range of conditions from chronic pain and depression to immune disorders and cancer. 

LYMPHATIC THERAPIES: The practitioners listed in this category use a range of therapies that seek to affect the body's lymphatic system, which is important to the effective functioning of the immune system.

MACROBIOTIC: Although Hippocrates was the first to use the term macrobiotics (to describe those who were healthy and long-lived) Christoph Hufeland (1762-1836) is credited with being the founder of this way of eating and living. In the last half of the 19th century a Japanese doctor, Sagen Ichizuka, conducted clinical trials based on the belief that eating natural foods in season with attention to proper mineral balance would lead to greater health.

Nowadays, the term refers to a diet consisting of mostly vegetarian, seasonal, organic, non-processed foods (grains, beans, vegetables, and a little fish and seafood, seasoned with Japanese condiments). In addition to the diet is a belief in a lifestyle that includes order, relaxation, focus, the use of all-natural products in the home, moderate exercise, lots of fresh air and a connection to nature.
 

MANIPULATION: The application of manual force for healing. Term describes the techniques used in osteopathy, chiropractic, massage, and other bodywork therapies. Manipulation may involve various forms of massage, muscle pressure, and joint realignment or adjustment. 

MANTRA: In Hinduism and Buddhism, mystic word used in ritual and meditation. It is believed to have power to bring into being the reality it represents. Use of such mantras usually requires initiation by a guru, or spiritual teacher. 

MARTIAL ARTS: While the West often thinks of the martial arts as a sport or form of self-defense, these techniques originally developed in the East to increase mental acuity, health, and spiritual development through intense physical training. The many forms range from more externally oriented types such as karate and tae kwan do, which emphasize muscle and endurance, to the internally oriented tai chi and aikido, which seek to restore harmony and balance to the body. 

MASSAGE THERAPY: Massage therapy has been used since the time of Hippocrates in the fourth century BC. The basic philosophy of massage is to manipulate the soft tissue to enhance the body's tendency to heal itself. It consists of physical methods that include applying fixed or movable pressure, holding and moving parts of the body. 

MATRIX ENERGETICS: When asked "What is Matrix Energetics", Dr. Richard Bartlett answers, "I don't know", and then goes on to explain that "it is a consciousness  and a quantum access technology, based on the idea that we are made of photons and we're able to transcend dimensions of consciousness, and we are inter-dimensional beings, and being able to work with that in being able to create reproducible real-time changes in both physical, mental, emotional and financial conditions, pretty much anything that you could think of." It seems to be a "system of transformation" based on the principles of quantum physics. To learn more, go to: http://www.matrixenergetics.com/

MEDITATION: Meditation is a safe and simple way to balance a person's physical,emotional, and mental states. It is easily learned and has been used as an aid to treating stress and pain management. It has also been employed as part of an overall treatment for other conditions, including hypertension and heart disease. 

MIDWIFERY: Midwives provide education and support during pregnancy, assist the mother during labor and delivery and provide follow-up care. Practitioners of childbirth support include childbirth educators, childbirth assistants and women labor coaches who also provide post-partum home care. 

MUSIC/SOUND THERAPY: Therapists in this field utilize music or sound to improve a client's sense of emotional, physical and spiritual health and well-being. Various experiments with music have shown a range of benefits for all types of situations, from the elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s to young people with learning disabilities. 

MYOFASCIAL 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.

NETWORK CHIROPRACTIC: Uses Network Spinal Analysis, a method characterized by the sequential application of a number of gentle, specific chiropractic adjusting techniques. Care progresses through a series of levels that parallel spinal and quality-of-life changes. 

NEUROFEEDBACK: Neurofeedback also called EEG Biofeedback, Brain Training, Neurotherapy, Neurobiofeedback and Brain Balancing, is direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. Sensors are attached to the scalp and brain activity is observed in real time. As Lee Gerdes, Founder of Brain State Technologies, explains in his book “Limitless You”, “By altering levels of brain energy through a feedback loop that allows the brain’s own activity to be input into a computer and then fed back to it via auditory input, this advanced technology allows the brain to see itself, to recognize where it is out of balance... and to readjust itself." Other techniques involve the subject interacting with specifically designed video games that reward positive adjustments in brain activity.

NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING: Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is an approach to psychotherapy and organizational change based on "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behavior and the subjective experiences (esp. patterns of thought) underlying them" and "a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behavior". In early workshops held by co-founders, Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder,and in books that followed, it was often claimed that through the use of NLP, problems, especially phobias, could be overcome in a single short session whereas traditional therapies would have taken weeks, or even months of regular sessions to make progress. (source: www.en.wikipedia.org )
 

NIA TECHNIQUE: Nia, Neuromuscular Integrative Action, is an expressive, barefooted, dance/fitness practice developed by Debbie and Carlos Rosas. It addresses fitness as well as the unique and ever-changing needs of your thinking and feeling body. Nia draws on aspects of Martial Arts, Aikido, Yoga, T'ai Chi, Dance and other body integration therapies. 

NUMEROLOGY: From Victoria Barna, Numerologist:  "Numerology is a great tool that has been around for at least 2500 years. Many forms are available, however, we like to use a system created by Pythagoras, a Greek mathematician born in the sixth century B.C. Pythagoras believed that the vibration of the universe at the time of your birth influences one's character and destiny. This same premise applies to the vibration of the numbers of years and dates.

"We believe that numerology is like a blueprint that provides insightful guidance throughout a person's life. At an individual level this blueprint includes the essence of a person, behaviors, attitudes, deep soul yearnings, strengths and challenges/opportunities. At a universal level it tells us about the vibrational energies that are supported by the universe in any given year. These energies influence our own personal numbers and years."
 

NUTRITION: Nutritionists use diet as therapy. They determine a patient's individual nutritional requirements as well as whether he or she has food allergies. Nutritionists then provide specific dietary guidelines and food supplements, such as vitamins and minerals, to be taken at regular intervals over a long period of time in the maintenance of health and treatment of disease. Many common conditions can be treated effectively by dietary measures.ORGANIC FOOD is cultivated and processed without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides (insecticides and herbicides), preservatives, colorings, artificial additives or radiation. Certified Organically grown food is such: that has been grown on land where synthetic fertilizers or pesticides have not been used for five years; that has been inspected by a licensed independent third party; and that the product is supported by documentation on soil tests, a statement of organic intent, and an affidavit of confirmation. 

PHYSIOGNOMY: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines physiognomy as “the art of discovering temperament and character from outward appearance.” While often used in reference to face reading, the term also applies to palm reading, toe reading, ear reading, tongue reading and to  lip print reading. For anyone who has ever gotten an authentic, scientific reading of any of these body parts, it is clear that there is more to these "body-maps" than just a personality description. Much can be understood about a person's health and mental and emotional well-being from the physical indicators present in these holographic areas of the body.
 

ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE: A form of nutrient therapy that uses combinations of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids normally found in the body to maintain good health and to treat specific conditions, such as asthma, heart disease, depression, and schizophrenia. "Orthomolecular" means an approach based on a correct (ortho) balance of substances present in the body. 

OXYGEN THERAPY: Hydrogen peroxide therapy, ozone therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) supply increased oxygen to the body.

PHYTOREMEDIATION: Using plants to heal the environment, phytoremediation is the removal and degradation of contamination in soils and groundwater by plants. It utilizes a variety of plant physiological functions, including direct uptake of toxins, metabolism of those toxins into less toxic or nontoxic compounds, and degradative processes of bacteria and fungi within plant root systems. Advantages of using phytoremediation over conventional remediation methods: it is less expensive, it can be applied to a wide range of toxic metals and radionuclides, it is minimally disruptive to the environment, it is solar powered and energy efficient, it requires little maintenance, and it is aesthetically pleasing. There are thousands of phytoremediation projects in different stages of research and development around the world. From an article by David Crow.

PILATES METHOD: The Pilates Method is a full-body exercise system that emphasizes body alignment and correct breathing. With the help of an instructor, clients perform strength, flexibility, and range-of-motion exercises on specially designed equipment. Improves flexibility and range of motion, and can be used in physical therapy to aid in recovery. 

PINK SLIME: Pink slime" (ammoniated boneless lean beef trimmings) is the nickname earned by a formerly inedible byproduct of the beef industry. Once used in pet food, it's now a cheap additive in ground beef. Pink Slime is an additive that the federal government has approved to be mixed in with ground beef. To make "real" beef stretch further, manufacturers can use this ammonia-infused beef as up to 15 percent of the product. Pink slime is now an additive in 70% of the ground beef in the U.S., which means that if you're eating a burger, there's a good chance you're also eating Pink Slime.

Read more: Pink Slime.

POLARITY THERAPY: Usually attributed to the work and writings of Dr. Randolph Stone (1890-1981), this healing modality is based on the idea of opening and balancing the energetic systems in the body. Practitioners support that balance with gentle touch at specific points on the body, releasing any blocks and neutralizing the positive and negative energy flow between the two points. Personal responsibility is emphasized, a vegetarian diet is encouraged and Polarity Yoga is suggested for clients.

PRANA: Refers to the yogic concept of a cosmic energy or life force, similar to the Chinese idea of chi, which enters the body with the breath. Prana is thought to flow through the body, bringing health and vitality. It is considered the vital link between the spiritual self and the material self. 

PRANAYAMA: A term from yoga and Ayurveda meaning breath control. 

PROBIOTICS: Substances such as acidophilus and bifidus that restore the beneficial bacteria normally present in the intestines. Stress, poor diet, antibiotics, and oral contraceptives can throw off the normal balance of bacteria and fungi. This imbalance may be manifested as a yeast infection, or in symptoms such as diarrhea or gastrointestinal disturbances. 

PSYCHIC HEALING: A psychic receives information from Spirit, and in accordance with universal permission, and the permission of the recipient, is able to provide information and guidance to the recipient. There are also occasions where the psychic can also be a catalyst for the stimulation of the innate healing energy within the recipient. The psychic healer is also able to receive information from spirit about the causes of a person's challenges in life, be it physical, emotional or spiritual.

QI GONG (CHI-KUNG): Qi gong (also referred to as chi-kung) is an ancient Chinese exercise system that aims to stimulate and balance the flow of qi (chi), or vital energy, along the acu-puncture meridians, or energy pathways. Qi gong is used to reduce stress, improve blood circulation, enhance immune function, and treat a variety of health conditions.

REBIRTHING: Also known as conscious-connected breathing or vivation. A technique in which the therapist guides clients through breathing exercises to help them re-experience past memories - including birth - and let go of emotional tensions stored in the body. 

On the other hand, according to:  veganhealth.org, cooking breaks down food components that would otherwise bind minerals and prevent their absorption. It softens fiber and liberates some nutrients, and denatures proteins, aiding digestion. Cooking destabilizes toxic components, such as the goiter-promoting properties of broccoli and makes many foods more edible. Food for thought.

REFLEXOLOGY: Also known as ZONE THERAPY, is the practice of massaging the feet, where it is understood all the energy meridians of the body are represented, together with many nerve endings that also relate too much of the body and organs. The hand and ears are regarded in the same way. In either case, specific areas on the hands, feet and ears correspond to specific areas of the body and organs. In this sense, there is a similarity in philosophy to acupuncture and acupressure. 

REGRESSION: Psychological defense mechanism, viewed as a return to an earlier mode of behavior, thought, or feeling. The unconscious process that helps the mind resolve conflicts or lessen anxiety by returning to forms of gratification previously abandoned. 

REIKI: Practitioners of this ancient Tibetan healing system use light hand placements to transmit healing energies to the recipient. While the practitioners may vary widely in technique and philosophy, Reiki is commonly used to treat emotional and mental distress as well as chronic and acute physical problems, as well as to assist the recipient in achieving spiritual focus and clarity. 

ROLFING: Uses deep manipulation of the fascia to restore the body's natural alignment, which may have become rigid through injury, emotional trauma, and inefficient movement habits. The process, developed by biochemist Ida P. Rolf, involves ten sessions, each focusing on a different part of the body. 

ROSEN METHOD: Developed by former physical therapist Marion Rosen, the Rosen Method combines gentle touch and verbal communication to evoke relaxation and self-awareness. Because the work can bring up buried feelings and memories, it is used as a tool for personal growth as well as pain relief.

SHAMANISM/SHAMANIC HEALING: Many people associate shamanic healing with the use of Native American rituals to help correct a spiritual or physical imbalance within a person. However, every culture has its shamanic healing rituals in its spiritual traditions, and today shamanic healers in North America may draw from Tibetan rituals or African teachings as easily as from Native American thought. Shamanic Healer may call upon spiritual helpers such as power animals, angels, inner teachers, the client’s Higher Self, or other spiritual forces. 

SHEN THERAPY: As a form of touch therapy, SHEN (specific human energy nexus) Therapy seeks to enable normal energy flows through the body through light hand placements. 

SHIATSU: This form of therapy was originally developed in Japan in 1912 by Tokujiro Namikoshi, but today there are many variations and styles of Shiatsu. The two most significant types are the one that strives to align the ancient Japanese art of massage with 20th century Western Medicine, and the other one that seeks to reconcile traditional Chinese and Japanese massage techniques with Chinese Medicine. 
Generally, Shiatsu practitioners press on the meridians throughout the body with their hands, fingers, elbows, knees and feet, but the foundation of Shiatsu is "Diagnosis and Therapy combined". Practitioners sense the disharmonies in the client through their hands, and manipulate the meridians to correct these imbalances. In Japan it takes three years of study and passing a national exam to become a practitioner.

THE SPECIES BARRIER: The species barrier is generally thought of as the difficulty an infectious disiease has jumping from one species to another. But there is another kind of species barrier.

Americans own approximately 377 million pets. We spend $51 billion a year on our furry, finned winged and slithery children, or about $638 per pet-owning household each year. Our pets are generally well-treated, loved and often pampered.

On the other hand, 9 billion animals – pigs, horses, goats, ducks, turkeys, bison, chickens, geese, and cattle – are slaughtered every year in American slaughter houses. They are neither loved or pampered, but often live short, miserable lives at factory farms and then die painfully brutal deaths, without respect or reverence for their sacrifice or their gifts to us. The disconnection between the two extremes, the pampering and the infliction of suffering, is the species barrier…but it is an illusion that we have imagined.

Stewardship and husbandry have fallen by the wayside in factory farming. Instead, our fellow creatures suffer an endless holocaust. Buying and eating factory farmed animals and their products supports the abuse. Make thoughtful choices.

SOMA NEUROMUSCULAR INTEGRATION: This bodywork method seeks to improve posture, joint function, and body alignment through deep manipulation of the muscular and connective tissue. The ten-session process, which incorporates movement training and other adjuncts, also seeks to promote greater access to the functioning of each hemisphere of the brain. Has been found to be extremely helpful in the treatment of chronic back pain and limited mobility due to arthritis. 

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. 

SOUNDING THE BODY: A diagnostic and therapeutic technique used in sound healing. Sound healers read a patient’s body by singing a series of tones and listening for imbalances in the natural frequencies of the body or its’ energy fields. Imbalances are said to be indicated, by changes in the tone of the healer’s voice. To correct a problem, the sound healer applies sound to the patient’s body by singing certain tones near the affected organ, or by applying tuning forks or electronic vibratory instruments to the body. 

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION: A systematic approach to relieving patterns of stress and impaired functioning, structural integration seeks to correct misalignments in the body created by gravity and physical and psychological trauma. As in Rolfing, in ten sessions the practitioner uses hands, arms, and elbows to apply pressure to the fascia, or connective tissue, while the client participates through directed breathing. 

SUBLUXATION: In chiropractic, a misalignment of bones within joints said to interfere with the flow of nervous impulses and diminish the body’s ability to stay healthy.

SWEAT LODGE (PURIFICATION LODGE): This ritual is a sacred ceremony to Native Americans and is used for purification and to mark important milestones. A rich tradition is adhered to in the construction of the lodge and its surroundings, and both the Fire Chief and the Dance Chief (the person who conducts the ceremony) must go through years of apprenticeship before being allowed to run a sweat lodge.

The lodge represents many things, including the womb of Mother Earth and the Universe in microcosm. Typically, after the Dance Chief calls in all of the powers of the universe, prayers are spoken by the participants and non-productive patterns are "given-away", all while listening to the Song of the Stone People, as water is poured gently on the sizzling rocks.
 

Commercialized versions of sweat lodges bear little resemblance to those done in a proper and traditional way.


SYMPATHETIC AND PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEMS: Originating out of the mid-brain, just below the neocortex, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems are sub-categories of the autonomic nervous system (or the involuntary nervous system), controlled by our subconscious intelligence.The sympathetic nervous system, also known as our fight-or-flight nervous system, is responsible for preparing us for action. It accelerates our heart rate, raises our blood pressure, increases our respiratory rate and gives us a shot of adrenalin.

Our parasympathetic system is there to conserve our energy. As long as there is no perceived threat around us, this system will slow  down our heart beat, relax us, and support our digestion and internal organs, moving the blood flow to these areas.With no conscious effort, our autonomic nervous system manages and regulates our homeostasis, including body temperature, blood sugar, our pulse rate, the release of digestive enzymes, the manufacture of hormones and and blood cells and millions of other processes.

One more thing...the brain is almost 80% water, so do your brain a favor and drink lots of pure H2O!
 

TAI CHI/MARTIAL ARTS: The martial arts are perhaps best known as means of self-defense, but they are also used to improve physical fitness and promote mental and spiritual development. The highly disciplined movements and forms are thought to unite body and mind and bring balance to the individual's life. "External" methods (such as karate and judo) stress endurance and muscular strength, while "internal" methods (such as tai chi and aikido) stress relaxation and control. 

THAI-STYLE BODYWORK: Thai-style bodywork is a general term for a range of bodywork therapies that are indigenous to or derive from Thailand. Practitioners may use their hands, elbows, knees, and feet to exert pressure; gently rock the client's body or specific body parts; and lead the client in deep stretching and mindfulness techniques. The goal is to create energetic balance and wholeness of mind, body, and spirit in both the client and the practitioner. 

THERAPEUTIC TOUCH: Practiced by registered nurses and others to relieve pain & stress. Practitioner assesses where a person's energy field is weak and congested, and then uses his or her hands to direct energy into the field to balance it. 

THERAPY: Treatment and care of someone to combat disease, injury, or mental disorder. 

TONIC: Herbal remedy made from herbs taken to maintain health or ward off illness, rather than to treat an illness. Also known as a normalizer. 

TOUCH FOR HEALTH: A self-help technique taught by instructors, Touch For Health is a system of balancing the body's energy by applying gentle pressure to contracted muscles and other points along the body. Regular balancing is used to improve overall health and strengthen resistance to common ailments and physical complaints. 

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM): Traditional Chinese Medicine is an ancient method of health care that combines the use of medicinal herbs, acupuncture, food therapy, massage, and therapeutic exercise. It has proven effective for many conditions, including chronic degenerative disease, cancer, infectious disease, allergies, childhood ailments, heart disease and AIDS. [Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide] 

TRAGER BODYWORK: Movement-education approach that gently rocks, cradles, and moves the client’s body. Meant to promote relaxation, increase mobility and mental clarity. Used by athletes for performance enhancement and by people with musculoskeletal and back problems. 

TRANCE DANCE: For more than 40,000 years people have danced as a way to induce the trance state. They have danced the animals, the elements, their joys and fears. Trance Dance, developed by the Natale Institute, is a facilitated blindfolded dance experience, in which participants join with their spirit to learn and to heal.

TRIGGER POINT/MYOTHERAPY: Practitioners of this technique apply pressure to specific points on the body to relieve tension. Trigger points are tender, congested spots on muscle tissue that may radiate pain to other areas. Though the technique is similar to shiatsu or acupressure, this therapy uses Western anatomy and physiology as its basis.

ULS (USE LESS STUFF):

This is from recycleworks.org and uselessstuff.com:

From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, added food waste, shopping bags,packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons all add an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills.

Add to that almost 3 billion Christmas cards that could fill a football field 10 stories high. Sending e-cards instead saves, literally, tons of paper.

If every family reused two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

Half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products. In the U.S., annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons. Make an effort to reuse wrapping paper when you can and consider using brown bags, fabric, newspapers, or old maps to wrap your gifts, or better yet, give gift cards.

Each year, 50 million Christmas trees are purchased in the U.S. Of those, about 30 million go to the landfill.

A life lived holistically is a live lived with intention and commitment to the big picture. Be creative, be thoughtful and consider the health and well being of Mother Earth this Holiday Season. She has given us the gift of "home". Show your appreciation and respect for the resources she has lavished on us all by using them wisely and resourcefully.

For more ways to Use Less Stuff, check out these links: Holiday Waste Use Less Stuff

UPCYCLING: What we commonly call recycling (and some call downcycling), is the process of breaking something down, by melting it, pulverizing it or treating it chemically to produce a different, often inferior, material.

Upcycling is the process of turning useless items or materials into something superior or more useful.

In the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by  William McDonough and Michael Braungart, we learn that the beauty of upcycling is that potentially useful items are not wasted, and can instead be used to reduce the consumption of new materials. Using the wood from a demolished old barn to trim the interior of a new house is a good example.

Said Thornton Kay of Salvo in 1994, when asked about recycling, "What we need is upcycling where old products are given more value not less."

So before you throw away all of those disposable wooden chopsticks, that dryer lint, or your favorite, stained tablecloth, consider how you might build an elegant trivet, make clay for your children to play with or create some elegant bathroom curtains. Who knows what gifts you could create from the stuff in the nooks and crannies of your house? Now that's shopping locally!

Go to these links for great ideas! Upcycled Images,  Upcycling Ideas

Browse the internet for more inspiration.

VETERINARY MEDICINE, HOLISTIC: Practitioners of holistic veterinary medicine are typically licensed D.V.M.s who incorporate both conventional and holistic modalities in serving the well-being of their animal patients. Alternative treatments can include homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic and massage, clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and more. 

VIBRATION HEALING: Everything in creation is vibrating in varying frequencies. Sound and other tools, like crystals, gemstones, semi-precious stones, and in fact anything that is appropriate can be used in this healing modality. Even a tree! The appropriate vibrational frequency is applied to help remedy the imbalance, from whence you may be able to maintain your own equilibrium in harmony on all levels. 

VISION THERAPIES, HOLISTIC: Holistic vision therapies maintain that, through exercise and relaxation techniques, vision may actually be improved to the point that glasses may no longer be needed. Therapies are typically offered by licensed optometrists and opthalmologists. 

VIBRATIONAL HEALING / MEDICINE: Promotes healing by balancing the body’s energy field. Can include acupuncture, homeopathy, flower essences, sound & color healing, crystals, gems, aromatherapy, and energy-based bodywork (Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Polarity Therapy).WATSU (WATER SHIATSU)

WATSU, or WATER SHIATSU: is a form of massage performed in chest-high body-temperature water. The practitioner guides the client through a series of dance like movements while using Zen shiatsu techniques (stretches and finger pressure) in order to release blockages in the body's meridians, or energy pathways. Watsu is used to release tension and to treat a wide variety of physical and emotional problems.

WELLNESS COACHING: The art of helping the client to help themselves. The coach encourages the client to share the past. Through deep connection with the client, together they can uncover images and situations from the past. The coach will work with the client in whichever way seems most appropriate.

WATER FLUORIDATION: Water Fluoridation came into widespread use in 1960 and can be found in the communities of at least 70% of the US population. Fluoride is a waste product of the Aluminum Industry. A reverse osmosis system and distillation will remove fluoride from water in your home. So will an activated alumina defluoridation filter, but most other filters will not.To contact your local representatives about getting fluoride out of your water, go to: No More Fluoride

YOGA THERAPY: Emerging field of practices that use yoga to address mental and physical problems while integrating body & mind. Practitioners work one-on-one or in a group setting.

YOGA: Yoga is among the oldest known systems of health practiced in the world today, and research into yoga practices has had a strong impact on the fields of stress reduction, mind/body therapies, and energy work. The physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation practices of yoga have been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, regulate heart rate, and even retard the aging process.

ZEN: A body of wisdom teachings that relies on direct experience and one-on-one “transmission” of that experience from teacher to student. Zen originated in the 14^th century with Gautama Buddha. It is believed that the lineage of the transmission began with him when he transmitted his “true Dharma eye” to his disciple Mahakasyapa, and continues today in an unbroken link.

Zen teachings include the belief that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature and that Buddha-nature is the natural state of the mind. Practitioners seek enlightenment through meditation, or “sitting”, and the practice of Buddha’s teachings, designed to help the student uncover his true nature.

ZERO BALANCING: Method for aligning body structure and body energy. Through touch akin to acupressure, practitioner seeks to overcome imbalances in the body’s structure/energetic interface, which is said to exist beneath the level of conscious awareness. Zero Balancing is often used for stress reduction.

This Glossary of Terms is an on-going project.  We have gathered this information from various sources on the intenet (for which we are grateful)and from our members.If you want to contribute a Holistic Term or to enhance one, please contact us with your comments.