The Self Health Handbook: Low Cost, Easy To Use Therapies From Around The World

308 Pages·2005·18.73 MB·English

by  Ken Dachman

J. F. K ENN DY UN V ERSITY
L00072362
Daehman , Ken *
The seIf”health handbook s
low—cost 5 easy—to—u.'=e
therapies from around the
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RA776.95 = D33 1996
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Self-Health
Handbook
Low-Cost, Easy-to-Use
Therapies from Around the World
Kenneth A. Dachman, Ph.D.
Joen Pritchard Kinnan
GT
Facts On File, Inc.
AN INFOBASE HOLDINGS COMPANY
The Self-Health Handbook: Low Cost, Easy-to-Use Therapies from Around
the World
Copyright © 1996 by Kenneth A. Dachman, Ph.D., and Joen Pritchard Kinnan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without
permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact:
Facts On File, Inc.
11 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dachman, Ken.
The self-health handbook : low-cost, easy-to-use therapies from
around the world / Kenneth A. Dachman, Joen Kinnan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-3201-7 (he). — ISBN 0-8160-3227-0 (pbk.)
1. Self-care, Health. 2. Alternative medicine. I. Kinnan, Joen.
II. Title.
RA776.95.D33 1996
615.5—dc20 95-46516
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
quantities for businesses, associations, institutions or sales promotions. Please
call our Special Sales Department in New York at 212/967-8800 or
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Cover design by Neuwirth & Associates
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
MP FOF10 987654321
For KLD, my one and only. And in loving memory of
Florence Waskin Snitovsky, one of a kind.—KAD
For Glynis and Jason with love. And to all the treaders on
planet: May you treat it gently. —JPK
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction vii
How to Use The Self-Help Handbook x
Flowers, Plants, and Herbs 1
♦ Aromatherapy 1
♦ Bach Flower Remedies 9
♦ Herbalism 19
Healing Through Nature's Elements 33
♦ Chakra Balancing 33
♦ Color Therapy 39
♦ Cryotherapy 44
♦ Crystal Therapy 47
♦ Heat Therapy 52
♦ Hydrotherapy 55
♦ Heliotherapy 60
♦ Magnetic Therapy 69
♦ Thalassotherapy 74
Eating for Health 77
♦ Arthritis Diet 77
♦ Fasting 81
♦ Healing Foods 87
♦ Macrobiotics 95
♦ Vegetarianism 100
Exercising the Body 106
♦ Aerobic Exercise 107
♦ Alexander Technique 123
♦ Callanetics 126
♦ Exercises for Specific Conditions 129
♦ T'ai Chi 146
♦ Yoga 150
Your Healing Hands 154
♦ Acupressure 155
♦ Chua-ka 159
♦ Do-In 161
♦ Bonnie Prudden My other apy 164
♦ Reflexology 169
♦ Shiatsu 176
The Breath of Life 184
♦ Pursed-Lip Breathing 185
♦ Diaphragmatic Breathing 186
♦ Qigong 189
♦ Pranayama 192
The Mind as Healer 198
♦ Affirmations 198
♦ Autogenics 202
♦ Biofeedback 205
♦ Dream Therapy 210
♦ Humor 215
♦ Meditation 218
♦ Visualization 223
Healing "Arts" and Hobbies 228
♦ Art Therapy 229
♦ Gardening 231
♦ Journaling 234
♦ Music Therapy 238
♦ Pet Therapy 242
Alternative Healing Systems and Practices 246
♦ Ayurveda 247
♦ Colon Therapy 252
♦ Homeopathy 257
♦ Natural Hygiene 264
♦ Naturopathy 269
♦ Nutritional Supplement Therapy 274
Afterword 282
Index 283
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My heartfelt gratitude to Dr. John Lyons of Northwestern University for
his steadfast support and incomparable scholarship, to Dr. Marvin
Surkin of the Union Institute for his wisdom and guidance, and to
Chicago attorney Donald Leibsker for his invaluable counsel.—KAD
My grateful appreciation to librarian Hella Westbrook of the River
Forest, Illinois, Public Library for her forbearance in allowing me to
denude her shelves for an unconscionably long time and to the staff of
the Oak Park, Illinois, Public Library for being similarly inclined.—JPK
vi
INTRODUCTION
Want a hot conversational topic that's sure to spur controversy? Try
healthcare. Debate about it spans borders, cuts across all economic
levels, permeates political campaigns, and influences boardroom deci¬
sions. People everywhere are taking a new look at healthcare: what it
means, what it costs, who should receive it, who should pay, and how
it should be delivered. The way that governments, employers, and
ordinary citizens answer these questions will have far reaching conse¬
quences.
As humankind has evolved, our concepts of what constitutes health¬
care have changed dramatically. In the beginning, there was no
healthcare except that provided by the individual through his or her wits
and common sense. Yet people survived and even prospered. Gradually,
systems of folk medicine developed in various communities that were
often remarkably similar despite vast geographic separations. With the
rise of civilizations came a corresponding increase in the scope and
sophistication of medical care. Trained physicians now treated the sick
and counseled the well. Though their practices might differ, almost all
early healthcare systems were holistic; that is, practitioners believed that
the mind and body were one and could not be treated separately.
Physicians treated the person and not the disease, and most medications
were derived from plants and other naturally occurring substances. With
some modifications, physicians practiced this type of medicine for cen¬
turies. Eastern civilizations and native cultures never abandoned the
naturalistic approach, but early in this century. Western medicine took
a different course.
Spurred by technological advances and an emerging pharmaceutical
industry. Western medicine opted for more aggressive tactics. Myriad
powerful synthetic drugs (many based on compounds originally de¬
rived from plants) replaced herbal teas and homemade tonics in the
treatment lexicon. Researchers developed sophisticated scientific equip¬
ment that could plumb the depths of the human body as never before.
Progress in medicine came to be measured by the latest miracle drug and
cutting-edge technology.
The "pill for an ill" philosophy shifted focus from the person to the
disease and thus helped sever the mind-body connection that is the crux
of holistic healing. Also, technological medicine made healthcare very
complicated—and costly. Only trained physicians knew what was going
on in this sophisticated, high-tech environment. The patient simply said,
"Okay, doc," and swallowed the pill or underwent the treatment. Nev-
Vll
viii THE SELF-HEALTH HANDBOOK
ertheless, people had high hopes that Western medicine would lead to
an unprecedented era of good health.
We're now well into the technological era, and things haven't gone
exactly as planned. Western medicine has provided major breakthroughs
in many areas, but technology and miracle drugs have done little to
reduce the risk of major killers like cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
People have discovered that potent drugs have potent side effects that
can cause new health problems. The cost of high-tech medicine puts it
out of reach of vast segments of the population with neither financial
resources nor insurance. Those who do have insurance are often told
where they can be treated, by whom, and for how long. There is talk of
healthcare rationing where those who are too old, too young, or too sick
may not be treated at all. These are disturbing problems, and most
people feel powerless to move the entrenched bureaucracies that govern
mainstream medical practice.
Couple this with the downside of our fast-paced modern existence.
Labor-saving devices have allowed an appalling number of people in
the industrialized world to become overweight, improperly fed, and
inactive. Job insecurity, family tensions, and a host of other problems
have vaulted stress to the top of the health-problems list. People are
living longer, but are they living better?
Few dispute that modern medicine can do some things better than
any other healing practice and some things the others can't do at all. But
there is a growing belief that conventional medicine may not have the
best answers for some of our most common problems. What about
quality of life? Stress? Chronic pain? Yes, there are drugs that can lift
your spirits, calm you down, and kill the pain, but people want to know:
Isn't there something safer, more conservative? Fed up with the doctor-
as-god concept, people everywhere are opting to find some of their own
answers and to take responsibility for their own well-being. They're
electing to become selective—and informed—healthcare consumers.
Often this means investigating complementary therapies that may be
outside the mainstream.
As people delve into Ayurveda or herbalism, they discover that
millions have been using such therapies for thousands of years. (Would
these methods still be around if they hadn't worked for people?) They
find that most alternative treatments are gentle, safe (often much more
so than drugs), and comparatively inexpensive. Natural treatments may
take longer to work, but healing won't occur at the expense of unwanted
side effects or dangerous complications.
People today want more than treatment for disease; they want to feel
good in body and mind. They yearn for a return to holistic principles.
Most alternative therapies fill this bill. Furthermore, alternative methods
emphasize prevention—staying healthy—rather than cure. When a per-