Holistic Glossary

Acupressure

Balances energy in the meridians by gently touching key healing points, stimulating the body’s natural, self-curing ability.

Acupuncture/Traditional Chinese Medicine

The five branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which maintain and restore an individual’s harmony with nature, are acupuncture, herbology, massage (tuina), qigong and Chinese dietary medicine. Acupuncture is an ancient healing technique which uses fine, sterile needles to balance the energy meridians in the body to allow self-healing.

Animal Care

Holistic animal care works to enhance the health and well-being of our animal friends, and includes animal communication, holistic veterinary practices and other pet services.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy uses essential oils in body and skincare treatments to aid in relaxation improve circulation and help the healing of wounds.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda literally translates to science or wisdom of life. It is founded upon a profound understanding of our human connection to nature, deeply connected to our daily rhythms, that can enhance our well being and vitality.

Chi Nei Tsang

Chi Nei Tsang is a Healing System of Taoist Abdominal Massage. Practitioners work directly and gently with the abdominal organs  to improve their functioning and vitality, addressing areas of stagnation and holding. Coaching in breathing, self-massage, and other self-care practices encourage the clients’ participation in their journey to well-being.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic care emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine.

Coaching and Counseling

These practices use a range of communication skills to help clients shift their perspectives and thereby discover different solutions to achieve their goals.

Colon Hydrotherapy

Colon hydrotherapy is a time-proven technique to enhance health and well being by facilitating the elimination process and enabling the body to function more freely.

CranioSacral Therapy

CranioSacral therapy encourages the body’s natural healing mechanism using gentle, non-invasive techniques to improve the functioning of the central nervous system, dissipating the negative effects of stress, relieving pain, and enhancing health.

EFT

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an easy technique using self-tapping on acupuncture points (no needles!) to help balance blocked energy pathways. Although simple, EFT is an extremely powerful and effective tool for eliminating emotional blocks that can keep us from healing or experiencing happiness.

Feldenkrais

Feldenkrais establishes new connections between the brain and body through movement reeducation.

Guided Self-Healing

An empowering, co-created experience between the practitioner and the person seeking healing for physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual issues that keep someone from living a fulfilling life.

HCG Fat Loss

The HCG fat-loss diet is an old but proven method of fat loss that resets the metabolic set point in the brain while protecting the body from muscle loss and protein starvation. It reshapes the body and improves general health, energy and well being.

Holistic Business Services

Holistic business service providers support practitioners by understanding the holistic practitioner on a mind, body and spirit level, and by creating breathing space, ease and peace in the practical working aspects of business such as bookkeeping, office organization, computer file organization, workflow and databases.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy is based on the principle that “like cures like,” and employs minute doses of natural remedies created from herbal, mineral and animal substances to stimulate the body’s own healing responses.

Hypnotherapy

The use of a state of focused attention, achieved through guided relaxation, to access the unconscious mind. Hypnosis is used for memory recall, medical treatment, and skill enhancement or personal growth.

Integrative/Holistic Medicine

Integrative/holistic medicine focuses on the whole person and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, both holistic and conventional.

Intuitive Guidance

Intuitive practitioners have the ability to obtain valid solutions to problems without logical reasoning due to the conscious ability to access earthly knowledge along with higher spiritual wisdom in a flash of insight.

Lymph Drainage

Stimulates and improves the lymphatic system by encouraging it to eliminate metabolic waste products, bacteria and excess fluid.

Massage Therapy

Massage is a system of structured palpation or movement of the soft tissue of the body to enhance the general health and wellbeing of the recipient, often providing deep relaxation and stress relief.

Meditation and Breathwork

Meditation is a type of mind-body complementary medicine producing a state of deep relaxation and a tranquil mind, resulting in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

Medium/Channel

Mediums and Channels act as a bridge between the earthly realm and other realms to provide information and/or healing.

Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathy uses diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and natural therapies to enhance the body’s ability to prevent and cure disease.

Neuroptimal Brain Training

Neuroptimal brain training uses a computer software program to mirror back to your brain through audio and visual signals what the brain waves are doing and where they are “stuck” or not operating optimally. Your brain then takes this information and reorganizes itself.

Osteopathy

A non-invasive, manual medicine that focuses on whole-body health by treating and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework, which includes the joints, muscles and spine.

Pilates

Pilates is a form of exercise which emphasizes the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility and graceful movement.

Polarity Therapy

Restoring the natural flow of energy into the body through the chakras and reestablishing balance and enhancing vitality.

Psychic

Psychics perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extra-sensory perception or a sixth-sense, sometimes involving communication with the spirit realm.

Qigong

Qigong is a practice of aligning breath, movement and awareness for exercise, healing and meditation. (Pronounced “chee-gung”)

ReConnective Therapy

ReConnective Therapy (RCT) is a method of healing that works primarily with the energetic body. RCT is a healing art that facilitates connection of the energy body all the way into the physical body. Once this is done, the body as well as the emotions and thinking will start to heal.

Reflexology

Applying pressure to the feet, hands or ears with hand techniques, based on a series of zones or reflex areas that correspond to the larger human body.

Reiki

Reiki uses touch and visualization to access the universal life force to restore health. Reiki means “universal light energy.” It is a process of tapping into the Divine connection that lives in all of us. The practitioner, using visualization and hand positions, helps the energy flow properly through the body.

Rolfing

Rolfing is soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organizes the whole body in gravity to improve performance and health and reduce pain and injury.

Shamanic Practitioner

Shamanic practitioners treat ailments and illnesses by mending the soul. Sometimes involving communication with the spirit world, they alleviate traumas affecting the soul/spirit by restoring the physical body to balance and wholeness.

Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy for adults provides education and training to improve skills in speech clarity, expressive (speaking and writing) and receptive (listening and reading) language, cognition, voice quality/function, and swallow safety. These skills may be impaired as a result of a medical condition such as a neurologic disease; acquired injury such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, complications from medication or surgery; or the natural aging process. Speech Therapy can also help facilitate changing vocal pitch to match a gender identification; improving a speaking or singing voice; or modifying a foreign or regional accent to more closely resemble a standard American English accent.

Structural Integration

Posture, fascia release and movement to eliminate strain and increase performance.

T’ai Chi

T’ai Chi, often called “meditation in motion,” is a Chinese-based internal martial art that uses gentle, flowing movements to reduce stress, connect the mind and body, and improve health.

Therapeutic TouchSM

The intent of Therapeutic TouchSM is to restore the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – in the direction of health and healing. Dolores Krieger, RN, PhD, a nurse educator at New York University, and Dora Kunz, a natural and gifted healer, developed Therapeutic TouchSM in 1972. Therapeutic TouchSM is a contemporary adaptation of ancient healing practices in which the practitioner intentionally and consciously interacts from a place of centered awareness with compassion, through the use of the hands in non-contact or light touch, with the life force energy of another to facilitate, promote and enhance healing. Therapeutic TouchSM concepts are supported by modern theories in psychoneuroimmunology and quantum physics.

Thermography

Thermography is medical infrared imaging, also known as digital infrared thermal imaging. Thermography is non-invasive, radiation-free, painless, and 100% safe. It is used mostly for the earliest detection of breast cancer, but also is an effective tool in the assessment and monitoring of: pain syndromes, sport injuries, stroke risk, headaches, arthritis, thyroid, vascular & nervous system disorders, and more.

ThetaHealing

ThetaHealing is a technique used by practitioners to access the Theta brain wave to connect to the Creator. In this state the practitioner witnesses the “pulling” of negative beliefs, which are replaced with positive beliefs. It is similar to stating affirmations but the effects are instantaneous.

Transformational Breathing

Transformational breathing is a unique form of breathwork using conscious breathing techniques to facilitate the natural healing process, resulting in improved physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Yoga

Yoga is an ancient system of breathing practices, physical exercises and postures, and meditation intended to integrate the practitioner’s body, mind and spirit.

Zero Balancing

Zero Balancing uses finger pressure and gentle traction to address the energy flow of the skeletal system, correcting imbalances and providing relief from pain, anxiety, and stress.