Free Reflexology Charts

The beginning student or layperson interested in dabbling in the art of reflexology will no doubt want some free reflexology charts. The subject of reflexology is truly satisfying especially when practiced. The novice will quickly learn that certain areas of the body such as the feet, hands, ears, and head are reflex areas that when manipulated or massaged will promote healthy tissue and organ health. No doubt to know exactly where to manipulate the foot, hand, ear, or feet is quite tricky. The student will need the aid of free reflexology charts; at least in the beginning. As the student becomes more involved in the art of reflexology or becomes interested in becoming a teacher or practitioner then, would be the time to invest money for a worthwhile career.

If you do a Google search for reflexology charts you will come up with tons of sites selling reflexology charts, but to find free reflexology charts is a bit harder. Do not fret or worry, there are free reflexology charts out there. Here are a few sites to investigate for your free reflexology charts.

An excellent site for information on reflexology can be found at the American Academy of Reflexology they also run the www.ReflexologySchoolLosAngeles.com   and www.ReflexologyResearch.net sites.

You will find free reflexology charts offered by expert reflexologist, Bill Flocco there. This site offers an ear, foot, and hand chart as well as free books and other materials. These free reflexology charts are in black and white only and are quite small but they are place to start. The site does offer an email address to contact them for further information: ReflexologyEdu@aol.com

It would be very practical and easier to understand and read if you could obtain free reflexology charts in color. The reflex zones that you are particularly interested in will stand out in color whereas in black and white you will have to look a little more closely. Color is also easier on the eyes as it jumps out to you. You will have to concentrate and perhaps strain your eyes to see the zones clearly when using black and white charts.

However, if black and white is the only option available open to you, do not let that become a handicap, if the printing is small and you have the chart as a download, adjust your printing size, or zoom feature on your computer. If you have printed it to full size and still find the chart is too small, go to a photocopier machine or service and have it blown up. Remember, don’t give up there are always options available.

CircleofLight.com will send you two high quality free reflexology foot charts to you by email, because their philosophy is that everyone should have foot reflexology chart to promote good health.

Mindbodyandsoul.com will also send you free reflexology foot charts in word format if you provide your email address.

The Benefits of Alternative Medicine and Radiotherapy

Alternate medicine and radiotherapy are a combination that is growing in popularity. Radiotherapy treatment is normally used in cancer patients, with the most common type known as external beam therapy. This name evolved because the treatment consists of a beam of radiation that comes from a very sophisticated machine. The beam is focused on the part of the body that contains the tumor, and the largest amount of radiation possible is used to kill the cancer cells.

Radiotherapy is very hard on the body. The treatments are short in duration, no more than 10 to 15 minutes. There is no pain involved with these treatments, but the side effects afterwards can be brutal, depending on the individual. Extreme tiredness and nausea, pain, hair loss, and red and tender skin are a few of the most common. The use of alternate medicine and radiotherapy together is indicated when the patient wants natural relief from the ravages of radiation side effects.

Nausea is one of the most severe side effects of radiotherapy treatments. Most of the people who must go through the treatments would do anything to get some relief from the seemingly never-ending sickness. Alternative medicine and radiotherapy research has been done on a test group of cancer patients to determine whether or not acupuncture was effective in diminishing the persistent nausea and vomiting.  Patients reported that they could tell a dramatic difference in the frequency and amount of nausea they had.  Written records were kept by each patient of the times they were sick, and at the end of the research, these records were collated. The final analysis in this study was that acupuncture is useful in preventing nausea in radiotherapy patients.

Acupuncture has also been tested on groups of alternative medicine and radiotherapy believers to see if it could possibly be of help in the relief of pain, another unwelcome side effect of radiation treatments. Nearly all patients undergoing radiotherapy reported various degrees of pain that was definitely related to their treatments. Acupuncture once again proved to be effective in helping cancer patients undergoing treatments for their condition.

The Chinese medicine called acupressure works well with alternative medicine and radiotherapy in helping cancer patients control nausea. This natural technique involves massaging certain areas on the body, normally just under or on top of the skin. These areas are called acupoints, and they are supposedly interconnected with each other as well as to various organs and systems of the body. Devotees to this 5000 year old healing method say that a careful massage in a certain area can stimulate a person’s essential life force, which flows from area to area rather like the circulation of blood.  A look at an acupressure chart reveals that the areas that control nausea and vomiting are directly above the kneecap, on the wrist, and about 2 inches above the wrist. People who have tried acupressure are both surprised and delighted with how quickly it relieves their symptoms.

Iridology Cameras

What Iridology Cameras Are Used For

Iridology cameras are curious looking machines that are used in an alternative medicine practice that not everyone is completely familiar with. The importance of this particular device in the practice cannot be understated. Without a good camera, most practitioners find doing their jobs can be more than difficult.

What Iridology Cameras Do

This type of highly specialized camera is not at all unlike the machines eye doctors use to get a closer look at the eye. In the case of iridology cameras, however, the device is used to get a very crisp picture of a person’s iris. This picture is then either printed out or transferred to a computer for further study.

This type of camera is generally designed specifically for iridology and eye exam use. Inasmuch, iridology setups are not found on the general market. To obtain a specialized camera, practitioners need to turn to dealers that handle medical-based equipment. Some companies specialize in nothing but the sale of new or used cameras for the practice of iridology.

Camera Features

Many modern cameras used in the practice of iridology rely on fiber options to obtain an incredibly detailed image of the iris. These cameras typically involve a face stand and chin guard, much like machines found in optometrists’ offices. Some of the best cameras enable a direct link between the machine itself and a computer program that speeds along the reading process.

What The Pictures Tell

The practice of iridology itself involves the study of the eye to determine if there are potential medical problems related to different portions of the body. A detailed picture of the iris is studied for anomalies and then compared to a specialized chart. Particular anomalies found within the iris can indicate such things as dead or dying tissue, inflammation and more. Each part of the iris itself is believed to correspond to a particular part of the body.

Iridology is basically an advanced screening process. Alternative medicine practitioners use this study to indicate where they might want to look for problems. It is not considered a viable means for diagnosis. Instead, it is used to point practitioners in the right direction for further study and diagnosis.

What Happens After The Study:

If a practitioner finds that pictures from an iridology camera do present with anomalies, further study on the particular areas of the body might be indicated. An indication of inflammation in an organ, for example, might require immediate further diagnostic procedures.

Iridology is a unique study that links the eyes to different portions of the body. Providing a way to point diagnosis in the right direction, this practice is not easily picked up without the use of specialized iridology cameras. These machines can see what they naked eye often misses.

Arthritis Sufferers Want More Alternative Medicine

If you are an arthritis sufferer, you have probably had more than your share of expensive doctor visits, prescription drugs and their many harmful and even dangerous side effects. And even after all of this trouble and expense, you still have pain. So many people have tried to carry on There has to be a better way! And there is. Studies have found that nothing helps arthritis more than alternative medicine.

People of all ages suffer from arthritis. Despite the stereotype of the little old arthritic man hobbling down the street with his cane, even small children can develop this painful malady. More arthritis sufferers use alternative medicine on a daily basis along with lifestyle changes. One such change is a special diet that eliminates foods known to aggravate the condition while adding in those foods that help to reduce pain and inflammation.

Proper diet is a viable option for pain control that few people take advantage of. Arthritis sufferers should eat more natural foods as a form of alternative medicine, and eliminate foods that aggravate pain and swelling such as dairy products, beef, eggs, nuts and grains.

There are food based herbal remedies that arthritis sufferers should make more use of as alternative medicine. Some of the more popular ones are –

• Ginger – An anti-inflammatory.
• Cayenne – Used as a topical rub or in capsule form to ease pain.
• Devil’s Claw – An analgesic pain reliever.
• Horsetail – strengthens joint tissue and facilitates free movement.
• Yucca – Known as a pain reliever for centuries

Arthritis flare ups can benefit from more alternative medicine food choices such as –

• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Celery juice
• Celery seed
• Pineapple
• Rosemary

These foods strengthen and add collagen to the bones and joints, making them more flexible, and are anti-inflammatory as well.

Herbs that fight the pain of arthritis include –

• Alfalfa
• Feverfew
• Ginseng
• Yarrow
• Burdock
• Dandelion
• Garlic

All the above herbs are quite good made into herbal teas. Yes, even the garlic! It is delicious as a tea with milk and honey. Try a cup of tea instead of a pain pill, and sip thoughtfully as your pain begins to back off a degree or two.

Don’t pay attention to the taunts of others who make kiddingly tell you that you have turned into a health food nut! Once you have tried the above remedies and see what a difference they can make in your pain, you will be laughing right along with them… laughing with joy that your pain has disappeared. Plus, the addition of these foods, along with a good whole foods diet that leaves out certain foods will help you to lose weight easily if you need to. Excess weight puts a lot of pressure on the joints, which can aggravate arthritis.

Foods that can trigger the pain of arthritis include –

• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Green peppers
• Potatoes (white)

Choose Your Category of Alternative Medicine

If you are considering choosing alternative medicine for your health care needs, you may be a bit confused as to which category of alternative medicine would best suit your needs. First, you need to be aware of just what your medical needs are. Then, you also need a working knowledge of the category and type of the alternative medicine that best suits your diagnosis.

There is a huge range of categories of alternative medicine. Many of these categories were developed because there is no conventional, allopathic cure or treatment for many medical anomalies, and people are looking for something… perhaps not a cure, but a glimmer of hope for their ailment. Even for diseases where a cure is sometimes possible, alternative medicine is sometimes the better choice.

Take a cancer patient, for example. There are documented studies in the research books where more than one cancer patient under the care of an oncologist went through chemotherapy and radiation only to be told to go home and get their affairs in order, for there was nothing more that could be done for them. The patient, refusing to give up, embraced a regime of alternative medicine that included herbs and/or natural plant matter such as seeds. In a short period of time, tests revealed that the cancer was either greatly reduced in size, or had disappeared completely. Now, what person, upon hearing a testimonial like this, wouldn’t want to give any category of alternative medicine a try?

It is also little wonder that some people mightily distrust conventional medicine after an experience like this, and pass their feelings on to others. Alternative medicine’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds, possibly due in part to bad experiences with allopathic doctors and their role as healers in our society.

However, and this must be said, it is impossible to know how many of the successes with alternative medicine were due not only to the fact that so many categories of alternative medicine are available for any illness or disease imaginable, but also to that peculiar and unexplainable phenomenon that both types of medical doctors have seen all too frequently. That is the power of the mind. While alternative medicine has both the scope and the power to be of assistance in healing, how much of its success is due to the fact that its devotees believed they would be made well so strongly that a virtual miasma of hope came forth from their soul to join with the branches of alternative medicine and initiate a healing?

We may never know how much power our minds have when it comes to alternative medicine. Suffice it to say that alternate medicine does indeed work, and for many patients, that in itself is quite enough.

Iridology Charts

Iridology Charts Provide A Window Into The Body

Very basic iridology charts can be readily found all over the Internet. But, what are these unusual looking creations and what can they really tell a person? The truth is there is more behind these drawings than detailed images of the eye. These charts are key to a study of the eye and how it can indicate physical issues throughout the body.

What They Are Used For?

Iridology charts are used in the practice of iridology. This form of alternative medicine centers on the premise that problems within the body will be visual through study of the eye itself. Swelling in the kidneys, for example, might show up in a person’s eyes as a particular colored speck in a particular location of the iris.

Iridology is basically nothing more than a diagnostic screening tool. The study is performed to help alternative medicine practitioners determine where to look for problems if issues are suspected. This practice can also be used to help screen and detect issues before they present with actual symptoms.

When an iridology study indicates the potential for problems, further study generally takes place. Practitioners will then move on to different testing procedures to make actual diagnosis in a case.

How They Are Read?

Iridology charts generally show a single eyeball. The picture of the eye is broken up into various segments. Each segment corresponds to a set part of the body or particular area. The thyroid, for example, is believed to correspond to a very small part of the iris and the heart another.

To use iridology charts to their fullest advantage, most practitioners take very   detailed pictures of a patient’s eyes. These pictures are then studied either visually or through the use of a specialized computer program. The study is completed to reveal any unusual anomalies within the iris. These anomalies are then compared to iridology charts to help point practitioners in the right direction for further study and diagnosis.

Anomalies themselves vary rather greatly in meaning. If black spots are found, they tend to indicate dead or dying tissue within the related portion of the body. Rings around the iris might indicate spasms in organs. Inflammation and swelling shows up as distinct white spots.

While many longtime iridologists can get by from memory, beginners often must have access to iridology charts to properly correlate findings. These charts are readily available online, in books and through specialized courses designed to teach this practice.

It is important for beginning practitioners to remember that iridology charts and the study of the eyes itself is only meant for screening. If problems are found, more advanced diagnostic procedures might be indicated.

Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine can be defined as the use of herbs for the medicinal or therapeutic values. The parts used vary from plant to plant but can include the plants seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark or flowers. Herbal medicine, which has been around longer than conventional medicine, is becoming a mainstream alternative. Almost 80% of the world population today uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care according to the World Health Organization. The popularity of herbal medicine has made some doctor’s today decide to use a combination of both conventional and alternative medicine to treat their patient’s ailments.

Alternative medicine through the ages.

Herbs have been used throughout history, even before records of their use existed. This fact has been proven during archaeological digs where human bones were found with herbs carefully tucked around them. Practically every culture has used herbs to heal various ailments, from physical to psychological. Many of the drugs that are available today are of herbal origin. An estimated 25% of the prescription drugs that are currently dispensed in the United States contain at least one active ingredient that has been derived from plant material. When plant extracts are not used in drugs there is a good chance that at least one ingredient has been chemically synthesized to mimic the properties of natural plant compounds. Modern medicine is so intertwined with herbal medicine that using the two together just makes sense.

Choosing herbs.
Farm grown herbs are favored over wild-crafted herbs, which are herbs that grow naturally without human intervention, because farm grown herbs can be certified organic. With herbs that grow wild there is no way to know if the herbs have been sprayed with chemicals or other contaminants. Once the decision has been made between wild-crafted and farm raised herbs, the next decision is choosing what form of herbs suits your needs the best. The main forms that herbs are available in are fresh, dried, tablets, capsules and bottled as a liquid. The quality of the herbs is more important than the form the herbs are in. The higher quality the herbs are, the more potent the medicinal values will be.

The role of herbal medicine today.

There is no doubt that alternative medicine is gaining popularity today. The role that traditional medicine typically plays is being changed as more people look for a natural approach to healing. It is easier today than ever before to find health care providers that use both alternative and traditional treatments. This makes it possible for people who want to use a combination of herbal medicine and prescription drugs to get sound advice from their medical care provider.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

You have choices when it comes to your medical care in this day and age. No longer do you have to settle for conventional medicine and its predictability, nor do you need to worry any longer about all the side effects of prescription drugs. There are different approaches that you may be unaware of, and they are called complimentary and alternative medicine.

Complementary and Alternative medicine (also known by the abbreviation CAM) has been around for a long time. Many of their practices come from other parts of the world. These two techniques each use the same types of treatments to bring you back to robust good health. But, there are differences in how they are used. Generally, alternative medicine is practiced in lieu of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine uses the many types of alternative medicine along with conventional medicine.

In a way, you can think of this as “covering all the bases”. Although complimentary and alternative medicine is normally thought of as a group of practices that are not taught to conventional doctors, it is quite common for a patient to take matters into his own hands and add a complementary medicine treatment or two to whatever regime his doctor has prescribed for him.

Here is an example of complementary medicine that probably everyone has tried at least once. The mere act of taking a daily multivitamin can be considered as a form of complementary medicine, as you use it along with whatever standard treatments you receive from your doctor. This is a rather mild form of complementary medicine that would almost always meet with your doctor’s approval. It is a comforting thought to know that by using complementary and conventional medicine, you have chosen to do something to safeguard your health, all on your own.

An example of alternative medicine would be when a cancer patient decides to forego all chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and instead follow a regimen of diet and food supplements such as laetrile for their only treatment. Alternative medicine is more respected by conventional doctors when treatments like this work better than the usual standard cancer fighting arsenal. This proves that even though conventional medicine is based on years of scientific study, complementary and alternative medicine can be just as effective at treating an illness or disease.

Complementary and alternative medicine is thus thought to be any kind of medical treatment such as vitamins or special food that is not generally though to be the usual treatment for a disease. There is still a lot to learn about both complementary and alternative medicine and its role in helping people have an alternate to conventional health care. You can be in charge of your own health decisions, yet still heed the advice of your doctor when you decide to go the complementary and alternative medicine route.

What Is Acupuncture: A Look At How It Works

What is acupuncture is actually one of the most asked questions today.  There are many ways to describe this method of healing but it is important to know that when you ask what is acupuncture, you may find various answers to your question.  The reason for this is simple.  There are many forms of acupuncture, all of which can be effective to different levels.  As you work with a professional acupuncturist, you will want to consider what methods they use and how they can help you.

What is acupuncture, then?  It is an ancient form of Chinese medicine that has been used for over 3000 years, some even believe longer.  In this method of healing, it does not work and is not based on any area of western medicine.  Rather, it is based on restoring the flow of qi through the body.  Qi is the energy force or the life force in the body.  When qi is unable to flow smoothly as it should, you feel pain or become ill.  Acupuncture works to allow the flow to be restored so that the pain subsides and improves greatly.

When you ask what is acupuncture, consider the method used to restore qi.  The term itself means “needle piercing” and it actually is like this.  To restore the flow of qi, the acupuncturist, or professional trained in this medicine treatment, will insert very thin needles into your skin.  They do this along specific anatomic points on the body.  Each point, called an acupuncture point or acupoint, delivers a specific treatment to some area of the body.

In addition to inserting needles into these specific points, in many forms of acupuncture, the needles are combined with other aspects including heat, small impulses of electromagnetic energy, friction or even suction.  Pressure acupuncture is also a common type.  They do this in an effort to stimulate the points to cause a specific reaction.  In other terms, by stimulating the acupuncture points, the body’s balance in the movement of the qi is restored to good health therefore improving your health in the process.

While a half century ago people would ask, what is acupuncture, and be met with an answer about distance medicine, in today’s world it has become a common and regularly used method of treating illness.  You should not stop taking medications assigned to you by a standard doctor, but you can and should use acupuncture as a method of healing that works alongside these other methods.  Acupuncture is widely encouraged and highly respected around the world.  Consider what it can add to your healing and well being.

What is Alternative Medicine?

Alternative medicine is becoming a popular choice for health-conscious individuals, yet many of them are unsure just exactly what the term encompasses. Many of them have even asked their doctors, “What is alternative medicine?”, yet they get no clear answer.

Basically, alternative medicine is any sort of therapy or treatment that is used instead of the type of medical attention most of us grew up with. You know the routine… you feel unwell, make an appointment with your doctor, and go to his office. You sit in the waiting area with a group of other sick people, hoping that none of them are too contagious. Finally, you are called back to see the doctor. You leave with a prescription or two, stop at the drugstore to get your prescriptions filled, and go home to bed. In a few days, you may or may not feel halfway human again.

Would you like to know what alternative medicine is? Think of alternative medicine as a tree trunk with many branches. The branches are the different practices that together as a whole make up alternative medicine. You have a wide variety to choose from, based on the symptoms of your illness. What is alternative medicine used for? It’s not only for when you are ill, but when you want to improve your health

What is alternative medicine also known as in the natural medicine world? A few of the most used and recommended branches of alternative medicine include –

• Acupuncture
• Homeopathy
• Herbal Medicine
• Naturopathy
• Chiropractic

Acupuncture uses fine needles to regulate the energy of the body into a more cohesive pattern, and is used for many types of sicknesses and well-being issues.

Homeopathy works under the assumption that the body can be cured of anything that is wrong with it by using just a tiny amount of material from nature, such as herbs or flowers, that would create symptoms of an illness in man or beast. By doing this, the body rallies, and begins to heal itself.

Herbal medicine is the use of any part of a plant, from its roots to its leaves, as an aid to relieving sicknesses and pain, as well as promoting feelings of calm and well-being.

Naturopathy does merely treat routine illnesses. People who have embraced naturopathy as a form of alternative medicine believe that the body is able to heal itself, and that nature can play a huge role in a person’s overall health.

Chiropractic does not heal. By adjusting the spine, a chiropractor clears the nerve pathways in the body, allowing the body to make itself well.

What is alternative medicine? It’s a way of life for many people, and its natural remedies continue to draw seekers from all walks of life.

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