Holistic Therapies are being embraced and integrated into our general health and wellbeing routine and plan. No longer are they considered ‘woo woo’, but rather now seen as an effective why to stay healthy, increase ablity to deal with challenges, and feel happy with our self. Not only does it help our body, but also helps our mental health.
Body therapy is a form of holistic therapy found in alternative medicine which involves working on the human body through manipulative therapy of the body, skeletal system, nerves or muscles, breath work, or energy medicine. Body therapies are “hands-on” approaches, such as massages, that are used to improve the structure and functioning of the human body. The aim of these therapies is to measure and improve posture, to help promote awareness of the body and mind connection, or to manipulate an “energy field” that is said to surround the human body affecting health. It is further possible to include indirect manipulations like drugs as well as natural health products in a great definition of what constitutes body therapies.
A holistic therapy, in turn, is an approach to healing that seeks to achieve a balance of the mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual elements of a person. A holistic therapy would constitute techniques or methods that complement each other, and which recognize the interconnection of all working elements within a person.
Holistic therapy and body therapy are taught and practiced in Australia, and in particular in Sydney. With regard to holistic therapy Sidney is well-known for delivering excellence in holistic natural complementary health services as well as in its education and training. Holistic therapy in Sydney is offered by a wide range of practitioners of virtually all natural therapy techniques and is taught in natural therapy colleges. The types of holistic therapy and body therapy found in Sydney include Bowen therapy, Craniofacial therapy, Chiropractors, Massage therapies, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Reflexology, Reiki healing, Shiatsu, Yoga classes, among others.
We will now look at some types of body therapy:
Body treatments may be connected to a facial for the whole body, where the skin is left feeling velvety smooth and soft. The reasoning behind body treatments it that it is just as necessary to cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize the skin on the body as it is to do so for the skin on the face. The body scrub is a popular body treatment in which the massage therapist uses a mixture of sea salt, oil, and aromatic substances to rub onto a person’s skin. This is an invigorating treatment, and it is noticed that it be done before a massage, for an effective body therapy process.
Another type of body therapy is reflexology. Reflexology is based on the premise that a representation of each body part can be found on the hands and especially the feet. Thus, if one were to press specific areas on the hands or feet, this would have therapeutic effects on other parts of the body. Reflexology works around the concept of an energy field, known as the qi, and that blockages in this energy field can prevent healing. The manipulation, through massaging or pressing, of areas around this energy field can thus bring about healing, as it stimulates the flow of blood, nutrients and energy to the corresponding body part or zone and thus helps to relieve ailments in that part or zone. According to reflexology, there are a total of ten zones, five on every side of the body. Reflexologies can thus diagnose abnormalities by feeling the hands or feet, and proceed to correct them. Reflexology is a holistic body therapy that demonstrates the interconnection between mind, body and spirit.
Reiki healing is a Japanese spiritual practice and holistic body therapy which employs a technique commonly called palm healing, where practitioners transfer universal energy (known as through the palms. This leads to self-healing and to the achievement of a state of equilibrium. Among the health benefits of Reiki healing are stress reduction and relaxation, which enhance the body’s natural ability to heal it, and help improve and maintain health and well-being in a person.
Aromatherapy is a form of therapy body therapy that involves the indirect manipulation of the body. It uses volatile plant oils, in the form of essential oils and other aromatic compounds which serve to alter a person’s mind, cognitive function or health leading to psychological and physical well-being. It has been found that, when used correctly and safely, essential oils have both psychological and physical benefits.
All in all, body therapy, as a form of holistic therapy, helps to promote healing and well-being in a person in a holistic manner and can serve to complement conventional methods available in modern medicine.