Holistic therapies: what are they and all the benefits

An overview of natural treatment methods and benefits for the patient.

Holistic therapies are natural treatment methods that are based on a different assumption than that of traditional medicine. According to the holistic view, the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects are considered on the same level and the symptoms triggered by the pathologies represent the body’s signals to restore the lost balance.

Health, therefore, is considered as the perfect balance between physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

In holistic medicine, the search for health is oriented toward the person and not toward the disease, as happens in traditional medicine.

In Italy, holistic disciplines are considered complementary to it and represent an important support to improve the state of general well-being by acting in a preventive and health maintenance perspective.

Holistic therapies: what are they and their benefits

There are many holistic disciplines that you can rely on to take care of yourself globally, each with its specific approach: some are more emotionally oriented towards the physical level while others focus on the spiritual and energetic one.

All of them, however, are based on the search to discover the true causes of the problems, without dwelling exclusively on the symptoms.

The holistic approach to diseases does not consider only the symptom that the patient reports but strives to identify what produces it, the true causes of the malaise that must be sought in the entire world of the person and in his relationships with the whole of which he is part.

Once the primary cause has been found, the physical disorder will be treated starting from its origin (and not from its manifestation): in short, the patient is treated and not the disease.

But what are, among many, the holistic disciplines for the total wellbeing of body and mind?

Let’s get to know them better.

Chromotherapy

Chromotherapy is a holistic technique that uses colours to promote and restore the balance between mind and body: special devices produce light radiation that allows the body to absorb chromatic vibrations useful for restoring the body’s energy balance.

Each colour is associated with a property, a meaning and, therefore, a specific part of the body and a psychic and spiritual characteristic that are stimulated through therapy to contribute to psychophysical well-being and reduce stress.

Shiatsu massage

Shiatsu massage has spread in Japan since the sixth century with the aim of stimulating the self-healing process of the person thanks to sustaining, constant and perpendicular pressures on the body.

The operator mainly uses the fingertips but also the elbows, knees, feet and palms. Pressure is applied to specific points distributed on the surface of the body where fatigue and stress accumulate.

Shiatsu is ideal for improving blood and lymphatic circulation, posture, concentration, relaxation of the nervous system, fighting insomnia, headaches, joint and neck pain, strengthening the immune system, help digestion.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy uses essential oils (extracted from plants through special processes) that can be inhaled, taken orally, applied to the skin through compresses or massages such as Ayurvedic massage, added to creams, lotions, masks, mouthwash, foot bath or bath water, or diffused in the environment with vaporizers.

They are effective in cases of sleep disorders, infections of the skin and mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract and upper respiratory tract, skin blemishes, insect bites, joint and muscle pain, abdominal swelling, concentration and memory problems.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is the traditional Indian medicine, whose meaning in Sanskrit is “science of knowledge of life”.

It has been working for thousands of years to restore and maintain psycho-physical balance and is a medical and philosophical system that is based on a delicate game of balances that involves physical, mental and spiritual health.

The goal of Ayurveda treatments is to regain and then preserve well-being with the help of minerals and metals purified and mixed with herbs and powders.

This is not all, food with its properties is also of fundamental importance as well as good practices to be implemented every day.

Yoga

Among the holistic therapies, a key role is played by Yoga whose techniques harmonise the body-energy-mind system and make those who practice them flow clarity of ideas, determination and strength.

Hatha Yoga is the most practised style in the West and serves to help the practitioner achieve a balance of body, mind and spirit through a series of meditation, breathing (Pranayama) and physical (Asana) exercises.

Ashanta Yoga (which derives from Hatha) is a dynamic, rigorous and demanding practice based on coordination between postures (asanas), correct breathing (ujjay pranayama) and gaze (drishti).

Also called “meditation in motion”, it provides that the asanas (performed according to a continuous flow) are joined by transitional movements and connected to the gaze and breath.

Finally, Vinyasa Yoga is a dynamic, fast and fast-paced form of yoga in which the sequence of movements is synchronized with the breath.

Daily practice, work on the breath and the energetic succession of movements improve the health of the cardiovascular system, reduce stress, help to regain physical fitness, promote concentration and bring benefits to the entire musculoskeletal system.

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