Energy Medicine. C. Norman Shealy
philosophy prescribes different types of food for each of the doshas, as does George Watson. Basically, slow oxidizers use more carbohydrate and fast ones use more protein. Ayurveda also emphasizes physical exercise, yoga, meditation, and massage, as well as surgery and a tremendous variety of herbs. An extremely important part of Ayurvedic medicine is panchakarama, which is essentially a complex technique for detoxification.
Over the centuries, Ayurveda has developed into eight specialties or disciplines:
• Internal Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Surgery
• Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
• Demonic Possession—some people consider this psychiatry
• Toxicology
• Preventive disease and improving immunity, as well as rejuvenation
• Aphrodisiacs and improving the reproductive system for optimal performance
The Ayurvedic physician uses a ten-fold examination of the patient, including constitution abnormalities, essence, stability, body measurement, diet, suitability, psychic strength, digestive capacity, physical fitness, and age. Traditionally, instead of using a stethoscope, they use the human ear to observe abnormalities of breathing or speech.
Long before the western world paid any attention to hygiene, Ayurvedic medicine prescribed regular bathing, cleansing of teeth, skin, and washing of the hair, as well as anointing the body with essential oils. Surgery in Ayurveda included ligating blood vessels, cauterization by heat, and using various animal or herbal preparations to facilitate clotting.
Some 3,500 years ago, interestingly about the time considered to be the origin of acupuncture in China, the fundamental principles of Ayurveda were organized and written. Even in those early days, Ayurveda included treatment of angina pectoris, diabetes, high blood pressure, and gall stones. The earliest surviving written material actually dates to the fourth century. In A.D. 400, the entire Ayurvedic system was far more complex than anything in the western world. There are several levels of traditional Ayurvedic medicine, some more specialized than others.
A number of scientific proofs have been done of some of the ancient Ayurvedic remedies, including particularly turmeric, from which is derived curcumin, a powerful antioxidant. There is some evidence that one form of Spanish sage improves word recall in young adults and common sage has been used to improve symptoms in Alzheimer’s. Cinnamon was also used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat diabetes. It is well known that cinnamon is helpful and one of the best sources of chromium. The plant, arjuna, appears to be helpful in angina pectoris and coronary artery disease and may even be useful in lowering cholesterol.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture, developed in China, is said to date back between 3,500 and 4,000 years. Although acupuncture is based upon the modulation of chi, it involves the insertion of very fine, solid needles into specific acupuncture points on the body. There are twelve main meridians in the body which, according to studies by Ukrainian physicists, essentially represent vector potentials from the organs of the body along specific meridians out to the tip of the meridian and back.
The major meridians are:
• Governing Vessel: tailbone to the upper lip
• Conception Vessel: perineum to center just below the lower lip
• Bladder: inner eyebrow to outside of the base of the small toe
• Gall Bladder: forehead to outside base of the fourth toe
• Heart: upper front chest to base of the small fingernail adjacent to the ring finger
• Kidney: inside base of the small toe to just below the head of the collar bone
• Large Intestine: base of the index nail next to the thumb to cheek adjacent to the nose
• Liver: outside of the medial base of the big toenail to below the nipple
• Lung: upper outer front chest to base of the medial aspect of the thumb
• Master of the Heart (sometimes called Pericardium): chest near front of armpit to base of the long finger adjacent to the index finger. This is the control system for the sympathetic system—the alarm or fight or flight system.
• Small Intestine: outer side of the base of the small fingernail to just in front of the ear
• Spleen: inside base of the big toenail to lateral chest
• Stomach: below the eye to outside the base of the second toenail
• Triple Heater: base of the ring fingernail, adjacent to the small finger to outside of the eyebrow. It is the control system for the parasympathetic or vegetative nervous system—the antidote to stress!
In addition to these, there are also tendomuscular meridians. While each major meridian starts with a toe or finger, depending upon the principle meridian involved, their paths are somewhat variable and not a straight line. Although there is a great deal of argument in Western so-called science about whether the meridians exist, there is evidence, especially that presented by the French and Ukrainians, that these pathways actually do exist, and there is certainly increasing evidence that stimulating these meridians has distinct physiological effects upon the body.
Acupuncture was introduced into France by Marco Polo in the 1300s. It has been practiced there since that time and basically has never since been totally excluded from French medicine. It was first used in the United States, appearing in the first book I am aware of, in 1859.
As late as 1912, Sir William Osler, the Father of American Medicine, stated, “The treatment of preference in lumbago (low back pain) is acupuncture.” He specifically described placement of a solid needle into the bladder meridian, at what appeared to be at the bladder 26 point.
Acupuncture is now most widely used to treat pain, but in my own practice, I have used acupuncture since 1967 for a variety of treatments. I found, for instance, that most of the time when a woman is having a delayed period, I can start the period within less than twenty-four hours by stimulating a circuit called the Chong Mo. When a woman is bleeding excessively and in a prolonged fashion, I can stop the bleeding within less than a day by sedating the Chong Mo circuit.
Chinese Acupuncture Chart
Illustrating the Complexities of the Meridian System
(From an unsigned art print in the author’s possession.)
The Ring Patterns
In addition to the traditional meridians, I have personally demonstrated unequivocally that there are certain specific circuits in the body that I call Rings. (See Rings illustrations, pages 32–36.)
The Ring of Fire, when stimulated, not only raises DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone—sometimes called the “mother” hormone and the most abundant hormone in the body). It represents your total adrenal stress reserves and is strongly associated with total immunity. It is low or deficient in every disease. Stimulation of the Ring of Fire has been demonstrated clinically to reduce migraine headaches significantly in 75 percent of patients; to reduce pain in diabetic neuropathy in 80 percent of patients; to improve depression in 70 percent of patients; and to improve, quite strikingly, not only the pain but the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis in 70 percent of patients who have failed conventional medicine. The Ring of Fire consists of twelve specific points.
The Ring of Water consists of thirteen specific points