Energy healing arts

The next category of “healing arts”…and yes that sounds weird on purpose, is the “Energy healing and other weird Methods” category. This category are those that I have personally found to strange to try, have tried and found worthless…I did lose some weight though….from my wallet! This category is filled with methods that don’t sound real on paper or anywhere else for that matter and fall under the “you should have known better….or you are just as weird” category.

So often I hear people expounding the virtues of these methods, and seconds later I realize they are just as crazy as the provider…or worse yet have been brainwashed and the placebo effect is in full force. Or, as with most cases, I hear about how the method was completely useless in the long run or at all.

These types of “methods” grow like wild fire in popularity because of what they promise; normally that is the impossible or the improbable. Modern medicine can’t cure everything, we are not their yet! But we also know the limits of what we can and cannot do! In my mind most of the methods I am going to poke fun at….er describe can be very harmless and in the most positive of them it can help relax you and give you a sense that you are trying to better yourself, in the worst case however it can give false hope, strip you of your money and do great harm both physically and mentally.

I won’t say all of these are fake or frauds, but the majority are strange, don’t generally work and most are basically mental…I mean they help you because you think they will. There is NO science backing most of these, and in some cases all the “proof” offered has been shown to be lies, deceit or hucksterism! Some are real however, just real weird! I will leave you to read these and see my points, but don’t let me stop you, it’s an experience and it will tell you a lot about yourself and your ability to THINK for yourself.

Energy therapy and weird methods that scare me!

Chakra healing

Chakra therapy or healing refers to the concept of wheel like vortices w hich are believed to exist in the surface fo the theric double of man……???? Okay, what it means to us is that the Indian ancient religions felt that we, as man, have seven energy sites on the body that rule the body and soul of man and can be effected to heal or balance the body.

Much like the rest of energy healing it deals a lot with energy and flow of energy, but Chakra or Indian ideology has a twist, the Prana or energy has different characteristics. So, each Chakara possesses a specific kind of energy that deals with very specific effects on the body. Also Prana is a external to internal force, meaning that all this Prana is coming into us from outside, effecting us and then leaving us. Ki or Chi is an internal to external force, meaning that we are linked to the universe but the meridian system of flow means Ki can be kept inside of us.

So, what does all this mean? Well, not much. It’s the hockum that a huckster will sell you to get him to work on your Chakras…which other than a great pick up line in a bar…is pointless and baseless.

A chakra therapy session may see some massage, use of Aromoatherapy, sound, light, Crystals and gems and colors along with some “energy” work. What it boils down to is a hour of light, sound and smells that should make you feel better, lighter and more relaxed…if throwing your money away, getting a head ache from sage wood burning and leaving with less money than you came with and listening to some annoying psudo speaking guru is your thing….go for it.

Chelation Therapy:

On the surface, Chelation is a perfectly sound medical practice and it is often used by mainstream medical practitioners to remove heavy metals in the cases of heavy metal poisoning from the individual. Basically it is used to remove Lead, arsenic, mercury and other heavy metals using Dimercaptosuccinic acid Or DMSA and other alternatives chemicals and basically wash the body in this chemical and as they bind to the heavy metal they will leach them out of the body. The use of Chelation can be administered orally, Intravenously or intramuscularly, depending on the type of poisoning.

The problem with Chelation is that the binding agents also leach out other vital nutrients such as Vitamin C, E and other minerals. The use of actual Chelation should be seen as about the same as Chemo therapy in Cancer, it is used to deal with serious medical emergencies and will harm the person in other ways, but save their lives.

Alternative medical practitioners…and I use that term very losly, have grabbed on to Chelation to help with “non standard” treatments for some very real ailments, including heart disease, Kidney dysfunction, Eye disorders, autism and cancer. Problem is…they don’t help those issues at all. As these disorders are generally not related to heavy metal poisoning at all, the process just serves to leach the body of more valuable nutrients that may actually help the person suffering from some of these issues feel better.

Outside of the fact that there is no documented proof that this form of therapy can help any of the issues that the alternative medicine people are saying it can….and reams and reams of proof it is dangerous, the side effects can often be very bad as well. Aside from the burning at the site of the delivery, other side effects are Fever, Headache, Nausea, Stomach upset, Vomiting, convulsions, bone marrow depression, hypotension, cardiac Arrhythmias, Respiratory arrest, Hypocalcemia, Kidney failure and DEATH. So, if your kidneys are not working well…according to some strange test a alternative Quack has done….Do Chelation….Then they simply won’t work at all!

Pretty little machines

Anytime you can buy a strange looking machine and get a cure at home…think on it a bit and let me know what you come up with. I have seen the gambit of machines from weird to strange, from Strange to bizarre and from bizarre to mainstream!

Some machines are not included in this “Pretty little machines” because they work. Things like EMS machines, TENS machines and the like are all used by mainstream medicine. However, some machines are simply not effective and can be dangerous.

I have seen people making homemade Magnetic power generators to try and “energize” their bodies, I have seen Hydra machines sold as cures for “Cellular disease” and I have seen Lasers used to cure things like diabetic issues….well not…but you get the point. The laser actually burned the person, the Home made magnetic power generator killed a patient with a pacemaker, the Hydra machine or Testla machine is basically an electrostatic generator, and given enough “juice” it will electrocute you. A famous case was a man with prostate cancer who was sold one to “cure him” it sure did….he did not die from cancer… the electric shock that stopped his heart…then cooked him like a turkey made sure of that!

Reflexology

Reflexology or ZONE therapy is the physical act of applying pressure to specific areas of the feet, hands or ears to try and affect the rest of the body. Reflexologists claim that the body has Zones that are reflected in specific areas of the feet, hands or feet and by applying pressure to these areas they may treat the ailments and conditions affecting these areas.

That is about all I will say about what these quacks have to say…the truth is there is NO evidence that the claims of effects on the body actually exist in any way, and it is actually counter to actual physical science! The Reflexologist ( a far too fancy word for these people) claim to manipulate body energy to affect change in the condition of the body. Aside from a placebo effect that may be credited for someone feeling a bit better about the conditions they feel, this whole practices baseless and relies on ignorance and psudo scientific speak to dupe people.

Hey who does not like getting their feet rubbed? Fact is that the only effect it has is the same effect that Massage has on your body…nothing more…but a whole lot less!

Uropathy:

I am not kidding with this one. Urophathy has been around for centuries and a lot of people believe in it, especially athletes! It is said that using this method of rehabilitation and wellness can make you look young, feel healthy and live longer…..but you can KEEP IT! Uropathy is the use and application externally or internally (yes drinking it) of PEE!!!! Your own urin (strangely I hope its your own) is rubbed into the skin, drank and applied other wise to your body…….

Personally I would much rather not feel fantastic than feel great and smell like pee….after having downed a glass of my own “water”. The proponents of this say that your Pee is filled with tones of things your body needs…..yes, and tones of waste products and metabolites that your body is trying to get rid of! Your kidneys just did their best to toss that stuff out and now you are brining it back! Great work bub!

Just so you don’t think I am making this up, Lyoto Machida was interviewed one time and stated that his father does this and so does he (meaning drink his own pee). Now how would you like to be his wife kissing him in the morning after he just had his wake up pee pee?

Iridology

Some alternative proponents of this Pseudoscientific concept believe that patterns, colors and other characteristics of the iris can be examined and determine information about the patients systemic health. Now this is not a Curative method per see, but they do try and diagnose you by looking in your eyes.

Outside of this whole area of study being a big pale of pig poo it is not harmful till they start recommending things, or in one case telling a cancer patient in England that she was cured, she stopped taking the Clinically proven radiation and chemo and died three months later of the very cancer her doctor was treating!

Psychic surgery

Andi Kaufman, one talented guy, learned far to late that often modern science can not extend your life, and crack pots will simply take your money as you are on your way out the door! Psychic Surgery uses slight of hand to slip chicken blood onto your tummy as the surgeon applies pressure on your abdomen and pretends to dig around and pull out bits of chicken tissue and tell you its your cancer or whatever ails you. ITS HORRIBLE LIES PEOPLE!

I would more call this an illegal practice than a method of healing that relies on placebo effects. The other methods on this listing often think they are doing well or at the very least don’t have a tone of liars and sharks hocking their wares, but this one is all about taking REALLY sick people and completely scamming them and more often than not the person is DEAD within months of being ripped off. Not fair and any Pscyco healers should be tossed in jail!

Reiki, Therapeutic touch and Medical Qigong

Any manual therapy that does not require that you touch a person cannot be called Manual therapy….Smack forehead now if you like. TT and Reiki and Qi Gong all work on the premise that you are going to manipulate or infuse your Ki into a person without touching them.

After a very short “education” a person can call themselves a Reiki master. This means you can “manipulate” energy in a person’s body along meridians. Close to the use same principles of Qi gong and Shiatsu, this miss guided attempt at helping a person is based on hundred year old myths that have been disproven over and over again.

In martial arts a lot of this tom foolery has lead to the extreme silliness of no touch knock outs, pressure point KO’s and other BS.

Okay, for those that want to take up these kinds of therapy, remember that they are only as effective as your brain believes in them. This, to me, means that they don’t really work in the real world, but are methods based on placebo effects and at worst end up separating you from your money!

The trueth is that many people go to these practitioners and pay them lots of money, The amount of benefit that a person gets is arguable. Granted I am not rushing out to get my Chakras balanced or drink my own body waste, but if someone feels they need to do these things or attend to these people then far be it from me to say it’s a complete waste of time in most cases…..but having said that, I am sure you will think twice before buying a cup of lemon aide from a kids lemon aide stand if his name is Machida!!!!!