Curlie

Alternative

Alternative health deals with alternatives to conventional western scientific/medicine remedies. Topics found here may include complementary medicine, herbs, aromatherapy, oriental medicine, folk medicine and whole health remedies.

The primary focus of this category is on information, although commercial sites and service providers are listed in some subcategories.

No sites will be listed at this category level. Please find an appropriate subcategory.

Sites with the primary purpose of offering products for sale by "distance shopping" will not be listed here. They should be submitted to Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative .

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Oriental medicine includes various Eastern indigenous traditions: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Polynesian, Vietnamese, Tibetan. Most have their bases in the philosophical foundation of the East: yin/yang theory.

Please submit only sites with educational content about general topics related to Traditional Chinese and Oriental Medicine.

More specific categories include:
Acupuncture, Oriental Bodywork, Shiatsu and Qigong

Practitioners and clinics, please submit your site in the appropriate geographic location

Consumer products should be submitted to the appropriate category in Shopping

Professional supplies should be submitted to Acupuncture Supplies

Acutouch

Acutouch therapy makes use of magnetic principles as well as far-infrared rays and anions.

Sites listed here will be primarily about this technique.
Sites which cover other treatments as well, belong in a more general category.

Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique is a long-established method of helping people learn how to release harmful physical stress from their body - stress that can result in such symptoms as backache, stiff neck and shoulders and a variety of repetitive strain injuries. It is also widely used by performers who wish to improve the quality of their work.

Apitherapy

Apitherapy is the medicinal use of honeybee products.

Sites listed here will provide non-commercial information about apitherapy and its use and practice.
Sites where the main focus is online sales of bee-related health products will NOT be listed here, and should be sent to Shopping/Health/Nutrition/Supplements/Bee_Products .

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of pure essential oils through topical application or inhalation. Essential Oils are volatile aromatic substances. The oils are extracted mostly through steam distillation from herbs, flowers, seeds, barks or woody portions of plants, although there are other methods of extraction, including cold pressing (citrus oils), solvent extractions (absolutes) and carbon dioxide extraction.

Sites listed here will offer non-commercial information about the healing art of Aromatherapy.

NB Sites selling aromatherapy products do NOT belong here, and are listed in Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/Aromatherapy. Suggesting these sites here will significantly delay their review.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a holistic system of healing which evolved among the Brahmin sages of ancient India some 3000-5000 years ago. Ayurveda is a complete medical system which recognizes that ultimately all intelligence and wisdom flows from one Absolute source (Paramatman). Health manifests by the grace of the Absolute acting through the laws of Nature (Prakriti). Ayurveda assists Nature by promoting harmony between the individual and Nature by living a life of balance according to her laws.

Manufacturers of medicinal herbs and Ayurvedic herbal treatment products should submit their sites to the appropriate category within Business: Industries: Healthcare: Pharmaceutical: Companies: Medicinal Herbs. Importers and resellers of herbs should submit their sites to Shopping: Health and Beauty: Alternative: Herbs: Ayurveda

Bates Method

The Bates method of orthoptics is based on the theories of American ophthalmologist William Horatio Bates (1860-1931). Bates believed that the cause of visual problems was strain, and that vision can be improved by exercise.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a form of alternative medicine that involves measuring a subject's quantifiable bodily functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, sweating, and muscle tension, conveying the information to the patient in real-time. This raises the patient's awareness and conscious control of their unconscious physiological activities.

Sites listed in these categories will provide primarily non-commercial information relating to biofeedback.

Sites with a focus on selling a product will NOT be listed here, and should be sent to Shopping/Health/Alternative/Biofeedback.

Breathwork

Breathwork covers a range of therapeutic techniques designed to increase an individual's physical and mental well being. These techniques look to improve the awareness of breathing habits, and in some cases attempt to consciously change the way an individual takes in and expels air.

English language sites that concern themselves with describing or teaching breath techniques belong here or in the appropriate sub category. Any sites that look upon breathing as a means to spiritual enlightenment should be submitted here instead:

Society/Religion and Spirituality/Yoga/Practices/Breathing

By Region

This category contains links to Regions, Countries and Localities with alternative health and medicine sites.

Please submit sites to their correct location and category.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a method of treatment used by Chiropractors. Chiropractors specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions which are due to mechanical dysfunction of the joints, particularly those of the spine. Chiropractors believe that many health problems are due to misalignment or subluxation of the joints in the spine and that this leads to problems with the nervous or neurological system of the body resulting in symptoms, pain, disease and ill health. By adjusting the joints of the spine or other joints of the body they help restore normal function. They treat people who have had accidents or sports injuries and those whose conditions may have been brought on by stress, lack of exercise, poor posture or illness. There are a number of different chiropractic methods of treatment. Some chiropractors also offer massage, advice on nutrition, diet, lifestyle, exercise and ergonomic advice.

STOP: Are you selling a product or offering a service? Your site will NOT be included in this category. To avoid delay in listing your site, please find the proper category:

Are you selling products direct to the consumer? Submit to Shopping: Health and Beauty: Orthopedic

Are you selling products or services to chiropractic professionals? Submit your site to Business: Industries: Healthcare: Products and Services:

Individual clinics or practices will not be listed in this category. Practice and clinic sites should be submitted to the proper Regional: category.

Clinics and Practitioners

Alternative health service providers.

Appropriate submissions include alternative health services directories and search engines specializing in alternative health categories.

Practitioners and clinics, please navigate to the appropriate modality to submit your site.

For example, acupuncture practitioners should submit to Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Clinics

Please include the following information in your submission:
* Name of clinic or practice
* Name of clinic director, founder or practitioner
* Brief description of the main services and specialties offered
* Location

Please submit to the geographic category (if provided) which most closely fits the area you serve.

Foreign language sites which do not provide pages in English should submit to the appropriate World category.

Coaching

Coaching is a place where practitioners and providers of education on such "life coaching" modalities like Mastery and the Forum can be listed. Targeted publications and training centers would also be appropriate.

It is *not* for the listing of psychics, astrologers, mediums, spiritual healers or other divinators. The proper channel to go through for the listing of those services on ODP is through Society:Paranormal.

To be listed in this category, you must provide direct services and your site must contain contact information.

Ear Candling

Ear candling or coning is described as a method of cleaning the ears and the mind, and alleviating a host of physical, emotional and spiritual ailments. The origin of this practice has been given as ancient Tibet, China, India, Egypt, and pre-Columbian America.

Energy Healing

Energy healing incorporates many modalities, from traditional ethnic practices to modern techniques developed from bioenergetic research. Since the living human body projects an energy field (aura) around it, it is possible to affect the solid corporeal body by working with its energetic projection.

Appropriate submissions include educational content and energy healing training centers.

Practitioners and clinics, please submit your site in the appropriate geographic location.

Clairvoyant and psychic healers, please submit your site to Psychic Healers

Consumer products should be submitted to Shopping.

Essences

This is for sites offering information about "essences" in the vein of Bach Flower essences, for example, gem or flower essences, not extracts of herbs in the material form or essential oils. If your site is predominantly SELLING a product with no substantial educational or other content, it should go to Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/Flower_Essences. Please follow the guidelines as to how to fill in the description and title.

Fasting and Cleansing

Proponents of fasting and cleansing believe that by giving the body a "break" from the daily chores of digesting foodstuffs, you give the body an opportunity to spend its energy to repair, detoxify, or rejuvenate itself. Certain exercises and herbs have also been traditionally used to encourage detoxification.

Sites listed here will offer non-commercial information about fasting and cleansing methods.

Sites with a focus on selling products will NOT be listed here, and belong in the appropriate subcategory of Shopping/Health.

Folk Medicine

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines folk medicine as "traditional medicine as practiced nonprofessionally especially by people isolated from modern medical services and usually involving the use of plant-derived remedies on an empirical basis". As stated by David J. Hufford, professor in the Department of Humanities at the Penn State College of Medicine: Folk medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine that relies heavily (although not exclusively) on oral tradition. Strongly influenced by cultural norms and values, folk medicine generally comprises the "unofficial" or "lay" health beliefs and practices found in all societies. (Hufford DJ. "Folk medicine and health culture in contemporary society". Primary Care. 1997;24:723-741, cited in Report 13 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (A-97), American Medical Association)

Sites reflecting the folk healing practices of all cultures are welcome. Please indicate the culture of origin, if applicable, in your site description. Before submitting, review the other categories in Health/Alternative to determine the most appropriate category for your site''s listing.

If your site has several pages relevant to this topic, please submit only the main page.

Herbs

Herbs and herbal treatments can be used to enhance health and to treat illness.

This category is only for sites providing useful and non-commercial information about herbs and herbal treatments.

Catalog sites, shopping sites and mail-order sites should be submitted to Shopping/Health and Beauty/Alternative/Herbs

Manufacturers of medicinal herbs should submit their sites to the appropriate category within Business/Industries/Healthcare/Pharmaceutical/Companies/Medicinal_Herbs.

Importers and resellers of herbs should submit their sites to Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/Herbs

Holistic and Integrated Medicine

Holistic Medicine describes a mainly Western outlook at health care which includes the "whole" of the human/animal organism. Disease is not just treated symptomatically - preventive steps are taken, and lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise, attitude, and relationships are considered.

If your web site offers products for sale, please see the appropriate categories under the Shopping tree: Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/

Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system for treating disease based on the administration of minute doses of a drug that in massive amounts produces symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease itself.

Descriptions of homeopathy, how it works, it's history, what is involved in practicing this alternative treatment method can be found in the sites listed in this category.

If your web site offers homeopathy products for sale, please see the appropriate categories under the Shopping tree: Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/

Huna

Huna is an ancient system that comes from the Hawaiian and Polynesian people. "Huna" means "secret" - it comes from the word "Kahuna" which means "keeper of the secret." Huna is a way of life that includes elements of spiritual practice without religious dogma.

Hypnotherapy

Medical Hypnotherapy can be used alone or in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities and traditional medicine. Hypnosis, a form of Applied Psychology, is an altered state of consciousness in which we make contact with the unconscious mind, a part of one's inner self that has a duty and right to protect you.

STOP!! This Health Directory is designed to list web sites which offer information about the Alternative healing art of Hypnotherapy.

Individual practicitioners'' sites should not be submitted to this category; please find the appropriate section of Health/Alternative/Hypnotherapy/Practitioners.

If your web site offers hypnotherapy tapes, CDs or products for sale, please see the appropriate categories under the Shopping tree:

Shopping/Health and Beauty/Alternative/Hypnotherapy, such as Shopping/Health/Alternative/Hypnotherapy/Audio_and_Video/

Following these simple guidelines will speed the review of the website.

Iridology

Iridology is the study of the eye's iris, in order to diagnose disease and to promote well-being.

Sites listed here will provide non-commercial information about the practice of iridology, its applications and uses.

Business sites will not be listed here unless they are about practitioners, or provide significant and original non-commercial content. Sites with online sales belong in the appropriate subcategory of Shopping/Health/Alternative.

Magnetic Therapy

Information and education about magnets and their effects on health. Consider using magnets together with other medical and alternative approaches.

This category is designed to list web sites which offer information about the alternative healing method, Magnetic Therapy.

If you offer magnetic therapy products for sale to the public, please submit to Shopping - Magnetic Therapy

Massage Therapy and Bodywork

This category includes all forms of massage and hands-on bodywork techniques. These techniques may have a range of aims. Some attempt to relax the client, others to relieve chronic pain or enhance the general state of well being.

Please submit sites to the appropriate subcategory, or this category if a combination of therapies is used or if the site is truly of general interest to massage therapists and bodyworkers.

All sites must be in English - other language sites belong in the appropriate category under World.

If a site is primarily concerned with treating animals, please submit to Animal/Alternative_Medicine.

STOP! PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE SUBMITTING

If you offer massage therapy and/or bodywork from a specific location do NOT submit here - this will only delay your listing. Instead, please submit to the appropriate subcategory in Regional.

If you submit your geographically specific massage practice here you will only delay your listing in the directory and bog down the editors.

Thank you.

Meditation

Meditation is an ancient practice common to almost all religions and recently found medically helpful in relieving stress and reducing stress-induced illnesses. The sites are grouped according to the kind of meditation they represent.

Only sites in English are to be submitted here. Please submit sites in other languages to the concerned category.

Please submit religious or spirituality related meditation sights to the Meditation section of Religion and Spirituality. Please submit sites about meditation involving a specific belief system to that beliefs category in Religion and Spirituality. This category is for Health based meditation not religious based.

This category is only for Health based Meditation. Sites dealing with other spiritual or health practices should not be submitted here.

Naturopathy

To heal in harmony with the natural functions of the body — without harm — is the underlying principle of the naturopathic system of medicine. Naturopathic medicine recognizes the healing power of nature as the inherent self-organizing and healing process of living systems which establishes, maintains and restores health.

This Health Directory is designed to list web sites which offer information about the healing art of Naturopathy.

If your web site offers alternative products for sale, please see the appropriate categories under the Shopping tree: Shopping/Health_and_Beauty/Alternative/

Non-Toxic Living

Non-toxic living refers to people striving to have fewer toxins (poisons)in their personal and home environment.

Information and resources useful to people who are trying to have fewer toxins (poisons)in their personal and home environment. Since this is under the Alternative Health category, all web pages listed should provide solutions to health problems which might be caused by toxins, information about the toxins in the personal and home environment or should simply provide non-toxic alternatives to products or practices which might be toxic.

Sites selling products should be submitted to an appropriate category under Shopping.

Opposing Views

Sites with information opposed to alternative medicine.

Please only submit sites in English that oppose alternative therapies or treatments here.

Ozone Therapy

Sites with products for sale, please submit to Shopping

Palmtherapy

Palmtherapy is a method for rapidly relieving emotional suffering and for accelerating human potential through the hand/brain/mind connection, reaching the brain through the (touch and nontouch) stimulation of various areas and lines on the palms of the hands which are related to brain/mind activity and the personality. Palmtherapy was invented by Moshe Zwang in Autumn of 1985.

Includes sites with information on palmtherapy or sites about palmtherapists. Please do not use all capital letters. Keep your description brief and concise. Thank you.

Reflexology

This category includes all forms of Reflexology - foot, hand, and ear. Reflexologists work to bring the body into a balanced state by providing a relaxing form of pressure therapy on the feet, hands and/or ears.

Please submit sites to the appropriate subcategory, or this category if the site is truly of general interest to Reflexology.

All sites must be in English - other language sites belong in the appropriate category under World.

If a site is more generally about bodywork or massage and not exclusive to Reflexology, please submit to Health/Alternative/Massage_Therapy_and_Bodywork/.

STOP! PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE SUBMITTING

If your site is not primarily about Reflexology and you offer massage therapy or are a spa with multiple modalities do NOT submit here - this will only delay your listing. Instead, please submit to the appropriate subcategory in Regional.

If your site is about a product for consumers do NOT submit here. Instead, please submit to the appropriate subcategory in Shopping/Health/Alternative/.

Sites submitted to the wrong categories bog down the editors and will delay your site being listed.

Thank you.

Reiki

Reiki is a form of energy healing. Discovered by Mikao Usui in the early 20th Century, it was brought to the West by Hawayo Takata in 1936. Particularly useful for relief in chronic conditions, pain relief and stress, Reiki is at the very least relaxing. A treatment is non-invasive and non-manipulative, the client remaining fully dressed the whole time. A treatment takes about an hour and comprises the practitioner placing their hands in a series of proscribed postions covering the head, main organs, endocrine and nervous system. There are literally millions of Reiki websites available on the net. Here you will find a choice few, with the most to offer.

Please submit only educational sites to this Reiki category.

Sites based in the UK, please submit to UK Reiki

If you practice or teach Reiki, please submit to the geographic category which most closely fits the area you serve.

If you specialize in healing or attunement from a distance, please submit to Remote Reiki

Resources

The Resources category is meant to provide in depth, comprehensive, and well documented educational and informational listings for the Health/Alternative categories. The standards for the diverse traditions and modalitites represented in the top category will be respected.

For the most part this means non-commercial sites unless it is a database, or the content outweighs promotion.

Please only submit sites that have verifiable content for Magazines and E-zines that directly deal with Alternative Health Resources. Subscription only sites are difficult to evaluate. Make sure your site is updated on a regular basis so the material is fresh and new. Do not submit a links page for other magazines. Do not submit email only Newsletter sign up pages because they are not Magazines or E-zines. Newsletters should be archived in print or archived online for continued content verification. Magazines and E-zines usually have ongoing content, an Editorial Board, a distinct mission, and interactive content.

Tibetan Medicine

Tibetan medicine has been practiced for over 2500 years and is still practiced today. Called gSoba Rig-pa, the science of healing, it is largely based on herbs. The goal is to keep in balance the Nyipa sum whose long term causes are desire, hatred and delusion.

Please include the following information in your submission:
* Name of clinic or practice
* Name of clinic director, founder or practitioner
* Brief description of the main services and specialties offered
* Location

Please submit to the geographic category which most closely fits the area you serve.

Foreign language sites which do not provide pages in English should submit to the appropriate World category.

Trepanation

Trepanation (or trephination) is the making of a small hole in the skull of the adult by use of a surgical drill known as a trepan. It is not synonymous with brain surgery (e.g.lobotomy) as it is performed solely on the skull bone and does not enter the brain. The purpose of trepanation is to give the closed skull of the adult an expansion window and thereby to restore the full pulsation which was lost when the skull sealed. The pulse wave then blows up the brain capillaries with blood to the level of childhood, accelerating brain metabolism and empowering the brain to permanently regain its youthful level. An equivalent volume of cerebrospinal fluid is squeezed out to make room for the extra blood and thereafter the ratio between the two fluid volumes in the brain is altered in favour of blood. Proponents claim that an increase in energy and well being is the result, and that with more contact between capillaries and brain cells the brain functions more efficiently.

Urine Therapy

Urine therapy refers to one of several uses of urine to prevent or cure sickness, to enhance beauty or to cleanse one's bowels.