To define holistic, you need to understand it is taken from a Greek word meaning “whole”. Holistic practitioners treat the “whole person”, and not just the resulting disease or illness. The goal of holism is to achieve an optimal state of well being; in mind, body and spirit.
To Define Holistic Principles
As more and more alternative treatments are becoming accepted, the once distinct line between tradition and holistic medicine has started to fade. Both traditional medicine and holistic treatments now share three common principles. They are:
Self-Healing: All holistic treatments focus on self-healing. You are taught that given the right environment, you can heal yourself. Treatment is centered around teaching you the right conditions you need to attain for this to happen.
Root Cause: Holistic practitioners believe in treating the root cause of any illness, not just the symptoms reported. This requires all holistic practitioners to be extremely knowledgable in their ability to counsel their patients. In turn, this principle is directly related to the previous one described, in that the patient must truly understand their illness, understand what needs to be done to heal, and then want to heal.
Mind and Body: To define holistic is to believe that the mind and body are directly connected, and thus affect each other. For example, before a patient can benefit from the physical affects of a soothing massage, he or she must understand that stress is most likely both the root cause and a psychological symptom.
To tie all three principles together, if one sets the correct environment to reduce stress (self-healing) and is counselled on how best to do this (root cause), the need for massage therapy may not even exist.
Examples of common and widely accepted holistic practices and treatments are:
- Acupuncture
- Reflexology
- Indian Head Massage
- Reiki
For more ways to define holistic, be sure to learn about the differences between holistic medicine and alternative treatments.
In conclusion, to define holistic is to define the practice of empowering the patient and helping people help themselves.