he had seen the color yellow, an image that stayed
with him a long time.
In terms of alternative medicine, Therapeutic
Touch, Reiki, and other practices rely on the
premise that the body is surrounded by an electro-
magnetic field—also called an aura—that may be
manipulated by hand in order to restore, direct,
and balance healing energy for general well-being.
In yoga philosophy, each chakra, or point of phys-
ical/spiritual energy, is associated with a color field
emanating from the body that some people say
they can “read” or actually see as illumination,
such as a halo or source of light.
See also REIKI; THERAPEUTIC TOUCH; YOGA.
auricular therapy A branch of traditional Chi-
nese medicine that includes acupuncture, this type
geared solely to the ear in order to treat headaches,
particularly migraines, arthritis, and stomach ail-
ments, and for use as a pain-management option.
See also ACUPUNCTURE.
Australian Bush Flower Essences Infusions made
from indigenous Australian flowers and plants that
are used to strengthen the immune system and
fight viruses. Developed by the herbalist Ian White,
the essences include (1) Alpine mint bush—for
revitalization from mental and emotional exhaus-
tion; (2) Banksi Robur—for burnout, frustration, ill-
ness, and temporary loss of drive; (3) Bush
Fuschia—for dyslexia, left/right brain imbalances,
learning problems, stuttering, and promotion of
keener intuition; (4) Crowea—for inner tension
and worry; (5) Fringed Violet—for shock and
trauma, damaged auric field, negative environmen-
tal energies, and effects of old traumas; (6) Iso-
pogon—for poor memory, premature senility,
stubborn, and controlling personality, and inability
to learn from past experience; (7) She Oak—for
infertility, premenstrual tension, hormonal imbal-
ance, and fluid retention; (8) Spinifex—for oral and
genital herpes, chlamydia, cuts, scrapes, and other
skin conditions; (9) Sturt Desert Pea—for deep sor-
row, emotional pain; (10) Sturt Desert Rose—for
guilt, lack of self-esteem, lack of morality or convic-
tion; (11) Radiation—a combination of essences to
help combat the effects of radiation therapy for can-
cer, solar and nuclear radiation, electromagnetic
energies; negative environmental energies, and
(12) Super Learning—a combination of essences to
promote mental clarity, ability to concentrate, and
learning skills, among other Australian essences.
See also BACH FLOWER REMEDIES; BELLHOUSE, ELIZ-
ABETH; FINDHORN ESSENCES; FLOWER ESSENCE SOCIETY;
KORTE, ANDREAS; PERELANDRA ESSENCES.autogenic training From the term that means
“from within one’s own self,” a deep relaxation
training that involves mental exercises for the reduc-
tion of both physical and mental stress and illness.
Originated in Berlin, Germany, in the 1920s by the
German psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Johannes
H. Schultz, autogenic training aims to help individu-
als deliberately control their autonomic nervous sys-
tem, the part of the entire nervous system that
focuses on involuntary bodily functioning—the
heart, the smooth muscles, the adrenal medulla, and
the salivary, gastric, and sweat glands, among other
structures. The autonomic nervous system is divided
into the sympathetic, or thoracolumbar, system,
connected with thoracic and lumbar portions of the
spinal nerve and other nerves, and the parasympa-
thetic system, which consists of fibers of some of the
cranial nerves and the nerves connected to the sacral
portion of the spine. It is the sympathetic system that
responds to stressors, and the parasympathetic sys-
tem that induces relaxation.
When sympathetic fibers are stimulated by
stress, fear, or a similar factor, the body’s typical
response includes vasoconstriction, increased
blood pressure, “goose bumps,” dilation of the
pupils, thickened saliva, increase in heart rate, and
other reactions related to the “fight or flight” syn-
drome. Stimulation of the parasympathetic nerves
produces a reduction in blood pressure, vasodila-
tion, pupillary contraction, thin saliva, and
reduced heart rate.
The techniques of autogenic training resemble
self-hypnosis and meditation. The series of mental
exercises, performed three times daily for 15 min-
utes at a time, centers on certain words or phrases
that, for the individual, will produce a relaxation
response. There are two groups of autogenic exer-
cises; the first group has six exercises that use
phrases (an example is “My arms are warm and
heavy”) that prompt one’s attention to physiologi-
cal changes brought about by relaxation. The sec-
ond group, known as intentional exercises, is12 auricular therapy