electroacupuncture A technique of acupuncture
involving the use of battery-powered devices that
stimulate acupoints through needles, rubber elec-
trodes, or a metal probe.
See also ACUPUNCTURE.
electromagnetic force In physics, magnetism
generated by an electrical current. Alternative
medicine practitioners work to realign, balance, or
otherwise manipulate the electromagnetic energy
in and around the human body as treatment for ill-
ness and as modalities for promoting relaxation
and well-being. The electromagnetic field may be
accessed with or without the laying on of hands.
See also AYURVEDA; ENERGY; RADIONICS; REIKI; THER-
APEUTIC TOUCH; VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE.
emotional freedom technique (EFT) A branch or
method of energy psychology.
See also ENERGY.
Empty Heat In traditional Chinese medicine, a
yin deficiency also known as internal heat, such as
fever, inflammation, redness, swelling, pain, thirst,
dryness, constipation, or agitation.
See also EIGHT PRINCIPAL PATTERNS; YIN-YANG.
endorphins Polypeptides, protein chemical sub-
stances produced naturally by the brain that, when
activated by other substances, exercise, or various
emotional states, create a sensation of well-being,
analgesia, or euphoria similar to that induced by
opiates. The polypeptides bind to opiate receptor
sites of the brain related to the perception of pain.
When endorphins are released, the threshold for
pain increases, and an individual feels more com-
fortable as a result. The most active of the polypep-
tides is B-endorphin.The word endorphin, coined in
1976, is a combination of endogenous and morphine.
Related are enkephalins, pentapeptides produced
naturally in the brain that also have opiate-receptor
ability and potent painkilling effects.
enema, therapeutic See COLONICS.
energy From the Greek word energeia, or the
Latin energia, both meaning activity, the power or
capacity to work or to empower, that is, to set
things in motion (kinetic energy), put things in
position (potential or stored energy), and create
light, heat, ionizing radiation, or sound. On a meta-
bolic level, for example, when the intake of oxygen
combines with the intake of sugar and fat, a chem-
ical reaction occurs in the body that concurrently
produces heat, or energy, and cellular waste prod-
ucts, which result in fatigue. Energetics is the sci-
ence or study of human energy, such as that used
in doing work or exercising. The conservation of
energy refers to the theory that energy cannot
either be created or be destroyed; instead, it is
changed into other forms. Bioenergetics is the
study of the transfer of energy and the way one liv-
ing system relates to others; biodynamics refers to
the study of the energy, or life force, of living mat-
ter. Types of bioenergy include (1) metabolic: the
fuel that empowers fundamental cellular processes;
(2) bioelectrical: the movement of fluids and sub-
stances throughout the body and nervous system
activity, including the brain’s ability to process
information and perceive the world; (3) biopho-
tonic: found in all the body cells’ nuclei for cell-to-
cell communication; (4) subtle bioenergies: qi
(ch’i), or life force, and prana (breath) that flows
throughout the body (meridians, chakras, muscles,
skin, etc.), particularly for the coordination of bod-
ily functions and defense against illness; (5)
etheric: for subtle-energetic growth, development,
and repair of the body (this may be similar to sub-
tle bioenergies); (6) astral: thought forms for the
processing of emotions and emotional energy; (7)
mental: abstract thought forms for creativity and
intellectual functioning; and (8) spiritual: soul
energy that is said to flow or transfer from lifetime
to lifetime and is remembered by the physical cells.
It is generally accepted by all the traditional life
sciences that the human being is an energy system.
In Ayurvedic medicine, all energy generates from
cosmic consciousness, and all five forms of
energy—water, fire, air, ether, and earth—are pre-
sent in all forms of matter, including in each person
and representative of the five senses and mani-
fested in the doshas, or body types. Ayurvedic prac-
titioners believe in the goal of balancing one’s
energy in order to move each individual into har-
mony with cosmic consciousness.38 electroacupuncture