alternative medicine for pets begins with the pre-
vention of illness by designing and maintaining a
healthy lifestyle with diet, exercise, stress reduction,
and a nontoxic home and finding the most effec-
tive, least invasive, least expensive, and most non-
toxic method of curing. Systems of healing from all
over the world are available to animals. http://www.
virtualvet.com/petowners/holistic/Holisthrp01.
htm; http://education.yahoo.com
Philippine healing methods See PSYCHIC SURGERY.
Phoenix Rising yoga See YOGA.
physical therapy Developed by Sister Elizabeth
Kenny after the polio epidemic in the 1940s, a disci-
pline of rehabilitation geared toward the restoration
of function to parts of the body injured by trauma,
disease, or loss of the body part. Exercise, massage,
and applications of cold, heat, electricity, and ultra-
violet radiation are included in physical therapy to
help revitalize range of motion and muscular
strength and ability in order that patients may per-
form activities of daily living. A physical therapist,
who must complete an accredited physical therapy
educational program and pass a licensing examina-
tion, is legally responsible for evaluating and treating
patients or supervising physical therapy plans of care
and programs for patients. A physical therapy diag-
nosis refers to the decisions made by a physical ther-
apist concerning the appropriate treatment and
rehabilitation for each patient after he or she has
been treated by a medical doctor or had a pathologic
diagnosis made by a physician.
phytotherapy Another term for the practice of
herbal medicine, or the herbal treatment of disease.
Pilates A method of exercise developed by
Joseph H. Pilates that has been very popular with
dancers since the 1940s. Pilates was born in Ger-
many in 1880 and died in New York in 1967. He
developed a fitness regimen bearing his name and
used it successfully to overcome his disabilities as a
frail and sickly child. Pilates devised a series of con-
trolled movements that engage the mind and body
in developing strong, flexible muscles, without
building bulk. Emphasis was placed on developing
deep torso strength and flexibility, or “centering,”
to ensure proper posture and to reduce risk of
injury. The lithe musculature and ease of move-
ment possessed by a cat were the image he used to
illustrate the technique’s objectives. The Pilates
method places emphasis on correct posture and
technique and does not rely upon high numbers of
repetitive exercises.
See also http://www.stottpilates.com/pilinfo.html.pitta One of the three doshas,or basic body types,
and the representation of the “Sun force,” as
opposed to the “Moon force,” in Ayurvedic medi-
cine.
See also AYURVEDA; DOSHAS; YIN-YANG.placebo From the Latin word meaning “I shall
please,” a “sugar pill” or otherwise inactive sub-
stance given as medicine to a patient who believes
it is actually medicine. Used in study groups, par-
ticularly in the double-blind study technique,
placebos are known to work and have the same
effects (called the placebo effect) in some cases that
a medication would have. The placebo is a prime
example of how the mind influences the body’s
reactions and status. Spontaneous remission that
sometimes occurs in individuals with catastrophic
disease may be attributed to the placebo effect.
Also, detractors of homeopathy may claim that
homeopathic remedies are placebos.
See also HOMEOPATHY; SPONTANEOUS HEALING.plant-spirit healing The use of bioenergetic heal-
ing techniques, such as Therapeutic Touch, on
plants. In experiments performed by Dr. Thelma
Moss, medical psychologist at UCLA’s Neuropsychi-
atric Institute, Kirlian photographs were taken of a
plant whose leaf was severely damaged. Then Moss
requested that renowned bioenergetic healer Olga
Worrall hold her hand over the leaf in an effort to
transfer healing energy. Another Kirlian photo-
graph, taken afterward, showed the leaf had
undergone significant energetic changes toward
improvement.
See also BIOENERGETICS; KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY.polarity therapy A hands-on technique of body-
work consisting of manipulation of pressure points126 Philippine healing methods