Holism is the concept or belief that all of the properties of a system cannot be explained by the component parts alone. Rather, the system as a unit determines how the parts behave. The saying, "the whole is more than the sum of its parts”, summarizes things nicely.
The term “holism” came about when a statesman from South Africa named Jan Smuts wrote about the concept in a book. The definition that he gave to holism was “the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution."
The concept of holism has ancient roots and examples can be found throughout human history. Scientific holism teaches that the behavior of a single system can't be predicted, regardless of how much data is readily available.
In medicine, the holistic approach views biological, social, and psychological factors with equal importance when it comes to overall health and wellness. A disturbance or irregularity on any of those levels will have an effect in other areas as well. Each individual part plays an important role in the well being of the whole.
When it comes to alternative medicine, a holistic approach to health and healing emphasizes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual elements of an individual. Some of the more popular examples of a holistic approach include:
*Chiropractic medicine
*Traditional Chinese medicine
*Ayurveda
*Naturopathic medicine,
*Reflexology
*Osteopathy
*Homoeopathy
*Unani medicine
While there are those who doubt the legitimacy or effectiveness of this approach, there is ample evidence existing which shows that holism can in fact have a positive impact on the health of an individual.
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Malabu
By: MariCristie | 03-04-2008
Have anyone heard of a wild plant or weed called Malabu? It grows wild in Colombia, South America, Do you know if it grows anywhere else in the world and where? And what does it look like? Do you have a picture of it?
My dogs won't eat,,,what do I do?
By: zabe | 28-12-2006
I have two 8 month old shit-Tzu's who are not eating. As babies, I gave them Solid Gold (its supposed to be one of the best kibble out there) and they eat it. I am not sure if this is becoz : a couple of months ago I started giving them apples, oranges, strawberries and cabbage as a treats/snacks. I have bags of kibble at home - Eagle Holistic, 2 types of Solid Gold kibble, Authority Harvest Bake, Fromm.A friend told to me to leave the food out for them all day and to stop all treats...eventually they would eat. Its been 4 days now...and these stubborn babies will just nibble a little.
What can be done for rheumatoid arthritis?
By: Ecrivaine32 | 13-11-2006
Are there any treatments, remedies, cures or anything that can be done for rheumatoid arthritis? My mother is only 56 and has stopped working or doing much of anything except being on the couch all day. I am so worried about her. Sometimes I say that it could be a great time for her to get her degree since she chose to retire, but she says she is in such pain that just moving about the house is too much for her. I disagree with her that she is old and say she has a lot of life left - what can be done?
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