Ancient Roots, Many Branches

Book excerpt: Join us on a fascinating journey across cultures and through time; from Mesopotamia to India, from China to Egypt to Greece and on to the Americas to discover the ancient roots of human thought concerning health and healing. Over the ages, dealing with illness has been an essential aspect of culture, and people everywhere have come up with unique solutions to this fundamental problem. Drawing upon an intimate relationship with a particular environment, treatments have evolved that range from herbs and foods to acupuncture needles. In this book, remedies that can be quite effective for acute conditions will be examined. You will also explore models of healing that allow the whole person to be treated while addressing the underlying pattern of dis-ease. These energetic systems of medicine are especially appropriate in treating chronic illness, where focusing on the symptom fails to address the deeper cause.