Wellness East & West

Book excerpt: In Wellness East & West: Achieving Optimum Health through Integrative Medicine, Kathleen F. Phalen explores the blending of the most effective aspects of medical practices from both sides of the globe. And it is not in curing but rather in healing discovered through integrating these polar medical practices that leads those suffering to a more peaceful place, a place where the heart is healed. Phalen gives us case studies on survivors of AIDS and ovarian cancer. Yoga, guided imagery, and meditation are combined with a daily dose of medication or a weekly session of chemotherapy to provide healing beyond what western medicine alone can offer. Kathleen masterfully joins the hemispheres by revealing the herbs and diet to easy everything from the common cold to cancer. Practical as well as informative, Phalen urges us to be active participants in our own health care. Here you can learn how to take your superficial and deep pulse to discover the efficiency of your organs. To gain further insight into your condition, read the color of your tongue. Most importantly, return to the basics of looking, listening and feeling to lead you and your physician to diagnosis and treatment.