Anthroposophy | Anthroposophical medicine and remedies

The word anthroposophy comes from the Greek words anthropomorphic (human) and sophia (wisdom). Anthroposophy means a road to knowledge of man.

The founder of anthroposophy is Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). He lived in Austria and Switzerland, and studied philosophy, mathematics, science and epistemology. Steiner sought to create a soul, science, and he developed methods to train the senses that are dormant and the subconscious of most people. The anthroposophical ideas apply today in practice in areas such as education, architecture, art, culture and medicine.

For healing arts Steiner collaborated with the Dutch doctor Ita Wegman (1876-1943), who founded the first anthroposophic clinic in Arlesheim in Switzerland. Today there are 27 anthroposophical clinics with a total of more than 1 500 beds across Europe, particularly in West Germany, Switzerland and Holland. Anthroposophical doctors are also on other continents. In Sweden, the Vidar Clinic was opened in October 1985, organized with 74 beds, a clinic for outpatient care including a hotel with 11 beds. Anthroposophical oriented doctors are also available in other places in the country.

The Anthroposophical medicine sees itself not as an independent alternative to the natural science-oriented medical activities, but as a complement extending medicine. The anthroposophic doctors all have a common medical licensure addition to studying the Anthroposophical medicine.

The Anthroposophical medicine is to treat the whole person. A variety of means and methods used, usually in combination with each other so that the interaction contributes to the healing process: Anthroposophical medicine, massage, Bath Care, artistic therapies such as Eurythmy, therapeutic painting and modeling, music therapy, chirophonetik and, where necessary conventional medical treatment. For mentally handicapped people have a special healing pedagogy developed.

Human nature
In anthroposophy, man is regarded as a being with body, mind and spirit that is in constant evolution. Steiner talks about ethereal form forces of cosmic origin, a sort of natural forces which have shaped and given life to man and nature. Two energy flows interact: the earthly substance and the cosmic forces.

According to the anthroposophical thinking man consists of four ' polarities:

1. Physical body

2. Essential Body
It is also called life-body, because it is the basis for life. Human beings like plants and animals, has an ethereal force field which is the cohesive force within the organism, which makes it a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The man's etheric force field kept a kind of traces of everything she is experiencing; field considered to be the bearer of memory capacity. When man dies released this field from the physical body.

3. Astral Body
Astral body is a kind of spiritual organism that both animals and humans have. It is called the astral body as it is considered to be related to specific regions of the star (aster = star). Unlike the etheric body is not the same shape as the physical body. During sleep the astral body is partially freed from the physical body.

4. Ego
It is described as individual human beings spiritual core. Ego stands for the higher mental functions as consciousness, thought, reason and morality. When the man dies, separated self, etheric body and astral body for ever from the physical body. Ego lived in a spiritual world. Ego may later, so to speak, if necessary, enter into a new physical incarnation (reincarnation = rebirth). In anthroposophy is considered that in addition to inheritance and environment that also helps the reincarnational history of the human personality.

In anthroposophy distinguishes between three main physiological processes or functional areas that are more or less autonomous, yet cooperative. It also talks about three soul forces: thought, feeling and will. The three spiritual forces are characterized by different awareness levels and has its counterpart in the physiological processes.

1. Mind and nervous system - thought
Mind and nervous system is represented throughout the body but is concentrated in the head and provides the physical basis for the senses and thinking. The feature of cells in the sensory and nervous systems is that they are highly specialized and that almost no regeneration takes place in them. Mind and nervous system becomes, therefore, as a cold, dormant pole - it is necessary to "keep a cool head" in order to function.

2. The rhythmic system - esteem
The system includes the rhythmic functions in the body, primarily the heart and lungs, circulation and respiration, but also sleep patterns and other rhythmic processes. It is seen as the physiological basis of emotions. The rhythmic system has an intermediary role between the counter and the cold coil and the hot-metabolism system.

3. Metabolic system - like
The system is concentrated mainly in the abdomen and limbs, and is the physiological basis of volitional life. Metabolic system is the nervous system contrary: it is active and regenerative cells and is characterized by strong life processes, heat and motion.

Health and disease
Anthroposophists believe that life and consciousness are contrary to each other: where natural processes are as intense consciousness is subdued, and vice versa (compare metabolic system and the mind and nervous system). We feel healthy as long as we do not know what goes on in our bodies - it is only when a disturbance occurs as we become aware of them. Awareness process takes on the life forces. Anthroposophy believes that diseases arising from a shift in the soul-body balance.

The disease is regarded as a process by which humans develop. Doctor's task is not simply to remove symptoms of the disease, but also to control the disease process to make it as productive as possible for the individual. If a disease is removed only with external funds, but that the individual so to speak, self-activated, leads not to the man passed on - only when she is separated from the disease symptom, but the disposition for the disease persists.

The healing process tries to activate the patient's inner power. Treatment aims to support the organism's own efforts to deal with disease processes. It believes that all healing is self-healing guided by the overarching principle of life, etheric body. A healing has been achieved only when the patient can control the processes that led to the disturbance. This requires that the patient is actively involved in reading.

Diseases classified in many different ways, for example, inflammation and sclerosis.

1. Inflammatory conditions:
diseases with overactivity of the metabolic pole, tendency to fever and characteristic of a state of dissolution.

2. Sclerotic condition:
diseases dominated by nervous and mind pole: degenerative condition and tumors, hardening processes.

Between these two ever-present trend is a polar state, they are in interaction with each other and the unbalance takes one tendency prevails. Health means balance between polar forces.

Anthroposophical medicine
In Sweden, it is perhaps the treatment of cancer with mistletoe extracts (eg Iscador) which is the best known form of Anthroposophical medicine. The extract of the Mistletoe has been reported to stimulate the immune system and inhibit tumor growth.

Anthroposophy believes that the healing forces of the sick man lacks, is conserved in nature. The Anthroposophical medicines derived from mineral, vegetable or animal kingdom. Assuming that there is a connection between certain plants, minerals and metals and human bodies and processes. That is the question of a relationship between the formative forces in nature and in man (etheric body).

Like the human physiology is even growth of threefold nature. However, this relationship is inverted: the cold head. The forces consist of the plant's roots, the warm metabolic forces of the flower and human rhythmic systems consist of the leaves.

Synthetic substances are not the essence of kinship with an organism. Although the synthetic substance may have the same molecular structure as a substance derived from living material and can have intense effects, so it is not clear that it has the same characteristics. We believe that the essence of the image of a plant is reflected in the whole matter, and an isolated substance may no longer comprise the entirety - the plant's essence. Purify a substance may have quite different effects in isolation than with the other ingredients of plant origin.

Anthroposophical medicine uses also potentised gradually diluted material, but in a way that differs slightly from homeopathy (see Homeopathy). The different steps in a potentiation is sprayed, diluted, and then a whirling shaking. These phases are the same as all the nutrients and almost all drugs undergo in the body in the same way: chewing / maceration, dilution in the blood, swirling movements when blood flow passes through the heart and eventually the resting phase on the part of the blood serum of the brain.

The idea of potentiation is the parent compound "stripped" their material substantiality, with the processes and intellectual properties that bound to the substance is released in stages. The intellectual properties are raised by the media as substance thinned, such as water or milk sugar. Every power, every degree of dilution, is different from previous potency and have different characteristics. In the Anthroposophical medicine use is not usually means a greater potency than D 30th (D 1 is diluted to one tenth of the initial concentration, the higher the potency, the more "diluted" drugs.)

Rhythmic activities
Anthroposophy places great emphasis on the rhythms that can be observed in all living processes. Wherever a liquid medium is, it occurs in rhythms. The rhythmic system, with respiratory and cardiac activity is considered of great importance not only for the physical but also mental health as the center of emotional life. It is the coordination, leveling the activity. Water is the major exchanger and accommodator of The content of all metabolic processes. Body fluids (“water-organism") are regarded as the organ of the etheric forces.

Rhythmic massage (Hauschta massage) is a way to support the forming and leveling activities in the body. The basic parts of rhythmic massage are binding and resolution, and wave motion. In certain disease states is a solution, soothing treatment, the other a mandatory, stimulating reading.

Eurythmy
Important in anthroposophy is Eurythmy from that is a movement art, which can be said to be made visible speech and visible song made. It illustrates the various language elements of movements, gestures and gestures that engage the entire body. Pure vowel by-word usually expresses inner experiences and feelings; strong CONSONANTAL words often depict things in the outside world. Each vowel and consonant has its own language "gesture".

Every sound and the corresponding gesture responds to specific processes in the body's organs. A person with a disease needs its special sound and motion. With Eurythmy seeks to influence organizing and healing in the corresponding physiological processes in organs. Treatment affects the the rhythmic system, such as pulse and breathing.

The Eurythmy is used as adjunctive therapy in medication and other treatment. It is also used in the treatment of the disabled, spastic and brain-damaged children.

Chirophonetik
Chirophonetik is a combination of manual processing and Logopedics (= the study of speech disorders and their cure). The therapy developed by log. Dr. Alfred Baur from Austria.

Each vowel and consonant is considered to have their different qualities corresponding to the shape formed when air flows through the speech organs when the sounds are pronounced. By a therapist rhythmically molds corresponding movements of a man's back, while the latter assessed sounds, seeks to strengthen the sounds intrinsic strength and reach an equilibrium-creating effect on the soul.

The therapy is used primarily to stimulate the majority of autistic children, but also operated as a general treatment of bedwetting, anxiety, distress, etc.

Artistic Therapies
Rudolf Steiner developed based on Goethe's color theory a special use of color in art and therapy. In the Anthroposophical medicine includes painting therapy, where certain colors and shapes are used to support human development in the healing direction. There are also modeling and music therapy.

Healing Pedagogy
In Sweden there are about fifteen medicine educational institutions for mentally handicapped people, especially children. There is talk of "children who need mental health care", and in the name enshrined various developmental disabilities, psychoses, brain damage and environmental damage.

With healing pedagogy one attempts to reach and activate the healthy heart of the sick man's personality. Children's patterns of movement may indicate the one-sided units and imbalances in many cases deemed to be related to one organ system had the upper hand. In order to overcome one-sided ties is working with various rhythmic activities: seeking to affect the rhythmic and balanced body system in the body, use of eurythmy and music for therapeutic purposes, is a daily, weekly and year rhythm and celebrate different holidays to highlight the variability and the recurrence of life. In addition to the clean treatment contains the healing educational activities including teaching, largely in practical subjects.