Massage therapy, acupuncture [0], hypnosis - these are the usual alternative health contenders, but what about the therapies that don't make the news?

ROLFING

Sometimes rolfing is mistakenly classified under massage therapy, but this is not like any massage that you have experienced. Unlike Swedish massage, which aims to relive tension in the surface muscles, rolfing "works on the web-like complex of connective tissue (fascia) to release, realign and balance the whole body" (or so says the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration) [1]. Practitioners often use their knees, elbows, and gravity to facilitate this release. The experience, I can attest, swings actively between great opening and relief to deep, somewhat tortuous pain (all for the good of the work).

DO IN

The Japanese art of Do In [2] or "self-stimulation" is a unique combination of shiatsu and acupressure with meridian stretching, breathing techniques, chi exercises, and self massage. Do In helps to strengthen qi ("chi") in the meridian systems of the body, eliminate toxins, and increase spirituality.

ZERO BALANCING

Dr Fritz Smith developed Zero-Balancing [3] 1973, as a "hands-on body/mind system designed to align body energy with the body's physical structure." Zero-balancing aims to integrate body energy with body structure, which leads to clearer, stronger fields of energy in the body/mind and balances energy in the densest tissues of the body, as well as the bone and skeletal system. ZB is said to help alleviate physical pain as well as stress and anxiety.

RADIONICS

Radionics is not your average therapy. The treatment involves the use of extrasensory perception and specifically designed instruments to determine the underlying causes of illness. Radionics [4] is based on the theory that the body has a subtle energy field which sustains and vitalizes it. When the field is weakened by stress or pollution, the physical body can also become weak and therefore susceptible to illness. Radionics aims to identify the weaknesses in this field and to correct them.

HOLOGRAPHIC REPATTERNING

Holographic repatterning [5] equates a human being to a hologram - if you change the angle of the light you'll see a different image. Too vague of an explanation? HR founder Chloe Faith offers a bit more: HR is a "method to identify and transform non-coherent frequencies that cause us to resonate with life depleting patterns that are preventing us from resonating with life-enhancing patterns."

[via BBC] [6]

Image: rolfing session from eco-world.de