Free Promotion for IHC Students

Dear Students,

I just updated the PUBLIC student page again. Please check to see your information is correct. If your information is not included please fill out the form on the page and include all the information that was provided by the other students.

http://naturopathichealing.weebly.com/students-amp-graduates.html

Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND

Course Corrections: File Added to Unit Four

A file that used to be a link is now available as a PDF file for students who are working on Unit Four. You can download this file from the year member's page. Or, if you are not a member of the entire course you can download it from the Unit Four file page at:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Unit4/files/

Student Excerpts: Homeopathy and Islamic Medicine

A student today compared Homeopathy and Islamic medicine in one of her assignments. I thought the following passage from her work was insightful and thought that many of you would also find it a wonderful insight:


Homeopaths insist that serial dilutions of a substance remove only the toxic effects of that substance, but retain its essence/vibration/energy and, therefore, its medicinal power; they further argue that it is the process of potentisation itself (the vigorous shaking of a substance) which activates and then releases the energy from that substance. From this we can see that homeopathic remedies are derived from a process which is very different from other substances in history who followed the “like cures like” model of healing.

Foods and herbs recommended by Islamic medicine practitioners have been successfully used to treat illness by people from around the world for millennia. Moreover, foods/herbs of the hadith have all been proven as healing medicines by numerous scientific studies carried out for decades by both Muslims and non-Mulims.

Finally, according to Islamic medicine, the energy/vibration of a healing food/herb exists in that food/herb in a synergistic manner along with all the other healing aspects of that divine medicine. The energy from that medicinal food is not activated by potentisation and succussion, but by saying, “Bis mil Lah” and “Alhamdulillah.”

Consulting Client Tip #3 IHC: Starting the Consult

A student who turned in her test this week provided the following reminder as to how we should all start our consultations. I wanted to share this with you all:

Even the divinely blessed remedy is said to work only with the power and permission of Allah (Qadr Allah); and conversely, if Allah does not allow you to be healed then you will remain ill no matter what you do to get better. This is why Muslims precede any action by reciting Allah’s name and then follow every intention by reciting, “In Sha Allah” (If Allah wills).

Student Question: Questions about the Temperaments

The following questions on the "Temperaments and Typology" unit were submitted by a student last week. They are VERY GOOD questions so I wanted to share them (and the answers) with you all. The questions are in black. My answers are in blue.

1.In your introduction to Unit 3: You state that different societies had different humors and then you say that for Ayurveda there is just 3 elements. However, in the online link about unani tibb, they have a chart comparing the humors in different traditional healing methods and they list Ayurveda as using five elements just as TCM has 5 elements. I found another good article online which also states that Ayurveda includes 5 elements/humors and not 3. Yet I have read many times in the past about the 3 doshas. I am confused. Does Ayurveda use 5 elements like the online articles say or do they only use 3.

It is confusing because, you are right, Ayurveda recognizes five humors, but it does not use them in the same way Greek medicine or Unani Tibb does. It is misleading to put them on a chart in comparison. If you look into depth at Ayruveda they actually have more than 3 - but do not limit diagnosis to 5. Here is a summary of how they view the systems: Panchamahabhuta or five basic elements: The basic material constituents which exist in the universe and in man are called the Pancha-mahabhuta or five basic elements of Prithivi (Earth), Jala (Water), Teja (Fire), Vayu (Air), and, Akash (Ether). However these are not used in the same way Greek or Islamic medicine uses them. In Greek or Islamic Medicine these are considered as the main forces for disease and healing. In Ayurveda these are viewed a bit differently and the divisions are different. Ayurveda does not view the body as "five elements" of disease and healing - but rather of seven basic tissues and three basic elements - that can then be further divided into 35 total elements of disease and healing.

These are: Dhatus: The human body consists of seven basic and vital tissues called Dhatus. Dhatu means “constructing elements”. These seven are responsible for the entire structure of the body. They maintain the functions of the different organs, system and vital parts of the body. They play an important role in the development, nourishment and even protection of the body. Dhatus are the resultant materials of the functions of the three Humors. They are: 1. Rasa dhatu: predominates the “Jala (water) “Mahabhuta. Function: Prinana(Nurishment) 2. Rakta dhatu: predominates the “Tej (Fire)” Mahabhuta. Function: Jevana(Invigoration) 3. Mamsa dhuta: predominates the “Prithivi (Ether)” mahabhuta. Function: Lepana(holds skeleton) 4. Meda dhatu: predominates the “Jala (water) “Mahabhuta. Function: Snehan(Lubrication) 5.Asthi dhatu: predominates the Vayu and Prithivi. Function:Dharan(support) 6.Majjja dhatu: predominates the Akash Mahabhuta. Function: Purana(to fill the bones) 7.Shukra dhatu: predominates the Jala and Tej Mahabhutas. Function:Garva utpadan(reproduction)

Tridosha or Three Humors: In Ayurdeda the basic elements of human body are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These are called Tridosha or three Humors. Our body is controlled and regulated by the coordinated and balanced functions of Tridosha. It helps the body to be alive. All the physical and mental functions of the body are governed by these three humors. According to Ayurveda, various health problems are caused by an imbalance in at least one of the three humors. In Unani Tibb or Greek medicine it is thought that imbalance is caused by one of the five humors. It is a bit confusing that the translation of Dosha is humors in the same way they translate the word Panchamahabhuta (elements) of the body and the universe to mean "humors". They are different words in the Indian language and provide a subtle distinction. So the word Panchamahabhuta and the word Dosha are not the same but many articles you read in English translate both words to mean HUMORS. This is incorrect. Below you can see, however, they do further divide these Doshas...

Vata: The physical characteristics of Vata are different from others. It is light, dry, mobile, cold, abundant, rough, swift etc. Its fundamental Elements are Ether (Akash) and Air (Vayu). The physical functions are: it is responsible for body movement, speech, Blood circulation, breathing, Excretion, Brain functions, formation of fetus, sexual act, anxiety, grief. etc. There are five types of Vata according to their characters and locations. 1.Prana Vayu 2.Udana Vayu 3. Vyana Vayu. 4.Saman Vayu. 5.Apan Vayu.

Pitta: Pitta is hot like the basic element which is derived from Agni or fire. It is also characterized as being sharp, sour, pungent, fluid, soothing and mobile. It is responsible for vision, hunger, thirst, and digestion, the regulation of heat in the body, softness and luster in the complexion, cheerfulness, intellect, and sexual vigor. There are five types of Pitta which were first indicated by Acharya Susruta. 1.Pachaka Pitta 2.Ranjaka Pitta 3.Sadhaka Pitta 4.Alochaka Pitta 5.Bhrajaka Pitta. Kapha: Kapha is also called Slesma, and is derived from the fundamental elements earth (Prithivi) and Water (Jala). It is smooth, cold, heavy, dull, and viscid.

Kapha constitutes the entire solid structure of the body. The functions of Kapha are unctuousness, binding, firmness, heaviness, sexual potency, strength, forbearance, restraint and the absence of grief. Kapha was also categorized into five divisions: 1.Avalambaka Kapha 2.Kledaka Kapha 3.Bodaka Kapha 4.Tarpaka Kapha 5.Shleshaka Kapha.

2. More confusion: The assigned readings say that the humoral theory existed among Greeks even before the time of Hippocrates. So why is Hippocrates given credit as the originator of humoral theory in healing? Is it because he named 4 specific types and used them in a practical system? The text also says that Galen is the one who came up with the idea of 4 temperaments which correspond with the 4 elements/humors. Does that mean that during time of Hippocrates up until Galen, people were only focusing on the physical aspects of the humors and that Galen then originated and developed the system which used the humors to describe emotional/psychological traits? This is important because Hippocrates lived about 6 hundred years before Galen.

People have used the humors in all their aspect probably farther back than history has recorded. However, this is a very typical and classical case of "the historical credit problem". This is a problem I try to point out frequently during the course but I do not always suceed in doing so enough. The problem is that all medical and healing traditions are actually discoveries of many different people or peoples. Many of these traditions have been used for hundreds of years before someone "took credit". However history always gives credit to the person who was able to define the tradition and write it down. So credit for iridology is given to the first person who created a chart. Credit for reflexology is given to the first person to create the zone system. Credit in homeopathy is given to the person who created a comprehensive book of all the remedies. In some ways this credit is deserved - the person was usually responsible for A: Defining the tradition in a way everyone could understand so that it had more chance of surviving over time and being taught to more people and B. Expanding and devloping the tradition beyond what it was. In the case of homeopathy it had been used before but nobody (that we know of) had taken the time to test so many rememedies before., Hahnemann was amazing in this respect. However, in reality the system of any healing tradition cannot be attributed to one person.

3. In the reading from the columbia encyclopedia source, it lists winter as the corresponding season for the phlegmatic type which does not seem right because phlegmatic types are considered cold and moist which fits more with autumn and melanchoic fits more with winter because it is marked by cold/dry qualities which fits winter best. what do you think?

Corresponding the humors can be confusing! I can often see how one or more types could fit in each season, in each character, etc...but ultimately you are looking for the basic characteristic of the person or season. Autumn definately has a DRY dominant side because the leaves fall in the Autumn and are dry. The earth is dry. However, phlegmatic is very wet. So they cannot go together.

Winter is actually very moist because of the snow and ice that is classic of a traditional winter. However, one interesting thing about modern times that I noticed - since we use heaters in our homes we have actually created a very cold and dry environment for winter. I think this is responsible for a lot of the health problems we have in the winter. We are not allowing our bodies to cycle through the natural seasons and we are making a "wet" season into a "dry" one.

Course Corrections: Unit Three

Dear Students,



There are some updates and corrections for Unit Three. They are as follows:



1. There seems to be some ongoing trouble with the "Cooking for the Humours" file so I have created an entirely new one that does not involve any links. I will be uploading it to the site in the next day or two.



2. The Unit titled "Humors in Islamic Medicine" (Unit 3:Chapter 3) should be titled "Humors in Unani Tibb".



3. There is a sentence missing at the end of "The History and Theory of Temperaments in Islamic Medicine" in Unit 3:Chapter 1. The end should read:



It is believed that a person is born into a certain temperament though their physical and mental qualities, but by using all the faculties, especially the spirit. I have now corrected it in my files and have filed the new corrections under "updated Unit 3 files". When I update the site I will include these corrections and updates.



It would be confusing if I constantly changed files as I made updates every few weeks or months so once or twice a year I make all the updates at one time to prevent overlap, confusion and double-download problems. Because of this continuing state of updates you should ALWAYS check the updates page to see if the Unit you are reading has any updates. This page is at:

http://islamichealingcourse.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Corrections

Changes to the Course: Friday Office Hours

As many old students know, there has been a new schedule of test correcting that I have been "trying out" since April. Instead of returning exams once a month, I have been doing them every week, and have created office hours on Fridays.

This has been running at about an 80% success rate and I am quite pleased with it. However, some modifications will be made for the next year to accommodate the few times of year that I have an extra load of lectures or work from other sites. I have not finished modifications to this schedule yet, however, my vision for it is that it would stay intact as a weekly schedule but I would add in some 'school breaks" a few times a year, much like you would have at a regular university (spring break, winter break, a couple weeks for summer break, etc...). This does not mean that I would not be available during these break times for tech support or other questions or that you cannot work during these times. It would only mean that during those "breaks" I would not be correcting exams on a weekly basis and would not have office hours on those weeks. As I mentioned before, the "weekly" office hours were a new venture this year and everything else about them has been going well. I just forgot to build in some "break or vacation" time - and certainly everyone needs some of that. And without that it may appear that the schedule is "unpredictable" when, in actuality, I can predict with accuracy when those breaks will need to happen. This will help you to plan better as well.

My main goal is to serve you as students and make sure everything goes smoothly, and I believe part of this process is clear guidelines and communication. I have been very happy with the Friday office hours, as this has improved both. However, some misunderstandings have ensued on weeks that I was out of town for lectures or had to take a break for holiday season mailings.

Blessings & Health,
Karima