What is Tibetan medicine
What is Chinese medicine
What is Indian medicine/Ayurveda

Alternative Medicine denotes all kinds of methods, excluding regular medicine, contributing essentially to a good health. There are over a hundred different types of alternative medicine and the number is still growing. A few examples are: chiropraction, reflexology, hypnotherapy, reiki, ayurveda, kinesiology, homoeopathy, osteopathy, cranial therapy, various types of acupuncture, colour-therapy, massage, sound therapy.

Dutch law limits alternative medicine. Some health insurances do reimburse the treatments, on condition that they fall under common denominators like acupuncture or homoeopathy and/or are practised by registered therapists. Some insurance only refund the costs, based on fixed prices, if a regular doctor does the treatment.

In 1973 the medical university of Rome held the first congress for alternative medicine. No less than 135 different types of alternative medicine were discussed. Alternative medicine is an ancient field of medicine; many cultures know one form of alternative medicine.  In many old cultures the traditional medical system is what we call alternative medicine.

The field of alternative medicine is still unclear. There is a great diversity of therapists. Many have had a thorough training and many years of experience. In Holland there are some professional societies for therapists to ensure the quality of their members. The need for alternative medicine is extensive and is indeed still growing because many people cannot find an answer to their health problems and cannot be helped by regular medicine. However, we cannot do without regular medicine, especially for more serious problems. We should therefore combine forces. Fortunately, there is indeed an increasing tendency to cooperate between the two disciplines.

In Eastern countries this cooperation is a natural thing, due to the fact that alternative medicine is part of the cultural heritage as the oldest medical system.

Many of the types, which we genially call alternative medicine methods, originate from Eastern countries where they belong to the traditional forms of medicine, like Ayurveda in India, Tibetan medicine in Tibet and acupuncture in China.

In Western culture alternative medicine has generally been limited to herbal therapy. Therefore we lack the storehouse of knowledge that these age-old eastern methods do have. Fortunately we can take advantage of this Eastern knowledge. However, it should be mentioned that in the West - often for commercial reasons - many Eastern traditional types of alternative medicine are distorted into weakened or incorrect extracts.

Alternative medicine is based upon the belief that a human being is a total of interrelated parts: body, soul, emotions and spirit. Alternative medicine also recognizes a relation between the food one eats, one's lifestyle and one's surroundings. Alternative medicine is often used as a preventive method to stimulate the self-curing powers of the body. Provided that alternative medicine is practised skilfully, it has no side effects. Also the medication used by alternative medicine has no side effects, again provided they are well administered. Because of its comprehensive approach, alternative medicine is also referred to as a holistic method.