Alternative medical Therapies: science or pseudo science?

[abbydoss1969]

[tscii]

The above are likely to happen even if we don’t imagine all the virtual energy flow. Except the third point, Reiki can not be compared with Pranayamam. More over Pranayamam can be self practiced without paying money to any body but Reiki may require a Reiki specialist since the patients is already has damaged “chi” (energy field). Correct me if my statements are wrong.

yeah,r-kk, you're right.
I was just trying to say that maybe Reiki, is an offshoot of pranayama.
As you know, most of the chinese exercises ,martial arts, and their breathing exercises have evolved from india only. A sage called Dharma is supposed to have gone from Kerela and gone to china in ancient times and taught them all about yoga and pranayama etc...He is still revered in china.And combined with their ideas of acupressure points, it has evolved into what we have today.
So, all of them probably have the same basis.

Overall conclusion is: "faith" is the crucial point in any form of treatment for best results

Faith in manthrithal for snakebites what?

[pavalamani pragasam]

No statistics available about the success rate. But it is a fact "manthiriththal" is supported with herbs administration. That must be doing the trick in the case of snakebites!

[r_kk]

Actually large percentages of disorders are mind related. We feel more pain when we think about pain. The bearing level of pain also, up to some level, mind related. A happier and mentally strong patient can win the disease, bear and accept the pain easier than a week patient. All “Manthirital” and prayers indirectly do the same. These kinds of solaces strengthen the weaker people and provide some kind of virtual hope. The “Manthirital” or “prayers” really helps people with mentally related disorders (emotional, few neurological and some cases of high blood pressure).

In snake bite cases, calm and cool mind makes less tension and hence the venom flow to brain and other vital organs become little slower. But it will not help for the real highly poisonous snakes like cobra. Fortunately 3/4 of snakes are non poisonous and few snakes venom or quantity of injected venom are not so fatal to the human. This is where “Manthirital” works. Another one aspect is “herbs”, the age old practices, and knowledge gained through our tribal ancestors, also helps in case of less poisonous snakes. But it can’t save a real poisonous snake bite. So, I recommend “Manthirital” for “Thanni paampu (river snakes)” bites and real antidote for Cobra bites.
[/tscii]

[pavalamani pragasam]

I thought is nice to bring to light so many queer "medical" practices still very much in vogue

[abbydoss1969]

What human mind can do is amazing.
Have you guys heard of clairvoyance, esp, etc. There is phenomenon called "auto combustion" where human body just burns and only ashes are left!
Some people can bend spoons etc just by looking at it.

I saw a discovery programme where they tested tibetan buddist living in sub zero conditions with bare bodies.And they can generate heat by doing Pranayama.

[r_kk]

Some people can bend spoons etc just by looking at it.

Spoon bending is a very simple technique. Any one can do it. I will try to explain it without mixing any supernatural, when I get some time....

[r_kk]

Spoon bending:
This one of the famous magic used by the famous magicians like Uri Keller as human’s supernatural power but later exposed as by James Randi just an illusion.

What we need is few spoons which are invisibly cut (backside) at the connection point between bowl and rod (weak point) using hand saws. The magicians hold the spoon between thump and index fingers without showing the groove. After showing the spoon as intact to the viewer, the magician slightly presses the bowl part and break it with out showing the broken part to the audience by covering it with index and thump. Then stare at the spoon and loosen the index finger slowly and simultaneously. The audience will feel as if the spoon is bending while starring and finally breaking in to pieces. I had seen this demo in Star-plus channel on explaining/exposing famous mind control magics.

There is no great mind power beyond the basic laws of science. Some of them, we can’t understand with our limited or prejudiced mind or are purposefully kept secret to gain name and fame. Human’s endurance limit and controlling the autonomic or involuntary functions of human body or bearing the extreme cold or heat can be achieved through practice up to some extend or using some techniques

[pavalamani pragasam]

May I be permitted to make a little digression? In this thread discussing health & medical treatments, I wish to get clarification on a matter not very unrelated to the topic of the thread: our elders speak about “kanaththa naaL”, heavy day when somebody lies in his deathbed with the chance of death happening any day, time.

Usually the full moon day(“paurnami”), no moon day(“amaavaasai”) & the day on which the star “Karthikai” falls as “heavy” days when death is more possible to be expected to happen.

What cosmic forces exactly are the basis for such a belief? Our ancestors earmarked certain days of the month, year for fasting because of planetary positions which are not favourable for our digestive powers.

We know about gravitational forces on seawaves. Like that there must be some proper explanation for these “heavy” days connected to impending death. Can anyone enlighten us?

[r_kk]

PP,
It is one the biggest myth. Moon effect on human is very very small (3.5E-6 kg on body of 1 kg). This is very negligible and a person standing near to you or the roof of your house impose much more pull than MOON.

I will explain interesting facts about lunar myth, comparing % of water content on human body and % of water on earth, tides etc, when I get some time. The following calculation based on BASIC NEWTON's law shatter not only this myth but entire astrology itself.

I will also explain the major difference between effect of moon on ocean (continous) and on water within human cells (confined and separated) soon.

The following image will explain how mother's touch powerful than the effect of moon! Few mosquito's flying above person at the lastbed may impose much more effect than moon!

[r_kk]

Nature has always been a biggest thread or challenge to human. The fear about unexplainable natural activities created fear among early humans and lead to create myth about supernatural and worshipping habits. In order to create community level worships and reinforcement, humans create myth of bigger level. Stories about snakes, stories of human behavior changes/death associating with natural events are part of the basic myth making tendency of humans. We carefully select the data of persons died in Full moon day (“Paurnami”)or full dark day (“Amavasai”) and neglect the abundant data for other days, very conveniently and projects it to make others believe.

Some simple calculation based on Newton’s law (Pull = g*M1*M2 /D^^2) can break the entire “Moon myth” and entire astrology. (Extracts from a Physics paper for school children http://www.jal.cc.il.us/~mikolajsawicki/tides_new2.pdf is given below)

Even though Moon’s pull is very negligible (0.0027N/ 80kg person) compared to Earth’s pull (785N/ 80kg person), the ocean is being very large, highly flexible body and the distance between two points of ocean being very huge, tides are formed due to difference in Pull. Since the Moon’s pull is proportional to the square of distance, the distortion created by difference in force on a single large body of ocean creates tide of significant size. If we can able to divide the ocean in to small ponds, we may not able to see any tides.

In human, water is confined in to cells. It is not large body of continuous water. Hence the Moons/Sun’s pull is millions of times smaller than the walls and roofs of building impose on human. The combined effect of moon and sun impose only 4E-13 N on 1kg object on earth. This will create pull of 1.6E-11 N on 80 kg person. This is equal to keeping a pea (1.5gram) over 0.5m above one’s head. The tidal tension or increase in height due to such pull will be 10E-16 for a person height of 1.5m. This is equal to million times smaller than the atom.

A single mosquito sitting on the head of a person will impose much more pull than the combined effect of Moon and Sun.

Then, what are the real facts about data behind such beliefs. As I said before, it is again selective data to satisfy our own beliefs. A systematic study performed by Ivan Kelly, James Rotton and Roger Culver (1996) examined over 100 studies on lunar effects and concluded that the studies have failed to show a reliable and significant correlation (i.e., one not likely due to chance) between the full moon, or any other phase of the moon, and violence in prisons, major disasters, behavioral outbursts of psychologically. For detail refer to the following paper.
"The Moon was Full and Nothing Happened: A Review of Studies on the Moon and Human Behavior and Human Belief,"
http://www.eiu.edu/~scienced/3290/sc.../moonmyth.html