This practice began in the Far East and is still used as a traditional medical treatment there.

But now westerners are realizing the value of alternative energy healing for their aches and pains.

Alternative energy healing uses the principles of balance and harmony to heal.

Practitioners believe that if the body is out of balance, illness will result.

Using various techniques of physical contact combined with the psychological, they attempt to balance the flow of the body's energy.

There are a number of different kinds of alternative energy healing.

Some of the better known ones are:

Accupuncture. Needles are lightly imbedded into the pressure points of the body, of which there are many, to produce healing.

How do they locate all of the pressure points of the body?

A practitioner has to learn the main pressure points on the body and then can find four more for each one by moving three inches to the north, east, south and west.

Novices should never attempt to practice accupuncture, even if they do know the proper pressure points.

It takes years to properly master the technique of accupuncture and if done improperly by an untrained person, the result could be fatal.

Qigong. Through physical manipulation, the practitioner directs the flow of "qi" through the patient's body.

Special exercises and movements are used to open up channels into the patient's energy.

The practitioner then directs the energy from his body into the patient's body. As a result, balance and harmony are restored to the patient.

T'ai Chi Chuan. If you watch T'ai Chi Chuan in action, you may think it is a form of martial art. It is also a form of alternative energy healing.

In the same way that Qigong does, it uses exercises and body movements to bring about balance. This energy flows from the environment.

The effectiveness of this type of alternative healing has been demonstrated by the aged of the Wudan mountain region of China. In only one example, a 100 year old nun turned her grey hair black through the use of daily T'ai Chi Chuan.

This is an amazing feat.

Some believe that alternative healing such as this may be the secret of immortality.

If we could only get up each morning and practice T'ai Chi Chuan, we would always be able to move.

Biofeedback. This kind of alternative healing uses the power of the mind to promote healing.

People who practice this believe that the mind is the determining factor in illness and many diseases come from psychological causes.

Using "mantras", the proper psychological level is achieved to rid the body of negative energies.

Many people swear by this type of alternative healing.

People who are very adept at this are even able to control the involuntary functions of the body such as their heartbeat.

It seems difficult to believe, but it is true.

Esoteric. This is an alternative energy healing principle that uses rituals to have outside energies bring balance to the body.

Practitioners believe that certain rituals, along with the proper attitude of the patient, can bring these forces and correct any negative energies.

There are books that practioners refer to that give the secrets of these rituals.

They are kept secret and their power is supposedly increased if they are written by hand. This is the way the secrets are kept to the select few who practice this craft. There are many more of these types of alternative energy healing, and modern science is just starting to see how they can be applied.

Many of these practices work very well to promote healing.