[vulikox]

First, it helps to look at the traditional/eastern medical texts and practices which have been around unchanged for a very long time. You put your faith in humorism, too? Or is a theory's age only a point in its favor if it comes from the Exotic OrientTM?

Way I see it, there's medicine that works and medicine which doesn't. It doesn't matter where it came from or how old it is; it can either be proven to work or it can't. When it comes to my health, I'll take things which can empirically demonstrate their efficacy, and when it comes to providing for the health care of others... there's something especially perverse and opportunistic about getting sick people's hopes pinned on approaches that have nothing to recommend them but their age and a satisfyingly mystical origin.

These take a good look at not only diesease, but maybe more importantly the cause of them. The article touches upon this, and that is the "blockages" of the channels (meridians; nadi's) that are directly linked to our emotions, the way we think and so-forth. Not just the thoughts themselves, but the "energy" (for lack of a better word right now) accociated with these thoughts has a tremendous effect on the subtle body, which then manifests in the gross body as a result. This, in the traditional theory is a main cause of disease (some look at ripening karma also, but this is not the discussion to go into the thoughts of that topic I suppose...), and with an appropriate method, if the disease in an early stage, can be averted through clearing these blockages. Energy healing? I believe some studies have actually been done about that. Here is one looking into the "therapeutic touch" flavor of energy healing. While I respect the cultural relevance of these practices, the plural of "anecdote" is not "data," and I could probably find at least as many people who seriously talk to fairies as you could find who meditated away their diabetes or Alzheimers by fiddling with their mystical body energy.

Meditation is awesome, but I want to see some studies done with this particular indication. I will repeat: meditation is great. But when it starts getting suggested as some kind of medical treatment, it moves out of the realm of religious practice and into the realm of research where health care belongs. At that point we have to be willing to keep whatever works and throw out whatever doesn't, or else we are seriously going to get people killed.