Anthroposophical Medicine

An Austrian - Rudolf Steiner, founded the philosophy of Anthroposophical Medicine in the early 1900's. Steiner's aim was to complement and develop medicine as it existed, rather than set up an alternative system. Together with Dr Ita Wegman, he developed his ideas to include a medical science, as well as his own principle of polarity.

The Seven Principles of Anthroposophical Medicine

1. Spirit manifests both within the human organism and outside of it in the substances of the kingdoms of nature.
2. The wisdom that created nature is also at work within the human being.
3. Anthroposophical Medicine is a leading holistic health movement throughout Europe and has been on the cutting edge of preserving therapeutic freedom in the public and legal realm.
4. Man has a divinely guided individual destiny, which includes individual freedom with the potential for error and illness.
5. Art is an indispensable part of human life. Out of AM, specialized disciplines of Therapeutic Eurythmy, Rhythmical Massage, clay modeling, painting and music therapy have evolved.
6. Remedies are derived from substances of the mineral, plant or animal kingdom. They can be prepared homeopathically, alchemically or as whole substance. They can be given orally, by injection or through external application.
7. Every treatment aims to enhance the life force of the patient as an axis for improved health and deepened self-knowledge.

What to expect

An anthroposophical doctor will ask questions about diet, lifestyle and constitution, with an emphasis on the body's rhythms - eating, sleeping and menstrual patterns. The doctor may also carry out standard medical tests, and will use the information to aid diagnosis, prescribing treatment to balance the poles and systems regulating the body.
Practitioners are fully qualified doctors, who make use of modern technology and medication as required - they consider that this approach gives them a fuller picture of an individual, allowing them to take a broader view of illness and therapy.

Because AM is a holistic system, aimed at harmonizing elements of the spiritual, as well as the physical self, it is said by its followers to be of benefit in cases where a conventional cure cannot be achieved.

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