with that individual to have distance healing done at a specific time.
Practitioners and most specialists in the field of pranayama recommend practicing it early in the morning, shortly after arising (preferably at 4 A.M.!).
To a greater or lesser extent, pranic healing is no different from other forms of spiritual healing, including Reiki and variations such as quantum healing, quantum touch, and therapeutic touch. Basically, it is learning to focus one’s mind and to direct one’s intent to assist in healing, through time and space and through direct or indirect “touching” of another person’s body.
Odic Force
In the early 1800s, Baron Karl von Reichenbach, the German chemist who invented paraffin and creosote, spent a number of years investigating what he called “OD” (Odic Force) in an attempt to measure the life force. Among other things, he reported that sensitive individuals who had visually acclimated to a totally dark room could see a faint glow coming from the pointed ends of large quartz crystals. Dr. Claude Swanson, in his book, Life Force, The Scientific Basis, states that he himself has seen this as well. (For a detailed look at the contents of Dr. Swanson’s fine book, see Appendix A.) According to von Reichenbach, these talented individuals could also see a faint light given off by many objects after adequate time of adaptation to the dark. Moreover, they were able to see a light issuing from the poles of a strong magnet. Unfortunately, neither Dr. Swanson nor Baron von Reichenbach were able to photograph this light. Von Reichenbach also reported that subtle energy occurs in different colors with reddish-orange being positive and bluish energy being negative. This energy is given off not only by quartz but all living objects.
Von Reichenbach actually demonstrated that a highly sensitive individual could make a pendulum swing by barely touching a fixed point on the string with no movement of the fingers. He also concluded that any metal on the body very strongly dampened the effect of heart energy. The left hand and left side of the body are positive, he suggested, and the right side negative. Thus, odic, pranic, or Life Force can have the effect of a mechanical force.
Dr. Swanson repeated one of von Reichenbach’s experiments in which he removed all metal from his body and placed five charcoal briquettes in his left hand. He held a business card atop the five fingers of his right hand. He found that the card rotated slowly up to 180 degrees. With Odic Force, like polarities are tracked, in contrast to magnetism in which opposite poles are tracked.
Von Reichenbach found that when the sharp tip of a large quartz crystal was placed over water, the water tasted “cool and refreshing,” whereas the blunt end of the crystal placed over water took on a “warm, prickly, mawkish” flavor. Associated with positive OD experiments, von Reichenbach placed a wire in sunlight and the other end of the wire in a totally darkened room. Obviously, according to physics, light cannot travel on a solid copper wire. Von Reichenbach reported that sunlight transmitted this way at approximately 1 meter/second (much slower than light and heat). Instead of it producing heat in the darkened room, it produced cool. Although there have been other studies attempting to measure the Life Force, pranic energy, etc., those of von Reichenbach appear to be among the best to date.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Not only are the concepts of prana and its healing aspects the oldest in the world, the ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine, developed during the same time frame, is certainly is at least 4,000 to 5,000 years old. This medical system includes virtually everything that we today consider Energy Medicine, except for many of the electrical devices that have been introduced in the past half century. (These will be discussed in later chapters). Ayurveda means the science of life or longevity and is grounded in the metaphysics of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether, which it considers the elements of the universe. Chyle or plasma, blood, flesh, fat, bone marrow, semen, and female reproductive tissue are considered the seven primary constituent elements of the human body.
Ayurveda emphasizes balance and moderation in food, sleep, sexual intercourse, and medicine. It involves a concept of three elemental energy systems:
• Vata: air and space or wind
• Pitta: fire and water or bile
• Kapha: water and earth or phlegm
These three regulatory principles, or doshas, are also physiological concepts. This seems to me to be similar to George Watson’s concept of slow, fast, and suboxidixer. (George Watson, Nutrition and the Mind). Fast oxidizer people burn more energy (food) than slow oxidizers, who tend to gain weight easily! Suboxidizers are somewhat in between the fast and slow oxidizers. Kapha is a slow oxidizer. Pitta would be the fast oxidizer and Vata would be a suboxidizer.
Ayurvedic philosophy prescribes different types of food for each of the doshas, as does George Watson. Basically, slow oxidizers use more carbohydrate and fast ones use more protein. Ayurveda also emphasizes physical exercise, yoga, meditation, and massage, as well as surgery and a tremendous variety of herbs. An extremely important part of Ayurvedic medicine is panchakarama, which is essentially a complex technique for detoxification.
Over the centuries, Ayurveda has developed into eight specialties or disciplines:
• Internal Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Surgery
• Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
• Demonic Possession—some people consider this psychiatry
• Toxicology
• Preventive disease and improving immunity, as well as rejuvenation
• Aphrodisiacs and improving the reproductive system for optimal performance
The Ayurvedic physician uses a ten-fold examination of the patient, including constitution abnormalities, essence, stability, body measurement, diet, suitability, psychic strength, digestive capacity, physical fitness, and age. Traditionally, instead of using a stethoscope, they use the human ear to observe abnormalities of breathing or speech.
Long before the western world paid any attention to hygiene, Ayurvedic medicine prescribed regular bathing, cleansing of teeth, skin, and washing of the hair, as well as anointing the body with essential oils. Surgery in Ayurveda included ligating blood vessels, cauterization by heat, and using various animal or herbal preparations to facilitate clotting.
Some 3,500 years ago, interestingly about the time considered to be the origin of acupuncture in China, the fundamental principles of Ayurveda were organized and written. Even in those early days, Ayurveda included treatment of angina pectoris, diabetes, high blood pressure, and gall stones. The earliest surviving written material actually dates to the fourth century. In A.D. 400, the entire Ayurvedic system was far more complex than anything in the western world. There are several levels of traditional Ayurvedic medicine, some more specialized than others.
A number of scientific proofs have been done of some of the ancient Ayurvedic remedies, including particularly turmeric, from which is derived curcumin, a powerful antioxidant. There is some evidence that one form of Spanish sage improves word recall in young adults and common sage has been used to improve symptoms in Alzheimer’s. Cinnamon was also used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat diabetes. It is well known that cinnamon is helpful and one of the best sources of chromium. The plant, arjuna, appears to be helpful in angina pectoris and coronary artery disease and may even be useful in lowering cholesterol.
Acupuncture
