Flotation Therapy

A method of relaxation, flotation therapy involves floating in a large tank filled with water containing a high concentration of Epsom salts. You wear earplugs, the lights are switched off, and the water is kept at the same temperature as your skin. The result is most people, even many who are highly stressed, relax deeply within minutes.

Flotation therapy may help stress-related problems such as anxiety, migraines and headaches. People with back pain and muscle fatigue may also benefit. The therapy tends to reduce pain because it stimulates the body to release its own natural painkillers, hormone-like substances called endorphins. Some people even experience euphoria.

Feng Shui

The ancient Chinese art of placement, or feng shui, relies on the theory that, like the human body, the earth is crisscrossed by a series of channels, along which flows vital energy, or qi. Practitioners of feng shui believe that the design and position of a building and the way its contents are chosen and arranged can affect the flow of qi, and thus make the building more a auspicious and healthier place to live. If you consult a feng shui practitioner, he or she will take readings with a special compass and asses the rooms of your home using Chinese astrology and the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes). The practitioner may then recommend alterations, such as moving mirrors and other items and rearranging the furnishings. Exponents of feng shui claim such changes may improve psychological and physical wellbeing.

Feldenkrais Method

This is a technique - influenced by yoga, martial arts and the Alexander technique - that aims to help you move with ease, using minimal effort and maximum efficiency. Teachers of the Feldenkrais method try to make you aware of your body movements, recognising amy tensions and correcting them by changing the way you move. They do this by teaching you simple exercises to change your habitual patterns of movement, and by using touch to direct you towards less stressful, and therefore less damaging, ways of moving your body. Teachers of this method claim that it can help people who are suffering from back pain, paralysis and the aftereffects of stroke.

Crystal Therapy

Practitioners of this therapy believe that crystals and gemstones produce different types of healing energy. Crystal therapists arrange crystals around you or place them on your body, choosing stones that are thought to be effective for your problem.

Creative Therapies

The use of arts - such as painting, drawing, music and dance - can have powerful healing effects. Emotions are too deep for words can come to the surface through such expression, helping people overcome difficult feelings, aiding relaxation and ideally leading to greater physical wellbeing. Creative therapies have been found especially effective for people with emnotional problems, particularly those who find it difficult to communicate their feelings to others. Dance therapy has the additional benefit of providing physical exercise.

Cranial Osteopathy

This branch of osteopathy involves gentle manipulation of the bones of the skull (cranium). A cranial osteopath may also work on your shoulders and spine to help the joints and tissues move freely. Cranial osteopaths believe that is these bones or the nearby tissues are shifted even slightly out of place - for example, by an injury - health problems may develop throughout the body. They therefore claim that their treatment methods can benefit not only head and spinal injuries, mouth and jaw pain, and sinusitis, but also ailments affecting other parts of the body, including arthritis, constipation, menstrual problems and migraine.

Colour Therapy

This therapy involves treatment with particular colours of light, applied in a variety of ways. It is based on the idea that certain wavelengths of light have healing effects on specific parts of the body or mind. Therapists claim to be able to treat many disorders, including depression, stress, learning difficulties and skin problems.

The therapist takes your medical history and asks you about your colour preferences. He or she then suggests treatment. This may involve basking in coloured lights, wearing clothes of certain colours, eating foods of a particular colour, or drinking water that has been treated with coloured light.