Healing Traditions
Worldwide approaches to alternative medicine and holistic wellness, organized by tradition of origin.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
A complete medical system originating in China over two millennia ago, integrating herbal medicine, acupuncture, food therapy, tuina, qi gong, and a diagnostic framework based on…
Ayurveda
An ancient Indian medical system organized around the three doshas (vata, pitta, kapha), seasonal and constitutional care, herbal medicine, panchakarma cleansing, abhyanga oil mas…
Kampo Medicine
The Japanese adaptation of classical Chinese herbal medicine, refined into standardized formulas and integrated with Japan's conventional medical system since the late 20th centur…
Korean Traditional Medicine (Hanbang)
The Korean medical tradition combining shared East Asian theory with Sasang constitutional medicine, Korean acupuncture techniques, and a distinct herbal materia medica.
Unani Medicine
The Greco-Arabic medical system rooted in Hippocrates and Galen, refined by Avicenna and other Persian and Arab physicians, organized around the four humors and temperaments.
Tibetan Medicine (Sowa Rigpa)
The Tibetan medical system blending Indian, Chinese, and indigenous Himalayan traditions, structured around three humors (lung, tripa, beken) and a rich herbal-mineral pharmacopoe…
Homeopathy
A system founded by Samuel Hahnemann in late 18th-century Germany, prescribing highly diluted preparations selected by the principle of similars and matched to constitutional and…
Naturopathy
A modern Western tradition emphasizing the healing power of nature, treating root causes, and integrating nutrition, hydrotherapy, herbal medicine, lifestyle, and mind-body therap…
Functional Medicine
A contemporary, biomedically grounded approach to chronic illness focused on root-cause analysis, systems biology, personalized labs, and integrated lifestyle and supplementation…
Western Herbalism
The continuous European and Anglo-American herbal medicine tradition — from Culpeper and Gerard through modern clinical herbalism — focused on whole-plant tinctures, teas, and top…
European Folk Medicine
Regional folk-healing traditions across Europe — German Heilkunde, Italian benedicaria, French simples, Russian zelyje — rooted in household plant knowledge and place-based wisdom.
Mediterranean Folk Medicine
Food, herb, and lifestyle traditions of the Mediterranean basin, including the Mediterranean diet, traditional Greek and Italian herbal medicine, and the heritage of Hippocratic a…
Amazonian Plant Medicine
The plant medicine traditions of Amazonian indigenous nations — jungle herbalism, ceremonial brews, and a vast pharmacopoeia of rainforest species, transmitted through lineage and…
African Traditional Medicine
The diverse healing traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa, integrating plant medicine, divination, ancestral healing, and community-based therapeutic practice across many distinct cult…
Indigenous North American Medicine
The healing traditions of First Nations, Native American, Métis, and Inuit peoples — plant medicine, ceremonial practice, sweat lodge, and community-based healing rooted in specif…
Mesoamerican Herbal Medicine
The continuous Mayan, Aztec, and Mestizo herbal and ceremonial healing traditions of Mexico and Central America.
Andean Traditional Medicine
The Quechua and Aymara healing traditions of the Andean highlands, including coca leaf, muña, maca, and ceremonial healing practice.
Traditional Thai Medicine
The Thai medical tradition combining herbal medicine, Thai massage, herbal compress therapy, and elemental theory shaped by Indian and Chinese influences.
Jamu (Indonesian Traditional Medicine)
The Indonesian herbal tradition — fresh-prepared plant decoctions, daily wellness tonics, and household healing practiced across the archipelago.
Nutritional & Food-Based Therapy
Modern evidence-based nutrition and food-as-medicine practice, including therapeutic diets, food intolerance protocols, and the contemporary medicinal-cooking movement.
Mind-Body Practices
Modern integrated mind-body practice — MBSR, yoga therapy, breathwork protocols, somatic therapies — drawing on traditional lineages but practiced as standalone wellness approache…
Acupuncture & Pressure-Point Therapies
Acupuncture, acupressure, and related pressure-point therapies as practiced internationally outside the full TCM, Korean, or Japanese system context.
Lifestyle & Preventive Wellness
Evidence-based lifestyle medicine — sleep, circadian rhythm, exercise, stress, and environment — applied as primary intervention for chronic conditions.