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Chapters: Orgone, Holotropic Breathwork, Dance Therapy, Somatic Psychology, Hakomi, Gerda Boyesen, David Boadella, Bioenergetic Analysis, Integrative Body Psychotherapy, Somatherapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, American College of Orgonomy, Psychotherapeutic Postural Integration, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Alexander Lowen, Friedrich Kraus, Myron Sharaf, Vegetotherapy, Elsa Gindler, Pytt Geddes, Neo-Reichian Massage. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 108. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Orgone energy is an idea which was proposed and promoted in the 1930s by psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, who originated the term to describe a universal life force. Beginning with a materialist concept of the Freudian libido, Reich ultimately came to see orgone as a massless, omnipresent substance, similar to luminiferous aether, but more closely associated with vital, living energy than inert matter. Orgone supposedly violated the second law of thermodynamics, coalescing and creating organization on all scales, from the smallest microscopic units - called bions in orgone theory - to macroscopic structures like organisms, clouds, or even galaxies. It was proposed it could be collected in specially designed "orgone accumulators" to be used as a form of therapy or in tools such as cloudbusters, devices intended to stimulate rainfall. Reich's follower Charles R. Kelley went so far as to claim that orgone was the creative substratum in all of nature, comparable to Mesmer's animal magnetism, the Odic force of Carl Reichenbach and Henri Bergson's élan vital. Reich created the Orgone Institute after immigrating to the US, and pursued research into orgone energy for more than a decade, publishing his own work through the institute and producing orgone accumulators and related devices for distribution. The U...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=198618 ... Read more

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With its roots in one of the most well known and long-lasting healing rituals to be found in Europe, the tarantula s music and dance has returned to the limelight. For centuries, the rite of the tarantula was the only cure for those bitten or possessed by the mythic Apulian spider. Its victims had to dance to the pizzica pizzica (the local tarantella) for days on end. Today, the pizzica has become a popular music and dance craze. This book explores how and why it has boomed in the Salento, creating repercussions on a national and international level. The author asks whether this current popularity has anything to do with the historic ritual of tarantism and whether the intention of recovering well being still comes into play. While personal stories and experiences confirm this, a vital shift appears in the Salento: from the confrontation of life crises to the vibrant promotion and celebration of a local sense of identity and celebrity. ... Read more

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Dance, trance and healing in Southern Italy
A wide variety of local and regional rituals characterize Southern Italy. Modernization and global processes have influenced their shape, form and meaning, as well as their very existence. While many have vanished, for instance, others have changed markedly in form and/or content. The history of the Tarantism ritual, from a 15th century means of survival into a 21st century means of coping withpersonal, local, and regional struggles and identities, illustrates this change.
The ancient ritual's evolution from a dance believed to cure victims of a spider bite, into a modern day performance that serves economic and psychological ends, is the focus of Karin Luedtke's clear and compelling study, Dances with Spiders. Crisis, Celebrity and Celebration in Southern Italy.Luedtke's work draws from and extends upon Ernesto De Martino's seminal study of Tarantism among peasants of the Salentine peninsula, titled The Land of Remorse: A Study of Southern Italian Tarantism (1961, translation 2005). The ritual was originally performed by people bitten, or believed to be bitten, by a tarantula.The spider's poisonous venom manifested itself in symptoms defined by modern day medicine as depression. Luedtke extensively describes one of the last tarantate, Evelina a peasant woman who was bitten twice since 1953 and, `Every May and June, ever since, she has succumbed to the crisis the tarantula evokes: fainting spells, nausea, stomach pains'. The cure for the depression was a dance called the pizzica (the Apulian Tarantella), that lasted for days on end. Victims of the spider bite also had to perform the ritual annually during the festival of Saint Paul.The webs of the tarantula are webs of meaning (Clifford Geertz 1971), and Karin Ludtke analyses these meanings from a holistic perspective. She studies all the properties of social , economic, political, cultural systems. These include like religion, music, dance. The study results in a rich and fascinating book.
Today, the traditional praxis of Tarantism has nearly disappeared.Indeed, the dance and music that defined the ancient ritual are popular among young people (as a means of entertainment?). The ritual has also become commodified. Professional dancers perform it, for example, during yearly festivals in the Salento, on television and the internet.
According to Karin Luedtke, the performances are important tourist attractions and expressions of regional identity.Her close analysis of performance and perception reveal that despite changes in the ritual, in terms of place and practice, there are striking continuities between the peasant tradition and the postmodern stage and television directed performances. These are seen, for example, in the links between performance and the self.
Departing from De Martino's earlier work, Luedtke studies the ways performing the dance influences the dancer's well being by researching (over the course ofyears of fieldwork) the lives of the women, mostly in their forties, who perform the pizzica. This study reveals three significant points. First, the dancers embody the dance. Second, partaking in the performance influences the lives of the dancer. Third, performing pizzica brings relief to ailments not caused by a spider bite, ranging from the ability to cope with daily problems to deeper struggles with depression.
In sum, Karin Luedtke's Dances with Spiders sheds clear and compelling light on how (and why) ancient rituals change over time and serve contemporary needs. Well written and engaging, the author weaves wit, in her reflections on her own performance,and suggestion that researchers conducting participant observation and seem to outnumber the few who still practice the `traditional' cult on Saint Paul's day, into her work. Undermined only by the tendency to treat all data as equally relevant, her study of the general socio-cultural and performative transformations of Tarantismprovides an excellent sequel to De Martino's seminal work. It also points the way for future research by getting at the real people that postmodern anthropology tends to overlook. Finally, it raises questions that merit further study. Among which are the role of age and gender in the evolutions of rituals and cults, that merit further study.

Herman Tak
Associate Professor of European Anthropology
Roosevelt Academy (Utrecht University)
Primitive Magic - The Psychic Powers of Shamans and SorcerersThe Land of Remorse: A Study of Southern Italian TarantismItaly's 'Southern Question': Orientalism in One CountrySouth Italian Festivals: A Local History of Ritual and ChangeModels and Mirrors: Towards an Anthropology of Public Events (Anthropology Food & Nutrition) ... Read more

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Freedom to Move is a unique guide offering a wealth of information, practical advice and creative stimuli for teaching dance and movement to people with intellectual disabilities. It is equally valuable to specialists in disability who may not have a dance background, as well as dance therapists who may be inexperienced in the field of intellectual disability and need material about how to apply their art form to a new clientele. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed., brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2593 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The third edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depth medical guide features information on medical topics in language accessible to adult laypersons. Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description; causes and symptoms; diagnosis; treatments; prevention; and more. Test/treatment articles typically cover definition; purposes; precautions; preparation; risks; normal and abnormal results; and much more. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Palaestra, published by Challenge Publications Limited on January 1, 1995. The length of the article is 669 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Enriching creative dance to facilitate balance skills of children with mental retardation. (adapted from Perceptual and Motor Skills, 77, 1290)
Publication: Palaestra (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1995
Publisher: Challenge Publications Limited
Volume: v11Issue: n2Page: p9(1)

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The term “Alternative Medicine” encompasses many forms, and elicits at least as many opinions. This authoritative, objective set is in tune with the subjects that matter to students and researchers, presenting four volumes of current, unbiased information on alternative and complementary medical practices. Covering all aspects of the subject—Therapies, Conditions/Diseases, Herbs/Plants and People—the “Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine” identifies 150 types of alternative medicine being practiced today, including reflexology, acupressure, acupuncture, chelation therapy, kinesiology, yoga, chiropractic, Feldenkrais, polarity therapy, detoxification, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, biofeedback, Ayurveda and osteopathy. For the practitioner or interested patient, there are current training requirements, listings of organizations, as well as descriptions of treatments.

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The article is excerpted fromGale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine.
"Gale's products are known to be thorough, well-researched, and good reference tools.This item is no exception...
This is a valuable resource for readers who are seeking information oncomplementary medicine and herbal remedies. The scope of thisencyclopedia is comprehensive, but not definitive. Readers should usethis as a supplement,.to professional healthcare consultation. Thissource has been a long-awaited product for the consolidation of generalalternative medicine information."
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Informationon recommended therapies for specific disorders and diseases, medicinaluses for plants and herbs are balanced by conclusions of studies onefficacy and analysis of current levels of acceptance by traditionalscientists and doctors. Biographies of pioneers in the field --including Deepak Chopra, Edward Bach and David Palmer --appear assidebars through the text. Included are 39 sidebars. Each volumecontains a color photo insert containing images of herbs. There aremore than 275 disease/condition entries, 300 herb/remedy entries, and150 therapies. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Nursing Homes, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 989 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Dance your problems away.(NOT-FOR-PROFIT report)
Author: Sandra Hoban
Publication: Nursing Homes (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 54Issue: 4Page: 41(2)

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More than 500 articles cover the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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The article is excerpted fromGale Encyclopedia of Medicine.

Consultthe second edition of this authoritative, comprehensive, in-depthmedical guide for information on more than 1,700 medical topics inlanguage accessible to adult laypersons. Presented in a singlealphabetical sequence, articles range in length from one or twoparagraphs for minor topics, to several pages or more for major topics.Disease/disorder articles typically cover definition; description;causes and symptoms; diagnosis; treatments; prevention; and more.Test/treatment articles typically cover definition; purposes;precautions; preparation; risks; normal and abnormal results; and muchmore. This second edition includes more than 200 new entries, 300updated entries, approximately 650 color images and illustrations, anda comprehensive subject index. New features include biographical andhistorical sidebars throughout the text.

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Published/Released: December 2001