Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique

This therapy involves light acupressure applied along both sides of the spinal column in an area where the energy flow of a meridian intersects with the nerve roots at acupressure points. It is considered a safe, effective, natural approach to detecting and eliminating all types of allergies.

Naprapathy

With influences from osteopathy and chiropractic, this system of treatment uses soft-tissue manipulation to release tension and balance energy flows in the body. The practitioner uses palpation to explore the tissue, looking for rigid, contracted areas of the body, then begins repetitive, rhythmic, thrusts to gently stretch the contracted connective tissues.

Sessions usually last 30 minutes, focusing mainly on the ligaments near the spinal column. Diet, exercise, and postural adjustments help improve circulatory and nervous system function.

Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathy integrates a wide range of natural therapeutics emphasizing the healing power of nature to treat the causes of disease, rather than suppressing the symptoms. As part of a holistic medical healthcare system with an emphasis on education and prevention, the naturopathic physician seeks to motivate the individual toward a healthy and balanced diet, lifestyle, and mental attitude.

Treatments such as homeopathic medicines, clinical nutrition, traditional Asian medicine, and acupuncture are used to enhance the body’s natural healing process.

Neural Kinesiology

This technique is a holistic healing system that utilizes the best of American kinesiology and European neural therapy. Neural kinesiology recognizes and assesses the need for therapies in each of four primary categories: neurological, structural, biochemical, and psychological.

Neuro-Structural Bodywork

Neuro-Structural Bodywork (NSB) is a somatic therapy that combines a variety of techniques, including fascial release, neuromuscular reeducation, craniosacral adjustment, and breathwork in balancing the musculoskeletal, nervous, and chakra systems.

NSB techniques restore sensory perception and motor control and allow for new neurological impulses that support postural balance and free range of motion, ultimately enhancing one’s poise, balance, and sense of well-being. It is effective in treating both acute injuries and chronic conditions, including strained muscles, upper/lower back and disc problems, frozen shoulder, joint injuries, fibromyalgia, migraines, TMJ, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

NSB helps create a more receptive environment for a variety of other modalities (especially chiropractic and physical therapy), improving results from exercise and supporting the body in sustaining skeletal adjustments. It also provides a possible alternative to more invasive treatments (including surgery) in cases where the underlying cause of the problem is fascial restriction and/or loss of sensory perception and motor control.

Developed by Nancy DeLucrezia, NSB can also be used to stimulate and support emotional release and as an adjunct to psychological integration therapies.

Neuromuscular Integrative Action

Neuromuscular Integrative Action (NIA) is an expressive fitness and awareness movement program and a holistic approach to health. It combines movements from t’ai chi, yoga, martial arts, and modern ethnic dances. NIA uses a variety of movements blended with the conscious use of mind and energy, combined in a total fitness program.

NeuroMuscular Reprogramming

NeuroMuscular Reprogramming (NMR) uses muscle testing to assess dysfunctions of the coordination system resulting from traumatic injury and overuse. It cues the brain for new learning, resulting in the immediate correction of neuromuscular imbalances. NMR works with the body’s organizational intelligence addressing neuromuscular pain at its source: the motor control center of the brain. NMR is easy on the practitioner, using strategy, not force.

Neuromuscular Therapy

This comprehensive program of soft-tissue manipulation balances the body’s central nervous system with the musculoskeletal system. Based on neurological laws that explain how the central nervous system initiates and maintains pain, the goal is to help relieve the pain and dysfunction by understanding and alleviating the underlying cause.

Neuromuscular therapy can help individuals who experience distortion and biomechanical dysfunction, which is often a symptom of a deeper problem. It is also used to locate and release spasms and hypercontraction in the tissue, eliminate trigger points that cause referred pain, rebuild the strength of injured tissues, assist venous and lymphatic flow, and restore postural alignment, proper biomechanics, and flexibility to the tissues.

Click here to find a neuromuscular practitioner.

Nikkon (or Okazaki) Restorative Massage

Nikkon Restorative Massage was developed by Professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki in Hawaii in the 1920s. He incorporated Japanese, Chinese, and Hawaiian techniques. The goal of Okazaki’s style was to restore health and pull toxins out of the body through proper application of pressure using fingers, forearms, and elbows. The result is proper realignment of the body to its highest potential.

Nuad Bo Rarn

Nuat Thai

This form of traditional Thai medical massage originated in the Vajrayana Yogic medicine of Tibet. Translated and creatively adapted to the needs of the modern West by Anthony B. James, PhD, Nuat Thai massage facilitates and promotes a harmonious state of being.

The ancient Tibetans, and subsequently the Thai, carefully recorded various states of disease and imbalances of the body, mind, and emotions and, over time, devised methods for influencing the course of these imbalances. This was important, since these imbalances often kept people from experiencing life in a full and productive way.

Nuat Thai incorporates elements of mindfulness, gentle rocking, deep stretching, and rhythmic compression to create a singular healing experience. This work, a unique form of Vajrayana yoga, focuses on balancing energy and creating wholeness of mind, body, and spirit in the client and practitioner.

The four principle methods used in Nuat Thai are Wai Khruu (prayers and spiritual practice), herbs, diet, and laying-on of hands. In the hands-on aspect, the practitioner takes the client through a series of specific postures called asanas, progressively facilitating energy and balancing chakra function. Nuat Thai massage may be used for rehabilitation, pain relief, and stress reduction. It is nurturing, calming, and enlivening. Training is comprehensive, and reaching the practitioner level may take up to two years.