Introduction to Constitutional Medicine

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Introduction

Underlying a person’s health, and many aspects of their personality, is their constitution, which could also be described as their 'nature' or 'temperament.' There are four distinct constitutions, none of them is better or healthier than another but each is certainly markedly different to each other!

What determines a person's constitution is where they sit along two key spectrums that make them relatively either cooler or hotter and, at the same time, either dryer or damper.

Cooler to Hotter

One spectrum goes from Cooler to Hotter. Partly this reflects in how a person naturally directs their energy more inwardly or outwardly, but it also relates to how they interact with people, their environment, and how they deal with problems and challenges.

Being hotter or cooler even impacts on how a person tends to look and feel. If you read the chapter on working out your constitution (linked a little further below under 'which one are you?') you will see how there are many interesting ways in which the cooler to hotter spectrum is entwined in our life and health.

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Dryer to Damper

The second spectrum goes from Dryer to Damper. This aspect overlaps the first spectrum, so a person will be cooler to hotter and, at the same time, will be either relatively more dry or more damp.

This spectrum reflects in obvious physical ways, in a person's skin and body, plus it has many other influences on their food and climate preferences, their personality, what kind of work or play they are drawn to etc.

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Which one are you?

 So long as you keep an open mind and don't rush to decide, you will eventually be able to figure out which constitution you are, or work out that of someone you know. One way that works for many people is by going through 8 questions and making some observations as discussed in detail in here

Working out the constitution is easy for some people and trickier for others but the hardest person to figure out is usually yourself! The free eBook called Constitutional Complexity, linked near the end of this page, goes into a more detailed discussion on working it out, amongst other subjects.

When you know which constitution you are, click on one of the links below to learn more about it

Tigers: Hotter & Damper

Eagles: Hotter & Dryer

Elephant/Butterflies: Cooler & Dryer

Bears: Cooler & Damper

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Further Reading

The further reading linked below has been written for students of holistic medicine but also anyone else who may have an interest in these fascinating subjects for their own good reasons!

Origins & Adaptations

This constitutional model is based on the humoral system of the Ancient Greeks, who in turn got much of their inspiration from the Egyptians, but it has been significantly adapted, more here

Constitutional Medicines Chart

Certain remedies match particularly well to conditions or constitutions that reflect imalances along the hotter to cooler or dryer to damper spectrums. Visually shown in a chart here

Cycle of Healing

An introductory article on the Cycle of Healing is found here

A chart of the herbs that can best support the different phases of the cycle is shown here

Tongue & Pulse Diagnosis

This article was written for students of holistic medicine but may be of wider interest- it's here

Emotional Healing

An introductory chapter relating to emotional healing within the constitutions, starting here

Constitutional Complexity - Free eBook

This free eBook is called Constitutional Complexity. It goes into working out the constitution and the cycle of healing in more depth. Detailed, practical tuition on the maps of the body along with further and deeper discussion on emotional health and healing. The book page starts here

The Healing Journey - Free eBook

This free eBook is called The Healing Journey. It contains discussions and meditations to assist with spiritual practices for the hero journey of healing. To download the pdf of the book onto computer or phone click here

Audio recordings to support some of the practices talked about in the book are found here


Please understand that I cannot personally advise you without seeing you in my clinic.
This living 'book' is my labour of love so, wherever you are, I wish you peace & good health!

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© 2011 R.J.Whelan Ltd