Pip Waller - Holistic Anatomy: An Integrative Guide to the Human Body

Open this book anywhere and read a paragraph; youll want to read more. Keep readingYoull enjoy yourself while finding out about the human body. You will also get a glimpse here and there from an unexpected perspective!

ELIOT COWAN, author ofPlant Spirit Medicine:
The Healing Power of Plants

This startling book looks at anatomy, physiology, and pathology in a refreshing new way: holistically and in the context of life and culture. Highly recommended.

KATH ANTONIS, medical herbalist, registered nurse,
and clinical teacher

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is even vaguely intrigued by the how and whyand more importantly, the what ifof their existence

KAREN CHAGOURI, editor ofIn Touchmagazine,
holistic therapist, and doula

This book is written in a style that is very easily understood, instead of just being factual information. It feels as though Pip is there with you explaining things to you in a way that really makes sense.

PHIL PEPIN, massage therapist

Copyright 2010 by Pip Waller. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by North Atlantic Books
North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover design by Suzanne Albertson
Interior illustrations by Rachel Lloyd

Holistic Anatomy: An Integrative Guide to the Human Body is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Waller, Pip.
Holistic anatomy: an integrative guide to the human body / Pip Waller.
p.; cm.
eISBN: 978-1-58394-589-6
1. Human anatomy. 2. Human physiology. 3. Holistic medicine. I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Holistic Health. 2. Anatomy. 3. Physiological Phenomena. W 61 W198h 2009]
QM23.2.W35 2009
612dc22

2009018134

v3.1

This book is dedicated with great love to Alex, the apple of my eye,
and to all my students over the years who taught me
so much and inspired me to write this book.

First, I would like to give heartfelt thanks to those whose words I have directly quoted:

Peter Breggin, Toxic Psychiatry: Drugs and Electroconvulsive TherapyThe Truth.

Stephen H. Buhner, for words from The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth and The Secret Teachings of Plants: The Heart as an Organ of Perception in the Direct Perception of Nature. Particular thanks to Stephen for allowing me to reproduce his wonderful poem Semen from The Secret Teachings of Plants.

Sara Hamo, The Golden Path to Natural Healing.

Deane Juhan, Jobs Body: A Handbook for Bodywork.

Bruce H. Lipton, The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles.

Lynne McTaggart, The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe and The Intention Experiment.

Thomas Moore, The Soul of Sex.

Deborah Sigrist, Journeys End: A Guide to Understanding the Dying Process.

Eric Maddern and Paul Hess, Death in a Nut (not exactly quoted, but very close to Erics version of this story).

Roland McCraty, Physiological Coherence.

Lucy Harmer on coupe feu, geopathic stress, feng shui, and space clearing.

Dr. A. M. Carson, head of the School of Health, Social Care, Sports, and Exercise Science, North East Wales Institute, Wrexham, on narrative research.

Lorraine Horton of the Meridian School of Massage, Birmingham, on skin rolling, and for her encouragement and support.

Hilary Butler of the Immunization Awareness Society, for her collection of references about fever.

Walter Last, The New Medicine of Dr. Hamer,
www.hbci.com/~wenonah/new/hamer.htm

Manual Lymphatic Drainage UK, for their words on manual lymphatic drainage, from www.mlduk.org.uk

Michael Cole, for his information about Leafu, protein food from grass and nettles. (See .)

Then there are the many others who have helped me in all kinds of ways, and without whom this book could not have happened:

A huge thank you to my very dear friend and all-around wonder woman Rachel Lloyd, whose lovely drawings have made the book a million times betterand thanks to her lovely baby son Joseph, who has slept enough to allow her the time to do them.

Thanks to Andy Garside, the fabulous designer who quite literally turned up on my doorstep at exactly the right moment and made the first version of this book (Corwen: The Dreaming Butterfly, 2008) look like a proper book. (www.andygarside.com).

Warm love and gratitude to my dear sister Lucy Harmer for believing in me, funding me, and helping me out in so many ways. I cant imagine what Id do without her.

Thanks to my lovely son Alex Whetstone for putting up with me slaving away at the computer early in the morning, and for getting on with playing without me to allow me to write this; thanks also to his dad Miles Whetstone and my mum and dad Sheila and David Waller for spending quality time with Ali while I worked.

Warm love and thanks also to my natural mother Kate Harmer for reading this in its early stages and encouraging me, and for all the other help over the years. It means so much to me that Kate is in my life.

I couldnt have done it without Patrick Mendes, my funny, gorgeous, and very particular proofreader, who has brightened up my life as well as taught me all sorts of things, not only about colons and semi-colons.

Gratitude and warm love to you, Patch, and to Tatewari for sending you along, and generally blessing me in countless ways.

Thanks to the wonderful Mark Jack, who helped me with checking for mistakes and inaccuracies and contributed with a lot of warmth and humor.

Thanks to Kath Antonis for spotting a load more inaccuracies, and for being generally wonderful.

Grateful thanks to Anja Saunders (ne Dashwood), who founded the Academy of Natural Health in London, and Gillian Cleary, who founded the Blarney Acupuncture and Reflexology Centre in Cork, Ireland. Both gave me a start as a teacher of Anatomy and Physiology.

Thanks to Richard Ashley (Fash), for his photo of the sea and to Lynn Amanda Brown for her wonderful photo of a sacred fire (on the cover).

Thanks to the lovely and clever Anna Dowding for her proofreading help, and to her gorgeous boy Joshua for letting her do it.