Multi-Dimensional Medicine

Seeking a medical doctor and expecting the doctor to prescribe a cure is a habit that is ingrained in our culture. Dr. Roger Uchizono is part of a movement that seeks to use multi-dimensional medicine and meditation as a way to treat and prevent illnesses.
Uchizono spoke at a recent Association of University Mediators meeting where members sat in a circle on the floor, creating a sphere of positive energy around them.
Uchizono believes that pharmaceutical companies have taken over the medical industry. ‘We need to stop the pharmaceutical companies from dumping their poisons,’ he said. ‘We should not just be relying on medicine and surgery, but we should also integrate complementary and alternative medicine.’
There is an array of other modalities in treating disease, such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, herbal therapies, touch therapy and guided imagery.
Uchizono’s mantra is not, ‘Doctor, heal me,’ but rather ‘Doctor, advise me.’
‘Taking responsibility for your own level of wellness is one of the most empowering things you can do,’ Uchizono said. ‘Combined with healthy breathing, nutrition, exercise and social interaction, you are making a conscious decision to be responsible for your own level of balance and well-being.’
Many of the members of AUM agreed with the importance of being able to take care of oneself and living a healthy lifestyle. A reoccurring theme among the members seems to be the need for stress reduction, and they expressed that meditating has been beneficial in treating their stress.
‘It’s not just integrative medicine, and not about just taking an herb. You’ve got to go much deeper. If you can integrate meditation as a life commitment, then the gains will be found,’ Uchizono said.
There are many different techniques for meditating. ‘There is no ‘right’ way of meditation,’ Uchizono said. ‘The key is to finding what works for you.’
One of the meditators shared that he was once a skeptic of healing through meditation and alternative therapies. He said that his father-in-law had tried energy healing on him before, but he was left unconvinced. He gave it another try and was pleasantly surprised. He said he saw colors, particularly violet. Another meditator suggested that violet is often associated with the ‘crown chakra’ which represents wisdom, understanding and consciousness.
Some members of AUM shared their experiences with alternative therapies to their ailments.
‘I receive acupuncture for asthma and bronchitis and, surprisingly, it helped opened up my lungs,’ said Brian Chang, a UC Irvine alumnus. ‘Along with drinking ginger tea and acupuncture, I got better in a week, when it usually takes me 2 to 3 weeks. [My acupuncturist] said that with bronchitis, there’s restricted blood flow to the lungs, but your body has the ability to heal itself. …With acupuncture, it opens up your lungs again.’
Like Uchizono, Chang stresses the preventative aspect of health. ‘You don’t want to build a shelter in the middle of a storm. Holistic health needs to be practiced everyday. Health is a habit,’ he said.
Chang, who has practiced meditation for six years, led a meditation session at the end of the meeting, which focused on breathing and connecting with the physical awareness of the body.
Uchizono also shared some tips for meditation:
1. Make a commitment to practice meditation.
2. When meditating, focus on the present; clear your mind of the past and future.
3. Make time to meditate.
4. Be still during meditation.
5. Don’t have unrealistic expectations for the immediate, because changes will occur over time.