BALANCE NOUN (HEALTH AND FITNESS)

In the language of alternative or complementary medicine: a harmonious relationship of body, mind, and spirit, which it is claimed can only be achieved by treating the whole person. Etymology: Balance has been used in the general figurative sense of 'equilibrium' for several centuries (its original and literal sense is 'scale(s)'); the recent movement towards therapies that take a holistic approach has meant that it is now commonly applied in this context, often without further explanation (not balance of anything, but simply balance). History and Usage: The rise of alternative therapies in general from 'fringe' to respectable complementary status during the eighties brought this use of balance to public notice; in particular, techniques such as biofeedback which aim to put the patient more in touch with the natural rhythms of life and increase self-awareness, as well as the growing New Age culture, have stressed this concept of balance as a central precept for health. This view has been further reinforced by the green movement, with its emphasis on maintaining ecological balance so as not to upset the natural rhythms there: human life and health are seen as inextricably linked with the balance of nature as a whole. Marketers and copywriters had noticed this development by the middle of the eighties, and had begun using the word balance liberally in descriptions of a wide variety of products, including food and drink, beauty preparations, etc. This 'holistic' perspective on the essence of healing presents us with a practical challenge: How can we best utilize the knowledge and services encompassed by Western medicine while maintaining a 'healthstyle' attuned to principles of order, balance, and self-reliance? Michael Blate Natural Healer's Acupressure Handbook (1978), p. viii The body is used as a source of ideas about 'wholeness', 'balance' and 'harmony', involving both the body and the mind...Nature is deduced from the hypothesis of the instinct of the body for health. But health is only found by discovering an inner balance and harmony. Rosalind Coward The Whole Truth (1989; paperback ed. 1990), p. 32