The Live Materia Medica

Each remedy is a collection of hundreds and thousands of symptoms and there are thousands of remedies which, if taken together, represent the huge gamut of human suffering. Perceiving each polychrest homoeopathic remedy through practical implementation and its utility with the enormous field of symptoms at emotional, intellectual and physical levels, personifies each one of it as a living human being. This is the concept of ‘living’ materia medica.
As far as data of a remedy is concerned, we find additions coming from physical appearance (make-up), attire, craving for a particular object, colour or issue, linking of gestures which has been observed by a physician in his clinic and the behavioural responses which our patients (their counterpart drugs also) exhibit.
Some drugs of the materia medica are presented through the living materia medica. ‘The core rubrics which define the personality of a remedy’ are regarded as parameters to link living materia medica. The unifying principle that binds the components of a remedy together is the base as also the pattern of energy fundamental to that specific remedy to understand the living materia medica.
Note that this study has some limitations. Yet it is presented as it will help a homoeopath in getting some entry points of building up an image of a drug from the use of body language signals.
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A ) LACHESIS MUTUS
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1. Suspicion:
Failing to make eye-to-eye contact. Glancing sideways. Rubbing or touching the nose.
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2. Dictatorial:
Proud erect body stance with chin forward. Leaning back with hand behind the head. Resting feet on desk. Continued threatening eye contact with less blinking. Stands with erect body and legs apart. While sitting one ankle is resting on the other knee. While answering frequently pointing index finger.
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3. Excited:
Excessive forward leaning. Dilated pupils. Voice loud and bouncing.
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4. Anger-violent:
Flushed face. Finger pointing while talking. Dilated pupils. Anger usually associated with abusive language. Body rigid. Fists clenched. Lips closed and held in a thin line.
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5. Sarcastic:
While answering smiling from corner of mouth with raising of eyebrows. Arguing with the physician, aiming to discourage him by certain words.
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6. Inquisitive:
Constantly asking questions. Flashbulb type of eyes. Handling and desire to know the working mechanism of toys or instruments present over desk.
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7. Aggressive:
Leaning forward. Finger pointing. Fists clenched. Talks in a loud voice as if not interested in other’s view. Encroaches upon others.
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8. Loquacity:
Jumping from one point to an other without rhyme or reasons. Voice loud, bouncy and rapid. Suffocating in talk.
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9. Exaggerated/Over-enthusiastic:
Constantly moving hands while expressing enthusiastic complaints. Appearance is dark. Make-up with use of fluorescent colours in dressing and showy (unsuitable to the age).
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B ) PLATINA METALLICUM
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1. High Self-image/Superiority/Egoistic/Pride:
Head high with jutting chin. Look is contemptuous. Legs are crossed and arms folded with an erect posture. Giving jerks to neck with eye-to-eye contact for that moment.
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2. Disdain/Arrogance:
Contemptuous, upward movement of neck with head high and eyebrows raised.
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3. Gayness/Beauty Consciousness:
Appearance–excessive use of ornaments; heavy make up, modern hairstyle and dressing of expensive type. Showy type. Constantly taking care of make up and hairstyle.
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4. Nymphomania:
Sexual eyes. Making lascivious gestures. A sideways glance. Looking towards the physician. Too much leaning forward and blinking of eyes. Kissing or embracing.
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C ) LYCOPODIUM CLAVATUM
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1. Confidence, Want of:
Eye-to-eye contact less. Fingers on mouth frequently. Handshake of fingertip grab.
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2. Haughty:
Eyebrows raised with head tilt back. Blinking, to refuse others. Raised steeple, with head tilted back.
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3. Contradiction is Intolerant of ; Anger< by Contradiction:
Frowning. Wrinkling of eyebrows. Direct eye contact with flushing of face. Clenched fist with stroking on table. Pointing index finger frequently. Asking counter questions to physician. Continued eye contact with dilatation of pupils, contracted brows. Scratching the head due to weakness of memory. Forgets names of places and of closely related persons during narration.
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4. Dictatorial:
Chin upwards with head tilted back. Good eye-to-eye contact but with a direct piercing look. Blinking over sensitive issues. Leaning backwards, with one ankle resting on the other knee.
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5. Anticipatory Anxiety:
In waiting chamber: Restlessness. Constantly asking the receptionist questions. Punctuality of time. Rubbing hands from anticipation.
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6. Boasting:
Hands behind head. Head high. Swagger walk.
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7. Superiority Complex:
Standing upright. Sitting with arms spread apart on chair. Hands behind neck. Raising of eyebrows. Loud, dictatorial voice.
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8. Lies, Inclination to Tell:
Touching nose with hand, especially at the end of a sentence with poor eye-to-eye contact and rubbing of eyes. Fake smile.
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9. Malicious:
Raising of eyebrow with side glances, especially when talking about the person concerned. Clenched fist or clenched jaw.
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10. Judgemental:
Frowning. Chin stroking. Pacing with arms behind the back. Pinching bridge of nose. Hand on cheek.
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D ) KALIUM GROUP
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1. Bite:
It is the act of closing the jaws tightly for cutting, grasping or tearing with the teeth as seen in frustration and anger. There are 10 Kaliums listed under anger and Causticum listed under ailments after anger and ailments after suppressed anger. Interestingly, Causticum has the symptom ‘bites inside of cheek while chewing’.
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2. Hands:
Hands are the most expressive body parts. They communicate more than what the face and eyes do. Fingers not only show emotion, depict ideas and point to objects–they can also read and speak in sign languages and write poetry. Hands are incredible communicating tools which act as tactile antennae. Watching a moving hand is like peeping into the brain itself. We have Kali-ar., Kali-i. and Kali-p. for ‘hands in motion;’ Kali-br. is the most prominent.
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3. Immediacy:
It refers to emotional attachment to another person. It is the directness and intensity of interaction between two people and is reflected in multiple body languages viz., angular distance, body alignment, cut off, eye contact, hand reach signs, isopraxism, love signals, palm-up signs, rapport, touch cues, zygomatic smiles, etc. When these signs are present we should think of the Kalium group, especially Kali-c.
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4. Freeze Reaction:
This posture is a sudden involuntary cessation of body movement, usually in response to fear. A protective reflex in which the body gets tensed up as the nervous system mobilizes for action. Muscle tension is ‘a vestige of freezing’. Caust., Kali-br. and Kali-c. who have ailments from fright represent this ‘freeze reaction’. Causticum in our clinical experience, present with stiffness especially of the lumbar region, as a reaction to bad news or fright.
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5. Isopraxism:
Iso = ‘same,’ praxis = ‘behaviour’ that is imitation.
• A non-learned neurobehaviour in which people act in a like manner
• Mimicry, a gesture or fad
• An impulsive tendency
• Wear the style of (example clothing, shoes or jewellery)
Kaliums are routinist, conventional, traditional and conformists who follow ‘isopraxism’ in their life. It is interesting to note the research report that ‘dispositional empathic people exhibit the chameleon effect (non-conscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facial expressions and other behaviours) more than the less empathic individuals do’. Under Causticum we find empathy, fanatical behaviour and hero worship. Kali-ar., Kali-sil. and Kali-s. should also be thought of.
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6. Fingertip Cue:
It is a movement, gesture or posture involving the end(s) of the fingers. Fingertips are ‘tactile antennae’ (rich in nerve supply). Emotional excitement like, anxiety, fear, anger, etc. reveal an incredibly high level of activity in our fingers; they rarely keep still. Fingertips, our hypersensitive pads unknowingly reach out to stimulate, caress and console tender areas of the body (self-touch). Being linked to speech areas of the brain, their movements often reflect unvoiced thoughts and concealed opinions as well.
This is an important cue to observe in clinical practice.
• Restlessness, hands: Kali-br. (our additions Kali-bi. and Kali-i.)
• Motion, fingers, constant: Kali-br.
• Fidgety hands; fingers must be playing with something; twitching of fingers; can’t sit still: Kali-br. (Clarke)
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There is scope for comparative materia medica, an advanced study of materia medica, being perceived through the lens of gestures, postures, facial expressions, distancing and a variety of cues. Both body language and homoeopathy are inseparable. Both represent unity of mind and body. Both strive for exploration of a human being in its totality. Together they make a powerful tool for healing, in a holistic way.
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Specially thanks to Dr. Vaidehi ma’am for guidance and motivation.
Thanks to team RHMC for provide this opportunity.
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THANK YOU…….
HAVE A GOOD DAY…….