Machipedia.
Search
English
Home/Encyclopedia

THE COLLECTION

The encyclopedia

Practices, traditions, and ideas. Explore the connections, keep the context.

Practices506

A practice record needs method, setting, lineage or origin context, safety boundaries, and claim-level evidence questions before it can become a full article.

Traditions30

A tradition record needs careful boundaries, community and textual context, terminology notes, and links to practices without implying ownership or endorsement.

Concepts39

A concept record needs definitions by context, translation or usage notes, and clear accounts of how meanings shift across traditions and modern settings.

Categories4

A category record explains an editorial lens. Categories can overlap and should never be treated as endorsement, ranking, or evidence of benefit.

Glossary12

A glossary record defines editorial vocabulary used across Machipedia so readers can interpret evidence, claims, sources, and review status consistently.

Refine your reading

Clear search & filters

Categories can overlap, and traditions may include several related practices.

4 entries

A–Z · Machipedia collection
Type: Category
CategoryCategory: label for non-mainstream practices used in place of conventional care

Alternative

Alternative is a label for non-mainstream health practices that are used in place of conventional medical care.

Alternative
Open recordMore categories
Entry details
Aliases
Alternative medicine, Alternative health, Alternative therapies, Unconventional medicine
Tradition
Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Traditional medical systems viewed from outside their home regions, US federal research programs on unconventional medicine
Related concepts
Alternative versus complementary, Conventional medicine, Integrative health, Non-mainstream approaches, Delayed or replaced treatment, Health claims and consumer information, Operational definitions of CAM

Reference record available.

CategoryCategory: label for practices used alongside conventional care

Complementary

Complementary is a label for health practices used together with, not instead of, conventional medical care.

Complementary
Open recordMore categories
Entry details
Aliases
Complementary health approaches, Complementary medicine, CAM
Tradition
NIH Office of Alternative Medicine (1992), NCCAM (1998) and NCCIH (2014), WHO traditional and complementary medicine, Integrative medicine academic centers
Related concepts
Complementary versus alternative, Integrative health, Whole person health, Conventional medicine, Traditional and complementary medicine, Dietary supplement interactions, Disclosure to clinicians

Reference record available.

CategoryCategory: label for approaches that consider the whole person

Holistic

Holistic is a label for health approaches that consider body, mind, spirit and social setting together, not one symptom.

Holistic
Open recordMore categories
Entry details
Aliases
Whole-person approach, Holism in health care
Tradition
Holism (Jan Smuts, 1926), Holistic health movement, Holistic nursing, Holistic medicine associations
Related concepts
Whole person health, Biopsychosocial model, Body, mind and spirit, Integrative health, Complementary and alternative medicine, Palliative care, Wellbeing

Reference record available.

CategoryCategory: label for practices that point beyond the physical world

Metaphysical

Metaphysical is a label for practices and movements that point beyond the physical world, apart from academic metaphysics.

Metaphysical
Open recordMore categories
Entry details
Aliases
Metaphysical practices
Tradition
Swedenborgianism, Mesmerism, Transcendentalism, New Thought, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Christian Science, New Age spirituality
Related concepts
Metaphysics (academic philosophy), Metaphysical religion, Mind and spirit healing, Mind-body connection, Energy and flow, Combinative religiosity, Religion, spirituality and wellbeing

Reference record available.