The Journal

Essays from Dr. Carina Lopez and Sakis Stamou, the founders of Vitalist Healing Traditions Society, on herbalism, homeopathy, healing foods, Eastern dietetics and reading the body as it presents itself.

Read by tradition: homeopathy, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, herbalism, Eastern dietetics and iridology and sclerology.

A Mughal miniature painting of an outdoor feast: attendants carry bowls and platters of food beneath a red canopy, guests gather on a green lawn, and camels and horses wait below a walled city on the hill.

EEastern DieteticsKitchari: The Ayurvedic One-Pot Meal, With a Recipeby Sakis Stamou/November 11, 2026/11 min read/5 views/0 commentsKitchari is the gentle one-pot meal of rice and mung dal at the heart of Ayurvedic cooking. Explore its history, its spices and a simple recipe for home.

A hand-coloured botanical plate of Arnica montana: three golden daisy-like flower heads on tall stems above a rosette of broad green leaves and a short brown rootstock, with small studies of single florets at the edges.

HomeopathyArnica Montana: The Mountain Remedy in Homeopathyby Dr. Carina Lopez 02

A cubist still life of purple pasque flowers with feathery green leaves in a pale pink jug, set on a folded brown cloth beside a dark bottle, a green candlestick and a small blue matchbox, against a grey dappled wall.

HomeopathyWhat Is a Constitutional Remedy? Homeopathy’s Whole-Person Portraitby Dr. Carina Lopez 03

A Chinese woodblock print of a standing figure seen from behind, with lines marking the places for gua sha strokes at the back of the head, along both sides of the spine and behind the knees.

Chinese MedicineGua Sha and Cupping: How to Use Chinese Medicine’s Hands-On Traditionsby Dr. Carina Lopez 04

An oil painting of a sandy village lane in summer, with elder bushes in white flower leaning over a weathered wooden fence beside thatched red cottages.

HerbalismElderberry Syrup: The Folk Recipe and Its Historyby Sakis Stamou

Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi (c. 1540): a poised noblewoman with clear, direct eyes in red velvet.

Iridology & Sclerology

Sclerology Chart: Reading the Whites of the Eyes

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/10 min read

A sclerology chart maps the white of the eye like a clock face. Here is how the chart is drawn, how a reader moves around the whites of the eyes and where the practice comes from.

Foundations Constitution & Temperament

Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci (about 1474 to 1478): a young woman with a pale, calm face and tight golden curls, set against a dark juniper bush and a soft blue river landscape.

Chinese Medicine

Face Reading: The Traditional Art of Reading the Face

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/10 min read

Face reading observes the colour, lustre and areas of the face, read as a picture of constitution and vitality. Here is the Chinese tradition, its face reading chart and its history.

Foundations Constitution & Temperament

Sebastian Stoskopff, still life of metal vessels and glasses in a basket (17th century): delicate glass goblets, gilded cups and a copper basin on a wooden shelf against a dark background.

Homeopathy

How Does Homeopathy Work? Like Cures Like, Explained

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/9 min read

How does homeopathy work? A plain guide to like cures like, the law of similars, Hahnemann's story and what a homeopathic remedy is.

Foundations Homeopathic Remedies

Claude Monet, The Artist’s Garden in Giverny (1900): rows of purple irises in dappled sunlight beneath trees.

Vitalist Praxis

The Vitalist Approach: Working With the Body’s Healing Force

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/9 min read

Vitalism sees the body as a living system with its own healing force, vis medicatrix naturae. Learn what vitalism means, where it comes from, and how to work with the body, not against it.

Foundations Vital Energy Daily Practices

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters (1565): reapers cutting golden wheat while others rest under a pear tree, sharing bread, porridge and pears in the late-summer heat.

Eastern Dietetics

Eating With the Seasons, the Vitalist Way

Sakis Stamou/July 30, 2026/8 min read

Eating with the seasons keeps food fresher and more in step with what the body asks for. A simple four-season guide to what to eat in spring, summer, autumn and winter, the vitalist way.

Seasonal Guide Digestion & Nourishment Foods & Recipes

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring (about 1665): a young woman in a blue and yellow turban looks back over her shoulder, a large pearl at her ear, against a dark background.

Iridology & Sclerology

Iridology Reading: How the Iris Is Read

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/9 min read

An iridology reading looks closely at the iris and reads it as a map of constitution. Here is what iridology means, how the tradition began and how the iris is read zone by zone.

Foundations Constitution & Temperament

Louise Moillon, Still Life with a Basket of Fruit and a Bunch of Asparagus (1630), a basket of peaches, plums, cherries and grapes beside fresh asparagus and pea pods.

Eastern Dietetics

Food as Medicine: An Introduction to Energetic Eating

Sakis Stamou/July 29, 2026/10 min read

Energetic eating chooses food for what it does: warming or cooling, building or lightening. Here is how rhythm, season and terrain shape the meals that nourish you.

Foundations Digestion & Nourishment Foods & Recipes

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