Iris Diagnosis - Training in Iridology: Diploma by home study

Iridology is the art of iris analysis. The iris is connected to the brain via the hypothalamus and can give naturopathic read outs on tissue conditions in various parts of the body. With training and practice it is possible to read signs indicative of biochemical, emotional and environmental influences that are hard to determine by other means. We can thus interpret health (and even aspects of personality) by close examination of the eyes, using suitable illumination and a magnifying glass.

Iridology training was long an integral part of the College curriculum and it leads to the Plaskett International College Diploma in Iridology upon successful completion.

The close relationship between naturopathic iridology as a diagnostic tool and nutritional medicine and other naturopathic disciplines continues and grows closer. In 2005 Dr Plaskett delivered the last such course by the in-class method. Now we teach an enlarged and expanded course in Iridology by distance learning. We have converted all the Iridology lecture material into the distance learning format, with fuller exploration of the content and working methods, adding depth, detail and sophistication.

We will be working with a wonderful collection of eye photographs on a computer that can be expanded to show detailed features in enhanced magnification. We use these photographs to show the signs clearly and unmistakably. We are collecting records of all kinds of eye and adding an extended treatment of the special task of diagnosing genetically brown eyes.

Now Iridology can make a huge contribution to complementary therapeutic practice and the learning process can be a profound and exciting one.

Did you know that some iris features are so very plain that you can see them with the naked eye in ordinary social contact? You can see from two or three feet away in many cases that the person has a toxic digestive system (a strong wide dark ring around the pupil margin). You can often tell that the person has an overactive stomach (a narrow bright white ring very close to the pupil). You can tell when the skin is overlaid with toxins so that the skin's function in excreting toxins from the body is jeopardised (very narrow dark ring around the iris margin). You can tell in some people (rather advanced cases) that they suffer badly from sodium and potassium imbalance and have placed themselves at potential risk from cholesterol accumulation (the so-called sodium ring) a white or off-white cloudy deposit, usually fairly thick, around the iris margin). You may be noting all this, if you like, while you make social chitchat!

Bernard Jensen used to surprise medical doctors with his ability to tell a left iris from a right one even when he could see none of the surrounding structures of the eye. He could do this by dint of his knowledge of the position in the iris of the descending colon, which is always, to quote him, "the dirtiest part of any pair of eyes". It is seen only in the left eye. Also orthodox diagnosis provides no way of knowing, in a hypo- or hyperthyroid patient, whether the abnormality in the thyroid is in the left lobe, the right lobe or in both lobes. Iridology is well-reputed to do that.

In a good many irises you can distinguish, using the x7 or x10 magnifier, special radial crevices in the iris called radii solares. Often you can trace the movement of toxins along these crevices as the toxins exit from the gut and penetrate through deeper tissues of the body, causing toxic damage. The active movement of toxins within the body is a key factor in understanding the naturopathic principles, for this whole view of medicine is dynamic, not static. The ability to intervene and to see the toxic deposits move and change in response to one's intervention is, of course, an exciting and wonderful thing.

Another example is the ring of spots or 'tophi' represented by the lymphatic rosary. Its mere presence tells one that there is sluggishness in the lymphatic system. When these tophi are darkly pigmented the situation gives rise to concern for the possible generation of lymphatic illness. Using an infusion of violet leaves is a more or less classical remedy for this condition, improving the lymph flow and setting up a movement of those deep seated toxins away from the lymphatic glands and out towards the excretory organs. It is a very positive naturopathic event that one can observe and be pleased to have brought it about.

Then again, using the precise positioning of iris reflex areas contained on the iris chart, one may distinguish many key points of diagnosis. Areas of stress and tension can be pinpointed by identifying 'stress rings' or 'nerve rings'. Past injuries and adhesions show themselves as contortions of the normally regular and even iris fibres. You can answer questions like:-

Is it the pancreas or the liver that is responsible for the trouble?
Is the patient's hypertension caused by a defect of or toxic deposits in the particular brain area that is geared to control blood pressure?
One of Jensen's rather dramatic illustrations is of the iris of a man who has just been shot. It shows the precise areas of tissue damage within the body and the response is very fast.

The number of potential examples is almost without limit. The above may suffice to show the types of things that iridology can do for practitioners. We hope it will help you decide to study Iridology with the Plaskett International College.

Previously the course was split into two sections, these were the introductory and advanced sections. We have now combined these to create one course however, the two section still exist within the course itself. By special arrangement it is still possible to just purchase the seperate sections. Please contact the college if this is facility is needed.

There is no examination, assessment being through coursework. We teach Iridology quite separately from other topics and anyone who possesses, or expects to possess, a practitioner's qualification in any therapeutic discipline, may join the course.

Our Diploma in Iridology has long been recognised by The Guild of Naturopathic Iridologists (International).

Syllabus Introductory

The nature of iris observation, the Intestinal areas, the Iris map, the Chronic and Acute, The Intestinal ring, Stomach ring and Nerve wreath, the Constitution, Respiratory system, Lacunae, open lesions, inherent weaknesses, the Organs of Elimination, other Organs, Special signs, complete Diagnosis of a subject. The treatment of the topic follows the principles of Bernard Jensen in the USA.

Syllabus Advanced

The advanced level extends this considerably by bringing in the work of Dorothy Hall and of Dr Josef Deck, both of which are the subject of a special presentation during the course. The published insights of Farida Davidson and Harri Wolf, while not separately presented, also influence the presentation of the course material. Both the Australian School, (Dorothy Hall ) and the German School, (Dr Deck/Harri Wolf), offer an added dimension to the study and interpretation of the constitution.

The study focuses upon the different personality aspects, which show up in different constitutional types. Dorothy Hall gives insights into what contributes to various different types of personality and their emotional and mental responses and their pre-dispositions to health or disease. Different sorts of people can have different priorities, preferences and imperatives built into their very nature from or before birth, sometimes determining the course of their entire lives and their attitudes to the world and to other people.

The course teaches an understanding of these types, and facilitates an empathy between patient and practitioner. It shows how people of the differing constitutional types are likely to go out of balance either mentally or emotionally and how their vulnerability to various physical ailments varies.

The German School offers a very exciting and precise approach to the constitutional types, which is really quite different, but no less helpful. It highlights variations in the susceptibility to diseases of different organs and systems.

It is a prime purpose of this course, not only to teach these differing positions, but also to demonstrate how it is that all three of these major schools of iridology embody different aspects of the truth, how each is individually valuable and how a full and deep understanding of the meaning of 'constitution' can be gained through a sympathetic synthesis of the contributions from all three of these schools.

Course fee: £900

Please email us for details of any current special offers on our courses.