Five Ways to Bring the Mind, Body & Spirit Together
Mind and body are easily defined, but what is the “spirit” of you? The spirit, or soul, can be considered the part of you that is spiritually passionate. What makes you passionate? Here are a few ideas that can help you decide:
1. Look forward to something that you can anticipate.
2. Create a happy place where you can go when you meditate.
3. Reminisce about your successes.
4. Find something that relieves your stress and do it.
5. Explore your future goals – not money related.
Kama-Sutra
The Kama-Sutra is ancient text about sexual health that was written sometime between the 1st and 6th century in India. There are 35 chapters that cover everything from how to find a wife, to how to perform in bed, to how to make yourself attractive to others.
Sections of the book cover the relationship between diet and sexual well-being. Wholesome, nutritious foods are specifically referenced. Histamines are recommended, through food, for increased sexual pleasure.
Breathing techniques are stressed. This helps ease stress and improves overall sexual health.
Feng Shui
Feng Shui is the concept of bring nature and natural patterns and surroundings into our homes and everyday lives. This will bring harmony and peaceful alignment with the world.
Feng Shui brings together all of the elements. Fire, earth, air, and water, and the additional “metal”, are represented inside the home by the selection of lighting, scents, sounds, and the placement of furniture and fixtures.
The underlying concept is that the qi, or life force, must be able to move freely in a room. Therefore, the location of furniture, for example, is important.
Chiropractics
Chiropractics is an alternative medicinal practice that is now considered conventional. The main theory behind chiropractics is that the vertebrate of the spine is not in alignment. It is believed that this misalignment causes many diseases and disorders throughout the body.
Chiropractors use pressure to realign and adjust the spine. Most chiropractors also look at the whole picture – stress, lifestyle choices, and overall health – when recommending treatment.
Chiropractors have been known to heal a wide range of medical problems through their work on patient’s backs. Asthma, migraines, arthritis and more issues can all be positively impacted.
This treatment is safe and usually inexpensive. It is non-evasive. Going to a chiropractor will certainly require regular visits because your issues will not be fully treated in just one session.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a tool used to gauge internal function, then determine treatment, and then gauge if treatment is working properly. Similar to a thermometer or scale to measure the body weight or if there is a fever, biofeedback is garnered through tools.
The body function that it is measuring is activity that one cannot voluntarily control, such as blood pressure and brain wavelengths.
The main recommendation in alternative health for biofeedback is usually relaxation. This reduces the heart rate, calms the brain, and greatly impacts the affected parts of the body.
Using Alternative Medicine in Children
Sometimes conventional treatments are not an option for children. One example of when alternative medicines are a viable option for children is when they refuse to take their over-the-counter medication. They might be more willing to take an herbal remedy because it is something different.
Consider discussing with your conventional doctor these supplementary treatments for children:
- Acupuncture
The needles release endorphins to the brain which can help kids with asthma, and reduce other pains.
- Hypnosis
This technique might give a child more discipline regarding the regular administration of their conventional medication.
- Relaxation techniques and massage
This can help kids with asthma deal with constricting airways. Massage can help relax the stress surround asthma as well. Breathing techniques can help kids feel in control of their breathing. Kids with more serious diseases such as diabetes and cancer can use the relaxing benefits of massage to relieve stress and help maintain a positive outlook.
Always do plenty of research and consult with your child’s doctor before beginning any alternative medical techniques.
Gender-Specific Alternative Medicine
Men and women each have their own medical needs specific to their gender. It is wise to consider what areas of alternative medicine are best geared for your gender.
For women, issues related to menstruation – such as regular menstruation and PMS are always hot topics. For these issues, women have the following homeopathic options:
- Acupuncture
- Chinese medicinal herbs & herbal teas
- Osteopathy
- Crystal therapy
- Yoga
- Hypnosis
For men, issues around prostate health and overall well-being can involve an alternative approach. Men have these choices:
- Yoga
- Acupuncture
- Herbal treatments
Men and women both need to care for their health. A proactive, homeopathic approach will ensure a happy, healthy life.
Homeopathic Weight Loss
There are alternative techniques that can be used in the fight to lose unwanted pounds. Of course, just like in conventional medicine, there is no magic pill. However, the standard “eat well, be more active” technique of losing weight can be enhanced with alternative medicine.
First, you can consider yoga. This exercise is slow and calculated, but the results can be dramatic. When practices wholeheartedly and regularly, you can gain muscle and lose fat.
Acupuncture can reduce food cravings that are sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Teas can help curb cravings as well as detoxify the body.
Follow these tips to lose weight with alternative medicine:
1. Use a juicer to drink your fruits and vegetables.
2. Add Omega-3 to your beverages.
3. Visit a homeopathic doctor for a nutritional evaluation.
4. Contact an herbalist for recommendations on alternative teas.
5. Consider taking bovine or shark cartilage.
6. Hypnosis can be used for behavioral modification.
Alternative Medicine and Cancer
People with cancer often look for viable options that they can use to fight this disease. Unfortunately, there is no cure for cancer. Conventional treatments are the most aggressive, and while alternative and conventional medicine should work together to provide a comprehensive medical experience, at this time they do not.
You can use alternative medicine to supplement your conventional cancer treatments. Here are some of the best complementary alternative treatments:
1. Acupuncture: Helps with nausea, tiredness, pain, headaches.
2. Herbal remedies: Ginger, for one, is helpful in dealing with nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
3. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is currently being studied as a complementary treatment for radiation therapy.
4. Massage helps relieve fatigue.
One of the biggest benefits of complimentary treatments is that the sick person can take control over their situation and treatment, even if just in a small way. This helps the patient’s chances for survival and improves the quality of life.
As with any medical treatment, consult with your doctor before self-treating. Dangerous and counterproductive side effects can result if treatment is not cohesively planned.
What Happens in an Alternative Treatment Session?
First and foremost, it is essential to pick the right practitioner for you. When selecting your perfect practitioner, be sure to review their credentials because there are many fraudulent practitioners in the alternative medical world.
Follow these tips to find the perfect practitioner:
1. Search the phone book and online for local professionals. Select a local group of practitioners.
2. Research this group of practitioners to find out their experience, education, style, and anything else you can about them.
3. Find out what organizations they are affiliated with. The more trade groups, the better.
4. Contact them to ask what specific experience they have with your type of situation.
5. Ask what the treatment process is for your given situation.
The focus of an alternative medicine session is different then what occurs in a conventional medical session. Here, the practitioner will want to learn about you as a whole person, not just the specific area of injury or concern.
How to Become an Alternative Medical Practitioner
Are you thinking about becoming an alternative medical practitioner? The profession is rewarding and interesting, and provides you with the opportunity to help people. By providing an alternative medicine service, you will be making a difference in the world.
First, you will need to determine which type of alternative medicine you want to practice. Alternative medicine is broken down into seven categories:
1. Dioelectricmagnetic applications
2. Diet
3. Nutrition
4. Lifestyle changes
5. Herbal medicine
6. Manual healing
7. Biological treatments
To become a professional alternative medicine practitioner, you will need to successfully complete an accredited program at a registered school. There are many schools that specialize in one area or another of alternative medicine.
Schooling is intensive, and a good program will include years of study and practice, as well as an internship experience.
Once you have completed school and practicum work you will be able to practice your field of study on your own.
Paying for Alternative Medicine
Prices for alternative treatments vary. Most treatments are not covered by insurance, so it is important to discuss actual costs prior to rendering services from a practitioner.
The first step in finding out how to pay for treatment is to call your insurance company to see if they will cover your treatment session. If they do cover, find out the specifics. How many sessions? Is there a specific type of treatment that is only covered?
When you meet your practitioner, one of the first questions to ask is if they accept your type of insurance. If you are not using insurance, you will need to work out alternative payment.
Conclusion
In North America, alternative medicine has experienced an increase in popularity in recent years. Of course, there is controversy surrounding the two big types of medicine; conventional and traditional.
With all of the wonderful benefits of alternative medicine, there are some risks associated with it. The follow risks should be considered before using alternative medicine:
1. Unsafe, ineffective, untested substances
2. Listening to exaggerated claims of safety by some unscrupulous businesses
3. Forgoing conventional treatments for serious illnesses to use an alternative treatment.
4. Not disclosing the simultaneous use of both conventional and alternative treatments, possibly creating a negative health situation
It is important to recognize possible risks in alternative medicine. As with anything, if a therapy, product or substance sound like it is too good to be true – then it probably is!
Always research the therapy or substance, as well as any practitioners that you are thinking about using. Check credentials and references, if possible. Because much of the alternative medicine world is unregulated, there are frauds out there that you will need to be weary of.
If you are careful about what you put in your body, and the types of external therapy you solicit, you can make educated choices that will benefit your health greatly.
The best approach is a strategically planned approach that you create and discuss with your doctor. If you are not comfortable talking with your conventional medical doctor about supplementing with alternative medicine treatments, then find one that is open mined about this type of treatment. You will be happy you did.
Only once you have research all the different alternative treatments from around the world will you have a full understanding about what options are actually out there. The internet is an excellent place to begin your research journey.
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