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Holistic Health
What is
Holistic Health? Are you looking to achieve
a greater quality of life just for fun? Well, you're
not alone. Studies show that with the rapidly changing
health care system, more people are seeking
preventative health are programs or Holistic health
and medicine.
Holistic health is a state of wellness and vitality
that brings physical, mental and spiritual harmony to
oneself. Holistic medicine is a system of care that
treats the whole person with an emphasis on preventive
care. Education is the first step to health and well
being. Programs, workshops, classes and free lectures
are available on various topics of natural healing.
Working together with practitioners who demonstrate
and share therapy can provide profound results in the
restoration of your body, mind and spirit.
Through massages, body work sessions, chiropractic
care, homeopathic and herbal remedies, diagnostic
health analysis, biofeedback, meditation, yoga,
nutritional counseling, guided imagery and other forms
of self-nurturing, you can take responsibility for
your well being. Relaxation, meditation tapes, and
books on wellness are also available. Practicing
preventive medicine is a conscious choice and can lead
to a longer, happier, healthier life.
Massage and
Body Work There is nothing quite like a good massage, but
there is more to it than meets the hand. The art of
massage has been around for thousands of years, and
used by ancient Greek and Roman physicians as a means
of healing and soothing the sick.
For many of us, stiffness, pain and stress have
become a way of life with too much of our energy
consumed by tension. Massage can offer you relief and
enhance the function of your body and increase a
greater sense of well being. Of all of our senses,
touch is the first to develop -- and the most
essential for life and development. In recent medical
studies, patients denied skill contact reported
felling isolated and cut off from human warmth and
touch. It's clear that how much we are touched in a
caring way, affects self-esteem and how much we value
our lives.
Massage by qualified therapists is a system of
manipulating or kneading and applying pressure to the
soft tissue of the body to induce a state of total
relaxation. There are many types: Swedish,
Neuromuscular, Miofacial Release, Foot Reflexology,
Shiatsu, Planiopsychotherapy and Plaratherity. Massage
works mainly on muscles, ligaments and tendons, and
affects the body fluid balance of blood and lymph. All
forms of massage can be effective as preventive
medicine, and assure a "pick me up" for all who feel
run down or burnt out.
Guided
Imagery Guided imagery has been used by artists,
writers and performing artists to enhance creativity.
By athletes to achieve high levels of coordination and
skill for peak performance. By salespeople for
increased sales. By executives to become more relaxed.
But what is guided imagery? It's a process that uses
all the senses that communicate with the mind: sight,
hearing, smell, taste, the sense of movement, position
and touch. Through the use of guided imagery, changes
of physiology such as increased heart rate, breathing
rate and blood pressure have been scientifically
documented. It has been shown to create a positive
influence on the body's immune system and even more
powerful effects have been documented where it's been
used to assist cancer and burn patients to improve the
body's capacity to overcome disease, pain and
scarring.
As you can probably imagine, the applications are
sessions that are extremely relaxing and last about
one hour. Together with professionals trained in
guided imagery, you can experience the effects of
beautiful, uplifting and stimulating imagery designed
to benefit your body, emotions, mind and spirit.
Natural
Healing The goal of natural healing is to eliminate the
cause of disease and raise oneself to a better
standard of health by simply returning to the basics
in nature. It sounds more complex than it really is.
It requires getting back to the basics with the help
of professional nature aprathic practitioners though
personalized diet, breathing and exercise programs,
various counseling, nutritional, botanical medicine,
physical therapy and lifestyle modification programs.
Majorotherapy is a system oriented medicine which
stresses the maintenance of health and prevention of
disease. It dates back to the alternative healing
system of the 18th and 19th century Europe and
flourished in the early 20th century America. Today,
it's an elected medicine using traditional European,
Native American and African remedies. It's
complimentary to conventional medical practices and
training is similar requiring at least four to five
years following a bachelor's pre-medicine program.
They are trained herbalist through the modern
pharmacology of plants. Ultimately, the goals are to
educate and empower the client to make more informed
decisions toward health care.
Selecting a
Practitioner How do you choose the Holistic Practitioner
who's right for you? How to determine where to go and
who to go to for medical or therapeutic help of any
kind? Do you call a friend? Look in the yellow pages?
Perhaps you try all kinds of remedies and vitamins,
spending all kinds of money and finding you don't know
if it's right for you. Here are some helpful hints
that might help you choose the Holistic Practitioner
for you.
First, determine your primary purpose: are you
looking for health maintenance or treatment? Select
one or more types of treatment appropriate for your
goal or problem. Get a referral from a source you can
trust. Check the practitioner's background, training
and experience.
Ask questions and get names of clients to contact.
Interview the practitioner. It's a good idea to attend
the introductory lectures or free consultations
offered. Observe their operation and surroundings. Is
the environment clean, pleasant and conducive to
practicing medicine? Are you being treated in a
concerned manner? Your Holistic Practitioner should be
willing to consult with your medical doctor and
conduct a thorough history and diagnostic process.
When possible, consult with several practitioners
before beginning treatment.
And remember, it's your responsibility to
participate and share the decision making on what's
best for you. Your health is important.
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