Alternative medicine therapies offer an effective means to enhance nutrition, health, and spirit. Mindfulness meditation may improve cognition while healing occurs more effectively; mild exercises like yoga can also decrease stress levels while providing relief from pain.
Alternative Therapy Center of San Antonio has been in operation since 1982 and takes an integrative approach to health care. Owner Susan Wallace-Cuellar is a registered colon therapist and reflexologist, and works to educate her patients on colon and nutritional wellness.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are techniques designed to keep us grounded in the present moment, providing relief from stress, improving physical health and relationships while improving mental wellbeing by helping individuals cope with unpleasant emotions or thoughts. Used since centuries as part of holistic treatments such as holistic medicine treatments; now also being integrated into addiction recovery and trauma healing programs.
Studies demonstrate the positive benefits of mindfulness meditation in terms of relieving stress, anxiety and depression. But it should be remembered that these practices should not replace medication; in fact they work best when combined with other forms of treatment. Also keep in mind that mindfulness might not work for everyone so find one that does.
Mental health treatment centers San Antonio often incorporate mindfulness and meditation practices as an add-on therapy regimen, such as yoga. Such practices combine physical postures with breathing exercises for enhanced both mental and physical wellbeing, with some programs using it to address co-occurring disorders, like PTSD and substance abuse disorder, while some even provide art therapy programs so patients can express themselves creatively through artistic expression.
Studies have revealed the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs in helping veterans combat PTSD. MBSR programs consist of group meetings led by an expert trainer, as well as daily meditation sessions to teach veterans and their family members to pay attention to emotions, thoughts, physical sensations and PTSD symptoms in a nonjudgmental manner while learning healthy coping mechanisms.
Studies on mindfulness have documented its many benefits; however, few have explored its effects among older adults. This pilot study sought to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-based meditation program designed for community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain in terms of pain acceptance and functional outcomes.
Mindfulness can be used as an effective means of relieving stress. The goal is to focus on being in the moment and experience all that life has to offer – an everyday technique with strong potential in fighting mental illness.
Yoga
Yoga is an integrative health practice that can benefit physical, mental and spiritual wellness. Yoga combines muscular activity with internal directed meditation and an awareness of one’s body and breath – features that have been proven to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety while increasing mood stability.
Yoga practice can help alleviate symptoms associated with mood related disorders by decreasing cortisol, an inflammatory hormone linked to depression and anxiety, while simultaneously increasing serotonin and dopamine, both natural mood enhancers. If you suffer from any mood-related disorder, however, please consult with a physician prior to embarking upon any yoga regiment.
Many Westerners have an inaccurate understanding of yoga. When they hear the term, many envision complicated physical postures impossible to execute. Yet yoga is actually an art and technology designed to bring you into contact with reality as it exists now instead of what you think or wish it should be.
Yoga is a philosophy that recognizes human beings as multidimensional beings with distinct aspects such as body, senses, thought, emotions and intuition that interact and play an essential part of living a fulfilled life. By tapping into all layers of self, practicing yoga helps individuals experience life to its fullest by tuning in harmonious resonance of all layers.
Yoga offers many health and wellbeing advantages. This discipline can improve mental and emotional well-being, boost immunity, build flexibility and endurance, lower blood pressure, aid weight loss, decrease depression and anxiety levels and enhance sleep quality – among many other advantages. Yoga is suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels and may even aid rehabilitation following injuries, illness or surgery.
Studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of yoga practice on cardiovascular functioning. Regularly engaging in yoga practice has been found to increase blood hemoglobin and red blood cell count while improving oxygen supply to cells, leading to higher energy and better ability to perform activities. Yoga may also reduce heart attack risk by encouraging venous blood from legs and pelvic area back towards heart for reoxygenation; further lowering cholesterol level, and preventing blood clots in arteries; it reduces risk of stroke by lowering cholesterol level, and decreasing risk by encouraging flow from legs/ pelvic area back towards heart; eventually increasing energy and improving oxygen supply to cells resulting in higher energy and ability to perform activities.
Substance Abuse Disorder Treatment
Treatment centers for substance abuse disorders provide their patients with a variety of services and approaches that aim to help. Some centers focus on behavioral, pharmacological, alternative medicine therapies or even combinations thereof to provide more holistic care; many programs even provide aftercare programs or 12-step groups which assist their patients overcome addiction.
Addiction is a multifaceted disorder that impacts every aspect of life. From physical symptoms to disruption in social or family relations and legal or financial issues, addiction has lasting repercussions in all spheres. Substance Abuse Disorder Treatment’s ultimate goal is to enhance living skills and assist patients in regaining control over their lives and relationships. Many addicts also struggle with coexisting mental health conditions that complicate recovery. Depression, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), physical or sexual abuse history or psychoeducation regarding alcohol or drug misuse and its consequences are just some of the conditions treated with individual and group therapy, counseling sessions or psychoeducation presentations about drug and alcohol misuse and its impacts.
Other treatment strategies for addiction may include teaching patients to recognize cues that signal withdrawal or craving, developing contingency plans for managing difficult situations and providing support groups and relapse prevention planning. These approaches can be especially helpful for women who often have coexisting mood disorders and are at greater risk for relapse. Treatment for women should also encompass education regarding its impact on families as a whole and the importance of family involvement in recovery – this should include spouses, children, parents and siblings playing an integral part.
Abstinence from drugs and alcohol is often the best treatment option for substance abuse or dependence, although various forms of treatment such as community residential treatment, therapeutic community treatment and intensive outpatient programs may also help. Community residential treatment tends to work best when dealing with severe or persistent issues that do not respond well to less intensive interventions.
Intensive outpatient programs usually encompass 9-12 hours of treatment every week and offer more structured supervision and intensive therapies than standard outpatient programs, making them suitable for people who have already undergone less intensive rehabilitation. Many intensive programs incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy, relapse prevention planning, stress management training (using biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation meditation or yoga), among other techniques as part of the therapy regime.
Colon Hydrotherapy
Colon hydrotherapy is a safe, natural therapy that involves infusing warm, filtered water into the colon (large intestine). Studies have demonstrated its many health benefits such as reduction in abdominal bloating, improved digestion, reduced fatigue levels and helping eliminate trapped gases from within your system. Colonic hydrotherapy has even been found helpful in alleviating symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome – although this treatment may not be right for everyone so it’s essential to discuss any options with your healthcare provider first.
An initial session typically involves lying on a treatment table while being gently placed on a small speculum tube inserted into their rectum by their therapist, with water slowly introduced through fills and releases while massaging the abdomen. This process, known as peristalsis, helps stimulate muscular contractions within large intestines to flush them out more efficiently and is essential to the process of detoxifying bowel.
The therapist carefully monitors both temperature and pressure of water so as to provide a gentle cleansing without discomfort to ensure a thorough cleansing session. They may use techniques like breathing or abdominal massage in addition to using drainage tubes to remove waste from their colon. In a typical 35-50 minute session, 5-20 gallons of water is infused into their colon and expelled out via drainage tube along with any waste, carrying with it dislodged from walls of their digestive system into this drain tube containing waste with it.
Sometimes people experience temporary discomfort from colonic irrigations such as abdominal ache, nausea or diarrhea – usually only temporary! As detoxing of your colon may result in dehydration and electrolyte imbalances – to minimize potential side effects after colonic irrigations it’s essential that you drink plenty of water immediately afterwards and refrain from caffeine and alcohol consumption.
Colonial hydrotherapy not only aids digestion, but it can also ease constipation, lower cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease risk. Furthermore, colonic hydrotherapy may relieve depression and chronic fatigue by clearing away built-up toxins in your body as well as improving skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema.