Holistic health practitioners view your body as an interdependent system, believing that physical wellbeing depends on balancing out mental, emotional, and spiritual components.
Just like healthcare practitioners, holistic practitioners meet with their clients to answer questions and make recommendations. Furthermore, they perform administrative duties like maintaining records and billing insurance companies.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese practice dating back more than 3000 years, involves stimulating specific points on the body with needles to treat pain, back issues and other health conditions that do not respond well to traditional treatments.
Find a licensed practitioner is essential. They should have completed a multiyear master’s program and passed either national or state licensing exams – much like what one would expect of an MD. Asking friends and family for their experiences with practitioners will give you an idea of what to look out for when selecting your provider.
Acupuncturists base their work on the belief that the body contains a delicate balance of two opposing, but complementary forces: yin and yang. Balance between them is thought to promote health; an imbalance may result in disease or in blocked energy flows (known as Qi). Acupuncturists use various techniques for this treatment including needle insertions and burning herbs known as Moxibustion.
Numerous studies demonstrate how acupuncture can provide relief from back pain and nausea following surgery or chemotherapy treatments, reduce anxiety and depression associated with stressful times, boost immune system health and support healthy hormone production among other benefits.
As another benefit, meditation helps to relax the nervous system by entering a parasympathetic state that allows your body to heal itself more efficiently – this is particularly useful during stressful periods like finals.
Acupuncture has long been used to address digestive issues such as indigestion and gas, by stimulating the release of chemicals that balance out your gut-brain axis, promote healing and relax the stomach. Acupuncture can also ease muscle dysfunction such as trigger points in muscles that cause pain or stiffness by placing needles into affected areas until muscles relax before extracting them – an approach known as trigger point needling which combines traditional acupuncture with massage for added benefits, targeting one muscle at a time with trigger point needling which targets one muscle at once or several groups at once.
Massage
Massage was once seen as an exclusive luxury or code word for illegal activities, but nowadays it’s increasingly accessible and part of holistic health. Massage is an ancient healing art which involves pressing, rubbing and manipulating the skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments with pressure techniques ranging from light stroking to deep pressure to help relax you, improve mood and ease chronic conditions like fibromyalgia pain.
Massage also strengthens your immune system and increases serotonin, the feel-good hormone, which can help fight off pain, anxiety and feelings of depression. Furthermore, massage reduces cortisol (stress hormone) while stimulating parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest and relaxation – the combined result being that getting regular massage can extend life expectancy while decreasing risk for chronic diseases.
Before visiting a massage therapist, ensure they understand your condition and that massage will be appropriate for you. If you suffer from an illness like rheumatoid arthritis, be sure to discuss treatment options with either your rheumatologist or primary care physician prior to getting a massage as it can be difficult for those with damaged joints and may involve moving limbs into positions which could be painful for someone with arthritis.
At the core of every therapeutic massage lies effleurage – wherein a therapist glides their hands rhythmically over your body in order to stimulate blood flow, stretch tissues and assist with waste product removal. Effleurage provides a great introduction for deeper techniques such as friction therapy or pressure point therapy and ensures you get maximum benefit out of each session.
Abhyanga from Ayurvedic medicine is another form of massage, using warmed oil brushed all over the body to nourish and moisturize it. It may also include myofascial release therapy which releases stiffness in fascia–the connective tissue system surrounding each muscle–for optimal relaxation. Sessions usually last 60 minutes or longer. A good therapist will always seek feedback during each session in order to adjust their technique appropriately to meet individual client needs.
Nutritional Counseling
Nutrition counseling is an integral component of holistic healthcare, helping individuals manage medical conditions like high blood pressure while simultaneously improving mood and energy levels. Furthermore, nutritional counselors can teach people how to select nutrient-dense foods and create long-term healthy habits; many major health concerns today can be tied to diet alone; an educational counselor or dietician can be an invaluable source of education to promote better food choices.
A good nutritional advisor will assist in setting realistic goals and developing plans that fit with your lifestyle, including identifying behaviors that impede weight loss and overall health, such as emotional or physical triggers that lead to unhealthy eating. Their aim should be to gradually remove these behaviors so you can form healthier relationships with food.
At a nutritional counseling session, your therapist will ask questions and analyze your dietary history to better understand your lifestyle and health needs. They may then recommend changes and nutritional supplements tailored specifically for you that will meet these goals and explain how best to achieve them. Ultimately, your therapist may even encourage group therapy sessions.
Many individuals seek nutrition counseling because they want to lose weight or manage a medical condition, yet it’s important to realize that nutritional counseling does not consist of dieting and fad diets; rather, an experienced nutritional counsellor will work with you on creating a diet with adequate nutrient levels and teach how to prepare healthy meals.
Choose a nutrition counselor who is properly educated and licensed, so they can conduct thorough physical examinations and address any health concerns you have. They should also discuss family history and current medications you are taking before providing you with a tailored nutrition plan that best meets your lifestyle and needs. Finally, together you will collaborate on creating long-term success by making small yet measurable and realistic changes which you can stick with over time.
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient Eastern practice combining physical movement, breath work, meditation and relaxation techniques to promote spiritual development, strengthen mind-body connection and increase flexibility, balance and strength. While it may help reduce stress and anxiety levels, it should not be seen as a solution for mental health disorders like depression or PTSD – evidence supporting its use is limited at best and more research needs to be conducted before conclusively stating its usefulness against them.
Yoga has been found to reduce symptoms associated with chronic diseases and conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer. Yoga’s ability to soothe nervous systems and boost overall mood has been attributed to its effect on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and Autonomic Nervous System; moreover its focus on relaxation techniques can lessen emotional stress on the body.
Studies have also shown that regular yoga practice can significantly enhance quality of life and maintain a healthy weight, improve lung and cardiovascular system function, as well as increasing resilience against chronic illness and injury. Furthermore, yoga is linked with higher levels of social support and mindfulness, further contributing to one’s well-being.
Even though yoga can be an extremely relaxing exercise, mastering it may require additional support from an experienced instructor to maximize its potential benefits and prevent injuries or overexertion.
Holistic doctors believe that body, mind and spirit are inextricably intertwined and that optimal health requires the integration of all three. Furthermore, holistic practitioners firmly hold to the belief that prevention is more effective than treatment; thus they take into consideration factors like lifestyle choices, diet habits, sleep quality and stress level when treating you – in addition to searching out root causes of issues rather than simply treating symptoms.
