1. Fitango Education
Health Topics
Holistic Medicine
http://www.fitango.com/categories.php?id=589

2. Overview
Holistic medicine is the art and science of
healing that addresses care of the whole person -
body, mind, and spirit. The
practice of holistic medicine integrates
conventional and complementary
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3. Overview
therapies to promote optimal health, and prevent
and treat disease by
addressing contributing factors. Holistic healthcare
practitioners strive to
meet the patient with grace, kindness, acceptance,
and spirit without
condition, as love is life’s most powerful healer.
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In practice, this means that each person is seen as
a unique individual, rather
than an example of a particular disease. Disease is
understood to be the result
of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and
environmental imbalance. Healing,
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therefore, takes place naturally when these
aspects of life are brought into
proper balance. The role of the practitioner is as
guide, mentor and role
model; the patient must do the work - changing
lifestyle, beliefs and old
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6. Overview
habits in order to facilitate healing. All appropriate
methods may be used,
from medication to meditation.
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10. Homeopathy
Homeopathy, also known as homeopathic
medicine, is an alternative medical system that
was developed in Germany more
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than 200 years ago. This fact sheet provides a
general overview of homeopathy
and suggests sources for additional information.
http://nccam.nih.gov/
9: Hypnosis
Hypnosis (also called hypnotherapy) has
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been studied for a number of conditions, including
state anxiety (e.g., before
medical procedures or surgeries), headaches,
smoking cessation, pain control,
hot flashes in breast cancer survivors, and irritable
bowel syndrome.
http://nccam.nih.gov/
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8. Yoga
Yoga is a mind and body practice in
complementary medicine with origins in ancient
Indian philosophy. The various
styles of yoga that people use for health purposes
typically combine physical
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postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or
relaxation. There are
numerous schools of yoga. Hatha yoga, the most
commonly practiced in the United
States and Europe, emphasizes postures (asanas)
and breathing exercises (pranayama).
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Some of the major styles of hatha yoga include
Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vini,
Kundalini, and Bikram yoga. People use yoga for a
variety of conditions and to
achieve fitness and relaxation.
http://nccam.nih.gov/
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7. Guided imagery
Guided Imagery is a relaxation technique
where thoughts are purposely "re-directed by
visualization to create
positive images in the mind to help with stress,
relaxation, sleep, health and
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more.
http://www.guidedimageryinc.com/
6. Ayurvedic
Ayurvedic medicine (also called Ayurveda)
is one of the world’s oldest medical systems. It
originated in India and has
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evolved there over thousands of years. In the
United States, Ayurvedic medicine
is considered a CAM whole medical system. Many
therapies used in Ayurvedic medicine are also used
on their own as CAM—for
example, herbs, massage, and specialized diets.
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http://nccam.nih.gov/
5. Massage
Massage therapy encompasses many different
techniques. In general, therapists press, rub, and
otherwise manipulate the
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muscles and other soft tissues of the body. They
most often use their hands and
fingers, but may use their forearms, elbows,
or feet.
http://nccam.nih.gov/
4. Meditation
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Meditation is a mind-body practice
in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
There are many types of meditation, most of which
originated in ancient
religious and spiritual traditions. Generally, a
person who is meditating uses
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certain techniques, such as a specific posture,
focused attention, and an open
attitude toward distractions. Meditation may be
practiced for many reasons,
such as to increase calmness and physical
relaxation, to improve psychological
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balance, to cope with illness, or to enhance overall
health and well-being.
This Backgrounder provides a general introduction
to meditation and suggests
some resources for more information.
http://nccam.nih.gov/
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3. Spinal manipulation
Low-back pain (often referred to as
"lower back pain") is a common condition that
usually improves with
self-care (practices that people can do by
themselves, such as remaining
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active, applying heat, and taking pain-relieving
medications). However, it is
occasionally difficult to treat. Some health care
professionals are trained to
use a technique called spinal manipulation to
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relieve low-back pain and improve physical
function (the ability to walk and
move). This fact sheet provides basic information
about low-back pain,
summarizes research on spinal manipulation for
low-back pain, and suggests
sources for additional information.
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http://nccam.nih.gov/
2. Herbal medicine
An herb is a plant or plant part used for
its scent, flavor or therapeutic properties. Herbal
medicine products are dietary supplements that
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people take to improve their health. Many herbs
have been used for a long time
for claimed health benefits. They are sold as
tablets, capsules, powders, teas,
extracts and fresh or dried plants. However, some
can cause health problems,
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some are not effective and some may interact with
other drugs you are taking.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedic
ine.html
Acupuncture is the practice of inserting
thin needles into specific body points to improve
health and well-being. It
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originated in China more than 2,000 years ago.
American practices of
acupuncture use medical traditions from China,
Japan, Korea and other
countries. In the United States, the best-known
type involves putting
hair-thin, metallic needles in your skin.
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Research has shown that acupuncture reduces
nausea and vomiting after surgery and
chemotherapy. It can also relieve pain.
Researchers don't fully understand how
acupuncture works. It might aid the
activity of your body's pain-killing chemicals. It also
might affect how you
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release chemicals that regulate blood pressure and
flow.
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