American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [82]
Meditation
Meditation is a technique in which a person rests or sits quietly, usually with his or her eyes closed, and performs mental exercises that help focus attention, achieve relaxation, and increase mental awareness. The person often reaches this state by silently focusing on his or her breathing or on a word or an object. The stillness of mind and deep relaxation achieved during meditation help relieve stress and can have a beneficial effect on many medical conditions, including high blood pressure and heart disease. Meditation is also used to help relieve chronic pain, headaches, and respiratory problems such as asthma.
Prayer
Several scientific studies have shown that prayer may have an objective and positive effect on health outcomes. In these studies, the health of people who were prayed for improved substantially more than that of people who were not prayed for. This outcome occurred whether or not the person who was ill knew about the praying or believed in the power of prayer. Medical science cannot explain the connection between prayer and healing. However, many doctors encourage it because it can strengthen an ill person’s emotional and psychological well-being and give encouragement to caregivers and loved ones.
Yoga
Yoga is a good way to increase your joint flexibility and muscle tone while learning to relax and counteract stress.
Yoga
Yoga is a discipline developed in India over thousands of years that teaches a series of body postures and movements, breathing techniques, and meditation to calm the mind and relax the body. The goal of practitioners is to reach a state of harmony between the mind and the body that leads to spiritual enlightenment. This state of harmony is also believed to produce optimal health.
The physical benefits of yoga include increased flexibility, better balance, and stronger muscles. Yoga has been shown to reduce blood pressure, breathing rate, and anxiety. Yoga is also helpful for fighting insomnia, increasing range of motion in the joints, and decreasing pain in people with osteoarthritis (see page 996) or carpal tunnel syndrome (see page 699). The sustained focus of attention that yoga requires may help improve the mental abilities of older people.
Yoga postures should be learned from a practitioner and then practiced at home. If you are pregnant or have a chronic disorder such as high blood pressure, you may have to modify or avoid certain postures.
Art Therapy, Music Therapy, and Dance Therapy
Sometimes doctors use art, music, and dance to treat emotional and physical problems in a way that complements more conventional drug and therapy treatments. Art, music, and dance therapies attempt to release the healing potential of the creative arts. These therapies are frequently used in hospitals, nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, and hospices to ease pain, promote relaxation, and treat depression. Therapists are trained in the creative arts as well as in human development, psychological theory, and physical therapy.
Art therapy increases a person’s self-awareness and may help him or her cope better with symptoms. Music therapy uses the emotional response generated by music to achieve these results. Also, listening to or playing music can reduce heart rate and blood pressure and can lower the levels of stress hormones released by the body. Dance therapy uses movement to express emotions and promote well-being.
Energy Therapies
Energy therapies seek to restore health by affecting energy fields originating in and extending out from the body. The existence of such energy fields has not been proven scientifically. Some types of energy therapy