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Wellness Concepts
Good health in the workplace and good health in life are issues that affect people emotionally and financially. Certainly from an employer's perspective it is very costly to have problems in areas of employee illness and where excessive time off is taken.
To return to perfect health in today's fast paced society is the ultimate challenge. The problem is in knowing the right health regimen to meet your personal needs. We are experiencing a growing trend in health, such as programs in Integrative Medicine such as the one at the University of Arizona that call on physicians to be willing to expand the horizons of medicine. They utilize other therapeutic systems. The focus is on the body's natural healing potential, and considers the mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions of patients in addition to their physical bodies.
The ancient practices of Eastern Medicine concentrate on healing and looking for the cause of illness. The development of illness is due to the battle between energy in the body and pathogenic influences. That is, the causes of illnesses are due to an energetic imbalance within the body. Therefore, to treat any illness, one must eliminate the pathogenic influence or balance and strengthen the energy in the body. Western medical research is discovering what ancient Ayurvedic medicine of India and Traditional Chinese Medicine have long realized. They stress maximizing health by living correctly, and the human body's abilities to heal. Traditional Chinese Medicine places 'Qi,' the principle of vital energy at the core of its medical theory and practice. The growing trend includes the principle that in order to return back to perfect health, patient involvement is crucial; deciding to take an active role in the healing therapy(ies) is the most efficacious method.
More Health Considerations
American medical and academic institutions have been researching the uses of different health care options for patients. The look into 'unconventional medicine' included studying forms of alternative therapy to help an ailment. It encompasses alternative methods such as homeopathy, Qi Gong therapy, relaxation therapy, nutrition, exercise, commercial weight-loss clinics and more - some of which appear in the box below.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found in a comparative study that one in three adults in the United States used at least one form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In fact, the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) in Washington, DC, has funded in-depth CAM research projects at 12 major universities across the U.S. including Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and others. Two-thirds of all medical schools have now included Complementary Alternative Medicine courses in their basic curriculum.
Complementary & Alternative Medicine Research
BOSTON, MA, January 12, 2005 In a comparison of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by adults in 1997 and 2002, researchers from Harvard Medical School found more than one in three U.S. adults (36.5% and 35.0%, respectively) used at least one form of CAM. The largest change was a 50% jump in the use of herbal supplements, growing over the five years from 12.1% of adults reporting usage to 18.6% (or 38 million adults). The practice of tai chi and yoga increased 40% over the same period. Use of CAM therapies such as acupuncture, biofeedback, energy healing, and hypnosis remained essentially unchanged between 1997 and 2002, while the use of homeopathy, high-dose vitamins, chiropractic, and massage therapy declined slightly. Since many CAM therapies are paid out-of-pocket by consumers, the authors suggest that some of these declines may be due, at least in part, to a downturn in the U.S. economy from 1997 to 2002.
To get a comparative analysis, go to the Health Alternatives page.
"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose." - Indira Gandhi
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