Mind-body therapies that include yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques, and guided imagery can help significantly in several ways and reduce stress. I would like to begin with, "Cancer Care for the Whole Patient", a 2007 report written by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report offers guidelines and recommendations to medical caregivers. Here are abstracts: Cancer... Continue Reading →
Where Complementary Medicine Helps
The table below summarizes the ways in which complemetary and alternative medicine (CAM) may be helpful. The table is this blog's compilation based on the information in the paper cited below. Acupuncture pain, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy Energy therapies magnetic field therapy, reiki, Healing Touch, qi gong are not fully understood—may help reduce... Continue Reading →
Where Yoga Meditation Meets Integrative Medicine
As we are talking about integrative oncology, it is helpful to know how oncologists who practice complementary medicine define themselves as well as the care they provide. I think this whole approach can be safely extrapolated to cardiology, gastroenterology, gynecoloogy, neurology, and pulmonology when you read on and understand the background. In the paper cited in... Continue Reading →
Complementary Medicine In Cancer Treatment
Slowly, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have quietly found acceptance in at least some areas of medical academia. The recommendations, based on evidence, are usually for complementary medicine as opposed to alternative medicine. This important issue will be covered over several posts as many of our readers (this blog and http://www.mahasriyoga.com) in over 80 countries are... Continue Reading →
Being In Flow:Inspiration Expiration
Being in flow is losing sense of self and Daniel Kahneman talks about it in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. My sons talk about "being in flow" when they are deep in work or a math problem--losing all sense of self, time, space, as they produce their best work that seems to just flow... Continue Reading →
No Mat Real Life Yoga Through Family Relationships
Holidays and clearing out things is sometimes like opening up a Pandora's box of memories--good and bad. We dare not open and look inside the box. We want to hold on to the "good" and avoid the "bad" but the negative has a way of clinging like a limpet in the mind and growing well... Continue Reading →
How To Deal With Holiday Anxiety And Stress
What is the biggest source of stress for most people? It is not wars and natural disasters. The two major causes are worries about money and family (death, divorce, illness, marriage, children, in-laws, and friction between family members). Holidays bring out these stresses and a lot of people dread the holidays--gift giving and being forced... Continue Reading →
Sullivan’s Deadliness of Doing and Yoga Philosophy
Andrew Sullivan's Deadliness of Doing was brought to my attention by my husband, an avid reader of Sullivan's blog. I think most of you will find it worth your time even though you may associate Sullivan with politics. In the blog, deadliness of doing is "the phrase Oakeshott used to describe our usual, rational, self-interested selves -... Continue Reading →
Integrated Yoga Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis
The effect of an integrated yoga routine for osteoarthritis of the knee, conducted by Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in India was published in the September 27, 2011 issue of the International Journal of Yoga. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of adding integrated yoga to electric and sound therapy to randomly... Continue Reading →
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