What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)? Generally, CAM is a diverse group of medical treatment or techniques that are not considered part of the mainstream. Some examples include herbs, massage, accupuncture, yoga, etc.
News stories about complementary approaches to health can be misleading. This site can help you make informed decisions.
Healing Ways by
When it comes to your health, it's important to know and understand all the options available to you. Should you stick with Western medicine alone? What are the benefits and dangers of alternative medicine? Can acupuncture, massage therapy, or meditation really help? In Healing Ways: An Integrative Health Sourcebook, you'll find important information about conventional and alternative therapies, and how they can work together to help you reap maximum benefits. This approach is called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and it lets you combine the best of both worlds: mainstream medical therapies and alternative solutions that have high-quality scientific evidence for safety and effectiveness. In the pages of this guide, you will find: How traditional Western medicine can work with CAM Expectations, cautions, and myths Talking to your doctor about CAM How to be a better health consumer How to decide which CAM methods are right for you Integrated Approaches--from ancient to modern Mind-Body Approaches, including mediation, yoga, relaxation techniques and more Chiropractic, massage therapy, reflexology, and other body work Herbal Medicine and Supplements CAM Method Finder, and more Take charge of your life--and your health--with this new approach to treatment that grows in popularity every day.
Yoga for the Joy of It! by
Yoga for the Joy of It! immerses the beginning yoga student in the history and practice of yoga by educating the student on the background of yoga, its health benefits, and showing specific exercises and poses. This text is an essential resource for any student embarking on a new yoga class or for those students who are already familiar with the practice of yoga. Yoga for the Joy of It! details of what to expect in class, what to wear and bring to class, correct yoga alignment, a solid foundation of yoga poses, how to modify each yoga pose, correct yoga breathing, beginning meditation, styles of yoga, a history of yoga, and how to bring the benefits of yoga practice into your daily life. Features:The Study Questions provided at the end of every chapter encourage learning.The Yoga Moment encourages experiential learning and brings the essence of yoga into the student's daily life.The Student Testimonials provided in each chapter authentically reveal personal experiences that are relevant.A Historical Timeline featured in the history chapter (14) easily illuminates important yoga milestones.The worksheets included at the end of the text - a health history, flexibility assessment, alignment assessment, and yoga practice and nutrition logs - allow the teacher to assess the student, and the student to track his/her improvement.Yoga Science Boxes discuss some of the science topics connected to yoga.Chapters 6-13 provide descriptions of specific yoga poses (asanas), which include the following: Drishti, Alignment Cues, Benefits of the Pose, and Modifications for Making the Poses Work for You.
Dietary Supplements by
Dietary supplements made from foods, herbs and their constituents are a rapidly growing market sector. Consumers often view food supplements as 'natural' and therefore safe; however, supplements are regulated as foods rather than as pharmaceuticals and so are not as closely monitored as may be necessary. With the commercial market in these products growing, this book provides essential research into their safety, efficacy and potential risk of interaction with pharmaceuticals. Following an introductory chapter, part one covers the chemical composition, manufacture and regulation of dietary supplements. Part two looks at the effectiveness of different types of dietary supplement and methods of evaluation. Finally, part three focuses on supplement safety. Reviews the design, production and regulation of dietary supplements. Analyses the potential for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics interactions between dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals. Offers reviews of important clinical studies on the efficacy of dietary supplements for range of conditions.
Mudpacks and Prozac by
People seeking psychiatric healing choose from an almost dizzying array of therapies--from the medicated mud packs of Ayurveda, to the pharmacopeia of Western biomedicine, to the spiritual pathways of the world's religions. How do we choose, what do the treatments offer, and how do they cure? In Mudpacks and Prozac, Murphy Halliburton investigates the very different ways in which Ayurvedic, Western, and religious (Christian, Muslim, and Hindu) healing systems define psychiatric problems and cures. He describes people's embodied experiences of therapies that range from soothing to frightening, and explores how enduring pleasure or pain affects healing. And through evocative portraits of patients in Kerala, India--a place of incredible cultural diversity that has become a Mecca for alternative medicine--Halliburton shows how sociopolitical changes around the globe may be limiting the ways in which people seek and experience health care, with negative effects on our quality of health and quality of life.
Your Brain on Nature by