Now, More Than Ever, You Need a Massage

Invest in Your Health, and Navigate Difficult Times with Grace

A recent national consumer survey showed most massage-minded Americans are committed to maintaining the health benefits they experience with massage. It only makes sense. The better you feel, the better job you can do of caring for yourself and your loved ones.

Now, more than ever, massage should play a role in reducing stress and strengthening the health of Americans. When people feel their best, they are more likely to be able to face the challenges difficult times present. With greater health and peace of mind, consumers can face difficulties with poise, clarity of purpose, and strengthened emotional reserves.

Truly, massage is a vital part of self-care that has a positive ripple effect on us as we work, play, and care for others.


Invest In Yourself and Those You Love

Massage:

* Reduces anxiety
* Reduces the flow of stress hormones
* Improves sleep
* Boosts the immune system
* Improves energy levels and reduces fatigue
* Improves concentration
* Increases circulation
* Improves self-esteem
* Reduces frequency of headaches
* Releases endorphins

The positive effects of regular massage can have benefits in many areas of your life.

Home. Massage therapy will also help families under stress create healthier households with clear-thinking and more relaxed moms and dads. Children are very sensitive and often pick up on tension in a household; parents who are taking care of themselves are more likely to be better caregivers and provide a sense of security to their kids. This goes for caregivers of aging parents and other family members.

Work. The health benefits of massage can help forestall illnesses and lost work time, especially when you may be asked to produce more with fewer resources. Decision-making skills will be better and your performance is likely to be improved with a clear focus and more energy. A hint for the boss: Research shows employees exhibit less stress and improved performance when given twice-weekly, 15-minute massages in the office!

Health Conditions. Those with already existing health conditions can continue to reap benefits in the following ways. And proactively caring for health through massage may help reduce costly doctor visits and use of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Research shows:

* Massage can reduce sports-related soreness and improve circulation--good to know when you may be exercising more to reduce stress.

* Deep-tissue massage is effective in treating back pain, arthritis, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia patients receiving massage also have less pain, depression, anxiety, stiffness, fatigue, and sleep problems.

*Massage reduces symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

* Oncology patients show less pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and depression following massage therapy.

* Stroke patients show less anxiety and lower blood pressure with massage therapy.

* Massage therapy is effective in reducing postsurgical pain.

* Alzheimer's patients exhibit reduced pacing, irritability, and restlessness after neck and shoulder massage.

* Labor pain. Massage during labor appears to reduce stress and anxiety, relax muscles, and help block pain. Some medical professionals believe massage also reduces tearing, shortens labor, reduces the need for medication, and shortens hospital stays.

* Preterm babies receiving massage therapy gain more weight and have shorter hospital stays than infants not receiving massage.

* Massage is beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with arthritis, asthma burns, high blood pressure, and premenstrual syndrome.

Massage, Science, and Your Health

A Conversation with Dr. Andrew Weil

By Loolwa Khazzoom

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Autumn/Winter 2010.Copyright 2010. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Noted physician Andrew Weil, MD, author of Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine that Can Transform Our Future (Hudson Street Press, 2009) and a longtime proponent of integrative medicine, had a chance to sit down with Body Sensemagazine to discuss the science behind massage and other effective complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments.

Loolwa Khazzoom: What do you see as the benefits of massage?

Andrew Weil: Whether a massage therapist focuses on your feet, hands, scalp, or entire body, massage can be both wonderfully relaxing and clinically effective. It is also one of the CAM therapies most readily accepted by conventional medical doctors and hospital administrators.

Research demonstrates that massage therapy can offer a variety of healthful benefits, especially for people with significant stress or anxiety, strained muscles, or osteoarthritis. Massage therapy can enhance immune function, increase circulation while reducing heart rate and blood pressure, boost levels of endorphins and serotonin (the body's natural painkillers and mood regulators), and reduce stress hormone levels, all while easing sore and achy muscles.

If you have problems with tension headaches, back or neck pain, sports injuries, arthritis, or fibromyalgia, experiment with massage as an enjoyable way to help reduce or even eliminate associated pain. Mothers-to-be can reduce stress levels and pain associated with labor, preemies may gain weight faster, and children with asthma may breathe easier when massaged. Studies also suggest that massage therapy can help prevent or manage some side effects and complications commonly experienced by people with cancer, both during and after treatment.

Anyone with open wounds should wait until they are healed to receive bodywork, and deep-tissue work should be considered cautiously by people on blood thinning medication (warfarin, for example) and anyone recovering from surgery. Other than that, work with a licensed massage therapist to ensure you get the most out of your session. Many forms of massage therapy are available. It pays to ask massage therapists what types of therapy they have studied and whether their skill sets are a good match for your needs. 

LK: What are some common ailments you have seen treated effectively through other CAM methods?

AW: First of all, in treating autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, I have seen great success using an anti-inflammatory diet. I also recommend the use of herbal medication (especially things like ginger and turmeric), mind-body methods (everything from guided imagery to stress reduction), lifestyle counseling, different forms of exercise, and sometimes the use of Chinese medicine.

For depression, I think there are a huge range of approaches that are very effective, from aerobic exercise to high-dose fish oil, and various dietary supplements. I find the anxiety-reducing breathing exercise that I teach to be more effective than the standard pharmaceutical drugs. 

LK: How is it that all these methods are effective? People generally expect to have to do something high-tech to respond to something that's gone awry in their bodies. 

AW: I think this is the key question of what's wrong with American health care. It has us all dependent on high-tech solutions that are expensive. I think these low-tech methods work because the body has an innate healing capacity, and there are many ways of accessing it. I think that people, in this culture especially, have little confidence in their body's ability to restore health.

Many of these methods have very sensible mechanisms behind them. High-dose fish oil affects brain chemistry; there's a lot of research on that. With breathing exercises for anxiety, there is a logical mechanism--breath affects the involuntary nervous system.
There is very little research on the impact of breath work, because it is something that is just not taken seriously by the research community, probably because it is so simple. I have worked for years to try and get studies going on it. The lack of interest in this kind of stuff is remarkable.

LK: What is the backstory on scientific studies of massage?

AW: Unlike pharmaceuticals, which can be manufactured to small tolerances, dosed by weight, and compared to placebos, bodywork is less consistent and often better tailored to an individual's needs. Massage therapy, nonetheless, has been studied and scientifically proven to be effective for reducing pain, fatigue, anxiety, and stress in patients with a wide range of medical problems, and to relieve a variety of symptoms in people with specific illnesses. In addition, the number of sound research trials into the potential benefits of massage therapy has grown significantly in recent years. Still, funding remains an issue. As is the case with any CAM therapy, funding will never be as accessible for research into massage therapy as it is for drug company studies.

A strong body of research that defines the clinical effectiveness of, and indications for, massage therapy will help promote greater acceptance of the approach and perhaps lead to wider coverage by insurance companies. I would like to see more studies comparing the effects of massage therapy to pharmaceutical agents for the relief of pain and anxiety, as well as cost-benefit analyses of the preventive effects of regular massage. Further investigation into the underlying mechanisms behind the benefits of massage should be encouraged as well.

LK: What do you tell people who insist on having hard scientific data before trying something from the CAM toolbox?

AW: There is a lot of science out there. It is just often published in places that most doctors don't look. I think the first thing is to see what evidence there is. Second, we should get into the habit of using a sliding scale of evidence, which works like this: the greater the potential of a treatment to cause harm, the stricter the standards of evidence it should be held to for efficacy. In the case of something like a breathing technique, the potential for harm is so low that I feel quite comfortable recommending it, in the absence of hard scientific evidence of its efficacy. I know it works, because I use it myself, and I use it widely on patients. It's not going to hurt people.

LK: I keep encountering a disbelief that simple things can actually work.

AW: There is a prejudice. People wonder how it possibly could work, being that it doesn't involve a drug, and it doesn't involve a device. That, to me, is the big problem in this area. I think that the answer is education about the body's remarkable capacity for self-maintenance and healing and about the value of knowing and using these low-tech solutions before going to complex, expensive ones.

If low-tech methods don't work, then sure, you go to stronger methods. Or if you're dealing with an emergency, then you use more drastic methods. But for the vast majority of conditions out there, there are inexpensive, low-tech, simple methods that people ought to know about. 

LK: Do you see attitudes toward massage changing in the world of conventional medicine?

AW: The United States lags behind many other countries where massage is considered a trusted effective medical intervention. But surveys show it is one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine in North America and is increasingly incorporated into the services offered by hospitals and medical clinics. As more people, including doctors, experience its benefits and appreciate the healing power of appropriate human touch, I am confident that massage therapy will soon be offered within most cancer centers and readily available to at least expectant mothers and hospitalized children. Of course, additional sound research will help drive the inclusion of massage in the conventional medicine armamentarium.

LK: If there is an absence of hardcore scientific evidence proving that a given CAM treatment works, how can a person who is not that educated in CAM distinguish between what is medically sound and what is not?

AW: This is the whole point of the integrative medicine that I teach. We have now graduated over 500 physicians from intensive training in the program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. The training enables them to make those distinctions and teach their patients to do the same. Ideally, you find a trained health-care professional, preferably a physician or a nurse practitioner, who has this kind of training, who can advise you. Our website gives a directory of all our graduates. 

On a related note, if pharmacists were trained in the use of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other dietary supplements, they would be the best people to advise both patients and doctors about the uses of CAM and its interactions with pharmaceutical drugs. It's really a matter of getting trained people out there. 

LK: What are three safe and relatively easy ways people can try out CAM at home?

AW: Learn the basics of good nutrition and how diet affects health. The simplest rule is to try and get rid of refined products and manufactured foods. They may be what is causing all the trouble. It's also a good idea to have a home medicine chest with simple remedies. There are about half a dozen herbal treatments that are very useful--like Valerian for sleep and peppermint for stomach upsets. Lastly, have some kind of relaxation technique to practice. My favorite is simple breathing methods, because they are so time-efficient.

LK: Is there anything you would like to add about getting professional massage treatments?

AW: Keep in mind that massage therapy typically provides short-term relief of symptoms and that the benefits of massage accrue over time. To experience the greatest benefit, try to schedule sessions at regular intervals and treat them as you would any important business appointment: non-cancellable. 

Loolwa Khazzoom (www.loolwa.com) is a health and wellness coach, journalist, and media strategist who developed a dance method to heal from chronic and debilitating pain. Her company, Dancing with Pain (www.dancingwithpain.com), offers a full line of natural pain relief products and services.

Bodywork Etiquette

Bodywork Etiquette

Guidelines To Help You Get The Most Out Of Your Session

By Karrie Osborn

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Autumn/Winter Copyright 2008. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Most massage aficionados remember the trepidation that came with their first massage. What should I expect? Will I have to take off my clothes? How much do I tip?

For relative newcomers to massage, the prospect of those first visits and their unknowns can be unnerving. Here are some basic bodywork etiquette guidelines to help you get the most out of your session, create a healthy client-therapist relationship, and address some of those unknowns.


Punctuality = Full Session
There's nothing worse than rushing into your massage appointment five minutes late. Not only is it nerve-racking, but it also eats into your valuable massage minutes. Do your best to be on time, and when possible, early. On-time clients start the massage more relaxed and focused, getting them that much closer to a place of healing calm.

When scheduling at a spa, most guests are asked to arrive early so they can prepare for their session and stow away belongings in the locker room. Arriving early enough also allows you time to enjoy the facility's amenities, such as a steam room, before the scheduled service begins. New massage clients are also asked to arrive a bit early to fill out health history intake forms.

If you do get held up in traffic and arrive late to your appointment, the therapist will probably not be able to give you a full session. Plan on the session staying on schedule, even if you aren't. Sometimes therapists will extend extra time if there are no appointments after yours, but don't count on it. Respect your therapist's time, call if you're going to be late, and understand that your session must end on time, regardless of when you arrived.

When it comes to cancellations, most spas and private practitioners require a 24-hour notice to avoid fees. Outside of an emergency situation, last-minute cancellations or missed appointments usually result in paying a percentage, or all, of the scheduled massage fee. Your therapist earmarked that hour for you and likely turned away other clients who could have benefited from that time. Every situation is different, so check with your therapist about his or her specific cancellation policy, then honor it.


Honor Your Body
Some people have a hard time even considering massage because they are so unhappy with their body. Primarily a female issue, poor body image can be extremely damaging, leading to eating disorders in many cases and negatively affecting the way people live. While it's hard to imagine that getting naked and lying on a massage table will make the situation any better for those dealing with self-esteem or body image issues, massage therapy and bodywork can do wonders.

According to bodyworker Merrill DeVito, massage helps integrate body and mind again, allowing clients to see things from different perspectives, bringing them back into awareness of their body, and showing them what it means to listen to their body. Bodywork can help mend the body-mind chasm that is created through self-hate, bringing the two pieces back together in a peaceful, healthy union.
Massage therapists and bodyworkers not only have advanced knowledge of tissues and structure, they also have a great appreciation for the human body as a whole, no matter its shape or size. "Massage therapists and bodyworkers don't look at their clients as fat, thin, ugly, or beautiful, but rather see the person as a joy and a privilege with which to work," says spa consultant Charles Wiltsie. Whether working with a 350-pound woman on the massage table or a 100-pound man, massage therapists see bodies as bodies.


Shower Up
While most guidelines recommend showering before your massage, it's important to note that many therapists work with clients in less-than-hygienic conditions. Throughout the summer, you'll find massage therapists at cycling events, road races, and even triathlons. A weary cyclist staggering into the massage therapy tent at the end of an exhausting day's ride hardly smells like roses. For massage volunteers who work with the homeless population, judgment is not passed on those non-showered bodies either.

That said, if you find that your feet have endured a long sweaty day and you're just about to go in for your massage, take a moment to stop in the restroom first and wipe them down. And, if you're able to shower beforehand and wash away the grime and energy of the day's events, do so.


Consider Confidentiality
Even though massage therapists aren't medical doctors, nor are they held to the same doctor-patient privilege, they do hold their knowledge of you, your issues, and your sessions in confidence. If for some reason your therapist needs to confer with your primary or referring physician, he or she will have you fill out the proper release paperwork beforehand. That same confidence prevents therapists from talking with you about your friend's recent stone massage or what your husband discussed during his last session. So, make it easier for all, and don't ask.


Get It Your Way
If there's one thing that will make your massage both more enjoyable and more beneficial, it's communicating with your therapist. If the room is too warm, if the bolster under your legs isn't in the right spot, if the music is driving you batty--whatever the issue--let your therapist know right away so you can get back to the business of enjoying your massage. "By all means, you should speak up about anything that diminishes your enjoyment of, or ability to focus on, your session," says Nina McIntosh, massage ethics expert and author of The Educated Heart. Wiltsie agrees. "Communication is key to getting your needs met," he says. Clients must take the lead and let therapists know if a particular treatment or something else within the session is making them uncomfortable.

Your therapist will occasionally check in with you during your session, checking on pressure and making sure you're doing okay. Be sure and let the therapist know if you're not feeling well, if that spot on your calf is too tender, or even if you can't hold your need for a bathroom break any longer.


Sobriety, Please
In resort settings, it can be especially hard to step away from icy margaritas on the beach to make that afternoon spa appointment. But the last thing you want is to be "tipsy" on the massage table. There are several downsides to being under the influence during a massage, the most important being how alcohol plays havoc with the body's systems. Combine that with the increased circulation from massage and you have increased absorption rates, potentially making you nauseous or outright "losing-my-cookies" sick. That's no fun and a waste of good massage time and money. In fact, many massage therapists will refuse to work on clients who are intoxicated. Leave the alcohol for another time. Water, before and after a therapeutic massage, is what the body really wants.


Nope, Won't Find That Here
It's unfortunate that massage therapists even have to address this subject, but they do. So the answer to late-night callers is, "No, we don't give happy endings. No, you may not pleasure yourself. Therapeutic massage has nothing to do with sex."
If a misinformed client somehow ends up in the massage room of a professional therapist and asks for something other than therapeutic massage, they will be asked to leave. Flirting, inappropriate touching, and sexual innuendos will not be tolerated. Keep the relationship professional and above board and your therapist will be a valuable member of your healthcare team.


You're Human
The body can have a lot of responses to therapeutic massage. While avoiding food at least one hour before your massage will help, there's still the chance that you'll have tummy gurgles or even pass gas. It's okay. As the body relaxes and systems get moving, the body can play all kinds of tricks. Your therapist has seen it all, yet sees well beyond those kinds of issues.

For men, there's even a possibility that massage will cause an erection--a common response to nervous system activation. "It rarely occurs, but if it does, don't panic," says massage therapist and author Robert Chute. "Therapists know that this is a physiological reaction and will treat the situation accordingly." He says the therapist might try to redirect your attention with a shift in the focus of the work, maybe altering pressure or moving to a different area of the body. Don't worry, Chute says, "Your unintended erection, and any embarrassment, will soon pass."


Time To Wake Up
While your therapist would like nothing more than to let you slumber after your massage, other massage clients will be arriving soon and the room must be readied for them. So when your therapist ends the massage and says, "Our session is over. Take your time getting up," they are really saying, "Take your time getting up, but please don't take a nap."

They are also reminding you to take a moment as you come back to the here and now. Carefully sit up, allowing your body enough time to readjust. Go too fast and your body will knock you for a dizzying loop. Also, be careful not to slip getting off the massage table, especially if your therapist used oil on your feet.


Tipping Tips
When it comes to gratuities, most experts say it's ultimately the client's decision whether or not to tip. Like in other service industries, providing a tip is usually done in response to excellent service. In considering this, it's important to note that many therapists who work in spas earn only a small percentage of what you've paid for their services. For these therapists, tips are an important part of their income. According to CNNMoney.com, the tipping norm for massage and bodywork services is 15-20 percent. Tips, however, are usually not accepted for massage performed in a medical environment.

Unsure what to do? Ask if tipping is customary and what is the policy. This is especially important when booking at spas, according to the Day Spa Association, as tips might already be included in the service price. Be sure to get clarification on fees and services at the time of booking.

Karrie Osborn is contributing editor for Body Sense magazine. Contact her at karrie@abmp.com.

What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital

http://earthweareone.com/what-a-shaman-sees-in-a-mental-hospital/

The Shamanic View of Mental Illness

Malidoma Patrice Somé

In the shamanic view, mental illness signals “the birth of a healer,” explains Malidoma Patrice Somé.  Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born.
What those in the West view as mental illness, the Dagara people regard as “good news from the other world.”  The person going through the crisis has been chosen as a medium for a message to the community that needs to be communicated from the spirit realm.  “Mental disorder, behavioral disorder of all kinds, signal the fact that two obviously incompatible energies have merged into the same field,” says Dr. Somé.  These disturbances result when the person does not get assistance in dealing with the presence of the energy from the spirit realm.
One of the things Dr. Somé encountered when he first came to the United States in 1980 for graduate study was how this country deals with mental illness.  When a fellow student was sent to a mental institute due to “nervous depression,” Dr. Somé went to visit him.
“I was so shocked.  That was the first time I was brought face to face with what is done here to people exhibiting the same symptoms I’ve seen in my village.”  What struck Dr. Somé was that the attention given to such symptoms was based on pathology, on the idea that the condition is something that needs to stop.  This was in complete opposition to the way his culture views such a situation.  As he looked around the stark ward at the patients, some in straitjackets, some zoned out on medications, others screaming, he observed to himself, “So this is how the healers who are attempting to be born are treated in this culture.  What a loss!  What a loss that a person who is finally being aligned with a power from the other world is just being wasted.”
Another way to say this, which may make more sense to the Western mind, is that we in the West are not trained in how to deal or even taught to acknowledge the existence of psychic phenomena, the spiritual world.  In fact, psychic abilities are denigrated.  When energies from the spiritual world emerge in a Western psyche, that individual is completely unequipped to integrate them or even recognize what is happening.  The result can be terrifying.  Without the proper context for and assistance in dealing with the breakthrough from another level of reality, for all practical purposes, the person is insane.  Heavy dosing with anti-psychotic drugs compounds the problem and prevents the integration that could lead to soul development and growth in the individual who has received these energies.
On the mental ward, Dr Somé saw a lot of “beings” hanging around the patients, “entities” that are invisible to most people but that shamans and psychics are able to see.  “They were causing the crisis in these people,” he says.  It appeared to him that these beings were trying to get the medications and their effects out of the bodies of the people the beings were trying to merge with, and were increasing the patients’ pain in the process.  “The beings were acting almost like some kind of excavator in the energy field of people.  They were really fierce about that.  The people they were doing that to were just screaming and yelling,” he said.  He couldn’t stay in that environment and had to leave.
In the Dagara tradition, the community helps the person reconcile the energies of both worlds–”the world of the spirit that he or she is merged with, and the village and community.”  That person is able then to serve as a bridge between the worlds and help the living with information and healing they need.  Thus, the spiritual crisis ends with the birth of another healer.  “The other world’s relationship with our world is one of sponsorship,” Dr. Somé explains.  “More often than not, the knowledge and skills that arise from this kind of merger are a knowledge or a skill that is provided directly from the other world.”
The beings who were increasing the pain of the inmates on the mental hospital ward were actually attempting to merge with the inmates in order to get messages through to this world.  The people they had chosen to merge with were getting no assistance in learning how to be a bridge between the worlds and the beings’ attempts to merge were thwarted.  The result was the sustaining of the initial disorder of energy and the aborting of the birth of a healer.
“The Western culture has consistently ignored the birth of the healer,” states Dr. Somé.  “Consequently, there will be a tendency from the other world to keep trying as many people as possible in an attempt to get somebody’s attention.  They have to try harder.”  The spirits are drawn to people whose senses have not been anesthetized.  “The sensitivity is pretty much read as an invitation to come in,” he notes.
Those who develop so-called mental disorders are those who are sensitive, which is viewed in Western culture as oversensitivity.  Indigenous cultures don’t see it that way and, as a result, sensitive people don’t experience themselves as overly sensitive.  In the West, “it is the overload of the culture they’re in that is just wrecking them,” observes Dr. Somé.  The frenetic pace, the bombardment of the senses, and the violent energy that characterize Western culture can overwhelm sensitive people.

Schizophrenia and Foreign Energy
With schizophrenia, there is a special “receptivity to a flow of images and information, which cannot be controlled,” stated Dr. Somé.  “When this kind of rush occurs at a time that is not personally chosen, and particularly when it comes with images that are scary and contradictory, the person goes into a frenzy.”
What is required in this situation is first to separate the person’s energy from the extraneous foreign energies, by using shamanic practice (what is known as a “sweep”) to clear the latter out of the individual’s aura.  With the clearing of their energy field, the person no longer picks up a flood of information and so no longer has a reason to be scared and disturbed, explains Dr. Somé.
Then it is possible to help the person align with the energy of the spirit being attempting to come through from the other world and give birth to the healer.  The blockage of that emergence is what creates problems.  “The energy of the healer is a high-voltage energy,” he observes.  “When it is blocked, it just burns up the person.  It’s like a short-circuit.  Fuses are blowing.  This is why it can be really scary, and I understand why this culture prefers to confine these people.  Here they are yelling and screaming, and they’re put into a straitjacket.  That’s a sad image.”  Again, the shamanic approach is to work on aligning the energies so there is no blockage, “fuses” aren’t blowing, and the person can become the healer they are meant to be.
It needs to be noted at this point, however, that not all of the spirit beings that enter a person’s energetic field are there for the purposes of promoting healing.  There are negative energies as well, which are undesirable presences in the aura.  In those cases, the shamanic approach is to remove them from the aura, rather than work to align the discordant energies.

Alex:  Crazy in the USA, Healer in Africa
To test his belief that the shamanic view of mental illness holds true in the Western world as well as in indigenous cultures, Dr. Somé took a mental patient back to Africa with him, to his village.  “I was prompted by my own curiosity to find out whether there’s truth in the universality that mental illness could be connected with an alignment with a being from another world,” says Dr. Somé.
Alex was an 18-year-old American who had suffered a psychotic break when he was 14.  He had hallucinations, was suicidal, and went through cycles of dangerously severe depression.  He was in a mental hospital and had been given a lot of drugs, but nothing was helping.  “The parents had done everything–unsuccessfully,” says Dr. Somé.  “They didn’t know what else to do.”
With their permission, Dr. Somé took their son to Africa.  “After eight months there, Alex had become quite normal, Dr. Somé reports.  He was even able to participate with healers in the business of healing; sitting with them all day long and helping them, assisting them in what they were doing with their clients . . . . He spent about four years in my village.”  Alex stayed by choice, not because he needed more healing.  He felt, “much safer in the village than in America.”
To bring his energy and that of the being from the spiritual realm into alignment, Alex went through a shamanic ritual designed for that purpose, although it was slightly different from the one used with the Dagara people.  “He wasn’t born in the village, so something else applied.  But the result was similar, even though the ritual was not literally the same,” explains Dr. Somé.  The fact that aligning the energy worked to heal Alex demonstrated to Dr. Somé that the connection between other beings and mental illness is indeed universal.
After the ritual, Alex began to share the messages that the spirit being had for this world.  Unfortunately, the people he was talking to didn’t speak English (Dr. Somé was away at that point).  The whole experience led, however, to Alex’s going to college to study psychology.  He returned to the United States after four years because “he discovered that all the things that he needed to do had been done, and he could then move on with his life.”
The last that Dr. Somé heard was that Alex was in graduate school in psychology at Harvard.  No one had thought he would ever be able to complete undergraduate studies, much less get an advanced degree.
Dr. Somé sums up what Alex’s mental illness was all about:  “He was reaching out.  It was an emergency call.  His job and his purpose was to be a healer.  He said no one was paying attention to that.”
After seeing how well the shamanic approach worked for Alex, Dr. Somé concluded that spirit beings are just as much an issue in the West as in his community in Africa.  “Yet the question still remains, the answer to this problem must be found here, instead of having to go all the way overseas to seek the answer.  There has to be a way in which a little bit of attention beyond the pathology of this whole experience leads to the possibility of coming up with the proper ritual to help people.

Longing for Spiritual Connection
A common thread that Dr. Somé has noticed in “mental” disorders in the West is “a very ancient ancestral energy that has been placed in stasis, that finally is coming out in the person.”  His job then is to trace it back, to go back in time to discover what that spirit is.  In most cases, the spirit is connected to nature, especially with mountains or big rivers, he says.
In the case of mountains, as an example to explain the phenomenon, “it’s a spirit of the mountain that is walking side by side with the person and, as a result, creating a time-space distortion that is affecting the person caught in it.”  What is needed is a merger or alignment of the two energies, “so the person and the mountain spirit become one.”  Again, the shaman conducts a specific ritual to bring about this alignment.
Dr. Somé believes that he encounters this situation so often in the United States because “most of the fabric of this country is made up of the energy of the machine, and the result of that is the disconnection and the severing of the past.  You can run from the past, but you can’t hide from it.”  The ancestral spirit of the natural world comes visiting.  “It’s not so much what the spirit wants as it is what the person wants,” he says.  “The spirit sees in us a call for something grand, something that will make life meaningful, and so the spirit is responding to that.”
That call, which we don’t even know we are making, reflects “a strong longing for a profound connection, a connection that transcends materialism and possession of things and moves into a tangible cosmic dimension.  Most of this longing is unconscious, but for spirits, conscious or unconscious doesn’t make any difference.”  They respond to either.
As part of the ritual to merge the mountain and human energy, those who are receiving the “mountain energy” are sent to a mountain area of their choice, where they pick up a stone that calls to them.  They bring that stone back for the rest of the ritual and then keep it as a companion; some even carry it around with them.  “The presence of the stone does a lot in tuning the perceptive ability of the person,” notes Dr. Somé.  “They receive all kinds of information that they can make use of, so it’s like they get some tangible guidance from the other world as to how to live their life.”
When it is the “river energy,” those being called go to the river and, after speaking to the river spirit, find a water stone to bring back for the same kind of ritual as with the mountain spirit.
“People think something extraordinary must be done in an extraordinary situation like this,” he says.  That’s not usually the case.  Sometimes it is as simple as carrying a stone.

A Sacred Ritual Approach to Mental Illness
One of the gifts a shaman can bring to the Western world is to help people rediscover ritual, which is so sadly lacking.  “The abandonment of ritual can be devastating.  From the spiritual view, ritual is inevitable and necessary if one is to live,” Dr. Somé writes in Ritual:  Power, Healing, and Community. “To say that ritual is needed in the industrialized world is an understatement.  We have seen in my own people that it is probably impossible to live a sane life without it.”
Dr. Somé did not feel that the rituals from his traditional village could simply be transferred to the West, so over his years of shamanic work here, he has designed rituals that meet the very different needs of this culture.  Although the rituals change according to the individual or the group involved, he finds that there is a need for certain rituals in general.
One of these involves helping people discover that their distress is coming from the fact that they are “called by beings from the other world to cooperate with them in doing healing work.”  Ritual allows them to move out of the distress and accept that calling.
Another ritual need relates to initiation.  In indigenous cultures all over the world, young people are initiated into adulthood when they reach a certain age.  The lack of such initiation in the West is part of the crisis that people are in here, says Dr. Somé.  He urges communities to bring together “the creative juices of people who have had this kind of experience, in an attempt to come up with some kind of an alternative ritual that would at least begin to put a dent in this kind of crisis.”
Another ritual that repeatedly speaks to the needs of those coming to him for help entails making a bonfire, and then putting into the bonfire “items that are symbolic of issues carried inside the individuals . . . It might be the issues of anger and frustration against an ancestor who has left a legacy of murder and enslavement or anything, things that the descendant has to live with,” he explains.  “If these are approached as things that are blocking the human imagination, the person’s life purpose, and even the person’s view of life as something that can improve, then it makes sense to begin thinking in terms of how to turn that blockage into a roadway that can lead to something more creative and more fulfilling.”
The example of issues with an ancestors touches on rituals designed by Dr. Somé that address a serious dysfunction in Western society and in the process “trigger enlightenment” in participants.  These are ancestral rituals, and the dysfunction they are aimed at is the mass turning-of-the-back on ancestors.  Some of the spirits trying to come through, as described earlier, may be “ancestors who want to merge with a descendant in an attempt to heal what they weren’t able to do while in their physical body.”
“Unless the relationship between the living and the dead is in balance, chaos ensues,” he says.  “The Dagara believe that, if such an imbalance exists, it is the duty of the living to heal their ancestors.  If these ancestors are not healed, their sick energy will haunt the souls and psyches of those who are responsible for helping them.”  The rituals focus on healing the relationship with our ancestors, both specific issues of an individual ancestor and the larger cultural issues contained in our past.  Dr. Somé has seen extraordinary healing occur at these rituals.
Taking a sacred ritual approach to mental illness rather than regarding the person as a pathological case gives the person affected–and indeed the community at large–the opportunity to begin looking at it from that vantage point too, which leads to “a whole plethora of opportunities and ritual initiative that can be very, very beneficial to everyone present,” states. Dr. Somé.

The Shamanic View of Mental Illness
by Stephanie Marohn (featuring Malidoma Patrice Somé)
(Excerpted from The Natural Medicine Guide to Schizophrenia,
pages 178-189, or The Natural Medicine Guide to Bi-polar Disorder)

10 Natural Ways to Relax and Rejuvenate

10 Natural Ways to Relax and Rejuvenate

Easy Ways to Manage Stress and Build Immunity

By Monique N. Gilbert

Originally published in Massage Bodywork magazine, April/May 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.


Protecting the immune system and managing stress are vital aspects of living longer, feeling younger, and being healthy. Here are 10 ways to reduce stress, boost your immune system, and slow down the hands of time.

Physical activity. Regular exercise -- whether it's walking or dancing -- strengthens your cardiovascular system, heart, muscles, and bones. It also stimulates the release of endorphins; improves mental functioning, concentration/attention, and cognitive performance; and lowers cholesterol, blood pressure, cortisol, and other stress hormones.

Yoga and stretching. The slow movements and controlled postures of yoga improve muscle strength, flexibility, balance, circulation, mental focus, and calmness.

Hand hygiene. The most effective measure in preventing the spread of germs is good hand hygiene. Washing your hands as soon as you come home, and always before you eat, greatly reduces your exposure to bacterial and viral infections. Carry alcohol-based hand wipes to control exposures away from home.

Laughter and humor. There is truth to the saying that laughter is the best medicine. Laughing reduces stress hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol and benefits the immune system.

High nutrient diet. Eat foods rich in antioxidants (strawberries, oranges, tomatoes), omega-3 fatty acids (walnuts, salmon, soybeans), and folate (dark green, leafy vegetables). Antioxidants neutralize molecules that can cause heart disease, cancer, and premature aging. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular-enhancing, and immune-regulating properties. Folate prevents age-related cognitive decline, ensures DNA integrity (important during
pregnancy), and promotes healthy red blood cells.

Music. Listening to your favorite music is a great method of reducing stress and relieving anxiety.

Sleep. Sound sleep has a profound impact on stress
levels, immune function, and disease resistance. Your body and immune system do most of their repairs during sleep, so strive to get in seven to eight hours each night.

Positive thinking. Optimism can counteract the negative impact stress, tension, and anxiety have on your immune system and well-being. Often it is how you perceive things that determine if you get overwhelmed, both mentally and physically.

Tea. Regularly drinking green and black teas throughout the day can help strengthen your immune system and your body's ability to fight off germs and infections.

Hydrotherapy. Relaxing in a hot bath relieves sormuscles and joints, reduces stress and tension, and promotes sleep. Add music, soft lighting, and scented oils to create a spa experience in the privacy of your own home.

Monique N. Gilbert, B.Sc., is a health, nutrition and lifestyle coach, certified personal trainer/fitness counselor, and author of Virtues of Soy: A Practical Health Guide and Cookbook. She has offered guidance in natural health, nutrition, fitness, and stress management since 1989. Contact her at www.moniquengilbert.com.

10 Tips to Enrich Your Life - Easy Options to Enhance Well-Being

10 Tips to Enrich Your Life

Easy Options to Enhance Well-Being

By Jacqueline Sidman

Originally published in Massage Bodywork magazine, February/March 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

We all feel stress from time to time, and many of our lifestyle habits don't support us in our journey along a healthier path. Here are 10 lifestyle changes that will help you become more relaxed and increase your overall feeling of well-being.

1. Have a power breakfast. Eat oatmeal or other hot cereals or wheat toast with apple butter or low-sugar jam. Replace your coffee with herbal tea. Some people skip breakfast, saying they are not hungry or they don't have time. Eat anyway. Bodies are like engines -- they need fuel. This "new" breakfast will keep you alert and relaxed all morning.

2. Avoid fruit lunches. Fruit quickly raises and then drops your blood sugar. Eat some protein and vegetables instead, like last night's leftover grilled chicken and mixed vegetables, or try a salad with tuna.

3. Take three deep breaths before you eat to increase your body's supply of oxygen, relax, and help you digest your food. You'll eat slower and give your body a chance to know it is full. This will benefit your waistline and your stress level.

4. Cut back on coffee, tea, and cola drinks. The caffeine in these beverages makes you jittery and causes dehydration by taking more liquid from your system than they put in. Try herbal teas instead, and drink plenty of water to cleanse and hydrate your system.

5. Watch for the mid-afternoon "slump" -- a result of low blood sugar from eating a lunch too high in sugar. To feel really refreshed, pass up the candy bar and cola and balance fruit with healthy protein and vegetables and a cup of herbal tea.

6. Prioritize your tasks. The One-Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard suggests you separate your tasks into three categories. Things on the "A" list are "must-do." Things left for the "B" list are important, but can wait, and items left for the "C" list can probably be eliminated altogether. Applaud yourself when you are able to cross items off.

7. Designate the end of work time and the beginning of personal time by performing a ritual, such as locking your desk drawer and turning off your office light. If we don't separate the dimensions of our lives, we become resentful and stressed because we feel like we never leave work.

8. Do something relaxing every day. We all need some "me time." Listen to your favorite music on the commute home from work, engage in your favorite hobby at least a half hour a day, take an evening walk, or just soak in the tub.

9. Exercise daily so it becomes a healthy habit. Even walking for 20 to 30 minutes per day creates a calm mind and a healthy body. Choose a form of exercise you enjoy -- dancing, tennis, aerobics, or bike riding. Remember, exercise gives your mind a vacation.

10. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Getting enough rest is essential. Most people need between six to eight hours of sleep to counteract stress and rejuvenate the mind and body.

Jacqueline Sidman, Ph.D., is a life coach and author of Instant Inner Peace. She has more than 15 years of experience helping others overcome life challenges. For more information, call 949/251-9550 or visit www.sidmansolution.com.

Original posted at: http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/832/10-Tips-to-Enrich-Your-Life

Massage in the Classroom

Massage in the Classroom

Bullying, aggression diminish with student-to-student interaction

By Rebecca Jones

 

http://www.leakeatinglmt.com/Pediatric-Massage.html

 

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Autumn 2011. Copyright 2011. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

In the quiet of a school-day afternoon, Johnny gives his classmate a "bear walk," with a "cat grip" thrown in for good measure. It's not a game, it's massage, and it's working to prevent bullying and decrease aggression in school-age children.


Soothing Salve
Science has shown us that touch is an important part of every child's development. Its importance, however, doesn't stop at infancy, but continues throughout life in creating happy, healthy, stress-free individuals.

Programs to teach this important lesson to children have been successfully implemented in the classroom for nearly 20 years. An example of a protocol that works is the Massage in Schools Program (MISP), which teaches elementary school students simple massage strokes they can use with each other in the classroom.

Massage in a school environment has been shown to improve childrens' concentration levels and their ability to stay on task with their schoolwork, but there are even more intriguing implications. Schools where MISP has been implemented have anecdotally reported decreased bullying and aggression, and an increase in children's self-esteem and empathy toward others.


At the Teachers' Request
MISP was created more than 10 years ago by Sylvie Hetu, an educator and massage instructor in Montreal, Quebec, and Mia Elmsater, an educator and massage instructor in Sweden. Today, the program is in hundreds of schools in 20 countries, and is especially popular in the United Kingdom.

The massage program grew out of the infant massage training that Hetu and Elmsater received. "I was a school teacher before I became an infant massage instructor, so I was known in the school system," Hetu says. "Teachers would ask me for ideas for touch and movement exercises, and I would show them some things on a one-to-one basis, but there was no formal program. Mia did the same in Sweden. People would just ask us and we would show them," she says.

That changed in 1999 when the director of a massage school in London invited Hetu and Elmsater to give a presentation on what they were informally showing their colleagues. "There were 350 people at that conference," Hetu says. "The day after, the telephone wouldn't stop ringing."

Hetu and Elmsater decided British schools would benefit by having access to such a program, so they created one. "We took weeks, months, years to refine it, to make it perfect so it would fit in everywhere, in all cultures," Hetu says.

The program began in England, but has since spread to Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and Australia, as well as other parts of Europe and Asia.


From Bear Walk to Cat Grip
Under the tutelage of trainers, MISP teaches children how to take turns massaging each other while seated at their desks or sitting on the floor. The strokes are mainly on the arms, shoulders, and head, and don't involve oils or the removal of clothing. Hetu says children are taught always to ask permission before touching each other, and they're assured they always have the right to decline the touch if they choose.

"Some kids do say no," Hetu says. "Some days you're just not in the mood for massage. That's just human. And if they don't feel like massage, they're invited to stay in the room and watch. We know, even just by watching a massage, there are relaxing, hormonal effects. But it's rare that children refuse, because they really like it."

Typically, teachers will lead their students through massage routines at the start of the day or after lunch. Once a child masters the basic routine, it takes about seven minutes to complete, Hetu says. Many teachers set aside 15 minutes so each child can both give and receive a massage.

The basic routine consists of simple movements that evoke images that engage the child's imagination. For instance, there's the "cat grip," which involves making gentle movements with the fingers on one side of the neck and the thumb on the other side. There's the "bear walk," which begins at the base of the spine. The child presses one hand after another, "walking" up the spine and down again. There's also the "baker," which involves gentle, kneading movements with palms and fingers on the shoulders. A favorite with the children is the "heart," where they move their hands in ever-larger heart-shaped formations over their partner's back. Despite the cute names, what's going on is good, old-fashioned massage.

"When you get the children working together like this, they start interacting in a new way," says Jenn Johnson, a British Columbia massage therapist who has completed her MISP training and hopes to get the program introduced into more schools in her area. She says massage creates change in the classroom. "It seems to break up cliques."

Hetu says teachers have told her that children who have massaged each other are much more reluctant to bully each other. "Also, with massage, there's no grading, no competition about who's first or last," she says. "The routine is for everyone. They discover that some children, who may not be that intellectually gifted, are really good with massage. They gain new status among one another."


Healthy Touch
While the Massage in Schools Program has found success in Canada and abroad, it's been more slowly implemented in the United States. The American massage therapists who have been through the program's training are hoping that as more parents, teachers, and school officials learn about the benefits of massage for children, the school program will catch hold here as well.

"The issue here is that we, as a nation, are touch-phobic," says Colorado massage therapist Laura Charlton, who learned about MISP during her training as an infant massage specialist. She is one of the first Americans certified to teach it. The problem, says this mother of two, is that in the United States, "touch in schools is forbidden."

Charlton almost got the program into her children's school in suburban Denver, but at the last minute, the principal backed out, citing other parents' concerns. Charlton hopes that with some more parent education, she'll succeed in launching the program.

"People want to see it in action here," Charlton says. "They know it's working in Europe and Canada, but they want to see it working in the States, too."

Hetu thinks it's a shame that people are afraid of touch. "Touch is quite taboo in several cultures and sometimes people think that if we bring touch into schools it will teach children to have early sex and all sorts of things. But long-term, we know it's just the opposite, because children need touch," Hetu says. "It's part of who they are. We give them a healthy tool for touch."

Rebecca Jones is a Denver-based freelance writer. Contact her at killarneyrose@comcast.net.

Free the Body of Sadness

Putting the Pieces Back Together After a Life-Changing Event

By Lyn Prashant

Job loss, death, divorce, break-ups, financial strain, and the many challenges life presents are painful and tramautic. Sadness is stored within our bodies, sometime long after we think we've moved on. Addressing the issues in the tissues can in fact help individuals move more quickly through the grieving process to help reclaim stability and, ultimately, happiness. And massage can play a key role.

I define grief as a mental and emotional experience, usually triggered by a traumatic loss, that has physiological correlates associated with deep pain.

For instance, we are all familiar with the term "heartache." It is commonly accepted that if a person experiences a traumatic emotional event (such as the loss of a lover or the death of a family member), this mental and emotional state often results in a definite physical sensation. We can feel the grief in a specific part of our body. Our insides actually hurt. Because our culture does not deal with the grieving individual effectively, I believe such grief can create long-lasting physical imbalances in the human body.

Degriefing is the process of recognizing mental and physical pain which accompanies grief and treating it with a combination of somatic therapies. Unlocking and removing grief from an individual's body can heal not only physical symptoms, but mental and emotional wounds, as well.

While conventional therapies may be effective, they usually do not begin to address the physical imbalances induced by a traumatic loss or great sorrow. The individual's mental state might be temporarily lifted, but the physical state often remains unchanged. Therefore, complete healing can be illusive.

Grief can be stored in the body, although sometimes we grieve and it passes through us in a relatively short period of time. For instance, when we expect the death of an elderly individual, the sadness is more easily tolerated, and our body and mind accept the loss relatively easily. That can be called "simple, uncomplicated grief."

However, in today's society, we experience many types of loss and sorrow that are not dealt with effectively. From childhood through adulthood, we experience many traumatic events which leave permanent, physical scars or imbalances. That's called complicated, unresolved grief, which I believe can reside in the muscles, fascia and tissues of the body. I have found through emotional release during massage that clients have gotten in touch with memories long dismissed, repressed or forgotten.

Recently, even modern Western science has discovered that seemingly non-physical constructs such as memory, intuition and emotion have physical correlates. They don't know how these things are recorded, but they are starting to acknowledge that the body can retain mental experiences. When grief is recorded in our bodies and retained, the individual suffers. That's why Degriefing is an effective, exponential technique that is based on combining compassionate touch and communication.


Integration With Bodywork
Many individuals I have treated respond well to professional bodywork, which often opens energy channels and chakras. A variety of therapeutic massage techniques, such as Swedish, Shiatsu, lymphatic massage, polarity and reiki can effectively be combined. There are many modalities that combine extremely well for this work and create a truly exponential effect.

Massage, primarily intended to induce relaxation, is also powerful for stress reduction and is tremendously beneficial for the maintenance of well-being. The goal of the Degriefing process is to actually unlock blockages, which have developed in our bodies, and shift the systems to a more harmonious state. It may be helpful to explain to your massage practitioner your emotional state so that she/he can address the session with a clear intention of healing and integrating.

Other valuable therapies for releasing grief include acupuncture, dance therapy, deep massage, compassionate touch therapy and vibration therapy. I often use tuning forks and Tibetan bowls in my work. I've used auditory treatments and even long distance healing. These treatments are equally effective, as they can help restore the body's natural balance.

From the perspective of self-preservation, it is necessary that the body hold on to emotion. But to move forward requires getting on the other side of self-preservation. For people carrying pain and sadness, massage and bodywork can help you get there.


Lyn Prashant, founder of the Degriefingâ„¢ Process, completed JFK University's Graduate Psychology Grief Certification Program and has a private therapeutic bodywork, yoga and grief counseling practice in Marin County, Calif. She teaches the Somatic Aspects of Grief class at U.C. Berkeley Extension, co-coordinates the U.C.Berkeley symposium "Changing Paradigms of Loss and Grief," and teaches "Degriefing for Bodyworkers" at Alive and Well Institute of Conscious Bodywork. Her forthcoming book is titled The New Art of Degriefing: Transforming Grief Using Body/Mind Therapies for Health-care professionals, counselors, clergy, caregivers and bodyworkers. For information call 415/457-2272, view www.degriefing.com, or e-mail lyn@degriefing.com.



Portions of this article were excerpted from Massage & Bodywork magazine, April/May 2000.
Copyright since 2000. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Massage, Science, and Your Health, A Conversation with Dr. Andrew Weil

Massage, Science, and Your Health

A Conversation with Dr. Andrew Weil

By Loolwa Khazzoom

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Autumn/Winter 2010.Copyright 2010. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Noted physician Andrew Weil, MD, author of Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine that Can Transform Our Future (Hudson Street Press, 2009) and a longtime proponent of integrative medicine, had a chance to sit down with Body Sense magazine to discuss the science behind massage and other effective complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments.

Loolwa Khazzoom: What do you see as the benefits of massage?

Andrew Weil: Whether a massage therapist focuses on your feet, hands, scalp, or entire body, massage can be both wonderfully relaxing and clinically effective. It is also one of the CAM therapies most readily accepted by conventional medical doctors and hospital administrators.

Research demonstrates that massage therapy can offer a variety of healthful benefits, especially for people with significant stress or anxiety, strained muscles, or osteoarthritis. Massage therapy can enhance immune function, increase circulation while reducing heart rate and blood pressure, boost levels of endorphins and serotonin (the body's natural painkillers and mood regulators), and reduce stress hormone levels, all while easing sore and achy muscles.

If you have problems with tension headaches, back or neck pain, sports injuries, arthritis, or fibromyalgia, experiment with massage as an enjoyable way to help reduce or even eliminate associated pain. Mothers-to-be can reduce stress levels and pain associated with labor, preemies may gain weight faster, and children with asthma may breathe easier when massaged. Studies also suggest that massage therapy can help prevent or manage some side effects and complications commonly experienced by people with cancer, both during and after treatment.

Anyone with open wounds should wait until they are healed to receive bodywork, and deep-tissue work should be considered cautiously by people on blood thinning medication (warfarin, for example) and anyone recovering from surgery. Other than that, work with a licensed massage therapist to ensure you get the most out of your session. Many forms of massage therapy are available. It pays to ask massage therapists what types of therapy they have studied and whether their skill sets are a good match for your needs.

LK: What are some common ailments you have seen treated effectively through other CAM methods?

AW: First of all, in treating autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, I have seen great success using an anti-inflammatory diet. I also recommend the use of herbal medication (especially things like ginger and turmeric), mind-body methods (everything from guided imagery to stress reduction), lifestyle counseling, different forms of exercise, and sometimes the use of Chinese medicine.

For depression, I think there are a huge range of approaches that are very effective, from aerobic exercise to high-dose fish oil, and various dietary supplements. I find the anxiety-reducing breathing exercise that I teach to be more effective than the standard pharmaceutical drugs.

LK: How is it that all these methods are effective? People generally expect to have to do something high-tech to respond to something that's gone awry in their bodies.

AW: I think this is the key question of what's wrong with American health care. It has us all dependent on high-tech solutions that are expensive. I think these low-tech methods work because the body has an innate healing capacity, and there are many ways of accessing it. I think that people, in this culture especially, have little confidence in their body's ability to restore health.

Many of these methods have very sensible mechanisms behind them. High-dose fish oil affects brain chemistry; there's a lot of research on that. With breathing exercises for anxiety, there is a logical mechanism--breath affects the involuntary nervous system.

There is very little research on the impact of breath work, because it is something that is just not taken seriously by the research community, probably because it is so simple. I have worked for years to try and get studies going on it. The lack of interest in this kind of stuff is remarkable.

LK: What is the backstory on scientific studies of massage?

AW: Unlike pharmaceuticals, which can be manufactured to small tolerances, dosed by weight, and compared to placebos, bodywork is less consistent and often better tailored to an individual's needs. Massage therapy, nonetheless, has been studied and scientifically proven to be effective for reducing pain, fatigue, anxiety, and stress in patients with a wide range of medical problems, and to relieve a variety of symptoms in people with specific illnesses. In addition, the number of sound research trials into the potential benefits of massage therapy has grown significantly in recent years. Still, funding remains an issue. As is the case with any CAM therapy, funding will never be as accessible for research into massage therapy as it is for drug company studies.

A strong body of research that defines the clinical effectiveness of, and indications for, massage therapy will help promote greater acceptance of the approach and perhaps lead to wider coverage by insurance companies. I would like to see more studies comparing the effects of massage therapy to pharmaceutical agents for the relief of pain and anxiety, as well as cost-benefit analyses of the preventive effects of regular massage. Further investigation into the underlying mechanisms behind the benefits of massage should be encouraged as well.

LK: What do you tell people who insist on having hard scientific data before trying something from the CAM toolbox?

AW: There is a lot of science out there. It is just often published in places that most doctors don't look. I think the first thing is to see what evidence there is. Second, we should get into the habit of using a sliding scale of evidence, which works like this: the greater the potential of a treatment to cause harm, the stricter the standards of evidence it should be held to for efficacy. In the case of something like a breathing technique, the potential for harm is so low that I feel quite comfortable recommending it, in the absence of hard scientific evidence of its efficacy. I know it works, because I use it myself, and I use it widely on patients. It's not going to hurt people.

LK: I keep encountering a disbelief that simple things can actually work.

AW: There is a prejudice. People wonder how it possibly could work, being that it doesn't involve a drug, and it doesn't involve a device. That, to me, is the big problem in this area. I think that the answer is education about the body's remarkable capacity for self-maintenance and healing and about the value of knowing and using these low-tech solutions before going to complex, expensive ones.

If low-tech methods don't work, then sure, you go to stronger methods. Or if you're dealing with an emergency, then you use more drastic methods. But for the vast majority of conditions out there, there are inexpensive, low-tech, simple methods that people ought to know about.

LK: Do you see attitudes toward massage changing in the world of conventional medicine?

AW: The United States lags behind many other countries where massage is considered a trusted effective medical intervention. But surveys show it is one of the most popular forms of alternative medicine in North America and is increasingly incorporated into the services offered by hospitals and medical clinics. As more people, including doctors, experience its benefits and appreciate the healing power of appropriate human touch, I am confident that massage therapy will soon be offered within most cancer centers and readily available to at least expectant mothers and hospitalized children. Of course, additional sound research will help drive the inclusion of massage in the conventional medicine armamentarium.

LK: If there is an absence of hardcore scientific evidence proving that a given CAM treatment works, how can a person who is not that educated in CAM distinguish between what is medically sound and what is not?

AW: This is the whole point of the integrative medicine that I teach. We have now graduated over 500 physicians from intensive training in the program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. The training enables them to make those distinctions and teach their patients to do the same. Ideally, you find a trained health-care professional, preferably a physician or a nurse practitioner, who has this kind of training, who can advise you. Our website gives a directory of all our graduates.

On a related note, if pharmacists were trained in the use of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other dietary supplements, they would be the best people to advise both patients and doctors about the uses of CAM and its interactions with pharmaceutical drugs. It's really a matter of getting trained people out there.

LK: What are three safe and relatively easy ways people can try out CAM at home?

AW: Learn the basics of good nutrition and how diet affects health. The simplest rule is to try and get rid of refined products and manufactured foods. They may be what is causing all the trouble. It's also a good idea to have a home medicine chest with simple remedies. There are about half a dozen herbal treatments that are very useful--like Valerian for sleep and peppermint for stomach upsets. Lastly, have some kind of relaxation technique to practice. My favorite is simple breathing methods, because they are so time-efficient.

LK: Is there anything you would like to add about getting professional massage treatments?

AW: Keep in mind that massage therapy typically provides short-term relief of symptoms and that the benefits of massage accrue over time. To experience the greatest benefit, try to schedule sessions at regular intervals and treat them as you would any important business appointment: non-cancellable.

Loolwa Khazzoom (www.loolwa.com) is a health and wellness coach, journalist, and media strategist who developed a dance method to heal from chronic and debilitating pain. Her company, Dancing with Pain (www.dancingwithpain.com), offers a full line of natural pain relief products and services.

Sitting Too Long is Bad for Your Health

Whether you have a desk job or otherwise sedentary lifestyle, prolonged periods of sitting may be unavoidable for you. Chances are you are sitting as you read this article.
New research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and other journals shows that sitting for long stretches can be detrimental to your health, contributing to obesity,   cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic kidney disease.
“The best defense -- the only defense -- is to move more,” says Dr. Keith Overland, president of the American Chiropractic Association.

Walk

 The simple act of walking can help you get in shape and feel great. It’s easy, burns calories, reduces the risk of heart disease, tones muscles and increases cardiovascular endurance. Walking as little as 12 minutes a day can have a significant positive effect.
To get the most from your walk, move your arms freely in coordination with the opposite leg, walk “with purpose” to maximize your cardiovascular workout, don’t stoop your head or look down as you walk and don’t carry weights, as they’re better used as a separate part of your exercise regimen.

Alleviate Pain

 Aches and pains prevent many people from even taking that first step toward better health.  Chiropractic physicians -- experts in treating muscles and joints -- offer not only a drug-free approach to alleviating pain through spinal adjustments and manipulation, they also promote overall health and wellness through nutritional counseling, rehabilitation and exercise and lifestyle recommendations. Search for a chiropractor in your area by using “Find a Doc,” the American Chiropractic Association’s online member database, www.acatoday.org/FindaDoc.

Sit Correctly

“When you do sit, make sure to do it correctly so you don’t ruin your posture or strain your muscles, leading to pain that could inhibit you from getting the activity you need,” suggests Dr. Overland.
To prevent problems, keep your feet on the floor or a footrest and don't cross your legs. Your knees should be at or below the level of your hips. Adjust the backrest of your chair to support your low- and mid-back or use a back support, and avoid sitting in the same position for long periods of time.
Include frequent micro-breaks into your sitting time, stretching your neck, arms, wrists, back, and legs. Simple stretches include neck rotations, fist clenches, arm dangles, and shoulder shrugs.
Most of all, don’t sit for too long. Stand up and stretch your legs with a short walk about every 20 to 30 minutes. Avoid working through lunch.

Maintain Good Posture

Poor posture not only consumes more energy but also can lead to excessive strain on your postural muscles and may even cause them to weaken when held in certain positions for long periods of time. The postural muscles are prone to injury and back pain, but maintaining good posture, sitting properly and moving regularly can help you stay pain-free.

Sitting Too Long is Bad for Your Health