Keeping the body healthy can do a lot to support emotional balance. A healthy body is better able to resist the effects of stress, which can ward off anxiety, depression, sleep difficulty, and other emotional disturbances. Certain complementary and alternative medical practices do just as much for the mind and spirit as they do for the body. The following specific CAMs can help create the balance of healthy mind and healthy body to encourage a healthy emotional state as well.

Acupuncture

Many people know that acupuncture involves the use of needles inserted in the skin to alleviate everything from smoking to obesity. But do you know how and why this seemingly strange method of treatment works? There is a lot more to acupuncture than meets the eye. (Read More)

Aromatherapy

Every time someone lights a scented candle or sinks into a bath smelling of lavender bath beads, they are practicing aromatherapy, and they’re probably completely unaware of how and why the experience of certain scents helps them feel more relaxed, happy, or sleepy. Using scent to create different moods or alleviate certain physical complaints is nothing new. Why? (Read More)

Art Therapy

Throughout the ages, art has been loved and revered as a window into human emotion, spirit, and thought, and art therapy seeks to tap into the creative potential of every individual to help enhance their life. Art can help those who would not normally be able to express themselves create a space to get in touch with feelings and thoughts as well as provide a stimulating and thought-provoking activity in times of emotional stress. (Read More)

Biofeedback

The term “biofeedback” may bring to mind the feel-good generation of the 1960’s and the experimental attitude at the time. Some people may not realize that biofeedback actually has some useful applications even today. (Read More)

Breathing Exercises

Breathing is like food and water; necessary for life. So necessary, in fact, that we do it without thinking about it. It is an involuntary action that our bodies perform whether we’re conscious of the action or not. Because we don’t think about our breathing, though, we often don’t realize how we are breathing, and this can lead to problems in times of stress or anxiety. (Read More)

Chiropractic Medicine

The word “chiropractic” comes from the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (action), or “done by hand.” Chiropractic is a relatively new practice based on healing philosophies dating back to ancient Greece or maybe even before. (Read More)

Diet and Nutrition

Everybody knows that proper diet and nutrition are good for the body, but few are aware of how important eating right is for mental and emotional health as well. While medicine often seeks to treat each organ as its own separate entity, the reality is that all the systems of the body are integrated, affecting each other in a delicate balance. The mind is no different. (Read More)

Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of medicine still in use on the planet today. Before there were prescription medications, there were herbs. Herbal medicine is all about the use of plants for their therapeutic, aromatic, and flavorful qualities, and for those looking for natural alternatives to modern day medications, herbal medicine may have an answer. (Read More)

Light Therapy

Days filled with sunshine are associated for most people with feeling good, kicking back, and having fun. This association has a biological explanation. Humans need regular exposure to bright light to help regulate mood and sleep cycles, and when individuals don’t get an adequate amount of sunlight, they can often sink into a depression or experience sleep difficulties such as insomnia. For those who can’t get out in the sunshine, light therapy may be the next best thing. (Read More)

Massage Therapy

After a hard work-out or a hard day sitting in the office desk chair people often exclaim, “Oh, I need a massage!” Massage therapy can work wonders for our physical health and mental outlook. Most people are unaware of massage’s wealth of techniques and healing benefits. A good massage can help relieve stress, anxiety, depression, and may even help you sleep. (Read More)

Meditation

When we think of meditation, we often visualize a wise man in white robes sitting on top of a mountain, legs crossed, filled with peace. We also often think that meditation is for monks or gurus, or that we’ll never have the mental or physical stamina to sit still fo that long and concentrate. In reality, meditation is much less complex than we think, and this practice can easily enhance our sense of emotional well-being when done on a regular basis. (Read More)

Physical Fitness

Whenever we want to get in shape, look a little better in our jeans, or lower our risk of cardiovascular disease, we all know to turn to exercise. Exercise isn’t just useful for increasing our physical fitness, though; it can also do wonders to increase our emotional fitness as well. Evidence is mounting that exercise can have beneficial effects on the symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulty (Read More)

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is pictured as lying on the couch and talking about one’s problems while a bearded psychologist sits in the background, smoking a pipe and providing occasional insight. This visual isn’t far from the truth, although there isn’t generally a couch, and the beard and pipe are completely optional. Psychotherapy does involve talking, though, and is sometimes referred to as “talk” therapy for this very reason. (Read More)

Yoga

The term “yoga” brings to mind people bending and twisting, stretching their bodies into pretzel-like shapes of almost super-human flexibility. Yoga is about much more than learning to perform such impressive feats of physical prowess. At the heart of yoga is the cultivation of consciousness of the moment, the mind, the body, and the spirit. While it can help you get into good physical condition, it can also help to calm the mind and create a sense of peace and well-being. (Read More)