Ancient Wisdom: Hands-On Manipulation Stands Test of Time

If you want the ancient wisdom of complementary wellness, you probably won’t find a more ancient healing tradition than hands-on manipulation. According to records, this healing technique was used three thousand years ago in China, but hands-on manipulation has been enhancing mankind’s wellbeing for much longer than that. Indeed, touch and laying hands on people seems to be part of our genes; an intrinsic part of wellness. William Collinge MPH, PhD, author of American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine, points out, ‘While there are a wide variety of forms of massage therapy and bodywork, all with their own theoretical or philosophical perspectives, there are certain basic principles they all tend to; hold in common.’ So, what are the key principles of hands-on manipulation?

 

1. Blood circulation: This is perhaps the most basic principle in this field. ‘Improved blood circulation is beneficial for virtually all health conditions,’ says Collinge. ‘Tension in the muscles and other soft tissues can impair circulation, resulting in a deficient supply of nutrients and inadequate removal of wastes or toxins from the tissues of the body. This in turn can lead to illness, structural and functional problems, or slower healing.’

 

2. Movement of lymphatic fluid: Collinge explains, ‘The lymph system is almost as extensive as that of the blood. The circulation of lymphatic fluid plays a key role in ridding the body of wastes, toxins, and pathogens. The lymph system also benefits from massage, particularly in conditions where lymphatic flow is impaired by injury or surgery (e.g., in postmastectomy women).’

 

3. Toxin release: A build-up of toxins can occur in your body due to chronic tension or trauma to your soft tissues. However, through hands-on manipulation, a practitioner can help to move the toxins through your body’s normal pathways of release and elimination.

 

4. Tension release: ‘Chronic muscular tension as a result of high stress lifestyles, trauma, or injury can accumulate and impair the body’s structure and function,’ Collinge notes, adding that this also affects your psychological wellbeing. Therefore, by releasing this tension and enabling greater relaxation, hands-on manipulation can have important physiological and psychological benefits.

 

5. Interdependence of structure and function: According to Collinge, ‘The musculoskeletal structure of the body affects function and function affects structure. Both can be adversely altered by stress or trauma. Massage therapy and bodywork can help restore healthy structure and function, thereby allowing better circulation, greater ease of movement, wider range of movement, more flexibility, and the release of chronic patterns of tension.’

 

6. Enhancement of every bodily system: This principle goes hand-in-hand with some of the previous principles; better circulation and more harmonious functioning of your soft tissue and musculature. When these things are in place, Collinge asserts that ‘internal organ systems as well as the nervous system, the immune system, and other systems can benefit. There can be an overall improvement in the quality of life and physical health.’

 

7. Mind/Body Integration: Just as structure and function are intrinsically connected, there is also a reciprocal relationship between your mind and your body. ‘Soma (body) affects psyche (mind) and vice versa,’ Collinge notes. ‘Hence there can be somatopsychic effects, in which the conditions of the body affect the mind and emotions, and there can be psychosomatic effects, in which psychological or emotional conditions affect the body. Change in one domain may cause change in the other.’ Joanna Chieppa, RMT., a faculty member at Heartwood Institute and an energy healing practitioner, adds, ‘It is important for people to develop an awareness that the flow of energy in and around the body is just as important to wellbeing as the flow of blood, the flow of breath, the flow of cerebral spinal fluid— that it is essential for the health of body, mind, and spirit.’

Categories: ancient wisdom, blood circulation, body, body affects, circulation, collinge, collinge notes, Hands-On Manipulation, lymphatic fluid, massage therapy, Mind-Body Connection

What Can Yoga Teach You About Success in the Workplace?

Complementary wellness and fitness fads come and go, but you can’t deny the sustained popularity of yoga. Now, this ancient practice may feed in to your corporate wellness, as more and more business are offering classes to employees in an effort to curb rising stress levels and boost productivity. However, even if your boss doesn’t fancy the downward-facing dog, there are still things you can take from the yoga mat and bring into the office.

 

According to the Dalai Lama, the key to good health is “peace of mind.” This is the basis of Yoga; true health and success are the products of mind-body synergy. If you take care of your body, you, in turn, take care of your mind. Happier people tend to have stronger immune systems, better sleep quality and increased longevity, and so you cannot avoid either side of the mind-body health equation if you want to sustain a high performance at work.

 

Another focus of yoga is on flexibility; leaning into the stretch without forcing your body to go beyond what it is capable of. Yoga encourages you to be mentally flexible, and to breath and let go rather than force your body. When it comes to the workplace, letting go and adapting to change is a vital ability to have when things don’t go to plan. You should be able to bend without breaking, and be prepared to let go of Plan A so that Plan B can bring a solution.

 

Yoga doesn’t have an end goal, rather, it emphasises the process of improvement. You may want to get things perfect at work, but how often does that happen? The strive for perfection can prevent you from accepting yourself as you are, and develop a fear of failure that will inhibit your creativity and productivity. For digital media professional Julie Jensen, letting go of perfection helped her to have a more purposeful and fulfilling career. According to Jensen, ‘I put undue pressure on myself that everything I did needed to be perfect. The trouble is, the “right path” is what others project for your life. Most of us try to survive within the construct that others have defined. Today, I focus less on “right” and more on “my” path – on the unique impact I am making on the world.’

Categories: body, flexible approach, health, mind, mind body, Mind-Body Connection, nbsp, yoga

How Can Meditation Help You Reach Emotional Wellness?

In today’s busy world, we’re beginning to lose touch with the important things in life and two wellness experts have argued that meditation can help us to reconnect. According to Erica Richardson, resident teacher at the Kalpa Bhadra Kadampa Buddhist Center in Harrisburg, ‘Our external life is so very busy and our internal life is just as busy. We put so much time, so much effort into arranging our lives, arranging our world and arranging other people, trying to make it all go our way that we’ve neglected our mind. We’ve forgotten — or never knew — where real happiness comes from.’

Richardson explained, ‘The goal is to find happiness from a different source, instead of trying to manipulate our world to our definition of what we want, we are going to go inside our minds and cultivate inner peace. Meditation is being able to familiarise my mind with a positive state of being.’ She added that the more familiar you become with emotional wellbeing, the easier it is to remain in your calm state of mind, even when you’re not meditating.

Dr Charles Palmer, neonatologist and chief of the division of newborn medicine at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Centre, noted, ‘It’s not just thoughts it’s the state behind thoughts. The quietness, or stillness, between thoughts is what you get to experience in meditation and that’s a new experience for some people.’ He continued, ‘People are not only interested in getting better from a disease, but they are interested in maximizing wellness and health. And that includes diet, exercise, correct nutrition, sleep, and various techniques from positive psychology and also meditation.’

Palmer is a long-time student of meditation who teaches a free monthly meditation class to 30 staff members at Hershey Medical Centre. He commented, ‘It’s like in an orchestra, a violinist needs a tune up before they start playing. When you’ve been practicing meditation at the beginning of the day, it’s like tuning up for the day.’ So how exactly does meditation tune your body for the day?

‘The mind-body connection is well-established now. What you think is as important to your body chemistry as what you eat. Because your thoughts will generate emotions and your emotions will generate chemistry,’ Palmer said. ‘When you practice breathing regularly like this it has an effect on the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, when stimulated, actually lowers inflammation and inflammation is at the root of many of the diseases that we see today. I think [meditation] is a form of immune regulation.’

How Can Meditation Help You Reach Emotional Wellness?

Categories: hershey medical, life, Life's Important Things, medical centre, meditation, mind, Mind-Body Connection, palmer, state, vagus nerve