TRENDS FOR REACHING OPTIMAL HEALTH
There are many different avenues that people can seek and attain better health through. Many “alternative” forms of healthcare and healthy living are now accepted by mainstream society and medical communities. Practices such as acupuncture, chiropractic, yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, and homeopathy, are now often recommended by western medical practitioners. Science and technology have made breakthroughs in fitness, nutrition and using vitamins, minerals and herbs to supplement peoples diets more efficiently than ever before. The following trends are ones that many health conscious people have been turning to in the past decade.
Exercise
While excessive “back breaking” labor can lead to injuries, negative changes to one’s quality of life, and shortened lifespans, an excessively sedentary lifestyle can do the same.
Whether you have a desk job or one that requires physical labor or something in between, it is important to get exercise. There are many, many different kinds of exercise for all levels of abilities and fitness. As well, there are many options for people who like to exercise solo, with a partner or two, or in group settings. From chair yoga and stretching, pilates, trapeze, dancing, running, swimming, cycling, rollerblading, boxing, tai chi, walking, hiking, rollerblading and skating, martial arts, capoeira, weight lifting, team sports, and more, there are many different options to suit different lifestyles and interests.
Stretching
As simplistic as it may seem, simply stretching for five to ten minutes a day can improve a person’s mobility and overall health. While most people need to do more physical activity than just stretching to help them achieve and maintain optimal health, more and more doctors recommend that people stretch at least once a day (and more if possible). Stretching in the morning, during the day, after physical activity, and at night before getting into bed, can all be beneficial to one’s overall health and mobility.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a system of integrative medicine based on the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of misalignments of the joints. Chiropractic care focuses on the joints of the spinal column and realigning it to relieve disorders affecting the nerves, muscles and organs. There are many different methods of chiropractic adjustments including but not limited to:
– Hands-on techniques such as Diversified and Gonstead that involve precise, hands-on thrusts aimed at restoring proper movement and alignment to the spine
– Activator Technique is a handheld instrument that delivers a gentle impulse into the vertebral segments of the spine or to the extremities
– Cox Technic, also known as Flexion Distraction or Decompression Manipulation, uses a special table that distracts and flexes the spine in an automated and gentle rhythmic motion
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a method for treating ailments that originated in China a few hundred years before the Common Era (B.C. or B.C.E.) It involves the insertion of very fine needles at certain points in the body to channelize the body’s energy throughout the body’s 12 main meridians, in order to create balance and health. Acupuncture can be used to treat a wide range of physical and emotional health problems. Many traditional Western doctors now recommend acupuncture in conjunction with conventional treatments to some of their patients.