Psyche, Soma & Spirit

A Field Guide to Massage Therapy Part One: Thai Yoga Massage

By Stacy Collier, LMT, CPT, Contributing Writer

Massage provides many benefits. In addition to simply loosening tight muscles, it can help calm the nervous system, improves range of motion, correct postural imbalances, reduce stress, increases self-awareness, improve blood flow, speed healing time, improve the appearance of scars, and much more.  But with so many different styles of massage now available, this field […]

Pain Brain: Chronic Pain Drives Cognitive Decline

By Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, Contributing Writer

A massive new study of data from over 19,000 individuals shows that chronic pain is associated with loss of hippocampal volume and increased risk of dementia. Compared with pain-free control subjects, those who had five or more areas of chronic pain showed neurological changes equivalent to eight years of excess brain aging (Zhao W, et […]

Diet, Inflammation, and Immunity: Modern & Traditional Perspectives

By Erik Goldman

Ayurveda–India’s 4,000-year-old system of medicine–can provide modern healthcare professions with many time-tested, lifestyle-based approaches to mitigate the burden of chronic inflammatory diseases that affect so many of our patients. In this free webinar, the core faculty members of the Maharishi International University (MIU)–the leading US ayurvedic training center–share their experience applying ayurvedic principles for improving […]

Cupping Therapy: A Modern Take on an Ancient Technique

By Stacy Collier, Contributing Writer

For thousands of years cupping therapy—the placement of special cups over areas of pain or restriction and creation of negative pressure (vacuum) to disrupt the stagnation–played an important role in medicine. This ancient practice spanned from Egypt, to China, Greece, Europe and the Americas.  Though most commonly used for musculoskeletal pain relief, the clinical applications […]

Smell Training with Herbal Oils Could Restore Olfaction Post-Covid

By Erik Goldman

Loss of olfaction is one of the most common and vexing sequelae of Covid-19, often persisting for many months after the acute phase of the infection. The vast majority of Covid patients experience some degree of olfactory impairment, and roughly one quarter fully lose the sense of smell (anosmia) during the acute phase of the […]

Applying Holistic Principles to Optimize Children’s Health

By Madiha Saeed, MD, Contributing Writer

The COVID pandemic is having a huge effect on our children. We need to take it seriously. The Children’s Hospital Association and the American Association of Pediatrics have reported a nearly 20% spike in the number of young people attempting suicide, and more than a 40% increase in behavioral issues in children since the pandemic […]

Want Better Rest? Ditch Your Sleep Tracker

By Ktristen Schepker, Contributing Writer

If a better night’s rest is what you’re after, think twice before using a sleep tracker. An abundance of modern health and wellness technologies promise benefits like improved sleep and relaxation. But research indicates that sleep tracking devices can actually reinforce some users’ sleep-related stress, making peaceful slumber even harder to attain. Sleep Aids Gain […]

Loneliness: The Other Pandemic

By Grant Jackson, MD, Contributing Writer

In the late 1950s, toward the end of her life, psychiatrist Frieda Fromm Reichmann sat by a catatonic patient in the hospital.  Inspired by an unexplainable hunch, she asked how lonely the patient was.  The young woman raised her hand with her thumb extended and the rest of the fingers folded under.  Dr. Fromm-Reichmann, an […]

Psychedelics: The Next Revolution In Healthcare

By Erik Goldman

A phase 3 study of psychotherapy with the addition of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) shows that inclusion of this psychedelic compound can markedly reduce the symptom burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and improve quality of life, compared with psychotherapy plus a placebo. The study, hailed as a landmark on the long road toward legitimizing medical use […]

How Financial Stress Impacts the Immune System

By Kristen Schepker

A recent study of a group of hedge fund traders suggests that the immune system responds to financial stress as if it were a disease. The findings suggest a striking correlation between the human immune system and the volatility of entire financial systems, including the stock market.