We use medicine for everything these days. If we have a headache, we pop an Advil; if we are stressed out, we down a Xanax; if we feel like throwing sharp objects at the wall while simultaneously yelling and slapping everyone in a 10-foot radius, we take Midol.We have so many pills and medications for every possible ailment, ache and irritation that the average American is taking 12 prescriptions a year, which is a 71 percent increase in pill consumption in the last 15 years, according to the 2009 article, "Selling Sickness: How Drug Ads Changed Healthcare" by Alix Spiegel on npr.org. All these chemical remedies are great for many problems, but too often we are ignoring natural alternatives and holistic healthcare that has been used for centuries.The problem with pills is that, on occasion, people trick themselves into thinking they need them or that they are doing themselves a favor by taking them. This is evident with phenomena like the placebo effect, where a fake pill is used to compare the effects to a real medication. Sometimes you don't even need to be taking a real drug to trick yourself into seeing the benefits. It is issues like this that cause dependence and habitual, frivolous consumption.What did we do before Tylenol? That is a tough question. It's like asking what we did before Google. Many times in ancient history, Indian cultures would apply a holistic, meditative approach to naturally heal and restore the body. For instance, the concept of ayurveda is a wonderful method of cleansing and detoxifying both the body and mind.Ayurveda is a native Indian alternative medicine approach that combines massage, meditation, healthy eating, yoga and exercise to keep a person healthy. According to Meredith Walker on www.nursingdegree.net, there are numerous health benefits to practicing yoga besides the obvious of improving your posture, flexibility and muscle tone. Doing yoga improves cardiovascular endurance, lowers blood pressure, helps reduce pain, increases pain tolerance and even improves the metabolism, making the body more efficient at burning fat and losing weight. And none of this requires drugs. One of the premises of traditional ayurvedic medicine is that one's state of mind is what controls the state of the body. Taking a natural approach to healthcare can cleanse a person of synthetic toxins and improve more than physical ailments.There are many mental, emotional and psychological benefits to practicing holistic healthcare, too. Meditation and yoga both cause chemical releases in the brain. These same chemicals are often found in powerful synthetic drugs, like Oxycontin. In a Feb. 19, 2010, article called "Mediation May Boost Mental Mood and Toughness" by Stephanie Pappas, a study done with 48 Marine soldiers, those who practiced meditation and controlled mind-body exercises were less stressed and showed an improvement in mood. Much of this is due to the chemical effects that occur in the brain during meditative exercise.According to Lisa Washington in an Oct. 11, 2009 article, "Yoga Can Make You Happy; It Releases the Hormone Oxytocin," the naturally occurring feel-good chemical, oxytocin, can increase to a substantial degree through doing yoga and meditation. This is because the Vagus nerve, which controls hormone release and carries information from the central nervous system to other organs, is being stimulated. This causes more of the chemicals to be released into the body, thus creating an anti-anxiety effect and a sense of well-being. Prescription pain killers and antidepressants do the exact same thing, but one of the cool aspects of the human body is that we can cause this release of happy hormones ourselves, just by teaching our bodies how to control stress.We live in a country that is blessed to have wonderful medicinal opportunities, brilliant doctors and an abundance of facilities and specialists to treat our every condition. However, just because all this modernity is available, it doesn't mean it needs to be used casually or in many cases, overused completely. Before there were lasers, Lexapro and lobotomies, there were ancient and effective methods to healing the body, mind and spirit that worked wonderfully for thousands of years. The Indian culture was brilliant. After all, they built the Taj Mahal and wrote the Kama Sutra. By studying their tried and tested ways of meditation and mind-body awareness, it is possible to reduce the amount of fake chemicals we consume and restore ourselves in the healthiest way possible.
Courtesy: Jillian Aramowicz
Source:College Media Network
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