Alternative Healing Modalities

The past few months on our blog, we have dived into our own mental health and how to find balance over the holidays and into the new year by creating and achieving sustainable changes.  Therapy is a good start to exploring our own mental health awareness, where one may find new and different ways to cope with the challenges that life brings.  Some of the more common coping skills are journaling, exercise, arts/crafts,time with friends, humor, positive affirmations, and adapting to a healthier lifestyle.

Stress is an inevitable part of our lives, and we have been learning more about different ways in which to reduce anxiety, depression and how to find balance and cope more effectively. In this article we will explore some of the less heard of healing modalities that are becoming more mainstream, and some that have been around for thousands of years.

Massage Therapy

One of the most common alternative healing modalities is massage. Massage therapy helps to lower our cortisol levels, allows for better focus, and can help to manage insomnia/stress/anxiety/depression, and will also help our bodies to increase serotonin.

By lowering cortisol and increasing serotonin in the body, we are giving our bodies the ability to fight off pain, anxiety and feelings of sadness.   Massage helps to relieve the tension in our bodies which in turn helps us to relax and find peace. Receiving massages regularly not only helps our bodies by releasing tension, and soothing muscle and joint pain but can-do wonders for our minds and spirits as well. Massage is known for helping our minds to refocus, find clarity and reduce our overall stress levels. The power of touch is a beautiful healing modality.

Drumming

Over the last 10-20 years various studies have shown that the art of drumming has successfully improved social functioning, lowering blood pressure. boosting cardio, increasing energy, improving circulation, burning calories, alleviating chronic pain, neutralizing stress, reducing mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, addictions, aggression, PTSD symptoms and boosting our immune system and overall wellness. 

Research has also shown that drumming can increase your alpha and theta brainwave production and synchronization, which can lead to improved problem-solving abilities, heightened creativity and much more. Drumming can allow us to get in touch with our own heartbeat, to help to center and create balance in our lives and provide an outlet where we can “beat” our frustrations out and find peace in the sound of our own drum.

Sound Healing

Along the same wave lengths as drumming is Sound Healing. Sound Healing can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as India, China, Greece and Egypt. These societies believed that the sound frequencies that were created by their singing bowls, chanting and other various tools and instruments provided a healing environment for their bodies. Sound Healing has been known to lower our levels of cholesterol, our stress levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, and improve our mental well-being.

Sound healing provides an overall sense of relaxation and peace, may help us to feel more balanced, provide us more energy, reduce anger, depression, and anxiety. Some have experienced an overall sense of deep healing with sound.

Breath work

Another healing modality is breathwork. Breathwork, even though most people think it is a new trend, it has been around for thousands of years. The art of breathwork has many benefits. Possible benefits of breathwork can lower our stress and anxiety levels, uplift our moods, decrease inflammation, and can also reduce our flight or flight response. When we are challenged by something our breath becomes shallow, shortand at times labored. This places stressors on our central nervous system and limits the oxygen flow through our bodies. By focusing on our breath and learning breathing techniques, we can release stress hormones from our bodies, build a better immune system, balance our blood pressure, create a stronger respiratory system, reduce depression and anxiety, and have better mental focus and much more. Even if we just remind ourselves to focus on our breath a few times a day this will have a dramatic impact on our minds, bodies and spirits.

Rockhounding

Last, but not least, is rockhounding. Rockhounding is the art of seeking out rocks, fossils, gems, or minerals in nature. I have been a rock collector since I was a little girl, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized the many therapeutic benefits that rockhounding offers. First, it gets us out into nature. The possibilities are endless when we begin searching for those pretty pieces of earth. Rocks can be found in streams, rivers, oceans, trails, forests, and if I am being honest, they are everywhere! Being in nature and breathing in the fresh air increases our oxygen levels, giving us more energy and clearing our minds. It also gets us some much-needed Vitamin D by being in the sun, which helps in reducing a bunch of illnesses, and it also helps for us to reduce those sleepless nights. It provides us with exercise, which honestly, doesn’t feel like exercise at all. But after picking up rocks for a few hours, there’s a good chance it will be felt in the abdomen, legs and maybe some other parts of our bodies that need to have a good stretch. Sometimes I find that just sitting with the rock and holding it, and reflecting on where it has been and the journey it has been on puts my own life into perspective. It is a grounding practice for sure, and I encourage you to try it sometime.

Rockhounding is great to do with a group of people, such as with our families and friends. It provides bonding time, communication, and a shared experience that makes it worthwhile for all. There is also a recent trend with rockhounding, where people are painting rocks that they have found and placing them with special messages on them to uplift their community. It truly is a healing modality to be experienced and shared.

Whether we try one of these alternative healing modalities or all of them our mind, body

and spirits will benefit from them.

This is such a small list of the possibilities of the different types of healing that are truly right at our fingertips and easily accessible to all.