Articles
Columbus Polarity Center for Integrative Health & Wellness, Columbus Ohio
Can one hour a week of Polarity Therapy, massage, acupressure, therapeutic touch, and/or foot reflexology lower you blood pressure, relieve depression, decrease your risk of cancer, increase you energy and help you sleep better. The answer is yes to all of the above.
Today, bodywork plays an
important roll in medicine, healthcare, sports, physical fitness and
psychotherapy. Ongoing research into touch and touch therapies has become
progressive and well established. The Touch Research Institute at the University
of Miami?s School of Medicine is actively involved in research that focuses on
areas of concern such as Touch for Newborns, Reducing Pain through Bodywork, and
Lymphatic Healthcare Through Massage. Even the United States Army funded a study
that demonstrated that Therapeutic Touch, eases pain and stress in burn
patients. Therapeutic Touch, founded by Dolores Krieger, PhD, strongly believes
that the body?s energy field becomes unbalanced during injuries and illnesses.
Therefore, Therapeutic Touch balances and restores a person?s vital
energy.
A similar study on reducing
anxiety and pain in cancer patients was done in our own back yard by Pauline
King, who led the study at the James Cancer Hospital. The study produced
positive results showing that massage reduces the level of pain and anxiety
experienced during many of the invasive treatments being used for cancer. Kudos,
to the medical Buckeyes!
Another Columbus study, that
was designed by researcher Sue Benford, CEO of Pro Comp Inc., set out to
identify and measure "healing energy." According to the study, energy medicine
operates on the principle that health can be influenced by the subtle
realignment of a person?s "vital energy" ? energy that is in all living things
and when blocked, creates disease. Sue, along with the researchers from The Ohio
State University, using Polarity Therapy, a holistic bioenergy modality, tested
many volunteers. The results suggest the importance of the self-healing
mechanisms within the body and touch, which is used in Polarity Therapy, may
provide a vehicle for introducing energy directly into the body.
Learn more about our polarity therapy services.
Some research has even shown
that the lack of touch may lead to addictive patterns. Since bodywork will
stimulate the production of endorphins creating a sense of balance and
well-being; the lack of touch often will increase irritability causing stress
and anxiety. The concept of connecting with your body through touch may be the
missing link for tobacco abuse, workaholicism and other hard to break
habits.
In the August 1997, issue of
Life magazine, the cover boldly captured the message of ?The Healing Power of
Touch? large print beside a picture of a person getting bodywork, on their
shoulders says ?It also: reduces stress, eases back pain, fights anorexia, lifts
depression? and saves lives.? Sounds too good to be true.
Let us think a minute about
the information that is coming to us from many sources. Touch is healing ? 15
minutes of bodywork increases alertness and performance, athletic performance is
enhanced, touch awakens a baby?s senses and can affect parent-child bonding,
nursing home clients getting any form of touch therapy show fewer signs of
senility, acupressure positively affects arthritis by increasing circulation,
lowering stress hormones and minimizing pain, sleep disturbances are helped, and
healing occurs at a faster rate when energy work is involved. Imagine on a
Friday evening family or friends sitting, relaxed, doing foot reflexology on
each other. It would be difficult to not enjoy working on each other?s tired and
sore feet.
Professional bodywork is
fast becoming a part of our preventative healthcare system. Skilled
practitioners are establishing solid practices along with setting up
professional centers that make many forms of bodywork available to us all. West
is finally meeting East! We are realizing what so many Europeans and Asians have
realized for decades ? Touch Heals!!
Learn more about our complementary and alternative medicine services.
Finding the right bodywork
practitioner and the type of work suited to your needs is important. We will
continue with our directory of bodywork practices available.
Acupuncture ? Fine needles
inserted at specific points regulate and increase the flow of energy back to
balance. Used for pain control.
Deep Tissue Bodywork ? Works
on connective tissue to release muscular compression and stress. Works on
whiplash, low back and neck pain.
Touch for Health ? Balances
the body?s energy by using gentle contacts on muscles and other body points.
Balances overall health.
Structural
Integration/Rolfing ? Changes patterns of stress held in the body, corrects
misalignment and body trauma. Deep pressure to fascia tissue.
Reiki ? Light hand
placements to channel healing energy. Useful for emotional, mental, and physical
stress.
Reflexology ? Uses specific
pressure points on feet and hands that correspond with organs and body tissue.
Effective for stress-related illnesses.
Some options for finding
well qualified and experienced bodywork practitioners are: referrals from your
personal healthcare practitioners, contacting established professional centers
and interviewing their practitioners, calling certified bodywork schools and get
names of their graduates. Always interview your practitioner first by telephone
or in person to see if there is a good connection.
Enjoy the benefit from the
"Healing Power of Touch" it is a gift to yourself. When You Reconnect With Your
Body It Frees Your Mind.
Learn more about our complementary and alternative medicine services.
May the long time sunshine
upon you.
Mary Jo Ruggieri, PhD, RPP
Director, Columbus Polarity>
© 2000 Columbus Alive
