From acupuncture and aromatherapy

to reiki and reflexology, there are plenty

of options when it comes to integrative

therapies. Yet choosing the technique that will

offer the best remedial benefits for you can be

tricky. Follow this guide to 13 popular treatments

and discover your alternative-medicine match.

FIND YOUR

PATH

healing

By MEGHAN RABBITT

TIFFANY CARONIA LIES on her back, fidgets for five seconds,
and then slips into Savasana—palms up, legs ever so
slightly externally rotated, a gentle smile across her mouth.
It’s a pose the 35-year-old Vinyasa Yoga teacher knows
well, which is why it comes so naturally to her here, on her
acupuncturist’s table.
The fact that Caronia is able to quiet her mind and drop
any attachment to external senses—the practice of
pratyahara, the fifth limb of Patanjali’s eight limbs of
yoga—is one of the reasons she experiences such great
benefits from her acupuncture sessions, says Caronia’s
acupuncturist, Maria Villella, a vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga
teacher in Los Angeles. “With any healing modality, the
more you’re able to put yourself in a deeply relaxed state,
the more benefits you’ll receive,” says Villella. “I think it
has a lot to do with the mind-body connection we develop
on our yoga mats.”
Caronia, also based in Los Angeles, says her trust in
Villella is key: “I truly believe that what Maria does will
help me,” she says. There’s scientific proof Caronia is on to
something. Researchers are seeing time and again that our
expectations of healing play a big role in the psychological
and physical benefits we experience. In one recent study
published in the journal Science Translational Medicine,
scientists looked at people with recurring migraine
headaches over the course of multiple attacks and found

that when doctors told patients they had high expectations

that a treatment would work well, it did—even if it was a

sugar pill, and even when the patients were told they were

getting the placebo. Other research has found that when

patients believe in the effectiveness of a therapy—whether

they get a vote of confidence from their practitioners or

not—it can stimulate real physiological responses,

including changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and

even chemical activity in the brain that decreases pain,

anxiety, and fatigue.

“This research is proof that there are a number of

psychological factors that play a role in how well a

treatment works,” says Kristin Skotnes Vikjord, a

clinical psychologist and yoga teacher in Amsterdam.

“The bottom line is that if you seek treatment that

you believe will work, it has a better chance of working.”

Gail Dubinsky, MD, a physician and yoga teacher in

Sebastopol, California, adds that treatments that really

resonate with you have another benefit: It’s more likely

you’ll stick with them and stay compliant with the other

suggestions the practitioner offers.

Of course, there are other important factors to consider

when deciding which healing modality will work best for

you. For starters, you want to be sure your choice is a safe

option for your condition. You could do some research,

talk to your doctor, and reach out to others with the same

ailment to learn what helped them the most. There’s also

the convenience factor. For example, it’s probably not

realistic to drive an hour each way for hydrotherapy when

there’s massage and reflexology in your neighbourhood. 69

april 2016

yogajournal.com.au