Number of Hospitals Offering Alternative Medicine Triples

Posted on by Tammy

Thanks to patient demand for low-risk therapies, including massage, guided imagery, meditation and Reiki, the number of hospitals offering complementary and alternative medical services tripled since 2000, according to a report by amednews.com.

Today, 42 percent of the 714 hospitals surveyed reported offering alternative therapies and executives listed patient demand as the top criterion in choosing which therapies to offer, according to a report released in September by the American Hospital Assn.’s Health Forum and the Samueli Institute – a think tank that supports alternative medicine. This compares to only 14 percent of hospitals in 2000.

“They are responding to the needs of their patients and the communities they are serving, while trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace,” Sita Ananth, a Samueli Institute researcher who wrote the report said in the amednews.com article. “These hospitals are really trying to see how they can address the needs of the person as a whole – mind, body and spirit.”

Additionally, almost two-thirds of hospitals offering alternative services provide massage on an outpatient basis, and half offer pet therapy in the hospital, the report stated. Approximately 40 offer acupuncture or music and art therapies, as well, based on the survey conducted in March 2010. And when it comes to Reiki treatments, one in five of the hospitals offer this therapy.

Patients usually pay for these services out of pocket, although hospitals offer them free 44 percent of the time, according to the report.

Steve Jobs: The Spiritual Side of Apple

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Steve Jobs is well-known as the mastermind behind the amazing success of Apple and its technology. But did you know that following a spiritual retreat to India, he converted to Buddhism? According to a report by CNN.com, Jobs’ favorite musical acts were the Beatles and Bob Dylan, and he was known to walk around his neighborhood – and the office – barefoot.

“I believe life is an intelligent thing, that things aren’t random,” CNN.com quotes Jobs as saying in a 1997 interview with Time.

Jobs wanted to change the world and make a difference, and his company was based on this principle. “Apple is about people who think ‘outside the box,’ people who want to use computers to help them change the world, to help them create things that make a difference, and not just to get a job done,” CNN.com quoted Jobs as saying in the Time interview.

When hiring John Scullye, the PepsiCo president to run Apple, he reportedly said, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?”

“What makes Steve’s methodology different from everyone else’s is that he always believed the most important decisions you make are not the things you do, but the things you decide not to do,” Sculley said in a 2010 interview with Businessweek, according to the CNN.com report. “He’s a minimalist. I remember going into Steve’s house, and he had almost no furniture in it. He just had a picture of Einstein, whom he admired greatly, and he had a Tiffany lamp and a chair and a bed. He just didn’t believe in having lots of things around, but he was incredibly careful in what he selected.”

In 1998, Jobs told Businessweek that one of his mantras was focus and simplicity. “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains,” he said.

Six years later, the publication quoted him as saying: “It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”

For the entire article, visit CNN.com.

There is also a biography authorized by Jobs coming out Oct. 24 called “Steve Jobs,” by Walter Isaacson.

VIDEO: Ellen DeGeneres Talks Meditation and More

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Ellen DeGeneres is a best-selling author, comedian, talk show host and actress, whose television talk show has won more than 50 Emmy awards. Her third book, “Seriously … I’m Kidding,” is available now, and DeGeneres sat down with The Today Show to discuss it – along with meditation, yoga, happiness and more.

She also maintains a vegan blog to help others who are curious about the lifestyle – which includes how to start, recipes and more. And it was DeGeneres who recommended don Miguel Ruiz’s best-selling book “The Four Agreements” to Oprah Winfrey, who then picked it as one of her holiday gifts.

During the Today Show interview, she was asked about why she believes so many people relate to her, and how she feels about pushing boundaries. “If it costs me some viewers; if it costs me some money, I would rather talk about what I think is important than just be vanilla and try to be liked by everybody,” she said.

She also spoke about practicing yoga, and how she is now learning how to meditate. When asked what keeps her consistent in her practices, she said: “Because it feels good. It’s like how you have to shut your computer down sometimes when it goes crazy, so you just shut it down and then it’s ok again. That is what meditation does for me.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Jon Kabat-Zinn and More to Speak at Being Human 2012 Event

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Scheduled for March 24, 2012, a new public event announced by The Baumann Foundation (TBF) called “Being Human 2012: Science, Philosophy and Your Life,” will take place at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, featuring pioneers in the exploration of human nature including best-selling author and neuroscientist, David Eagleman, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer and mindfulness meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness practices, especially mindfulness-based stress reduction, into the mainstream of medicine and society.

The purpose of the event is to engage the public in a conversation about how recent revolutionary insights from science and philosophy challenge basic assumptions about human nature, and how these insights can fundamentally shift one’s experience of daily life, according to the foundation.

“We live at the dawn of a scientific revolution. Recent findings from science and philosophy promise to overthrow long-held biases and stories about what it means to be human,” TBF founder Peter Baumann said in a released statement. “Many of these fresh insights can have a profound impact on our experience of daily life. We are delighted to bring these new understandings into the public arena, so that they are accessible to anyone who is curious about their own experience. Ultimately, our goal is to serve as a bridge between the theoretical and the practical, and to foster increased well-being.”

Other speakers at the event include:

Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., Founder and Chair, Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Paul Ekman, Ph.D., Manager, Paul Ekman Group, LLCAnne Harrington, Ph.D., Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University

Beau Lotto, Ph.D., Neuroscientist and artist, LottolabHazel Markus, Ph.D., Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University

Thomas Metzinger, Ph.D., Professor of Theoretical Philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz

V.S. Ramachandran, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego

Gelek Rimpoche, Founder, Jewel Heart, Tibetan Buddhist CenterLaurie Santos, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Yale University

“We are thrilled that so many esteemed pioneers will be joining us for Being Human 2012,” said TBF Advisory Board member Richard Davidson, who will moderate Being Human 2012. Davidson, a leader in the field of mind-body medicine and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people (2006), is best-known for his research on brain plasticity, his collaboration with the Dalai Lama and studying the brain activity of meditating Tibetan Buddhist monks. “This promises to be a unique event, where we will explore together the frontiers of understanding human nature, asking questions such as: How does the nonconscious mind influence the decisions we make? What is the relationship between self and culture? Are you who you think you are, or is that just an illusion? What does science tell us about our relationship with fellow humans? What are the evolutionary origins of the human mind?”

For more information and to register, visit www.beinghuman2012.org.

Three Alternative Therapies for Pain Relief

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For people seeking alternatives to traditional medicine or medication for pain will be happy to know that studies on a variety of alternative methods are showing promising results. Presenters at the recent EFIC Congress “Pain in Europe VII” stated that acupuncture, acupressure and aromatherapy can be efficient in reducing pain, according to a recent report from Emaxhealth.com.

At the EFIC Congress, Professor Edzard Ernst from Exeter, UK, said some studies regarding acupuncture, acupressure, and aromatherapy have been shown to reduce pain, and presenter, Dr. Winfried Meissner of Jena, Germany, said acupuncture used after surgery can provide a moderate reduction in pain.

“Our own studies show that acupuncture…produces similar effects in the brain as pain relievers. There is a clear indication of a specific analgesic effect through acupuncture,” the report stated.

Also, Dr. Konrad Streitberger of Bern, Switzerland said: “Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed that real acupuncture not only causes stronger activation or deactivation response patterns than placebo treatment in pain associated areas of the brain, but also that this effect can be modulated by a positive expectation.”

The Emaxhealth.com report also noted a study on aromatherapy in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, where researchers tested whether lavender oil aromatherapy could reduce the pain of needle insertion in 30 volunteers. One group received oxygen using a face mask coated with lavender oil for 5 minutes, and the other did not, and those with the face mask “had significantly reduced pain and stress associated with needle insertion compared with controls,” the report stated.

Another study in the same journal tested aromatherapy in combination with acupressure, used on stroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain. “One group received aromatherapy (lavender, rosemary, and peppermint) and acupressure treatments twice daily for two weeks, while a second group received the same amount of treatments, but with acupressure only. Although patients in both groups reported a marked reduction in pain after treatment, patients in the aromatherapy plus acupressure group fared better,” the report stated.

Relax With New Meditation Apps

Posted on by Tammy

Whether you are learning to meditate, looking to switch up your routine, or trying to relax and fall asleep at night, meditation and relaxation apps can go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.

Some of the newest picks from Appolicious.com, include the following:

— Relax & Rest Guided Meditations – Available for $0.99, this app offers three different guided meditations including a 5-minute, 13-minute and 24-minute track.

— Relax Melodies – This is a free app offering white noise ambiance for sleep, meditation and yoga, and is aimed at helping to relax the mind and body and drown out other sounds in your surroundings.

— Meditator – Another free app featuring continuous soundscapes to promote a feeling of relaxation.

And Elevated Existence recommends an app by Mental Workout Inc., called Mindfulness Meditation. It has a 10-minute relaxation track (that we often fall asleep to before it’s even over) and 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 30- and 40-minute guided meditations. Also, the tracks are written and narrated by Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies. It’s worth the $1.99 for the app!