ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

1. Yoga

Yoga is the trendiest thing since sliced bread. This alternative practice involves using breathing techniques, physical poses, and meditation to achieve a sense of relaxation and serve as a form of gentle exercise. And while it seems pretty “woo-woo” yoga is probably the most well-studied healing alternative practice. For example, research has shown that yoga can: 

• Decrease inflammation (1) 
• Alleviate stress and anxiety (2) 
• Reduce migraine frequency (3) 

2. Reiki

Originally from Japan, this technique is done by a practitioner that doesn’t actually touch the client’s body. Usually the person is lying down and fully clothed while the practitioner harnesses energy through their hand movements to activate the person’s natural healing abilities. It sounds a bit out there, but research has shown that: 

• Reiki can help reduce anxiety, pain, and depression (4) 
• Reiki can help with chronic disease management (5)

3. Qigong

Qigong involves gentle movement, breathing techniques, and meditation and the main goal of this practice is to balance the energy in the body and get rid of blockages that hold you back and make you feel ill. Like yoga and reiki, Qigong has also shown benefits in research studies. Research has shown that Qigong can: 

• help boost immune cells in the body (6) 
• reduce chronic systemic inflammation (7) 
• May improve chronic fatigue (8) 

4. Sound therapy

Sound has a powerful influence over our mental and physical health, so it only makes sense that sound could be used to promote healthier, more positive states of being. There are a lot of different types of sound therapy, including music therapy, sound paths, chanting, and even tuning fork therapy. Quite a few studies have been done on this type of therapy, which has been shown to: 

• Reduce overall tension (9)
• Fend off depression (10) 

5. Acupuncture

Acupuncture has become so popular it can almost be considered mainstream. And that’s because quite a few studies have shown that it can help with some of the most common health issues we face. Acupuncture is all about strengthening the energy flow in the body by inserting thin needles into specific points along designated energy pathways. Research has shown that acupuncture can: 

• Can help improve fertility in both men and women (11) 
• Can improve lower back pain in the long-term (12) 

If you’ve never tried any of these practices before, I encourage you to give it a try. You might be surprised by just how much you benefit! After years working with patients in this field, I believe more every day in the power of manipulating the body’s energy for healing. For many of my patients that feel like something is “off” not matter what they try, energy-based practices are what finally helps them achieve optimal health. 

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.

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