Holistic therapies sit outside of mainstream medical therapies — but don’t discredit their use. Holistic therapies can, indeed, be great ways to support your overall health. In fact, you may have already used some types of holistic therapy:
- Yoga and meditation are often recommended as ways to relieve depression and anxiety, or to improve the daily life of chronic pain sufferers. This is an example of a holistic approach to health.
- Therapist recommendations can enter a holistic zone — like when your therapist tells you to begin a practice of nature walking or in-nature meditation, to help with your symptoms of melancholy, or to consider CBD to help you with your sleep. These, too, are not conventional medicine, but therapeutic nonetheless.
Today, we’re introducing you to 3 different types of holistic therapies you may never have heard of — but after reading this, you may want to try these treatments for yourself! We’ll also discuss a little more about holistic therapy, in general.
What Is Holistic Therapy?
You may not know what holistic therapy is, much less why you might use these natural approaches for health and healing.
Holistic Therapy – Defined
Holistic therapy is any kind of treatment for your mind and body that’s not considered “mainstream medicine.” Some methods are backed by tons of research and are considered evidence-based treatments. Others have little or no scientific support, so it’s important when considering a holistic therapy of any sort to conduct your own research, carefully vetting each source you read for authenticity and reliability.
Yes, that takes time, but this is your health and mental wellness we’re talking about here. Take the time.
Whole Body Healing
Holistic techniques, holistic therapy practices, alternative medicine, and natural treatments recommended by a holistic therapist — these all have something in common:
They focus on your whole-body health and wellness without using conventional medicine as the only source of treatment.
While conventional medicine has its place and can even be life-saving, your overall wellness could also benefit from more natural approaches. The goal is to improve general health, find relief from symptoms of physical pain or emotional distress, and deepen the mind-body connection for a more peaceful and confident sense of self.
Note: As a health and wellness CBD company, we strive to provide CBD products to help with whole body health, athletic and fitness support, mental health support, and overall life balance. Stay tuned to our blog for great resources and information to help you on your journey to wellness.
3 Holistic Therapy Options You May Want to Try
Today, we’re covering cryotherapy, salt therapy, and red light infrared therapy — what types of therapy they are, the benefits (mind, body, and spirit) of these treatments, and how they can support your natural wellness. That being said, let’s take a look at these holistic therapy options, individually.
- Cryotherapy
Sounding like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, cryotherapy is a pretty interesting therapeutic treatment. Extreme cold is applied to the body for therapeutic purposes, often performed in partnership with athletic training or for surgical prep or aftercare.
How Is Cryotherapy Done?
Cryotherapy treatment is done by immersing your body into a cold tank that’s chilled by liquid nitrogen for a period of 3-5 minutes. Talk with your doctor before trying cryotherapy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, have blood pressure issues, or have an underlying health condition.
Benefits of Cryotherapy
- Is believed to reduce inflammation
- May assist in athletic recovery (short-term muscle and acute injury recovery)
- May induce epinephrine and norepinephrine production
- May help with post-surgery recovery
- Cryotherapy, or cryoablation, is also used locally by dermatologists for the treatment of some skin conditions, including the treatment of cancerous cells.
Note: The main risks of cryotherapy treatments involve burns or frostbite, so getting this treatment done in a professional environment is best.
- Salt Therapy
Might your new favorite yoga and meditation site be in a therapeutic salt cave? Doesn’t that sound like pure relaxation? Improve your mental and physical wellness with this type of immersive therapy, using salty air as a kind of air-born therapist. Pretty cool, right?
This holistic therapy involves dry salt therapy and is sometimes performed in natural salt caves. The primary benefit of salt therapy, also called halotherapy, is to improve lung function and naturally calm your body and mind.
Fun fact: Salt therapy was born after researchers noted a lack of lung issues in salt mine workers in Russia and Poland, creating a medical interest in exactly why those workers seemed to avoid lung issues common to other types of cave workers. Salt therapy practice originates as far back as 1843.
Benefits of Salt Therapy
Ever noticed how after a day of relaxation at the beach your body, mind, and skin all seem to feel better? Aside from being in your happy place, you were unknowingly practicing halotherapy techniques, by getting salty solutions on your skin and by breathing in salinized air. Salt therapy is thought to:
- Boost the immune system
- Improve respiratory function
- Help control blood pressure
- Relieve symptoms of some skin conditions and support the integumentary system (the skin’s protective layer)
Turns out, it’s not just the lull of ocean waves that relieves stress and makes us feel better, but the salt in the water and the air. It’s like a holistic mind-body mini vacay from stress, cleansing your system inside and out with nature’s salty air and water.
There are no known side effects to salt therapy techniques which makes it a win-win holistic therapy — so take a mental health day, find a salt cave near you, book a spot, and relax while you breathe in the salty air. Some places may have manmade salt therapy rooms you can use if there’s not a natural salt cave in your area.
- Red Light Infrared Therapy
If you struggle with seasonal disorders (translation: you feel like crap during the dark and dreary months) then this type of therapy may help. Some people use it to improve mental health over dreary winter months, but that’s not the only application for red light infrared therapy.
Using specialized lamps or lasers, red light infrared therapy (also referred to as RLT) provides red low-level wavelengths thought to improve the body and mind. A fairly recent discovery, RLT goes by a wide range of names, including photobiomodulation (PBM), low-level light therapy (LLLT), biostimulation, photonic stimulation, soft laser therapy or cold laser therapy, photonic stimulation, and low-power laser therapy (LPLT).
You can find red light therapy booths in salons or spas or receive your treatments in a medical setting.
Benefits of Red Light Infrared Therapy
- Is thought to boost mitochondria in your cells, prompting them to produce more energy molecules called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP
- WebMD admits scientific studies are lacking but lists a wide range of benefits: dementia, dental pain, hair loss and osteoarthritis among them
- Healthline notes improvements for those suffering from seasonal affective disorder, pain, wound healing, and skin issues like scarring and sun damage
- Derms and estheticians may use RLT for skin treatments or as an anti-aging treatment
Find More Balance with Asé
With any type of holistic therapy, talk with your doctor about your intentions, what you need from these types of therapies, and how you can use them safely. Many doctors today are more open to a range of therapies, not just pharmaceutical ones, for whole-body health, and to help with other aspects of your care.
On our blog, we’ve discussed how some forms of holistic therapy can help you live a more well-balanced life:
- Using CBD oil products to help with your anxiety and depression
- Spending time outdoors as a way to improve your body’s health and your mind’s wellness
- Using manifestation techniques and practices to help you stay on top of your to-do lists and reduce stress
- How cold therapy helps you heal and boosts your physical health
- Developing a mind-healthy meditative practice for relaxation and emotional balance
We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief intro to three alternative therapies for physical and mental health. If you are new to holistic therapy or new to CBD, don’t worry — we’re family here. You can join us on Instagram or Facebook (are we calling it Meta yet?) to keep in touch!
