Nursing Holistically
A blend of modern and alternative health practices provide enhanced care.

by Susan Weiner, Energy Times

It isn’t often that you come across a hospital where CEO stands for “Customer Expectation Officer,” the director of patient care refers to herself as “Executive Healer,” and essential oils, guided imagery, healing touch and acupuncture are everyday treatments. “These modalities are within the course of patient care. Our whole hospital is built on these holistic fundamentals,” says Cindy Bultena, RN, MS, patient care executive at Woodwinds Hospital, an acute care facility in Woodbury, Minnesota (www.healtheast.org/woodwinds).

Woodwinds, like a number of newer hospitals, tries to avoid an austere institutional environment through the carefully coordinated use of color, lighting, artwork and music. But what really sets it apart from traditional healthcare facilities is an integrative healing philosophy and a staff of holistic nurses, a form of nursing recognized as its own specialty.

Holistic nursing embraces the whole patient and frequently includes the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Holistic practice also stresses the importance of self-care for the practitioners themselves, believing that fewer nurses would burn out—a common occurrence—if self-care took precedence. “One must have a healing relationship with oneself to serve others,” explains Bultena, who helped design Woodwinds. “You can’t give and give to others unless you pay attention to yourself, and that is really the key to holism. You have to care for the caregivers.” As a result, holistic nurses are likely to seek out alternative treatments themselves.

Putting Patients First

Betty Strafaccia of Woodbury has twice experienced holistic nursing firsthand. The 68-year-old retiree became one of Woodwinds’ 400 volunteers after her husband, David, spent his final days there in 2006 with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). The night he died surrounded by family, “nurses brought up a cart with coffee and refreshments,” Strafaccia says. “It was so unusual.”

She contrasts that experience with her mother’s visit that same year to a traditional hospital in St. Paul. “I was not happy right from the emergency room on,” Strafaccia recalls. “There were four patients per room, the hallways were cluttered, the treatment was not the same.”

In February, Strafaccia became a patient at Woodwinds when she needed to have her gallbladder removed. “I took advantage of everything I know they have: I had acupuncture for a headache, a wristband for stress, lavender essential oils for nausea and I listened to healing music,” she says.

“It’s patient-oriented and the employees are clearly happy. And they really work to keep the patients happy.”

It isn’t just places like Woodwinds where holistic nurses—and the philosophy that motivates them—have found a home. The American Holistic Nurse’s Certification Corporation endorses holistic nursing education programs at 13 schools, and 36 US teaching hospitals are pushing to blend CAM with traditional care. Facilities such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Duke University Heath Systems in North Carolina, Children’s Memorial in Chicago and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia routinely offer alternative therapies such as massage therapy, yoga, hypnosis, reflexology and guided imagery alongside Western medicine.

Hand-in-Hand

Jeanne Crawford, executive director of the American Holistic Nurses Association (www.ahna.org, 800-278-2462), doesn’t consider the use of alternative medicine contrary to standard allopathic medicine. “The traditional nurse is a holistic nurse,” explains Crawford. “It’s only in the last 40 years that nursing has moved away from traditional nursing and become more technological. The public is really crying out for more caring practice.”

Frustrated by the pressures of tending to multiple patients in hectic settings, many nurses welcome a return to holistic care—a concept attributed to Florence Nightingale, who fought to give both patients and nurses a voice. “Nurses are really looking to serve the entire patient,” notes Crawford. “They don’t want to just run into the room, give pills and run out.”

Still, Crawford admits that holistic nursing in today’s hurried medical setting is a challenge. “Nurses are overworked, underpaid and undervalued,” she says. Certified holistic nurses face challenges emanating from the current system, including a sense of disjuncture between conventional and alternative approaches to medicine and a need for successful ways to help them make the transition into holistic nursing (Journal of Holistic Nursing 6/06).

In the last five years, AHNA membership has increased from 1,600 to 4,500. Certification in holistic nursing is obtained through the American Holistic Nurses’ Certification Corporation (AHNCC, www.ahncc.org), a national credentialing organization. In addition to a bachelors or masters degree, nurses must work 2,000 hours in holistic nursing practice, among other criteria, to become accredited as a holistic nurse.

Trained to serve as a bridge between conventional healing and alternative healing practices, holistic nurses are qualified in both complementary and Western healthcare models; some may specialize in one modality or more, including chiropractic care, acupuncture, music therapy, massage and clinical aromatherapy. Additional holistic specialties endorsed by AHNA include integrative reflexology, craniosacral therapy, healing touch and integrative healing arts.

Discovering the causes of sickness can be trying on patients and loved ones. A holistic nurse is trained to help the patient connect the dots between illness and its environmental, social, emotional and mental triggers. When battling ill health, a holistic nurse may help patients overcome challenges sooner and prevent regression, the result of what AHNCC calls “an advanced set of nursing skills.”

Holistic nurses can be found in hospitals, universities and private practices across the US, according to AHNA. “If a person is looking for a holistic nurse, call us for referrals,” says Bultena. “We have network leaders in every state.”

Holistic nursing trusts that one-on-one connections, in conjunction with a complementary blend of both Western and Eastern medicine, is the best way for nurses to connect with their patients. For many, that may be just the type of treatment that the doctor—or nurse—ordered.

The Heart of Yoga
A 5,000-year-old approach to a healthy cardiovascular system.

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

Can the calming rhythms of yoga help your heart the same way as an energetic 30-minute walk? The answer for many with cardiac disease is a resounding “yes.”

“I would call it a lifesaver,” says John Periolat, 76, of Charlottesville, Virginia, who attended Cardiac Yoga classes at the University of Virginia following a massive heart attack 14 years ago. “But I don’t think it’s widespread enough.”

A modified form of yoga focusing on cardiac patients, yoga for heart disease reduces heart rate and blood pressure in addition to calming the nervous system. It also increases exercise capacity and lowers inflammation levels, as shown by an ever-growing number of research studies. Patients use mats, pillows and chairs to ensure comfort while they perform yoga’s gentle exercises; although it may sound like barely enough motion to break a sweat, the positive effects of cardiovascular yoga are measurable.

Eight weeks of yoga helped to safely improve overall quality of life in 19 heart failure patients, even reducing markers of inflammation associated with heart failure, according to a November 2007 study by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Meanwhile adults with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that significantly raises cardiovascular risk, were able to reduce their waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides after practicing yoga for just three months (Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 12/07).

“Cardiac Yoga changed my life,” says the now-retired Periolat, a self-described former type A personality who lives at a more relaxed pace and spends his time volunteering—a far cry from his days as a Navy captain flying F-4 Phantom fighters. Periolat studied with Mala Cunningham, PhD, counseling psychologist and founding director of the Cardiac Yoga Program in Charlottesville. “I was in a hole so deep, I couldn’t see any light,” Periolat says. “Dr. Cunningham’s Cardiac Yoga classes yanked me out of it and put me on my feet again.”

Heart-Friendly Hospitals
The clinical documentation behind yoga’s considerable medical benefits is recognized at hospitals throughout the country, from New York Presbyterian in New York City to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where Cunningham’s Cardiac Yoga and other yoga programs are available to heart patients. “Cardiac Medical Yoga is a gentle program designed for individuals who have limited mobility,” says Cunningham, author of Medical Yoga (www.cardiacyoga.com). “It’s been completely modified and looked over by a cardiologist and an exercise physiologist to address the needs of cardiac patients.” Cunningham, who certifies other Cardiac Yoga instructors, uses the acronym BREAD to define what Cardiac Yoga is all about: Breathing (known in yoga as pranayama), Relaxation, Exercise/Yoga (through poses known as asanas), Attitude and Diet.

Yoga’s relaxing, meditative component may help stabilize the lining of the blood vessels and lower stress hormones, triggering a chain of events that minimize the risk of heart attack or stroke. In a 2004 Yale University School of Medicine study, people who meditated and did yoga three times a week experienced a dramatically reduced risk of cardiovascular problems.

Yoga helps to ease anxiety, which has been linked with increased heart attack risk in older men (Journal of the American College of Cardiology 1/15/08). In addition, “it helps to activate the parasympathetic response, which helps the body relax,” explains Cunningham. She adds that this makes yoga helpful for not only heart patients but for anyone who wants to avoid cardiac problems in the first place.

A Larger Heart
Some yoga teachers believe this ancient practice can also bring healing on a larger scale. Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, known simply as Swamiji, says that yoga’s benefits extend beyond better heart health; he thinks it is a pathway to individual balance that can lead to improved relationships and, ultimately, a stable society. Swamiji travels the globe teaching Yoga in Daily Life (www.yogaindailylife.org), which is taught in a step-by-step method, making it accessible to intellectualized Western thinking. Yoga in Daily Life can be practiced by people of all ages and in all states of health, but can be especially helpful for those with heart disease or high blood pressure.

“Stress is considered to be a major contributing factor to heart disease,” says Swamiji. “Yoga emphasizes relaxation through breathing, asanas and meditation, which makes it an extremely effective method for reducing stress and the associated health problems, as well as a great way to improve circulation.” His recommendations for a healthier heart include eating organic foods, reducing dietary fats and sugars, drinking plenty of pure water and taking 30-minute walks, in addition to practicing yoga postures at home and attending a yoga class at least once a week. And Swamiji reminds us that there’s more to having a healthy heart than perfecting postures, breathing and meditation: “Laugh every day because it will make your heart light.”

Whether you’re looking to improve an existing cardiac condition or simply keep your heart healthy, yoga provides a gentle, yet powerful, approach to well-being.

A Different Needle
Facial acupuncture offers a natural alternative to Botox injections.

By Susan Weiner, Energy Times

When the slender needle pierces the furrowed brow between my eyes, the pinprick quickly gives way to a calming, almost euphoric sense. Waves of pleasure surge from my forehead into my brain before traveling down my shoulders and along my spine. I feel completely and oddly at peace.

“That point is called Yintang and it is a point to calm and balance the shen, or spirit,” explains Neil Weinberg, LAc, DiplOM. He is the acupuncturist I’ve visited to learn about facial rejuvenation acupuncture, a practice reputed to reduce puffiness, wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots. “What you were feeling is called the ‘qi response,’ which is sometimes experienced as a profound sense of balance, relaxation or harmony,” he adds.

The idea that a virtually painless acupuncture procedure could induce such a joyous state while visibly reducing wrinkles seemed too good to be true. Considering that nearly 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in the US in 2006—a 446% increase since 1997—laugh lines are clearly no laughing matter. Maturing women and men are increasingly willing to endure the dangerous risks associated with surgery, chemical injections and harsh peels. In fact, the most frequently performed procedure, reports the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), is injection with Botox, or purified botulinum toxin. Botox can reduce wrinkling by paralyzing facial muscles, but it requires repeated injections and can cause such side effects as headaches, difficulty swallowing and upper respiratory infections.

Promoted as an alternative to such risky and expensive procedures, facial rejuvenation acupuncture, also known as cosmetic acupuncture, has been practiced as far back as 960 AD, when the royalty of China’s Sung Dynasty used it to engender beauty and good health. Practitioners claim it helps the whole body look and feel younger by addressing the physical, mental and emotional patterns that contribute to aging. Moreover, facial rejuvenation acupuncture is reported to improve muscle tone, increase collagen production, tighten pores and boost circulation and moisture in the skin. These kind of results have attracted high-profile attention; ardent fans of this procedure are said to include Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cher.

“They call it facial rejuvenation, but the whole body undergoes some rejuvenation and revitalization every time you get acupuncture,” says Weinberg, who treats numerous clients with facial acupuncture at the Integrative Medicine Center in Ithaca, New York, and at Complementary Medicine and Healing Arts in nearby Vestal. “The treatment is to basically reduce aging and maximize health. Different people are going to get different points in the body and the face.”

Weinberg asks detailed questions, palpates pulses, examines the tongue and determines the skin quality, facial traits and body type of a client before beginning treatment. He offers them a choice: facial needles only a quarter-inch long or a needle-free, micro-current option called an Acutron. Chinese herbs are an important part of the facial rejuvenation protocol, with formulas customized to balance the individual’s constitution while helping to continue the effects of the acupuncture between treatments.

More Than Skin Deep?

The theory behind facial acupuncture contends that thin needles inserted into wrinkles and frown lines stimulate energy and relax the muscles as blood rushes to the surface. The muscles then tighten, which decreases sagging of the facial skin. The needles also stimulate the cells to create new collagen fibers, filling in fine lines and wrinkles.

Though there is nothing new or trendy about facial rejuvenation—the Chinese have practiced the healing art for more than 5,000 years—little formal research has been conducted. One large-scale study, published in the International Journal of Clinical Acupuncture in 1996, revealed that of 300 individuals receiving facial acupuncture, 90% saw marked results after their first course of treatment. A treatment typically runs 10 to 15 sessions with periodic follow-up sessions.

In a society that clamors for immediate gratification, facial rejuvenation acupuncture offers less risk, expense and recovery time than medical alternatives, since the only real side effect of facial acupuncture may be bruising. But can the treatment offer the same results as more invasive—and far riskier—procedures? Quite possibly, according to Ronit Gesundheit, MS, LAc, at the Healing Arts of Marin in Novato, California.

“Facial rejuvenation is a non-toxic alternative to surgery and other chemical procedures,” says Gesundheit. “A reduction in wrinkles as well as improvement with droopy eyelids, sagginess and age spots are all among the results that can be expected from a series of treatments. But the benefits go beyond the surface.”

The face can be looked at as a microcosm of the whole body, so wrinkles, lines and age spots are clues that tell the acupuncturist what needs to be balanced internally, says Gesundheit. “In this way, facial acupuncture treatments help to fade both the wrinkles and other symptoms, commonly issues relating to stress, sleep, hormones and digestion. Treatments are relaxing and have the added benefit of a radiant glow that comes from a balanced system, inside and out.”

Facial rejuvenation acupuncture just may be an aging girl’s (or guy’s) new best friend. While the treatment can’t reshape a nose or a chin, it may take years off a face, safely and naturally. “It’s not going to be as pronounced as a facelift,” says Weinberg. “On the other hand, you’re not going to look like a Stepford wife.”