Health insurance may not cover the services we want, and high deductibles may pose a financial challenge in maintaining comprehensive health care, so we need a personal wellness plan.


and when to use it. It’s the practitioner’s job to educate patients in this way.” Dr. Andrew Weil, renowned as the father of the integrative medicine move- ment in the U.S., has remarked, “If I’m in a car accident, don’t take me to an herbalist. If I have bacterial pneumonia, give me antibiotics. But when it comes to maximizing the body’s natural heal- ing potential, a mix of conventional and alternative procedures seems like the only answer.” Dr. Shekhar Annambhotla, found- ing director and president of the As- sociation of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America, turns to the integrative realm of ayurvedic medicine for heal- ing and wellness. The 5,000-year-old Indian healing tradition incorporates lifestyle changes, yoga and medita- tion, detoxification, herbs, massage and various other individually targeted healing modalities, depending on the patient’s diagnosis and recommended treatment plan.


Customized Team “Wellness is a team effort,” advises integrative medicine specialist Dr. Vijay Jain, medical director at Amrit Ayurveda for Total Wellbeing, in Salt Springs, Florida. It’s not only a matter of knowing what needs the practitioners will address at specific times, it’s also knowing who can help when the going gets tough. “Modern medicine has the edge for early detection of disease,” Jain notes. “However, Ayurveda is excellent in determining the earliest imbalances in the mind and body that eventually lead to disease.”


Most experts consulted agree that a personal wellness program should include a practitioner that acts as a gate- keeper and coordinates a care plan to meet individual needs. Jain recommends that the foundation of the team be a licensed medical professional such as an integrative physician (MD), osteopathic doctor (DO) or chiropractor (DC). In


most states, any of these professionals can function as a primary care doctor, authorized to order and read laboratory tests, prescribe drugs and access hospital services. In some states, a naturopathic physician (ND) can perform the func- tions of a primary care doctor in order- ing and reading laboratory tests. As part of a personal wellness team, consider a functional medicine or integrative physician, chiroprac- tor, osteopath, doctor of naturopathy, ayurvedic practitioner, nutritionist, Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor/ acupuncturist, herbalist, craniosacral therapist, massage therapist and energy practitioner (such as in Reiki, medical qigong or polarity therapy). It’s not necessary to see all of them,


sources say. Sometimes, one practitio- ner will be skilled in practicing several modalities, a bonus for patients. Other complementary practitioners may form a supporting team that works with the primary care team, depending on the challenges a patient faces. They will be identified as treatment unfolds and the team evolves over time.


Contributing Specialists An ayurvedic practitioner likely will begin by helping to define healthful life- style changes, depending on one’s do- sha, or energetic temperament. Yoga and meditation would be a likely recommen- dation, plus specific herbs and perhaps detoxification, says Annambhotla. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture often go hand-in hand with Ayurveda in ac- cordance with the view that illness and disease are caused by imbalances in the body’s energetic flow. Diagnos- tic techniques employ intuition and pulses to assess and smooth blocks in energy circulation. Craniosacral therapy is another


way to unlock energetic blockages caused by lifestyle stress and other factors that restrict and congest the


body’s innate ability to self-correct and remain healthy, says Joyce Harad- er, a registered craniosacral therapist in Cave Creek, Arizona, and secre- tary of the board of the Biodynamic Cranial Sacral Therapy Association of North America.


She relied on a whole team to


realize a natural way back to health after being diagnosed with lupus in 1992. “Members of my health team fluctuate, depending on what is going on in my life and where I am focusing,” comments Harader. She points out, for example, that nutrition education and general deep-tissue massage can both be helpful as part of a foundational plan toward obtaining and maintaining optimal health. In fact, many of our experts recom- mend both a monthly chiropractic ad- justment and/or massage, as well as daily yoga and an ongoing meditation practice for wellness and total well-being. Naturopathic practitioners oper- ating in states where they are licensed can be good sources of nutrition counsel and often recommend herbal remedies for relief. “For chronic illness, you need a chiropractor or drug-free physician like a naturopath on your team. Conventional medi- cine is generally poor at dealing with chronic illness,” observes Naturopath and Chiropractor Michael Loquasto, Ph.D., who practices in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.


Loquasto should know. He has


practiced integrated modalities for 50 years, employing the knowledge gained through his practice and triple doctor- ates, which include one in nutrition. Also a master herbalist, he strongly advocates that people start by working with a good integrative or functional medicine medical doctor. “In some states, like Pennsylvania,


chiropractors and osteopaths can perform routine diagnostic work, but in many states they cannot,” he notes. “I recommend undergoing a physical every six months and regular bone density tests, plus colonoscopies.” Lo- quasto is not in favor of mammograms because of the radiation exposure as- sociated with them, but supports rou- tine breast screening using ultrasound or thermography.


January 2014 23


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