Canadian Medical Guide > Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment > Therapeutics > Complementary Therapies > Mind-Body and Relaxation Techniques Terms and Definitions

Mind-Body and Relaxation Techniques

Medical Definition:	A group of healing methods which emphasize mind-body interactions with intended benefits that include relaxation and emotional well being.
Guide Notes:	avoid: too general; prefer specifics

Mind-Body and Relaxation Techniques Categories.

	Aromatherapy - The use of fragrances and essences from plants to affect or alter a person's mood or behavior and to facilitate physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The chemicals comprising essential oils in plants has a host of therapeutic properties and has been used historically in Africa, Asia, and India. Its greatest application is in the field of alternative medicine. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed; from Dr. Atiba Vheir, Dove Center, Washington, D.C.)
	Biofeedback (Psychology) - Process by which a person uses biofeedback information to gain voluntary control over processes or functions which are primarily under autonomic control. It is used in experimental or treatment settings with human subjects. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Terms, 8th ed)
	Breathing Exercises - Therapeutic exercises aimed to deepen inspiration or expiration or even to alter the rate and rhythm of respiration.
	Hypnosis - A state of increased receptivity to suggestion and direction, initially induced by the influence of another person.
	Imagery (Psychotherapy) - The use of mental images produced by the imagination as a form of psychotherapy. It can be classified by the modality of its content: visual, verbal, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, or kinesthetic. Common themes derive from nature imagery (e.g., forests and mountains), water imagery (e.g., brooks and oceans), travel imagery, etc. Imagery is used in the treatment of mental disorders and in helping patients cope with other diseases. Imagery often forms a part of HYPNOSIS, of AUTOGENIC TRAINING, of RELAXATION TECHNIQUES, and of BEHAVIOR THERAPY. (From Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, vol. 4, pp29-30, 1994)
	Laughter Therapy - Therapeutic use of humor and laughter to improve emotional well being in order to facilitate improvement in health.
	Meditation - A state of consciousness in which the individual eliminates environmental stimuli from awareness so that the mind can focus on a single thing, producing a state of relaxation and relief from stress. A wide variety of techniques are used to clear the mind of stressful outside interferences. It includes meditation therapy. (Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, 4th ed)
	Mental Healing - The use of mind to cure disease, particularly physical illness.
	Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics) - The relation between the mind and the body in a religious, social, spiritual, behavioral, and metaphysical context. This concept is significant in the field of alternative medicine. It differs from the relationship between physiologic processes and behavior where the emphasis is on the body's physiology ( = PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY).
	Psychophysiology - The study of the physiological basis of human and animal behavior.
	Relaxation - Activity which reduces feelings of tension.
	Relaxation Techniques - The use of muscular relaxation techniques in treatment.
	Tai Ji - One of the MARTIAL ARTS and also a form of meditative exercise using methodically slow circular stretching movements and positions of body balance.
	Therapeutic Touch - Placing of the hands of the healer upon the person to be cured with the intent of spiritual energetic healing.
	Yoga - A major orthodox system of Hindu philosophy based on Sankhya (metaphysical dualism) but differing from it in being theistic and characterized by the teaching of raja-yoga as a practical method of liberating the self. It includes a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being with liberation of the self and union with the universal spirit. (From Webster, 3d ed)

Mind-Body and Relaxation Techniques Medical Definitions and Terms

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