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HW499 Unit 5 Assignment- Lecture Notes

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HW499 Unit 5 Assignment- Lecture Notes

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Course

Week 1

Course learning objectives addressed in today’s lecture are objectives 1 and 2.

What is complementary and alternative medicine, and what makes it different from the

medicine that we use? Complementary and alternative medicine is any non-Western medicine or

medical system that is used either in conjunction with or in place of Western medicine (National

Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2018), whereas Western or allopathic

medicine describes what we typically receive here in the United States. What are some treatment

methods and medicine that we are accustomed to in the United States? Treatments here might

include vaccines, annual check-ups with a doctor or other advanced healthcare practitioner,

surgery, hospitalization, different medications, and the use of high-technology instruments such

as scanning and imaging equipment, robotics, and computer programs that can analyze genetic

material to determine the most effective medication for different people; all of which are usually

associated with expensive co-pays and bills. With that in mind, what might be some forms of

CAM? Johns Hopkins Medicine (n.d.) identifies several, including Traditional Chinese

Medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, nutrition and herbs, chiropractic, massage, reiki,

hypnosis, and art and music therapy, among others. We would need well over the 4.5 hours of

this class to discuss these various CAM practices, so we are going to focus on one that is

versatile, free, and requires nothing more than a few minutes of your time each day- meditation.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years by ancient cultures across the globe,

however it has only been more widely practiced in the United States for the last few decades

(National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2016); while practiced a little
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differently in each region, groups in China, Japan, and India are well-known for their meditative

practices. Similarly, some commonly observed religions here in the United States incorporate

meditation into their practices, though they likely refer to it as prayer. When we hear the word

meditation, what thoughts or images come to mind? Though we tend to envision someone sitting

cross-legged on the ground with their eyes closed and repeating a mantra like “ohm”, meditation

can take many forms and is regarded as an individual activity in which one relaxes both the mind

and body (Kreitzer, 2009). Among the differences in practice, there are a few principles or

requirements of meditation that practitioners generally agree upon: a quiet setting, a comfortable

position, a readiness to focus, and an open mind (National Center for Complementary and

Integrative Health, 2016).

Next week we will discuss various forms of meditation and their physiological effects on

the body. Refer to the Week 1 Handout for a graphic of the common principles of meditation as

well as a link to a website that names different kinds of meditation. As homework for this week,

please visit that website and find one type of meditation that you would like to know more about

and bring that to class next week. Feel free to research it further if you would like, but please

remember that we will discuss some of them as a group next week.

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Week 2

Course learning objectives addressed in today’s lesson are objectives 3 and 4.

Now that we have a bit of an understanding of what meditation is, what are the types that

you all discovered over the last week? There are several kinds of meditation, more than we can

cover in this amount of time, so we will discuss a few across the spectrum. The first of these is

mindfulness meditation, which involves bringing mindfulness to different daily activities such as

eating, brushing your teeth, or even breathing (Kreitzer, 2009). To bring this to life, I brought a

bag of grapes to class. I would like each of you to take a grape and analyze it for a few minutes-

what are the colors, smells, and textures that you find? Then slowly eat the grape and we will

discuss the activity as a group. What was that like? Have you ever put that much thought into

eating a grape? Another form of meditation is loving-kindness, a practice in which you extend

positive thoughts to yourself and others, often using a mantra (Greater Good Science Center,

University of California Berkeley, n.d.). For example, you might start out by sending thoughts of

kindness, happiness, and health to yourself, then stretching that to a loved one, then to an

acquaintance, and finally to someone you don’t know. For each level of loving-kindness, repeat

the same mantra. Although they aren’t often perceived as meditation, yoga and other movements

can serve meditative purposes. In yoga, the practitioner couples movement with breathing by

holding poses called asanas (Wiese et al., 2019). As you become stronger, more flexible, more

familiar with the poses, and more aware of your body and breath, the movement becomes a

meditation. Let’s take a moment to practice a brief series of poses and end with what is called

child’s pose; please do what you feel comfortable with. How did that make everyone feel and is

this something you could see yourself continuing to practice? Why or why not?
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Regardless of the meditation modality, they have been proven repeatedly to elicit the

parasympathetic nervous response, which is a complicated way of saying the opposite of fight or

flight (Kreitzer, 2009). Many aspects of our daily routines or lack thereof can cause chronic

stress, which our body’s way of manifesting the fight or flight response. When we don’t address

that response, the chronic stress can lead to several health issues, including high blood pressure,

heart disease, anxiety, and depression. Meditation quiets the mind and body by triggering a part

of our brain called the relaxation response and can effectively reduce our heart rate, breathing

rate, and blood pressure in minutes (Kreitzer, 2009).

Next week we will talk about the research behind meditation and how you can find it in

our community. Use the next handout in your packet to record any meditation practices you do

this week. You won’t need to share them with anyone or turn them in for a grade, rather they are

for your own use in visualizing whether the meditations you practice work for you.
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Week 3

Course learning objectives addressed in today’s lecture include objectives 5 and 6.

Last week we discussed how meditation works on our minds and bodies; this week we’re

going to talk about the research behind meditation, what it can be used for, and how to find

meditation practitioners to learn from. According to the National Center for Complementary and

Integrative Health (2016), meditation has been shown to reduce symptoms of health conditions

such as hypertension, insomnia, chronic pain, mental health challenges like anxiety and

depression, and some gastrointestinal issues; interestingly, a 2014 study review showed that

practicing meditation regularly even went to far as to boost participants’ immune responses and

reduced inflammatory markers. Another study demonstrated that regular mindfulness meditation

practices decreased the amount of time people spent ruminating on events and situations that

caused them to be angry (Hirano & Yukawa, 2013). Kreitzer (2009) also mentions several

studies in which meditation reduced perceived stress levels and increased quality of life. Keep in

mind that it is important to share with your primary care physician any meditation practices you

begin; there are few contraindications with meditation, but you should know what they are

before you begin.

Training and certifications for completing meditation programs can be difficult to come

by and vary based on the type of mediation one is teaching (Kreitzer, 2009). Fortunately,

technology has made it easy for us to look for practitioners in our local communities with a

simple internet search. Based on my findings, there doesn’t appear to be any meditation classes

available in Sterling or the surrounding areas; the nearest class is in Fort Collins. However, there

are a couple yoga instructors in town, including one here at the college. Information for the class

can be found in the college admissions office. If yoga isn’t the meditation for you, there are
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plenty of free meditation guides online and even apps that can be downloaded to your smart

phone. With that being said, do your research and use meditation guides from credible sources.

This week’s handout is a simple yoga flow that you can practice every morning. If you

experience any of the health conditions we discussed today, note how the yoga makes you feel

and whether it has any positive impact on your health condition over time. We will finish today’s

lecture with a group quiz and some time to discuss any lingering questions you might still have.

Aside from that, thank you for attending this class and I hope to see you all in future classes.
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References

Greater Good Science Center, University of California Berkeley. (n.d.). Loving-kindness

meditation. Greater Good Science Center.

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation

Hirano, M., & Yukawa, S. (2013). The impact of mindfulness meditation on anger. Japanese

Journal of Psychology, 84(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.4992/jjpsy.84.93

Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Types of complementary and alternative medicine. Johns

Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-

prevention/types-of-complementary-and-alternative-medicine

Kreitzer, M. J. (2009). Meditation. University of Minnesota, Earl E. Bakken Center for

Spirituality and Healing.

http://www.cshmodules.umn.edu/Integrativehealingpractices/med_rlo__sq.php?

runningtitle=Meditation

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2016). Meditation: In depth.

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2018). Complementary, alternative,

or integrative health: What’s in a name? U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and

Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/complementary-alternative-or-

integrative-health-whats-in-a-name

Wiese, C., Keil, D., Rasmussen, A. S., & Olesen, R. (2019). Effects of yoga asana practice

approach on types of benefits experienced. International Journal of Yoga, 12(3), 218–

225. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_81_18