Did you know the nation’s leading academic institution for Integrative Health is right here in Howard County, Maryland!
For nearly 40 years, Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH), formerly Tai Sophia. MUIH has educated practitioners in health and wellness through transformative and relationship-centered programs that draw from traditional wisdom and contemporary science. They offer graduate degrees and certifications in a wide range of wellness fields, as well as programs for professional and personal development. MUIH has an on-campus Natural Care Center and community outreach settings, where they provide compassionate and affordable healthcare from student interns and professional practioners, and delver more the 35,000 clinical treatments and consultations each year.
What is Integrative Medicine?
Integrative medicine, which focuses on caring for the whole human being—body, mind, spirit, and community, not just flesh, bones, and organs. Integrative medicine is the practice of medicine that focuses on the whole person and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
We’ve all seen the words “complementary,” “alternative,” and “integrative,” but what do they really mean?
People often use “alternative” and “complementary” interchangeably, but the two terms refer to different concepts:
- If a non-mainstream practice is used together with conventional medicine, it’s considered “complementary.”
- If a non-mainstream practice is used in place of conventional medicine, it’s considered “alternative.”
Most complementary health approaches fall into one of two subgroups—natural products or mind and body practices.
Natural Products
This group includes a variety of products, such as herbs (also known as botanicals), vitamins and minerals, and probiotics. They are widely marketed, readily available to consumers, and often sold as dietary supplements.
Mind and Body Practices
Mind and body practices include a large and diverse group of procedures or techniques administered or taught by a trained practitioner or teacher. The 2012 NHIS showed that Yoga, Chiropractic and Osteopathic Manipulation, Meditation, and Massage Therapy are among the most popular mind and body practices used by adults. The popularity of yoga has grown dramatically in recent years, with almost twice as many U.S. adults practicing yoga in 2012 as in 2002.
Other mind and body practices include Acupuncture, Relaxation Techniques (such as breathing exercises, guided imagery, and progressive muscle relaxation), Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Healing Touch, Hypnotherapy, and Movement Therapies (such as Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, Pilates, Rolfing Structural Integration, and Trager psychophysical integration).