An alternative armamentarium for the healthcare setting 

An alternative armamentarium for the healthcare setting 

In the rapidly expanding world of complementary medicine, the harmonica, ukulele or the guitar are proving to be as invaluable to healthcare as the therapeutic armamentarium of modern medicine.

As they illustrated the value of alternative interventions such as yoga and music at a recent lecture-demonstration (lec-dem) held at the Alliance Francaise auditorium (AFP), a group of medical students enacted hospital scenarios of people in different circumstances — a woman in post-partum pain; a recovering drug addict; and a clinically depressed transgender patient — recovering from a medical condition and regaining health through music sessions with a trained therapist.

This drill, the audience was told, was not about hypothetical scenarios but a recreation of actual situations at the MGMCRI hospital, where a salutogenic approach integrating yoga and music to complement therapy has been successfully adopted for patients with various disorders.

The session, ‘Holistic Wellness Through Music and Yoga’, was jointly presented by faculty and students of the Schools of Yoga Therapy (SYT) and Music Therapy (SMT) that function under the Institute of Salutogenesis and Complementary Medicine (ISCM).

To deal with non-communicable diseases, the ISCM has pioneered a salutogenic approach that integrates yoga and music, which is nothing but the nada yoga that taps into the vibrational essence of life, to render relief to patients in a clinical setting and improve the lives of people from all walks of life, said ISCM director Anand Balayogi Bhavanani.

Salutogenesis adopts a holistic philosophy that looks at wellness across the physical, mental, social and spiritual dimensions, Mr. Balayogi said.