With winter closing in, it is time to make some lifestyle adjustments so as to avoid the colds, flus and the all-around gloominess that the season brings. There are ways to keep your body healthy and your mind cheery November through March, and they don’t have to include a week-long vacation in the Bahamas or a cabinet full of prescription drugs.
For those looking for an all-natural, preventative approach to health, there are several great iPhone applications worth exploring. Don’t discount the importance of regular doctors visits, but there are plenty of good alternative medicine options available as well.
The Home Natural Remedies app ($0.99) is best described as an encyclopedia of alternative medical treatments, alphabetized by ailment. If you are suffering from anxiety, for example, the app provides you with a half-dozen options to curb the problem. It includes listings for everything from vertigo to bed wetting, and allows users to bookmark anything that they might want to return to later.
Related: Five free iPhone apps for surviving Flu Season
The iTherapy app for $1.99 is a great resource for someone who is exploring alternative medicine options, and wants to know the scope of the treatments available. It includes an extensive list of therapies, including who might benefit from them and how they work. If you are curious about reflexology, for example, you can learn via the app that the therapy includes the messaging of the feet and that it originated in ancient China.
Could you use a good massage or some acupuncture, but don’t have the time to make an appointment? The $0.99 Ancient Remedies app actually provides a micro version of such treatments that can be used on-the-go. Open the app and you’re presented with the image of a human body, and asked to indicate the exact area where you are experiencing pain or discomfort. It instructs you where and how to apply the iPhone to the body, and then gives off vibrations so as to relieve pressure points.
Many doctors agree that mental health can directly affect physical health, so working on them simultaneously should be a priority. The free Live Happy app helps you refocus on the positives in your life by guiding you through a serious of exercises. The app helps you assess where you are now – including what you are thankful for and where you can improve – and where you would like to be in the coming years. Consider it a mental check-up!
Breathing exercises have long been used to calm the mind and balance emotions. The Long Deep Breathing app ($0.99) is a great way to employ the practice at home, or at the office. It guides users through a series of deep breathing exercises while also allowing adjustments to the length of each breath and the length of the entire exercise.
For those who want to take their breathing a step further, there is the $2.99 Guided Insight Meditation app. It provides a brief audio introduction to the practice of meditation, as well as extensive writings on how it can be put to use and how to best practice it.
Related iPhone App List: Alternative Remedies
