Jessica Wakeman

Quitting smoking isn’t easy but now a days, smokers do not have to do it alone and cold turkey is not the only option.
Now there are elaborate support systems through clinics and insurance programs to help smokers become smoke-free.
According to The New York City government site 1 million New Yorkers are still smoking. Being a smoker increase insurance premiums by three times and stays on your medical record for numerous years down the road, so even if a person only briefly smoked or has since quit, premiums are still higher than a non-smoker.
These increased payments along with the high cost of cigarettes can create a gapping hole in a smoker’s pocket. The best option is simply to quit.

NYC.gov’s Bureau of Tobacco Control gives a listing of various clinics throughout the boroughs that offer cessation programs. Many private and public insurance programs also offer programs and incentives to quit smoking. Often the insurance companies run a program to send nicotine patches to people dedicated to quitting. Ghi insurance has a guide to quit smoking with plenty of resources for quitting.

The options of how to quit are limitless including hypnosis, acupuncture, patches, gum, smokeless cigarettes, herbal remedies and of course cold turkey. No matter what the method though there is plenty of support and reasons for ditching the habit.

FREE coaching and support 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487)

Acupuncture’s medical benefits have often been disputed. Some question whether the resulted pain relief is based in scientific fact or human perception of relief.
Regardless of its actual or perceived healing benefits, insurance programs are covering acupuncture more and more as alternative medicine becomes higher in demand and more mainstream.
A survey done in 2004 performed by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 47 percent of all employers surveyed offered acupuncture as a covered health benefit, up from 33 percent in 2002. Fifty-two percent of the Point Of Service plans covered acupuncture; 47 percent of the PPO plans offered coverage; 44 percent of conventional plans included an acupuncture benefit; and 41 percent of HMO plans provided coverage.

A 2006 survey of 18 major HMOs and insurance providers, including Aetna, Medicare, Prudential, and Kaiser Permanente, found that 14 of them covered at least 11 of 34 alternative therapies.
The movement to integrate acupuncture into the current Health Care System was initiated by former President Bill Clinton who established the White House Commission on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Policy (CAM). The recommendation of this committee was that the federal health plans, Medicare and Medicaid, commence insurance coverage of acupuncture.

As public and private insurance companies include acupuncture in their offered plans it is becoming more accessible as a remedy for chronic pain, whether it is based in science or based in perception it is within the public reach. For many who are fed up with modern medicine, acupuncture is a real alternative for pain relief, who cares if it is all in the head or not, as long as it relieves the pain and is covered by insurance.

Apparently any type of health care can be holistic. The market has opened up to become a selling point right up there with “green” and “organic”.
There does not appear to be official guidelines of what can be deemed holistic but it does seem more to be about how convincing a practice can be to show that they are catering to the whole body and using mostly non-harmful materials for the body and the earth.

And now there are quite a few holistic dentists in NYC.

DentaSpa in Midtown Manhattan boasts a zen-like environment to their office and truth be told, what’s better then going to the spa to get your teeth cleaned?

“Getting your toothache checked, cleaned or whitened can now all be done in the comfort of a spa. From the moment you set foot in our space, you will experience a rich and zen-like environment that will help put your mind at ease.”

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Dr. Frederick Mindel

Audio: Holistic Healthcare with Dr. Mindel

Dr. Frederick Mindel comes to holistic medicine via an unorthodox route — trial law. After a chiropractor helped him with a back injury, he changed the course of his career and works now as a chiropractor. But he considers himself a holistic healthcare specialist. Dr. Mindel’s website tells all about holistic health. He shares his perspective–gained from studying all over the world–below on BlogTalkRadio.

Michelle Dortignac started Unnata Aerial Yoga three years ago.

She was a dancer whose interests in the body’s movement eventually led her to study yoga. As a yoga instructor she continued to take on various dance gigs, she started to see aerial silks being used more and more in dance.

She saw how fabric could be used to accentuate the body’s natural movements and started to teach yoga classes using the fabrics. This style uses yogi poses in conjunction with fabric that can help translate into a better stretch when moving to the floor.

Dortignac says the practice is not like lying around on pillows; it actually takes work and uses muscles that we do not often use.

She is excited to see what is next in the yoga world and speculates about the possibilities, “maybe next there will be swimming yoga…”

Bill Saxton opened Bill’s Place two years ago, where he is rejuvenating jazz in Harlem.