Integrative Studies Historical Archive and Repository: A library for the mind/body community

I.S.H.A.R. is an online digital library, the first of it’s kind, dedicated to the entire mind/body phenomenon and all of the integrative studies therien.

‘Mind/body’ is a very broad category – and includes everything from Integrative Health practices currently adopted by approximately 40% of US Hospitals, to  various forms of traditional and alternative medical systems and therapies, such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine from which, a vast majority of common integrative procedures continue to derive.

Such practices including acupuncture, massage therapy, meditation, relaxation techniques, spinal manipulation, and yoga are officially recognized as mind/body practices by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health.

From a societal point of view – ‘mind/body’ can include a wide range of practices, including yoga, tai chi, Qigong, certain martial arts, chanting, meditation and many indigenous practices.

In the US alone, an increasing number of people are using integrative medical solutions.

“According to the 2007 NHIS, several mind and body practices ranked among the top complementary health approaches used by adults. The mind and body practices most commonly used included deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, massage, yoga, progressive relaxation, and guided imagery.” (NCCAM)

From an academic and philosophical point of view – there is indeed a ‘mind/body’ problem as Western science grapples with the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness  and those whodefine the mind as strictly the brain, while social and medical institutions adopt practices that offer different, occasionally contradictory advice on healing, consciousness and mind, or perspectives on the issue of mind/body studies.

Therefore, the ‘mind/body’ issue, taken as a form of integrative and holistic studies can encompass many things, from US health care, human rights, consciousness research andenvironmental issues as our global society adopts a more holistic viewpoint.

I.S.H.A.R. is a library dedicated to preserving ideas whose time have come.