Deepak Chopra's Ayurvedic Retreat Program Yields Sustained Increases in Well-Being

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - Sept. 14, 2016 - PRLog -- Participants in the weeklong residential "Perfect Health Program," developed by author and researcher Deepak Chopra, MD, had significant and lasting increases in perceived well-being and reductions in anxiety compared to a control group that experienced relaxation alone. These results are presented in the study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/). The article is available free on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acm.2016.0002)  website until October 14, 2016.

The study entitled "The Self-Directed Biological Transformation Initiative and Well-Being (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acm.2016.0002)," led by Paul Mills, PhD University of California, San Diego (La Jolla) and the Samueli Institute (Alexandria, VA), with coauthors from Duke University (Durham, NC) and Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY), and including Rudoph Tanzi, MD,  Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) and Deepak Chopra, MD, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing (Carlsbad, CA), evaluated healthy men and women participating in the Ayurvedic program at a residential resort location for 6 days and included a 1-month follow-up. The intervention included group meditation and yoga, massage, diet, adaptogenic herbs, lectures, and journaling. Members of the control group simply vacationed during their stay. Self-reported measures included spirituality, gratitude, self-compassion, and anxiety.

"Given the significant amounts of money being spent to help bring people to health, this team's look at a whole system, residential, integrative approach is a particularly useful contribution," says The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine Editor-in-Chief John Weeks, johnweeks-integrator.com, Seattle, WA.

About the Journal
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (http://www.liebertpub.com/acm) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online with open access options and in print. Led by John Weeks (johnweeks-integrator.com), the Co-founder and past Executive Director of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health, the Journal provides observational, clinical, and scientific reports and commentary intended to help healthcare professionals, delivery organization leaders, and scientists evaluate and integrate therapies into patient care protocols and research strategies. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (http://www.liebertpub.com/acm) website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/)  is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Alternative and Complementary Therapies, Medical Acupuncture, and Journal of Medicinal Food. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN(Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/)  website.