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This research is a qualitative study that aimed to anthropologically explore the effects of consistent long-term yogic practice on the acceptance and practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among yoga practitioners at a South Florida yoga center. I wished to determine, through in-depth interviews, whether or not yogic practice affects acceptance of CAM. The main objective was to interview individuals from a single yoga center that have practiced yoga at least once per week for at least one year concerning their beliefs about CAM, yoga, and health. This project will begin to fill the gap in social science, in general, and specifically, the anthropological literature. Scholars of various backgrounds have discussed elements of yogic practice and philosophy that were integral to my understanding of the data. The health benefits of yoga as CAM, the associations between yoga and beliefs about health, and the association between yoga and Indian philosophy and medicine have each been explored. However, anthropological scholarship discussing the effects of consistent, long-term yogic practice on the acceptance of other CAM’s or Western biomedicine has not been examined.

<p> The purpose of this thesis was to explore why and how seniors used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as well as the meanings they attached to their use of unconventional therapies. To this end, I conducted in-depth, individual interviews with 43 older adults-15 men and 28 women. Based on these data, I found that while all participants recognized the importance of conventional healthcare and continued to use its services, a number of people distrusted and were dissatisfied with medical doctors and treatments as well. Though these negative feelings were not sufficient to push seniors towards CAM, they certainly played a role in their decision making. What informants particularly valued about unconventional approaches was that they allowed them to assert greater control over their health and, to some extent, their aging process. As a result, they viewed CAM as being an integral part of their aging lifestyles and actively incorporated these therapies into their treatment regimens. These findings overall contribute to the relatively scant, albeit growing, body of research on CAM use in later life, seniors' management of regimens, and older patients' dissatisfaction with and distrust of conventional medicine. Theoretically, the findings of this work demonstrate the importance of meaning in later life and specifically, how meanings attached to conventional and unconventional care can influence older adults' health-related perceptions and practices.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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