Naturopathy Healing System

Naturopathy is a system of healing that relies heavily on natural remedies. Such include water, air and sunlight. The natural environment is supplemented with natural therapies and diets. The medical system was first developed in Germany, and slowly found its way to North America in the 20^th century, where it is deeply rooted as a complementary type of medicine.

The central belief surrounding this medical system is that nature contains healing powers.  The system also relies on the belief that the human body and other living organisms are able to return to balanced health by healing themselves through nature.

Naturopathy practitioners prefer using natural treatment approaches, over drugs and mainstream medical procedures, which they consider invasive and counterproductive to the human health. Some of the common therapies under naturopathy include water treatments (hydrotherapy), gentle exercises, wholesome diet consumption, herbal medication and exposure to fresh air and sunshine. This makes naturopathy a relatively safe treatment approach. However, people are advised that it is better to use it as a complimentary form of treatment rather than an alternative treatment.

The naturopathy practitioners usually interview the patient in order to find out about their medical history and their lifestyles. The naturopathy practitioner then performs his own tests, which may include diagnostic and scanning tests. In the end, the practitioner sets up a management plan aimed at addressing the patient’s illness and overall health. Some naturopathy procedures such as manipulation, acupuncture or hydrotherapy are done in the practitioner’s office, while some less demanding procedures are done on the patients own comfort. Such include fasting, dietetics, and exercising. The greatest success of this system of treatment is its ability to rebuild health, by improving or eliminating degenerative or chronic diseases.

For people suffering from acute trauma or orthopedic complications, naturopathy is not recommended as an alternative form of treatment. However, it can be used after corrective conventional treatment has been performed as it helps in faster recovery.

Naturopathy terms a disease as the manifestation of natural causes, which the body can adequately heal by itself. As such, a naturopath educates the patient to stimulate the body in order to launch the healing forces. This in turn removes the imbalance causing the disease. Should the healing forces fail to work as anticipated, the disease symptoms continue either intermittently or at subtle levels. Such could be manifested in the body through inflammation or fever.

The five main principles of naturopathy are:

1. Nature has a powerful force that heals the human body:  This belief lays down the role of the naturopathy practitioner as a facilitator and an educator who helps the patients understand and practice approaches that would stimulate the healing forces in the body.

2. A person is made of complex but, must be seen and treated as a whole:  This means that the naturopathy practitioner must understand the patient’s interaction of the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects.

3. Identifying and dealing with the problem is the main goal: Based on this belief, naturopaths see every symptom of a disease as the body’s attempt to heal. As such, they do not engage in any activities that would suppress the symptoms. Rather, they seek to unearth the underlying cause of the symptoms. The naturopathy practitioner belief that some diseases are caused by spiritual disharmony, inappropriate social interactions, poor diets or imbalanced social engagements

4. The naturopathy practitioner is a teacher: the role of the naturopathy practitioner is to educate, motivate and empower the patients who come to him. This is done with the aim of teaching them to assume more responsibility over their wellness. This is done through encouraging the patients to adopt healthier lifestyles.

5.  Prevention is best:  This belief may sound cliché, but naturopathy beliefs that lifestyle habits that support health should be adopted by anyone hoping to avoid getting sick.

Naturopaths see disease as a bodily response to imbalances and toxins brought about by a person’s psychic, spiritual and social environments. When the body weakens in a bad environment, then the pathogens are presumed to take advantage of this weak state to cause disease.