Naturopathy describes all the natural means we can use in order to give the body the proper circumstances it needs to bring about self healing.
The term Naturopathy consists of two words: latin word ‘natura’ (nature) and Greek word “pathos’ (disease or pain). It means ‘taking care of disease through nature’
Natural means that can help the organism regain its health can be:
Proper rest and Sleep,
Individualized changes in the way of life and diet
Nutritional interventions
Individualized detoxification
Fasting
Herbal remedies
Homeopathy
Massage and/or proper body manipulation – Reflexology, Orthobionomy, Accupressure, Su Jok, Shiatsu, Accupuncture, Massage, and more
Individualized Exercise
Proper hygiene,
Exposure to the Sun, Earthing,
Warm / cold applications or shower
psychosomatic techniques
Bach Flower Remedies
and many more
Naturopathy finds its origin in the Greek Doctor Hippocrates – (Kṓos island; c. 460 – c. 370 BC) founder of medicine – who gave the first directions for the proper treatment of humans by the basic rule: “FIRST, DO NO HARM”
Naturopathy has certain laws that shape its abilities and ‘limitations’. The most basic of these laws are
- FIRST, DO NO HARM. The treatment has to be according to the abilities of each individual organism and in NO way should pose threats to the overall wellbeing of the person. Any form of treatment that might turn out to be more dangerous than the disease itself is unacceptable
- ONLY THE ORGANISM DOES THE HEALING. The healing of ANY ailment is not the result of a sophisticated drug or surgery, not even a herb or a nutritional regime but the result of the organism’s ability to constantly seek balance and heal itself when given the proper conditions and when its needs are met. So, in Naturopathy we provide to give all the proper conditions and circumstances the organism needs to bring about self-healing.
- SYMPTOMS ARE NOT THE DISEASE The cause of the disease is a deeper disruption in the organism’s mechanisms and the symptoms are the way that the organism tries to bring about balance AFTER the disease has started. For instance when you sneeze and have watery eyes the actual disease is NOT the sneezing or the watery eyes but an earlier and deeper disruption in psycho-somatic functions – that can be named as ‘allergy’ or ‘flu’ etc – that the organism is trying to encounter and bring about balance. This effort is seen as symptoms (in our example as sneezing), but if we are just trying to deal with the symptom this does not mean that we are dealing with the disease.
- TREAT THE WHOLE PERSON, not just the physical symptoms. Never forget that human beings have 3 dimensions: Mental, emotional and physical. The stomach, the heart, the skin, the kidneys, the ears and eyes, the joints, all organs and tissues are interconnected with the mental and emotional expressions, tendencies, predispositions of the individual. We cannot just treat a person as if he/she was a car and expect to have a real cure. Only when we see the person as a whole and take into account all 3 dimensions in the treatment we can expect deep and long lasting results in his/her psycho-somatic health. And that is called holistic treatment
- MOST DISEASES HAVE PSYCHO-SOMATIC ORIGIN.
In a complex and 3dimensional organism like a human being there is a hierarchy. Our brain is the most sophisticated nervous system on this planet and it is this brain that enabled our species not only to survive but to prevail as the strongest species on earth. Thus, the human organism gives priority to the mental and emotional sphere, because these are the most developed areas of itself. So, mental or emotional shocks or conflicts will use most of the organism’s energy reserves in order to be resolved, and during the resolution phases the organism will manifest bodily symptoms in order to assist to the resolution of the conflict.
- HUMAN ORGANISM HAS SPECIFIC STANDARDS in order to FUNCTION PROPERLY. THESE STANDARDS HAVE TO BE RESPECTED. When and how we sleep, what and how we eat, where we live, how we express or not our creativity, our emotional and sexual status and our way to connect or not to others, our job and how we relate to it, all play a role to our health and well being. If one parameter is undermined then the whole organism is undermined and it is difficult – if not impossible – to over-compensate by augmenting another parameter. For instance human organism needs 6-9 hours of quality sleep every night, and if one sleeps 4-5 hours for days or weeks he will eventually has to suffer some health consequences no matter how well he eats, how many supplements he takes e.t.c.
- THERAPY IS A TEAM WORK. When we have to deal with human beings it’s not like when we try to fix a faucet. The diseased human being has to understand that his/her actions or omissions brought certain results and that he/she has the power and responsibility to change his actions and thus change the outcomes. The sick person has a very vital part to play in the healing of his/her life. Understanding this responsibility will make the difference between healing or not healing.
- PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE.
This is another Hippocrates saying. Most times we need considerably more time and more energy and more money and more reserves to regain health and freedom that we would never had lost in the first place had we lived our lives according to the natural laws. Natural living is the best prevention there is, and Natural Therapies are the best way to prevent diseases from appearing. So, Never underestimate your Natural treatment if it does not produce ‘super spectacular’ results. The way of nature is slower but deeper and at the same time it has the ability to prevent hundreds of problems in mental, emotional and physical sphere, that no quick or ‘spectacular’ treatment can.