Naturopathy
What is Naturopathy?
& How do Naturopaths work?
Naturopathy is a system of health care which encourages and promotes the body’s natural self-healing mechanisms using an eclectic approach. Natural methods such as fasting, diet, hydrotherapy, hygiene, mind/body interaction, massage, sunshine and therapies including nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy are often implemented. Naturopaths work alongside other health professionals such as your GP.
The basic principles of
Naturopathy
The healing power of nature: given the right conditions, our Vital Force, Life Force or ‘Qi’ naturally self-corrects on stimulation. Since prevention is better than cure, the emphasis is on how to promote health and vitality through self-healing, rather than on how to suppress disease.
To treat the cause, not the symptoms: a full Case History is taken at your first appointment. Naturopaths seek the underlying causes of illness, whilst considering the unique physical, mental, genetic, environmental, social and emotional factors that affect you, as a whole (third Principle). Prevention is preferable to cure in order to keep your Life Force optimal at all times (fourth Principle) so education - how to better understand your health, maintain it and prevention of disease (fifth Principle) is important to me.
This is why I implement Health Coaching techniques in my practice; it helps us identify realistic health and personal goals; address underlying blocks and motivates you to achieve lasting change. It’s my passionate belief that good health is more than the absence of disease – it’s having the capacity to live life to the full, in touch with the natural rhythms of nature; finding balance on physical, spiritual and mental levels. You’re encouraged to take responsibility for your own health – become empowered.
Why Naturopathy?
& How it can help you
Naturopathy helps people with all sorts of health concerns – from infant to elderly; from acute (sudden onset) to chronic (long-term) illness; and from the physical to psychological. Beneficial for stress & fatigue, digestion & detoxification, Naturopaths can offer a wide range of tools with which to help patients looking for:
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disease prevention & health promotion strategies
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support with various symptoms you or other health practitioners have been unable to address
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effective and supportive treatment options for improving quality of life for those diagnosed with serious and/or life-threatening illnesses
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a way to combine conventional and naturopathic treatments with the aim of minimizing side-effects of drugs, surgery or medical treatments
Naturopathic tools I use
Herbal preparations
There’s evidence that plants (such as herbs) have been highly valued as medicines since prehistoric times. I may recommend herbal preparations
(e.g cayenne pepper) or tinctures but do not formulate them myself.
Schuesslers Tissue Salts
Also called biochemic or cell salts, Tissue Salts are a group of 12 minerals that should be present in our bodies, in a perfect balance, as a prerequisite for perfect health and well-being.
Found naturally in the earth’s rocks and soil, Tissue salts are also present in organic foods grown in mineral-rich soils. However, the fast pace of modern life and consumption of processed junk foods means our bodies are often depleted, therefore susceptible to a wide range of ailments. Supplementing our diet with Tissue Salts promotes good health and benefits many specific issues, including digestive conditions. Inexpensive and readily available in tablet or liquid form. Tissue Salts are nature’s way of restoring vibrant health at a cellular level.
Vibrational Medicines
Use subtle-energy fields (vibrational frequencies) to help restore and maintain well-being; re-alignment and re-balancing enables the natural magnetics of your heart to radiate, optimising your energy and increasing intuition. Many, like acupuncture or meditation have gained widespread acceptance and are found in schools and health-care institutions.
My favourites to use in practice are homeopathic remedies (below) and Bach Flower Essences - a collection of wild flower and plant essences developed to support and maintain emotional health, balancing any negative emotions. Bach Flower Remedies bring about energetic change and can work well with Modern Energy Tapping (EFT) as well as with herbal medicine tinctures (they can blended together) - the key to taking these essences being consistency, not quantity.
Homeopathy for First Aid
Homeopathy is a natural form of complementary medicine which encourages the body to heal itself. Practised worldwide for over 200 years, it's the second largest system of medicine in the world today (per the WHO). A wide range of health conditions and people at all stages of life, even animals and plants can benefit from homeopathic remedies. Often used for minor ailments like cuts, bruises, coughs and colds or long-term issues, particularly those which have failed to respond to conventional medicines e.g. arthritis, asthma, migraine, chronic fatigue, depression, eczema or IBS.
It works on the principle that Like cures Like, meaning that a substance taken in small amounts will cure the same symptoms it causes, if taken in large amounts. Somebody suffering from hayfever for example, may benefit from Allium Cepa (onion) because it produces similar symptoms (watery eyes, runny nose). Homeopathic remedies are made from minute amounts of natural substances (plants and minerals) and designed to help stimulate the body’s natural healing ability. They're prepared using a potentised process of repeated dilution and rigorous shaking, called succussion.
Prepared in licensed laboratories under strict control, remedies are usually in tablet form but liquids, powder or creams are also available. I like Homeopathy because it works well alongside conventional medicine, for example to support recovery after an operation and its safe for people at all stages of life, including babies and pregnant or breast feeding women. There are no dangerous side-effects and homeopathic medicines are non-addictive. It's even available on the NHS in Scotland. I may recommend it in acute situations, as a First Aid, mostly for minor ailments.
