Naturopathy

Naturopathy is one of the most holistic forms of alternative medicine available to us today for maintaining our health. It advocates the use of natural diet, clean water, sunlight, fresh air, and exercise to inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle and support the body's healing abilities.

We live in a universe that is incredibly ordered and intelligent, which is why it is called a cosmos rather than a chaos. The same level of order and intelligence we see in the universe is reflected in our bodies. Health is the natural state of humanity, and disease is the body's response to external factors that disrupt this state.

The human body is the most magnificent machine known to humankind, operating flawlessly thanks to the vital force or "life force" that exists in all of creation. It is perfectly equipped to care for itself and will maintain its well-being as long as it receives the right types of food. Naturopathy was never intended to treat specific illnesses or diseases; it simply encourages individuals to care for their bodies, which are perfect machines, by utilizing the five great elements of nature. All of these elements provide nourishment for our bodies and spirit. Everything we take in through our five sense organs, including our eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin, provides nourishment for our bodies. These five senses are given to us to experience the world, which is composed of the five elements: space (akasa), air (vayu), fire (agni), water (apas), and earth (prithvi). Naturopathy employs these elements to heal the body, which is also made up of the same five elements. It encourages people to expose their bodies to sunlight, wind, water, and the earth by walking barefoot on grass or clean earth for some time.

Of all these elements, the most important is the earth element, from which we get our food. As we know all too well, every machine must be given the specified fuel advised by the maker. If this is not done, the machine will not work perfectly. Similarly, as human beings, the first thing we should do is take care of the type of fuel that we put into our bodies. Food should be wholesome, freshly cooked, and not over-spiced. In fact, every human being should follow what we call a sattvic diet. Unfortunately, we often eat to satisfy our taste buds and not our bodies' needs. We are unconscious of our body's needs, which thrive on fresh and wholesome foods, while our tongues crave for spicy and pungent foods. Nature has provided us with a vast number of fruits and vegetables in every season that provide the body with strength and health, but our tongues are so jaded that they crave over-spiced and overcooked foods that are bad for our digestion and body. Naturally, our bodies revolt and start to throw out the bad stuff through numerous diseases that attack various parts of the body. We should make it a point to buy only local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. This is the first step in practicing Naturopathy. Actually, the Naturopath can only point out certain things to you. He or she cannot force you to do it. Naturopathy is not a symptomatic method of treatment by which the doctor suppresses the symptoms without curing the disease, as is normally done by Allopathy!

Naturopaths make use of not only nutrition but also botanical and herbal medicines, acupuncture, homeopathy, and hydrotherapy to stimulate and enhance the dynamic life force, which is ever present. This life force, present in all creatures, may become weak due to constant misuse. Therefore, Naturopaths help it to return to optimum health by using various methods.

In addition, Naturopaths also use other physical therapies such as spinal manipulation, massage, electrotherapy, and craniosacral therapy to improve, support, and maintain muscular and skeletal health. Certain types of exercises are also recommended.

Like Ayurveda, Naturopathy encourages all individuals to take responsibility for their health. Each individual is unique, and each person's physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social factors are taken into account when treating. Total health can only be achieved through some sort of spiritual balance. Therefore, the Naturopath always encourages individuals to pursue their own spiritual path.

Naturopaths offer advice on nutrition and diet as it plays a significant role in maintaining good health. The consumption of a poor diet can be detrimental to the body's proper functioning and build up toxins that can lead to various diseases. Naturopaths highly recommend consuming whole, fresh, and unprocessed foods. They also utilize herbal preparations and homeopathic pills.

In addition to diet, Naturopaths use hydropathy or water therapy as a method of treatment. Patients are made to immerse in various water baths, including spitz baths, spinal baths, hip baths, hot and cold compresses, etc. Acupressure and massage therapy are also employed, and mud baths are frequently recommended in Naturopathy. Mud packs are known to be effective in treating various body problems.

Diet is the core concept in both Naturopathy and Ayurveda. Naturopathy suggests consuming more raw vegetables and fruits, while Ayurveda focuses on reviving the Agni or fire of digestion inside the body, making it capable of digesting anything. Both systems agree that a healthy diet can help build balance in our body system and prevent and cure most diseases. Avoiding processed foods, synthetic drugs, harmful chemicals, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are essential components to maintaining good health.

Emotional problems can interfere with the healing process, and Naturopaths offer counseling to address such issues. Above all, Naturopaths encourage the body to heal itself, as most diseases are caused by eating wrong foods and overeating. Overeating and eating before the food in the stomach is digested can overload the stomach, making it challenging for the body's system to keep up with the amount pushed in. The undigested food eventually putrefies and can cause a range of health problems.

Naturopaths encourage people to occasionally fast to help the body cleanse itself. The habit of eating to suit our tongue and not our body has led to the consumption of at least four meals a day, snacks in between, and late dinners, which can be detrimental to our health. Occasional fasting, such as fruit or water fasts, can provide the body with an opportunity to cleanse itself. The Sanatana Dharma has given us fortnightly Ekadashi fasts, which are based on this principle of giving the body a chance to cleanse itself.

Actually, most diseases can be cured with judicious fasting. This helps to accelerate healing because the energy normally used for digestion is instead directed towards fighting the root cause of the disease. It's also important not to suppress disease symptoms, such as fever, because they are the body's way of expelling toxins. By keeping the patient on a water diet and providing rest, the fever will run its course and the body will recover as soon as the toxins are eliminated. However, we often lack the patience to follow this approach and immediately turn to symptomatic drugs that suppress the fever.

Naturopathy primarily encourages the body's natural immune system to heal itself, through dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, yoga, herbal supplements, and detoxification procedures. It emphasizes addressing the underlying cause of a disease, rather than merely treating symptoms. While medication can support the body's inherent ability to cleanse and cure, it cannot cure the body on its own if the immune system is dysfunctional.

Like Ayurveda, Naturopathy emphasizes disease prevention. Appropriate interventions are suggested to prevent disease from developing.

Hari Aum Tat Sat!