|
PRINCIPLES OF NATUROPATHIC
MEDICINE First, to do no harm
To co-operate with the healing powers of
nature
To address the fundamental causes of disease
To heal the whole person through
individualized treatment
To teach the principles of healthy living and
preventative medicine
These principles are what
define Naturopathic Medicine and guide Naturopathic Medical practice.
They also govern the success of a healing program for you. By becoming
familiar with these principles you can become more familiar with a
different way of viewing your health. When you enter this new view you
will find a great potential open up for you and your own healing. These
principles are discussed below.
1)
Individualized Treatment:
Your body and mind are completely unique. There is
no one remedy, diet or treatment plan that applies to everyone. Certain
things will work for you and other things will not. This means you need
to understand and learn about your individuality.
The principles of healing are universal,
but the way you are treated will be individual.
With my guidance, my clients learn to trust their
experience and the wisdom of their bodies. When you are in touch with
your body you can feel how it is responding to interventions and changes
you make. Many people are not aware of how the food they eat is
affecting them. They may feel awful but it has become their normal state
and they do not question it. Many people have food sensitivities and
myriad reactions to foods and are not aware of it. To be aware of these
factors first you need to be free of the reactions. Then when you do
have a reaction you will notice it. If you are always experiencing
certain discomforts they become normal and you simply accept them. As
you become aware you can make choices that will serve your health so you
can feel your best. This applies to awareness of your mind and emotions
as well. By tuning into these feelings and indications you can learn to
know when you are out of balance and how to re-balance yourself.
2) Treat the
Whole person:
The whole person must be addressed for healing to
take place on the deepest levels. Diet is not enough. We are made of
body, emotions, mind and spirit. If we do not acknowledge all these
parts of ourselves then healing will be incomplete.
The true payoff in holistic medicine is diving
ever deeper into yourself and discovering who you are on all these
levels. By opening and relaxing deeper and accepting all these layers of
our being we begin to get in touch with a powerful creative impulse-a
force of spontaneity and relaxed freedom. This is the true healing power
of nature. It is the sense of joy that comes with being who you are.
Simple, real, and fully alive.
Disease actually guides us to this state. It shows
us the way by taking us into our body and teaching us to listen to our
body. This is where we find all the answers. Listening is the first
step.
As you come into balance through eating well,
exercising, and taking care of your physical body it is easier to notice
and listen to the more subtle aspects of emotion and mind and spirit.
You will have cleared away some of the more dense toxins that block the
flow of vitality. You will have begun to nurture the life force of your
body and will feel more energy and aliveness. This will attract your
mind and awareness to shine on the deeper aspects of yourself-letting
the healing power of nature penetrate and illuminate new dynamics,
sensations and processes. As you pay attention you will be shown what
lies next on the road to true wholeness.
With the same awareness you used to determine which
foods help or hinder you, you examine your relationships and emotional
life. Being in touch with your body reveals currents of sensation that
are constantly changing in response to the events happening around you.
These sensations of energy must be accepted and allowed to move
uninhibited through us for health to prevail. Most of us restrict the
flow of emotion and are not even aware of it. This has lead to tension
in our minds and bodies and disconnected us from who we are on deeper
levels. To cope with life we will find ways of dulling our awareness so
we can feel pleasant and comforting emotional currents. Watching movies,
eating certain foods, taking drugs and drinking alcohol, and certain
habits like shopping all help us to bury discomforts. When we learn to
accept emotional currents we are letting go of them or letting them be.
As we learn to accept and feel these emotions, they will have less power
to drive us to unconscious habits that destroy our health. We can then
look at and feel these emotions and determine how we want to relate to
the situation at hand. We will have the ability to choose how we want to
relate to our emotions, people, places and things in our life. We will
become aware of how things are affecting us. Our work, relationships,
family, community, home, natural environment, food, habits all affect
our state of wellness. When we are aware of ourselves we can begin to
experiment with changing and trying new ways of being and doing things.
This includes changes on the physical level like diet and exercise,
emotional changes like learning how to express ourselves differently,
mental changes like having different goals, and spiritual changes like
trusting the process of life itself and giving up fear and doubt.
All of these facets are intimately connected and
essentially one. We are whole people. Our lives are a dynamic process
which includes all levels of our being. Disease and discomfort can
originate from any one or more of these levels at once. Awareness will
lead us into knowing what the cause of the discomfort is. With awareness
comes the power of choice. With choice we will gain a new level of
freedom. With this freedom comes more energy, inspiration and even more
awareness which can take us deeper yet.
Healing is an unfolding and a releasing. As we
release we expand and connect with more of who we are. This will guide
our lives in new directions as we listen to the urging of our deepest
desires coming from our authentic self. This natural way of being is the
joy of healing and the real payoff.
3) Treat the
Cause:
To
treat the cause of disease is linked to treating the whole person. There
are many facets to our being and these must all be integrated and
accepted for us to feel whole and connected to who we are on a deep
level. We get sick when we have not integrated some knowledge,
experience or aspect of ourselves. If we push symptoms and discomforts
away with symptomatic treatments we are not addressing the cause. When
we do this the disease pattern remains hidden from our awareness to some
degree depending on how powerful the suppressing agent is. The disease
pattern is still present and will manifest itself in another way over
time. We cannot escape the laws of nature. Certain requirements must be
met for health to prevail.
We need to eat and live properly to support harmony
on the physical level. This cannot be ignored. When we eat unbalancing
foods and neglect to exercise we will have difficulty with other areas
of our lives because we will not feel our best. These feelings will
distract us and demand our attention until we bring ourselves into
balance. Many diseases are contributed to by faulty habits of living.
When we feel the difference healthy lifestyle habits make in our lives
we will easily choose the way of health over non-health promoting
choices. The path to wellness is not one of burden, but one of
empowerment. Nobody is forcing you to make changes. When you have the
right relationship to the process you will see that you do it for your
own benefit and you will want to. Then you will see how your own benefit
is tied into the benefit for others. Ultimately we are all one and what
is healing for me will generally be my way of serving the greater good.
So you eventually become motivated to heal yourself for the benefit of
others. When you yourself are in balance you are able to be there for
others to help them find their own way to balance.
We must endeavor to understand and become aware of
ourselves if we wish to heal and experience the deeper joys life has to
offer. By knowing ourselves we will know the cause of dis-ease and the
cause of disconnection with our authentic power and true nature. When
we explore the cause of dis-ease within ourselves we enter into the
process of healing. With awareness we learn about our physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual selves.
It is not a great mystery what causes our
illnesses. We probably experience the causes of disease each day of our
life. We just need to be honest with ourselves and pay attention to our
experience. It is often helpful to work with a professional who can help
bring awareness to these patterns.
What are you feeling? What are you thinking about?
Our minds will naturally be drawn to think about issues that we are
stuck on. If we can have the courage to bring conscious awareness to
these thoughts and feelings we can begin to understand them and untangle
the knots of tension—physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
We can learn to find a higher vantage point or a deeper place within
ourselves to live from. If we try to push these feelings and thoughts
away by distracting ourselves with unhealthy activities or suppressive
treatments we do a disservice to ourselves, and the world around us. The
tensions are allowed to build and fester as we dampen and block our
vitality. This affects not only ourselves, but everyone around us.
Sometimes we need to treat symptoms of disease for
practical purposes and out of compassion. We do not, however, want to
treat symptoms and ignore the underlying cause. This would not be in
service of the good health of people or the planet. Treating the cause
of disease is done from the knowledge that there is a way out of disease
and to a state of harmony. This knowledge becomes wisdom as we
experience healing and embody the truth and joy which is the fruit of
the healing process.
4) Work with
the Healing power Of Nature/The Vis Medicatrix Naturae:
This
creative power exists as an unseen constructive force within all living
things. When you cut your skin it heals on its own. As long as the
proper conditions are supplied for healing to occur (a clean wound,
healthy immune system etc) the skin will heal on its own. We do not need
to do anything. This is a great mystery to all scientists and people who
have studied this process. We can watch all the cells of the body in
action and explain what we see but we cannot understand the underlying
motivation for all this activity. The human mind is incapable of
understanding how or why this power exists. It simply does. This is what
humbles me as a Naturopathic Doctor, because I know I cannot heal
anything. I can only provide knowledge and wisdom-which come from
understanding the laws of Nature. I can only understand what supports
the Vis Medicatrix Naturae and supply that. I can only understand what
is blocking the vitality and remove that. Many times I cannot even
remove these blocks because it is not my place to do so. The individual
must remove these blocks him or herself. The individual must learn for
themselves what harmony is. My job is simply to help this person make
choices by teaching, and supporting self-awareness, and providing
treatments that support the healing power of nature.
When people make this shift with awareness they
step into a more energized way of being and living. This increase in
life energy and freedom is what ultimately leads to healing. We learn to
pay attention to our vitality in the process of healing. We learn to
listen to the energy of life within us and by doing so we can understand
and experience what is in harmony with the Vis and what is not.
Physicians, books, healers and teachers can give us guidance but cannot
reveal what is true for any one individual. We will point the way, and
you will be in charge of trusting your own experience and being your own
healer. Nobody can do that for you.
With Naturopathic treatment you will begin to let
go of blocks to your vitality. You will learn to develop healthy habits
and you will become more sensitive to your body. At first there may be a
lot of confusion, and it may be difficult to discern the messages your
body is giving you. When the vitality is strengthened and allowed to do
its work you may experience a “healing crisis”. This can be likened to
the process of sweeping out a dusty room. As you sweep, the dust is
stirred up creating a polluted environment. This discomfort is necessary
to endure to get to the point where the room is clean. As your body
clears itself of toxins you will eventually develop more clarity and
sensitivity. Over time you will begin to understand and know for
yourself what choices are healing and what choices are not. A healing
crisis is not necessary however. People will often heal and recuperate
gently and steadily without a healing crisis.
When you are finally working from a place of
relative balance and awareness, you will be able to detect when you move
away from that balance point and when you return. As your vitality
increases you may go through more short periods of low energy or
discomfort as your body and mind continue to clear themselves of
unnecessary physical, emotional and mental toxins. You will learn to
recognize this as a sign of healing and simply allow the process to
happen. You will allow it to happen because you know that more energy
and greater levels of health lie on the other side of the healing
crisis. If we suppress its action we dampen its power and we allow the
dust to collect. The dust and toxicity are what lead to disease. The
healing power of nature cannot be controlled, only guided. We must learn
to respect its intelligence and work with it. We do this by connecting
to our body, emotions and mind and being aware of our experience.
“Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any
knowledge of the empirical world; all knowledge of reality starts from
experience and ends in it”
-Albert Einstein
5) Do No
Harm:
In respecting the Vis we choose gentle
therapies which are not toxic to the living organism. We practice
simplicity in our life and healing process and remain humble to the laws
of Nature. This is common sense it would seem.
Many therapies in use today are toxic to the human
organism and do not bring about healing. A definitive review and close
reading of medical peer-review journals called Death by Medicine, shows
that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. Here is an
excerpt from that article:
Is American Medicine Working?
US health care spending reached $1.6
trillion in 2003, representing 14% of the nation's gross national
product.(15) Considering this enormous expenditure, we should have the
best medicine in the world. We should be preventing and reversing
disease, and doing minimal harm. Careful and objective review, however,
shows we are doing the opposite. Because of the extraordinarily narrow,
technologically driven context in which contemporary medicine examines
the human condition, we are completely missing the larger picture.
Medicine is not taking into consideration the
following critically important aspects of a healthy human organism: (a)
stress and how it adversely affects the immune system and life
processes; (b) insufficient exercise; (c) excessive caloric intake; (d)
highly processed and denatured foods grown in denatured and chemically
damaged soil; and (e) exposure to tens of thousands of environmental
toxins. Instead of minimizing these disease-causing factors, we cause
more illness through medical technology, diagnostic testing, overuse of
medical and surgical procedures, and overuse of pharmaceutical drugs.
The huge disservice of this therapeutic strategy is the result of little
effort or money being spent on preventing disease.
The number of people having in-hospital,
adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million. Dr.
Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary
antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr.
Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary
antibiotics. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures
performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to
unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million. The
total number of iatrogenic deaths shown in the following table is
783,936. It is evident that the American medical system is the
leading cause of death and injury in the United States and
Canada’s medical system is in a similar situation. The 2001
heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death
rate, 553,251.
It seems we have lost connection with ancient
knowledge of how to live, and heal. With the development of medical
technology, surgery and pharmaceuticals we have forgotten about the
basic foundations of health and vitality. Processed food, synthetic
drugs and high tech surgeries are not leading us towards harmony with
the planet and our bodies. Modern medicine has given us the ability to
save lives in emergency situations but our health and vitality cannot be
sustained by the sole use of technology. We must reconnect our mind to
our body and learn to listen once again. When we are connected to our
body and the processes of nature we will realize that we cannot escape
from the laws of nature. There is a way to live that is health promoting
and healing. When we live out of sync with this way then we cannot
expect to maintain high levels of health and well being. No amount of
drugs and surgery can supply true health.
Naturopathic Medicine strives to align itself with
the highest ideals of healing. This means respecting natural laws and
striving to understand how to align ourselves with nature. We cannot
ignore these laws and expect to be healthy. In my practice I help to
guide you on the path of healing and help teach you how to care for
yourself without doing harm.
6) Doctor as
Teacher:
Another
one of the principles by which Naturopathic Doctors guide their practice
is “Doctor as Teacher”. Doctor comes from the latin word docere
which means teacher. As my client or student I will supply you
with information so that you can heal yourself. Nobody can do the work
of healing for you. This is the illusion that many people are under
because of the way many modern doctors practice medicine. Patients are
simply given pills to take or instructed to undergo surgical procedures.
This gives people the feeling like they are not in control of their
health. In reality, you are the only one who can let go of the causes of
illness and replace these unhealthy habits of body and mind with
healthier habits. A doctor simply supports you in this process. A
Naturopath or other holistic health practitioner will help you to
understand the cause of your illness and then guide you in understanding
how to manage it.
My intention in relationships with clients is that
they are empowered in a new view of health and healing. We hope that
you will take your health back into your own hands and begin the process
of healing yourself. There are so many options available to those who
are ill. The problem is often that people are not aware of what will be
helpful for them. It is important to be discerning in your choices.
Educate yourself and choose wisely.
I spend a lot of time educating people through my
radio show and through the courses I teach. Please tune into the show
every Monday through Trent Radio’ website:
http://www.trentradio.ca/trentradio
If you are interested in having Adam come to teach
a course then please contact him at
adamprinsen@yahoo.ca
or call 705.748-3877.
|
