naturopathy-elementsIn naturopathy, treatment principles for all diseases and conditions are designed to be non-invasive and based as much as possible on enhancing the body natural ability to heal itself.

There is some element of naturopathy in all practices of medicine and healing. The Naturopathic elements that are present in all medical systems may be as simple as a system of instructions about what to do, or not to do to enhance health, or to accelerate the healing process. In many cases, it is in the form of nutrition advice or the need for regular exercise.

Treatment Modalities

The principles of naturopathy place almost total emphasis on holistic approaches, which require drugs and surgery either to be eliminated completely, or kept to a bare minimum. Naturopathic practitioners will, foremost, choose a method of healing that does the body zero harm, or at the very least creates the least amount of hazard to the patient. Naturopathic practices also place a strong emphasis on the prevention of conditions.

There are 5 main classifications of treatments, or modalities, in naturopathy. These are Space, Air, Water, Heat and Mud.

1. Space: Congestion is a major cause of disease. Reduction of congestion will clear the body and relieve many symptoms. An example of a space modality is fasting.

2. Air: This simply about the importance of fresh air as an aid to health. There are different therapies that use air pressure and temperature to treat disease.

3. Water: Hydrotherapy is probably the oldest of all naturopathic treatments, and is employed in almost all types of diseases. Water therapy is comes in many different forms, utilizing temperature, duration and motion.

4. Heat: Many treatments use heat as a therapy. In fact, fire, its major source is a vital force of life, from the nuclear fire at the centre of the sun to cooking fires in the kitchen.

5. Mud: Earth therapy uses the earth itself as the basis for providing treatment. The soil, or mud, has very good absorption properties. This absorption applies to toxins and impurities which dissolve into the mud and thus get eliminated.

Application Of Naturopathy Treatments

When a naturopath is treating a patient, she will not look at the individual conditions that the patient may have or consider a particular treatment separately. Rather, she will approach the patient as a whole person and treat that whole, with all the health factors that apply to the person. She will look into the complete lifestyle of her patient and treat the patient, rather than the illness. Naturopathy considers all the relevant elements of the disease and the lifestyle of a person which includes their thought patterns, sleep patterns, sexual behavior, nutrition, personal conduct and emotional composition.

An important element of the practice of naturopathy is bringing inspiration to others, and encouraging people to take responsibility for their everyday health, and to find confidence in the human body’s innate abilities.