Naturopathy is a 19th century word meaning “nature cure”. It is a healing system inspired by the power of nature. As our body is made up of five major components – air, water, sunlight, earth, and space, naturopathic doctors strive to cure the disease using natural elements. According to naturopathy, if the human body is ill, it is due to some element being out of place for which nature is the best source to restore that balance and heal. Naturopathy treats the body in two ways – internally by the means of nutrition and externally by the means of therapies. Following are the techniques used in naturopathy to balance out the imbalances within the body.
A glimpse on naturopathy
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What is Hydrotherapy?
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What is Earth therapy?
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What is Chromatherapy?
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What is Yoga?
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Which illnesses and conditions can be treated well by naturopathy?
1. What is Hydrotherapy?
It is an effective way of healing water-related imbalances and is slowly gaining popularity. In this therapy, the human body is compared to our planet earth and as both human body and earth are majorly (about 2/3 portion) made up of water, this therapy also makes use of water for curing many diseases. The usage of water may take the form of drinking natural water, taking steam baths, and performing water exercises. All of these are known to stimulate healing procedure as well as strengthen the immune system. Overall, water has many useful elements dissolved in it, which are considered very helpful to maintain body’s balance.
2. What is Earth therapy?
This form uses nutrition and physical therapies such as organic foods and mudpacks. As nutrition is an important part of naturopathy treatments, maximum care is taken to recommend the right foods to cure the deficiencies in the body. Mud packs help to remove the toxins from the system if applied on the abdominal areas. Naturopathy treatments also lay stress on foods like oats, barley, ragi, and jowar for its treatments. Moreover, salads and light-cooked vegetables are considered an integral part of healing diet.
3.What is Chromatherapy?
This therapy uses sunlight to cure the disease. Like in the contemporary world, sunlight is considered the source of vitamin D for the body, similarly, in naturopathy various colors of sunlight are used for the treatment. The seven colors of the sunlight are the same as the body chakras controlling the endocrine glands. Steam is a blend of fire and water therapies and is useful for Vata disorders. The colors of sunlight are used to charge the drinking water and massage oil and even the body is directly exposed to the light itself.
4.What is Yoga?
Breathing exercises such as Pranayama and other physical postures found in yoga are used to balance out the elements of air and space in the body. Scientists have proved that there is quite a lot of empty space in the human body and at the molecular level in the space. In yoga, breath-holding exercises are used to maintain a balance of space elements in the body.
Which illnesses and conditions can be treated well by naturopathy?
It is very difficult to list specific illnesses that can be cured by naturopathy. However, naturopathy being a combination of various therapies, it is known to treat both acute and chronic conditions from HIV to asthma, arthritis to ear infection and from congestive heart arrest to hepatitis. Naturopaths aim to help patients by maintaining a balance in their health and consider three most important factors for curing the disease – physical, emotional, and circumstantial.
Overall, naturopathy is an amazing science that incorporates gentle physical therapies, fresh air, sunlight, exercises, meditation, and healthy food. The only negative aspect of this therapy is the responsibility of the treatment lies in the patient’s court. The patient has to follow the procedures sincerely and religiously in order to benefit from the treatment.
