Stretch Your Mind and Body  

This week is Naturopathy Awareness Week here in Australia. Lots of people are using natural therapies to look after their health or help them recover from illness.  The Naturopathic approach to disesease, health and healing differs from orthodox medicine in a number of ways.

Most naturopaths have a philosophical framework which forms the basis of their work. This framework usually includes body, mind and spirit. True healing cannot occur unless the imbalance between body, mind and spirit is addressed and the true cause of the illness is uncovered. The approach is wholistic taking into account all of the factors that are influencing the client's health.

The remedies used and the healing methods which are applied vary greatly from practitioner to practitioner. Some of the more common ones are herbs, vitamins and minerals, foods as medicine, nutritional advice, homeopathic remedies, Bach Flower remedies and massage. The basic philosophy is that the remedies should be as close to nature as possible, have no harmful side effects and support the body to heal itself.

It is imperative that the naturopathic practitioner knows what other medications their client is taking. Research is uncovering interactions between medical drugs and herbs, as well as vitamin and mineral supplements.  Some of these interactions are beneficial but most are not, they can be dangerous. For certain conditions some herbs are as powerful as the pharmaceutical medications and this is great news.

Want to know more? Listen to this week's show.

Connie and Charly