6 PRINCIPLES TO UNDERSTAND NATUROPATHY

There happens to be a lot of hype, yet a lot of mystery around naturopathy (pronounced nah-trop-ith-ee). With a huge rise in those seeking out natural therapies today, understanding the basics of naturopathy has its importance. This has seriously been one of the biggest questions since starting my natural medicine degree—what is naturopathy? Like the study of psychology, where everyone just thinks you can read minds (spoiler: this unfortunately wasn't in the syllabus), there is also a misguided insinuation that anyone playing around with plant medicine is witchy-woo-woo. So, here I am, writing this post to reorient ya’ll toward the principles of naturopathy (no qualms here for witchy-stuff, by the way). If you want to know more about the practice of naturopathy, you can head here. I also love this interview post. Okay, let’s begin…

The 6 Principles of Naturopathy

The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae)

The body is self-healing. You can visually see this externally when you acquire a cut—the body goes through the motions of healing the wound from the inside out. The better your life force or vital energy, the more easily you will heal. A Naturopath will ensure that all obstacles to this vital force are removed so that, for the most part, the body can get down to business in doing what it knows how to do—restore health and homeostasis.

Identify and Treat the Causes (Tolle Causam)

Our body has a way of giving us some insight that there is something going on within that isn’t right—headaches, runny nose, swelling, strange bowel motions, absent menstrual cycles, brain fog. These are what I like to call little whispers—our body trying to get a our attention. A Naturopath is trained in putting their detective hat on and ascertaining what exactly a symptom, or set of symptoms are trying to tell us. You might have a headache in your head, yet it’s actually your liver that needs some love. Identifying the root cause is one of the most important ways to remedy chronic health problems. 

First Do No Harm (Primum Non Nocere)

Because our body has its own innate self healing wisdom, we don’t want to muck about and interfere with its function any more than we have to. It’s important to avoid the suppression of symptoms as much as possible, not exert too much force in treatment and intervene the least to restore health. Any methods that work to suppress symptoms without addressing the underlying cause is considered to be doing harm. A Naturopath will also be mindful of your capacity, without throwing you in the deep end with advanced strategies or too involved treatment methodologies. You will be met where you are.

Doctor As Teacher (Docere)

Learning about how our bodies work, what they need to heal and being involved in that process from the get-go makes this process so potent. A Naturopath will always work with you and be guided by your input with any remedies and health goals, helping you understand the whys and hows along the way. This is one of my favourite, catalytic principles that has the potential to completely change our life. Honouring healing relationships with their patients, Naturopaths act as a guide in the health journey and won’t be found employing ‘do as I say’ terminology. There is a lot of self-responsibility in the process that is unbelievably empowering.

Treat the Whole Person (Tolle Totum)

There are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration when someone presents with a dis-ease state. Two different people with identical complaints could walk into a Naturopath and they’d walk out with different treatment plans—why? Well, because we are all inherently different. We have walked different lives, have different genetics, different emotional capacities, and our predispositions are not the same (i.e. some people run cold, some people run hot, to simplify). On the flip side, our systems are interconnected and there are many different bidirectional pathways. A Naturopath takes this into account, working to establish a harmonious relationship between all systems, not just the one in question. 

So, two people, let’s say, that both come in for chronic acne on their chin will require different treatments because one of them has just come off the oral contraceptive pill and isn’t going to the bathroom everyday to pass a bowel motion, whereas the other one is in a high stress job and has loose bowels numerous times during the day. Their acne looks the same, yet their underlying factors are not and this point of difference is immensely important.

Prevention (Preventare)

We ideally want to build health, rather than fight disease. In this way, a Naturopath will be focused on not just understanding a disease state, but addressing potential direction towards one. A great example is thyroid disease—the parameters for ‘hypothyroidism’ might not be showing, however, your thyroid is indeed under functioning (just not enough to be labelled a disease state). However, any imbalance, under-, or over-functioning within the body is a Naturopath's business and they not only want to figure out why it is happening, they want to prevent any further progress down the disease pathway. Preventing ill health can be as simple as effecting healthful change that aligns with our needs and constitutions (Ayurveda really speaks to this). If you are being told that your symptoms don’t equate to a disease, or that nothing is ‘wrong’, seeing a Naturopath can help. And, if your priority is longevity and prevention of ill health later in life, this is also a huge area of interest for a lot of Naturopaths, myself included.

The 6 principles that guide naturopathic practice focus on your innate power to heal, the root cause, not doing harm, teaching you along the way, treating you as a whole and individually, and preventing disease. I wholeheartedly adhere to these and hold space for you to heal in your own way.

If you’re interested in a naturopathy, I’d love to take you through your first initial consultation.

Lots of love, Claire x