Nature Therapy

Naturopathy uses elements of nature to treat diseases. Nature is made of five elements – Jal ( water), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Akash ( sky) and Prithvi ( Earth). These elements also constitute our body. We get sick when there is an imbalance in these elements in our body. Our body reacts to this imbalance and tries to get rid of impurities through cough, vomiting, fever etc. Therefore, it is beneficial to cure diseases not through drugs or surgery, but with help of these five elements of nature. Naturopathy says that our bodily functions are guided by nature’s vital forces, therefore a holistic approach must be followed for curing ailments. Body has a natural tendency to heal and naturopathy only facilitates the process of healing through energy of nature.

The main principles of Naturopathy are astounding. First, the reasons and remedies of all diseases are the same; ailments develop due to the presence of intoxicants which need to be removed. Second, the intoxicants cause diseases, not bacteria and viruses which simply feed off them. Third, nature itself is the best ‘doctor’, the patient is cured, not the ailment. All levels of the body are treated simultaneously.

Finally, no medicines are used because Naturopathy is a superb medicine in itself.

The principles of Naturopathy were first used by the Hippocratic School of Medicine in about 400 BC (but it is believed to be a much more ancient therapy practised in India). The Greek philosopher Hippocrates believed in viewing the whole person to find a cause of for the disease, and using the laws of nature to induce cure. It was from this original school of thought that Naturopathy takes its principles.

• The healing power of nature- nature has the innate ability to heal
• Identify and treat the cause- there is always an underlying cause, be it physical or emotional
• Do no harm- a Naturopath will never use treatments that may create other conditions
• Treat the whole person- when preparing a treatment plan, all aspects of a person’s being are taken into consideration
• The Naturopath as a teacher- a Naturopath empowers the patient to take responsibility for his/her own health by teaching self-care
• Prevention is better than cure- a Naturopath may remove toxic substances and situations from a patient’s lifestyle to prevent the onset of further disease

So far Naturopathy is concerned, it has it’s three aspects. First is preventive, the second one is curative and the third one is health promotive aspect. When a patient undergoes Nature Cure treatment and peculiarity of approach lies in the fact that.

In other systems the patient need not understand the technicalities involved in treatment but in Nature Cure treatment, the patients are required to have a good understanding of the laws governing health and disease. They are grounded well in respect of laws of Nature and are advised to follow them strictly for restoration of health. Health can only be restored or preserved or promoted or prevented from diseases by living in harmony with Nature.

In Nature Cure no drugs or medicines are used. It is believed that diseases are outcome of accumulation of foreign matter in the body and health can be restored by eliminating them. Drugs are considered as add to the already accumulated toxins in body and therefore to be discouraged. The manifestations of symptoms are indicative of reaction of the body and the only thing that is required to be done is to keep them through drugs and other means.

There are two popular definitions of Naturopathy one is purely Indian, based on Ancient Indian Health Sciences and the other one is of Dr. Lindlahr which is widely accepted all over the world. As per Indian beliefs our body is made up of five great elements Earth, Water, Sun, Air and Ether. The imbalances among these five elements are responsible for diseases and the treatment of various diseases with the help of these five element is called Nature Cure. Dr. Henry Lindlahr has defined Nature Cure as a system of man building on physical, mental, moral and spiritual planes of living in harmony with constructive principles in Nature applied to individual life. Nature Cure as a system of treatment is called Naturopathy.

There is a common saying in Nature Cure that all the diseases but not all the patients are curable by Naturopathy. It depends upon vitality of the patients. If sufficient vitality is there in patients, he can be treated successfully irrespective of the type of disease he is suffering from. It is because cure is effected by vitality working within i.e. Nature. However at Nature Cure centers patients generally come for treatment of G.I.T. disorders, Asthma, Cardiac diseases, Obesity, Diabetes, Insomnia, Hypertension, Mental tension, Anxiety, Cold and Cough, Skin diseases and Occupational disorders as a last resort and surprisingly they get improved.

Nature Cure is a science of living in tune with Nature. It mainly stresses on natural way of life. It not only frees one from diseases but also educates one how to prevent himself from diseases. The methods generally employed in treatment are Mud Pack, Enema, Hot and Cold fomentation, Hip bath, Steam bath, Hot Foot Bath, Sun Bath, Spinal Bath, Mud Bath and several types of packs etc.