Principles of Naturopathy

  

The principles of Naturopathy gain root from its belief in the five elements of nature, namely water, fire, earth, sky, and wind. These five elements form the basis of the treatment methodology followed by Naturopathy. The treatment methods are aimed at eliminating the root cause of the ailment and providing an overall healthy body and mind to the patient, rather than simply removing the exclusive area of problem in the body. So, while this form of medicine emphasizes the importance of healthy eating, significance is attached to fasting as well. A balanced lifestyle, in terms of Naturopathy, also includes ample relaxation for the body and mind, apart from stress reduction.

 

  

According to Naturopathy form of medicine, every human body is home to germs, which in turn are the root cause of ill-health. Naturopathy advocates the regular cleansing as well as detoxification of the body in order to get rid of these germs. Instead of prescribing medicines as a cure, Naturopathy makes use of several nature-based therapies as a treatment. The naturopathy form of medicine follows six main guiding principles:

 

  

1.     Primum No Nocere or first, do no harm

 

 

 As per the first principle of Naturopathy, the human body has a natural healing process of its own. The human body initiates this healing process almost as soon as the ailment surfaces. Practitioners of Naturopathy therefore, are advised to ensure that their methods of treatment complement this natural healing process. They are advised against implementing any line of treatment that may cure only the symptoms of the ailment, and not focus on the root cause.

 

 
2.     Vis Mediatrix Naturae or healing power of nature

 

  

Closely related to this is the second principle of Naturopathy, which believes in allowing the body to heal itself. The physician’s role is to encourage self-healing as much as possible, and to only remove the bottlenecks from this road to recovery, if any.

 

  

3.     Tolle Causam or identify and treat the cause

 

 

According to the third principle, the surfacing of symptoms is a sign that the body is trying to fight back against the disease. Every disease occurs due to a set of causes. It is, 

therefore, imperative that the cause of the disease be identified and eliminated. The  

treatment should not merely result in the removal of the symptoms alone.

 

 

4.     Tolle Totum or heal the whole person

 

 

The Naturopathy school of medicine is of the view that an all-round balanced lifestyle, with a healthy body and mind alone can keep ill-health at bay. The significance of this is underlined in the fourth principle of naturopathy.

 

 

5.     Docere or the physician as teacher

 

 

The fifth principle values the role of the physician in the Naturopathy form of medicine. The physician’s role is to facilitate the natural healing process of the body, while prescribing therapies that complement that healing process.

 

 

6.     Prevention

 

        

Lastly, the six principle of this form of medicine advocates the prevention of all kinds of 

ailments, rather than their cure. Naturopathy encourages people to educate themselves 

about and adopt healthy lifestyle practices.