Naturopathy is a man-made system of living that is in harmony with Nature’s constructive principles on the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual planes. It has excellent health-promoting, disease-prevention, curative, and restorative properties.
The British Naturopathic Association’s manifesto states, “Naturopathy is a system of treatment that recognises the availability of the vital curative force within a patient.” It thus advocates assisting the human system in removing the cause of disease, like toxins, by expelling unwanted and unused matter from the human body to cure diseases.
Therapies in Naturopathy
Fasting Therapy
Fasting is willingly restraining some or all food, drink, or both for some time. It is an essential treatment in naturopathy for health preservation. Mental preparation is the essential pre-condition in fasting, so prolonged fasting should be performed under the supervision of a competent Naturopath.
The fast duration depends upon the patient’s age, the disease’s nature and the type of drugs or medications previously used.
- It is advisable to undertake fasts for two to three days and gradually increase the duration by a day.
- No harm will accrue to the patients, provided they rest properly and are under proper professional care.
- Water, juices, or raw vegetable juices can be used too fast. Lime juice fasting is the safest and most effective method.
- During fasting, a lot of waste is burned and excreted. Drinking alkaline juices can aid in the cleansing process.
Because the sugars in juices strengthen the heart, juice fasting is the best type of fasting.
Diet therapy
This therapy requires that food be consumed in its natural state. Fresh seasonal fruits, green leafy vegetables, and sprouts are all excellent choices.
These diets are divided into three categories, which are as follows:
- Liquids like Lemon, Tender Coconut water, Citric juices, Vegetable soups, Buttermilk, Wheatgrass juices, and so on.
- These alkaline diets help to improve health by purifying the body and making it immune to disease. A proper food combination is required for this.
- Fruits, boiled/steamed vegetables, salads, sprouts, vegetable chutney, and other soothing foods
- Constructive Diet: Wholemeal flour, unpolished rice, small pulses, sprouts, curd, and so on.
Hydrotherapy
Nature Cure includes hydrotherapy. It is the treatment of diseases with various types of water. These methods of water application have been used for centuries. Hydrothermal therapy also uses temperature effects, such as hot and cold baths, saunas, wraps, and so on. Solid, fluid, vapour, ice, and steam are both internal and external in all their forms. Water is, without a doubt, the most ancient of all disease-curing agents. This wonderful healing agent has now been systematised and scientifically proven.
- It takes advantage of the body’s reaction to cold and hot stimuli, the prolonged application of heat, the pressure exerted by the water, and the sensation it provides.
- Heat generally calms and soothes the body, slowing the activity of internal organs. On the other hand, cold stimulates and energises, increasing internal activity.
- The body is free of the constant pull of gravity.
Mud Therapy
Mud therapy is a straightforward and effective treatment option. The mud should be clean and taken from 3 to 4 feet below the ground’s surface. For example, there should be no contamination in the mud from stone fragments or chemical manures.
Mud is one of five natural elements that significantly impact the body regarding health and disease. Mud has the following advantages:
- Its black colour absorbs all of the Sun’s colours and transmits them to the body.
- Mud retains moisture for a long time and, when applied to the skin, causes cooling.
- Its shape and consistency can be easily altered by adding water.
- It is inexpensive and widely available.
Mud should be dried, powdered, and sieved before use to remove stones, grass particles, and other impurities.
Why mud packs?
- It relieves all types of indigestion when applied to the abdomen. It helps to reduce intestinal heat and stimulates peristalsis
- Applying the mud pack over the eyes is beneficial in cases of conjunctivitis, haemorrhages in the eyeball, itching, allergy, refraction errors such as short and long sight, and glaucoma, which helps to reduce eyeball tension.
- In the case of a congestive headache, a thick mud pack applied to the head immediately relieves the pain. As a result, this is recommended whenever a prolonged cold application is required.
Magnet therapy
Magnet therapy is a type of clinical system where human ailments are treated and cured by applying magnets to the patients’ bodies. It is the most basic, inexpensive, and painless treatment method, with almost no side effects or aftereffects. The magnet is the only tool used.
Magnetic treatment is applied directly to body parts using therapeutic magnets of varying strengths or as a general treatment to the body. Magnetic belts are also available for various body parts, such as the abdomen, knee, and wrist. Magnetic necklaces, glasses, and bracelets are also used in therapy.
Benefits
- Helps to balance the energy; improves circulation to the applied area; increases body warmth
Massage therapy
A massage is a fantastic form of passive exercise. It is the practice of manipulating soft tissues for physical (anatomical), functional (physiological), and, in some cases, psychological reasons and goals.
Massage is another Naturopathic modality that is essential for good health.
- Acting on and manipulating the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids, is what massage is all about.
- Muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, other connective tissue, and lymphatic vessels may be targeted tissues. Hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, and feet can all be massaged.
Air Therapy
Fresh air is critical for good health. The benefit of air therapy can be obtained by using an air bath. Everyone should take a 20-minute air bath every day. It is more effective when combined with a cold rub in the morning and exercises. In this process, one should walk daily after removing one’s clothes or wearing light clothing in a lonely clean place with plenty of fresh air. Another option is to build a room without a roof and surround it with shutter-like walls to allow free air passage but prevent any interior view.
Chromo therapy
Sun rays of seven different colours have different therapeutic effects. Violet, Blue, Indigo, Yellow, Green, Orange, and Red are the colours. These colours are effective for maintaining health and treating various diseases. Water and oil exposed to the sun for specified hours in coloured bottles and glasses are used as Chromo Therapy devices to treat various disorders.
