The philosophy of Naturopathy dates back to around 400 B.C. with Hippocrates. Its philosophy, science, and practice is to remove blockage so that people get well; to assess and treat the forces causing the illness or lack of health.
Naturopathic physicians act to identify and move obstacles to healing and recovery, and to facilitate and augment this inherent self-healing process; identify and eliminate or suppress symptoms; and follow three guidelines to avoid harming a patient.
- Utilize methods and medicinal substances that minimize risk of harmful side affects, using the lease force when necessary to diagnose and treat
- Avoid when possible the harmful suppression of symptoms
- Acknowledge, respect and work with the individual's self-healing process.
The Art of Naturopathy includes 7 Healers:
- Air
- Water
- Sleep/Sunlight
- Food
- Play
- Relationships
- Purpose
Naturopathy looks at what obstacles exist through the 4 Vectors of Stress:
- Chemical: Toxicity and deficiency in nutrition
- Mechanical: Impaired structure of the muscular, osseous, circulatory and nervous system
- Electromagnetic: imbalance in the meridian system
- Psycho-Spiritual: Impaired function due to emotions, social isolation and/or lack of purpose.