NATUROPATHY

Dr. Jayan Damodaran

Professor & Head, Dept. of Swasthavritta
Govt. Ayurveda College, Tripunithura
Kochi, Kerala 682306
NATUROPATHY SESSIONS
• Interactive session
• Concepts
• Principles of Nature Cure
• Recent updates in various methods of Nature Cure

• Advanced session
• Naturopathy Hospital Visit
• Activity session (Group discussion)
• Topics - Learning Objective – redefine – methods suggestion
• Material for activity: A sheet with listed keywords, network diagram as study design
Nisargopachara
• Indian?

• Sanskrit?

• Hindi?
NATUROPATHY - ORIGIN
The term "naturopathy" originates from "natura" (Latin root for birth)
and "pathos" (the Greek root for suffering) to suggest "natural
healing". Naturopaths claim the ancient Greek "Father of
Medicine", Hippocrates, as the first advocate of naturopathic
medicine, before the term existed. (Vis Medicatrix naturae)
Naturopathy has its roots in the 19th-century Natural Cure
movement of Europe
In Scotland, Thomas Allinson started advocating his "Hygienic
Medicine" in the 1880s, promoting a natural diet and exercise with
avoidance of tobacco and overwork.
NATUROPATHY - ORIGIN
• The term naturopathy was coined in 1895 by John Scheel, and purchased
by Benedict Lust, whom naturopaths consider to be the "Father of U.S.
Naturopathy".
• Lust had been schooled in hydrotherapy and other natural health practices
in Germany by Father Sebastian Kneipp; Kneipp sent Lust to the United States to
spread his drugless methods.
• Lust defined naturopathy as a broad discipline rather than a particular method,
and included such techniques as hydrotherapy, herbal medicine, and homeopathy,
as well as eliminating overeating, tea, coffee, and alcohol. He described the body
in spiritual and vitalistic terms with "absolute reliance upon the cosmic forces of
man's nature".
• According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first known use of "naturopathy"
in print is from 1901.
HARBINGERS OF NATUROPATHY
• Vincenz Priessnitz (4 October 1799 – 26 November 1851) Czech

• Sebastian Kneipp (17 May 1821 – 17 June 1897) German

• Louis Kuhne (14 March 1835 – 4 April 1901) German

• J.H. Tilden (January 21, 1851 – September 1, 1940)

• Adolf Just (born 8 August 1859- 20 January 1936) German

• Johann Heinrich Lahmann (30 March 1860 – 1 June 1905) German

• Henry Lindlahr (March 1, 1862 – March 26, 1924) German-US

• Benedict Lust (February 3, 1872 – September 5, 1945) German-US

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NATURE CURE
• Life is maintained by the existence of a Vital Force
• Diseases happen due to the accumulation of Morbid Matter which leads to Enervation
• Acute diseases are the self initiated attempts of human body to out throw the morbid
matter (Toxemia)
• Chronic diseases happen due to the continuous suppression of body’s attempts (acute
diseases) by way of conventional medical therapy
• Ultimately there is only one cause, one disease and one cure (Theory of oneness –
Unity of disease and cure)
• Body has the power to heal itself. Healing occurs from within.
• Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
• Eat only when hungry. Eat slowly and masticate thoroughly.
SIX MODERN NATUROPATHIC PRINCIPLES
• Do No Harm (Primum No Nocere)
• The healing power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix naturae )
• Treat the cause (Tolle Causam)
• Treat the whole person (Tolle Totum)
• Doctor as teacher (Docere)
• Disease prevention, Health promotion & Wellness
PANCHABHUTA UPASANA
• Bhoomyupasana – Diet Therapy, Mud Therapy
• Jalopasana – Hydrotherapy, Enema
• Tejopasana - Haeliotherapy
• Vayupasana – Fresh Air Breathing
• Akashopasana – Fasting
Panchasutras / Pancharatnas (Venkat Rao)
• Take only two meals a day
• Drink 8-12 glasses of water every day
• Do exercise for 1 hour daily
• Pray twice daily
• Do fasting once a week
DIET THERAPY
• ELIMINATIVE DIET: lime juice, fresh juice
• SOOTHING DIET: fruit juices, gruel, butter milk, veg soups, raw salads, boiled
vegetables
• CONSTRUCTIVE DIET: Full veg meal that consists of curd, milk, boiled vegetables,
chapatti, rice dal etc
• The preferred acid alkali balance is 20:80
• Acid accumulation causes fatigue, headache, anorexia, insomnia, nervous tension,
hyperacidity etc
• Acid foods: Meat, fish, egg, pulses, polished rice, bread etc
• Alkaline foods: vegetables, tubers, roots, ripe fruits etc
• Avoid meat, tea, coffee, animal broths
MUD THERAPY
• Black mud is preferred to red mud
• Mud retains moisture for longer duration causing effective cooling of
the affected part
• The shape and consistency of mud can be changed easily by adding
water. This helps us to apply it at any point of the body
• Mud is cheap and easily available
• The applied mud draws blood to the surface, reduces the inner
congestion and pain, promotes heat radiation and eliminates morbid
matter
MUD COLLECTION AND PREPARATION
• Local mud is preferred, ideally the black variety
• Discard the top layer of soil up to 3 feet to avoid the effect of fertilizers and
chemicals
• Take mud from 3-6 feet depth
• Clear off the pebbles and impurities
• Mix the mud with plenty of water to form a colloidal solution and sieve
through a clean hygienic cloth
• Allow the sieved water to settle for 2-3 days
• Discard the supernatant clear water and collect the settled mud
• Dry it in hot sun and then powder it and keep safe in packets for further use
MUD THERAPY
• MUD PACK FOR LOCAL APPLICATION: Applied by keeping soaked mud
in a thin muslin cloth and making it in to a thin flat brick depending on
the size of the patients abdomen. (10x6x1 inches, 20-30 mnts) Cover
with a blanket in cold season.
• MUD PACK FOR FACE: mud powder id made in to paste and applied
over the face for 30 mnts. Wash with fresh water. Improves
complexion, reduces pimples, dark circles around eyes
• MUD PACK FOR EYES: (9x6x0.5 inches folded on all four sides). Apply
for 20-30 mnts. Beneficial in irritation, redness, conjunctivitis,
hemorrhage, refractive errors, glaucoma.
MUD BATH
• Prepare mud and apply all over the body
• Expose to sunlight for 45 - 60 mnts
• Care should be taken so that the patient is not catching cold
• Wipe out the mud after prescribed duration and take a spray bath
• Transfer the patient to a warm bed
• It improves peripheral circulation and eliminates morbid matter
• Improves skin complexion
• Beneficial in skin disorders
HYDROTHERAPY
• Water is the universal solvent and morbid matter can be mobilized out
through the agency of it.
• Relieves the inner congestion and consequent pain in the affected parts
• Keeps the body temperature below danger point by promoting heat
radiation through skin
• Promotes the activity of the organs of elimination and thus facilitates
the removal of morbid matter from the system
• Accilerates the process of healing
• Increases the positive electromagnetic energies in the organism
HYDROTHERAPY
• PACKS
• COMPRESSES
• FOMENTATION
• HIP BATH
• SPINAL BATH
• FRICTION SITZ BATH
• STEAM BATH
• IMMERSION BATH
• WHIRL POOL BATH / JACCUZI
• ICE PACK / ICE AMSSAGE
• ENEMA
HELIOTHERAPY
• Benefits of sun rays
• Stimulation of physical activity
• Stimulation of melanin synthesis
• Regulation of body temperature
• Activation of precursors of Vit D
• Promotes adreno cortical secretion
• Germicidal property / purifies the environment
• Day light could cause the in vitro degradation of bilirubin and this is being
used as a therapeutic measure in preventing hyperbilirubinemia especially in
premature infants.
SUN BATH
• Preferably no cloth or minimal cloth so that maximum body surface is exposed
• Head should be covered and eyes should be protected
• Don’t look at the sun directly
• Start with 5-10mnts initially (anterior & posterior).
• Gradually increase up to 1 hour a day
• Preferably 7-9 am and 3-5 pm
• In severe Vit D deficiency around 11 am
• Cold water bath after sunbath
• Giddiness, fatigue, discomfort or burning sensation shows excessive exposure
FASTING
• It is the voluntary abstinence from all sorts of food except water
• Gives rest to the individual
• Stops the intake of food which decomposes inside the intestine and further
poison the body
• Gives the organs of elimination a chance to catch up with the pending work
• Permits conservation of energy, which can be utilized for the repair of the
body
• Provides 4 types of rest – physical, physiological, mental, sensorial
• Fasting is not starvation. Starvation is destructive. Fasting is constructive.
FASTING
• To facilitate the elimination of morbid matter
• Water fasting / juice fasting / dry fasting
• For the first two days, there will be difficulties but they subside as days pass by.
• During fasting the following symptoms may occur: tastelessness, bad odour in
mouth, coated tongue, vomiting, slight pain in stomach, giddiness, exhaustion
etc.
• The symptoms og the disease may aggravate (Healing Crisis)
• Fasting is advised till the tongue coating disappears and patient feels appetite
• During fasting the patient should be given regular enema, cold towel packs,
bath, rest and relaxation
MASSAGE
• Effleurage
• Petrissage
• Kneading
• Friction
• Tapotement
• Hacking
• Beating
• Clapping
• Pounding
• Shaking
• Boating
• vibration
Modern Naturopathy - Emunctories…..
• Emunctorology is a synthesis of traditional naturopathic medicine
practice and modern science that provides a multisystem
construct allowing the integrated study of the organs of
elimination (the emunctories), their functional relationships, the
role they play in maintaining normal physiology (homeostasis)
through the elimination of waste material and toxic substances,
the pathophysiology that occurs if the emunctories function sub-
optimally or are diseased, and the clinical strategies that are used
in modern naturopathic medicine to treat, nourish, tonify,
stimulate and sedate the emunctories in the maintenance of good
health.
Emunctorology
• Emunctorology explores the complex processes by which the body
rids itself of toxic substances or waste products and how the
emunctories function to eliminate that which does not benefit the
organism as a whole. Traditionally, the emunctories were divided
into primary and secondary roles. The primary emunctories,
classically, the bowel, kidney, lungs and skin, are the most efficient
routes of elimination. When these are not functioning optimally,
the body will attempt to compensate and use the secondary
emunctories, including the stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen,
lymphatic system, prostate and mucosal surfaces.
Emunctorology
• These secondary emunctories are not as efficient at elimination as
this is not the primary function of these organs or tissues.
Consequently, when the primary emunctories are not functioning
optimally, the secondary emunctories may also become perturbed
and respond with a generalized inflammation. A chronic systemic
inflammation therefore suggests to the naturopathic physician
poor elimination through primary emunctories. This inflammatory
state can present as a generalized fever with or without an
inflammatory condition affecting specific emunctories such as
bronchitis, colitis, vaginitis, sinusitis, eczema or gastritis.
Emunctorology
• The basic functions of those excretory organs herein termed
emunctories have been understood for some time. The overall role
of the GI tract, the kidney, the lungs and the skin in elimination and
excretion of both exogenous and endogenous toxins is well known.
What is not very well understood is the interplay between these
different organ systems and the early indicators of dysfunction or
sub-optimal organ function. The functional disturbance of the
emunctories has been a core component of naturopathic practice
theory.
Therapeutic Order
• The Therapeutic Order guides how the naturopathic
principles are applied, and is based on the idea that the human
body possesses an inherent drive to heal itself. It posits that the
least amount of force be employed in order to promote gentle,
safe and long-lasting health and well-being. The Therapeutic
Order characterizes the natural progression of naturopathic
therapeutic recommendations to maximize patient benefit and
reduce the potential for damage or harm. Naturopathic care
ultimately focuses on the individual and what is best for them at
that moment in time.
Therapeutic Order
• The Therapeutic Order was first developed by naturopathic
physicians, Drs. Jared Zeff and Pamela Snider. Dr. Zeff’s landmark
1997 article proposed the four-part Hierarchy of Healing in “The
Process of Healing – A Unifying Theory of Naturopathic Medicine.”
• The therapeutic order works from least to most invasive
interventions, from the inside out, from more general strategies, to
more symptomatic, specific and targeted therapies. It includes seven
steps that should be applied from the bottom up, increasing in
intervention as needed to restore health. Central to the therapeutic
order is that the order is not rigid, and is adapted to each patient.
1. Remove Obstacles to Health
• In order to return to health, the initial step must be removal of anything impeding the
healing process. This is often referred to as “removing obstacles to cure.” Naturopathic
physicians create a plan with their patient that addresses these obstacles (common
culprits are poor diet, excessive stress or disruptive coping mechanisms, digestive
disturbances, inadequate rest, toxic exposures, socioeconomic stressors, trauma, etc.)
in an effort to remove them and their effects, and improve the conditions under which
the disease developed. Removing the things that are disturbing health allows the
person’s vitality to increase, the self-healing process to be optimally engaged, and
further therapeutic interventions to have the greatest beneficial effects possible.
Removing obstacles to cure is core to the expression of the Naturopathic Philosophical
Principle, Treat the Cause.
2. Stimulate the body’s self-healing
mechanisms
• Every person has within them an innate wisdom and intelligence
that tends toward the optimal expression of health. In
naturopathic medicine, this is called the “Vis Medicatrix Naturae.”
The “Vis Medicatrix Naturae” is the body’s innate healing ability,
the process of healing which engages with one’s “vital force” or
life force, as it is often termed. Naturopathic physicians use
various therapies such as nutrition, botanical medicine, physical
medicine, lifestyle counseling, acupuncture, homeopathy and
hydrotherapy to stimulate and enhance this mighty and dynamic
force and process allowing the body to heal itself.
3. Strengthen Weakened or Damaged
Systems – Restore and Regenerate
• Sometimes the mind, spirit and body’s systems or functions need more
than stimulation to improve. Systems that are under or overactive, or
that need repair or support are addressed in this step. Naturopathic
physicians use their broad and varied natural medicine(s) and healing
practices to aid in restoring optimal function to an entire physiologic or
organ system. This might include applying botanical medicine,
endocrine balancing, professional grade supplements, homeopathy,
counseling, manual therapies, acupuncture and others with the
intention of enhancing the function of specific tissues, organs or
systems; or at the psycho-emotional level.
4. Correct Structural Integrity
• This level involves the use of physical therapies such as spinal
manipulation, massage therapy, electrotherapy and cranio-sacral
therapy to improve, support, and maintain musculature, fascial
and skeletal integrity. Therapeutic movement, optimizing
biomechanics, physical therapy and exercise may also be
employed at this level to promote return to optimal structural
condition.
5. Use Natural Therapies to Address
Pathology and Symptoms
• Although the primary objective of naturopathic medicine is to
restore health, not to treat a distinct pathology, there are
instances where specific pathologies must be addressed and
managed. In these cases, naturopathic physicians utilize
physiologically synergistic, dependable, effective natural
substances that are unlikely to add toxic burden, cause adverse
effects, place undue additional strain on an already disordered
system, nor undermine the vis medicatrix naturae, while relieving
the symptoms which cause suffering.
6. Use Pharmaceutical or Synthetic Substances to
Stop Progressive Pathology
• Synthetic or pharmaceutical substances may be necessary to
restrain or strongly manage symptoms, and address specific
pathology that is negatively impacting a patient’s quality of life or
safety. NDs recognize that suppressing symptoms removes some
of the awareness that helps us better understand the root cause
of an issue and the ability to restore vitality.
7. Use High Force, Invasive Therapies to
Suppress Pathology
• Sometimes it is necessary in the interest of patient health, comfort and
safety to suppress pathological symptoms, prior to addressing underlying
causal factors, and ultimately restoring health. Though suppressive or
palliative therapies may result in reduced symptomatic expression, even
when done with the best of intentions, the end result of suppressive
therapies is that the original, fundamental disturbing factors will continue
to impact the person by sustaining disruption of functions (though perhaps
to a lesser degree). Resolution of the disturbing factors may also be
impeded or halted until the patient is stabilized and can address underlying
causes while minimizing suffering and preventing further deterioration.
Now it is a Drugless Therapy
• Natural Elements
• Massage
• Magnetotherapy
• Chromotherapy
• Acupressure
• Acupuncture
• Reflexology
• Herbal medicines
• Breathing exercises
• Meditation
Travel through the path of Nature!
THANK YOU!