NATUROPATHY

In many respects, naturopathy is really common sense applied to health. Tht basic principle is that we have tremendous innate healing abilities, and our systems will always attempt to overcome an illness and restore balance. In naturopathy, these attempts are encouraged by utilizing such natural factors as diet, exercise and relaxation, fresh air and the use of water. The general thrust of treatment is really to shift responsibility for health back to ourselves as far as possible, and equally to advocate prevention rather than cure.

Increasingly nowadays, ill-health is recognised as arising from environmental factors such as pollution, so an individual can only do so much to keep healthy, and wider measures may well need to be campaigned for. Nevertheless, a lot can be done through self-help action. Exercise is a major form of self-help, obviously within limits of individual comfort. Both posture and correct breathing are an integral part of this, as effort without correct breathing can lead to strain. It is important to ensure that adequate rest or relaxation is taken too, and naturopaths would certainly give advice on those areas as part of the treatment.