Naturopathic medicine is a system of primary health care which uses holistic, integrative, and natural methods to prevent and treat illness. It follows principles that support the innate healing ability within each individual, the doctor’s role in addressing the root cause of disease, and the philosophy of empowering the global community towards optimal health. It is nature-based healing that in turn benefits the environment, through ‘green practices’ that support the earth and its inhabitants.
Naturopathic doctors (N.D.s) are primary care physicians who inspire healing by using natural therapies tailored to each individual’s unique presentation. They combine scientific research with traditional natural healing methods to return the whole person (body, mind, and spirit) to the highest state of well-being. Naturopaths are unique in that they are the only primary care doctors who receive, as a part of their education, many hours of clinical training in a wide variety of natural therapeutic methods such as: herbal medicine, homeopathic medicine, physical medicine (including orthobionomy), Ayurvedic medicine, and lifestyle counseling (including diet, exercise, and stress management).
Diet & Clinical Nutrition
Eating a healthy diet is the very foundation for vibrant health. Naturopathic doctors customize specific diet plans to fit your unique lifestyle, reducing disease processes and encouraging ideal function from within. When needed, nutrients can be used at higher doses for treating disease or correcting deficiencies.
Herbal (Botanical) Medicine
Plants have been used around the world for thousands of years for their medicinal properties. In modern medicine, many drugs are derived from highly-concentrated plant substances. Naturopathic doctors create customized botanical medicine formulas to cure illness and support nutritional status, integrating ancient traditional customs with modern evidence-based practices.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a medical system based on the philosophy that “like cures like”, using very small amounts of natural substances to promote the body’s self-healing mechanisms. It is safe and gentle, yet effective and deeply healing. It can treat both acute and chronic diseases without the side effects of pharmaceutical medications, often resolving issues on a very curative long-lasting level.
Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurvedic Medicine is a comprehensive, holistic medical system which was developed over 5000 years ago in India by Brahmin sages. It is based on the concept that we each have a unique constitutional type, so treatments bring the person back to this balance rather than simply manage symptoms. Ayurveda uses nutrition, lifestyle, and herbal medicines to restore wholeness within each individual as well as promoting harmony in connection to the natural world.
Physical Medicine & Ortho-Bionomy
As part of a treatment plan, physical medicine therapies such as massage, hydrotherapy, and specific exercises can promote healing on the body level. Ortho-Bionomy, also known as Somatic Re-education, is another physical medicine technique often employed in treatment. This very gentle, non-invasive, osteopathically-based form of body therapy is very effective in working with chronic stress, pain and injuries, or other issues related to posture or structural imbalances. During treatment, the practitioner uses very gentle movements, placing the body into positions which can then help to facilitate the change of stress and pain patterns which have become habitual. It encourages the development of inner awareness within the individual and helps to confer a sense of balance and well-being, on both the physical and emotional level. As the inner wisdom of the body is recognized and affirmed, self healing can be hastened as the person remembers and experiences their natural ability to move away from pain and toward ease.