By Schuyler Corrigan

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February 14, 2022

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“When we are only treating on the physical level- there is only so much healing that is accessible. Ancient lineages of medicine have taught endless truths that still exist for us in this modern time….. that “matter follows consciousness”. When we come from this deeper understanding of healing there is far more available and accessible. We are more than just physical matter and thus we must embrace this truth to wield our deepest desires of health and healing.”  – Leah Hollon, ND

Whole-Body Approach: Mind + Body + Spirit Medicine

 

The naturopathic approach to health and wellness is much more comprehensive than simply looking at your symptoms and treating the surface. Naturopathic medicine fills a vital role in today’s medical system of specialists and referrals. Many chronic conditions that have been undiagnosed and are unidentifiable by modern means can be identified and supported through Naturopathic medicine’s whole-body approach.

 

ND’s understand the importance of every input of your life and environment in the presence of how imbalances may manifest. From community support to daily stressors, and the quality of sleep and your sense of purpose or spiritual connection, the less quantifiable pieces of your life are listened to closely by your naturopathic doctor, and reflected back to you with tailored recommendations. 

 

“As naturopathic doctors, I feel we are so lucky to have the ability to address the body as a whole as opposed to just having to manage one part separate from the whole. I have found so often that the symptoms presenting at the forefront are the body crying out for help, but upon further exploring the person as a whole, we find out that those symptoms may have been just the tip of the iceberg. I see this most commonly in chronic illness with the inability to fully heal because of the less obvious body systems going unaddressed...The body is very connected and having the ability to address mind, body, and spirit is how I have been able to see whole body healing among my patients.” – Vanessa Ferreira, ND

 

The Practice of Whole-Body Healing

The practice of naturopathic medicine is based on the understanding of the body’s ability to heal itself.  When people experience signs and symptoms of illness, these serve as an indicator that there is an imbalance or a problem within the body. Ignoring symptoms doesn’t make the problem go away and often the signs and symptoms worsen until one has to pay attention and seek medical help. In some cases, people experience symptoms of a problem but the cause is undetermined, thus symptoms are ignored or overlooked and become a new ‘normal.’ 

 

It is important to understand that our bodies are wise and use signs and symptoms to let us know when there is an imbalance. This imbalance could be cumulative; it could be based upon a lack or excess of nutritional factors; could be created by daily habits, infection, or environmental issues. Instead of ignoring the problem or suppressing symptoms through the use of medicines designed to alleviate or hide symptoms to ‘help you get through your day,’ naturopathic medicine looks to support the body in dealing with these assaults in a more comfortable and efficient way. In other words, naturopathic medicine works with the body, not against it. The goal of naturopathic medicine is always to find the cause of the imbalance by allowing symptoms to guide us to the root cause of the illness or disease while looking closely at the external impacts of our lifestyle on our health and wellness. 

 

“Mind-body-spirit approach is important because most physical ailments I see have at least some mental/emotional/spiritual component to it, and are at the very least worsened by stress if not outright caused by it. The nervous system and adrenal glands are extremely responsive to our perceived impressions of the world around us, so by learning to understand the language of the body we can learn to tend to its needs as opposed to seeing symptoms as inconveniences that should be suppressed. I often recommend practices that help promote the parasympathetic “rest and digest” part of the nervous system to balance the sympathetic “fight or flight” mode that predominates in modern living. These include ending your shower in cool water for 15-30 seconds, deep breathing, and vagus nerve reset exercises. I recommended mindfulness to most of my patients as well because our thoughts produce feelings in our body and it is extremely empowering to be able to better navigate what feelings come up by managing the mind and its thoughts. I love that mindfulness practices allow patients to develop a supportive relationship with their minds and thoughts over time because this relationship is something that can be cultivated throughout one’s whole life and is not reliant upon an external factor such as an herb, supplement, or medication. Addressing the mind, body, and spirit is intrinsic to the Naturopathic approach, which seeks to bring healing and balance to the WHOLE person.”

– Naomi Gerep, ND