Naturopathy - The Five Basic Principles

Advantages and Disadvantages

The basic principles of naturopathy are slightly different than other common recommendations for healthy living. Naturopathy was rediscovered in 19th century by the people who couldn't agree with traditional medical practices. At the time, regaining health with the minimum of doctoring, using diet, exercise, bathing and massage was officially declared as ‘ungodly' or ‘unscientific'...

Modern medicine evolved relatively recently in the evolution of mankind. Its therapeutic goal is to eliminate the symptoms. Decidedly, in this short period of time of its existence, it became so influential that is now the conventional way of healing all around the world.

This modern (biomedicine) approach assumes that one's body becomes ill because of outside virulent attacks and uses medicines, vaccines, surgical and other hi-tech procedures to fight and remove the symptoms.

In spite of all the sophisticated technological methods of diagnosing and treating diseases, the lifestyle disorders are becoming a major health issue and modern medicine appears to be ineffective and even handcuffed in addressing them.

Therefore, public's leaning against more natural methods and taking charge of responsibility for one's own health is about to become prevailing.

Five Basic Principles

*Healthy Eating
According to the philosophy of naturopathy, our health is determined by nutrition. Failing to thrive in gardening, caring for domestic animals and farm livestock is also an outcome of unfit nourishment.

*Fasting
Reducing our concentrated (energy) food intake completely or partially when we feel ill is supposed to have several benefits. The strength gained from fasting is hormonal - a natural anti-inflammatory response. Fasting helps increase the hormonal strength (body's natural anti-inflammatory reaction). Drinking easy digestible raw food juices is recommended.

*Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is the external use of water to treat injury and illness. For example: bathing hands and feet in cool water might help you become more relaxed for sleep.

*Self Massage
Daily self massage of face and abdomen is easy to do and pleasing. You can trade the lower back and shoulder massage with a friend or spouse. For muscle and joint disorders, seek professional help.

*Gentle Exercise
Naturopathy states that problems of pasture and movement are mostly the result of underuse or abuse. Gentle exercising like yoga is beneficial both physically and mentally.

Being well is an intimate sensation and taking care of our wellness should start on a personal level. Instead, we became so dependent on the health-care system that we simply expect an institution to take-over and fix the problem almost every time our organs communicate disarray - without even considering other options.

But I firmly believe that in the future more and more people will be turning to their inner selves, learn to love and respect their bodies, listen to their bodies and take proper care of them, enjoy healthy foods and re-discover how to shine and express their individual uniqueness in contribution to the world.

Skin: An Important Ingredient of Your Daily Facial Care

What do you ache for these days? Antioxidants? Firming ingredients in your day-time-moisturizer? Vitamins and minerals? Or maybe something that's been a beauty secret of the famous-pretty-face centuries ago...?

A lot's been written and said about all the ingredients that are supposed to effectively erase or conceal all kinds of unwanted signs, lines, and discoloration from our faces, hands and bodies. New potent ingredients are discovered and rediscovered every day. As a result, the beauty-care-industry is flourishing (on our wallets!). And you are the lucky one if you manage to find the product that your skin really likes.

Whatever your perfect-potion-search mission is, I'm not trying to stop you. I sincerely hope you find one and really enjoy it until finding the replacement. However, there's an ingredient in our daily skin-care routine that's ignored or forgotten far too often. Moreover, in my opinion it's considerably more important than most people realize. Besides, the best things in our lives are quite often for free.

Pamper and caress - not torture your skin while cleansing, applying serums and moisturizers (or any other kind of product). Glide over your skin as lightly as the wings of the butterfly, dab lightly and gently.

Use the tips of your fingers (tips of your ring fingers around your eye-area) instead of your palms. Benefits are obvious: the treatment of your face is much more tender this way and there's no wasting of product on your hands.

Furthermore, avoid stretching, pressing and hitting too hard. Your skin will be greatful!
While paying attention to what you're doing, you're expressing love and care for your facial area. In doing so, there's a chance that you won't have to run out anymore to buy every single new beauty product on the market. Instead, you can carry around magically happy and glowing face.

Simple Living Guide: Healthy Priorities and Healthy Finances

I’ve never been a financial expert and I have serious doubts that I’ll ever have time to become one (with all the things that interest me). But this morning I all of a sudden realized how the foundation of healthy personal finances starts with setting the healthy priorities.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a person entering the second half of your life, younger or older, the quality of life and priorities are something we should all be thinking about. Quality doesn’t necessarily mean luxury or expensive things. Little things that make us happy every time we see them or use them and things that make us feel better add to the quality of our life so much more than the shiniest car, a fur coat, or a piece of jewelry. Wait, I’m not saying that we should give up the material possessions to become happy... No, we deserve all the best! But we should cover the basics first.

Maybe you’re upset about how much it costs you to take your kid to school (and back home) every week. Maybe you’re complaining how expensive the schools are. For our own good we should not classify the cost of the education under the expense category. Because learning is always an investment into everybody’s better future: your kid’s, yours and better future of this whole planet.

Maybe you’re fine with the school cost but you’re paying a lot (to rent or own) a big screen TV when at the same time you’re short on money when you need an herb remedy from the health food store which would really make you feel better. In my personal opinion, TV is something that we all have but we could leave just as happily without it and small screen is big enough to see the shows we really enjoy.

On the other hand, something like natural progesterone lotion, tea tree oil, black cohosh root pills, herbal tea that you find beneficial or healthier fruits and veggies from the local farmer’s market. will definitely improve the essential quality or your life.

To satisfy this kind of basic needs of your body and everyday living means a big improvement in excellence of your life, healthy priorities and in the aftermath - healthier finances.

Simple Living Guide: An Essential Ingredient of Healthy Dieting

It happens to be quite overwhelming nowadays to choose the right diet for ourselves when we start to feel like we need one. There are so many offers out there (diets are obviously a big business) that one can easily feel confused and lost among the loads of information bombarding us via all sorts of media’s advertising.

This writing is not a dieting tip and does not recommend a new (or tested) dieting program. I am not here to persuade you how a certain dieting food works great for weight loss dieting, in case of weight-gain caused by hormonal imbalance or even explain what a healthy dieting is.

Personally, I prefer natural methods and natural foods (my ideal is to grow and eat my own home-grown fruits and veggies). But even in the area of more holistically-oriented pursuits, there are different trends, healing methods and philosophies. Luckily, the natural methods don’t differ that much and have some basic principles in common.

My gut’s feeling tells me that we should learn from the famous physicians and researchers, their studies and experiences with the patients. But at the same time, whatever diet or detox program we decide on, it’s best when customized for us and especially - is user-friendly.

Whenever we introduce some drastic changes to our eating habits that better be done under the professional’s supervision. The step-by-step changes like staying away from sugar, alcohol or cigarettes (one at the time) are safe to try on your own. However, any support you can get in breaking these kinds of addictions might greatly improve your chances for success.

So, no matter what kind of diet and nutrition you choose for yourself, there’s one essential ingredient of every healthy dieting and applies to any kind of dieting: Always listen to your body.

Since there is no such thing as universal cure or universal diet, the smart choice would be to use your body as a guide. According to Deepak Chopra, M.D. the Eskimos get rotten teeth, hardening of the arteries and bad tempers if you give them fruits and vegetables (considered the healthiest foods in western societies).

Your body is your best friend, teacher and guide. It keeps "talking" to us, using the variety of sensations. It keeps teaching us what’s good for us - if only we would listen… Nevertheless, there is one simple, two-step way to start listening (and act accordingly) again:

1. Simply pay attention to how you feel an hour or two after eating a certain food.

2. Observe how you feel in the morning when on a new diet.

Paying attention, listening and observing to what our body is communicating to us is the most reliable way to avoid the dangers of dieting whether you adopt the blood type diet, famous "Shore" one, "Jessica’s" or any other. The one rule to follow in decision-making is: select the diet program that is tolerable in your current situation, lifestyle and wellness.