Naturopathy and Primal Therapy

Naturopathy is an approach to life which is grounded in the belief that a physically and emotionally healthy life requires living a lifestyle that is as close to nature as possible. In order to do this we should:

• Eat only whole foods (no processed foods)
• Drink plenty of clean water
• Breathe clean air
• Exercise
• Spend time in nature
• Care for our bodies in natural ways
• Express emotions in a supportive and healthy way
• Nurture spiritual beliefs

The history of Naturopathy contains individuals who were highly successful in bringing good health to people, using these principles. Yet most were, and still are, persecuted by the medical establishment.

Common to all Naturopaths is a reverence for nature - a strong belief that nature heals itself, if its processes are not interfered with. Therefore their primary goal has always been to educate their clients in ways that would support and stimulate the body to heal itself.

Primal Therapy is Naturopathic, its area of focus being on the expression of emotions in a supportive and healthy way.

Its basic argument is that we are born with specific needs and responses to needs. When these needs are not properly met and when our natural responses to unmet needs (anger and crying) are suppressed, our emotional lives become distorted. Our behavioral responses to life become unbalanced.

Psychologist Arthur Janov calls the sum total of these suppressions a "pool of pain." Neurological research scientist Elnora Van Winkle hypothesizes that this pool of pain is an actual neurotoxic condition distributed throughout the memory network of the nervous system. This condition is created by the active suppression of our natural responses to need.

Our bodies are constantly trying to correct this toxic condition. We experience this cyclic and natural process as spontaneous and unexplainable feelings of anger or sadness. The appearance of these symptoms can be seen as the beginning of a detoxification crisis. The process of Primal Therapy involves making a conscious attempt to "stay with" and to express these spontaneous feelings, thereby actively encouraging the broadening and deepening of this natural detoxification process.

This article appeared in the Summer 2002 IPA Newsletter.