NATURE CURE IN A NUTSHELL
FOLLOW THE NATURE CURE WAY OF LIFE
Learn to be self-reliant and resilient. Learn how you can take control of your own health using methods that have been tried and tested for over a century using the Thomson Kingston approaches.
NEW FINDINGS and ESTABLISHED NATURE CURE WAYS
There are many “new” findings regarding health, and what to eat, currently being highlighted in the news and on social media. We have been using these “new findings” for a very long time.
WALKING IN FRESH AIR: Recent studies have shown that 20 minutes walking in the fresh air can help with your mental health. Jessie Thomson recommended way back in 1925 to “take your troubles for a walk”.
COLD WATER SWIMMING: Wild swimming in cold water has become really popular recently, being described as invigorating. Yet we have always recommended a “cold splash” in your own bath (or shower) at home as part of your daily morning routine – and you don’t even need to leave your home and won’t need the hot coffee and sticky bun to warm you up afterwards. The cold splash will give you a nice warm glow and a great start to your day.
There is no such thing as a cure-all; but if there were, it would be cold water properly applied. (Dr Henry Lindlahr)
OUR MICROBIOME: There is a lot being written about the importance of the microbes in our guts. One of the quickest ways to destroy them is by using antibiotics as well as from eating a poor, unbalanced diet. The Nature Cure practitioners have always emphasised the importance of your gut flora and fauna and how vital they are to your health.
EAT MORE FIBRE: This is one of the current rallying cries. We need more fibre and less Ultra Processed Foods. Straightforward, honest, healthy wholefoods have always been a part of our overall approach. Nature Cure eating encompasses a wholefoods diet, some raw some cooked. Freshness, wholesomeness and locally and organically produced are the watchwords.
THE NATURE CURE APPROACH
Nature Cure is a holistic approach to health based on an appreciation of the dynamic complexity of life. We are all complete organisms and rather than regarding the body as if it was a machine with independent parts that can be fixed or, if necessary, replaced, it recognises the importance of wholeness, connectedness and functionality.
Being healthy depends on a triad of physical, emotional and psychological properties. Where there are weaknesses in any areas, various types of distress – often perceived as a disease with a name – and they can be identified, understood and addressed without the need for any form of medicine. Orthodox medicine tends to target any health problem – which usually manifests as a symptom with a name – as if they had an independent existence requiring attention (suppression) and cure (medication).
By contrast the Nature Cure approach considers the whole person and sees a symptom as a signpost pointing towards the cause of their dis-ease or distress. Working this way, patients gain an understanding of their situation and work through it with explanation, support and guidance from their practitioner. Removing the cause of the disease, often by simply stopping doing the things that are making you ill, can be enough to allow the body to regain good health. Sometimes, all that is needed is to ditch the fear. We all get anxious when our health is compromised; learning about the way the body can heal itself can go a very long way to combating that fear.
Mental health is a hot topic at present. But mental health cannot be separated from physical health, the two are irrevocably entwined. The psycho and the somatic. If either is perceived as sick then the whole organism is unwell. As a couple of wee tests, trying stubbing you toe hard against a chair leg and while it is still throbbing, try and think straight! Or try imagining receiving a huge mental shock – for instance some really bad news – now observe how relaxed and happy your body feels. It won’t. When the brain perceives the threat, the gut reaction is instantaneous – too fast for signals to travel from the brain down the vagus nerve to the stomach. The gut responds at the same time as the brain registers the danger.
The NHS is currently in crisis, and if we can encourage more individuals to take responsibility for their own health, then this could take a large part of the burden off our crumbling “Health Service”. Of course, individuals need to be empowered to look at illness differently and supported to believe in the amazing healing power of their own bodies. Coupled with this; food production systems need to be more organic, honest and local so that healthy foods are more widely available and affordable. Good, wholesome and unprocessed foods are the foundations of good health.
To truly believe in your own body’s amazing self-healing ability takes quite a leap of faith for those who have always been told that “healing” can only come from drugs and medicines. To fully understand why this is not the case, every aspect of a person’s life, any of which may have contributed to their current dis-ease needs to be looked at. Symptoms are seen as indicators to be observed and followed, not inconveniences to be targeted with drugs. Receiving an explanation of why they are experiencing their symptoms based on true understanding is a calming, healing experience in itself, and guidance on addressing causes enables the person to gain or resume a happier, healthy life.
It is our attitude to acute illnesses that can most baffle the newcomer to Nature Cure. We understand them to be vigorous healthy body activities, often dealing with a build-up of waste matter in the body (also known as toxaemia) or other situations in need of attention, and certainly not something to be ‘cured’ or suppressed. It is vital that the acute activity is handled with an intelligent leaving alone, allowing the body to get on with the necessary cleansing processes. Prolonged suppression generally results in chronic illness, sadly, an all-too-common cause of human suffering nowadays.
The Nature Cure approach may include short fasts or periods of restricted diet; carefully considered applications of cold water; gentle (or sometimes firm) practitioner bodywork for reassurance and relief of muscular tension, and almost certainly extra rest to allow normal and healthy recovery. Couple these with deep breathing and outdoor exercise and time in natural surroundings and results can be remarkable.
Once there is an understanding of, and a growing confidence in, bodily experiences, and the Nature Cure way of life is accepted, both positive and negative responses can be welcomed; positive ones are more fully appreciated and respected and negative ones are allowed to resolve naturally. No medication, just a little time and appropriate adjustments to life’s routines are needed.
In a sense, a person becomes their own health expert, knowing how to live and respond to distress or disease, perhaps underpinned with an occasional visit to a Nature Cure practitioner for reassurance and support.
IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE: We would like to make it clear that when there is an extreme situation that the body cannot be expected to cope with such as a breakage, obstruction or haemorrhage for example, a Nature Cure person must seek appropriate medical assistance. If the fundamental Nature Cure approach is adhered to it will make the remarkable techniques and methods of surgery all the more beneficial and ultimately healing will be all the more effective and lasting.