Discover Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine
In my early sixties I discovered Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine and my on-going skin issues finally healed, my bloodwork improved, and I feel great.
I think it’s important to share how Vitalist Naturopathic Doctors address health. Healing is based on naturopathic philosophy and principals. There is an order to healing.
This is a different way of thinking about medicine.
True health is vitality – thriving with energy, clarity, and joy.
The cornerstone of Vitalist Naturopathic Medicine is the healing power of nature — Vis Medicatrix Naturae. The living energy inside the body is ‘The Vital Force or Vis’.
Vis Medicatrix Naturae is a Latin word, coined by Hippocrates. It basically means there’s an innate healing mechanism in the body that can be awakened and stimulated.
Naturopaths acknowledge there’s a vital force — an energetic force — in the body that’s always working to restore normal structure and function. The conventional version of the vital force is homeostasis, how the body’s systems maintain balance.
Vitalists harness the healing power of nature, the Vis, to reverse dis-ease. Vitalists use a very individualized approach, identifying the obstacles to cure and providing the support needed.
Dr. Sensenig explains vitalist philosophy — the belief that a healing force exists within all living systems that works constantly to restore balance and health. Symptoms are not the enemy. They are signals that the body is working to correct imbalance.
He says:
All naturopathic medicine is based on universal principles that are true and hold true for all time. We don’t have to change what we are doing for the 21st century because the same rules that apply in nature and in the natural process of healing are immutable. They always are and they always will be because that’s the Vis.
In his book Holistic Counseling Introducing The Vis Dialogue, Dr. Moshe Daniel Block says “The Vital Force is our inner energy field that animates our mental, emotional, and physical spheres.”
The path to healing naturally is removing obstacles to cure and supporting the body as needed. This type of medicine is called Vitalism and the naturopathic doctors (NDs) who practice this way are Vitalist.
Understanding this principle changes how Vitalists approach healing.
History of Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine
Dr. Dick says There is a long history and tradition of Naturopathic Vitalism in the United States originating with Vincent Priessnitz (1799-1852) who began the “heating compress” of hydrotherapy that was brought to the US and influenced the Sanitorium practitioners and Naturopaths such as Henry Lindlahr (1852-1925), Benedict Lust (1872-1945) – The Father of Naturopathy, and Dr. Otis G Carroll (1879-1962). Dr. Carroll (a Sanipractor) trained Dr. Leo Scott DC, ND and Dr. Harold Dick, DC, ND. (1921-1994) Dr. Dick is my father. He began practice with Dr. Carroll in 1956 and worked in his clinic with him for 3 years and then began his own clinic in 1959 which I still continue to this day in Spokane WA. The modalities that I utilize to restore health are virtually unchanged since the days of OG Carroll and my practice is a modern model of the Lindlahr healing center of long ago. These modalities are in use because they are effective in healing, as they are based upon the laws of nature which are always present and ever constant.
Read the full NIH article.
Nature Cure Influences Vitalism
Vitalistic naturopathic doctors — Vitalists — base their program on the work of Dr. Henry Lindlahr who wrote the book Nature Cure, based on the recognition of Nature’s healing power. The genius of Dr. Henry Lindlahr is identifying the causes of disease and establishing the foundation for restoring the sick to health. Healing is based on principles of natural law.
Lindlahr states disease is caused by these three things:
- Lowered vitality
- Abnormal composition of the blood and lymph
- Accumulation of waste matters, morbid material, and poisons
Lindlahr addresses how to reverse disease and restore health. Some basics include: build up the blood; improve elimination of wastes and toxins; establish normal surroundings and natural habits (mentally and physically).
Most importantly, raise the individual’s consciousness for personal responsibility and the necessity of intelligent personal effort and self-help.
The genius of Naturopathy is the understanding of the conditions that create health and how to apply this to the human condition. Naturopathy is a repeatable process that consistently restores the sick to health.
This video is a great example of how the Naturopathic Medicine Institute supports students of naturopathic medicine.
Naturopathic Medicine Principles
Naturopathic medicine is defined by principles. These principles are derived by the careful observations of nature, these are nature’s laws. From these observations of nature’s laws for healing, naturopathic physicians work to identify and eliminate the cause of disease and are guided by six principles:
1-The body knows how to heal
2-Identify and remove the cause of ill health
3-Do no harm
4-Doctor as teacher
5-Treat whole person
6-Prevent illness
It is how these principles are addressed for healing that differentiate Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine. Many doctors, not just Vitalists, follow these six principles.
The Therapeutic Order
There is an order to healing. Drs. Jared Zeff and Pamela Snider developed the Therapeutic Order. The Therapeutic Order is a map of how a naturopathic doctor should think, always starting with the least force, always respecting the vis medicatrix naturae — the body’s healing power. And always acting as a teacher and guide, not a controller of symptoms.
Based on Dr. Harold Dick’s work (educated by Dr. O. G. Carroll) to heal patients with a variety of conditions of ill health. His clinic healed a wide variety of ill conditions using an organized and ordered approach to therapy.
NDs always address acute concerns first. Then they use the Therapeutic Order as a guide on how to address each of these areas to restore health. These therapies are administered in order starting with the lowest level interventions first, i.e., establish conditions for health. Moving up the order to number seven, the highest force needed for healing.
1) Establish the Conditions for Health
The Therapeutic Order emphasizes a foundation for health must be restored. Build a life that supports health, not disease. The core idea is that most chronic disease begins because the conditions for health are missing.
Step 1-Identify and remove obstacles to cure: One important tool is The Carroll Food Intolerance Test to identify foods the body can’t digest. This one step eliminates the toxemia created by undigested foods. Also reduce all toxins and stresses of life.
Step 2-Establish conditions for health: clean water, whole natural foods, fresh air, rest and sleep, sunlight, movement, and emotional/spiritual support.
2) Stimulate the Vis Medicatrix Naturae
Stimulate the Healing Power of Nature. NDs focuses on therapies that remind or signal the body to repair itself, without overriding physiology. Simply waking up the body’s own healing intelligence, not forcing anything. This is accomplished with a spiritual connection, an appropriate diet, stress moderation, appropriate exercise, and appropriate rest. People need good air, sunshine, and water to thrive.
These are gentle signals to stimulate the body’s own healing, not forceful interventions.
Support systems that have been overworked, underperforming, or depleted. Support the person’s weakened defense.
Two general recommendations to stimulate self healing and strengthen weakened systems are hydrotherapy and exercise, exercising to one’s individual tolerance.
Vitalists routinely employ hydrotherapy for healing. Many NDs, even Carroll Method NDs, do not use this healing technique. Constitutional Hydrotherapy (CHT) is a specific hydrotherapy treatment that stimulates the healing process. This consists of applying alternating hot and cold towels combined with electrical stimulation.
This combination of hot and cold towels stimulate the spinal reflex areas and increases blood flow through the digestive organs. This speeds up lymphatic movements to invigorate the immune system. This allows the body to heal in many ways. It is referred to as ‘Constitutional’ because it changes the very constitution of each cell.
This is an excellent short video to share the many ways Constitutional Hydrotherapay is used to stimulate healing.
4) Address Structural Integrity
There are many ways to restore health by correcting the body’s structure. Treatments include:
As underlying functions are corrected, the body is ready to receive these therapies:
- Joint and Soft Tissue Manipulation. One example, adjusting the spine only once or twice as it should stay in place because the underlying pressures of organ dysfunction were corrected already.
- Massage can be very useful to the structure
- Non-force Manipulations
- Specific Exercises to address making the structure stronger, like exercises for the low back or neck.
- Subtle Energy Manipulations, i.e., craniosacral therapy which is a gentle, hands on technique focusing on the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This treatment can relieve pain, reduce stress, and improve nervous system function.
5) Address Pathology, Natural Interventions
- Botanicals can be used to drug the system. Vitalists don’t like to use drugs, but a botanical can contain a drug that opens the lungs for example. Many pharmaceuticals are derived from botanicals.
- Nutrients can be used to address specific issues, i.e., improve circulation to the heart.
- Homeopathy, there are specific remedies to address specific conditions.
- Acupuncture can be used at many levels and to heal dis-ease.
- Exercise
- Massage
- IV Applications used by some NDs to increase nutrients to the body.
6) Address Pathology, Pharmaceutically
Drug Therapy, pharmaceuticals may be required for high level interventions for survival or structural repair. Drugs are applied minimally and strategically. Drugs are not at the center of naturopathic practice. In states where NDs prescribe, drugs may be used only when lower-order methods are insufficient. Use drugs only for safety, protection, or stability. Always be aware that drugs often suppress rather than heal. This step is high-force, high-risk, and therefore used carefully.
7) Suppress Pathology, High Force Intervention
Surgery and drugs may be required and this is an area where medical doctors excel. Naturopathy does not replace surgery or emergency care for trauma, obstruction, fractures, life-threatening illness, or advanced diseases. Although in some states NDs can prescribe pharmaceuticals and perform minor surgery.
Summary
Most NDs operate on levels one to four to establish conditions for health, remove obstacles to cure, stimulate self healing, and restore weakened systems. By correcting issues on these lower levels, most do not need higher force interventions.
Fundamentally what separates naturopaths from medical physicians, is knowing which therapies to apply in the most efficient way to restore function.
“The physician’s high and only mission
is to restore the sick to health.”
~ Samuel Hahnemann
The Organon of Medicine 6th Edition
Dr. Christie Fleetwood gives a great explanation of the Therapeutic Order. (She is my ND.)
Axioms - The Laws of Nature that Govern Healing
The elders of Vitalistic Medicine identified the laws of nature that govern healing. The main source of their work is Dr. Henry Lindlahr’s book Nature Cure. These laws derived from this work are called Axioms of Nature.
Dr. Letitia Dick used the word ‘Axiom’ to describe nature’s laws for healing because the definition means a statement or proposition that is established, accepted, or self-evidently true. Axioms of Nature are irrefutable, immutable, self-evident and true for all time.
It is critical to understand how the body becomes and stays healthy. And it is equally important to understand how the body shows signs of illness when the laws are violated. These laws work every time. When followed, health ensues and when violated, the result is illness and disease.
Axioms are a set of lenses through which one can view how vitalistic naturopathic care restores health. The axioms guide Vitalistic NDs in their practice, why they do what they do.
Watch this first video of the twelve axioms. Then see the playlist of all 12 to gain a greater understanding of the Laws of Nature for healing. These videos include a few cases how removing the obstacles to cure and supporting the body with what it needs will heal.
Axiom 1 -The Healing Power of Nature – Vis Medicatrix Naturae
This is Axiom 1 Vis Medicatrix Naturae – The Healing Power of Nature.
Dr. Henry Lindlahr states “There is a living force always striving to repair and correct. It’s an organizing force, it is ordered and intelligent, it restores balance. All symptoms are a manifestation of the imbalance. The symptoms reveal the method of cure. If we suppress the symptoms we further the imbalance. Suppression negates the natural phenomenon, the organizing force is the opposite of entropy. The Vis opposes disease and restores health.”
Axiom 2: Health is Balance
Health is the body and mind in balance. Vitalistic medicine reads symptoms as the guide to cure. The body is working to eliminate toxins through symptoms and these symptoms need supporting not suppression.
Our bodies need balance in all things, clean water and air, proper diet, enough sleep, and community. Learn how all symptoms are a manifestation of the body out of balance.
Axiom 3: Suppression
Nature’s Law of Suppression is about when healing attempts of the body are stopped, the body will create another way to heal. The body is wise and creates discharges for healing. Examples of discharges are skin eruptions, diarrhea, fevers, etc. Suppressing one discharge leads to another discharge elsewhere and/or a rebound.
One great example is fever. Fever should not be suppressed, it is a healing force of nature. Vitalists know how, and teach how, to assist the body during fevers and when to see a medical doctor. See short video Fever is Your Friend. The body is working to heal using fever. Vitalists properly regulate fevers and reduce the highs as needed. Equally important is to fast during fevers and break fevers gently with light salads, broths, like Bieler’s Broth.
Axiom 4: Individualization
Individualization is the Law of Nature about treating the individual. Each person is unique and needs a different solution to restore health. Jim Sensenig states “This is the doctrine of snowflakes.”
Axiom 5: Doctrine of Signatures
The Doctrine of Signatures means everything has a signature, a frequency, an essence, and resonates, communicating its benefit. One simple example is walnuts. Walnuts look like a brain and are great for brain health. Consider the idea that each of us has a signature. NDs use homeopathy for healing and are guided by a plants’ and patients’ signature.
Axiom 6: Minimum Dose
The Law Minimum Dose says it only takes a very small amount of a substance to start the body healing. NDs strive to use the least amount of medicines in the smallest doses to restore health.
An example, homeopathy makes tinctures from plants, reducing them to their essence creating the best medicine for healing. Acupuncture also uses the smallest needle in the smallest place to open the body for healing. Interestingly, the female body produces only one teaspoon of estrogen in a lifetime.
Axiom 7: Dual-Effect/Compensation
This Law of Nature that governs healing is called Dual-Effect, or Law of Compensation. This law says, like the law of physics, every action will have an equal and opposite reaction. For humans, suppressing a symptom will result in a rebound that is stronger, and longer lasting. Using acetaminophen to suppress fevers will result in a lower fever initially, but after the medicine wears off, a higher fever will return.
Axiom 8: Conservation of Energy
Nature’s Law Conservation of Energy. In healing, the body conserves energy by eliminating waste and toxins via the path of least resistance. Suppressing symptoms, for example, will result in another response by the body as it finds the next best pathway for elimination. The body focuses healing energy in the most critical areas first. The body heals from the inside out, and from top down.
Axiom 9: Periodicity
The Law of Periodicity recognized verything has a cycle. Periodicity is governed by the Septimal Law or Law of Sevens, a basic law governing the vibratory activities of the universe. The harmonics of heat, light, sound, electricity, magnetism and of atomic structure and arrangement run in scales of seven. The Law of Sevens governs the phases of the moon and the menstrual period of the woman.
For healing, this law influences feverish, nervous, and psychic diseases. In many acute diseases, crises develop with marked regularity and in well-defined periodicity. For the natural cure of chronic diseases, crises develop in accordance with certain laws of periodicity. This phenomenon has been observed and described by many physicians.
Axiom 10: Wholism
The Law of Wholism states each individual exists as a complete whole and each disorder affects the whole. The entire being needs to be taken into account to improve the problem. The whole person is the physical body, mind, and soul.
The true physician must look for causes of disease and for methods of treatment upon all three levels of being. Vitalistic naturopaths excel in treating the whole individual.
Axiom 11: Intention
The Law of Intention is Lindlahr saying, “What do you consider the greatest benefit to be derived from nature cure regimen? I should answer the strengthening of willpower and self-control. This is the very purpose of life. That’s ‘intention’. I am made whole through the renewing of my mind”.
Naturopaths use intention to heal patients. Healing powers must be used in conformity with Nature’s intent. That is, do not suppress Nature’s cleansing and healing efforts.
Axiom 12: Harmonics/Resonance
Nature’s Law of Harmonics/Resonance is Henry Lindlahr’s recognition that “Life is vibratory. All things in nature from a fleeting thought or an emotion, to the hardest piece of diamond or platinum are modes of motion or vibration.”
Naturopaths use this law in relating with patients, a doctor/patient relationship that resonates is healing. Another example is homeopathy, botanical medicine, uses the harmonics of the remedies to restore balance.
Naturopathic Medicine Institute
The Naturopathic Medicine Institute is a non-profit organization founded by the stewards of the field of Naturopathic Medicine to address the need for bold leadership, continued education, research, advocacy, collaboration and support in the field of Naturopathic Medicine.
The mission of the NMI focuses on providing education about fact-based, natural medical treatments that support the individual’s innate vital force for healing, rather than immediately resorting to invasive or ultimately debilitating conventional medical treatments.
The Naturopathic Medicine Institute (NMI) envisions a world where enjoying optimal health allows people to reach their highest potential for inspired creativity and it asserts that the highest ideal in health care must act in concert with the healing power of nature.
Find a Vitalist From NMI
This is a wonderful place to find a licensed ND who practices Vitalism. Most do telemedicine, and seeing a Vitalist in person is always best.
NMI Educates Public - The Vital ND Channel
Naturopathic Medicine Institute hosts The Vital ND YouTube channel to educate medical practitioners and the public about Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine. See videos by our NMI Founders, Fellows, and Vitalists. Vitalists are licensed naturopathic doctors that completed the NMI’s post-doctoral program. Vitalist are certified by the NMI, the credentials are VNMI.
Discover how these NDs use the healing arts to reverse symptoms, healing the body and mind.
Explore our Feature channels hosted by NMI Founders, Fellows, Vitalists. Check out our Playlist, see our favorite videos from the NMI team. This includes ND members who practice in the vitalistic way, working towards VNMI credentials.
Up your G.I. – Gut Intuition and learn some basics about food intolerances. See three generations of family stories in the Symptoms of Food Intolerances.
Namaste,
Diane