Why is it so radical to be radical? I never find myself fully in a circle, I generally walk between circles, receiving and giving what I need. Radical is the common denominator of all of the circles I tend.
Radical is root. Raiz is root. We come into this world with a radical nature, to remember it, you must ask yourself where is your soul awakened the most and where are my feet rooted most? What is my life’s walk?
Naturopathy became “popularized” when colonizers and white Euro (fe)males began to live more sedentary, indoor lifestyle. Many of the founding fathers were taken down by the 0.01% that funded the John’s Hopkins Model during an uninformed decision of which model should be the standard of medicine. * And still, we persisted. And now, we are thriving, more accepted than ever. The existence of Naturopathic Medicine is due to resilience and tenacity as a profession.
Naturopathic Physicians have been using medical treatments that are being appropriated by internet “experts” around every corner of Google, Facebook, and Instagram. The Eclectic Physicians and founding Naturopaths primarily practiced Nature Cure. Their treatments focused on Sanatoriums or retreats that immersed patients into a strict regimen of hydrotherapy, colonics, fasting, exercise, nature cure, sunlight, fresh air, and early morning “dew treading.”
Why wait for 100 years to treat in order to allow time for scientific method to catch up with his billions of dollars invested into rat torture (phase 2 clinical trials)?!
Don’t get me wrong, I geek out the most when modern science catches up with traditional medicine. I went to med school for a reason. Can someone please explain to me why 500 – 1000 years of observation and refining does not count as the true scientific method (phase 4 clinical trials)? I believe after all those cases, all of the confounding variables could be accounted for and dis-proven.
Today, many Naturopaths practice integrative medicine, teaching you your options. This is because lifestyle diseases have become so profoundly terminal, that we must balance the disease expression with palliation to reduce mortality and suffering. This medial nature of medicine is an extremely gray area. Naturopaths often suffer criticism from all ends of health care practitioners. Also, noteworthy, it is rare to find two Naturopaths that practice the same. We have a very large toolbox of modalities to chose from.
The Vagus has multiple branches, 3 to be exact. It is directly linked with our autonomic nervous system, the tiger fight, flight, or freeze. It is responsible for increased heart rate, etc., so we can run away from the tiger. Now we know that the Vagal-immuno response may be mediated by our microbes. Wild, yeah? Not quite so wild to me, considering Naturopaths have been working on gut health and prescribing nutritional therapy, fasting + probiotics since day 1.
If you’re more curious about Interleukins, Autoimmunity, Parkinson’s, and how fasting can help quell inflammation, keep a look out for future posts on Insta @copesthetichealth, Facebook @Copesthetic Community or sign up for the Copesthetic Cleanse for the full meal deal (no pun intended). All of those resources are smothered with gut health, body health, mind health, soul health, and more.
I differ from many of my colleagues in the fact that I take rest when I need to. I slow down and I go a wee bit deeper into root cause medicine. This is what I like to call radical self-care. So many of the circles I roll with are intense: From demanding to be heard, to be equitable, to be a source of creativity in an over-accultured world. In order to harness this deep creativity, I must suffer. I must feel the weight of the next 8 generations, of the harms from poisoning our rivers, our Original Mother. And in this, I must practice being absolutely rooted into the ground. My method of radical being is being with the 5 elements, being with the plants, being with myself, and seeing all from a compassionate lens. In order to view other from a compassionate lens, I must view myself in this way.
It is easy to lose myself in the viewpoints of others, especially in circles where common terms are carelessly thrown around such as patriarchal, colonization, radical, root cause, natural, self-care, privilege…. These times are poignant. It is time to de-colonize from the dried out culture we are asked to exist within. This takes diving into the depths of dark creativity; in order to identify what you are here to do, you must remember your tools, ask for help along the way, find a fertile community, and recognize what is blocking you. More importantly, fill yourself with what is feeding you to stay on your path. May we all live strong, potent, radical lives. Firstly for ourselves, and more importantly for the generations to come.
© 2019 Copesthetic Health