Welcome to The Art of Naturopathy, a blog about naturopathic medicine
and the healing power of nature.
Over the upcoming months, we will be working to fill this blog with valuable information, tools, and resources about the Art of Naturopathy. Here you will find health tips from our doctors, recipes, inspirational stories, and case studies regarding naturopathic medicine and the healing power of nature. There will also be trending health topics, common diseases and disorders we treat, answers to questions our patients ask us, and much more.
We thought we would start with an article written by our founder, Dr. Marnie Frisch, to kick this blog off. Enjoy!
Well, 2020 has been quite the year for all of us. And, as the year rounds out and a new one begins, it is time to take stock of what we have learned and what we want to welcome in for growth. My first thought is, “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”— but we can do better than that!
I think a couple of important lessons have been learned and are worth evaluating and bringing forward through the 2021 door:
Lesson one
Lessson one is really nothing new, but is a shining star for me this year: We are individuals in a greater network of individuals, and there are an interconnectedness and interdependence on the actions of one another. Our health can depend on the health of those around us and thus affects the choices we make in how we go about living. This is not a foreign concept—there have been correlations between the environment and our health that has long been talked about in Naturopathic Medicine.
Our environment is affected by the choices individuals, corporations, and the government makes. But, I think in 2020 we learned that the actions of those around us directly affects our health as a human in a way that is much more immediate, and potentially much more concerning. I do not think we have had to think so much about public health choices as we have this year, in my lifetime anyway. But now, we all have to take some responsibility for protecting the whole —whether by choice or by our governments’ choice. The bottom line is, we are interconnected, and we can show our love and respect for each other by making intentional choices in our behaviors.
Lesson two
People want to feel heard and be seen. I think 2020 is the year that voices are rising to the surface—whether it is to protect their individual rights or those of a group of people. From a societal perspective, injustices are surfacing, but I do not want to get political here. However, from a health care standpoint, I learned myself as a patient how good it felt to finally be seen and heard by a new doctor that I visited…after years of searching for the right fit in a specialist. I strive as a doctor to provide this kind of care to my patients, and I hope you experience this with your care from all of us at Whole Health Naturopathy.
Lesson three
Lesson three is both a lesson of 2020 and my ask of you for 2021, so you can keep making the best out of what is in front of you: Resilience and Adaptability. I remember hearing somewhere along the way in my
education that adaptability is the number one trait for not only survival but health.
One could look at any stress, whether it be physical (like a virus or a trauma), mental, or emotional, as a strain on the body. How we push back on that strain is a sign of health (some of you have heard me explain homeopathy in this manner).
With that in mind, I will leave you with some ideas on nurturing your resilience as we navigate through this 2021 portal.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: View change as an opportunity for
growth. - Purpose: stay true to your core values. Identify what is important
to you and what motivates you. Do more things that bring YOU a sense of peace or calm. It is okay to let go of trying to meet other people’s expectations. - Connection: hold onto healthy relationships in your life. Find ways
to connect, even if they are not like they used to be. - Hope: positivity is a powerful tool. It is okay to think about negative
possibilities, but give equal time to the positive possibilities as well.
I wish you a very happy and healthy 2021. Please know that we are here for you, and we are grateful to be working with you.
-Marnie Frisch, ND
* sourced from Wa.gov