The Diploma of Naturopathy is designed to give the student a comprehensive outline of all the necessities of a modern naturopathic practice.

A Naturopathic Practitioner is the natural equivalent of being a General Practitioner. A Naturopath is someone who has broad ideas of many different forms of healing, but who specializes in a select number of them.

There are certain subjects that are important for all Naturopaths to know well such as Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, and Massage, since between these three modalities lies the basis of good physical health.

Naturopathy originated in Europe, it is an evolving art based on the traditional skill of European healing. Today, since it has a more global perspective, Naturopathic Practice and Study has incorporated some of the world's greatest and most ancient healing systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as aspects of medicinal abilities from many other cultures.

The potential scope of study within Naturopathy is vast. Since there are many different types of herbs, foods, massage techniques, meditation practices, exercises, and other healing aptitudes. The study of Naturopathy could easily take up a lifetime, and one would still probably only be skimming the surface of many areas.

This course will give a general synopsis of naturopathy healing performed during the beginning of the 21st Century. We will also go into some depth about a certain number of the naturopathy arts that are practiced today with a very wide field of application.

Exploration on what exactly is health and what it means to be a Naturopathic Practitioner will be the beginning of our Diploma Course.

The View of Human Health From a Naturopathic Practitioner

Understanding the Human Body and Mind as Naturopathic Practitioners

The view of the human being in natural medicine philosophies

Since we are trying as Naturopaths to help fellow human beings reach a better state of health, we must also try to understand the human nature better. This means understanding the human body, mind, and emotions in-depth.

If we are to understand Ayurveda and other natural therapy systems, we must also understand the meaning of the term "spirit".

Students will learn terms such as the Chinese "Chi", European "Life Force", or Indian "Atma."
In order to get a clearer definition of the term "life force" we will refer to the world acclaimed "Who Are You" written by Yoga Master and teacher Chris Butler. Butler clearly refers to many examples, illustrating that a person is actually the life force around which the physical, mental, and emotional bodies take shape and manifest.

One example our students of naturopathy learn is: even though every atom in the body changes approximately every seven years you are still the same person that you were ten years ago, and yet there is not a single atom that is the same; this continuation of consciousness is what is referred to as the "spirit".

Understanding the human being from the perspectives of Chinese Medicine

Once we have established this understanding then we will try to understand the human being also from the perspective of Chinese Medicine. We will study extensively Giovanni Macioca's book "Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine", which will give a clear view of the meridian organ system inherent in Chinese Medicine as well as the correlation of the physical and emotional bodies.

We will cover the Ayurvedic perspective on a persons make up by understanding the theory of the "Doshas," or constitutions; "Pitta", roughly equivalent to Fire or oil; "Kapha," roughly equivalent Earth and Water or Phlegm in the body; and "Vata," which means air or "ether."

To get a better understanding of Ayurveda you will also study Amadea Morningstar's "Ayurvedic Cookbook" and David Frawley's "Ayurvedic Healing", which present this deep and profound subject in an easy to understand and thorough manner. Finally, we will study Anatomy and Physiology from a Western medicine viewpoint from a well respected Anatomy and Physiology Textbook.

Our comprehensive course notes will further cover these subjects in-depth as well as touch on psychological subjects such as astrology, which has been used in many systems of natural medicine over the centuries.

These subjects can be completed either at the start or can be taken during the course. Once that understanding of the human being has taken place and knowledge on the basis of some of the great natural therapy systems of the world then we can further study actual methods and tools used for helping to heal the human being.

Approaches to Naturopathy Healing Arts

Nutrition

According to US Surgeon's, approximately 70% of all diseases are diet related.

We could certainly put major killers like cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and many others into this category. Understanding how to have a healthy diet that is right for your constitution is at the basis of most systems of natural medicine. Interestingly enough, having a healthy diet is also one of the best diets for the planet as well.

In this regard, we will look at books such as John Robbins's, "Diet for a New America", to see the impact of food on the greater environment as well as on the individual. It is important to keep in mind that one of the goals of natural medicine is to produce a certain harmony between the individual and his / her environment, so dietary choices on a wider scope may also be considered when studying nutrition from a holistic perspective.

Ayurveda, however, continues to be one of the greatest of all nutritional philosophies that has stood the test of time for at least several thousand years. We will look at this in great depth considering Amadea Morningstar's, "Ayurvedic Cookbook", also looking at Paul Pitchford's book, "Healing With Wholefoods", which also covers some aspects of Traditional Chinese Nutrition. We will also consider books such as the "New Four Foods Groups".

We will study books such as "Nutrition Almanac", to get an understanding of the location of nutrients in foods and books such as "Sugar Blues", to examine the effect that foods such as sugar have on people's health.

We will individually explore each nutrient, mineral and vitamin and discuss their use in natural healing as well as at the more energetic aspects of nutrition, as contained within Ayurveda.

We will examine each common grain, bean, fruit, vegetable, seed, nut and other everyday foods, discussing their individual properties. This will be accompanied with video demonstrations of how to cook using each different food to make nutritious meals.


Herbal Medicine & Flower Essences

In the herbal medicine section of the course, we will cover the major herbal traditions of Western Europe, Native America, India, and China as well as other parts of the world. We will look at the effects of herbs on the body and the mind, according to the various health philosophies discussed earlier.

The texts include David Hoffman's, "Holistic Herbal", Michael Tierra's, "Planetary Herbology", as well as David Frawley's text on Ayurvedic herbs the "Yoga of Herbs". The student will learn about the scientific as well as esoteric aspects of commonly and not so commonly used herbal medicines.

We will also look at Flower Essences within this section and focus our study on the work of the Flower Essence Society of California's book the, "Flower Essence Repertory", one of the most comprehensive books ever written on Flower Essences.


Massage Therapy Training

The massage section of our course will involve completing our ten-day Massage Diploma Course specializing in Brandon Raynor's technique of Therapeutic Massage. The cost of the Massage Therapist Training course will not be included in the price of the Diploma of Naturopathy, naturopathy students will receive a $500 discount on the massage course.

Students will learn hands-on therapeutic massage techniques and practical examples of Reflexology and Aromatherapy as well as deep tissue massage and acupressure.