Dr. Jodi Vingelen, ND
@VLM_Dr_Jodi
I was standing in line at the farmer’s market and the woman standing behind me asks me, “What is nature cure?” I realized that she noticed the writing on my shirt. I turned around and enthusiastically said, “I’d love to answer your question! Would you like to join me in eating these organic blueberries (I was about to purchase them from farmer Bill) and I’ll tell you all about nature cure?” She curiously said, “Sure!”
So, my new friend and I sit down at a picnic table underneath a Western Red Cedar to share the story of Nature Cure, also known as Natural Method. I begin by sharing that I have personally felt drawn to Nature, like many nature curists. A nature curist is someone who follows the Nature Cure method. The Nature Cure Method is a system for treating diseases with natural agents such as air, diet, herbs, sunshine and water, which developed in nineteenth-century Europe. Louis Kuhne had been a nature curist in the late 1800s and states, “…I knew no greater delight than to observe the occurrences in field and forest, to trace the workings of our great mother, Nature, in plants and animals, in the earth and the skies, and to apprehend and establish her laws.”
Nature Curists believed strongly in the power of nature. Lust exclaims, “As long as there is one spark of life left, and the nature physician masters his art, the patient may be restored to health. In the beginning the nature-cure method was only a water-cure method. Nature’s remedies were simple: “Air, light, exercise, the right nourishment, dry and humid warmth in the way of water, baths, packs, compresses…” Cure is that which restores health. For those practicing Nature Cure, its motto, “Nature alone is the true and lasting healer” was loud and clear.
There are several men who studied the ways of nature and contributed to the nature cure method, they include: Priessnitz, Schroth, Graham, Just, Lindlahr, Rausse, Rikli, Kneipp, Kuhne, Densmore, Trall and others. Most if not all of these men had health issues themselves and could not find a cure for their ailment and this is what led them to healing themselves through nature cure. What all of these men learned is that if one violates nature’s laws one gets sick. The origin of all diseases has but one cause, an unnatural mode of life.
Please follow me next time for more information on Nature Cure, the water-cure method.
Dr. Jodi Vingelen is Austin city’s naturopathic doctor rooted in natural solutions.
Passionately, I utilize nature cure methods personally and professionally. One of my favorite “treatments” is the cold plunge. After a nice long walk or run, there is nothing more rewarding than to come up to a beautiful alpine lake or a flowing river to take a quick dip in the refreshing cold water. It is a stimulating experience. I hope that by reading my short essays on nature cure that you will be enticed into this lifestyle that my patients and I find to be re-vitalizing.
Graduated from Bastyr University (Kenmore, WA). Dr. Jodi Vingelen is a WA state licensed ND*.
*Currently Texas does not license Naturopathic Doctors. Naturopathic Doctors are NOT Medical Doctors (MD/DO); therefore, Dr. Vingelen, ND cannot legally prescribe pharmaceutical drugs, administer injections, diagnose, treat or cure any illness.
