Happy Almost-Spring! Topics in this Newsletter: upcoming talks and events, homeopathy in the news, and a brief description of homeopathy for the curious.
Upcoming Talks and Events:
Daily Detox Strategies for Optimal Health
Dr. Van Dusen will be giving a talk on daily detox strategies at the Community Food Co-op in Bellingham on April 4th from 6:30-8 pm. She will present information on how our bodies naturally eliminate toxins and metabolic by-products, why these processes are vital to our health, and specific self-care therapies to help optimize them. Visit the Co-op website for more information or call or email Dr. Van Dusen with specific questions.
Spring Cleanse Program
Dr. Van Dusen will be leading a group Spring Cleanse program at Vital Source in late April / early May. She will guide participants through a 9 day cleanse that involves a 3 day juice fast preceded by a gradual elimination and followed by a gradual re-introduction of proteins, grains, and fats. The cleanse will include 3 group classes/discussions over a 3 week period, supportive nutrients, self-care therapies, and a complimentary craniosacral therapy session with Dr. Van Dusen. Give your system a jump-start and take some time to focus on you! Stay tuned for more details.
Homeopathy in the News:
Learn about some very interesting new research that supports a scientific basis for homeopathy by French Nobel lauriet Luc Montagnier. A recent article in the Huffington Post summarizes Montagnier’s research on the measurable structural imprint that substances can leave in water after undergoing extensive dilution (as in homeopathy). The potential for these water structures to exert potent biological effects is discussed in the article, as well as historical and modern evidence supporting the efficacy of homeopathy (including cited research). Click here to read the full article at Huffington Post.
A Brief Description of Homeopathy for the Curious:
What is homeopathy anyway? It’s a very elegant and non-invasive therapy that encourages the body to heal itself on a very deep level, often with lasting results. I use homeopathy extensively in my practice, and in several different forms. I find it to be a very effective option for both acute and chronic complaints, whether physical or mental/emotional in nature.
The system of homeopathy is based on the concept that “like cures like”. The making of a homeopathic remedy starts out with a substance that would normally provoke a certain set of symptoms in the average “healthy” person when they’re exposed to it in large quantity. An example of this would be poison ivy causing a rash.
The substance is placed in water, which is then sequentially diluted and shaken “succussed”, until the desired “potency” is obtained. The more diluted and succussed the substance is, the higher the homeopathic potency of the remedy. The idea is that the energetic vibration of the substance is captured and intensified the more the substance is diluted and succussed. The resulting remedy is then either administered in water or via little pellets that have been moistened with the remedy. The remedy will be used to trigger a healing response in a patient with a similar set of symptoms to those which the substance would have initially caused (i.e. a rash similar to that caused by poison ivy).
What? Well, here’s my simplified way of explaining (and understanding) it. Our bodies naturally want to be healthy. They are designed to heal on their own when something is out of balance. An example would be the production of white blood cells in response to an infection or the creation of a fever to raise the body temperature and inhibit the survival of bacteria in the body. The body always strives for proper physiologic function. When it produces symptoms, it is in an attempt to correct whatever is out of balance in order to return to normal physiology.
However, there are times when the inciting cause or combination of stressors are more than the body’s repair mechanisms can handle. It becomes out of balance and gets stuck there, producing symptoms that don’t go away. This becomes a new “steady state” of being for the body. It remains in this place of disharmony or dis-ease and it’s almost as if it doesn’t recognize that there’s something wrong anymore.
Here’s where homeopathy comes in. The patient takes a homeopathic remedy that very closely matches the energetic pattern of disharmony that the body is expressing but no longer recognizing. It’s like a reminder for the body, an external cue….”Hey, remember that imbalance that’s going on? Here’s what it looks like”. This prompts the body to recognize the pattern again and correct it with its own innate healing capacity. It’s a gentle nudge to remind the body that it knows what to do. When this process is effective, the body is returned back to its normal state of proper physiologic balance.
When the body is able to achieve proper physiologic function, the patient is going to feel better on many levels, including physical and mental/emotional aspects. Homeopathy can have a very profound effect with little to no side effects, as it is simply supporting a natural process that already exists in the body. Homeopathy may be used for something straight-forward like a rash, earache, or diarrhea. In these cases it helps speed the body’s healing response. It can also be used in a “constitutional” sense for a patient who has more serious or chronic health problems, or a patient who is interested in enhancing their mental/emotional health. With these patients the practitioner will consider all aspects of the patient’s health in an attempt to understand what their unique pattern of imbalance is, and find a very closely matching remedy to that particular state. A positive response in these patients can involve healing many aspects of their health.