Читать книгу Fasting: The only introduction you’ll ever need онлайн

26 страница из 29

In summary, we can try to reduce the stress load, and/or improve our ability to handle it, or we can try to palliate the effects of our handling of the load – well or badly – or, of course, we can choose to do nothing and simply crumble under the onslaught.

Unlike the use of medication and much surgical intervention which imposes solutions, or which makes forced alterations to the situation, natural healing methods start by respecting the self-healing (homoeostatic) potentials of the body.

This is sometimes referred to as vis medicatrix naturae or the ‘healing power of nature’. In German texts it is often referred to as ‘awakening the physician within’, and in more scientific terminology as ‘enhancing homoeostasis’.

By whatever name, such methods appear to work by allowing space, giving a healing opportunity and doing the opposite of forcing a solution.

Fasting sits at the centre of such approaches, along with relaxation and meditation methods, the use of relaxing hydrotherapy methods such as the ‘neutral bath’ (see ssss1), the use of non-specific bodywork (‘wellness massage’ and aromatherapy relaxation methods, for example) and employment of techniques which have a balancing, harmonizing, normalizing influence – including some herbal and acupuncture methods.