"Natural Therapies" is one of several terms
used to refer to the many modes of
treating/re-balancing physical, mental,
emotional or
spiritual
dis-eases
which are not
universally offered and/or funded by the conventional medical provisions
in the particular time and location concerned.
Particular connotations of the word "natural" are the idea
that all aspects of the product or treatment are as simple and unprocessed
(using artificial means such as petro-chemicals) as possible. Inevitably,
the
word "natural" in this context is not tightly defined and so expressions
on packaging such as "all natural ingredients" might be mis-leading if
the users definitions differ from those of the manufacturer.
However, in general/colloquial terms, "natural" medicines are often understood
to be non-pharmaceutical, and not based on chemicals derived from the
petro-chemical industry or otherwise artifically synthesized. In many
(but not all cases)
"natural" products are often produced organically - though when this
is the case they are generally seperately labelled as such.
Also remember that there are many "natural" poisons; not everything
"natural" is beneficial !
Other related
terms include Alternative Therapies, Complementary Therapies, Holistic
Therapies, Traditional Medicine, and other similar expressions. Examples of treatments that may be referred to using these terms include Accupuncture, Aromatherapy, Massage, Reflexolgy, Reiki, Spiritual
Healing,
and others.
For distinctions
from and among other similar terms see terminology page. |
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