When I tell people I am a naturopath, I usually feel compelled to explain what it is that I actually do. Sometimes, I feel like the title naturopath does not fully encompass the work we are doing here at Continuum Healing.
Most people hear naturopath, and think food, herbs and supplements, but there is a lot more to it than that. In my traditional naturopathic training, I have learned many modalities that can support the body naturally.
Flower essences, homeopathy, herbalism (which includes herbal supplements, tinctures, teas), vitamins, minerals, reflexology, light healing touch energy work, craniosacral therapy, bodywork, lymphatic drain, essential oils, and allergy correction techniques are examples of some modalities I have been trained in.
I have learned traditional ways of assessing the body, from iridology, skin, face, and tongue analysis, glandular typing and muscle testing, to name a few.
In addition to my naturopathic training, I have incorporated training in holistic counseling, Western herbalism, the Enneagram and other somatic based practices. I’ve learned from Micah McLaughlin, Dr. Moshe Block, Jim McDonald and Mike Cohen, along with Bessheen Baker and numerous other teachers from the Naturopathic Institute.
My naturopathy is not about simply replacing pharmaceutical drugs with plant-based medicine that has been used since the beginning of human kind. It is about seeing the whole person—hearing their story as a human, not a patient, a disease, or a symptom—and noticing the patterns that emerge. People feel safe to share things they have never been able to share with anyone else before, and often times just with releasing a story held silently for so long, they can breathe more easily—literally and figuratively.
While what we put into and on our bodies is extremely important, and herbs and minerals can help repair and restore us, the core beliefs we unconsciously carry around are key to finding long-term healing.
Through a fusion of everything I have learned so far, with a particular focus on mind-body connection therapies, my clients have been able to step out of the patterns that are holding them back, making them sick, causing them stress and learn a new way to show up in life. Here they find more happiness, peace and freedom.
At the core, mind-body connection means attention is paid to what is happening physically as you share a story, as you feel emotion. For example, does your belly cramp when you talk about the stress at school? That same feeling can often be traced to an earlier memory, which may likely be one that planted a belief that is unconsciously hanging around. Through a combination of the holistic counseling method, checking in to the body and often times through energy work, you’re able to identify moments in your life that still have a very strong hold. By bringing this into your conscious awareness, it is then possible to rewire the belief and let go of old patterns that you don’t need anymore.
In this, healing is found.
Kara McNabb is a naturopathic practitioner who helps infants, children, teens and adults find better health naturally through herbalism, food, lifestyle suggestions, mind-body connections, energy work and other modalities.
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