Native American Healing Practices

These healers include spirit communicators, herbal medicine practitioners and healers as well. These traditions vary in each tribe and these variations bring about certain differences in the traditional healing techniques. How does it Work?

• Medicine wheels: Also referred to as sacred hoop, the medicine wheel symbolizes the sacred circle of life in all dour directions and the five elements of the earth. The four animals including the Bear, Buffalo, Eagle and Mouse represent the four directions.

• Talking Sticks: The sticks are handed over from one speaker to another, symbolizing method to get over disagreements.

• Curanderismo: These healing techniques involve the use of sweat, diet, magi and herbs and draw its inspiration from Hispanic and American healing techniques.

• Dream catchers: These dream catchers are used to prevent the children from seeing nightmares.

• Feather Fetishes: These fetishes are used to awaken the innermost self of a human, and therefore be able to heal from within.

• Animal Totems: If somebody saw birds and animals in real or in dreams, these were symbolic of totem messengers, who offered spiritual guidance.

Why is it so popular?

They are so popular because it empowers the patients with confidence and awareness. It provides tools to help them take charge of their own health. It also looks at the “bigger picture” which includes the causes and effects of the disease within the emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual and social realms.

A peep into a therapy session:

On the whole, Native-American healers emphasize upon the quality of one’s life, getting in touch with and honoring the inherent gifts of nature, adjusting a person’s mindset, and ability to learn new tools in treating physical disability of a person. By doing so, the individual’s humanity is optimized.

The Native American Healing Practices include the various techniques like:

• Purification techniques.

• Herbal remedies including tinctures, salves and teas. • Purging techniques.

• Spirits used for healing the sick person using Shaman techniques.

Is it a painful therapy?

It is a healing therapy, therefore not painful in nature at all. It primarily underlines the role of spirit and connection and refers to alternative method of healing, supporting the regular process of medicinal healing.

Precautions

The precautions that need to be taken include consulting a physician before resorting to such a healing therapy as this therapy alone cannot cure any problem and needs to be complemented with scientific medicinal treatment. Avoiding any kind of medical intervention may lead to serious consequences and aggravate the problems being faced by the patient.

This science of healing merges spirituality, religion, herbal medicine, and rituals to offer treatment for medical and emotional problems. The native healers have claimed that they have cured conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, thyroid ailments, skin rashes, asthma, and cancer. However, there are no scientific evidences to support these claims.

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