Naturally better

THERE are, sometimes, moments in our lives that we can look back on and think: yes, that was a turning point. For June Walker, just such a moment came four years ago. The former headteacher, who lives near Knaresborough, had been forced to give up work at the age of 50 because of crippling back pain, caused by a combination of spondylolisthesis and osteo-arthritis in her lower back.

"I was spending more time in hospital, in body pots, than I was at school," she says.

The spondylolisthesis meant vertebrae in her lower back had shifted and were pressing on the nerves, causing intense pain. Her condition got progressively worse. On top of the back pain, she developed arthritis in the shoulders and thumbs, and even a skin condition. The low point came on a visit to her daughter in South Africa, when an orthopaedic surgeon recommended back surgery to fuse her lower vertebrae.

"I just felt I was too young to be facing this!" she says now.

That was when she took a decision that was to change her life. She decided to go back to the basics of natural health. She says she must have read somewhere about naturopathy, and decided to give it a try. "I wanted to take charge of my health," she says. "I wanted someone to be in partnership with me with my health."

She looked in the Yellow Pages and the first naturopath she saw listed was York-based practitioner Atul Shah. She rang and booked an appointment.

The basis of naturopathy is that if well cared for, the human body is capable of self-healing; and that the route to good health is by removing the causes of ill health.

June's first session with Atul, she says, was the "best medical I'd ever had in my entire life". Atul gave her a physical examination, but also questioned her closely about every aspect of her illness, her lifestyle, and her family history.

"He asked what I ate, what I drank, how much exercise I took, how much rest I took, my whole lifestyle," she says. "I felt so personally involved, somebody was actually listening to everything that was going on in my life that was important for me."

What particularly impressed her, though, was that the naturopath didn't make any grandiose claims about finding her an instant cure. "One of the first things he said was 'June, I will not heal you of anything, you will heal yourself.' I liked that enormously," she recalls.

That, according to Atul, is one of the basic tenets of naturopathy. The one-time pharmacist, who came to naturopathy after becoming disenchanted with orthodox medicine, says healing is a natural process.

"Taking pills, whether from a doctor or from a pharmacist or a health food store, does not deal with the causes of illness," he says. "We believe that you need to deal with the real causes, rather than just the symptoms.

"To that effect we look at the person's lifestyle: everything that they are doing that's contributing to the problem, and everything they are not doing that should be helping them to get better.

"There's no hokey pokey about it: no hold this crystal and you will feel better. The philosophy is that healing is a normal and natural activity for any living organism. It happens when there are no hurdles and all the materials necessary for that healing to take place are available.

"My job is to encourage the patient to do those things that are going to enable the body to heal better and to stop doing those things that are hindering the body from healing. When somebody comes here, what they get is a review of their lifestyle."

For June - who specifically gave permission for her name to be used: Atul normally treats patients in strict confidence - her initial consultation resulted in a detailed eating, resting and exercise plan tailored to her needs.

Atul suggested she lie down for half an hour after lunch each day, to give her spine a chance to decompress. He advised her to eat more fruit, salads and wholegrain cereals and wholegrain bread. Gradually, over the next few weeks, he adjusted her regime: suggesting she eat three vegetarian meals a week, and that she try taking a brisk 40 minute walk each day, and a longer walk once a week. He also used gentle massage to help realign her spine.

June says she never felt pressured. "It was a slowly, slowly thing," she says. "Your body needs time to adapt. Being a very active person who resented my bad back and all the restrictions, I was not pleased to be encouraged to lie flat each afternoon. Surprisingly, when I did, I used to fall asleep for 35 minutes, wake up and feel great. I couldn't believe it, but that is typical of the whole development of treatment. It wakens up your body and mind to be in tune with one another."

She was at first equally resistant to vegetarian food, coming as she does from a farming family. "You're not going to turn me into a vegetarian," she told him. But now she is - the only one in a household of five - and feeling great for it.

That first consultation was four years ago. Over the weeks and months that followed, June found her back and shoulder pain disappearing. Now, at the age of 62, she says she's free of the pain altogether. "I go to the gym three times a week, I can walk 14 miles with the best of them, I've started running, I swim," she says. "I never thought I would do those things again. It is absolutely amazing."

Atul Shah, who is a fully qualified pharmacist and registered naturopath, runs his practice from Scarcroft Hill in York. Fees are £50 for a first consultation, £25 for subsequent sessions. Contact him on 01904 623693.