A local homeopath offers different solutions to health issues. Many people are looking for alternative ways to deal with health issues. Some wish to not use drugs to treat an illness. Others are looking for a “last resort” after exploring everything Western medicine has to offer.

There is a place in Mariposa to find that alternative. Michalene Seiler, homeopath, can offer some solutions that do not just address one problem, but rather, treat the entire person.

Seiler, a long-time homeopath who has studied all over the world, settled in Mariposa several years ago. She continues to educate herself by attending seminars as far away as India, where homeopathy is far more accepted by society and the medical profession.

Homeopaths do not regard disease as an invader that must be destroyed, but rather as a disharmony within the body’s vital force. “A correctly chosen homeopathic remedy stimulates the body to heal itself naturally, safely and without side effect,” Seiler’s literature explains.

There are three basic principles in homeopathy. The first is “the law of similars.” In other words, “like cures like.” The concept was developed in 1790, when Samuel Hahnemann, a German doctor, ingested tree bark that caused symptoms similar to malaria. He figured that if the ingestion could cause a healthy person to develop symptoms, it may be able to relieve symptoms in a person already experiencing symptoms.

That turned out to be true and has been proven over and over in medicine, with the polio vaccine for example.

The second principle is the use of a single remedy to treat all the patient’s symptoms: mental, emotional and physical. Seiler said that if the remedy cures indigestion but the person is still experiencing depression, the remedy is not the right one.

“We don’t treat the disease,” she said of homeopaths. “We treat the person--the entire person. We are trying to strengthen you so that you are not susceptible to disease.”

The third principle is the use of minimum dose. “The goal is to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanism, and the remedy serves as a type of map toward this goal,” Seiler explained. “Less is more in homeopathy. Since everyone is a completely different universe within, the amount of remedy and repetition can vary from person to person.”

And so how does Seiler arrive at choosing from more than 4,000 remedies from the plant, mineral and animal kingdoms?

First and foremost, she listens. A patient’s first session can last about two and a half hours. During that time, Seiler listens as patients talk about family history, their own health issues and even how they respond to environmental stimulants and issues.

“I need to understand how they cope--how they’re affected,” she said of her patients. “I am listening to find out ways they experience this disease. Everyone has a different kind of internal meter.”

During the consultation, Seiler can hear a pattern in the person’s character. “Then I zone in and find the right remedy,” she said. “What we say reflects who we are. There is no judgement. It’s just how it is unique to the person.”

Seiler said that Western medicine often suppresses symptoms, it doesn’t address the root of the problem. “We don’t want to suppress it,” she said of homeopaths. “We want to treat it from within. When it’s out on your skin for example, it’s not inside.”

Seiler understands that American culture and values may be at odds with this philosophy. “It’s a different view of disease,” she said. “It’s more about a disturbance from within. When you have symptoms, it’s your body speaking to you.”

She asks people to consider homeopathy before it is a last resort and to enjoy optimal health.

“Health is freedom,” Seiler said. “You should be able to go through most environments without getting sick. The body’s an amazing thing. We have to give it a chance.”

Seiler said that once the body knows how to correct itself, it sometimes needs a little reminder.

Homeopathy is not instant, but it doesn’t require weekly treatment either.

“To get better, you must improve in all areas. That’s what real health is,” Seiler concluded.