Early Osteopathy, Native American Traditions, and Neuroscience

This podcast is based on the article by Zegarra-Parodi et al (2019) The Native American heritage of the body-mind-spirit paradigm in osteopathic principles and practices. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1746068919300793We explore the deep, often overlooked connections between Native American traditional healing and the foundations of osteopathic medicine. We discuss how A.T. Still, the founder of osteopathy, was influenced by the body-mind-spirit paradigm used by Native American Medicine Men to develop a holistic approach to health while living among the Shawnee people.The conversation examines the Medicine Wheel as a conceptual framework for achieving balance across physical, mental, and spiritual factors. We also investigate the transition between monophasic and polyphasic brain functioning—moving beyond Western-centric labels to understand how spiritual experiences and different realities are now being interpreted through modern neuroscience and predictive processing models. Ultimately, we highlight how the osteopathic profession is uniquely positioned to bridge its traditional heritage with a scientific model of truly holistic care.