Written by Maxwell Barna, writer in the men's lifestyle space, covering everything from food and booze, to auto, tech, and the Great Outdoors.
Restore Balance and Wellness with Natural Practices
One of the foundational reasons we created Ned was because we’re big believers in the power of simple and natural healing.
That’s not to say that we’re totally opposed to modern medicine. Science and innovation save lives and there is always a place for it. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it should be the first line of defense to all facets of our health and wellbeing.
We’ve all been conditioned to it in one way or another. Are you feeling anxious? There’s a pill for that. Is your skin dry? Try this toxic topical cream. Experiencing back pain? Take this shot. Feeling tired? Imbibe this sugary, caffeine-filled “energy drink.” Do these drugs have side effects? Absolutely! Are some of them often worse than your original ailment? Probably.
No matter what ails you, we live in a culture where we seek cures for the what without considering the why.
Let us not forget that humans have been treating illnesses and curing ailments for hundreds of thousands of years—way before fancy labs came along and pharmaceutical ads aired during commercial breaks. There’s a whole world of healing out there that can’t be found under, over, or on the counter of your local pharmacy.
While we do sell products here at Ned, our search for the world’s best natural remedies doesn’t stop at physical products. As we continue our search for great products, we also continue to discover restorative traditions from around the world, both new and old, that can help heal our heads, hearts, and bodies.
These kinds of traditions and rituals are prolific in our human makeups, spanning literally the entire history of human existence. For as long as humans have walked this earth, we’ve used the planet as a resource to help us grow, help us heal, and help us evolve. It’s an intrinsic part of our human fabric, and without it, we’d surely die.
So what are these traditions that can now seem so foreign?
Have you ever wondered about Reiki healing? What about Native American sweat lodges? Or acupuncture? Or Chinese fire cupping?
Or how about more complex things, like South American shamanism, or Czech healing springs, or Indian Gemstone healing, or Norwegian wood therapy?
Or perhaps types of medicine that were born off the coasts of Africa, thousands of years ago, by ancient herbalists; on the islands of Hawaii, from the hands of local healers whose methodology dates back over 150 years; in the pools of ancient Hungarian thermal baths.
With all of these natural remedies and healing traditions, perhaps there are more natural ways to help your headache, ease your stomach, curb your anxiety, or deal with all the other things you’re going through.
Having said all that, we wanted to let you know that we’re setting out on a mission to not just share, but fully explore these restorative traditions, and we want you along for the ride.
Over the next few months, as Ned’s dedicated “completely average and totally unassuming” guy, I will be seeking some of these traditional forms of medicine and trying them out for myself. We hope you’ll be able to identify with my basic level of understanding of—but high level of respect for—these different practices, and see these processes as I come to see them, from front to back and start to finish.
The idea here is we won’t be buying into any of the hypes or gimmicks. We’ll be sitting down with these practitioners to get their word on how they got involved in this ancient medicine, how long they’ve been practicing, and why their profession is so important to them. We’ll be getting first-hand experience with these practices, traditions, and the people who do them, and offering hands-on, detailed, and honest reviews about our experiences. We want to keep things as pragmatic and approachable as possible.
Because at the end of the day, simplicity is what we strive for.
Oh! Before we go: Have any requests about something we should look into? Have any tips on who we should see? We want to hear all about it. Shoot us a DM on Instagram at @meetned, and we’ll be sure to look into it!
