Celebrating 25 Years:
Educating the Leaders of Natural Health

April 21-24, 2005
Peachtree City, Georgia

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Throughout our four-day natural health conference, the silver-haired Stewart Mitchell seemed to be everywhere – rubbing a staff member’s shoulders in the lobby while comparing the fine points of U.S. and U.K. “mass-age” techniques, chatting by the pool with students from as faraway as Germany and Canada, stretching into lanky yoga poses at 7:00 a.m. and later enjoying a granola breakfast with fellow conference speakers.

Following his keynote address on naturopathy throughout the world, Stewart Mitchell became the first of 20 speakers and students who were videotaped for our 25th anniversary. Consistently in his video interviews, conference sessions and panel discussion, Stewart commented on a special magic that happens when naturopaths gather. He talked about birds and babies, of celebrating the sun and the wind. “We are watery beings,” he said. “It begins with the comfort of amniotic fluid and throughout our lives, water remains a constant source of relief and rejuvenation. Our natural surroundings are the simplest healers and sometimes they’re all that we need.”

On holiday with his wife, Mamoni, and their inquisitive toddler, the Mitchells practiced the teachings of traditional naturopathy by resting and playing, choosing colorful fruit, nuts and vegetables, and consciously appreciating moment-by-moment. They were wise to arrive at our Wyndham Resort several days before the conference began to unwind and explore a region of the U.S. that was new to them. “We could certainly sense the shifting energies, a rarefied air, as the CCNH staff arrived first,” he observed. “The excitement built, a rich rhythm of students and speakers and family members. But still, always mellow and peaceful. It never felt crowded or frantic.”