I had two totally natural births, both VBACs.
I think of it as an athletic endeavour, for want of a better comparison. It IS hard work, but it's work your body was perfectly designed to do. It is one of life's great experiences.
For those who might think I was lucky, I don't have a great obstetric history and I did not have especially easy labours/deliveries. Both labours were long. My first VBAC presented ROP and delivered face up. My 2nd had an elbow up by his head and it took an amazing amount of time and hip swinging for him to get the message and finally pull it down. However, I had carefully chosen my caregivers. For the first, i had a private midwife and delivered in a freestanding birth centre. . The midwife and her assistant were with me the entire time--all monitoring was done by regular auscultation--and most of all they were calmly sure that a VBAC was very straightforward. For the second, I went through the public system with a small team of midwives who cared for me, and had an underwater birth in the teaching hospital. I believe that feeling supported during labour is the best way to ensure a natural birth. You will feel on top of the world after the baby comes!!
Did I mention that DH completely supported all my ideas & plans? He is now an enthusiastic advocate of natural birth and staunchly supports it whenever it's mentioned in public.