Central to the conventional mindset is the notion that the mission of medicine is to cure disease, and the principal concern is the nature of the illness. In this regard, conventional medicine stands alone. Moreover, these systems recognize that healing is the work of the body, and medicine's role is to promote the body's ability to perform this task. While a Western physician turns to his medical reference book to find drugs to kill viruses, a homeopath or Chinese herbalist reaches for remedies to boost the immune system and enable it to do its job. Ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine of the Indian subcontinent, is a good example.
Ayurvedic tradition holds that each person manifests basic biological energies, or doshas .
Ayurvedic medicine first involves determining the blend of doshas that constitute an individual. It then turns to structuring that person's life to be in concert with his or her constitution. As qi flows along pathways in our bodies, called meridians, it animates our organs, which in turn govern our physical, emotional, and spiritual make-up. When our qi flows freely and is distributed equally in the meridians, we experience health and vitality. It begins, however, with the art of recognizing the quality of the qi in each individual.