When the Beatles first incorporated an Indian String instrument called the sitar in the first notes of their classic song Norwegian Wood, they would forever change the sound and direction of pop music. They were beginning a love affair with Indian mysticism and music that would take them on a historic pilgrimage to the ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This was followed by encounters with the hip and beautiful personalities of the 1960s who visited the ashram such as Mia Farrow, Donovan and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. Reintroducing the world to India’s mysticism.

Constraints of modern medicine have led to a growing interest in ancient proven healing methods. Western medicines is organized around the theory of diseases, which believes that a person becomes sick because he or she contracts a disease. Each disease is seen as an independent entity that can be fully understood without regard to the person it afflicts or the environment in which it occurs. Thus, conventional treatments are treatments of diseases, not of people.In contrast to the Western system of medicine, traditional systems of healing in India, as in other ancient cultures, approach sickness as a dynamic event in life of an individual.

It is results of disharmony between the sick person and his or her environment. Under this approach to understanding illness, the ‘disease’ itself has no independent reality. The therapeutic focus is always on the person who is ill and the context in which the illness occurs, rather than no the disease itself.

More and more people are moving away from modern medicines and turning towards traditional, also referred to as ‘alternative’ systems of medicine, for enhancing health and treating illness.

While drug based treatments to modern medicines are often the best choice to cure infections and other acute health problems, they fail to provide a satisfactory solution to people suffering from ailments like arthritis, back pain, allergies, harmful effects of stress and other chronic diseases.India has a rich heritage in the areas of traditional or natural medicines. The earliest mention of India medical practices can be found in the Vedas, around the second millennium B.C. The earliest Sanskrit treatises on Ayurveda (a traditional system of medicine in India) were the ‘Samhitas’ of the great ancient physicians Bhela, Charaka and Susruta.

A systematic and scientific approach was adopted by the sages of the time, leading to the development of a system that is relevant even today. The legendary Jivaka, a famous physician of Buddha’s time is also reported to have performed remarkable cures involving deep surgery.

Natural system of medicines which focused on holistic healing developed in other ancient cultures as well. In ancient China the physicians developed the system of ‘Yin Yang’ while the Greeks gave birth to the ‘Unani’ system of medicine. Through the passage of time, these systems of medicines found their way to India.

Today, one can choose from various systems of alternative medicine be it acupuncture, aromatherapy, meditation, Ayurveda, Unani medicine, mud therapy, Pranic healing, Reiki, Tibetan, medicine and many more.

Nature has given us abundant resources to help us replenish our bodies and restore our bodies and restore it to health. It is time for us to reclaim our trust in these healing processes of life.