The origins of Unani medicine

In the category of traditional and alternative medicines, few have heard of Unani medicine . This is traditional Islamic medicine even if, paradoxically, the termination Unani indicates the Greek origin of this art. 

It is no mystery that the foundations of this tradition go back mainly to Hippocrates and Galen . But Greek medical art is not the only influence of Unani medicine. Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine also bring a great deal of content .

Today we can find the practice of Unani medicine in many countries , not only in the Middle East but also in Central Asia, western parts of China (Xinjiang), India, Mongolia and some parts of Southeast Asia. 

In many areas it is regarded as a state-recognized medical practice regulated by official regulations . As immigration increases, it makes sense to learn more about it. 

Moods, elements and chakras

As evidence of the ancient Greek origins, we find the fundamental importance given to the diagnosis , and its being based on the theory of humors . 

According to Unani medicine, the body is in a continuous state of self-healing, harmony and any onset of disease or discomfort testifies to the exit from this condition. Restoring the balance of moods is the first concern of Unani medicine . 

The melancholy mood  given by the “black bile” is here called sauda , ​​not so different from the Brazilian saudade , the famous melancholy nostalgia that assails Brazilians when they lose contact with their roots. 

The sanguine humor is called dam , the choleric safra , which refers to yellow flowers, and the phlegmatic is called balgham . But Avicenna and her followers did not merely copy the humoral system. According to Unani doctors , elements (very similar to those of the Chinese Taoist tradition) and  a series of energy centers not too dissimilar to the Indian  chakra system must also be taken into consideration to restore harmony of body and mind.

The six criteria for re-establishing self-healing

The Government of India recognizes Unani medicine together with Ayurvedic medicine, Siddha medicine , naturopathy and homeopathy , and allows them to be studied in universities and to support official medicine also in hospitals.  

According to Unani medicine, the cure does not come from the outside but from the restoration of the tabiyat , the aforementioned power of self-healing, innate in every human being. The use of external “medicines” only serves to detoxify and purify the body and mind to allow tabiyat to do its job in the best possible way. 

According to Unani medicine, what are the factors that influence tabiyat for good or bad? The first is hawa , which is the quality of the air breathed and the quality of the breathing technique . Unhealthy air or improper breathing lowers self-healing power. 

This is followed by makool-wo-mashroob , or the relationship with food, drink and the whole digestive process : every human type must take ideal foods in ideal quantities and methods. They refer to ihtebas and istifragh , or the retention or expulsion of waste from the digestive process : excess or defect of retention or expulsion are always to be kept under control. 

Then we have harkat-wo-sakoon-e-jismiah , or the perfect balance between effort, work, physical exercise and rest  in order to find harmony between the excessive consumption of energy or the waste of the same given by a bad rest. 

To this is connected  naum-o-yaqzah , that is to say the respect of the circadian rhythm , of the melatonin peak and of the proportions between wakefulness and sleep, or of exposure to light and dark. 

The last element of this series is harkat-o-sakoon nafsaniah , which regulates the right amount of mental work, intellectual effort and brain rest , with the right sleep, meditation , exposure to silence and the right amount of loneliness.