Human beings are part of the larger cosmos – as are all living beings in the Universe. As we now know, everything in the Universe (or Macrocosm) is interconnected in one way or  another. We as individuals do not exist in our own self-contained world (or Microcosm), but are connected to other parts of the Macrocosm through our interactions with the environment, other people, our planet, and our very existence. Everything we do has repercussions far removed from ourselves.

As human beings, we are all ultimately made up of the same basic material as the rest of the Universe. We connect with the Macrocosm by our behavior, our actions, and at the very least, the air that we breathe. We influence all living organisms which share the earth with us.

A harmonious balance normally exists between the components of the Macrocosm, whether at the cosmic, geological, social or physiological levels. The relationship between the fauna and flora, man and animals, the atmosphere, the oceans, and the earth are all carefully and delicately balanced for the maintenance and perpetuation of life. An example of the maintenance of this balance for the perpetuation of life on this planet is seen if we consider the salt content in the sea. Despite the natural disasters of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or the effect of mankind extracting salt from the sea over thousands of years, the saline content in the oceans is still ideal for all forms of marine life.

This harmonious balance is guided by an organizing principle, the Supreme Wisdom of the Universe, the essence of which exists in every living entity. This inherent wisdom resides in our genetic make up. This inherent wisdom is recognised in several medical philosophies and disciplines, such as Chinese Herbal Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine  and Homeopathy. Hippocrates (the founder of modern medicine) also acknowledged its existence.

Within the philosophy of Unani Tibb, this inherent wisdom is called physis.

Our health can be regarded as an expression of a dynamic but harmonious balance between the  various components of our nature, our environment, and our lifestyle. Physis is the intrinsic ability of  the body to preserve health, and the mechanism that activates the body’s healing processes.  Briefly stated, physis is the vital life force, inherent in the human body, which helps to maintain  equilibrium or harmony within the internal environment, allowing the proper functioning of the  cells, tissues and organs. In addition, it regulates the reservoir of energy which is the driving force  behind maintaining homeostasis in the myriad of complex processes we recognise as  life. It is the  origin of movement and rest.

The various systems in the body – the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, immune systems, etc. – have  their own organization. However, they do not work in complete isolation, but are each connected to  the other systems in order to function effectively and efficiently. In the human being, physis has the  innate ability to orchestrate the body into maintaining dynamic optimum functioning, better known as  homeostasis. It acts to heal the body when it is sick, restore it when it is depleted, and to develop and  thrive when supplied with suitable nourishment. As the regulator for homeostasis, it is essentially the  human’s ‘inborn intelligence of health’.

In the event of disease (or even when the body fails to reach its ideal state), physis acts to correct imbalances and disharmony. One important feature of physis is that it operates in all dimensions of  health – in the physical, the emotional, the spiritual, and, arguably, the social.

“Nature heals, and the physician is only nature’s assistant” [Hippocrates]