(Notes from the conference on Traditional Peruvian Medicine Practices given by Pío Vucetich Nuñez del Prado in Irvine University of California).
The indigenous concept of health is one of dynamic balance between the individual, oneself (inner balance) and the ecological and sociocultural environment, including the natural and spiritual worlds (external balance). We could describe it as a parallelism between interior ecology and nature. Traditional doctors, through the use of sacred plants, try to first restore inner balance, then repair both personal and socio-cultural damage inflicted on nature and the body itself.”
The recovery of health is based on two principles:

The recovery of the person’s inner balance, based on the quadripartite principle, four winds or “Wayras”.

The recovery of external balance, based on “Ayni”, or the principle of reciprocity
These two principles are fully interrelated. From the indigenous perspective, those who prey on nature – especially to the extent we do nowadays – have first spiritually preyed upon themselves. That is, the relationship with the outside world is considered a reflection of the relationship with the inner world.

Reciprocity

The way in which we relate to the external world, as we will see later in the “Ayni” principle, has its corresponding effect in the inner world. Even the actions carried out by our ancestors continue to have their effect on us. As the Bible says, parents’ sins will be inherited by their children.

We could say that it in our medicine there is a parallel to Paracelsus’ analogy: «As above, so below, as below, so above; as in the microcosm so in the macrocosm, as in the macrocosm so in the microcosm, as in the exterior so in the interior, as in the interior so in the exterior”.

We will start by developing the concept of inner balance, based on the quadripartite principle, also represented by the “Chacana”.

According to this conception of quadripartition, life depends on the factors above and below, male and female; air and earth, hot and cold. This concept was commonly called the four winds, or also the four “Suyos” (regions) or the four “Pachas” (directions, sources or times) of life.

The traditional doctor works with plants to restore the inner balance of the individual. The aim of the work is to balance the “above and below”, that is, to restore the harmony between the material and spiritual lives of the individual. When this aspects are not balanced we may find totally materialistic people who have forgotten their spiritual side, or on the other hand, people who are a bit “spacey” and have neglected their material nature. A person who lacks earth “below” will have problems to ensure their support, to assume responsibilities, to create a family and ultimately to create roots. A person who lacks air, or spirit “above” can easily fall into consumerism, the pleasures of the body and addictions because it lacks spiritual nourishment.

When there is an imbalance between the right and left, we find conflicts between the masculine and the feminine sides of the person, between the rational and the emotional. We may find very rational people, disconnected from their intuition and emotions, with a lack of empathy, a difficulty to express their feelings and establish affective relationships; or on the other hand, people who are carried away by emotions, resistance to take action, or who become dependent.

These imbalances are usually created by energetic blockages caused by the invasion of parasitic energy during childhood, traumatic events are even inherited from parents and ancestors. The shaman, with the help of the plants, cleans and unblocks the contents that prevent the person from finding balance.

Harmonize the patient

In Amazonian medicine there are specific plants to “ground” the person, to improve spiritual connection, to develop intuition and the abilities of the left; to be more in touch with feelings and to be able to «listen» to the messages of the body … in short, to harmonize the patient.

When a person achieves harmony with these four winds, “tawa wayrakuna”, they achieve harmony with their internal nature. They can further begin synchronizing inner growth with outer nature, including its supernatural aspects