Or it could be East vs. West. The philosophy of treating the body as a whole being or the individual parts. There appears to be a very slow evolution to treating the whole body, even in western medicine.
Bureaucracy and MONEY are the main reasons the evolution is moving at a snails pace. There's currently a monopoly in the field of medicine. It started long before you and I were born and with the constant lobbying and manipulation of the system has been very hard to penetrate.
The way the original laws governing medicine were written gave the "whole pie" carte blanc to MDs. With the baseline allowing MDs the full pie any attempt to slice the pie and allow for even nursing or any other medical philosophy has been thwarted by organization like the AMA. That simple fact forces the cost of healthcare to be very expensive. When there have been instances of the pie being sliced, such as in nursing, the MDs still have their fingers in the slice of pie as supervising. It's like the MD is the gate guard.
On the surface that doesn't really sound like a bad ideal but it is very counterproductive on numerous levels. But on a personal level, it means you don't have as many options as you should have for your own body. Practitioners of anything not considered mainstream acceptable may not even be able to treat you in some states. Or worse yet, the MD can do the procedure with little training because they have carte blanc.
Please note, there exists a nationwide legal system then each state has different laws. So let's say you have a condition that you would like to pursue a treatment of acupuncture. Your friend in another state has found a great deal of relief by using the treatment. You try to get it where you live and you can't, why because in your state it's illegal. Never mind what you want. The monopoly controls how you treat your body. Choice is really important in finding what works for you.
I aspire to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle. I'm not advocating it for everyone. You really must find what fits you and your body. I started reading a book about Ayurveda and found that it fit me like a glove. I never dreamed that it would be such a natural match but as I continue to learn the ancient philosophy I continue to fine tune its role in my life.
So eastern medicine is my path of choice. I don't completely omit western medicine but it's not the first place I go if I have a problem. Since, I believe that we as individuals cause our physical ailments by repression and neglect; I naturally seek the root of the issue first.
