Join us for an illuminating conversation with Dr. Sheila Patel, a board-certified family physician and Chief Medical Officer for Chopra. Dr. Patel explains the foundational principles of Ayurveda, along with her journey in the field of medicine and how she came to practice Ayurveda alongside Western medicine. The holistic approach of Ayurveda aims to treat the entire individual, identifying the root causes of ailments and striving for balance. She explains how, in Ayurveda, two-thirds of disease is attributed to mental and emotional factors, underscoring the interconnected nature of the mind and body. Dr. Patel describes the three psychophysiological behavior types known as doshas in Ayurveda. She advocates that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the prevention or management of chronic disease; we can tap into the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda that is now being validated by modern science, as well as people’s lived experiences.
Dr. Sheila Patel
Dr. Sheila Patel is the Chief Medical Officer for Chopra Global and a board-certified family physician who is passionate about bringing holistic healing practices into the Western medical system. She earned her MD and completed her residency in family medicine. For more than a decade, she practiced full-spectrum family medicine, from prenatal care and deliveries, to ER coverage and primary care for all ages. She currently maintains an outpatient primary care practice in Southern California where she combines the wisdom of ancient healing traditions with the tools of modern medicine. As Chief Medical Officer at Chopra Global and Medical Advisor at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, she is a lead educator for the Chopra certification programs in meditation, Ayurvedic lifestyle, yoga, and health and wellbeing coaching. In addition, Dr. Patel serves as the clinical research director and medical advisor for the Chopra Foundation. She enjoys the opportunity to bring light to the mechanisms of action of mind-body practices, giving them scientific validation, and sharing this knowledge with others. She has co-authored multiple published research papers on meditation and Ayurveda. Her hope is that by confirming the benefits of the practices, more people will gain access to these life-enhancing techniques and shift the paradigm of healing to help people thrive and reach their full potential. Dr. Patel serves as a volunteer clinical faculty member at the University of California-San Diego School of Family Medicine and Public Health where she has lectured for the community as well as students in multiple disciplines. She has also mentored medical students in primary care and integrative health to help train the next generation of physicians to bring true holistic healing into medicine.
