Chicago: The human body incorporates all the five elements of the universe. In fact, the human body represents the universe itself. If a balance of all the elements keeps the universe in existence, a perfect balance among all the elements in the living body makes it healthy.
While the Western medicine treats the symptoms, the Eastern medicine treats the root cause of the symptoms of an ailment.
An Indian doctor couple — Dr. Anil Singhal and Dr. Achala Singhal — has experimented with success on the concept of integrating the modern medicine with yoga, meditation, pranayama, yoga-nidra, energy and behavioral medicine and treated patients with heart diseases, hypertension, lung diseases, neurological diseases, stress-induced diseases, and psychosomatic diseases.
Giving an example of how their treatment works, Dr. Anil Singhal says if a woman suffers from thyroid deficiency, in Western medicine she is treated with pills and injections that can supplement the hormone, but in ancient Indian treatment, the gland itself is stimulated through yogic exercise and herbs, treating the very root cause of the hormonal deficiency.
Dr. Anil Singhal and Dr. Achala Singhal were in the India Tribune office recently. They are currently touring the US giving lectures and demonstrating various yogic exercises in public meetings and at educational institutions.
By education and profession, Dr. Achala Singhal and Dr. Anil Singhal received their education at prestigious institutions in India and the USA, followed by professional medical practices in the US. After meeting Swami Rama, they joined his combined therapy program at Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, PA.
Dr. Anil Singhal got his MD in internal medicine from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and MD in neurology from University of Illinois, Chicago. He is now professor of neurology and head of the departments of holistic medicine and neurosciences at the Himalayan Institute Hospital and Medical Collage.
Dr. Achala Singhal is professor of internal medicine and head and professor of cardiology. She got her MD in internal medicine from New York Medical College and DM in cardiology from Cook County Hospital, Chicago. She is also a fellow of American College of Cardiology.
Together, they take an approach to healing that includes allopathy if required, but with greater emphasis given to the application of biofeedback, yoga therapy, breath awareness, diet, meditation, medical yoga-nidra, brain programming, energy medicine and spiritual psychotherapy.
With 30 years of experience as physicians working in India and the USA, they say they treat all kinds of patients of various conditions — physical, mental, and emotional, including spiritual dilemmas.
They say: “After seeing tens of thousands of patients over the past 30 years, we feel that to help these people in a comprehensive and integrated way, a holistic approach is needed. This approach addresses their body, breath, senses, mind, intellect, emotion and the higher self — soul.”
Dr. Anil Singhal says that the human body is a temple and the life or jeeva is the God. The temple exists as along as the life is encased in it. The human body is composed of five elements — earth, ether, fire, air and water. Also the human body thrives on three gunas — vat, pitha and kapha — in a very balanced format. Any imbalance in gunas can manifest into a disease. The “soil-seed” theory is very much relevant to humans also. A good seed in a bad soil or a bad seed in good soil will not produce any good results. Therefore, a sound mind in sound body is what one needs for a healthy living.
He says that there is a very close relationship among body, mind and soul. Breath connects them. Therefore through yoga, pranayama (breathing exercise) and good balanced food one can live a healthy and happy life. If good food gives good body, yoga and pranayama help a stable and stress-free life. Together one can lead a holistic life.
Dr. Achala Singhal says that their holistic medicine integrated with modern medicine is very helpful in treating chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, obesity, chronic pain, and neurological disorders, headache, migraine, back, neck and other pains. It can also treat psychological disorders like depression, stress, anxiety, fear, phobia, poor concentration, psychosomatic diseases, asthma, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, urinary problems, auto-immune diseases, lung disorders and even cancer.
She particularly mentions that through holistic therapy, heart diseases can be treated in a better way with a far less expensive method. The therapy can treat potential atherosclerotic disease in its early phases, years before the catastrophe actually strikes an individual. Yoga, pranayama, meditation and diet hold a great promise by stabilizing the automatic nervous system, endothelium and plaque. Holistic therapy deals with automatic nerves and blood vessels all over the body.
Dr. Anil Singhal says that holistic therapy can benefit adults, the youth, teenagers and infants. It helps them in the prevention of diseases, management of stress, delaying of aging, improving memory and brain function and retaining youth and vitality. Yoga is especially helpful in managing stress and unleashing mind power for inner peace. He says that the holistic therapy is beneficial to both professionals including management executives and physicians, and non-professionals like householders and retirees.
Besides yogic exercises, pranayamas, kriyas, yoga and meditation, he says: “We have devised very effective medical yoga-nidra sessions which allow a person to go to a deeper part of his sub-consciousness mind to eradicate illness and disease from its roots. Another area is energy medicine to balance the energy disturbance in various nerve junctions (marma sthana). At the same time, we also address the underlying negative emotions that cause an energy disturbance.”
He says that due to recent advances in neurosciences and cybernetics, a new field of brain programming is emerging. This is the key to create a most positive future one can desire. This can help one practically erase past negative emotions, limiting beliefs and limiting decisions, including unexplained fears and phobias.
The couple, during the current tour of the US, is holding lecture demonstrations in various places. They held a session on mind-body management at the Skokie Public Library arranged by Usha Kamaria of Gandhi Memorial Trust Fund. They also addressed sessions on brain improvement for peace and prosperity at Hari Om Temple, brain empowerment for students at Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, and a workshop on brain empowerment for peace and wellness at Lucent Office. They also held workshops on subjects like transformation of negative emotions, holistic approach to drug addiction, women empowerment for motherhood and practical techniques of meditation in various suburbs and cities, including Louisville in Kentucky.
Dr. Anil Singhal says that he is opening a Brain Empowerment Foundation USA in Naperville which will be supervised by Ajay K. Gupta, an engineer, working with Alcatel-Lucent. The objective of the foundation is to undertake activities and research programs for the extension of knowledge in the fields of brain empowerment natural, social and applied sciences, holistic medicine, preventive medicine, science of breath, psychophysiology, nutrition, and stress management. It will also arrange lectures by experts in the field and organize conferences, workshops, seminars, and lectures on the themes related to the fields of education, culture, science, arts and other physical and intellectual activities.
Dr. Anil Singhal and Dr. Achala Singhal, who are now working with the Himalayan Institute and Hospital in Dehradun in Uttarnchal, say that they were immensely influenced by the life and philosophy of Swami Rama when they met him some years ago. Swami Rama founded the Himalayan Institute of Honesdale, PA, in 1971. In 1990, he began construction of Himalayan Institute Hospital and Medical College in Uttaranchal, India, which is now a 700-bed hospital with a large medical and nursing school, and a rural health outreach program that reaches poor and remote areas. The physician couple accompanied him from the USA to help Swamiji in the project.
For more information, Dr. Anil Singhal and Dr. Achala Singhal can be reached at (859) 913-1265, or Ajay K. Gupta at (630) 305-0303.
