Cardiology, Ayurveda, psychiatry, oncology, ophthalmology, and yoga came together at Chinmaya Mission Atlanta in Norcross to examine how AYUSH and modern medicine can work together.
On August 1, as part of Chinmaya Mission’s 75th anniversary celebrations, Chinmaya Mission Atlanta convened physicians, researchers, and traditional medicine practitioners for a free public workshop, “An Optimal Mix of Health Care Modalities (AYUSH & Nature Care).” The discussion considered how allopathy, Ayurveda, yoga, Unani, Siddha, homeopathy, and naturopathy can contribute to care, which modalities may be appropriate for different conditions, and how patients and providers can work across traditionally separate systems.
Six presenters and two student researchers shared research, clinical perspectives, and practical approaches.
Setting the Table: Dr. Sudhanva Char
Yoga teacher and researcher Dr. Sudhanva Char framed integration as an evidence question rather than a preference for one system over another. “Nobody is going to accept your evidence — observational or otherwise — unless you present it in RCT form,” he said, pointing to his book, Yoga Vade Mecum, which surveys randomized trials of yoga for diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Char cited China’s hospital-based traditional medicine units, Japan’s Kampo medicine, Germany’s use of homeopathy and naturopathy, integrative programs at Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson, and Indian data showing Ayurveda-based diabetes management can cut annual patient costs by 30–40%.
He said yoga and Ayurveda have demonstrated value for blood pressure, cardiac rehabilitation, and atrial fibrillation, but should never substitute for emergency cardiac care.
“Nobody has any kind of bias against anybody — I’m open-minded, integrated. Let ideas come to us from all over the world but let them be evidence-based,” Char said.
Asked for one practice anyone could start immediately, he led the audience through a 30-second abdominal breathing exercise requiring no special flexibility.
Ayurveda in Practice: Dr. Rupali Biradar
Ayurvedic physician Dr. Rupali Biradar discussed root-cause care and treating the person rather than only a lab value. She described patients whose anxiety traced back to gut health, children whose ADHD symptoms improved with dietary changes, and a post-angioplasty patient whose bloodwork improved when classical herbs such as Arjuna and Guggulu supported, rather than replaced, standard cardiac medication.
Biradar said she never tells a patient to stop prescribed medicine. Instead, she works toward health improvements that may allow the prescribing doctor to reduce medication.
Shakti Yoga: Swati Kumari
Swati Kumari, a teacher of Indian culture, guided participants through the Panchakosha, the five sheaths of the body, and the three subtle energy channels of yogic tradition. She led a live Bhramari, or humming-bee breath, practice, explaining its release of nitric oxide, and concluded with a shared AUM meditation.
Yoga and the Mind: Dr. Ranjan Avasthi
Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist Dr. Ranjan Avasthi traced yoga’s arrival in America, from Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 Chicago address to its entry into U.S. medicine in the 1970s, before turning to clinical evidence.
Avasthi cited a Boston School of Medicine study that found a 20% rise in GABA, the brain’s calming neurotransmitter, after three months of yoga. He also discussed a VA program in which PTSD severity scores fell nearly half after 10 weeks of twice-weekly, 15-minute sessions.
“Why not have veterans do yoga and reduce benzodiazepine use, when we know yoga raises the same GABA these medications target?” Avasthi said.
He noted that pediatric research remains limited and said children may be more likely to practice yoga when they see their parents doing it.
The Cardiologist’s Case: Dr. Sreeni Gangasani
Dr. Sreeni Gangasani discussed cardiovascular risk, noting that plaque begins forming in coronary arteries as early as the teenage years and that by age 50, 80–85% of people have some plaque. He said South Asians represent 25% of the world’s population but account for 60% of its heart disease, and that while genetic risk cannot be eliminated, lifestyle changes can offset it by roughly 70%.
Gangasani addressed two misconceptions: that a normal stress test rules out heart disease and that being vegetarian and physically active protects against it entirely. He said stress tests generally detect blockages of 70% or more and described plaque rupture as “like an accident.”
He encouraged participants to know their Lp(a), waist size, HbA1c, and blood pressure, and recommended a $99 coronary calcium scan by age 35 for people with risk factors.
“Divide the timeline, not the patient. AYUSH for prevention, allopathy for the acute event — every patient needs both, sooner rather than later,” Gangasani said.
Spiritual Care in Cancer: Dr. Achyut Saroj
Oncology researcher Dr. Achyut Saroj described a career shift from researching new cancer drugs to studying spiritual care as a clinical domain. Citing research linking patients’ sense of spiritual importance with higher anti-tumor T-cell counts, lower blood pressure, and reduced end-of-life costs, he argued that spiritual care should be part of the treatment plan.
Saroj also identified cultural barriers. He said the word “chaplain” does not translate easily across cultures and that many Hindu and South Asian patients decline spiritual support because it may not feel designed for them. He cited Chinmaya Mission’s Hindu Spiritual Care certification as an effort to address that gap.
“Listening is the first step in the ascent to the divine — inertia is defeated by the practice of listening, called Shravana,” Saroj said.
Two Students’ Discovery: Rishi Challa and Pranav Challa
Student researchers and brothers Rishi Challa and Pranav Challa shared their experiences with myopia and vision therapy. Pranav, now 16, said his nearsightedness improved following a two-week vision-therapy program and a year of daily practice, and that he now has 20/20 vision without glasses. Rishi turned his own improvement through eye-therapy techniques and diet into an award-winning school project.
The brothers subsequently launched EyeSeeBetter, a nonprofit focused on eye health. They aim to hold free workshops, teach eye-therapy techniques to students and underserved communities, and increase eye-health awareness.
The Ophthalmologist’s View: Dr. Indira Menon
Dr. Indira Menon led a hands-on anatomy session from front to back. She said she found no controlled trials supporting several traditional eye remedies she had researched, while remaining open to further study.
Her evidence-based recommendations included the “rule of twos,” looking 20 feet away every two hours, blue-light filtering for screen use, and regular eye examinations for people with diabetes, which disproportionately affects South Asian populations.
Calming the Nervous System: Rajitha Bommakanti
Registered nurse and lifestyle coach Rajitha Bommakanti discussed her published research involving Emory-system nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a six-week pranayama study, she said stress scores fell by 41% and well-being scores increased by roughly 50% using breathing practices taking less than five minutes a day.
“The goal isn’t to eliminate stress — that’s impossible. It’s to give the nervous system a chance to recover,” Bommakanti said.
Where It Leaves Us
The presentations did not advocate replacing one medical system with another. Speakers emphasized matching approaches to patients and conditions, considering the whole person, and evaluating practices based on evidence.
As Char put it in closing, the gathering itself demonstrated the value of bringing different traditions together. He referred to dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins released through positive human interaction as people from different traditions listened to one another.
Krishnamurthy Subramanian and Uma Krishnamurthy assisted with the venue and panelist gifts; Deepa Duddilla handled food arrangements; MK Muralidhar and Sashi Pemmasani handled the audio and video setup; Sainathan Sivasubramanian served as emcee; and Harsha Reddy organized the event.