The Hindu Lit for Life | Dr Issac Mathai on holistic health, integrative medicine, and the importance of research
The Hindu Lit for Life | Dr Issac Mathai on holistic health, integrative medicine, and the importance of research
In his career spanning decades, Dr Issac Mathai has seen patients from across the world, both at his facility SOUKYA, an international holistic health centre in Bengaluru, and as a visiting consultant in several holistic health centres in the UK, Europe and the United States.
It is this global perspective, and the importance of holistic healthcare and integrative medicine that he will be highlighting, at The Hindu Lit for Life 2025, in session with Dr E S Krishnamoorthy, neuropsychiatrist, author and the founder of Buddhi Clinic, and Vasudha Rai.
“The future of medicine is combining western and traditional systems of medicine. India is especially lucky to have all these systems and government policies that support it. It is important here to understand that the focus is on better healthcare, and not being against any particular system,” Dr Issac, founder, Chairman and Managing and Medical Director of SOUKYA says. With holistic health being a subject close to his heart, Dr Issac has authored two books — Dr Mathai’s Holistic Health Guide for Women, and Holistic Healing. “During the pandemic, I worked on my third book, Dr Mathai’s ABC to Health. Post the pandemic, people are much more aware of the importance of their immune system, and are eager to do things to improve their health,” he says.
While their facility in Bengaluru has seen a number of visitors from across the globe including King Charles III and Queen Camilla who were last there for a three-day rejuvenation retreat in October 2024, SOUKYA is also expanding internationally and has announced its first international centre in Portugal. Dr Issac has also been working on making complete health care accessible to all through holistic and integrative medicine through the SOUKYA foundation, and the Dr Mathai’s Rural Holistic Health Centre (DMRC) also provides healthcare free of cost to people in over 150 villages across the country.
Dr Issac acknowledges that there has been a lot more awareness and chatter about the importance of a healthy work-life balance. “People are beginning to think about how they can go about this, and it is important to take to lifestyle management in a better way. Hospitals or doctors including me cannot give you health and this is something people need to cultivate through a number of ways, be it through eating better, exercise, yoga and more. This is a vast area of holistic medicine and integrative medicine comes into the picture when you opt to use a tool beyond this,” he says.
While there are western medical institutions in India that are coming forward to delve into research in these alternate systems of medicine, Dr Issac says that scientific, modern research on a large scale is the need of the hour. “When you are dealing with systems of medicines that are thousands of years old, many of its practices and benefits have been in use for many years now. However, research is very much needed and India’s unique positioning with regard to these systems is something we should make use of, for the benefit of our population, health promotion, and prevention,” he says.
On his current reading pile are Lifestyle as Medicine by Dr Alexander Thomas, Samuel Hansdak, Divya Alexander, and Herbert Giebel, and Spiritual Healing by Dora Kunz. “I am also reading, and am fascinated by Manu Pillai’s Gods, Guns and Missionaries, and how it presents history,” he adds.
Dr Issac Mathai will be at The Hindu Lit for Life (January 18-19) in Chennai. Click here to register.
