‘To heal, disconnect from work, connect with nature’: Soukya’s Dr Issac Mathai

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Mathai is founder chairman and medical director of Soukya International Holistic Health Centre, a residential medical institute and retreat in Bengaluru that offers treatments that blend ‘Ayurveda, homeopathy, yoga, naturopathy and other complementary therapies’. Of course, if you were to ask trend watchers, they’d probably refer to him as the ‘doctor whom King Charles III and Queen Camilla visit while in India’. While on the topic, Mathai right at the outset says, “I have known King Charles for over 15 years and have been advising him all these years but I do not want to be known as the King’s doctor. I prefer calling myself a holistic health consultant to the King."

I am meeting Mathai in his office set inside Soukya’s verdant 30-acre property. It’s a well-appointed room with brightly patterned kilims, handwoven carpets and paintings that spell ‘quiet luxury’ adorning the walls. The cynosure, however, is the Mother Teresa painting by MF Husain. The artwork plays the perfect backdrop for the hour-and-a half-long conversation where we wade through topics around holistic wellness, Mathai’s personal health philosophies, and his rather enviable career as doctor to the rich and the famous.

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A native of Wayanad, Kerala, Mathai did his initial formal medical education in homeopathy but he followed that up by studying Chinese Pulse Diagnosis and Acupuncture at the W.H.O. Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Nanking, China, and pursuing the Mind-Body Medicine programme at Harvard Medical School in the USA. He’s got expertise in integrative medicine, sure, but beyond his knowhow, it is “trust and good rapport" that has enabled him to nurture healthy relationships with his clientele.

“Confidentiality is one of my strengths and so, if I have clients coming to me from around the world, it is because they know that I won’t share their health concerns with anyone else," says Mathai. There’s advice prescribed by late archbishop Desmond Tutu—who was a visitor to Soukya— that helps too, and that is “treat your patient not as a rich man or CEO or as a multi-billionaire, but as a human being first".

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As a practitioner of integrative medicine — a protocol that integrates alternative medical systems such as Ayurveda, naturopathy, yoga, homeopathy, Mathai reveals that the role requires him to not just be a doctor to his clients, but also a friend, advisor and psychologist too. “Integrative medicine is about helping bringing balance to an individual’s mind, body and spirit, and so, the treatment requires you to assess every aspect of a person’s life from their childhood to their job to their relationships," says Mathai before adding that at the retreat, one of the tasks almost every client is expected to do is “write down their life story in detail".

“I tell my patients that I need to know about incidents and situations that have transpired in their lives to understand the root cause of their physical or mental ailment or issue," he shares. At Soukya, the treatment that is then administered is customised to the individual’s specific problems. It can be, as Mathai notes, a combination of Ayurvedic treatments, meditation, soaking up some early morning sun, and even practicing forgiveness.

WHAT IS AILING PEOPLE?

A question that naturally pops up during this freewheeling chat is what are the stressors that affect those who seemingly have it all?

“Most successful people are extremely competitive, but this so-called competition they have is not with their peers but with themselves," is Mathai’s unexpected answer. “All of them want to constantly do more, achieve more. It’s this relentless pursuit of the next big goal that causes an imbalance in their bodies," he says. A lack of purpose, especially among the youth, is another issue that Mathai highlights.

“Everyone’s in a blind race chasing the wrong purpose: to make more money or earn position. Health, unfortunately, is not the first priority and that is why we are seeing people in their 30s and 40s dying," he rues. And then, quoting that old slogan of ‘Roti, Kapda, Makaan’ that lists out the basic necessities of life, he says, “it’s time to add ‘Health’ to it. “Much like a Rolls Royce that requires servicing, your body needs care too but no one bothers until something serious happens," he quips.

Mathai’s suggestion on how to go about it is quite creative. So along with prescribing daily exercise, meditation and relaxed lunches — “we should do away with power lunches", he jokes — he recommends carving time out in regular intervals for wellness holidays. “Whether it’s to go hiking, spending time by the beach, going for a yoga or Ayurvedic retreat, plan holidays where you can disconnect from work and connect to nature.’

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