“What I had been seeking all my life was the end of seeking.”
One early morning more than a decade ago, Kavitha had an experience that changed her life and shifted her perspective permanently. Tip-toeing around the kitchen so as to not wake up her young children, she was cleaning the kitchen when a deep sense of sadness overcame her. The great inner void of lack that had driven her to academic excellence and to pursue success and material possessions in the hope of becoming permanently happy and fulfilled had raised its head again. The endless seeking had become exhausting, leading to the realization that no achievement, success, material things or relationships was filling the void with lasting peace.
From the well of sadness that morning, she was granted a vision that showed her that what she was desperately and ultimately seeking was the end of seeking. It catapulted her on the inner journey to truth. In the years to come, she studied with various spiritual teachers in the traditions of yoga, Vedanta and tantra&emdash;Chinmaya Mission in Vedanta, Yogani of Advanced Yoga Practices in yoga, Greg Goode in the Direct Path, Sally Kempton and Paul Muller-Ortega in Kashmir Shaivism, and Sri Premananda and Dr. Sumit Kesarkar in the tantric traditions.
The insights of her spiritual path have transformed her medical practice, where it is no longer enough to address heart disease (or other chronic illnesses) without addressing the root cause of suffering—identification with the body-mind. Over the years, she has changed her medical practice to one of holism, where no aspect of the mind and body are excluded. As an integrative cardiologist, she combines the wisdom of the east with the technology and advances of western medicine in the diagnosis and management of heart disease.
She began the Heal Your Heart Free Your Soul holistic prevention program in 2010, synthesizing the teachings of yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda and tantra in a simple and systematic fashion as it applies to health and freedom from suffering. Making the teachings applicable and practical to daily life, she coaxes participants to examine the root cause of suffering and tread the path to freedom. Through weekend retreats, workshops and intensives, she provides the opportunities for in-depth exploration of the wisdom of these teachings.
She is an integrative cardiologist at Beaumont Health System and Associate Professor of Medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Royal Oak, Michigan. She has published extensively in cardiovascular imaging, leading national and international multicenter trials to establish the best practice and applications of these technologies. She has been featured in the “Best Doctors of America” and has served on several national and international committees. She has been a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and served as the co-chair of “Go Red for Women” sponsored by the American Heart Association. She has won several awards and grants for research in cardiology, and was awarded the “Seeker of Truth” award for her research endeavors. She appears often on local and national radio and television and routinely gives invited talks on cardiac imaging, heart disease in women, Ayurveda, medicine and spirituality, and yoga for heart disease.