Episode 85: The Science of Life: What Ayurveda Can Teach Us

Episode 85:
The Science of Life: What Ayurveda Can Teach Us

Guest: Dr Kanchan Bohra Mehta BAMS, MD (Ayu), MSc (YT), PDCR

Hosted by: Marina Robb

Dr Kanchan Bohra Mehta

Dr. Kanchan Bohra Mehta BAMS, MD (Ayu), MSc (Yoga Therapy), PDCR

Dr. Kanchan Bohra Mehta is a highly experienced Ayurveda physician with over 16 years of clinical, academic, and research expertise. Trained in classical Ayurvedic medicine and yoga therapy, she combines deep traditional knowledge with a modern understanding of integrative healthcare.

She holds a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), an MD in Ayurveda Samhita, an MSc in Yoga Therapy, and a Professional Diploma in Clinical Research (PDCR). Her academic training reflects her commitment to both the classical foundations of Ayurveda and evidence-based clinical practice.

Currently based in Andheri, Mumbai, Dr. Kanchan practices authentic Ayurveda with a focus on holistic healing and traditional therapeutic approaches. Her clinical work includes classical Ayurvedic consultations, Panchakarma therapies, integrative healing through yoga therapy, lifestyle and diet-based management, women’s health and wellness, and the Ayurvedic management of chronic conditions.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Kanchan is the founder of drkanchansnityaveda, a brand of handmade Ayurvedic self-care and health products. This initiative was created to offer natural, Ayurvedic alternatives to everyday products, supporting healthier daily living rooted in traditional wisdom.

Dr. Kanchan has an extensive academic background. She served for nine years as Associate Professor, Professor, and Head of Department at Sri Sai Ram Ayurvedic Medical College in Chennai. Prior to that, she worked as a Lecturer at A.V.S Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya in Bijapur for two years. Her academic career reflects strong leadership, curriculum development expertise, and a passion for teaching and mentoring future practitioners. She also brings valuable knowledge of clinical research and evidence-based Ayurvedic practice to her work.

Her care philosophy is grounded in the classical, holistic principles of Ayurveda. She believes in compassionate, personalised, and root-cause–oriented healing, aiming to restore balance and long-term wellbeing rather than simply addressing symptoms.

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In this episode ...

In this episode I’m joined by Dr Kanchan, an Ayurvedic doctor trained in India, to explore a radically different way of understanding health, not only as something we fix when it breaks, but as a lifelong relationship between body, mind, senses, environment, and meaning.

This is a conversation about prevention rather than crisis, and about what becomes possible when health is understood as a living, relational process rather than a purely medical one.

Topics include:

Ayurveda is described as a “science of life,” concerned with the whole arc of living - from conception to death - not just the treatment of disease.
Health is understood as balance within the body, the mind, and the environment, while illness is a sign that something has fallen out of sync.
Western allopathic medicine and Ayurveda are not in conflict; they serve different purposes, with acute medicine vital in emergencies and Ayurveda focused on prevention and long-term wellbeing.
The body is seen as intelligent, with healing emerging when the right conditions are restored rather than imposed from outside.
Ayurveda treats people as individuals, not categories, taking into account constitution, diet, climate, place, habits, and family patterns.
The five elements and three doshas are not rigid “types,” but ways of understanding movement, digestion, transformation, and stability within a person.
Ayurveda is framed as a life science rather than only a medical science, with protecting the health of the healthy as its first priority.
Humans are not placed above nature but understood as part of it, with personal health inseparable from the health of the living world.
The senses are described as powerful gateways shaping the mind, with overuse, underuse, or misuse contributing to imbalance and anxiety.
Daily and seasonal rhythms - how we eat, rest, move, and attend - are presented as foundations for mental steadiness and resilience.
Purpose and inner alignment matter, with illness sometimes arising when actions drift away from a person’s deeper values or moral compass.
The invitation is not to adopt another system wholesale, but to widen our understanding of health, hold multiple ways of knowing, and remember that care, balance, and relationship sit at the heart of wellbeing.

Music by Geoff Robb: www.geoffrobb.com

Links and Resources

Website:
www.nityaveda.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/drkanchan_nityaveda
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kanchan.bohra.mehta/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Kanchan-Bohra-Mehta-100063672881801/

Further Reading:
Here is a list of some of the books Dr Kanchan recommended on Ayurveda:

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD
Yogratnakar (17th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD
Yogratnakar (17th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD
Yogratnakar (17th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD
Yogratnakar (17th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)
Yogratnakar (17th century text)

Charak Samhita (approximate timeline -200 BCE)
Sushrut Samhita (this is a text on surgery ayurveda along with core concepts, treatment of diseases, herbs etc - approximate timeline - 2nd century BCE)
Ashtang Samgrah (a text that has a combined instructions, treatment etc from both of the above main texts - approximate timeline - 4th century AD)
Ashtang Hrudayam (it's a concise form of the above mentioned ashtang samgrah text - approximate timeline - 6th century AD
Yogratnakar (17th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)
Sahasrayogam (19th century text)