All-Natural Healing in the Twenty-First Century –  The SOUKYA International Holistic Health Centre Story

My name is Dr Issac Mathai and it has been 20 years since my late father laid the foundation stone for SOUKYA. I wanted to take a few minutes to talk with you about how you can heal and rejuvenate your body, just like 10,000 other people from 60 countries have now done.

Today SOUKYA is widely regarded as the world’s best and most unique holistic healing centre. And we are very proud of our hard-earned reputation.

Like most things in life however, success does not come overnight and SOUKYA is no different.

It began when my father, the late Rev. Father Mathai Nooranal, a prominent priest with the Orthodox Church, taught me and my four brothers the dignity of labour and that we should accept all opportunities to better ourselves and always accept any job and do what was required unconditionally. That is what we have done with SOUKYA.

And my mother, who had a small natural healing clinic all her working life, has been instrumental in showing me the joy of helping people who were suffering.

As a child, I clearly remember asking her, “What do you do? And how do these people get better?”  She replied, “I prescribe the homoeopathy medicine, and it stimulates the body’s self-healing powers.  I am only the instrument that stimulates or enhances the healing.”   Looking back, this profoundly simple answer inspired my holistic mindset, reinforced my humility as a professional, and above all, made me respect the body’s amazing ‘natural’ self-healing power.

At the young age of 10, I would help around her clinic a lot, and this obvious interest must have encouraged my parents to advise me to pursue homoeopathy. By the time I was 15, because of their guidance and my high achievements at school, it was clear that I would study natural medicine.

The Most Humble Beginnings…

I learnt on the job while helping my mother everyday as there was no private consultation room and everyone would gather together in that one room clinic.  In a way, it served as an education for all of us present, although it was probably an awkward moment for patients who had to explain their ailments and other problems in earshot of all present.  I did not think it was an appropriate practice in those days although she had no choice.

At the age of 17, I joined the reputed institution, ANSS Homoeopathy Medical College in Kottayam. In front of our college, was this area where all students after college would meet up and chat in the evening before dinner… on many occasions towards the end of college I would sit there alone and just look up at the sky and the stars, and dream… and I would, when in conversation with my friends, tell them that I would do much more than just return to my mother’s practice.  I dreamed that I would set up a hospital environment where many doctors would work as a team, serving many people.

In the third year of college, we had to take other courses including Western medicine.  Dr. P E Abraham, an Allopathy doctor, was one of our faculty members.  He was a practicing Allopathy doctor but unlike other Western medicine doctors he was also using Homoeopathy, yoga, yogic treatment, and acupuncture to heal asthma and other respiratory diseases as a result of his experience that Indian remedies were more effective in curing these diseases.  It was an eye opener for me – I wondered why, when he could do well as an Allopathy doctor and was an MD too, he was using these different systems of medicine also.

When I graduated from Kottayam I went to London for postgraduate work and study and eventually began working at the prestigious 101 Clinic and Hale Clinic.

Treated Many Celebrities

This was the time I had many clients like Tina Turner, George Harrison and Sting.  I taught Tina the nose washing technique and she told me that it strengthened her throat and also made her voice sexier. Funnily enough I had never heard of the Beatles and didn’t know who Sting was when I gave him the prescribed medicine and ordered him not to talk for 24 hours if he wished to sing at his concert two days hence. He didn’t and he brought the house down that night, according to staff that saw the concert.

We had a lot of patients coming in from the USA.  Clients who had complicated conditions that could not be healed with Western medicine or those who wanted immediate care travelled to seek treatment at our clinic.  In 1986, I was given the opportunity to be the visiting doctor at the New York & Washington clinics.

Relevance of teamwork to heal all conditions…

I personally observed the relevance of working as a team with cardiologists, other western medical practitioners, and sometimes spiritual healers and other alternative practitioners who were ‘relevant’ to healing the client’s illness.  Most of the westerners who were homoeopathy doctors had learnt homoeopathy in their post graduate course while their graduate degree was in conventional western medicine.  They used western medical diagnostic practices to conduct the required investigations before proceeding to prescribe either emergency conventional medical procedures or homoeopathy medicine and other alternative therapies for an effective cure.

1986 truly was an important year in my life, and I had achieved many milestones in my career, although I was only 26.  The norm was that doctors those days reached a certain level of repute in the medical community when they were 35 or older, but I had already established myself as a good doctor in the Holistic healing community.  I could never have dreamt of this fast-track career trajectory!

My years of experience at the 101 Clinic also helped me understand people from the West – this definitely was beneficial in helping me improve my ability to treat my international clients better.  In hindsight, living there and travelling across the two continents helped me study their culture, and get an insight into their social / community structure and practices, their behaviour patterns and their lifestyles in general.

By 1987, I was made consultant physician at the 101 Clinic – I had far exceeded my initial dream of “just returning to my mother’s practice in Sultan Bathery, Kerala, India”.  It was truly a milestone achievement for me!

Going solo and building SOUKYA…

However the call of home became strong and I returned but soon realized that I would have to go solo in setting up dream of a holistic centre. I sold my personal share of ancestral property to my family and other people.  I also borrowed from my clients, friends and anyone who was willing to lend me money.

It took me another two years to be able to locate and then finally buy the plot of 30 acres in Whitefield, Bangalore.  Since we had committed to buying the land at a high price, it was hard to organize such a huge sum of money.  My family also purchased a part of the land.

Setting up the centre too had its operational challenges.  Initially our funds were mismanaged by those who were entrusted with the responsibility of construction and other tasks.  Some clients suggested that I get independent consultants to review what was happening.  We had to part ways with the architect and contractor and then realized that since we didn’t know anybody else, we would have to do it ourselves!

Hard times…

These were hard times but I was very clear that I had to carry on.

My vision for my centre based on childhood experiences at my family tea plantation and the environment I grew up in made me certain that it would be set up in a natural environment.  However, I did not know much else, so I travelled to spas across the world to see what services they were offering.   I travelled to Canyon Ranch in the USA and spent some days, and also travelled to Mexico and Japan and other places.  I soon realized that none of these centres had a medical orientation. But I could see that for a client to feel relaxed and go through the healing process in an ideal environment – the place should be spread out over many acres in a natural environment, and not a high-rise building; that there should be opportunities for general recreation also apart from the medical treatments. The accommodation should be of world class quality.

I also realized that a lot of our clients who visited the UK clinic from the USA could be treated here in India.  It would be financially viable for sure as accommodation in the UK was expensive.  Also the weather and international connectivity in Bangalore was ideal for my clients.

My wife, Suja, has been instrumental in many aspects of the centre.  She based her designs on the belief that any place can be made pretty if done up tastefully, but if it doesn’t have positive vibes, it is empty.  She put in tremendous effort into learning about design, landscaping and gardening, which coupled with the phenomenal passion she shared for my dream and her innate sense of design, colour, immense common sense and attention to every last detail helped us set up a world class residential holistic centre that could compare with any facility in the world for comfort and ambience.  She was instrumental in making my dream come true – I could not have done it without her!!!

Dream into Reality in Harmony with Nature and the Body’s Healing Powers…

When SOUKYA was ready, it showcased everything we had believed in – built on the 30 acre spread were buildings for offices, treatment and accommodation, dining, recreation and prayer, all set apart from each other and at the ground level only.  We also are a zero carbon emission zone as our staff also live onsite.  We are involved in organic farming, and maintain livestock for our needs.  We have followed eco-friendly systems like solar water, drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, natural lighting and ventilation.  Suja was instrumental in deciding on trees and flowering plants that were easy to grow and were low maintenance, including Ayurvedic and aromatic herbs and medicinal plants, and many varieties of vegetables that naturally thrive in Bangalore’s naturally pleasant climate.  This would also help grow the water source in that area and allow the soil to naturally regenerate and improve over time.

And if you will allow me a small indulgence, I am very very proud of what we have achieved. Along the way we managed to fit in our family and our three children live and work with us at SOUKYA.

I want you to be clear on one thing…

SOUKYA has changed the healing landscape forever. Now people from all walks of life have access to information, knowledge, advice and natural healing that was once the sole preserve of a rich few.

And they have the options of staying for a weekend or weeks at a time…whatever is necessary to heal, rejuvenate and connect mind, body and spirit.

So please, take a few minutes to go through this package thoroughly. You’ll find it informative, interesting and hopefully “possibility expanding” as you begin or continue your journey towards healthy, pain-free living.

I hope we can work together to help you secure your future wellness and happiness.

Warm regards,

DR. ISSAC MATHAI M.D. (Hom.), M.R.C.H. (Lond.)

Founder, Chairman, Managing & Medical Director – SOUKYA International Holistic Health Centre