Rammohan Rao PhD, C-AP, RYT
Apollo Health, 855 Mahler Road
Burlingame, CA 94010
ram@ahnphealth.com; info@ahnphealth.com
www.ApolloHealth.com
1.800.450.0805
– Best-selling author “Good Living Practices-The best from Ayurveda, Yoga and Modern Science For Achieving Optimal Health, Happiness and Longevity.”
– Chief Scientist at Apollo Health which uses a precision-medicine, systems-based, multi-therapeutic approach to reverse Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
– Over 25+ years of research and teaching experience in Neuroscience and has published 70+ peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals, including chapters in several textbooks.
– Board-Certified Ayurveda Practitioner, a Registered Yoga Teacher and teaches Ayurveda and Yoga at the California College of Ayurveda.
Interview Summary…
Rammohan Rao, PhD, C-AP, RYT, describes how his lifelong exposure to yoga and Ayurveda in India eventually developed into a career combining neuroscience, Ayurveda and yoga. He explains that yoga was part of his childhood education in India, while Ayurveda was incorporated into everyday life.Education in Neuroscience, Yoga and Ayruveda…
After earning his PhD in neuroscience and completing postdoctoral work at the Mayo Clinic, Rao worked as a research associate professor of neuroscience at the Buck Institute, where he formally resumed yoga practice and eventually completed yoga teacher training and board certification.
His introduction to Ayurveda came through an Ayurveda lecture at a yoga studio, followed by his wife’s consultation with Dr. Mark Halpin for an inflammatory condition. Rao says his wife received a comprehensive, individualized program involving diet, sleep, bowel regularity, daily routines, mindfulness, yoga, herbs and detoxification practices, and that her condition completely resolved within three months.
He emphasizes that Ayurveda and yoga focus on body-mind integration, prevention and individualized care rather than a single treatment or pill. He describes dietary timing, adequate sleep, regular bowel movements, consistent routines and mindfulness as important components of his wife’s program, including a three-week plant-based khichdi diet consisting of rice, mung beans, vegetables and ghee, followed by gradual reintroduction of other foods.
Dementia, Yoga and Exercise…
In discussing dementia, Rao explains that yoga practices can be adapted for people with cognitive impairment by emphasizing balance, hip strength, standing postures, eye and ear exercises, neck and shoulder movements, breathing practices and mindfulness, while noting that earlier adoption may improve compliance before full-blown dementia develops. He connects physical exercise with brain health by describing the release of myokines from muscles and osteokines from bones, which he says can reach the brain and support beneficial brain activity. He defines mindfulness as focus, attention and awareness, particularly directing attention to the breath and developing periods of stillness.
Dementia and Ayruveda…
Rao also explains that fasting has a place in Ayurveda, including maintaining a 12-hour gap between the last meal of one day and the next day’s meal, while cautioning against fasting to the point of physical deterioration. He says Ayurvedic recommendations for dementia are individualized according to the person and the disease condition, and he describes dementia and neurodegenerative conditions as Vata-based within the Ayurvedic framework.
He also identifies similarities between Ayurvedic and yoga practices and the Bredesen approach, including attention to diet, sleep, stress, mindfulness, brain stimulation and detoxification.
Healthy Living and Dr. Rao’s Book…
Finally, Rao discusses his book, Good Living Practices, explaining that it brings together physical, mental and emotional practices designed to integrate body, mind and emotions into what he calls “unfractionated living,” including mindfulness practices that can be incorporated into everyday activities such as eating and cooking.
Interview Questions and Answers
Kirk Hamilton: So the obvious question is, what came first, the neurosciences, the yoga or the Ayurveda? How did that happen?
Rammohan Rao: Yoga and Ayurveda were an integral part of life in India. His parents introduced him to yoga poses, breathing practices and meditation, while Ayurveda was incorporated into everyday life through diet, spices and herbs. He later went into mainstream modern medicine, earned his PhD and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. After Dr. Dale Bredesen invited him to the Buck Institute, he began practicing yoga formally with his wife, eventually completing formal yoga training and certification. His introduction to Ayurveda came when a yoga class was canceled and the instructor encouraged him and his wife to attend an Ayurveda lecture by Dr. Mark Halpin. His wife’s experience with Ayurvedic care led him to formally study Ayurveda, eventually becoming board certified and beginning to teach Ayurveda in 2007.
KH: Let me ask when you were in India, as a child and growing up, were you exposed to yoga?Did you do any?
RR: Yes. In schools in India yoga was an elective course in addition to sports activities, and I was trained in yoga asanas. I had quite a good yoga practice as a child.
KH: I’m ignorant. Do Ayurvedic principles comes from India?
RR: Yes. Ayurveda was a mainstream system of medicine in India. It as a whole-person system of health concerned with maintaining balance between the body and mind. Ayurveda is approximately 6,000 or 7,000 years old and traditionally emphasized body-mind integration, addressing the mind as well as systems of the body.
KH: On your wife’s healing, when you look back at it, what were the major changes that she did? In other words, you were already doing yoga, so you were moving energy in that way. But what were the major changes? Was it dietary? Was it herbal? What do you think made the big change in your wife’s health?
RR: Ayurveda and yoga emphasize body-mind integration, prevention and individualized care. My wife’s program addressed nutrition, digestion, sleep, daily routines, physical activity, herbs, mindfulness, yoga asanas and detoxification. The approach began at the level of the gut because her condition involved inflammation. She received a dietary program, herbs to address her gut and inflammation, mindfulness and yoga practices, as well as detoxification procedures involving oil therapies, massage and transcranial therapies.
KH: I know there was a lot to the program, but can you just say two or three of the main things that she had to change that really made a difference?
RR: The major changes were diet, sleep and regular routines. Her diet was individualized and included conscious eating, specific grains and spices, eating at particular times, limiting snacks, maintaining three- to four-hour gaps between meals and having the largest meal around midday. She was instructed to have at least seven hours of sleep and to maintain regular routines involving waking, sleeping and bowel movements. She also practiced mindfulness and daily hygiene practices. It is important to emphasize that these three major changes were implemented without herbs as part of the changes I was describing.
KH: What else would you do to have a bowel movement? You just can’t say, I’m going to have a bowel movement now. Is it about timing, sitting down every day? In other words, you change your diet and your bowel movements occur?
RR: For people having bowel-movement problems, I recommends a diet containing probiotics, prebiotics and fiber. Consume lots of raw vegetables containing substantial fiber and if necessary, fiber-based supplements can be used. I prefer dietary approaches rather than prolonged use of fiber-based medications such as Senna or Cascara. I also describes Triphala an herb used to promote proper bowel movement. In Ayurveda, if someone is not having a bowel movement, they can sit on the toilet at a consistent time for two or three days to establish the timing. In my experience, within four or five days the circadian rhythm can become established and bowel movements can begin occurring at that time.
KH: Was there two or three foods that she was eating that she gave up?
RR: Yes. My wife completely eliminated dairy for one week. For three weeks, she followed a specific diet consisting of rice and mung beans, along with vegetables and greens such as spinach, arugula, beetroot, cabbage, lettuce and carrots. Ghee was also added. She ate this diet three times a day for three weeks and then gradually began reintroducing other foods.
KH: So she went off dairy and grains for three weeks.
RR: Not all grains. Rice was included, along with mung beans.
KH: The question is, when she reintroduced, you’re saying that she could tolerate those foods that she couldn’t before?
RR: Yes.
KH: So was this diet totally plant-based for those three weeks?
RR: Absolutely. In Ayurveda, meat and meat-based foods are not normally used unless a person is extremely weak and has very low energy. Otherwise, the diet is purely plant-based.
KH: I was just thinking if you don’t get someone early in their dementia, it would be hard to teach them yoga. How do you work with someone with significant dementia and teach them a yoga practice that works?
RR: I agree that earlier practice is important. At Apollo Health, I taught yoga during the pandemic to people with cognitive impairment, including people with SCI and MCI. He used simpler yoga-based practices for people with dementia, emphasizing balance, hips and the ability to move the head forward without dizziness or loss of balance. I also used standing postures, eye exercises, ear exercises, throat and neck exercises, shoulder-blade exercises, spinal exercises, hip exercises, breathing practices and mindfulness. When people come later with full-blown dementia, compliance becomes a significant issue because they may not follow instructions or directions.
KH: You’ll see now on a lot of short little vignettes on YouTube and other social media, everybody is working on hip flexibility as we age. I have started to work on my hip flexibility. Can you explain the importance of the hip flexibility from a yoga and anti-aging perspective? It’s obvious to me, it helps me be more mobile, but we’re a society that’s from a chair up. We’re not like an Asian society or an Indian society where you’re sitting on the floor crossed legged. So for me to sit cross-legged has taken me almost a year and practicing daily. And I am slowly getting there. So tell me about the hips from a yoga-dementia perspective?.
RR: The hip structure, including the sacral area, trochanters and hip joints, support both the upper and lower portions of the body and are important for maintaining balance. As people age this area can begin degenerating and people commonly develop low-back and hip problems. Sitting cross-legged on the floor is not necessary for strengthening the hips. Numerous exercises that can be performed lying on the back, lying on the front or standing, including leg extensions, bringing the legs toward the chest, raising the legs, bending the knees, holding the ankles, moving the leg sideways and standing on one leg for balance.
KH: Tell me your definition of mindfulness.
RR: Mindfulness is focus, attention and awareness. In yoga, one way to practice it is to focus attention and awareness on the breath, consciously noticing inhalation and exhalation. Mindfulness can involve developing progressively longer periods of stillness in which the mind and body remain focused on the breath. Mindfulness can also occur during activities such as singing, playing a musical instrument, sculpting or other tasks when a person’s attention, focus and awareness are directed toward what they are doing.
KH: Fasting, is that part of Ayurveda?
RR: Absolutely! Ayurveda teaches that people should not fast to the point that the body begins to degrade or deteriorate. Ayurveda incorporates a 12-hour gap between the last meal of one day and the next day’s meal. For people with chronic issues, including chronic inflammatory conditions or conditions involving atrophy or deterioration, Ayurveda sometimes recommends two meals. Having two or three meals naturally creates periods of fasting throughout the day and the body can adapt to this pattern.
KH: Let’s say your wife had dementia versus the inflammatory condition. The structure of the assessment by the Ayurvedic practitioner would be the same, I’m assuming, but what would the diet be? Will it be tailored to the individual, not to dementia? Is that correct?
RR: The diet would be tailored to the individual and to the disease condition. Ayurveda classifies individuals according to constitutional and energetic systems and also describes diseases according to energy types, including Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Dementia and neurodegenerative conditions associated with age or brain atrophy are classified as Vata conditions, while inflammatory conditions are classified as Pitta conditions. The overall structure may involve diet, lifestyle, detoxification and sleep, but the specific recommendations depend on the disease condition.
KH: When you’re in Bahamas doing this talk on the integration of dementia, Ayurveda, and yoga, what are the highlights of the connections between these approaches? Let’s say you’re just talking about the dietary viewpoint from yoga, Ayurveda and the modern Bredesen approach, how would you connect them?
RR: The approaches emphasize that there is not a single-pill approach. Both Bredesen and Ayruveda address diet, sleep, mindfulness and stress reduction. They also identify brain stimulation as a common element, noting that Ayurvedic and yoga traditions encouraged activities such as memorizing complex verses, learning a new language, listening to and memorizing chants, learning musical instruments and changing activities or professions to stimulate the brain. Detoxification is an area addressed in both approaches, although the specific protocols differ.
KH: I’ve never asked this. What is your PhD in?
RR: My PhD is in neuroscience. My research dealt with acetylcholinesterase in the brain and the cholinergic system associated with Alzheimer’s disease. I studied animal models to understand how acetylcholine was degraded and investigated mechanisms for preventing its degradation by blocking excess acetylcholinesterase activity.
KH: Tell us about, as we round this up, your book. Would it encapsulate what we’re talking about now? Would it add to it and make sense in the context of everything that we’ve just gone over?
RR: Absolutely! Good Living Practices is based on the idea that optimal health is an individual’s responsibility and that health requires more than focusing on one area at a time. The book includes good physical practices, good mental practices and good emotional practices, with practical tools intended to help the body, mind and emotions function as one synchronized unit. It also discusses good eating practices, including not only what a person eats but when, how, where and why they eat. He says mindfulness can be practiced while eating or cooking by bringing focus, attention and awareness to the food and the activity.
20 Key Takeaways from the Interview
- Yoga and Ayurveda emphasize an integrated approach to health. Dr. Rao describes both as systems that focus on the relationship between the body and mind rather than treating isolated symptoms.
- Dr. Rao was exposed to yoga from childhood in India. Yoga was part of his school experience, where he learned yoga asanas alongside other physical activities.
- Dr. Rao’s professional path combines neuroscience, yoga and Ayurveda. He earned a PhD in neuroscience, completed postdoctoral work at the Mayo Clinic, later became formally trained in yoga and Ayurveda, and became certified in both areas.
- Ayurveda emphasizes individualized care. Dr. Rao says that even when two people have the same disease, Ayurvedic recommendations may differ because individuals have different constitutions and different manifestations of disease.
- His wife’s experience illustrated the comprehensive nature of the Ayurvedic approach. Her program addressed diet, digestion, sleep, bowel movements, daily routines, mindfulness, yoga, herbs and detoxification rather than relying on a single treatment.
- Diet was a major component of his wife’s program. Her dietary changes included specific foods, meal timing, fewer snacks and three- to four-hour intervals between meals.
- Meal timing was emphasized. Dr. Rao explains that Ayurveda traditionally emphasized eating the largest meal around midday and finishing dinner around 6:30 or 7 p.m., allowing several hours between dinner and sleep.
- Sleep was considered one of the major pillars of health. His wife was instructed to obtain at least seven hours of sleep, and Dr. Rao describes sleep as one of the most important pillars of optimal life in Ayurveda.
- Regular bowel movements were another major focus. Dr. Rao describes regular bowel elimination as an important part of the Ayurvedic approach and says dietary fiber, prebiotics, probiotics and consistent timing can be used to support bowel regularity.
- His wife’s short-term dietary program was based on khichdi. For three weeks she ate a diet consisting primarily of rice, mung beans, vegetables, greens and ghee, after which other foods were gradually reintroduced.
- Dr. Rao says the diet was plant-based. He explains that Ayurveda generally does not use meat-based foods unless a person is extremely weak and has very low energy.
- Yoga can be adapted for people with cognitive impairment. Dr. Rao describes using simpler practices for people with SCI and MCI, including standing postures, balance work, hip exercises, eye and ear exercises, neck and shoulder movements, breathing practices and mindfulness.
- Starting yoga earlier may make participation easier. Dr. Rao says that with full-blown dementia, compliance can become a significant issue because patients may have difficulty following instructions and directions. But there are still ways to incorporate beneficial yoga movements.
- Hip strength and balance are important elements of the yoga practices Dr. Rao describes for older adults. He explains that the hips support the upper and lower portions of the body and are important for maintaining balance.
- Dr. Rao connects muscle and bone activity with brain function. He describes myokines released by muscles and osteokines released by bones and says these factors can reach the brain and support brain activity, synaptic connections, reduced inflammation and glymphatic flow.
- Dr. Rao defines mindfulness as focus, attention and awareness. He describes focusing attention on breathing as one way to develop mindfulness and says mindfulness can also occur while performing activities such as music, art or other tasks when attention is fully directed toward the activity.
- Fasting has a place in Ayurveda, according to Dr. Rao. He says Ayurveda traditionally included a 12-hour gap between the last meal of one day and the next day’s meal, while cautioning against fasting to the point of physical deterioration.
- Ayurvedic recommendations for dementia are individualized. Dr. Rao describes dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions as Vata-based conditions within the Ayurvedic framework and says dietary, lifestyle, sleep, detoxification and other recommendations are adapted to the individual and disease condition.
- Dr. Rao identifies similarities between Ayurveda, yoga and the Bredesen approach. He points to common attention to diet, sleep, stress reduction, mindfulness, brain stimulation and detoxification, while noting that the specific practices or protocols may differ.
- Dr. Rao’s central theme is “unfractionated living.” His book Good Living Practices brings together physical, mental and emotional practices with the goal of having the body, mind and emotions function as one synchronized unit. He also emphasizes that mindfulness can be incorporated into ordinary activities such as eating and cooking rather than being treated only as a separate meditation practice.
- Practice, Persistence and Patience – My Favorite. The first story of transformation that “jumped out” at me before my cancer and then the first one “sent” to me after my cancer diagnosis. A physician cures herself of a rare, life threatening sarcoma after chemo, radiation and alternative therapies had been tried.
- ”Source” the Documentary – The Science behind the practice. Highly recommended.
- Proof – Stories of Transformation (listen to a few stories of transformation from serious health problems)
- Stories of Transformation – YouTube Channel
- Research: The Science Behind Mind/Body Healing and Meditation
- Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Book: Becoming Supernatural
Falun Dafa – Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance
Brief Introduction to Falun Dafa
Falun Gong Misconceptions
Books & Recent Writings of Mr. Li Hongzhi
Video & Audio Materials
Take an Online Class
Kirk Hamilton PA-C
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 489-4400 (w)
krhammer@surewest.net
www.StayingHealthyToday.com
www.StayingHealthyToday.Substack.com