Dharma Singh Khalsa

Dharma Singh Khalsa
Born	20 January 1946(1946-01-20) Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
Religion	Sikhism
Spouse	Kirti
Children	Hari (daughter), Sat (son)

Dharma Singh Khalsa is a medical researcher in the field of Alzheimer's Disease

Early years

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. was born January 20, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Miami Beach, Florida. He is a graduate of Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Khalsa received his training in Anesthesiology at the University of California, San Francisco, where he was Chief Resident. He is also a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Acupuncture for Physicians Program and has studied mind/body medicine at Harvard Medical School's Mind/Body Medical Institute.

In 1979, he started practicing Kundalini Yoga with Yogi Bhajan, and in 1981 embraced the Sikh lifestyle replete with full beard and turban.

Dharma Singh Khalsa grew up with asthma. An uncle, an esteemed cardiologist, prescribed a series of breathing exercises for him which helped immensely. Even so, his lungs remained weak, and he was prone to bronchitis and even bronchial spasm in his early adulthood. When, however, he began to practice Kundalin Yoga with a strong focus on breathing exercises, his vulnerability to lung problems ended.^[1]

Work with holistic pain care

In 1987, Dr. Khalsa established the first holistic pain program in the Southwestern United States at Lovelace Medical Centre in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1990, he was recruited to become the founding director of the Acupuncture, Stress Medicine, and Chronic Pain Program at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine's teaching hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. In this position, he became the first director of acupuncture in an American medical school.

Work on Alzheimer's disease

Since 1993, Dr. Khalsa has been the President and Medical Director of the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, the original voice in the integrative medical approach to the prevention and treatment of memory loss.

In 2003, Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. testified before Congress about his pioneering work in the area of lifestyle influence on Alzheimer's disease, and called on Congress to fund a national education and outreach campaign designed to inform the public of the benefits of an integrative medical approach to Alzheimer's. After his testimony, Dr. Khalsa received the support of U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D.

Research

That same year, Dr. Khalsa spearheaded a research study of SPECT Scans Before and After Kirtan Kriya on healthy subjects, in conjunction with the Amen Clinic (ICI, Irvine, California).

In 2006, he became Associate Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. There, he took part in a groundbreaking study of Global Cerebral Blood flow in fMRI Scans of Advanced Meditators.

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. also took part in a breakthrough study on Kirtan Kriya and SPECT Scans in Subjects with Memory Loss. This study, which was completed in 2008, showed that memory loss was reversed and well-being enhanced by the Kirtan Kriya meditation practice.

Dr. Khalsa recently took part in a similar study at the University of Pennsylvania, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (Volume 20:2. April 2010).

Dr. Khalsa is currently engaged in a study at UCLA, in conjunction with the Department of Psychiatry, aimed at reducing stress response and improving cognitive functioning in older family dementia caregivers.

Publications

Dr. Khalsa has written widely on a wide range of health and healing issues. His book Brain Longevity (Warner Books, 1997) is the original work of its kind to be written for the general public, and has been translated into twelve languages. Dr. Khalsa has also authored six other books for the general public, as well as several medical textbook chapters, including one for Harvard Medical School and one for the University of Arizona.

Family life

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. currently lives in Tucson, Arizona with his Italian wife, Kirti. He has a son, Sat Kartar, a holistic chef, married to Chilean KamalCharan Kaur, who made Dr. Khalsa a grand-dad January 22, 2010. The grandson is Simranpreet Singh Khalsa. Dr. Khalsa's daughter Hari is an accomplished massage therapist, trained in Thailand. They all live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Web-sites

• Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa's site
• The site of the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation
• The Brain Longevity site

Books

• Brain Longevity: The Breakthrough Program that Improves Your Mind and Memory (Warner Books, 1999)
• The Pain Cure: The Proven Medical Program That Helps End Your Chronic Pain (Warner Books, 2000)
• Meditation as Medicine: Activate the Power of Your Natural Healing Force (Simon & Schuster, 2001)
• Food as Medicine: How to Use Diet, Vitamins, Juices, and Herbs for a Healthier, Happier, and Longer Life (Atrium Books, 2003)
• The Better Memory Kit: 7 Days to a Better Memory (Hay House, 2004)
• The New Golden Rules: An Essential Guide to Spiritual Bliss (Hay House, 2005)
• The End of Karma: 40 Days to Perfect Peace, Tranquility and Joy (Hay House, 2005)
• From Darkness to Light: Healing Early Life Stress (self-published)
• Sleepy Time Nice (self-published)
• The Memory Magnet: Dead Brain Cells Don't Die (self-published)

Recordings

• Wake Up To Wellness CD/DVD
• Boost Your Brain Power CD/DVD
• Here Comes The Sun DVD
• Sleepy Time Nice DVD
• Love is Within You (pop music) CD

On-line Sources

• The Hachette Book Group site
• Health Central site
• HealthWorld Online site

References

1. ^ Dharma Singh Khalsa and Cameron Stauth, Meditation as Medicine: Activate the Power of Your Natural Healing Force, New York, Warner Books, 2001, p. 214

Persondata
Name	Khalsa, Dharma Singh
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 20, 1946
Place of birth	Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
Date of death
Place of death