Erika Crotta, N.D., PhD, started her studies in the field of complementary and alternative medicine at the age of thirty-five. She changed her career in the hope of addressing some of the critical issues of today’s health care system, which is confronted with increasing rates of many chronic diseases, hazardous side effects of modern therapeutic approaches, ever increasing health costs, the lack of effective preventive methods, nursing shortages and doctor dissatisfaction.

She studied at Paracelsius College in Bonn/ Germany and became a licensed Naturopathic Physician in 1997. In 2001 she finished her Bachelors and Masters in
Ayurvedic Medicine at Maharishi University of Management where she graduated with a PhD in Physiology and Ayurvedic Medicine in 2004. One of her goals is to empower people through education to become more responsible for their own health. ‘Only a new seed will yield a new crop’. Dr. Crotta believes this can be achieved through education and treatments based on the understanding of the simple mechanics of good health according to the age old, natural, prevention-oriented and holistic healthcare system from India, Ayurvedic Medicine.

It is possible and necessary to bridge the two different paradigms of health care, ancient and modern, taking the best from both for the patient’s benefit. To that end, Dr. Crotta used both paradigms, east and west, in her National Institute of Health (NIH) funded research study on patients with documented heart disease at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. In this study four modalities of the ancient Ayurvedic health care system were used in conjunction with contemporary medical therapies for heart disease. The ancient modalities included deep meditation, yoga exercises, individualized dietary and herbal recommendations diagnosed through ancient techniques, such as “Nadi Vigyan” or pulse reading. After an intervention period of nine months, controlling for confounds, the experimental group showed a greater decrease in atherosclerosis than the control group, which used only modern, western interventions. The patients in this research study were in their 70s and 80s showing that no matter what the age or condition of the individual, there is always the possibility to improve one’s health. The best way to do so is to include techniques and treatments that improve the level of one’s consciousness, awaken the body’s inner intelligence, and stimulate the inherent healing mechanisms of our body. Thus, health will naturally improve.