Luke's Global Impact: Leading Integrative Lifestyle On World Stage

1. Congratulations on representing India at the Times Square for World Earth Day celebrations in New York City. How does it feel to represent integrative lifestyle on such a prestigious global platform?

It is a privilege and a great honor to represent India on a global stage like this. I am delighted to take this opportunity to be a part of this event and the Culture and Wellness Panel, where I, along with His Royal Highness Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ali al Nuaimi (The ‘Green Sheikh’), will discuss culture, wellness, and their impact on the environment.

As the Lifestyle Ambassador and Champion for the Fit India Movement, led by Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it feels great to bring India to such a global platform, where several other countries will also be participating.

In our practice of Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine, we discuss the inner and outer environment and how our surroundings can impact our health, prevention, and recovery. Therefore, the cause feels close to my heart and vision.

I am also excited about meeting my patients and fans who will be flying in from different parts of the United States of America, and some even from outside the USA, to attend the event and support the cause.

2. What do you hope the impact of this event will be?

The event is a 12-hour broadcast, and the celebrations are taking place around the world, including Vancouver, Hawaii, London, Australia, as well as New York City.

As we all know, New York City is a global city, an epicenter of the global exchange of ideas and inspirations so it’s exciting to imagine the impact of this event.

Additionally, experts and industry pioneers are coming from different parts of the country, so the message we are trying to spread at the event will reach far and wide across the world.

3. You’ve been named among the most influential coaches in the Wall Street Times, alongside luminaries such as Oprah and Tony Robbins. What do you attribute your growing influence to?

I am very grateful for my patients because coaching is a skill that grows every time you practice it. So, I am thankful for all the cases—simple to complex—we've handled in the last 13 years.

I am grateful for my highly skilled and dedicated team, those who are at the forefront as well as the backend, for giving their best every day and being so aligned with the vision.

I am grateful for my fans, followers, and well-wishers who have embraced the lifestyle so beautifully and gracefully and written to me, sharing the transformations they have undergone after making lifestyle changes.

I am grateful to social media as well, which helps me amplify my message and the knowledge I have gained through my practice.

All of this has collectively helped.

4. You’ve been focusing a lot on the importance of deep sleep recently, even assuming the avatar of Mr. Sleep on social media. Tell us more about this initiative?

Sleep is a necessity. It is a basic human need, just like eating and drinking. If sleep was useless, why would it be a part of our lives?

India and the world need to add sleep into their lifestyle. We are clearly not sleeping enough, and if we are then not well enough. Human beings are the only species that sacrifice sleep to achieve more and more. And at the cost of what? Sleep deprivation and overall health.

Your body does not care about your career goals and social calendars. It does not care about your 12-hour work schedule or your responsibilities. What it cares for is survival, and it can do anything to help you survive. And it often does that by slowing you down through sickness.

When we consult our patients with cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular complexities, gut issues, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, metabolic disorders and review their lifestyle, sleep deprivation emerges as a commonality amongst most of them. While you can get on food plans, superfoods, workouts, supplements to address these, there is no replacement for sleep deprivation. Only sleep can fix that. And when we begin coaching our patients on sleeping better, their health gradually starts improving too. They wake up with better energy levels, mood, creativity, cognition, digestive health, skin and hair quality, fewer cravings, and the list goes on.

Half of the world today is chasing longevity supplements and hacks, but basics like sleep is missing. Sleep expedites the aging process and no longevity supplement can fix that. Sleep is where recovery, repair, rejuvenation, growth occurs, and a lack of it can slow down the healing process.

Through the #SleepDeeperIndia campaign we want to drive sleep as a lifestyle change. We want to use our platforms and experience to educate people about sleep and its scientific connections with health, break myths and share powerful yet simple tips to promote better sleep habits. We want to do this without them having to compromise on their recreation, social life, dreams and visions. Have it all, but also invest in sleep. Investing in your sleep is a massive investment in your health and life.

We hope the message of sleep spreads across all of India and beyond through our campaign.

5. Do you think the perception of integrative medicine is changing today? How do you envision the future of the holistic lifestyle space?

Yes, the change is refreshing to see. We observe people opening up to making lifestyle changes to break free from the cycle of chronic sickness today. Doctors are prescribing lifestyle changes alongside medications, and we have medical professionals discussing how a poor lifestyle is the number one root cause of most diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.

The future of healthcare is going to be integrative. We require medications and excellent doctors, but we also need patients to adopt lifestyle changes.

You can have the best medications and top-class doctors overseeing your case, but if a patient is sleeping for only 3-4 hours, even the best meds can fail. Similarly, one can have the best doctor perform a liver transplant for a liver damaged due to chronic drinking, but if the habit persists, the transplanted liver will fail again.

Therefore, addressing the root cause or habits is essential. Everything else then functions and responds better. Lifestyle and its fundamentals are non-negotiable.

6. Can you share with us about the five pillars of holistic health that you strongly advocate, namely cellular nutrition, adequate movement, quality sleep, emotional wellness, and reconnecting with the spirit. Why do you think this approach is important?

Health isn't just about eating well and working out. You could be doing that, but if you are harboring negative emotions in your mind and heart, it affects your body at a cellular level, creating more inflammation, hormonal imbalance, sleep deprivation, and much more, meaning you still aren't healthy. Similarly, you could be eating well, doing meditations, positive affirmations, but living a sedentary lifestyle, and you still aren't healthy.

True health encompasses every aspect of our lifestyle - nutrition, exercise, sleep, emotions, and our inner selves, and finding harmony within and between each of these pillars of lifestyle. That is what we aim to cultivate and nurture in individuals who come to us.

These five pillars form the foundation of our entire platform for healing, recovery, and prevention.

Balanced Cellular Nutrition

Cellular Nutrition is finding what kind of nutrition suits your body type, metabolism, and health goals. It is the ability to nourish your body at the cellular level. It's not just about what's on your plate. It is about how you eat, the flow you follow, how you optimize its absorption, and support your cells in carrying out various functions. It is about embracing diversity, food synergies, bioavailability, and a lot more.

Adequate Exercise

Adequate Exercise isn't about adopting extremes. It is about encouraging movement into your lifestyle that is safe and tailored to suit you while also respecting your limits. It is holistic in nature, and covers cardio, strength, flexibility, endurance, mobility and balance. It prioritizes exercises that make you feel happy, robust, and alive through movement's grace.

Quality Sleep

Quality sleep encourages not just sleeping long enough, but well enough too. Sleep is a phase where our body repairs, cleanses, and rejuvenates, affecting everything from mood to metabolism. Integrative Medicine sees sleep as a potent medicine, addressing barriers uniquely. While medication helps some, overlooked factors like a sleep-friendly environment and rhythm balance matter. Through this pillar we pave the way for the body's healing through quality sleep—a priceless, irreplaceable gift.

Emotional Wellness

Emotional Wellness stands at the top of our paradigm of health. Nurturing this pillar does not mean pushing down feelings and difficult emotions, and putting up a strong face. It is about using powerful tools like acceptance, letting go, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, surrender, faith, prayers, visualizations, meditation, pranayama, art, nature, and music among others, to help navigate difficult emotions and feelings to create a state of harmony within the body. Because, all healing and recovery can only occur when our body is in a state of calm.

The Spirit

The Spirit focuses on reconnecting with ourselves on a deeper level. The farther we stray from our spirit, the more unhappy and disconnected we feel. Spirituality isn't always complex—it can be as simple as being kind or serving others. This pillar guides you in nurturing your inner self in a way that resonates with you, whether it's through meditation, immersing in nature, silence, meaningful relationships, prayer, learning from spiritual scriptures, or following paths of wisdom passed down through stories.