We are very pleased to announce the first Anniversary of the Wholistic Health Alliance (WHA)!! Within a year of incorporation, WHA has made great strides in providing a strong platform which brings together, supports and nurtures holistic practitioners while highlighting them to the community. Practitioners in turn have been educating and empowering the community, helping them own their health in the utmost wholesome and informed manner. Presenting to you who we are and an outline of what we have achieved so far.

Wholistic Health Alliance is a nationally launched non-profit organization dedicated to building healthy communities. WHA aims to bring together complementary/holistic medicine practitioners, fostering collaborations, building stronger networks, and enabling a more intimate relationship between practitioners and the community. We currently operate in the states of Massachusetts New York and Maine, with more Chapters in the pipeline.   

Our mission is simple: To build healthier communities through education and dissemination of information about simple tools for prevention and holistic solutions for health and wellness, through free, year-round events, dissemination of informative educational articles, Open House(s), Symposia and more. To this end, we have already had several community talks by our practitioner members. Talk topics have ranged from demystifying a holistic modality, approaches to healthy living and self-care, and holistic management of certain common conditions such as Arthritis, Stress, etc. 

Here are some of the groups who have specially invited us to hold educational sessions for them, on topics ranging from self-care to home remedies to therapeutic protocols - Saheli, Asian Women for Health, Bedford Aging Council, Holistic Mom’s Network, American Holistic Nurses Association, Acton TV network, Shri Dwarkamai Sai group, Nataraja Yoga Center, India New England multimedia group, Brown Brother Harriman,  and many varied platforms. Members have contributed articles on Yoga, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Nutrition etc., which have been disseminated through local media outlets, our own media pages, as well as through our website. 

Some of our special events:

Our Practitioner Dinner nights have been a big hit. In fall 2015, we held our second Annual Open House that was attended by over 200 people and received coverage in statewide media. On May 21^st, WHA conducted a day long Symposium on gut health, with 8 holistic experts, a panel discussion, interactive session and an experiential segment. This event was very well received.  A similar Symposium on Diabetes as well as Stress Management is soon to be announced.

We have made some effort to forge collaborations and start a conversation with mainstream practitioners as well. In this regard, WHA Founder and President, Vaidya Pratibha Shah, spoke at an Inter-Disciplinary event at Harvard, which was attended by top notch experts in the Medical Field. Top level Indian officials from India were also present. Several potential collaborations are brewing as a result of this event.

Recently, the following people have joined the newly minted WHA Advisory Board:

- Professor Sushil Bhatia, a globally known award winning entrepreneur, innovator, educator, author and founder of Laughing Clubs.

- Poonam Ahluwalia, a social entrepreneur, founder and director of Youth Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (YES) based in Boston. She was named India New England Woman of the Year, 2013.

- Puran Dang, Entrepreneur, Community Leader and Founder of many organizations

Thanks to our Advisor Sushil Bhatia, we are in conversation with Richard H. Gregg, MA, MBA, Director of Programs in Healthcare Administration, Chair of the Healthcare Administration Department, Instructor of Healthcare Administration, Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University, to explore holding educational seminars and workshops at Sawyer Business School, and may be even offer electives in chosen holistic health modalities.

Our long-term goal is to impact policy. We are gearing up to work on having complementary and alternate forms of medicine integrated into mainstream healthcare, as well as public health programs.

None of this could have been possible without the dedication of our Practitioners, and the love and support of our community and Patrons. Our heartfelt gratitude!! At present, we are accepting members - both practitioners as well as organizational, and are always looking for ways to collaborate to further our goals of creating healthy communities. And like every other young non-profit, we need volunteers.

So please connect with us and let us know how you can help us. To connect - please visit our website, follow us on Twitter (@WhaGroup), “like” our Facebook page to stay updated on our activities, and/or contact us via email (wholistichealthalliance.group@gmail.com).  

Let us join hands to build healthier communities. Join WHA today!!

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