What makes a modern surgeon leave allopathy for Ayurveda?
Dr. Shubham Saini’s journey is one of questioning, rediscovery, and healing from the root.
Read on to explore how he blends surgical expertise with Ayurvedic wisdom.
Read time : 7 min
What makes a modern surgeon leave allopathy for Ayurveda?
Dr. Shubham Saini’s journey is one of questioning, rediscovery, and healing from the root.
Read on to explore how he blends surgical expertise with Ayurvedic wisdom.
Read time : 7 min
What happens when a modern surgeon, deeply trained in allopathy, finds himself drawn back to the wisdom of Ayurveda?
In this Rediscovering Ayurveda conversation, we speak with Dr. Shubham Saini, a general surgeon whose journey took him from ICU emergencies and allopathic prescriptions to the rhythm of Ayurvedic routines, deep root-cause healing, and transformative patient care.
Now practicing as a full-time Ayurvedic consultant and surgeon, Dr. Shubham shares his unique dual-lens perspective and why, despite modern medicine's speed, it’s the slower, root-first approach of Ayurveda that has his heart.
Dr. Shubham’s transition wasn’t sudden. It was a slow unraveling. After years of hands-on experience in allopathy, he began to notice what he now calls the “missing link”: the patient’s own body intelligence.
He began his medical career in 2014, training intensively in allopathy. Like many young doctors, his early years were filled with ICU rotations, emergency room chaos, and the familiar rhythm of pharmaceutical prescriptions.
“In those days,” he admits candidly, “I never asked patients about their appetite, sleep, or bowel movements. In allopathy, that wasn’t part of the protocol.”
But the cracks in the system began to show. Patients with chronic conditions. infertility, recurring fevers, persistent joint pain, kept returning, no better than before.
“The treatment loop was the same. Antibiotics, painkillers, vitamin supplements. No matter the patient, the prescription barely changed. There was no healing, just managing.”
It was this repetitive loop of symptom management that made him pause.
By 2021, driven by both curiosity and disillusionment, he enrolled in a postgraduate program in Ayurvedic surgery. That’s when everything began to shift.
Over time, he found that the Ayurvedic lens offered something different. It asked deeper questions, about appetite, bowel habits, and sleep. And it didn’t treat all fevers or pains the same way.
In his integrated approach, Dr. Shubham blends surgical precision with Ayurvedic diagnostics, especially when dealing with gastrointestinal issues, musculoskeletal pain, and anorectal conditions.
In his daily practice, one complaint stands out more than any other: trouble with digestion and constipation.
“If you solve constipation, 50% of the problem is solved,” Dr. Shubham explains. “Every patient I see has some form of it. Whether it’s hard stool, incomplete bowel movements, or irregular timings.”
What may seem like a small inconvenience to many, he sees as a foundational issue. One that quietly affects everything from sleep to mood to chronic illness. In fact, he tailors each treatment based on the patient’s specific bowel habits.
“If someone says their motion is delayed or dry, I may prescribe castor oil at night. If they feel heavy after eating or digestion is weak, I start by strengthening their Agni, their digestive fire,” he says.
Some of his go-to remedies include Arand Bhrishta Haritaki, Nimb Arand capsules, Isabgol husk, or even formulations like Avipattikar churna and Softovac, depending on how long the issue has lasted and how the body is responding.
But the real work, he emphasizes, begins with understanding the root. Constipation isn’t just “not going to the bathroom.” It reflects a deeper imbalance in the body and unless that’s corrected, other treatments will only offer temporary relief.
“Most people don’t realize how much better they’d feel if their digestion worked properly. It impacts everything, energy, clarity, even emotional stability.”
For Dr. Shubham, solving constipation isn’t the end of treatment. It’s the doorway to deeper healing.
Healing, in Dr. Shubham’s words, isn’t about quick fixes. He offered a metaphor that beautifully captures the fundamental difference between modern and traditional medicine.
“Allopathy paints the wall,” he explained. “Ayurveda repairs the wall itself.”
He compared allopathic treatment to painting over a damp, cracked wall. From the outside, it looks smooth, fresh, and as if nothing was ever wrong. But underneath, the wall remains damaged. Eventually, the paint peels, the cracks reappear, and you're back where you started, maybe even worse off.
Ayurveda, on the other hand, doesn’t rush to make things look better. It peels back the layers, dries out the dampness, fills the cracks, and slowly rebuilds the structure from within. Yes, it takes time. It demands commitment, trust, and a change in routine. But once the repair is complete, the foundation is stronger. The wall doesn’t just look good, it is good.
That’s why Dr. Shubham insists on starting at the root. Whether the problem is constipation, back pain, depression, or infertility, his focus remains the same: treat the cause, not just the symptom.
This reminds us that in a world obsessed with instant gratification, true healing requires patience and honesty about what it takes to actually get better.
Dr. Shubham doesn’t just recommend Ayurveda, he lives it. He’s mindful of two habits Ayurveda strongly advises against: Ratri Jagran (staying up late) and Divaswapna (daytime sleep).
“These two things disturb the natural balance of the body,” he says. “I avoid them 90% of the time. Only if I’m traveling or absolutely can’t help it, do I break that rule.”
But what happens when he does have to stay awake all night? He doesn’t reach for caffeine or push through fatigue. Instead, he turns to an old-school but powerful Ayurvedic hack: ghee in food the next day.
“If you stay up all night, your Vata goes out of balance. And the best way to ground Vata is eating Nourishing fats”
It’s this kind of thinking, deeply rooted in understanding the why behind symptoms, that shapes his own self-care, too.
One ritual he never skips? A small dose of ghee in warm milk, especially when rest is compromised. It supports digestion, calms the nervous system, and helps the body reset.
This is especially relevant, he says, for those who work night shifts.
“Even if you can’t avoid night work, you can still support your body. Have ghee in milk at night, it helps keep your system stable.”
Even his views on diet reflect this groundedness. When asked about trendy diets like keto or veganism, he gently brings the conversation back to the body’s environment and roots. What works in one region or climate might not suit another. He believes the best diet is the one your ancestors thrived on, adjusted gently for what feels good today.
For Dr. Shubham, Ayurveda isn’t just a system of medicine. It’s a way of life that anchors him, day after day.
Dr. Shubham could have stayed in allopathy. He trained as a general surgeon. He worked in corporate hospitals. But something was missing.
“I was doing what they told me, this pill, that procedure, but it never felt like I was really healing anyone,” he shares.
“The patient came back with the same issue. Only this time, worse.”
Despite his allopathic background and surgical expertise, Dr. Saini finds deep satisfaction in Ayurvedic practice.
“Just give me two patients a day. If I can heal them fully, that’s all I need.”
Even now his goal remains the same. Not just to treat people, but to help them understand their bodies. Because when they do, healing becomes not just possible, but empowering.
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