Deepak Chopra wellness empire's sale comes amid post-pandemic focus on mental health
With mental health in focus in a post-pandemic world, Deepak Chopra, author and alternative medicine advocate and wellness guru, recently sold his wellness empire, Chopra Global, to the Healing Company, where he now serves as chief scientific adviser.
That sale includes his popular Chopra: Meditation and Well-being app and various treatment spas.
While he might not be involved in as much of the company's day-to-day business, don't call the move retirement, says Chopra.
"I'm not retiring until the day of my Mahasamadhi," Chopra told Yahoo Finance, referring to the state when a yogi consciously and intentionally leaves his body.
"My body is busier than ever. My mind is also busier than ever," he added.
Simon Belsham, CEO and co-founder of Healing Company, an online platform for wellness and alternative medicine, said acquiring such a huge brand is on par with the company's strategy and goals.
"What we're trying to build is like the LVMH of wellness or Procter & Gamble of wellness where the Healing Company brand is a connector," Belsham said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
"I think there's never been, in many ways, more need and pain in society for alternative approaches to health care, and we look at the rise of mental health issues in recent years," he added.
The acquisition comes at a time when there's more demand for wellness products and therapies than ever before, as seen by skyrocketing use of telehealth apps and the increased demand for mental health professionals.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who recently released a report about the problem of loneliness in the U.S. and its impact on physical health, said in a statement, “Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders."
Chopra clearly agrees.
"Most chronic disease is influenced by how we live our lives, how we think, how we behave, how we feel and how we interact with each other," he said.
He noted that medical schools have started to teach the importance of diversified approaches to medicine, offering lifestyle or holistic medicine courses, which could be a sign of how future doctors approach wellness.
"It's astonishing to me that the demand is coming form medical students and residents," Chopra said, adding he has never seen that happen before.
Chopra added that he believes the Healing Company is the right home for his brand and the partnership can help him achieve his lifelong goal of positively impacting 1 billion people.
Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem
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