Today we’d like to introduce you to Smita Malhotra.
Smita, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in India, the Middle East, Canada and Texas where I got to meet people from all walks of life. Listening to other people’s stories helped me to understand the common thread of humanity that binds us. It is how I came upon my first passion of being a storyteller through writing. But, I knew that I also wanted to be a healer. I went to medical school in Texas and found myself in NYC for pediatric residency where I met my husband who was training to be a pediatric gastroenterologist. After finishing our training, we moved to LA to start our careers.
We started our practice (Mindful Pediatric Gastroenterology) three years ago, because we saw that there was a disconnect in medicine today. As physicians, we were seeing more and more patients with less and less time.
And while we had the tools to address the physical aspects of healing such as prescribing medicine, we felt like we were largely ignoring the greater emotional aspect of healing.
What we have found is that children tend to manifest physically what is going on emotionally. And especially in gastroenterology and nutrition, where our gut is often considered our second brain — how children cope to their life circumstances, largely affects how they heal from chronic illnesses if at all. And, if we ignored this other aspect, we were doing our patients a disservice.
So, our practice began with the goal of addressing the physical aspects of healing but also teaching children how to build resilience through the use of tools such as mindfulness, yoga and acupuncture. We wanted to give our patients resources to be the eye at the center of a tornado. So, even when the world around them was constantly changing, they had a place to go inside themselves to be calm and peaceful. This is what we mean when we trademarked our slogan: ‘own your mind, own your health’.
Beyond that, I have had the opportunity to use my first passion of writing and speaking through contributing to various publications such as The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. I have also invited my fellow colleagues in creating videos and posts for social media where we help to empower children and parents to take charge of their own health and healing.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In medical school, we aren’t taught how to build a business so there has been a lot of learning that has come through experience for us especially in terms of marketing a business. Also helping others to see alternative forms of healing such as yoga and acupuncture as part of a medical plan has taken time but definitely worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mindful Pediatric Gastroenterology story. Tell us more about the business.
What I am most proud of, is our approach to healing the whole child and the fact that alternative forms of healing such as ‘yoga’ and ‘acupuncture’ are part of our medical plan.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I was lucky to have been born into circumstances where I could afford an education. In business, it has mostly been our hard work that has made us successful. I’m not relying on luck but if it helps me along the way, then I am grateful!
Contact Info:
- Address: 65 N Madison Ave Suite 709
Pasadena, CA 91101 - Website: http://mindfulpediatricgiblog.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsmita_md/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindfulpediatricgi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrSmita_MD
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/mindfulpediatricgi
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
