I am Dr. Shetal Patel.

I studied medicine at the University of Virginia and completed my residency in family medicine at the Fairfax Family Practice. I joined Leesburg Sterling Family Practice, where I enjoyed the collaboration of great colleagues and worked with wonderful patients.

However, during these eight years of practicing medicine, I came to realize that change was needed. I endeavored to work within the existing system and aimed to bring my complete attention and focus to each visit. Yes, healing occurred. But I continued to face barriers both internally and externally in my ability to provide patients with the care they deserve.

First, there was never enough time. A twenty-minute visit simply does not permit even a fully-present physician to truly address a patient’s concerns. Second, I was not addressing all dimensions of the patient. I sensed that, in order to get to root causes, I would need to go beyond the physical symptoms and what I was trained to look at. As I developed the intuition that a broader perspective was needed, I likewise realized that I had no tools for recognizing, much less treating these underlying causes.

And so I set off on my own journey of healing and education. Pretty quickly, I realized that my exploration of the wider world of well-being would have to start with me, with my own healing, and with the integration of the different dimensions of myself. I traveled to Peru and studied in the Amazon rainforest for one month, working with different plant medicines of the jungle. I have returned twice since then and continue to develop my familiarity with the healing plants of the rainforest. Through these experiences, I began to see the path that lay ahead. I came to understand how the physical body integrates with the energetic body and the spirit.

I developed my understanding of the energetic body by studying Shiatsu, a type of Japanese energetic bodywork that uses acupressure and stretching along the meridians; I studied for thirteen months at the Shiatsu School of Vermont. Through this training, I honed my ability to sense the energetic body within the physical body. By recognizing imbalance, I help people open up these channels and get energy flowing more smoothly. The bodywork reflects reality: energetic and physical ailments are one. Resolving blockages seems to ameliorate physical issues like pain, congestion, and systemic disorders.

I deepened my knowledge of Western plant medicine by learning
herbalism at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine in New York. I learned how to identify medicinal plants, to wildcraft, and to make my own medicine. Plants as medicine may not work as precisely or as quickly for a specific symptom. However, they work to bring balance to the system connected to particular symptoms. In this way, herbal remedies can provide foundational and longer-term healing.

Whether through the subtle manipulation of energy flows or through the gradual movement of botanical treatment, the alignment and balancing of each separate system leads to the healthier and more wholesome function of the individual.

The knowledge of healing, like the practice of medicine, is a lifelong endeavor. I will continue to familiarize myself with different visions of health and different modalities of healing. By integrating them, and seeing how they complement each other or layer upon one another, we can have a more expansive picture of well-being than any one modality can offer alone.

I am not interested in pretending I am some omniscient overseer of a person’s health. I am interested in being an ally, a fellow traveler and guide on this journey towards well-being. In this partnership I hope to help people find insight and come ‘into relation’ with what is causing imbalance within their being. Illness and discomfort can cause us to feel discouraged, annoyed, and even fearful. However, it can be seen as an opportunity, a valuable clue as to which systems are out of balance and what needs to change. Although illness can be difficult, this can be a process of learning and exploration into the self. We can stop at just symptoms and return to the status quo, or we can dig to the root of the imbalance and take hold of an opportunity for growth and transformation.

The process of healing oneself is infinite, and so too is the unfolding of the spirit.