He was known and appreciated for helping them to excel, and for mentoring them in how to complete their long and rigorous programs. He also served as President of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education and as a site visit team leader for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.ĭr. Returning to the West Coast, Dr Khalsa obtained his doctorate in naturopathic medicine at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) in Portland, Oregon, graduating with distinction in 1978. After completing his degree, Dr Khalsa served tirelessly in support of the naturopathic medical profession in numerous capacities, including President of NCNM President of Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in British Columbia, Canada Dean of the University of Bridgeport School of Naturopathic Medicine in Bridgeport, Connecticut President of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges and member of the board of directors of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the Institute for Natural Medicine. In this role, he inspired some of his yoga students to become Sikhs, teachers, and healers themselves.
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The name chosen for him – Guru Sandesh – literally translates as “message teacher” and also means “Teacher of the Divine Message.” Those whose lives he touched will recognize how he fulfilled the role bestowed by this name. While studying biology at Kansas Newman College, Dr Khalsa initiated the teaching of Kundalini Yoga. Before heading east to Kansas, he met with Yogi Bhajan and expressed his wishes to follow the Sikh path and asked to be given a Sikh name. Dr Khalsa was fully conscious that his service and devotion to his students, his patients, and the naturopathic medical profession were his path to God – the path of Right Action – the work he was born to do.ĭr Khalsa trained as a naturopathic physician when the first 2 years of coursework were completed at Kansas Newman College in Wichita, Kansas. From that time, and for the rest of his life, he devoted himself to Sikh practice and to naturopathic medicine as the foremost, essential aspects of the one spiritual path he had chosen: to serve God through devotion and service to others. His faith was fundamental to his life and to his work as a teacher, a healer, and a leader. In his early 20s, he committed to spiritual practice as a Sikh and to becoming a naturopathic physician. During this time, he learned about naturopathic medicine and the availability of training to become a naturopathic physician. His spiritual practice grew from listening to lectures by Yogi Bhajan and attending Kundalini Yoga gatherings in Los Angeles.
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These classes reinforced his interest in diet and health and inspired his interest in the Sikh religion. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1976, then studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1972.Īfter graduation, he opened a record store in Newport Beach and attended classes in Kundalini Yoga with a student of the Sikh guru Yogi Bhajan. He grew up on Lido Isle, an island community in Newport Harbor, California. He touched the entire naturopathic medical community in the United States and Canada and will be remembered for his great intelligence, wisdom, patience, compassion, and sense of humor.ĭr Khalsa was born on October 21, 1949 in Glendale, California, to Virginia Wright Reid and William Reid. He served for decades in many important and trusted roles, including teacher, mentor, college president, dean, administrator, and accreditor, and was a guiding force for the profession. He was 71.ĭr Khalsa, known affectionately as “Dr K.,” was a respected naturopathic physician and a beloved member of the naturopathic medical community. Khalsa, ND died unexpectedly on August 11, 2021 at his home in Lake Oswego, Oregon.