EP 1284

1284. Ayurveda Meets Biohacking: 5000-Year-Old Medicine Secrets for Modern Stress | Mona Sharma

In this episode of The Human Upgrade, Dave Asprey sits down with Ayurvedic expert and celebrity wellness advisor Mona Sharma to reveal the ancient healing techniques that are transforming modern health. They explore how 5,000-year-old Ayurvedic medicine aligns with today’s best biohacking tools for nervous system regulation, stress resilience, and high performance. You’ll learn how Mona healed her own heart condition after failed surgeries, how she guides clients like Will Smith, and how ancient rituals like ghee detox, sun salutations, and breathwork now hold clinical value for optimizing mitochondria, emotional stability, and longevity. 

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In this Episode of The Human Upgrade™...

This episode reveals the ancient health protocols Western medicine forgot, and how they are now being used to heal stress, rewire the nervous system, and radically improve human performance. 

 

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience: 

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR 

 

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Mona Sharma, a renowned Ayurvedic practitioner, celebrity wellness expert, and functional medicine advocate who grew up in a Canadian ashram. Mona combines ancient Vedic practices with cutting-edge science to help her clients, including Will Smith and other high-profile figures, achieve high performance, emotional resilience, and deep-rooted healing. She translates the 5,000-year-old system of Ayurveda into practical strategies anyone can use to optimize health in today’s chaotic world. 

Together, they explore how Ayurvedic biohacking techniques like breathwork, circadian alignment, detoxification, and herbal medicine are now being validated by data in neuroscience, mitochondrial biology, and functional medicine. They also dive into trauma, stress rewiring, nervous system resilience, and how to build your own modern “ashram” for healing and longevity. 

You’ll learn how to shift from hypervigilance into calm, how to optimize vagal tone, and how ancient practices like tongue scraping and ghee detox intersect with modern tools like cold therapynootropicssleep optimization, and self-quantification. 

If you care about biohackingneurohackinglongevity, or want to understand how emotional states shape mitochondrial function, this episode is packed with grounded insight and powerful takeaways. It offers a masterclass in approaching health through both spiritual and systems biology perspectives, while avoiding burnout and noise. 

 

You’ll also hear how Mona: 

  • Reversed her own heart condition after failed surgeries and medication
  • Guides high-stress clients using Ayurvedic principles and modern lab testing
  • Connects vagal nerve stimulation, breathwork, and emotional detox for lasting nervous system regulation
  • Uses personalized nutrition, pulse reading, and lifestyle upgrades to treat the root cause
  • Brings ancient healing into modern wellness spaces like Upgrade Labs

 

This is essential listening for anyone exploring Smarter Not Harder protocols, blending functional medicine with high-level biohacking, and finding sustainable ways to enhance vitality without relying on pharmaceuticals or performance fads. 

 

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee (now the Founder of Danger Coffee), and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in healthperformanceneurosciencesupplementsnutritionhackingemotional intelligence, and conscious living. 

Episodes are released every Tuesday and Thursday, where Dave asks the questions no one else dares and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing. 

 

 

SPONSORS: 

-Calroy | Head to https://calroy.com/dave for an exclusive discount.  

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“Our bodies are communicating with us every single second of every day. We have to tune in and listen.”

Mona Sharma

  • 00:00 Trailer 

A quick preview of what you’ll learn in this episode about ancient healing and nervous system mastery. 

  • 00:54 Intro 

Host Dave Asprey sets the stage for a powerful conversation with Mona Sharma. 

  • 01:44 Mona’s Personal Healing Journey 

Mona shares how her heart condition and surgeries led her back to Ayurvedic roots. 

  • 03:42 What Ayurveda Really Is 

A concise breakdown of Ayurveda as a whole-body healing system and “the original biohacking.” 

  • 07:15 Breathwork and Daily Rituals 

How simple breath practices and sun salutations activate healing and resilience. 

  • 09:41 Where Western Medicine Falls Short 

Why conventional approaches ignored the root cause of Mona’s condition. 

  • 13:27 Ancient Tools That Still Work 

How meditation, chanting, and herbs helped restore balance and health. 

  • 22:02 Nervous System as the Healing Key 

The science of vagal tone, trauma, and how to build true resilience. 

  • 31:50 Rewiring Through Visualization 

Mona’s techniques for emotional reprogramming and nervous system retraining. 

  • 32:59 Transformations with Celebrity Clients 

Behind the scenes of Mona’s work with the Smith family and high-profile cases. 

  • 33:31 Stress in the Public Eye 

How ultra-visible clients manage pressure, identity, and well-being. 

  • 34:18 Finding Core Values and Alignment 

Why knowing how you want to feel daily is foundational to healing. 

  • 35:48 Home Detox, Real Impact 

How to remove silent stressors from your environment and body. 

  • 37:52 Blending Body and Spirit 

Combining functional medicine data with spiritual and emotional work. 

  • 48:52 Understanding Your Dosha 

How Ayurvedic constitutions influence your physical and emotional health. 

  • 54:02 Applying Ayurveda Today 

How ancient practices adapt to modern lifestyles, toxins, and stress. 

  • 58:34 Final Thoughts and Takeaways 

Mona and Dave wrap up with a call to simplify, tune in, and reclaim your biology. 

 

Resources:  

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