Born into a medical family, Dr. Art Brownstein grew up in Santa Monica, California. His father was a professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and practiced medicine for fifty years. Leaving Santa Monica after graduating from Pepperdine University in Southern California, Dr. Brownstein traveled to Philadelphia where he attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College. He then completed a flexible internship at the Wilmington Medical Center in Delaware before moving to New Orleans for specialty training in Preventive Medicine at Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. At Tulane he also graduated with a Masters in Public Health in International Health. During this stage of his career, as he was becoming increasingly interested in the role that stress played in chronic medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, in his final year at Tulane he studied stress management and relaxation training at the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in India, where he additionally received a Diploma in Yoga Education, a post graduate degree granted under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Central Government of India. 

Coming back to America, he then trained at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, before serving for four years as an active duty U.S Air Force Flight Surgeon. While stationed in the Philippines, he took care of military aviators and their families, and participated in flying missions and also received the prestigious U.S. Air Medal for meritorious achievement during one particular top secret mission.

After retirement from the Air Force, Dr. Brownstein settled down in Hawaii on the island of Kauai, where he has lived and practiced primary care and preventive medicine for the past thirty years. During this period, Dr. Brownstein has also had the privilege of working with Dr. Dean Ornish, Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, the first person in the world to prove reversal of heart disease without drugs or surgery, and who has also served as heart doctor for President Clinton and President Obama. While Dr. Brownstein has primarily trained in Western medicine, he also honors the ancient healing wisdom of other cultures. Dr. Brownstein also strongly believes in patient education, and sharing what he has learned in an effort to empower people to take charge of their own health. In this respect he emphasizes the importance of treating the body, mind, and spirit as an integrated, whole unit.

Dr. Brownstein’s first book, Healing Back Pain Naturally, first released in 1999, is based on his own personal experiences as a chronic back pain patient. It has been published in multiple languages around the world. His second book, Extraordinary Healing, was inspired by, and dedicated to Norman Cousins, who founded the program of Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. This book sold over 100,000 copies the first year of its release. Dr. Brownstein lives with his wife, Nutan, who is an accomplished yoga teacher and has also worked with Dr. Dean Ornish in caring for patients with advanced heart disease.