He’s one of the world’s most famous people. So famous, all you need to hear is his first name—Deepak—and you know exactly who he is. Deepak Chopra, M.D. has carved out a worldwide presence in the wellness world over the past thirty years, leading the way in bringing awareness and understanding of the universal need for both mental and physical well-being.
Deepak Chopra, whose career began as a physician and professor, has authored over 90 books. His books span meditation, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, mindfulness, spiritual enlightenment, self-care and other wellness topics. He heads The Chopra Foundation as well as Chopra Global, an all-encompassing website/app designed for “empowering personal transformation for our collective well-being” that is chockablock with educational products, retreat offerings and other resources encouraging self-care.
And now, at 77 years old, Chopra has begun a new collaboration with real-estate developer Charles “Chuck” Heath, intending to bring a new way of living to Utah’s Wasatch Mountains with their Ameyalli Resort. We recently caught up with both men at the groundbreaking ceremony in Midway, Utah, the place locals call “Wasatch Back,” to find out more about this unique “well-being and longevity community.” It’s a combination of residential living, a vacation resort, and a healing geothermal vortex. It’s also home to the Ameyalli Wellbeing Center and Center of Excellence—the North American headquarters of the Chopra Foundation, where Chopra has advanced technological ideas he’s ready to implement.
Why Ameyalli?
Chopra’s decision to lend his clout to the Ameyalli project was a combination of attractive elements that aligned with his thinking.
“First of all, I like the location,” he says. “It’s spectacular. Secondly, I think the founders are visionaries. They’re not doing this for money, as an entrepreneurial enterprise. They’re seriously interested in creating the scientific research for this revolution that we see in longevity and healthspan. [Plus], they’re willing to engage in nontraditional creative approaches. [And] they’re willing to incorporate the idea of spiritual intelligence.”
The origins of Ameyalli
From Chuck Heath’s point of view, Chopra and his foundation were a natural progression from his initial idea for the Ameyalli project.
“I’ve tried to retire three times now,” admits Heath, the 67-year-old developer from Wisconsin, who moved with his wife Colleen Leuthe Keblish (partner in the Ameyalli project) to Park City, Utah, during one of those attempts. For him, the $180-million Ameyalli project began as a consulting favor for a group of investors about five years ago. Then, when they dropped the idea, he picked it up and ran with it, with a vision to create a place for what he calls “holistic longevity,” allowing people to actually choose to live in the community, visit for a wellness retreat and even offer researchers like Deepak Chopra and his team a place to thrive and expand knowledge.
“I said to my wife, ‘Maybe I have one more project in me, but let’s do something that is meaningful,’” Heath recalls. “And now this is my legacy project. I’ve done a lot of projects and never been involved in [one with] such great public and private community partners. Everybody wins with this project. And meeting Deepak was just [by] chance. I met his COO [Justin Nahama] at a dinner and he said, ‘My boss would love to know more about the project.’
The vision for Ameyalli
Turned out that Deepak loved it. And [we began working together with] somebody who knows well-being—I mean, he’s the guru of well-being—and now I’ve got the best of the best to follow, which is just absolutely incredible.”
Together Heath, Chopra and their teams see Ameyalli developing as an “innovation hub,” a place for Chopra to “bring in other people from the wellness world, to come in and take up residency, research, collaborate [and] provide programming,” Heath adds. “We want this to be what Deepak is calling, ‘an innovation hub for wellness and health.’ We’re going to be The Aspen Institute of wellness here!”
And, according to Chopra, the springboard to a whole new world of artificial intelligence as well.
Ameyalli, complete by 2026 and beyond
Reaching that goal includes three construction phases. The real-estate residences would be the first element. Two of the 24 villas are complete. All villas are scheduled to be finished by February 2025. Cottages and family lodges will follow, all available for whole or fractional ownership. The 80-room boutique hotel known as Ameyalli Resort and the Ameyalli Wellbeing Center will follow, with openings planned in 2026.
The Ameyalli Wellbeing Center will be the jewel in the crown of the ambitious development, which has, at its heart, a massive (and historic) hot springs—geothermal healing waters that date back 5,000 years. The 50,000 square-foot center will incorporate those springs and include a subterranean mineral pool and numerous treatments and programs all based on Deepak Chopra’s “Seven Pillars of Well-Being” principles, which include emotional regulation, mindfulness, sleep, movement, relationships, laughter and nutrition.
Nutrition and mindful eating will be supported with a renowned chef’s intimate participation in all the dining aspects of the resort, including a large biodiverse garden to supply the needs of the Ameyalli community. Still under wraps, the executive chef looks to be a Michelin-starred, James Beard award-winning choice, whose food philosophy matches Chopra’s wellness tenets.
The homes and vacation resort will reflect cutting-edge architecture created by Overland Partners and embrace the most modern, eco-friendly elements and technology available, as will the Wellbeing Center. And, as the project develops, Chopra sees far-ranging realities coming into everyday living.
“The next step is, how do you create well-being homes that actually nurture the five senses? And have the aesthetics but also basic sustainability practices? Biological sustainability is linked to environmental sustainability, right? That has everything to do with the lighting, with the temperature controls… with air circulation, water quality, food [and] all of that,” Chopra says.
Heading into the tech future with “Digital Deepak AI”
In fact, Chopra is looking toward this new Utah institute to assist him in exploring a brave new world. A new world where the places we live will be integrated into our health and wellness experiences.
“In the future—the very near future—you have something called ‘ambient computing.’ So, all this information [found now on your smartwatch or ring, fitness-tracking device, etc.] can be incorporated into your walls—the walls or the windows of your home—and you will voice activate them. So, you enter the room and say, ‘I want to know [how] I slept last night.’ You ask that and the wall will light up with the answer. And, ultimately, your clothing will be monitoring you. So, all that’s coming very fast. It’s developing. And we want to be leading [those efforts] because we are experts in AI,” Chopra explains.
He continues, “That’s why we’re introducing something called ‘Digital Deepak AI.’ And it is an AI system that can be a personal coach, health coach, mental coach, research assistant and spiritual guide. We’ll be incorporating Digital Deepak out there into the technology. And then we’ll sync it with one of these devices like an Oura ring or whatever. So this AI system will become your personal coach for health, for well-being, for emotional resiliency and even for spiritual experiences. Everyone who comes here will have a companion—me—but it will be my AI twin.”
So, perhaps you shouldn’t expect to meet up with the real Deepak Chopra in Utah. But it seems clear that there will be a lot to see and experience when Ameyalli is ready to receive visitors.
Image: Creative direction by Madison Avenue Creative. Renderings by NQS Creative.
