Contact

Email: joanna@ayurvedicyogi.com

Telephone: 0117 923 2812

Studying Ayurveda and Yoga

If you are in India don’t miss the chance to experience Ayurveda in the land of its origins.The following recommendations have been tried and tested first hand, or have been recommended by other people I trust! They offer authentic Ayurveda as well as an enriching learning experience.

North India

  • Dr Raju is Visiting Professor at the Maharishi Ayurveda Hospital in North Delhi. He is an expert is pulse reading and will provide the traditional Ayurvedic consultation experience whereby the doctor tells you what is wrong rather than you speaking about your symptoms. If you are in Delhi, a consultation with Dr Raju is a must. If you would like Panchakarma treatment, the Maharishi Ayurveda Hospital in Delhi offers authentic treatment. See www.maharishiayurvedaindia.org
  • Jiva Ayurveda offers Panchakarma and consultations with resident doctor and founder Dr Chauhan. Also offers an extensive list of courses (Ayurvedic Beauty, Cooking, Lifestyle Consultant, Women’s Health to name a few) and a long list of reasonably priced Ayurvedic products which they are happy to export. Based in Faridabad, a satellite town just South of Delhi (www.jiva.com/ayurveda).
  • AyurPak is a wonderful Ayurvedic restaurant in Rishikesh run by a husband and wife team -eating their is like being part of the family. The menu includes such delights as Shatavari kheer, especially good for women, rose flavoured milk for cooling down Pitta types, and home-made amla jam with semolina pancakes. They also offer cooking lessons. No web-site but address is AyurPak, Tapovan, Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh. Vishal Gupta is on 9897 296 399.

South India

  • Rasovai offers trainings, courses, workshops, consultation, treatments and panchakarma. I completed their AyurBalance Massage training in December 2008 and greatly enjoyed the course. They also offer training in AyurYoga massage- a fusion of Ayurvedic massage and Yoga stretches. The centre is in North Goa, near the lovely beach Ashwem (www.rasovai.com).
  • Dr Marda and his wife, Dr Suraj Marda run a small but thriving clinic in  a busy area of Pune. I spent one month living in the clinic and also had Panchakarma there.  Do book a consultation if you are in Pune, by emailing them on on  drgmarda@gmail.com or drsuraj_marda@yahoo.co.in.
  • Punarnava Ayurveda offers a one stop shop for exploring Ayurveda in India with an in-depth web-portal. They manage three Ayurvedic institutes in Coimbature, Tamil Nadu as well as being linked to authentic Ayurvedic centres in other areas of India. Their latest project is an Ayurvedic healing Village (http://punarnava-ayurveda.com/home.asp).
  • Ayushakti Ayurveda Clinic – Consultations and residential Panchakarma in Mumbai, India- an oasis in the heart of the city (www.ayushakti.com). Recommended by Rebecca & Sascha Kriese.
  • Ayurveda and Yoga Retreat, Coimbatore offers panchakarma, Ayurvedic food, yoga and meditation for about 70 Euros a day if you are sharing a room. The setting is beautiful, on top of a mountain, with views of tea plantations. Recommened by Swedish practitioner, Sara Frykland (www.ayurveda.org).
  • Aryavaidya shala hospital in Kerala with a new bransch for westerners in Kerala. Recommened by Swedish practitioner, Sara Frykland.

Beyond the workshops and weekends offered by AyurvedicYogi, you may also be interested in the followingorganisations offering training and courses in Ayurveda:

  1. Ayurveda Pura Academy (www.ayurvedapura.com)
  2. Tri-dosha  (www.tri-dosha.co.uk)
  3. Ayurvedic Institute of Europe (www.ayurvedainstitute.org)
  4. Ayurvedic Bodywork Consortium (indianheadmassage.org)
  5. The European Institute of Vedic Studies (eivs-uk@atreya.com)
  6. Ayurveda Retreat (www.ayurveda-retreat.co.uk)
  7. Yoga Well (www.yogawell.co.uk)
  8. Dr Ashok Kumar (www.drashokayurvedicclinic.com)

Recommended Distance Learning Courses

  1. Pukka Herbs : Introduction to Ayurveda www.pukkaherbs.com
  2. American Institute of Vedic Studies (www.vedanet.com)

As a first port of call, do contact the UK Ayurvedic Practitioner’s Association (www.apa.uk.org) or info@apa.uk.com in regards to different courses on offer and qualifications required to practise Ayurveda in the UK.

Yoga

India is also a wonderful place to deepen your yoga practice. There are many centres and ashrams to explore (the Lonely Planet guide lists quite a few). As I am a Sivananda trained teacher, I have mainly visited the Sivananda Centres and Ashrams in North and South India (www.sivananda.org).These offer an authentic ashram experience and the Ashrams are open to anybody with a minimum stay of 3 nights.  They also run various courses as well as teacher training courses of one month’s duration.  Be warned the morning wake up bell goes at 5.30am but this really is the best time to get up and meditate and do yoga! Accomodation may be quite basic, but the food is always delicous and the rates very affordable.

There are Centres in North and South Delhi, Chennai, Madurai and Trivandrum. There are three ashrams:

  1. Uttarkashi – Himalayas on the banks of the Ganges (www.sivananda.org/uttarkashi)
  2. Neyyar Dam- Kerala’s Western Ghats, also has an Ayurvedic centre (www.sivananda.org/neyyardam)
  3. Madurai-  Tamil Nadu, South India (www.sivananda.org/madurai)