Eight tips for better digestion with Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient system of health care. Ayurvedic theory is based on the tridosha concept: vata, pitta, and kapha. These tridosha are the backbone of Ayurvedic diagnostic and treatment principles, including those related to digestion.

The functions of the doshas

Everybody has all three doshas in their body but one is predominant. Only a few people have two predominant doshas. If all the doshas are balanced, then there is no problem. But when a dosha goes out of balance, it can create health issues.

Vata dosha is responsible for circulation and elimination, and it controls the nervous system.

Pitta means “which digests,” so it’s no surprise that it’s responsible for digestion and body energy.

Kapha dosha provides structural integrity. It acts as a cementing agent, giving your body its weight, mass, and stability.

Digestion: the foundation of health with Ayurveda

So many people are struggling with digestive issues. You already know that pitta dosha is responsible for digestion. Pitta dosha is also connected to agni, or digestive fire. Agni is the gatekeeper of good health.

According to Ayurveda, strong digestion is key to good health. When agni is imbalanced, digestive problems start to appear.

Improper digestion creates ama (toxins) in the body. Ama is the root cause of many diseases. Ayurveda says that your stomach, your digestive system, is the root of your body. If the root is strong, things are in order. If our digestion is imbalanced, diseases can develop.

Our wrong eating habits imbalance our agni. Everybody tries to eat good, healthy foods. But sometimes we don’t take our food on time. We don’t drink enough liquids. And maybe in couple of years, we start experiencing digestive issues.

Eight tips from Ayurveda for balanced digestion

Here are few tips to keep your agni and, ultimately, your digestion balanced.

1. Drink 2 liters (67.6 oz.) of water every day

Ayurveda recommends drinking four glasses of water on an empty stomach. And during the day it’s advised that you drink one glass of water every one and half hours.

The proper way of drinking water is to take one glass of warm water and drink it slowly sip by sip and finish it. Don’t just take a few sips now and a few more again after 5–10 minutes, because that will imbalance the digestive fire. Always drink warm water. Avoid cold and chilled things.

2. Always eat seasonal foods

Always eat fresh, cooked, and warm foods that are in season. Eat at regular mealtimes. Eat slowly.

Don’t freeze or store food for future consumption. Fresh, cooked food is alkaline. Stored food becomes acidic. So, follow the wisdom of nature, and eat foods that are in season.

3. Eat regularly, but not too frequently

Never skip breakfast. Your body, especially your brain, needs fuel in the morning. Food is fuel. There should be at least a 4-hour gap between two meals. The only exceptions to this advice are kids, old, and sick people.

4. Eat the right foods at the right time

Your food should be digested before going to bed because your body slows down when you’re asleep. Eat at least 2 hours before going to bed. Eat heavier foods in the middle of the day and lighter, easy-to-digest foods in the evening.

Avoid spicy, cold, fermented, and frozen foods. Always eat freshly cooked food.

5. Leave room for digestion

Don’t fill up your stomach. This Ayurvedic shlokha tells you how much to eat:

POORTE ASHNAINA ARADHA TRITYA UDKENTU
VAYO SANCHNNARTHA CHATURTH AVASHESHYAT

“One should fill half his stomach with food and
leave one-quarter for water and one-quarter for movement of air.” 

6. Exercise regularly

Walk and exercise regularly. As they say: “After lunch, rest a while, and after dinner, walk a mile.”

7. Spice it up

Drink ginger tea. Add cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and cumin. Add ajwayan and turmeric to your food. Keep in mind that everything should be used in moderation.

Ayurveda uses foods, herbs, and spices as medicine. This shlokha sums it up: 

VINAAPI BHAISHJYAEVIDHUI PATHYADEV NIRVARTATE
NA TU PATHYA VAHINSAYA BHAISHAJANANM SHTRRRAI

“No medicine is required by a person who carefully follows the prescribed diet guidelines. But who does not follow the diet principles cannot be helped even by hundreds of medicines.”

8. Follow Ayurveda’s daily habit recommendations

Follow Ayurveda’s dinacharya, or daily habit recommendations, to help keep your body in balance and, ultimately, free from disease.

Ayurveda helps you stay healthy and return to balance when your doshas go out of balance. It works with lifestyle, diet, and herbal remedies among other things to better your digestion. Please check with your doctor or health care provider before using any ideas mentioned in this article.

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about the author

N.K. Dutta, DNM, CAP, is Surrey BC Canada based Ayurvedic Vaidya. His main objective is to educate and raise awareness in human beings about Ayurveda in the world. He has more than 40 years of experience in Ayurveda. www.ayurvediccure.co

Myra Lewin: Achieving Success in Business and in Life

An interview with Myra Lewin, CAP AYT, Bali, Indonesia

by Maria Radloff

Is it possible to have a successful, thriving Ayurveda and Yoga business for over twenty-three years? Myra Lewin, NAMACB board certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and Ayurveda Yoga Therapist of Hale Pule Ayurveda and Yoga, has established that it not only is possible, but also can be done in a way that fosters self-preservation and balance.

I spoke with my Myra, who currently resides in a village outside of Ubud on the island of Bali. I could hear the tropical birds singing as we spoke on Zoom about how she was denied re-entry to her new residence in New Zealand due to the Covid-19 lockdown. When asked how this situation affected her business, she stated that many of the in-person trainings such as chef trainings and treatment trainings had already been cancelled due to Covid-19, but because her entire clientele was now online, moving locations was something that could be done with ease. Before coming to New Zealand, Myra had developed a beautiful Yoga and Ayurveda practice in Hawaii over the span of twenty years, in which 80 percent of the business was offered in person.

Being online has simplified her business and allows her to reach a global population, including people in pockets of the world that would never otherwise have access to her services. Although her business is more profitable, the struggle now is monitoring time spent at the computer since she has seen the effects on her body from sitting at a desk all day. Seven hours is tolerable, but on some days, the hours at her computer can get up to ten! She looks forward to returning to in-person clients and trainings by the end of the year.

Growing up in rural Tennessee, Myra enjoyed working on and racing cars, crafting with wood, and teaching. She got her first car at fourteen! She explored a career in manufacturing and distribution, but after ten years, the details of her true path began to unfold. She had been teaching Yoga and Ayurveda daily, doing workshops, and seeing clients since 1996, but based on an astrologer’s suggestions, she moved to the Hawaiian Islands, and felt the push to begin her full-time Yoga and Ayurveda business, even though it’s not what she ever expected she would do.

A beloved grandfather had shared words of wisdom about work and life with her, stating that those two things should co-exist. And from that inspiration, Hale Pule (“House of Prayer”) was launched in her Hawaiian home, allowing Myra to create a sanctuary for both herself and the clients she was serving.

So what are the secrets to Myra’s success?

Running a small business isn’t easy. It requires a major investment of time and energy, and there are sacrifices to be made. Attempting to become an entrepreneur can turn a person’s life upside down—leading to eating fast food on the run, not exercising, letting relationships fall apart, and definitely not making time for yoga practices. It’s almost a death sentence for some. But here is Myra, twenty-three years later, looking healthy and radiant, just going with where the universe takes her business and her.

1. Create a foundation assembled of practices that support you.

What does a normal “day at the office” look like for Myra? Since she has fully integrated her work and personal life, she starts her day early with her own practices. Unless she is catching an early flight or feeling sick, which only happens once every five to seven years, she never misses the meditation or pranayama segments of her daily yoga routine. She insists that having this foundation is critical to well-being and success. The rest of her day is filled with consults, administrative work, and team meetings. And she always finds time to cook simple meals and take a walk.

Before moving to Hawaii, Myra dabbled in Iyengar yoga, but soon switched to Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga when a friend suggested she needed a breathier practice. Working her way through Patthabi Jois’s first three series, she to this day draws from the Ashtanga practice.

Investing deeply in her foundation, she studied with Richard Freeman in Colorado, as well as trekking around the world to Mysore, India, to study with the creator himself, Sri Patthabi Jois. She was willing to share some funny stories of practicing with some of these master teachers, which all seem to take place in small spaces!

She met a lovely German fellow at the original Mysore Ashtanga yoga shala, which held only twelve people. Imagine a hot, sticky room, filled to capacity with moving bodies, sweating onto mats. The German gloated about his healthy, all-cabbage diet—from both his mouth and, well, the other end.

The other story takes place at Tim Miller’s shala in Carlsbad, California. A traditional Ashtanga Mysore practice lines up practitioners in two rows, facing each other. While getting into garbha pindasana, Myra found herself doing a complete summersault out of the posture, rolling into the row across from her. Ashtanga yoga practice is good for not only building strength and flexibility, but also serving up a nice dose of humility.

A beautiful lesson that Myra enjoyed sharing with me was that you can’t rush or force things in life, regardless of how enticing they may be. Only a couple of months into her deep dive into the Ashtanga yoga system, she had hopped into an advanced class that her mind loved, but her nervous system simply wasn’t ready for. After the practice, a friend found her sitting outside on the sidewalk, noticing something was wrong, making it clear there is no fast-tracking one’s yoga practice. To this day, Myra continues to practice a true vinyasa (slow connection of the poses with the thread of the breath) from Ashtanga yoga, modified to meet her body’s balancing needs.

From her own experience in going too far, too fast, she instructs her yoga clients to practice from the inside out. She asks them to focus inward, with full attention on the body, energy, and mental state rather than what is going on around them. She encourages a challenging practice yet not going beyond your limit. One of the most prominent trends she has seen in yoga is pushing too hard and over-practicing, causing depletion and injuries.

2. Manage your energy from the inside out. 

This takes us to another important secret of success—managing one’s energy. I inquired about how she manages to fit in her own practices, cook her meals, and keep up with work, even on the craziest of days. She laughed and said she doesn’t allow herself to have crazy days. She can’t afford the vata vitiation that gets stirred up from over-scheduling or trying to do too much. She values a steady day that chugs along at a comfortable, peaceful pace. She even takes this ideology with her on trips to Japan, where—although she believes that Tokyo is the fastest place on the planet—she maintains steadiness and good measure. Anything is possible when you take the time to prioritize, stay with the plan, and be a bit flexible.

We all must plan and prioritize our activities in this busy world, which offers so many interesting opportunities and enticing choices! Because it is easy to derail with distractions, one must be focused and not tempted to chase down and invest precious time into things that aren’t on the priority list. To illustrate, she shared a story of a client who offered to teach her 250 mantras. While she was amazed and enchanted that somebody could maintain such a lovely collection of chants, Myra instantly knew that her three to four chants were sufficient for her practice and was then able to strategically decline the tempting offer. It’s important to value experiences and practical application of knowledge rather than constantly collecting data and information.

This is another trend that she sees seducing humanity—trying to do too much. Without having a conscious understanding of one’s priorities, how can the right choices be made? She sees that overscheduled children will face imbalances as they grow up from not having the discernment to turn away exciting opportunities that sidetrack them from their true goals. This will exhaust them at an early age, depleting their ojas and vitality.

Throughout the day, Myra doesn’t let the outside world dictate the inside pace of her life. There is no need to succumb to panic from others if one can remain focused on the schedule and priorities set for the day. Energy management starts with having a clear vision of what the priorities are and making choices to support them, rather than becoming distracted. It’s okay to let everything else go.

A peek inside Myra’s successful business

Myra loves watching trends. Living in Hawaii, she watched the tourists as they ate in the local restaurants. Over the years, she saw their health declining as modern eating habits increasingly diverged from sustainable lifestyles. She constantly sees eating fads in the news and uses all this information to educate her clients on how to eat without falling victim to these modern trends.

When I asked Myra if she had any advice for new NAMA Professional Members, she offered that you need to remain attuned to the reasons why you chose this path in the first place. What is in your heart? Make your choices from the inside out. Stay focused. Clear the limiting beliefs that hold you back. 

1. Health starts in the kitchen.

This is illustrated in Myra’s desire to heal those who have fallen victim to poor eating habits. She follows her heart, not getting distracted by all the other problems in the world. A yoga teacher once instructed her to make cooking a part of her yoga practice. At the time she was not one who enjoyed cooking, let alone cleaning up afterwards!

 Myra grew up learning to cook a bit from her mother since they lived in a rural area and eating out wasn’t convenient. She learned just enough that she was able to serve up an entire Thanksgiving meal when she was eight because her mom had fallen sick that day. But it wasn’t until Myra dove into Ayurveda that her cooking skills solidified enough to author two cookbooks.

Before Ayurveda really hit the U.S., there were only two Ayurvedic cookbooks available: Amadea Morningstar’s The Ayurvedic Cookbook and Dr. Vasant Lad’s Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing, which focused mainly on Indian cuisine. While these books were helpful introductions, it wasn’t until she got to peek into some kitchens in India that she had some aha moments. 

Myra produced two books on Ayurvedic eating and cooking. The first, Freedom in Your Relationship with Food: An Everyday Guide (2008), was written as a transitional book since Ayurveda hadn’t quite found its way into the mainstream yet. The book covers how to eat in a style that is still familiar to people in Western cultures, but gently introduces Ayurvedic practices. It also offers recipes that are accessible to those living in the West. 

Her second book, Simple Ayurvedic Recipes: A Companion Cookbook to Freedom in Your Relationship with Food (Simple Ayurvedic Cooking) (2011) focuses more on recipes based on her own simple everyday cooking—nothing fancy, just meals that are tasty and fulfilling. Rather than including photos of the food, Myra left the task of visualization to her readers’ imagination so they could create their own dishes, not recreate hers. Everyone has a different kitchen, a different environment, and a different body to feed, so food should be personalized, just like everything else in Ayurveda.

I was curious about her favorite flavors and spices, and when I asked her about them, she noted that we should be wary of our favorites because those preferences can indicate an imbalance. But to play along with my question, she did offer that she loves a nice blend of cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla, as well as the pairing up of rosemary and ginger. She loves having access to fresh cilantro and coriander in Bali, too. Her advice when it comes to spicing is to begin with three spices plus salt, until you get familiar with some tasty blends and can begin creatively expanding your own master mixes.

Regardless of cooking skills, love is always the most important ingredient. Sharing meals with friends and family is a wonderful expression of this love, and it supports a connection with one’s self, the other dinner guests, and nature. Having grown up in a large family, Myra cautions against bringing the day’s drama to the dinner table, suggesting that we just keep the conversation light and enjoyable. Having some meals in complete silence connects us with the food and eating process.

2. Yoga and Ayurveda must be used together.

While practicing yoga helps us better understand ourselves as eternal, Ayurveda heals us from the disease stemming from our disconnection from this truth. An understanding of the holistic nature of using yoga and Ayurveda together for healing explodes the old way of viewing things, and as one’s thinking evolves, incredible changes take place. This allows life to get fabulous! Peak results are derived.

I asked her which topic in Ayurveda was her favorite to discuss with her students. She expressed how much she enjoys discussing the six stages of disease with them because they begin to observe their own symptoms and how imbalances evolve, so they can then take steps to reverse the disease process.

As one of the the early disciples of the integration of yoga and Ayurveda in the U.S, Myra grew up with access to master teachers who greatly inspired her, such as David Frawley, Robert Svoboda, Patricia Hansen, and Sarasvati Burman. Now that she is a master teacher herself, I wondered what advice she would offer a student seeking to embark on a new Ayurveda program. She suggested first getting clear on the why, visualizing how he or she wants to work with clients, and how that might show up in his or her life. For example, at what level would the student like to practice? It’s important not to get hung up on titles. Some individuals may excel as a health coach or counselor and would thrive in community education and assisting individuals with healthy daily routines. Others might be talented in treating diseases and imbalances or in developing custom yoga practices and behavioral and mental therapies.

When researching educational programs, it’s prudent to consider both the academics and practical experience of working directly with clients. Teaching students the principles of these disciplines in classes without demonstrating their application cheats them of a vital part of their training. Myra includes this integration of knowledge with the experience in all her training programs.

The hard parts of business 

It would be unfair to say that running a business is as easy as Myra makes it look. I had to know where she got hung up! The first thing she mentioned was marketing. This wasn’t a skill she developed in her previous business career since advertising was actually frowned upon in her industry. She had to begin from scratch, which was okay, because everyone was starting from scratch as the internet was just emerging in the mid to late nineties, perfect timing for her business, which opened in 1999. Honoring the flow, she accepted the resources that showed up when she needed them, nudging her toward developing a website and helping her to bring it to fruition. As online publishing gained momentum, she had to face her introverted personality and begin the process of posting photos and videos. She set out to prove that the integrated practice of yoga and Ayurveda is not just a fad, but a potent approach to healing and living.

If there is one thing to conclude from all of Myra’s advice, it’s to be naturally driven from within, which empowers creative choice. Design a marketing strategy from a place in your heart rather than being led around by external surroundings and circumstances. You should allow your marketing to express who you are. This authenticity will get people’s attention and allow them to receive and understand your message and will ultimately generate the results you are seeking.

Besides marketing, Myra finds administrative tasks somewhat burdensome and difficult. As technology develops, the simplest things become complex. These administrative tasks also require more hours at the computer, which continue to pile up these days.

Other than that, business for Myra has been enjoyable and a bit of an adventure. By maintaining her foundation built from supportive practices and by managing her daily energy from within, built around a list of priorities, she has found success both in her business activities, but more important, in her pursuit of overall happiness and well-being.

The future of Ayurveda in the West

As a Professional Member of NAMA, Myra values the many benefits of membership, like connecting with other members, making lifetime friends, and feeling supported in her work, as well as enjoying continuing education with monthly seminars. She’s no stranger to the annual conferences and loves to buy the recordings when she can’t attend in person.

Speaking about her vision of what is possible practicing Ayurveda in the U.S., she notes the importance of healthcare freedom laws. She hates to see limitations on the way Ayurveda is practiced and wishes that the rest of the states would follow the lead of the eleven states that have already embraced freedom in healthcare choices. She is concerned the practice of Ayurveda could get diluted when used within our current medical system, especially if it becomes commercialized. She yearns to see Ayurveda practiced to its full extent as a comprehensive system of knowledge and healing and feels that great education is the key.

To learn more about Myra and her Yoga and Ayurveda services, please visit Hale Pule.

About the Author

Maria Radloff is currently a student at Kerala Ayurveda Academy and practices and teaches Ashtanga Yoga and Sanskrit. Besides her passion for yoga, she loves design and writing and works as a graphic designer, specializing in non-profits and yoga businesses.

Dr. Anu is Helping to Grow and Expand Global Awareness of Ayurveda

One of the foremost leaders in the field of Ayurveda, Dr. Anu is helping to grow and expand global awareness of Ayurveda. I sat down with her in February to discuss her inspiring travels around the world.

In October 2019 Dr. Anu traveled to China for the World Traditional Medicine Forum. Here is a brief description of her time there.

I was honored to receive an invitation to participate in the Shanghai Forum for World Traditional Medicine as a representative from the field of Ayurveda. Experts from Germany, Japan, Thailand, the USA, China, Australia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, along with three international organizations, were there to discuss the latest developments in traditional medicine and international standardization of traditional complementary medicine in their home countries and their region of the world. During the last part of the trip, I had the opportunity to visit a few temples in Shanghai. These experiences made my time in China very special.

 What did you find most interesting about the forum?

[I was very amazed ] by the progress of  traditional medicine in other countries. It was interesting to learn how these traditional healing arts are practiced in some of these countries and how they have been integrated into the main healthcare system. I was proud to represent Ayurveda at this conference. We are also at the forefront of this resurgence of traditional medicine. Ayurveda is one of the oldest  medical systems in the world and a fully developed approach to healthcare in India, and it has been growing globally over the past few decades. 

What were your takeaways from the forum?

Understanding how other systems of medicine, like Chinese Medicine, have gained acceptance worldwide helps me envision how Ayurveda can achieve the same. The biggest difference with Chinese Medicine is that Chinese scientists have been successful in promoting its practice with evidence-based research, while Ayurveda is still in the process of doing so. We need to conduct more pharmacoepidemiological studies documenting the safety and effectiveness of Ayurvedic  medicine. Different systems of medicine can learn how to progress and grow from each other. 

You have also traveled to Japan; can you tell me about that?

Since few years, I have been travelling to Japan to give a talk at Japan school of Ayurveda and this time I also got the invitation to give a lecture organized by Tokyo University, and Nihon Pharmaceuticals university. While I was there, I also taught an introduction to Ayurveda at a yoga center. Ayurveda is gaining popularity in Japan. Its educational aspect is the primary focus of interest in that country. Over the last 10–20 years, a few clinics in other healthcare modalities have introduced Ayurvedic approaches to wellness. It is very interesting to see that few Ayurvedic research studies were also conducted there. Since aging populations are a major concern in Japan, medical providers there are more interested in the practical application of Ayurvedic strategies for preventing disease and optimizing health.

Can you tell me about your participation in the World Health Organization’s benchmark development meeting?

 It was a great honor to be part of the World Health Organization meeting on benchmarking documents for the practice of Ayurveda, Panchakarma, and Unani. There were 53 members from different countries who participated in this meeting. I truly enjoyed working with this team, and I am so proud to see the growth of Ayurveda globally! 

The WHO is currently taking an active role in developing global training, practice, and educational standards for Ayurveda, and I was glad to be able to represent the U.S. in discussions toward that end.

To what do you attribute the current surge in interest in establishing global standards for Ayurveda? 

The Indian Government is putting a lot of effort into the development and growth of Ayurveda worldwide. In India, AYSUH is collaborating with the WHO to establish consistently rigorous standards for Ayurveda practice and education globally. I believe that we are on the right path, though it may take some time to develop and implement these standards. Once our profession is firmly grounded in standards that ensure the safety, quality, and effectiveness of our services, Ayurveda will gain increased acceptance and respect around the world . 

What are your goals for the future of Ayurveda?

My dream is to see Ayurveda as a mainstream practice in U.S. Though this may take time, we need to start doing groundwork for this. I believe that this ancient medicine has so much value. It is a time-tested medicine practiced for thousands of years. Recent studies in modern medicine indicate the importance  of diet, sleep, and exercise for health promotion and disease management, a concept that emerged thousands of years ago in Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a complete science, but it is not yet very well known to the world, so we have to educate others about this profound healing science of life—Ayurveda. 

Do you have any advice for new practitioners?

It can be overwhelming when you are starting out, because of the need to master the specific language, terminology, and extensive knowledge base of Ayurveda. In the U.S. the number of educational hours required for graduation from Ayurvedic programs is increasing, and this is very important and good for the students. Do not give up; have commitment to and a passion for learning Ayurveda. Practice in a genuine way, without relying on shortcuts. Our profession is growing with more and more  clients seeking care from Ayurvedic professionals. Protect the profession while practicing and teaching. Strict ethical standards need to be followed. Understand your limitations and the scope of your practice, pursue continuing education, and read the classical texts. I also feel that we need to learn to speak in a shared language that makes Ayurveda understandable to everyone. Ayurveda is a patient-centered, customized approach to healthcare for individuals and families, as well as an all-encompassing way of life. The unique value of Ayurveda lies in consciousness-based practices that nurture health in body, mind, and spirit and that promote balance in every aspect of our life. A balanced and peaceful state of mind is a key aspect of well-being. Ayurveda has taught me to value community, family, relationships, love, compassion, and peace. Its lessons inform my belief that we must all join hands with each other because our future depends on a community that stays together. A strong, united community will guide the mission, vision, and growth of Ayurveda. 

Your work is currently receiving international recognition. Which awards have meant the most to you?

I am extremely honored and humbled to have received the Sheikh Zayed International Award for Ayurveda in Abu Dhabi. This award bears the name of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a visionary statesman who dedicated his life to laying a solid foundation for a progressive society that benefits everyone. The award aims to create, recognize, and reward excellence in traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine. 

The APHA ICTHP service award for outstanding leadership, service, and dedication to integrative complementary and traditional health practices also means a great deal to me.

 Another award that I cherish came from the SoCaL Kerala Ladies: the 2020 Surya Prabha Women Achievers Award for outstanding contribution in the field of Ayurvedic medicine.

I dedicate all these awards to my family, teachers, friends, students, and the Almighty. These honors make me more determined than ever to dedicate my life to Ayurveda. Ayurveda has been practiced for thousands of years. As the adoption of this powerful healing system continues to spread around the globe, the ancient science of Ayurveda now promises to become one of the most valuable contributions to the future of modern healthcare. 

Anupama (Anu) Kizhakkeveettil, BAMS (Ayurveda), MAOM, L.Ac., CMT, C-IAYT, Ph.D.

Dr. Anupama (Anu) Kizhakkeveettil is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, licensed acupuncturist, and certified yoga teacher. She is a professor and Program Director of Ayurvedic Medicine at Southern California University of Health Sciences. She serves as Board Director for National Ayurvedic Medical Association and California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine. She also serves as president of Athreya Herbs.

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About Author

Anjali Deva, AP

Anjali Deva is an Ayurvedic practitioner, writer & teacher in Los Angeles. Her private practice Rooted Rasa specializes in understanding anxiety, depression, PTSD, digestive disorders and women’s health. Anjali has been greatly fortunate to have been introduced to Ayurveda at a young age by her father and mentor Arun Deva. 

BAMS In the U.S.A

Over the past 40 years, many graduates with a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree, as well as BAMS MD, have come to the U.S. We owe a great deal to these individuals and are very fortunate for the risks they have taken and challenges they have overcome in bringing Ayurveda to the west.

We can consider these generous souls to be our Ayurvedic godmothers and godfathers as many were our first teachers, offering short courses and introductions to Ayurveda. As their students increased in number and dedication, many began to teach more formally. Historically, this is how many of our current Ayurveda schools were founded. It is because of the dedication of these early leaders and teachers that Americans leapt into the sacred waters of Ayurveda and began to study in earnest.

It is not an easy task to introduce a new system of medicine into a completely different culture. It has taken these pioneers of Ayurveda several years in order to be comfortable enough to talk about and share their wisdom. They have had to acclimate themselves by examining our western culture, the environments in which we live, the foods we eat, and our ways of being in order to appropriately apply the principles of Ayurveda to our western world. Through their own personal studies of the American culture, they have succeeded in translating Ayurveda into not only the English language, but also the western culture as a whole.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to presume that all immigrants with a B.A.M.S. have had this kind of exposure to and education about the U.S. To practice or teach Ayurveda here, it is essential to understand the laws pertinent to practicing as a health care professional – licensed or otherwise. Currently, it is not legal to practice the full scope of Ayurveda here in the United States as it is in India. Considering that 40 out of 50 states do not have health freedom legislation, anyone residing in those states and practicing Ayurveda must understand their legal limitations and take the appropriate steps to protect themselves and their practice.

Much of what Ayurvedic doctors and B.A.M.S. professionals practice in India is not legal here. There are many herbs, treatments and procedures that simply cannot be offered. In many states, Ayurvedic professionals can only work as Ayurvedic educators within the realm of diet and lifestyle. This, of course, limits the scope of practice that many B.A.M.S. graduates have been taught.

Equally important for those relocating to the United States is taking the time to learn the language, the types of foods people eat, and the American lifestyle. It is difficult for Americans to understand recommendations that do not apply to their environment and lifestyle. Often these interactions end up being ineffective and clients walk away discouraged and confused.

In conventional medicine, doctors emigrating from other countries are required to meet U.S. medical school standards, which often requires returning to school and passing a series of tests before they are allowed to practice as an M.D. Although this is not expected for B.A.M.S. immigrants, it is encouraged that a period of education and acclimation be considered before entering into an American practice.

Recommendations for Recent BAMS Immigrants 

1. Join NAMA as a professional member. This will provide many levels of support and education that you may need as well as connect you with a community of Ayurvedic professionals including members with B.A.M.S. degrees that have experience practicing in the United States.

2. Take time to polish your English conversational skills.

3. Find a local NAMA member to mentor you. Shadow them for a while to get comfortable with American customs and attitudes.

4. Take Professional Ayurvedic Continuing Education (PACE) courses for topics in which you may need additional training or study.