2020 Call for Conference Presenters

Want to be a conference presenter at the 2020 NAMA Annual conference? We are now accepting applications. The theme for this year is Ayurveda & Spirituality, hosted at the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina. We kindly ask you to please read the guidelines on our website with care before submitting your presentation application. 

Submission deadline is July 31, 2019.  Any submissions after that time will not be reviewed. If you have any challenges with your submission, please e-mail arya@ayurvedanama.org

Thank you,
2020 Conference Committee

Members, Cast your Vote Today!

The slate for NAMA’s 2019 Board of Directors election has eight candidates for just four openings. Your vote is needed. Please cast your vote today for those you want to lead NAMA and the Ayurvedic profession forward.

The voting process consists of ballots made available to each NAMA member of record in good standing as of June 1, 2019. A minimum of 25 percent of the membership must vote for the election to be considered valid. You can only vote once. Voting ends Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. PDT. To access the ballot and read their statements to you, the membership, you must first log in to your NAMA account. Access your ballot here.

If you need help logging in, please contact NAMA nama@ayurvedanama.org

Thank you,
2019 Elections Committee

Congratulations Maine! Maine Now a Health Freedom State.

Great news! On June 11, Maine passed into law LD 364, “An Act to Establish the Right to Practice Complementary and Alternative Health Care Act”.  The new law will protect Maine citizen’s access to their many wonderful practitioners such as homeopaths, herbalists, traditional naturopaths, nutritional consultants, and many more, who are providing complementary and alternative health care. Maine now joins ten other states that have passed safe harbor licensing exemption bills to protect consumer access to these practitioners (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island).

Click Here to access the bill language.

New Banyan Botanicals Grant Program!

Our friends at Banyan Botanicals have a special announcement to share with the NAMA community:
 
Announcing BanyanBotanicals New Community Grant Program!

Are you, your organization, or your business making an impact in your community through Ayurveda? For years, we have heard incredible stories about people serving disadvantaged populations within their communities through the power of Ayurveda.

Through the new Banyan Botanicals Community Grant Fund, we will award community grants to a select number of projects that share Ayurveda with people in need. We are moved and humbled by this work, and we’re honored and excited to offer financial and product support to help make these types of projects a reality! Learn more about our Community Grant Fund.

Do You Have Fundraising Experience?

The Strategic Planning and Fundraising Committee is seeking new members to join our committee. We are looking for individuals who have direct fundraising experience, preferably with a non-profit, and an appetite for raising money!  If this is you, we'd love to talk with you. Please contact our Membership Manager, Jolynne at jolynne@ayurvedanama.org.

About your PACE Credit Submissions!

Professional Members:
 
Thank you for your commitment to Ayurvedic professionalism and the NAMA professional Ayurvedic community. As you know, 2019 is a critical year for meeting your requirements for continuing education. 

The deadline for Professional Ayurvedic Continuing Education (PACE) credits for the current cycle (2018–2019) and the previous cycle (2016–2017) is December 31, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. There will be no grace period. Therefore, if your PACE credits are not submitted correctly by this deadline, you will lose your NAMA professional membership and your certification will lapse.
 
We don’t want this to happen! 
 
We appreciate your membership, the quality of work you do and want to honor your efforts to advance the Ayurvedic profession. 
 
Types of Acceptable Credits
 
Here are some guidelines to help you better understand PACE, what counts for PACE credit, and what evidence is needed to ensure you gain the credit you seek (1 CEU = 1 contact hour).
 
Ethics Quiz
 
Professional Members must pass an Ethics Quiz each PACE cycle. If you’re not sure what you’ve earned or completed so far, see how to find out in Q1 in the PACE REQUIREMENTS FAQ. You can access the Ethics Quizzes from the PACE page. 
 
Topics in Ayurveda (TIA)–Acceptable courses include Ayurvedic practice management, client support, therapies, cooking, and research.
 
2018–2019 Cycle
You may earn up to 28 TIA credits.
 
2016–2017 Cycle
AHC members may earn up to 18 TIA credits.
AP and AD members may earn up to 38 TIA credits.
 
Written evidence required for credit: certificate of completion from the course or a formal letter/email from the school/instructor that provided the course, including the number of hours in the course.
 
Topics in Wellness (TIW)–Acceptable courses include health topics outside Ayurveda, such as yoga, Western herbalism, Chinese Medicine, and CPR.  
 
2018–2019 Cycle
You may earn up to 9 TIW credits per cycle. 
 
2016–2017 Cycle
AHC members may earn up to 6 TIW credits.
AP and AD members may earn up to 12 TIW credits.
 
Written evidence required for credit: certificate of completion from the course or a formal letter/email from the school/instructor that provided the course, including the number of hours in the course.
 
Research – These credits are reserved for those who have conducted research that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. You may earn up to 15 Research credits per cycle.  
 
Written evidence required: link to the peer-reviewed journal in which your work has been published.
 
Teaching – These credits are reserved for those who have taught advanced-level courses in Ayurveda. Members who teach foundation courses in Ayurveda for the general public do not accrue credit (though NAMA very much appreciates the availability of these teachings!) You may earn up to 15 teaching credits per cycle.  
 
Written evidence required: a contract between teacher and school/teaching institution. List of course attendees, including the names of two students that we can contact for a reference. (Please confirm their willingness to  provide a reference).
 
Seminars in Ayurveda–For those of you who haven’t earned enough continuing education credits and need a few extra or are on a tight budget, NAMA offers Seminars in Ayurveda courses, which can be accessed online by logging in to your professional membership page.  Listen to the Seminars, take the survey, and earn your PACE CEUs!

Proper Submissions
 
For credit submissions, make sure that the evidence of your course completion is valid. We will not approve PACE submissions that do not have sufficient proof of completion.
 
For further information on how many credits you need and how many credit you have earned, please refer to our comprehensive FAQs here (PDF) or here (Website) 
 
Submit Your Credits Now
 
If you need individualized attention to ensure your PACE credits are complete, please email sophia@ayurvedanama.orgnow (please allow 2–5 days for a response, as she is processing many requests). 
 
Given that we’re now serving nearly 1,000 Professional Members, the best way to ensure we can help you in time is to ask your questions now rather than waiting till later in the year.
 
Let’s keep our PACE up, and continue to enhance the quality of the Ayurvedic profession and share your knowledge around the world!  

2019 Board of Directors Elections Call for Nominee

Submit your Nomination by May 31st!
It is that time again! The 2019 Board Elections is underway. To be considered as a nominee in the upcoming election for the NAMA Board of Directors, please read the requirements below, complete the application, and provide supporting documents through the application link by Tuesday, May 31, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Pacific.  

Nominees eligible for consideration for election are NAMA members with active memberships as of May 31, 2019, who meet the following three requirements as stated in the bylaws:

• Member of NAMA for at least one year

• Resident of the U.S. (living here a minimum of 183 days in a calendar year)

• Actively participating in the activities of a committee, subcommittee, or work group now or at any time during the past two (2) years

Members may also nominate another current NAMA member. 

Completed applications and supporting documents must be submitted online by 6:00 p.m. Pacific, Tuesday, May 31, 2019. No applications will be accepted after that time. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. 

2019 NAMA Conference Podcast from session of Ayurveda Yoga Therapy for Stilling the Mind

Amy Wheeler shares information from her presentation at the NAMA conference and also her other notes from the conference which focused on Ayurveda and the Mind. She shares the following:

• Amy's presentation titled 'Ayurveda Yoga Therapy for Stilling the Mind' - we constantly experience thoughts, feelings and sensations that can disrupt our concentration and disturb our peace of mind. Both Ayurveda and Yoga give us the tools that turn our minds away from chaos and rigidity and toward one-pointed attention, the hallmark of an undisturbed mind. 

• Dr. Ramkumar Kutty's presentation on 'Ayurveda and the Mind'. Amy explains how Dr. Ramkumar spoke about our heightened sense of 'I' and how it's the source of our suffering as it's creating individualism and how we need to move from 'I' to 'We' in order to suffer less.

NAMA has a New Phone Number

Please make a note of NAMA's new phone number. If you have NAMA's phone number in your address book, please update it too (213) 628-6291. 

Podcast of the 2019 NAMA Conference

Colette from the Elements of Ayurveda Podcast attends the National Ayurveda Medical Association (NAMA) annual conference whose 2019 theme is 'Ayurveda and the Mind'. She gives us an insight into the conference and speaks with some of the presenters along with sponsors and attendees. Listen here!