FEBRUARY 2008 POST-GRADUATE CLINICAL PRACTICUM in INDIA with Dr. Shekhar Annambhotla - Click Here

FULL PRACTITIONER COURSE NOW AVAILABLE IN DISTANCE LEARNING FORMAT
Specialized Courses: Ayurvedic Herbalism, Ayurvedic Nutrition & Certified Ayurvedic Esthetician - Click Here

Welcome to the New Jersey Institute of Ayurveda!

..... For thousands of years, since before written alphabets and settled agriculture were "new-fangled" things, the peoples and cultures of India have been among the world's most astute observers of nature. Over countless generations, since before India's sacred scriptures, the Vedas, were composed, the scholars and seers of that ancient country set about compiling the results of their observations of the natural world and their practical application.

One of the objects of their most intensive study was the human body: specifically, the means for maintaining its good working order, and the means for its cure when it fell victim to disease or injury. The totality of the knowledge gained from their millennia-spanning study is known in Sanskrit as "Ayurveda" or in English, the "science of lfe." Strictly speaking, then, the word Ayurveda translates as "biology."

Ayurveda, or ayurvedic medicine, is a holistic tradition of medicine from India that uses a systemic, and highly complex, model of health, disease and health restoration. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding diet, hygiene and lifestyle so that healthy individuals can stay healthy and those with health challenges can improve their health. Ayurveda stresses the usefulness of natural therapies, such as massage, herbal medicines, exercise and other physical modalities, as well as psychological and spiritual counseling. Ayurveda has also evolved a highly elaborate system of diagnosis based upon physical observation and individual medical and family histories. Throughout India, and in countries within its sphere of cultural influence, Ayurvedic medicine is taught in universities and medical colleges on an equal footing with western medicine, and qualifications for licensure in both disciplines are similar.

Ayurveda first came to the North American continent with the wave of Indian immigration in the 1960's and 1970's, to whom its practice was largely confined until the mid 1980's. At that time, Ayurveda was brought to the attention of the larger community and to the attention of the medical profession and the healing community through the indefatigable pioneering efforts of several well-known practitioners. Today Ayurveda is increasingly one of the more widely known forms of traditional healing. Critical to its success in the western hemisphere has been the fact that Ayurvedic medicine has earned respect as a scientifically valid medical system around the world, and has been called by the UN's World Health Organization "an invaluable part of humankind's medical heritage and an important tool in the service and promotion of global health."

There is both a thirst for Ayurvedic knowledge and a crying need for Ayurvedic practitioners in the West today. When health care systems fall into disrepair and fail, when medical care becomes unaffordable and out of reach of ordinary citizens, then clearly an alternative is needed - and Ayurveda has been just such an effective and affordable presence for centuries.

Founded upon an appreciation for the interconnectedness of the human mind, body and spirit and the connection between the individual and the cosmos, the art and science of Ayurveda is quickly coming to be viewed as an important health care option in the West. Complementary healing - in all its myriad forms - is one of the fastest growing professional fields today, and holistic medicine is viewed by many as an important part of the solution to the rising incidence of chronic disease and the dramatically increasing cost of health care.

Well-trained Ayurvedic practitioners will have a wide array of options for using their training in the field of healing and education. Ayurvedic practitioners will have the choice of entering private practice or joining other practitioners, teaching Ayurvedic principles to the public, supervising institutionally-delivered forms of Ayurvedic therapy, teaching at Ayurvedic colleges, or conducting workshops and seminars. Ayurvedic practitioners who are already health care providers may use their Ayurvedic training to enhance their current health care practice. Graduates of the New Jersey Institute of Ayurveda's distance learning program - which we believe affords what is among the best independent study training programs outside of India - will have the unique opportunity to decide in what way they will use their education to serve their community and the planet.

We hope that you will consider joining us in bringing the countless blessings and benefits of Ayurveda into the twenty-first century.