9 ways to build a career with Ayurveda

The Ayurvedic industry is an exciting place to be right now. With an increasing demand for Ayurvedic resources and products, pioneers in holistic health can create rewarding careers in a number of traditional ways.

Yet the need for sustainable solutions applies to all of us – no matter what industry we might be in. Thanks to the universal quality of Ayurveda’s philosophy, the possibilities are endless for applying it to your career!

1. Become an Ayurvedic health & wellness professional

In the U.S., the National Ayurvedic Medical Association sets the standards for three levels of Ayurvedic professionals: Health Counselor, Practitioner and Doctor. Each of these professional roles entails a unique scope of practice within which a client-based career can emerge.

As a Health or Wellness Counselor, you can analyze client constitutions, offering lifestyle and nutritional guidance to support your clients in managing health imbalances.

At the Practitioner or Doctor level, you can begin to analyze the stages of disease, offering more targeted guidelines for your clients in managing imbalances that have developed into more serious conditions.

 

2. Apply Ayurveda to your healing practice

Yoga teachers, massage therapists, physical therapists, acupuncturists, herbalists – the list goes on when it comes to alternative health solutions. Ayurveda’s universal nature makes it complementary to each and every one of these modalities, which means it can enhance your existing practice. Applying the client-customized solutions of Ayurveda can transform your services from exceptional to truly life-changing.

 

 

3. Develop or join an integrative medical practice

In addition to complementing alternative health modalities, Ayurveda pairs beautifully with conventional medicine and satisfies the rising demand for personalization in the medical industry. All positions within the medical industry, including physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and health aids can find new solutions and improved results for clients using Ayurvedic knowledge.

 

 

4. Personalize your guidelines as a nutritionist or dietician

One of the primary tools used in Ayurvedic health is diet, and nutritional guidelines are fundamental to the scope of practice of Counselors, Practitioners and Doctors. By analyzing Ayurvedic constitution types and how various foods will impact an individual’s system, nutritionists and dieticians are uniquely positioned to support dramatic improvements in clients’ lives.

 

 

5. Use Ayurvedic philosophy in your counseling or life coaching sessions

Ayurveda recognizes that imbalances occur at all levels – physical, emotional and intellectual. Looking at the whole person includes all aspects of their lives, including relationships, work and hobbies. By applying Ayurvedic physiology and psychology to client sessions, counselors, therapists and life coaches can get to the root of a client’s blockages and challenges, helping them to adjust their lifestyle and goals to match their personal needs, as well as provide natural solutions for managing stress & change.

 

 

6. Add Ayurvedic cooking and nutrition to your food or catering business

Just as the universal principles of Ayurvedic nutrition can be applied to anyone from any background, they can also be applied to any cuisine, not just Indian! Using Ayurvedic principles of cooking creates healthy, balanced meals that are more nourishing, easier to digest and truly satisfying. In today’s fast-paced world, it is difficult for many to affordably eat freshly made food at each meal, though the impact on our health when we can do this is profound. If you have a passion for cooking, the world is waiting at your table!

 

7. Launch or enhance a natural product line

More and more consumers are looking for natural products that are locally sourced. You don’t have to make traditional Ayurvedic products to be inspired by its wisdom & and apply its guidelines to a product line. Beauty products, makeup and food are an excellent place to start, but the sky is the limit!

 

 

8. Incorporate the ancient wisdom in your business consultations & programs

The principles of Ayurveda are truly so universal that they can even be applied to businesses! Whether you deal with small businesses or corporations, you’ll discover a new way of understanding the dynamics of health and balance by analyzing organizations through an Ayurvedic lens.

 

9. Revolutionize your teaching or instruction methods

If you offer educational services, your work involves a high level of connection and intuiting the needs of your students. Understanding the different body and mind constitutions according to Ayurveda and their unique needs can help you learn how to communicate best and set realistic goals and expectations with your students.

 

Remember – the possibilities are truly endless!

 

Want to learn more about career planning with Ayurveda?

View our most recent informational webinar, “Building a Career with Ayurveda”

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15 ways Ayurveda can change your life

Ayurveda is a 5,000 year-old system and still thriving today. Why? It works!

If you’re already a student of Ayurveda, you know first-hand how this profound health science improves your life. But for those of us just starting to crack its surface and contemplating diving deeper into study, the ancient wisdom might seem vast & intimidating.

You may be wondering – what does it accomplish? What makes it special?

 

Here are some of the reasons

 

1. A health system born from Nature

With an Ayurvedic approach, there’s no guessing games when it comes to ethos and philosophy – you know your approach to health is rooted in Nature’s elements and principles, and your solutions will help you to better align with Nature. Ayurveda translates to “the science” (or wisdom, knowledge) of “life” – and this applies to all the life, as we know it, in our Universe.

2. Finally – a broad roadmap to sustainable living

When we align ourselves with Nature, we develop an innate sense of what is sustainable. “Sustainable” is a buzzword we’ve all heard by now, but what does it really mean? According to Ayurveda, anything that taxes the system – that counters the support of life – is unsustainable. We don’t strive for perfection in Ayurveda (for that can cause more stress!), but we do learn to evolve our daily lifestyles and orient ourselves towards the choices which best support all aspects of our lives – physical, mental, emotional health. The result is lasting solutions instead of short term, quick fixes.

 

 

3. Self-empowered health building – own it, live it, love it

Ayurveda provides the tools we need to understand what is health and what can we do to support it. We learn what we can do every day and what decisions we are constantly making which impact our health. Ayurveda calls each and every one of us to take back our power and claim our ability to manifest a healthy life. This doesn’t mean we don’t seek guidance or expert advice – quite the opposite! Ayurveda acknowledges that this is a learning path, and we must honestly admit when we face limitations and take the self-loving steps needed to find support. With the tools of Ayurveda, we can truly take charge of our health.

 

4. Recognition of individual power

Ayurveda helps us learn that what is unsustainable for our minds is also unsustainable in our bodies, which is likely to be unsustainable for our community, for our city, for the planet, and so on. Ayurveda calls each and every one of us to action as empowered proponents of our own individual health, and recognizes that taking care of the self is not selfish – it is also taking care of the whole!

 

5. Total personalization in health

In Ayurveda, there is no one-size-fits-all model. We’re not saying you’re unique to make you feel good – we’re saying it because you actually are! Ayurveda recognizes that humans all have a unique mind-body constitution, and outlines the three basic types of these constitutions which exist: the Triodshas, or Vata-Pitta-Kapha. Ayurvedic study teaches us the nature of these qualities and how to recognize them, so we can uncover how they are manifested in ourselves and define our unique needs.

6. Self-love for your unique mind and body

With Ayurveda’s personalized health system, we learn constitutional qualities or not good are bad – they simply are. We are relieved of self-judgment due to comparing ourselves to others who are different. For example: do you have trouble keeping weight off and have a high amountof Kapha in your constitution? Your inability to lose weight can be partially due to your constitution, not simply an imbalance or flaw. On the slip side: have you always been tremendously thin and could never put weight on? Vata-dominant constitutions are naturally slender and do not absorb weight easily. You can’t change your constitution, but Ayurveda can help you understand what it is, why it’s occurring and how you can manage it best.

 

7. Increased understanding of others and improved relationships

Ayurveda recognizes that humans express not only their physical body, but also their personality in direct relationship to their Doshas. For this reason we call it a “mind-body” constitution. Recognizing what is a constitutional trait of our friends, family and coworkers can be the key to finding peace in your relationships. For example: does it bug you every time your friend forgets to call you back or mixes up the dates of your plans? You may begin to take this personally if it’s a recurring pattern; but, upon discovering your friend has a Vata-predominant constitution, you may realize it’s not personal – it’s a constitutional trait that your friend probably has a lot of trouble controlling. Instead of becoming resentful, you’ll find that giving that particular friend extra reminders and double confirming plans helps to keep your relationship functioning smoothly. If your friend learns your constitutional nature, then you both can exchange this type of loving consideration and look out for each other’s needs.

 

8. Better collaboration and work performance

Work relationships are influenced by our constitutional balances just as much as our personal relationships. That Vata friend who is forgetful but you now have learned to forgive – does that also sound like a coworker who’s missing appointments or deadlines, or not staying focused during conversations? What about that Pitta-dominant coworker who is always on top of things and can become impatient with the Vata-dominant coworker? Ayurveda opens us up to understanding the key constitutional differences and how we can modify our expectations and behavior to collaborate optimally.

 

9. A simple definition of disease

Understanding constitution is one of the first steps we take when we study Ayurveda. Perhaps after identifying your Pitta-dominant coworker, you’re still scratching your head and wondering if their passive aggressive emails are also “just their constitution”? In Ayurveda there is constitution, and then there is imbalance, or disease. “Dosha” is defined as “that which can go out of balance,” so Ayurveda recognizes within its own terminology that imbalance is a constant part of living – and also provides us the framework for understanding what can be done to restore balance. Our unique mind-body constitution makes us prone to particular imbalances more than others, but a skilled Ayurvedic practitioner will be able to clearly discern between the two.

 

 

10. The roadmap to living seasonally

We know to dress for the weather and what’s in season when we visit the farmer’s market, but for some people, their relationship with “seasonal” health ends there. Ayurveda explains the what and how of seasons – what elements constitute each unique season, how they manifest and when to detect seasonal shifts, plus how seasonal qualities affect the Doshas in our minds and bodies. You begin to understand why you prefer certain seasons and what you can do to balance your system when seasonal changes begin to throw you off balance. While you may not have access to a perfectly local and seasonal source of food, Ayurveda can support you in choosing foods based on their elemental qualities, so you can still eat seasonally on an energetic level. Seasonal is not limited to just nutrition, and Ayurveda provides a host of tools for seasonal balancing through exercise, relaxation, bodywork and lifestyle routines.

 

12. Approach health preventatively

The golden beauty of Ayurveda is perhaps in its ability to actually prevent disease. The Ayurvedic system looks at disease as a progression, with several stages of imbalance that occur prior to a disease manifests that is detectable by conventional testing. For example, diabetes has a total of 20 stages of development according to Ayurveda – yes, 20! Living an Ayurvedic lifestyle helps to prevent disease from ever manifesting, and health care by a trained Ayurvedic practitioner allows health seekers an opportunity to detect budding illness in the earliest stages.

 

13. Find solutions to some those seemingly mysterious, chronic health issues

A holistic, preventive approach to health means imbalance is targeted at the root issue rather than treating symptoms and providing band aids for deeper problems. Through thorough assessment of an individual’s unique constitution, family and medical history, an all-encompassing approach is taken that takes into account mental, physical and emotional aspects to imbalances. Assessment techniques also scan for subtle disease levels using tools such as pulse diagnosis, which can detect imbalances that conventional tests may miss.

 

 

14. Light the path of your new professional destiny

Studying Ayurveda is a healing journey that impacts our individual health, relationships and career, even leading to an exciting new career development. Health professionals from all backgrounds are discovering the power of Ayurveda and enhancing their practice with its wisdom – medical practitioners, nutritionists, Yoga instructors, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, massage therapists, estheticians, beauty product therapists, counselors, life coaches and more. Even more professionals from diverse backgrounds are feeling called to a career change and diving into the study of holistic health. (Ready to make a change? Check out our 9 ways to build a career with Ayurveda for some inspiration).

 

15. Discover an inspiring life philosophy

Ayurveda is not a religion or a spiritual system, though its elegant, all-encompassing philosophy can inspire a deep sense of grounding and connectivity. Furthermore, Ayurveda – just like other ancient, holistic health systems – is more relevant now than ever in supporting the healing of individuals as well as our planet. It feels good to be a part of the solution!