Ayurveda Course in India

Samantha Sheets is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hello All!

I have been searching for the last few years for the right place to learn and practice the ancient medicine of Ayurveda. I do belieive I have found that place at AyurYoga EcoAshram in Karnatake, India. It is a two-week intensive program that ends with a certification stating that I have completed 100hrs of training in this field.

Why?
For many years I struggled with anxiety. All through high school I was medicated. As I moved toward a more natural way of living I was feeling incredibly conflicted. I turned to natural healing practices, not even taking pain killers anymore, yet I was taking this phamacutical drug daily just so I could function. When I graduated high school I decided I needed to be done. I do believe that changing my diet and lifestyle made it possible for me to ease off the drugs. I began by searching foods related to anxiety (food coloring, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup - to name a few). This began an ever lasting shift into a whole foods/plant-based diet. That coupled with yoga practices and breathing excersises has kept me off medication and my anxiety at bay.
It is only in the last year or so that I found Ayurveda. As the food I ate changed, my interest in the kitchen grew. It's near impossible to eat a healthy, whole foods diet without cooking for youself. My first introuction to Ayurveda was through a cookbook. This cookbook had recipes with arrows next to the words pitta, kapha, and vata (doshas). It was explaining that each recipe would either aggravate or calm each dosha. (The body is comprised of the three doshas, each pertaining to a set of elements: fire/water, air/ether, and earth/water.) This hardly made sense to me, so from there I took out stacks of library books on Ayurveda.

To my understanding today, Ayurveda is an ancient medical science. Ayur meaning Life and Veda meaning Knowlege. It is a complex system of how life works. Put to practice it is a very in depth and integrative way of understanding and healing the body, as well as preventing disease. It sees the body as a whole and prescribes different means sush as food, asanas, and meditation to change the initial disturbance in the body. It does not, like most western medicine, isolate the symptom or problem area and simply medicate and relieve the symptoms. It teaches you what is out of balance and how you have all the power to put it back into balance to heal yourself. It is a way of life.

There are many people sick around me, people I care deeply for. While this venture is an extention of my journey towards a healthier lifestyle where anxiety, joint pain, and digestive issues are no longer a daily struggle; it is also a means to help others. As my teachers used to say, "knowledge is power" and though I can't convince anyone of anything, being able to give people real advice when they need it, to be able to cook healing foods for those in need, and help others understand the workings of their body better is a great place to start. I hope to be a tool that others can rely on.

Logistics:
The two-week course begins December 20, 2016 and ends January 2, 2017. I will arrive to the ashram on the 19th and leave on the 3rd. The course is $1,500. This includes my place of stay, meals, and all course material. All travel expenses will be my own. I am only asking donations for the course. I have a bit of savings that I will spend on airfair. As of now it looks like tickets will cost anywhere between $1500-$2000 round trip. If donations were to exceed $1500 that money would then go towards travel expenses while in India as well as giving the potential to travel outside of the Ashram and learn more about Indian culture, particularly food and herbal medicine.

Here is a link to the course:
AyurYoga EcoAshram

Also if you have the time and the interest, here is an amazing documentary on Ayurveda and it's medical practices called Art of Being. :)

I appreciate the time you've taken to read my story. Whether you are able to donate or not, I hope at the very least I was able to introduce a new idea, place, or word to you! So many thanks.