From the Vasanta Institute of Ayurveda outside of Pune, India
2013-12-15 Shabel, FounderFrom the grace of God, I am studying with Dr. Vasant D. Lad, M.A.Sc, Director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque. Along with 14 other students, we are the first group to stay at the Vasanta Institute of Ayurveda outside of Pune, India which is about four hours from Mumbai. I found out I’d be attending approximately two months ago and did my best to cram in two years of Ayurvedic study from Dr. Lad’s incredible textbooks. Being in the presence of Dr. Lad has been deep and a dream come true.
When I returned from India in 2010 after dabbling in Panchakarma-a method of detoxification that eliminates accumulated toxins from the body for internal purification, I sat in on a class with Dr. Lad in Albuquerque. When he walked into the room, I filled myself with a euphoric combination of calm and excitement and thought,‘Ah, there’s my Guruji! (teacher, one who removes the darkness of ignorance: the channel through which the understanding of the divine comes to one). It has taken four years to be with my living teacher, and I am filled with gratitude.
We have just finished the first of six weeks. Four days a week Dr. Lad lectures and we attend clinics in the city of Pune and hold clinics here at the center. We are learning about the secrets of the pulse as a diagnostic tool, so simple and direct though incredibly complex in the information revealed about Dr. Lad’s patients. He fills each lecture with life and spirituality, whether he’s talking about agni (fire element, it regulates temperature, performs digestion, absorption, and assimilation of ingested food and transforms food into energy and consciousness), love and compassion for the patient or flatulence!
We are very fortunate to have a filmmaker here who created a beautiful film called ‘One Track Heart’ about the kirtan singer, Krishna Das, and he is documenting Dr. Lad and his great gift to us all. I am thankful to have Cheryl James and the Board of Breast Wishes Fund providing service to you dear reader as I am on sabbatical as Executive Director until February while I deepen my personal journey with health and cancer, gaining tools to serve more profoundly. We excite ourselves at the launching of our new website at www.breastwishesfund.org that provides information and a hub for choices for breast cancer treatment and prevention education that currently does not exist in one place.
Namaste,
Lexie