Ayurveda

What is Ayurveda?
How can I benefit?
How does Ayurveda work?
What can I expect from a consultation, examination and treatment?
What about Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations?
How soon can I expect to see results?
What is Ayurvedic Mind Counseling?
About the Practitioners
Schedule an Appointment

What is Ayurveda? Top
Ayurveda (pronounced eye-your-vay-duh) is the world’s most comprehensive system of health care. It was developed by the sages in India over ten thousand years ago and includes everything from rejuvenation of body and mind to internal medicine and surgery. Ayurveda actually means “the knowledge of life”.

How can I benefit from receiving Ayurvedic Therapy? Top
The purpose of Ayurveda is to enable a person to derive deep satisfaction and contentment from their life. Ayurvedic Therapy accomplishes this by appropriately treating the individual’s emotional, mental, and physical imbalances.
In Ayurveda health is defined as a state of being wherein not only is your body functioning to its maximum potential, i.e. pain-free, symptom-free, powerful immune system, no allergies, etc., but also your mind is clear, unstressed, and able to deal with change.
A total enjoyment of life unencumbered by illness and pain, a return to youthful appearance and vigor, a calm mind and positive self-image are just some of the benefits of Ayurvedic Therapy.

How does Ayurveda work? Top
Every human being born on this planet is totally unique. There has never been another one of you before; nor will there ever be another one of you again. Due to our uniqueness we each require specific treatment that is suitable to our individual constitution, age, sex, and life circumstances. This is the reason that Ayurvedic Therapy treatments will usually be different for two people dealing with the same health problem. Ayurveda treats people, not diseases.

What can I expect from a consultation, examination and treatment? Top
Your first consultation will take between 1 ½ and 2 hours. During that time, your practioner will listen to your health concerns with great care, take a detailed case history, and examine your tongue, eyes, face, and general body health. They will also take your pulse readings to reveal information about your health that cannot be ascertained by ordinary examination methods. Once your analysis is complete a treatment plan will be devised and clearly explained to you either on that same visit or on your next visit.
Your treatment may consist of life-style and eating guidelines specific to your constitution, Ayurvedic herbs, some simple yoga postures, and possibly a breathing and short meditation technique.
A distinguishing feature of Ayurveda is that it puts you in control of your health by giving you an active part in your therapy.

Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations Top
Your practitioner will use herbal formulas prepared by hand and some classic herbal formulas in tablet form. Whenever possible, formulas will be mixed by hand to meet your unique needs.The herbal medicines are obtained from smaller, quality assured companies that use primarily organically grown herbs.

How soon can I expect to see results? Top
Results from the treatment depend largely on how severe your condition is and how much effort you give to your treatment program. Because of Ayurveda’s careful consideration of one’s unique physical and mental constitution and specific treatment thereof, many people have experienced wonderful results from Ayurveda.

What is Ayurvedic Mind Counseling? Top
Ayurvedic Mind Counseling is an approach to therapy, which views the mind as a manifestation of energy, inseparable from the body. Each session will seek to harmonize the client’s energy with the greater cycles of nature by implementing ayurvedic principles, Tantrik transformational practices and talk therapy. The client will learn techniques to uncover and work with their mind’s energy (and subsequent emotions and behavior) on a moment-to-moment basis, enabling lasting and integrated results.

About the Practitioners:Top

David “Atibala” Thorp first took an interest in natural medicine over a decade ago, starting with western herbalism and nutrition, and eventually finding his way to the healing science of Ayurveda. Atibala is a student of a guru kulam system of training, initially studying with his Guru Dharmanidhi Sarasvati in Berkeley, California. After a few years of training in the basic principles and practices of Ayurveda, he was advised to travel to India to complete his education. There he began an ongoing apprenticeship with his upaya Guru, who he currently still studies with.  Though his practice keeps evolving, he is always impressed with the effect that daily bodily maintenance has on radiant health and healing. Currently he offers Ayurvedic consultations and classes on various topics at Yoga Mandala in Berkeley.

Hrimati Fauman began practicing yoga in 1997 and has been teaching since her first trip to India where she studied hatha yoga, massage therapy and Ayurveda. Upon returning from that first trip to India she dove into a deeper study of Ayurveda with her teacher Dharmanidhi Sarasvati. In 2005, she returned to India for treatment in Kerala, where she met and began studying with three of the few remaining practitioners of classical Ayurveda, learning to read and write Sanskrit and memorizing slokas from one of the main classical texts of Ayurvedic medicine, Ashtanga Hridayam. In 2006 she returned to India and spent 5 months apprenticing in an in-patient Ayurvedic clinic.

Ayurveda Consultations with Atibala or Hrimati

Sumanasa Daren began studying psychology as a teenager, vowing to overcome her own suffering and then help others to do the same. Her own transformation eventually found traction when she deepened her studies of Hatha yoga by completing an intensive yoga teacher certification in 2001. Shortly thereafter she met her Guru, Dharmanidhi Sarasvati with whom she continues to study and practice yoga, Ayurveda and Tantrik approaches to mind/body therapies.
Sumansa’s approach to Ayurvedic Mind Counseling is informed by her classical Tantrik view, Ayurvedic knowledge and dedicated practice of Hatha yoga. It is further blended with her ongoing study of Western Psychology and the more holistic theories that are emerging in the field. During a consultation the client will participate in a combination of talk therapy and ayurvedic/yogic practices that will illuminate the path of how to relax back into mental and emotional harmony.
Education: MA in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Transperosnal theory, BSc in Psychology and Religion, Certified Yoga Teacher