By Suteja Navarro
I feel very blessed to have studied Ayurveda at CCA. It was an important step on my spiritual quest and contributed to my work in constant evolution. I am delighted to share with you how my journey to create an Ayurvedic practice unfolded after I graduated in 2006.
My Practice
I based my practice on principles which are the very foundation of Ayurveda: The Science of Life. This is inclusive in essence, being the result of the influence of many wise people and traditions. Having studied spirituality and healing for more than 30 years, I combined everything I learned with what I learned about Ayurveda. I diagnose and build a healing plan for my patients according to Ayurvedic teachings. There was a point in which this was not about techniques anymore; techniques are just tools, which after a while became integrated into my own holistic, intuitive style.
I used a “multi-koshas/multidimensional” model. The anna maya kosha uses food as medicine. The prana maya kosha is influenced by pranayama or pranic healing. The mano maya kosha can be cleared by many different clearing and emotional release techniques. I often work with the vijnana maya kosha with past life regression if that comes up in the healing process. Many techniques also work with several layers such as hatha yoga and bodywork, which heal the body as well as the mind. The difficulty and the thrill of my work is to find the most appropriate path to health for a patient, with their input and full participation.
What I learned for myself in this lifetime is that there is no difference between spirituality and healing. It naturally occurs in my practice to attract like-minded people who see healing as a lifelong process of self-knowledge and personal improvement.
Business
I base the structure of my business on who I am, my own definition of success and also my weak points. The vata in me needs the freedom to always learn, explore and create. I wouldn’t be happy as a manager of an Ayurvedic spa or having a boss monitoring my work. I find my every day joy in healing others. The best fit for me was to create my own non-profit organization with the help of my best pitta-kapha friend as the administrator. I called my organization OmSpring as a reminder that the first step in healing is to reconnect to the Source.
I most often have two-hour sessions with my patients and I have long-term partnership with my clientele. I teach workshops, classes and retreats, which is a long-term dream of mine come true. I get new patients mainly through referrals and also by appearing at the New Living Expo, which is an annual event, giving OmSpring a lot of exposure.
I also volunteer my time and my office to a prayer group and a healing group, which are becoming a loving community of like-minded people. I cannot imagine my life without their love and inspiration by my side.
My Ayurvedic business is my life. It gives me the opportunity to express the best of who I am and to make a difference in the community.