Dr. Mahadevan Seetharaman
A healthcare leader, educator, and Professor at the Hindu University of America, Dr. Mahadevan Seetharaman is the founder of Ayurveda Living, a platform dedicated to advancing awareness of Ayurveda and Yoga worldwide. He has played a significant role in integrative healthcare and Ayurvedic education, serving in leadership positions across major institutions and organizations. A certified Ayurveda Diet & Nutrition Consultant and Yoga Teacher, he holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Minnesota and completed post-doctoral research at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Foundation.
There are some things in Ayurveda that cannot be fully learned from a textbook, a lecture, or even an online class. They must be seen, heard, touched, smelled, observed, and experienced in the living environment where Ayurveda continues to be practiced as a complete medical tradition.
This September, the California College of Ayurveda is taking a small group of students and Ayurveda enthusiasts to Thrissur, Kerala, for a 15-day Ayurveda Immersion Program at Vaidyaratnam, one of India’s most respected Ayurvedic institutions and a living home of the Ashtavaidya lineage. The program offers participants the rare opportunity to study Ayurveda in the land where it has been preserved, practiced, and transmitted through generations. From classroom learning to clinical observation, from Panchakarma to Marma therapy, from herbal medicine preparation to Ayurvedic cooking, this journey is designed to bring Ayurveda alive in a way that is both educational and deeply transformative.
Why Study Ayurveda in India?
Ayurveda is now a global system of health and wellness. Students across the world are studying doshas, agni, ama, prakriti, diet, herbs, lifestyle, Panchakarma, and clinical care. Yet India remains the original home of Ayurveda, and studying there provides something uniquely powerful: context. In India, Ayurveda is not merely an alternative wellness practice. It is part of daily life, family traditions, food culture, seasonal routines, temple practices, village wisdom, classical scholarship, and medical institutions. Students who travel to India often discover that Ayurveda is much more than a system of treatments. It is a way of understanding the relationship between body, mind, nature, food, community, and spirit.
Kerala, in particular, holds a special place in the history and practice of Ayurveda. The state is known for preserving classical Ayurvedic traditions, especially through the Ashtavaidya families, who were renowned for their mastery of the eight branches of Ayurveda. Kerala’s climate, medicinal plant diversity, traditional treatment centers, and long-standing culture of Ayurvedic care make it one of the most important places in the world to experience Ayurveda in practice.
Why Kerala Matters in Ayurveda
Kerala’s contribution to Ayurveda is not simply historical. It is living. In many parts of Kerala, Ayurvedic hospitals, pharmacies, colleges, physicians, and traditional families continue to work within a serious and structured healthcare environment. This makes Kerala an ideal place for students to observe how Ayurveda functions beyond theory. Participants can see how patients are assessed, how treatment plans are developed, how therapies are administered, how herbs are prepared, and how food, daily routine, spiritual culture, and clinical care come together. For students of Ayurveda, this kind of exposure is invaluable. It helps connect classroom knowledge with real-world practice. It allows students to understand the depth, discipline, and clinical seriousness of Ayurveda as it is practiced in India.
About Vaidyaratnam: A Living Institution of Classical Ayurveda
The program will be hosted at Vaidyaratnam in Thrissur, Kerala, a respected Ayurvedic institution associated with the Thaikkattussery Eledath Thaikkattu family, one of Kerala’s Ashtavaidya families. Vaidyaratnam has grown into a major Ayurvedic institution with a hospital, Ayurveda college, medicine manufacturing, research, and traditional clinical services. Public information about Vaidyaratnam describes it as an institution rooted in authentic Ayurvedic treatment and located in Thaikkattussery near Ollur in Thrissur, Kerala.Vaidyaratnam is a prestigious title was conferred on Ashtavaidyan Narayanan Mooss in the year 1924 by the then Viceroy of British India, Lord Reading.
Vaidyaratnam is also associated with Ayurveda education and institutional development in Kerala. Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College was founded in 1976 and is described as one of the important Ayurveda educational institutions in India, offering formal Ayurveda education affiliated with Kerala University of Health Sciences. For CCA students and participants, studying at Vaidyaratnam means learning in an environment where Ayurveda is not only taught, but practiced every day. This is what makes the immersion so valuable. Participants are not merely visiting a retreat center. They are entering a traditional Ayurvedic ecosystem.
What Participants Will Learn
The 15-day immersion is designed to provide a balanced experience of study, observation, practice, and cultural exposure. The program includes classroom sessions, hands-on learning, clinical observation, local experiences, and the opportunity to receive Panchakarma treatments. Participants will study directly with senior physicians at Vaidyaratnam, led by Ashtavaidyan Dr. E.T. Krishnan Moos, along with CCA Dean Dr. Mahadevan Seetharaman. This combination offers students both the traditional Indian clinical perspective and the educational bridge needed for Western students to understand Ayurveda deeply and responsibly.
Key areas of learning include:
Panchakarma
Panchakarma is one of Ayurveda’s most profound systems of purification, rejuvenation, and clinical care. In the West, it is often reduced to the idea of detoxification, but in classical Ayurveda it is much more precise and individualized. During the immersion, participants will be exposed to the principles and practices of Panchakarma as they are taught and practiced in Kerala. They will learn why preparation, patient assessment, digestive strength, strength of the tissues, season, condition, and physician supervision are essential. They will also have the opportunity to experience Panchakarma treatments as part of the program.
Marma Therapy
Marma therapy is the Ayurvedic science of vital points in the body. These points are understood as intersections of structure, energy, prana, and consciousness. Exposure to Marma therapy allows students to better understand the subtle body, therapeutic touch, and the relationship between physical anatomy and energetic function. This is especially meaningful in Kerala, where hands-on body therapies are an important part of traditional Ayurvedic practice.
Herbal Medicine Preparation
Ayurveda is deeply connected to the preparation and use of medicinal plants. Seeing herbal medicine preparation in India gives students a new appreciation for the complexity, precision, and discipline involved in traditional Ayurvedic pharmacy.
Participants will be introduced to how classical formulations are prepared, how ingredients are selected, and how medicine preparation is connected to clinical use. This kind of exposure helps students move beyond simply memorizing herbs and formulas. It shows them the living process behind Ayurvedic medicine.
Ayurvedic Cooking and Diet
Food is one of Ayurveda’s most important medicines. In Kerala, participants will experience Ayurvedic vegetarian meals and learn how diet supports digestion, healing, balance, and seasonal living. Ayurvedic cooking is not only about ingredients. It is about timing, preparation, spices, digestive capacity, constitution, and the therapeutic effect of food. Students will gain practical insights they can bring back into their own lives and communities.
Clinical Observation in a Working Ayurvedic Hospital
One of the most important parts of the immersion is clinical observation. Students will have the opportunity to observe Ayurveda in a working hospital setting, seeing how physicians approach patients, how care is structured, and how classical principles are applied in real cases. For many students, this becomes the most memorable part of the journey. It transforms Ayurveda from an abstract system into a living clinical tradition.
Culture, Temples, and Kerala Itself
Ayurveda cannot be separated from culture. The program also includes temple visits, local experiences, and time to take in Kerala’s beauty. These experiences help students understand the spiritual, ecological, and cultural atmosphere in which Ayurveda has flourished. Kerala offers lush landscapes, sacred traditions, traditional architecture, medicinal plants, classical arts, and a deep reverence for healing. This setting supports learning in a way that is both intellectual and personal.
Trip Details
Dates: September 19–October 4, 2026
Location: Vaidyaratnam, Thrissur, Kerala
Airport: Cochin International Airport, about 90 minutes away
Cost: $3,200 double occupancy / $3,500 single occupancy
Includes: Airport pick-up and drop-off, accommodation, Ayurvedic vegetarian meals, study sessions, local experiences, and the opportunity to experience Panchakarma treatments
Not included: Flights, travel insurance, travel medical insurance, and visa costs
Seats: Limited to 15–20 participants
Early Reservation: Reserve before July 15 and receive $200 off
Deposit: $200 holds your seat
The CCA program page lists the immersion as a 15-day program at Vaidyaratnam in Thrissur, Kerala; program details may be updated, so participants should follow CCA’s current registration page for final dates and logistics.
Why This Program Is Special
This is not ordinary travel. It is not a tourist trip with a few Ayurveda lectures added. It is a carefully designed educational immersion into one of the world’s great healing traditions. Students will return with a deeper understanding of Ayurveda, a stronger connection to its roots, and a clearer appreciation for the responsibility of practicing or sharing Ayurveda outside India. For anyone studying at CCA, practicing Ayurveda, teaching wellness, working in integrative health, or simply wanting to understand Ayurveda more deeply, this journey offers something rare: the chance to learn Ayurveda where it is still lived.
Join Me in This Immersive Ayurveda Experience
This program is more than a study trip. It is an opportunity to experience Ayurveda in its homeland, learn from one of Kerala’s most respected traditional institutions, observe clinical practice firsthand, and reconnect with the living roots of this ancient science. I invite you to join me in this immersive experience at Vaidyaratnam in Kerala—to study, observe, reflect, and return with a deeper understanding of Ayurveda as a living tradition of healing.
Hold your place in the pilot cohort
Seats are limited to 15–20 participants. Share your details, and a member of the CCA team will reach out with payment instructions, confirmed dates, and everything you need to prepare.
What happens next
A CCA team member will email you within 1 business day. Prefer to talk it through first? Just say so below, and we’ll call instead.
Questions before you commit? Email eva@ayurvedacollege.com or call +1 (530) 478-9100.