Health & Fitness

Item Description

James Bailey, LAc, Dipl OM, Dipl Ayu, E-RYT, is a third generation physician and health educator who has been living yoga and ayurveda for 20 years. He practices Oriental Medicine, acupuncture, Ayurveda and Yoga Tantra, aiding patients via acupuncture, clinical Ayurvedic techniques of Pancha Karma detoxification, Chinese and ayurvedic medical herbology, nutrition, marma therapies, pranayama, and meditation. His training includes 5 years (4000+ hours) of formal clinical studies in Oriental Medicine (Yo San University) and training in Ayurveda under such luminary teachers as Dr. Vaijayanti Apte (Dipl Ayu from the Ayurveda Institute of America), Dr. Subash Ranade, Dr. Avinash Lele, Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. Robert Svoboda, and many Ayurvedic doctors and therapists in Kerala, south India where he spends time teaching and studying while on retreat each year. James teaches Ayurveda and Yoga Tantra meditation workshops worldwide. He is a contributing editor and former columnist for Yoga Journal, Light on Ayurveda, LA Yoga magazine and other wellness magazines. He served as an active Board member of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM), and is founder of Sevanti Oriental Medicine and Ayurveda in Santa Monica, CA.

Before ayurvedic treatments can be administered, an initial 2-hour consultation is required. These consultations are not only diagnostic, but highly educational and practical sessions. The first 75 minutes are needed to perform an accurate diagnosis and doshic assessment. The remaining 45 minutes are used to prescribe the required treatment plan including treatment scheduling, and lifestyle and nutritional remedies. All of this takes time and concentration.

The initial consultation yields two important pieces of information:

(1) the patient’s unique constitutional nature, or prakriti. Prakriti is the relative proportion of each of the bioenergetic forces (doshas: vata, pitta and kapha) that compose each person’s body-mind constitutional blueprint. One’s prakriti is defined at conception and never changes. It is your true and unique nature, and is figuratively carved in stone. Like fingerprints, each person’s prakriti is not only unique, but lays the foundation for each person’s strengths and weaknesses in life. The practitioner must determine a patient’s prakriti with great accuracy in order to confidently proceed with treatments. Prakriti is primarily assessed through inquiry, observation of physical features, and pulse diagnosis most importantly.

(2) the patient’s current state of imbalance, or vikriti. Vikriti are our current symptoms, signs and signals by the body reflecting how one has strayed away from one’s prakriti. Vikriti is also assessed through symptoms, inquiry and pulse diagnosis.

These assessments are unique to ayurvedic medicine and provide the necessary information needed to prescribe an appropriate treatment plan that not only addresses the imbalances and its symptoms, but also guides the patient back to his or her natural constitutional state of equilibrium. Removing symptoms is not enough. Removing symptoms has no effect on removing the cause of the condition. By getting to the underlaying cause, the condition is less likely to return once treatments are complete.

In short, the 2-hour initial intake is extremely important because it lays the foundation for the entire course for treatments, and sets guidelines for nutritional and lifestyle remedies. Once the initial consultation is complete, a treatment plan is developed and followup dates for treatments are scheduled.

For more information on James and Ayurveda services, visit his website: www.sevanti.com

Item Special Note

Available in Santa Monica area or James will be doing a weekend workshop at the Atma Center in January or February.

Valid until 8/2011