Students are required to attend the Orientation beginning October 7, 2013. Please check in at the Institute when arriving in Albuquerque to pick up a copy of the Orientation schedule.

The academic year is divided into three, 10 week trimesters, each followed by a break. The school year begins October 7, 2013 with a required Orientation Week. Classes end Friday, May 30, 2014, with oral exams beginning June 9, 2014 and graduation on Thursday, June 19, 2014. This program is limited to 45 full-time students.

All of the ASP 1 programs include lectures, breakout sessions, and an emphasis on practical exercises.

Students earn 730 hours total of classroom time. Students spend 24 hours per week in class (as compared to 16+ hours per week for a full university class load).

ASP 1 is an intensive time of study. Each week, students can expect to spend a minimum of 1 hour on outside assignments and homework for each hour of class time. Anticipate spending 40-50 hours per week focused on school, including class time and outside homework. This is a conservative estimate.

Classes are primarily offered Monday through Friday mornings and afternoon and Monday through
Thursday evenings. Yoga course sessions are one morning a week. An optional course of Ayurvedic Review is offered during the second and third trimesters.

The Ayurvedic Institute reserves the right to make adjustments to the curriculum without prior notification.

Students may choose to participate in the Ayurvedic Studies Program Level 1 with one of the following options.

1) Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant Certificate
This category is for students committed to Diet and Lifestyle education using Ayurvedic principles. These students pay full program tuition, attend all courses, meet all attendance and examination requirements, pass the oral exam, and successfully participate to develop competencies. Each student is evaluated by faculty and the Dean of Education as being qualified prior to receiving permission to present client cases in the Third Trimester Foundational Skills class. They earn an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Certificate (ALC) and are qualified to apply to the ASP 2 program. The ASP 1 program is approved by NAMA to meet the NAMA 500-hour practitioner level requirements. Graduates of the ASP 1 program qualify for NAMA’s current Practitioner Level Membership. These students may transfer to the Personal Program at any time during the program.

These courses are the foundation for the educational programs offered at the Ayurvedic Institute and provide a thorough understanding of the basic principles and practices of Ayurveda. They include philosophy, theory, and assessment and management.

The first trimester includes a series of videotape lectures by Vasant Lad facilitated by our instructors. In the second and third trimesters, Vasant Lad personally teaches his extensive understanding of the ancient texts as well as his long years of experience as an Ayurvedic physician. This course is mostly lecture format with some exercises and practicum. Material is presented from Vasant Lad’s knowledge and course textbooks.

Basic Principles of Ayurvedic Physiology, Health, and Imbalance
The Ayurvedic understanding of and inter-relationship of the body, mind and spirit.
Structure and function of the body: the five elements, three doshas, nadis, srotamsi, vayus, etc.
Mind: antakaran (the inner equipment of mind), prana (vital air), manas (sensory mind), chitta (mind), buddhi (intellect), dhruti (retention), smruti (memory) and ahamkara (ego).
Spirit: jiva (soul), karma, samskaras, koshas (sheaths): anna (physical body), prana (vital air), mano (sensory mind), jnana (mind), vijnana (intellect), ananda (bliss sheath).
Chakra system and kundalini (vital energy).
The Ayurvedic concept of health and disease.
Prakruti and vikruti.
Models of Disease, the concept of ama
Ayurvedic concept of digestion, assimilation and elimination.
Agni (jathara agni, bhuta agni, dhatu agni, cellular agni) and the clinical assessment of agni.
Rasa (taste), virya (energy), vipaka (post-digestive effect), and prabhava.
The relationship of taste to the elements and the effect of the gunas.
Time and organ function.
Nutrition and the functional relationship between srotas, dhatu, upadhatu, dhatu mala, agni, and ojas, tejas and prana (the subtle refined essences of the tissues).
Overview of Ayurvedic etiology and pathogenesis: Nidana-panchakam.
Nidana: an in-depth look at etiological factors of imbalance.
Purva-rupa (prodromal symptoms), rupa (cardinal signs and symptoms), upashaya (therapeutic trial).
Samprapti (pathogenesis) and dosha gati.
Clinical determination of the stage of samprapti.

Opening the Doors to Ayurvedic Assessment
Methods of acquiring information: academic, direct perception, and inference
Trividha pariksha (the three-fold examination): darshana (observation), sparshana (tactile perception), prashna (questioning)
Ashtavidha pariksha (the eight-fold examination): nadi (pulse), mutra (urine), mala (feces), jihva (tongue), shabda (voice), sparsha (palpation), drig (eyes), akruti (form)
Marmas (Ayurvedic energy points)

These courses provide a basic framework of anatomy and physiology that supports the ASP 1 program. Information is at an introductory level.

Students gain an in-depth understanding of food, food selection, Ayurvedic principles of nutrition, nourishment, preparation, the use of spices and seasonings, healthy eating practices, and how to incorporate this into their personal and professional practices to bring health and balance.

In the 3rd Trimester, students learn the fundamentals of Ayurvedic Herbalism, including qualities, actions, effects, and applications.

Ayuryoga® applies the principles and understanding of Ayurveda to the practice of yoga. Through individual practice, students gain a personal understanding of the effect yoga has on the gunas, constitutional balance, and how to restore and maintain that balance. Class participation is focused upon understanding Ayurvedic applications and is not intended as a personal yoga routine. Students are required to

and responsible for establishing personal yoga routines outside of the curriculum. Concepts taught are supportive of all Ayurvedic constitutions and students are required to learn and practice in the class sessions what is taught regardless of their prior or personal yoga preferences. Students receive a pass or fail in this class.

These three courses build on and integrate the knowledge and skill sets acquired in the other courses. Students learn and practice clinical skills (rapport, assessment, findings, and recommendations) in preparation for the 25 hours of supervised consultations. Students

Students learn to read, write, and recite the Sanskrit alphabet. They are introduced to and learn a limited number of sutras, and related Ayurvedic vocabulary. This introductory level course is not intended to teach

This course is designed to help you to learn to understand medical terminology by breaking it down into their component parts and learning the meaning of the parts. It will assist the student in learning how to pronounce, spell, and define medical terms. This

This course provides a complete review of the contents learned in the Ayurvedic Lecture Course. Students work with the information in ways that deepen their understanding by incorporating a variety of methods including interactive dialogue, case-

The Ayurvedic Institute usually offers our students the opportunity to complete a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Certification Course, which earns them the credits necessary to apply for a yoga teacher certificate through the Yoga Alliance (See YA Accreditation). This option is available to all current Ayurvedic Studies Program students in good standing.

Please visit Optional Classes and Training for further information.

Official last day of school is June 19 at 6 pm.

ASP 1 Course Credits and Hours

* For those interested in applying for the  ASP 2 Practitioners level, Clinical Observation is  mandatory and will be introduced during trimesters 2 and 3 at an additional charge.