Ayurvedic Institute


Faculty

Vasant Lad, M.A.Sc. Ayurvedic Physician and Executive Director		Vasant Lad brings a wealth of classroom and practical experience to the United States. A native of India, he served for three years as Medical Director of the Ayurveda Hospital in Pune, India. He was Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Pune University College of Ayurvedic Medicine for 15 years. He holds a Bachelor’s of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree from the University of Pune and a Master’s of Ayurvedic Science (MASc) degree from Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya. Vasant Lad’s academic and practical training include the study of Allopathy (Western medicine) and surgery as well as traditional Ayurveda. Beginning in 1979, he has traveled throughout the United States sharing his knowledge of Ayurveda. In 1984 he came to Albuquerque as Director, principal instructor and founder of the Ayurvedic Institute. Vasant Lad is the author of numerous books and respected throughout the world for his knowledge of Ayurveda.

Sandra Aumiller		Sandra assists with Level 1 Integrated Lab and co-teaches the Level 2 Integrated Lab and Grand Rounds. She also assists with other sessions as needed. A graduate of the Ayurvedic Studies Program at the Ayurvedic Institute in 1994, she pursued further studies at the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics and now maintains a private massage practice, integrating Ayurveda. She has worked in the Panchakarma Department of the Ayurvedic Institute since 1997 and has assisted and conducted training in various Ayurvedic therapies and integration of Ayurvedic knowledge to numerous students that have attended programs at the Ayurvedic Institute.

Lisa Costolow		Lisa teaches the Level I Ayurvedic Review course and assists other Ayurvedic course sessions as needed. She completed the Ayurvedic Studies Program Levels 1 and 2. Her enthusiasm, encouragement to others and love for continued personal study of Ayurveda is a real asset to Institute students, staff and her clients. Currently she provides Ayurvedic consultations with the public and serves as administrative assistant to the Education Administrator.

Ed Danaher		Ed co-teaches Level 2 Integrated Lab and assists with Assessment and Management. A licensed massage therapist, he earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the Maharishi University of Management in 1984, where he served as abhyanga therapist in the Maharishi Ayurvedic Clinic in Fairfield, Iowa. Subsequently, as a graduate of the Institute’s Ayurvedic Studies and Gurukula Programs, he joined our Panchakarma staff in 1988.Promoted to serve as Panchakarma Department manager, his extensive responsibilities include working closely with Dr. Vasant Lad and daily client consultations. He directly supervises clients and their individual panchakarma regimen and oversees a staff of 12 as well as his administrative assistant. He has a private consultation practice and travels, offering workshops and consultations nationwide.

Chitra Giauque		Chitra teaches Level 2 AyurYoga at the Institute as well as our yoga teacher certification course. A certified yoga instructor, she has 16 years teaching experience. A teacher and resident of the Mount Madonna community for seven years, Chitra helped develop and instruct yoga retreats and teacher training programs as well as offering on-going classes and private instruction. A student of Ayurveda since 1994, she completed the Ayurvedic Studies program and continues to learn and teach the union of Ayurveda and yoga as a vehicle for transformation. Chitra currently teaches at the Ayurvedic Institute and offers public seminars and workshops.

Ron Hadsall		Ron instructs in Level 1 meditation and Ayurvedic lifestyle practices. He has personally practiced an Ayurvedic lifestyle since 1992 and has practiced yoga and meditation daily since 1968. In 1992, Ron and his wife started the Center for Spiritual Awareness of North Texas where he taught meditation, yoga and Vedic teachings on a regular basis. After 30 years in corporate management and training, Ron brings with him the experience of balancing the spiritual values of life while performing in practical ways to attain positive results in the business world. He attended the Ayurvedic Studies Program at the Ayurvedic Institute and is now on staff full time as the Administrative Projects Coordinator.

Sonia Elisa Masocco		Sonia Elisa Masocco teaches Level 2 Ayurvedic Herbology, and co-teaches Integrated Lab and Grand Rounds. She also facilitates the Ayurvedic Beauty Concepts, Hands-On Ayurvedic practices and the Aromatherapy and Ayurveda intensives here at the Ayurvedic Institute. An ITEC qualified practitioner in Aromatherapy, Reflexology as well as Massage Therapy, she enhanced her training with the completion of the Ayurvedic Studies Program and participation in the Gurukula program in Pune, India. Having been in private practice in Hong Kong and Albuquerque, she brings her clinical experience as well as her passion for plants and plant medicine as a vibratory vehicle for transformation.

Donna Papania		Donna teaches Level 1 AyurYoga at the Institute and assists with Integrated Lab. She served with the Panchakarma Department as a yoga therapist, and assisted with client support, and education. She began yoga study with Sivananda yoga, continued with AyurYoga and is a graduate of the Ayurvedic Studies Programs Level 1 and 2. With a degree in nutrition, she combines her love of nutrition, yoga and Ayurveda through her teaching and consultation practice.

Premal Patel		Premal co-teaches Level 2 Integrated Lab and Grand Rounds, and assists with other classes as needed. Board certified in Family Practice, she attended medical school at the University of Texas at San Antonio and completed her residency in Family Practice, serving as chief resident in her final year. She is a graduate of the Level 1 and 2 Ayurvedic Studies Programs, and the Pune Gurukula program. She enhances her allopathic and Ayurvedic practices with acupuncture. In addition to teaching at the Institute, she facilitates the Ayurvedic module for the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine fellowship, and conducts Ayurvedic lectures for adults and teens. As an instructor, practitioner, and perpetual student, she combines a passion for an integrative approach to wellness with a love for teaching and a playful enthusiasm for life.

Nancy Prottengeier		Nancy teaches Level 1 Lifestyles and Integrated Lab, and Level 2 Assessment and Management as well as assisting with other courses as needed. She was first a grateful patient, then a student and now a consultant of Ayurvedic practices. She brings a passion from personal experience with this healing art and combines it with her background as a psychologist to offer a multi-faceted perspective. Her teachers, Dr. Kshirsagar and Dr. Lad, have guided her Ayurvedic skills over the past 10 years. A graduate of Ayurvedic Studies Level 1 and 2, she shares her enthusiasm and knowledge with our students, provides guest lectures on Ayurveda and works with private clients.

Jess Posniak		Jess Posniak teaches Sanskrit for Ayurvedic Studies Programs, Levels 1 and 2. She earned a BA in Philosophy with honors from the University of London, U.K. in 1995, followed by an MA in Philosophy from the University of New Mexico in 2000. In 2001, she earned the Barret Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from UNM, where she earned a doctorate of Indian philosophy in 2004. An enthusiastic student of Vedic philosophy, Jess also teaches Sanskrit and yoga philosophy for the comprehensive yoga teacher training program at High Desert Yoga in Albuquerque. She concurrently serves on the faculty of the Philosophy Department at UNM.

Juanice Reyes		Juanice Reyes brings her love of teaching to Level 1 Anatomy and Physiology and Level 2 Patho-physiology, She also co-teaches Grand Rounds. Through the fields of biology, bodywork, dance and yoga, she has been involved in an ongoing study of human form and function for over 10 years, and is still delighted and amazed at the unfolding of these explorations. In addition to her time at the Institute, she also teaches public seminars. She maintains a private practice, specializing in myofascial therapies and Core Synchronism, and is a student of classical homeopathy.

Michele Schulz		Michele teaches Level I AyurYoga at the Institute as well as the optional yoga teacher certification course. She also instructs AyurYoga seminars and intensives. She did her first down dog in 1995, and has since explored the traditions of Ayuryoga, Iyengar, Kundalini, Tibetan and Yin Yoga. She began teaching yoga in France in 1999, after which she moved to San Francisco to continue training and studies. Her studies in Ayurveda, Breema and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy infuse her approach to embodying yoga. In 2003, Michele completed the Ayurvedic Studies Program.


Donald Van Howten, PIT, VMT, LFT, LMT		Donald Van Howten has been a practitioner and teacher in the field of bodywork and personal development for more than 22 years. Associated with the Institute since its founding in 1984, Van is a graduate of the Rocky Mountain Healing Arts Institute and the Postural Integration Institute where he completed the trainer program. Van has developed a unique form of bodywork called "Life Impressions," influenced by various therapies, including Hakomi body-centered psychotherapy, Ayurveda, cranial-sacral work and Feldenkrais. Van is the founder and current director of Life Impressions Bodywork Institute in Santa Fe, NM. He presents a special training class for the ASP 1 students and Institute staff each year.

Luscha Weeks		Luscha assists sessions as needed at the Institute. She teaches the Emotional Healing from an Ayurveda Perspective seminar. She graduated from the Ayurvedic Studies Program in 1998. She has served as a massage therapist in the Panchakarma Department since 1998, and has a Master’s degree in counseling. She combines principles of Ayurveda with western elements of self-healing. Her private practice includes deep emotional healing, abhyanga massage, shirodhara and color therapy.

Claudia Welch, DOM		Claudia Welch facilitates the first quarter Ayurvedic Studies evening class. Dr. Claudia Welch began her study of Ayurveda in 1987, under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Svoboda. She lived in India for three years, studying Ayurveda and related subjects. Claudia came to the Ayurvedic Institute in 1991 and continued her education with Dr. Lad while working here. She is also a graduate of Hart De Fouw's Advanced Jyotish course. Claudia is on the teaching faculty at Southwest Acupuncture College in Albuquerque, from which she graduated in 1997. She has lectured on Eastern Medicine internationally and has a busy private practice in Albuquerque, incorporating Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Administrators

Ellie Hadsall		Ellie Hadsall is the Education Administrator. She oversees the operation and development of instruction and curriculum. As student liaison, she coordinates student activities and counsels on academic and personal matters.

Dorothy Seeger		Dorothy Seeger is the Administrator of the correspondence course, "Lessons and Lectures on Ayurveda". A graduate of the Ayurvedic Studies Program, for the past twelve years she has continued to provide student support and respond to student inquiries. Dorothy evaluates exams personally and trains staff for additional evaluations and support as necessary.

Wynn Werner		Wynn Werner is the Administrator of the Institute. He is responsible to the Board of Directors for the general operation of the Institute and oversees all of its departments and facilities, assuring that the Institute fulfills its mission, purposes and goals. Wynn is a founding board member of NAMA (National Ayurvedic Medical Association) and represents the Institute on Ayurvedic matters at the state, national and international levels. A graduate of the Ayurvedic Studies program, he teaches Level 1 and 2 sessions on ethics and legalities.