Education in Health and Happiness

Education, in the real sense of the word, is not preparation for life, it is actually living it.

Medical training, regardless of its genre, usually requires putting a student through a very rigorous program. There are no short cuts to any place that is worth going to. Medical education is heavy and entails a lot of work and memorisation. Everything counts. Then, when clinical rotations happen, the demands placed upon students and interns is tremendous. While this may seem to be the case, to a greater extent, for someone endeavouring to become a Western medical doctor, it happens more than people realise, to those who have embarked upon Ayurvedic medicine studies as well.

Many people enter the field of Ayurveda, lured by the promise of in-depth alternative medical training. The expectation of a clinical experience may be present, but the reality of the demands of the programs are beyond the imagination or preparation of the majority of new students. As a student, this doesn’t make sense when they are in the heat of it. They can experience little sleep, a lot of stress, poor eating, bad lifestyle habits, not much time for their family or friends, let alone for themselves. This seems counterintuitive to what the student, and eventually the practitioner, shows up to do, when they enter the clinic. All day long, we support people in their healing process, and really, in their life processes, but then don’t practice what we teach: at least whilst in training. Why shouldn’t training involve actually living according to the tenets of the traditional wisdom being studied?

Therefore, the following question seems pertinent. How can a person adequately support someone else along their journey, without them actually doing the work themselves? The answer is, they can’t. As a budding health care professional, a student must learn how to compartmentalise. They must figure out an internal mechanism with which they can completely suspend their misery to create a whole new space for someone else to enter into. If they can do this in the midst of their own chaos, then not only can they do this again when life calls upon them to do so, but once the dust has settled, they can do more than just hold the space.Once they have left the College, and their time and energy demands, at least from that aspect of their lives,has decreased, more time can be spent on them endeavouring to connect with their Self.Then not only can they hold that space, they can shine.

True healers are not just people with a licence to practice medicine, They are people who, regardless of their own internal chaos, misery, suffering, stress, anger, frustration, fear, grief, lack, dark nights and temptation to project this, show up with centered equanimity for the human being who is waiting for them. This doesn’t mean that they need to dress up in white, stand with their spine completely straight, and behave like an archangel; or dress in orange, sit in a cross-legged position with a set of mala beads in hand, and drape crystals stategically around themselves! What it does mean, is that despite all of their own anguish, they can find that being compassionate and having space within themselves, that they can move, speak and project from there. They can walk into a room, and no matter how rushed they might feel, they will be able to enable the person to surrender to their care and wisdom, feel heard, safe and comfortable.

When people are sick, afraid, in pain, desperate, and have exhausted modern medical interventions, which is usually how they are by the time they come to see us, they are highly sensitive to what we bring to the table. For some, we might be their first alternative medicine experience, and all of their hopeful eggs will most likely be in the one basket. There is, therefore, a responsibility for us to provide them with the utmost balanced, professional and human care possible. If we had not been put through the hell of having to repeatedly put our stuff aside in order to do this, then we might not be able to leave our problems at the door.This would entail doing our patients and our professions a disservice. If the training was set up to be a utopian experience, it would probably take fifty years to get through it, and the practice of dealing with the harshness of life experienced by everyone who comes through the door would be poor. Training programs can be sheer hell. Similar to developing a muscle, we need to practice being a safe place for others and being able to think clearly without internal distractions. The level of post-traumatic stress from training courses is not surprising, nor completely detrimental, because by experiencing those sorts of levels of stress, a student learns how to relate better with people who also suffer from those sorts of issues and they will be able to guide them through it.

Before bringing theory into the clinic, studio or treatment room, we bring ourselves. We all emanate vibrations and energetic waves, that can be subtly perceived by others. Sometimes the perceptions are not so subtle. If someone is seething with anger, rage, dissatisfaction etc., we perceive it, and it can often stimulate a similar spike in our own emotional state. When someone emanates great calmness, that too resonates with the natural state of internal calmness that we all possess, and creates more calmness within us.

Create a space in which to hold another human being, and be mindful of what you bring into the room with you. If you are able to enter with a vibration that emanates calmness and spaciousness, the person you are dealing with can feel it. Then, their healing experience in your clinic or studio will have already begun. These vibrations are more subtle than body language, and they happen well before the first word has even been spoken. If trust has been established and the person’s breathing has deepened, then the path to a more healing experience will be opened.

The nervous system is very aware, and we are highly sensory creatures and respond automatically to what we feel drawn to or have an aversion to. Chronic stimulation of the sympathetic system is taxing on the body and mind. If the parasympathetic nervous system becomes engaged, with us being in a rest-and-digest mode, instead of being in a fight-or-flight response mode, we are more likely to heal. This is why it is important for us as healers and teachers, to emanate a sense of calmness, establish trust, and provide a calm, clean and comfortable atmosphere for our clients, patients or students. When their minds are at ease and their bodies are in a greater state of rest, they will be more open to healing instead of holding patterns in their ‘mind-body’. A healing response, in the midst of stress or tension, does not come as easily.

Western medical training, is clinically oriented, and is minimally, if at all, esoteric. This is unbalanced, as the unknown or mysterious, is as much a part of medicine and healing, as it is a part of life. Ayurveda, however, is not viewed in the same vein as allopathy, which is useful for some symptomatology, where people expect treatment only when things have gone awry. People tend to view Ayurveda as a long-term process, that they engage in daily. They like learning about their constitution and how it interacts with their environment and how it’s influenced by it. And why wouldn’t they? After all, who doesn’t enjoy learning about the most interesting thing in their universe: ourselves?

Ayurveda covers, in detail, dietary recommendations based on one’s constitution, and clearly and comprehensively outlines the cleansing and detoxification of substances that build up in the body for the eradication of heat (inflammation), dampness, damp heat, or phlegm (ama, toxic candida overgrowth. Ayurveda provides clearly defined natural tools to assist in eliminating mental and physical tiredness, and explains the processes about how these occur, how to modify them, how the recommended interventions work, as well as prescribing diet, exercise, lifestyle education and herbal medicine.

Massage is a therapy involved in the movement of energy within in the body. For thousands of years, massage has been used to soothe and heal the sick. Ayurveda outlines in detail its prescription for massage. In addition, it has its own speciality: panchakarma for treating the whole being from a constitutional perspective.

Knowing that we have all that we need to live a healthy, abundant life, are you drawn towards helping overwhelmed professionals transform the way they approach their well-being and self-care, to help them achieve more energy, better health and experience less stress?

Please let me introduce myself. Namaste, my name is Shanti Gowans, and l am the CEO of Health Institute Australasia, and creator of Shanti Yoga. Together with my team, we run amazing and life-changing programs to help our clients and patients overcome their chronic health symptoms and conditions that are rooted in “stuck” emotions, traumas, and belief systems that are keeping them from healing and attaining the vibrant health they are looking for. Hope and inspiration are foundational for healing and health, and I hope that our program will fill you with hope and inspiration on your journey back to health and vitality! Together with my team here at Health Institute Australasia we would be honoured to serve you in this way.

Study with us at Health Institute Australasia.

At The Health Institute Australasia (HIA) we are proud to say that we are a fully recognised training college, approved by the Government of Australia. This highly prestigious attainment demonstrates our commitment to the very highest standards of excellence in our training courses, and our dedication to supporting you, as our student. We are dedicated to empowering people and communities, to help them realise their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda.

The Diploma of Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultation works within an integrated and natural medicine framework, where lifestyle, nutrition, eating disorders, relieving stress, attaining better sleep, boosting energy, strengthening immunity, discovering a sense of purpose and creating social connections, all play a part. You will specialise in helping people reconnect with their bodies and natural rhythms, through simple but effective lifestyle changes.

Here, at HIA, we have created something that is genuinely different to other courses. This course is not just another expense such as buying a TV or AirPods. This is an investment in yourself, your future and the stability you deserve, especially with the economy heading in such a scary direction. Please take a minute away from your shopping, and think about the truly important things in your life. Family, health, wisdom. Also, think about how you could help others experience that joy. Remember, no matter who you are, your time on this earth is limited, so make sure that you realise your full potential today.

Yoga for Today and Tomorrow

Yoga is a journey

of the self

through the self

to the Self.

The Bhagavad Gita

What if you could learn how to calm your nervous system, restore your balance, learn how to trust yourself and your body’s innate wisdom with a practice that is imbued in spirituality and backed by medical science?

Start your journey from a familiar reference point of a quiet oasis, called Shanti Yoga, and learn exactly how movement affects the brain and how the brain affects movement. Our bodies have an incredibly potent capacity for self-healing and maintaining equilibrium, during times of distress and disease. Yet, often, we become the obstacle that gets in the way.

If you simply want to reap the benefits of yoga but aren’t sure if you want to become a teacher, this is your chance to work it out. You don’t have to decide in the first year of your immersive studies, as both streams will be engaged in the exact same activities up until this point. If at the end of the 600 hour immersion, you decide that you do not want to teach, then you can engage in attending classes taught by those in the Teacher Training cohort and attend other classes offered by Shanti Gowans rather than the practicum teaching opportunity offered through Community Yoga. If you are looking to teach, then the second year intensive, is designed to train and certify you as a yoga teacher who is well-qualified to teach live, in-person classes. Thus, when you are ready, you will be able to teach this to others.

Is there someone in your life who is working on their health and wellness? Consider showing your support to their journey by giving them some life-changing products. Give them a gift that can help them create a healthier self in 2023.

Here’s to your healthy life !

May great blessings come to you.

Hope to see you soon.

Blessings and namaste

Shanti