An interview with Kerstin Rosenberg, Director of the European Academy for Ayurveda and the Rosenberg Health and Spa Center, about the changes and development of the Academy and what makes it so special.
What has changed since the beginning of the European Academy of Ayurveda?
When we started the first training courses at the European Academy of Ayurveda almost 30 years ago, everything was very small and informal. It was more like an ashram than an academy. We had small seminar groups, which were mainly taught by Mark (yoga) and me (Ayurveda) and together with a kitchen assistant I cooked for our guests. Today it is still very personal with us, but much more professional!
We work according to accredited curricula, have excellent lecturers in the various subject areas and offer a wide variety of qualified Ayurveda training courses in different learning formats with recognized qualifications. The spa center attached to the academy has also established itself as a medical Ayurveda competence center and offers our students qualified internships in the Ayurveda kitchen, massage therapy or medical practice.
What makes a good Ayurveda training course for you?
For me personally, the competence, integrity and personality of the lecturer is of the utmost importance. Ayurveda is an experiential knowledge and we benefit from the Ayurveda knowledge of our teachers on a professional, emotional and spiritual level. This is another reason why we are very happy to cooperate with renowned Ayurveda universities in India, which allow us to invite top-class Ayurveda doctors as lecturers to seminars and the international Ayurveda symposium. In my training courses, I enjoy the personal exchange with my participants. I don't just want to impart a wealth of knowledge and practical skills in Ayurveda. I also associate Ayurveda with joie de vivre, enjoyment and self-care. I really enjoy sharing and living the living knowledge of the Ayurvedic art of healing and living with my participants - free from dogma and adapted to the local climate and lifestyle.
How have the training courses developed and evolved?
We have grown and professionalized. Both on a personal level and as an institute. Thanks to our lecturers' many years of practical and teaching experience, we have been able to continuously improve and intensify our expert knowledge as well as our didactics, teaching materials and methodology. As a result, our students today benefit from a wealth of experience that we did not have before.
Everything that makes the Academy what it is today - from a flexible training plan with an individual mix of classroom teaching, online courses and e-learning - has been developed across the board. We have always managed to retain our own enthusiasm for Ayurveda and share it with the people who come to us. And as the saying goes? Shared joy is double the joy! We get to experience this every day at the European Ayurveda for Ayurveda!
What should not be missing from any Ayurveda training course?
A good Ayurveda training course is not just for professional development. It is also a unique opportunity for holistic self-awareness, because when we study Ayurveda, we always gain new access to our own constitution with its unchangeable personality traits and potentials. We experience our true self in a new way and learn to incorporate the associated talents into a successful Ayurveda practice.
In this sense, our training courses combine a profound transfer of knowledge with personal coaching, individual training support and a warm campus atmosphere. However, all these holistic aspects can of course only support and not replace a well-thought-out curriculum with professional teaching material, learning checks, practice videos, etc. In my opinion, it is very important to combine a professional training structure with individual support and lovingly guided self-awareness.
Dear Kerstin, finally, what else would you like to learn about Ayurveda?
I still find Ayurveda incredibly exciting! I am constantly learning new things and gaining a better and better understanding of the connections between body and psyche, health and illness as well as people and nature.
I am currently working intensively on the integration of Ayurvedic nutritional and herbal therapy for the local climate and modern lifestyle. I am trying to combine the traditional healing principles of a curative Pancakarma diet with the Mediterranean diet. Together with Indian doctors, we are also researching how local medicinal plants can be used therapeutically in the context of Ayurvedic medicine. Here, too, we are making progress in small steps and learning new things every day.
