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Letter to the Press - Ayurveda

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your interest in Ayurveda at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. The following is an outline of Kripalu’s new Ayurvedic services and the reasons why we think this makes a great story. There is a lot of information here, so let me know if you have any questions. Here goes:

Background

  • A growing number of Americans are paying out-of-pocket to be able to participate in alternative and holistic healthcare.
  • Developed in India over a period of 5,000 years, Ayurveda (Ah-yur-VAY-dah) is thought to be the oldest system of health and healing.
  • Yoga and Ayurveda are considered to be "sister sciences".
  • The goal of Ayurveda is to teach each person how to attain optimal health through a deeper understanding of oneself and one’s own nature in relationship to the natural rhythms of life. It is a system based on natural healing which strengthens the body, mind, and spirit and allows the body’s own innate healing mechanisms to work to their fullest potential.
  • Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is the largest yoga and holistic health retreat center in North America. Serving over 20,000 guests each year, this non-profit retreat center offers hundreds of programs that help participants learn tools that they can apply to their daily life.
  • Ayurveda and Kripalu Center share the same goal: to help individuals foster a deep awareness of and connection to the Self. See www.kripalu.org. for more information.

Story Idea

The best way to write a story is to go through the experience yourself. While we will be offering three-day, week-long and month-long programs, we invite you to be our guest for a three-day retreat. Your retreat will begin with an Ayurvedic Consultation with Dean of Ayurveda Curriculum, Hilary Garivaltis. She will determine your dosha (roughly translated as "body-type"), identify imbalances within the body, and suggest gentle changes in diet and lifestyle. She will then suggest three Ayurvedic Healing Arts treatments for you based on your individual constitution (see the enclosed "healing arts" brochure for a full listing of treatments). The goal of Ayurvedic bodywork is to purify the body and balance body, mind, and spirit. The treatments use different, somewhat exotic techniques such as steam tents, authentic Indian herbs, and raw silk gloves to exfoliate and massage.

You will also have access to daily yoga and meditation classes, as well as Retreat & Renewal (R&R) lifestyle enhancement workshops. R&R workshop topics include The Art of Relaxation, Everyday Living as a Spiritual Practice, Sound Healing, Body Awareness & Acceptance and many more. Your stay will end with a second consultation with Garivaltis to evaluate your progress and to support you in continuing your purification at home.

Resources

  • Spokesperson - Hilary Garivaltis, Dean of Ayurveda Curriculum, highly trained and certified expert on Ayurveda, is available for interviews and quotes (please see her bio in the FAQ).
  • Ayurveda health "quiz" - Our experts can help you create a "test" for readers to determine their dosha and to offer suggestions for lifestyle changes/enhancements.
  • Research and studies - We can provide results of studies about the popularity of "alternative" health and the benefits of Ayurveda.
  • Visuals - We have a vast array of professional photos including images of people meditating, doing yoga, walking in nature or receiving an Ayurvedic treatment. Our Ayurvedic treatments offer unique photo ops: we can feature fours hands (two Healing Arts professionals) working on one client, a client receiving a third-eye oil drip (balancing the nervous system), as well as colorful fabrics and herbs from India.
  • Glossary - We can help to demystify Ayurveda by providing readers with a glossary of terms (dosha, pitta, vata, kapha, etc.).
  • Personal stories - We can provide success stories about the positive impact that Ayurveda has had on people’s health and lives.
  • Food suggestions and recipes
  • The Kripalu School of Ayurvedic debuted in January 2005. We now offer a certification program offering courses by leading experts in the field of Ayurveda including Dr. Vasant Lad (founder of the Ayurveda Institute in New Mexico) and Dr. Robert E. Svoboda.
  • Kripalu Center Web site - http://www.kripalu.org/healing_arts/25/. A great resource for a full description of Ayurveda and Panchakarma, books, links, tips for balanced living and more.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information, cathy@husidmedia.com or (617)916-5523. I am always happy to arrange for interviews, quotes or photos as well as brainstorm story ideas. In addition, please know that you have open invitation to join any of our programs.

Sincerely,

Cathy H. Husid