On this special episode of Living with Reality, Dr. Robert Svoboda shares advice to students of Ayurveda based on his 40 years of wisdom and experience.
Learn more about Ayurveda at Dr. Svoboda’s brand new website, which includes courses such as the Foundations of Ayurveda.
Advice to Students of Ayurveda
Drawing on his 40 years of wisdom and experience, Dr. Svoboda offers some advice for students of Ayurveda. He talks about taking on the attitude of always being a student of Ayurveda, the difference between modern knowledge and ancient knowledge, and the importance of integrating one’s own experience into the Ayurvedic energy of healing.
“The way of modern knowledge is to accumulate various facts and pray that somehow they will cohere together in one’s conscious mind, so that they can be employed when required. This is a process of accumulation. Ayurveda is, in many ways, the opposite.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
Learn about Dr. Robert Svoboda’s journey to finding Ayurveda on Living with Reality Ep. 21
Always Remember… (13:25)
Dr. Svoboda gives some practical tips and tricks for students of Ayurveda. Always remember to work with what you know, use your intuition. Always remember to pace yourself. Always remember to keep your own self as minimized as possible and let the healing energy flow through you. Always remember that you’re being of service.
“Always remember to pace yourself when you’re studying and when you are working with people. Always remember to keep breathing, to keep that connection to the life force, which is what you’re working with, which is what is serving you and what you’re serving.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
Cultural Appropriation (21:15)
Dr. Svoboda ends with a discussion on the topic of cultural appropriation. He talks about the need to appreciate, honor, and give back to the South Asian culture from which Ayurveda emerged. He explores how, for many students of Ayurveda, one of the main challenges is not really understanding the degree to which Ayurveda is part of South Asian culture.
“We do need to appreciate and pay attention to all of those ancestors in South Asia who have caused all this knowledge to be brought forward to the present day where we can take advantage of it and employ it in positive ways.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
Francesca Maximé and Robin Mallison Alpern touch on cultural appropriation and the idea of decentering the concept of whiteness on ReRooted Ep. 27
