Vaidya (Dr. in Sanskrit) Kanika Verma is an Ayurveda physician (BAMS, MMS, PDGHHM, PGDPC, and PGDVA) with a focus on Preventive Ayurveda. She specializes in Ritucharya consultation (Ayurvedic Preventive seasonal therapy) and Satvavjaya (Ayurvedic mental health management), with more than 10 years of experience.
Kanika is also a qualified psychotherapist with a specialization in mindfulness. She loves to combine mental healing along with physical treatment. Her knowledge of Vedic medical astrology adds to her diagnosis and disease prediction abilities.
Kanika believes that everyone can stay perennially healthy by simplifying the mind, diet, and lifestyle. Her two published books echo her opinion on simplicity and flexible health approach.
Ageless Life with Ayurvedic Ritucharya (2016)Zero-Time Mindfulness (2019)
Ayurveda is not only a medicine for me. It is a way of life. Also, Charak Samhita, the ancient Ayurvedic text describes the aim of Ayurveda as –
स्वस्थस्य स्वास्थ्य रक्षणं, आतुरस्य विकार प्रशमनं। (चरक संहिता सूत्र ३०।२६) Swasthasya swasthya rakshanam aturasya vikara prashamanam
(First) preserve the health of the healthy, and (then) cure the sick. So, Ayurveda starts well before you fall sick. In fact, with Ayurveda you may never fall sick. And I know the importance of well being because I was a child with frequent illnesses. Ayurveda is not only in medicines, or herbs or exotic therapies. It is the way you drink water or even breathe. So, Ayurveda is the science of life. For me, it is the healthy way to be.
The word ritucharya emerges from the combination of two words - Ritu (season) and charya(conduct). Therefore, ritucharya is the Ayurvedic preventive seasonal regimen that helps to protect the body from seasonal disorders and aging in the long run.
As an Ayurvedic physician, initially I found almost nil results with Ayurvedic medicine. I felt that probably low-quality raw materials or sub-standard manufacturing processes were the reasons for it. But one of my experiences with an overseas client in Norway opened my eyes to the basics of Ayurveda. The Norwegian client had no access to classical Ayurvedic medicines, so I had no choice but to help him heal by changing the food and lifestyle. And, I found incredible results, something that I could not achieve even with medicines. His nails, blackened with disease, started to turn pink again by just changing the food!
Ayurveda says that the fundamental treatment is Nidan Parivarjanam or elimination of the cause and wrong food/lifestyle is the fundamental cause for almost all disorders. So, with a COMPATIBLE diet and lifestyle, we can have a long disease-free life.
However, compatibility fluctuates according to multiple factors. One of the crucial factors is seasonal change. Ritucharya is the detailed knowledge about the compatibility of diet, lifestyle during different seasons, and their Sandhikaal (transition period). The importance of ritucharya lies in its amazing ability to ensure a smooth metabolic transition from one season to the other.
This book scratches the tip of the iceberg called Ritucharya. However, it is good for developing a basic understanding of this grand science. I hope that it helps you to make better health choices.
I have been severely allergic to modern medicines since childhood. So, I chose Ayurveda (BAMS) for graduation with one year of internship in district govt hospital. (Govt Ayurveda College, Jabalpur, 2004-2009), to keep myself healthy :)
However, my family was not very pleased, so I did MBA (MET, Mumbai, 2009-11) as a post-graduation and worked in Abbott Healthcare for approx. 4 years in various capacities. (2011-14)
Abbott has a strict training program. So, I started as a territory business manager for 2 months, Area business manager for 1 year (Tamil Nadu), Strategy Manager for Cardiac and Cardio-Diabetes for approx. 2.5 years.
I stayed on because of education loan, but I really hate the way the pharma sector works.
I left the job after my daughter was born (2014) and have been a home-schooling mom for past seven years.
I started an online Ayurved clinic in 2014. Since then, I have successfully treated Vitiligo, IBS, ED, and migraine, apart from other minor disorders. (2014-present)
I also started an Ayurveda blog called ritucharya.com (2014-present). Later, I published parts of my blog as a book called "Ageless body with Ayurvedic Ritucharya" on Amazon.com (2016)
Over the years, I have realized that food, lifestyle, and state of mind can cure all disorders. This book is research on the effect of seasonal changes on the mind and body.
Ayurveda believes that mind is the source of the body. In 2018, I did a PG diploma in psychotherapy (Institute of Holistic Mental Health, Tirupur) to understand the modern perspective on mental health and revive the ancient Ayurvedic psychotherapy called satvavjaya.
My specialization was mindfulness.
I published my thesis as a book "zero-time mindfulness" on Amazon.com. It is a field of my ongoing research work. (My books are not professionally edited.)
Also, there is a deep connection between Ayurveda and Vedic Astrology. So, in 2019, I did a PG diploma in Vedic astrology to understand medical astrology in Ayurved. (Institute of Vedic Astrology, Indore).
Currently, I am researching on probability of diseases in an individual based on his dob.
I am also interested in learning more about Ayurvedic Vastu. So, basically, I am a researcher and love exploring new concepts. Recently, I have worked on a Vastu project and it was very enlightening experience for me.
