...the plan...

...mission possible...

...my mission is to be part of and build meaningful community of Love respect fairness and thriving that is about showing up for one another... that supports/encourages each other/ that does this through shared Work. i am not looking to start something new, but instead take my lessons from the village traditions of my own family in which the phrase "it takes a village" was an everyday reality - the good and the bad.... for many years (15 years) i have been imagining building an ashram-school community that centralizes ancient medicine and honors the religious traditions of the people involved (jewish, christian, muslim, bhuddist, hindu, wiccan, pagan, agnostic). i have spent many years having these conversations with family friends and strangers, including living and visiting models of intentional communities... including co-ops, eco-villages (upstate, ny), villages (bangladesh/india/guatemala), ashrams (india) and universities (throughout u.s.). i have envisioned doing this with my parents, brother, other bio and non bio family (as these relations are the easiest to discard, and the most important to reconcile). i've come to the conclusion for myself that a fusion of the ashram-eco-village-college model holds the most resonance for me. i've talked to and have been asked by family members to start small... with a family house we get, in which i run a clinic and school based on the ancient teachings in healing arts that i've spent a good deal life/money/energy studying, practicing/living and offering. that i do this in community and to support building community with those who take courses.

logistics:

i have spent much of my life spending and giving this work... and have realized how important it is to charge. when there is an exchange of currency, there is more gravity that both parties place.

offerings:

clinic: holding clinic for clients who seek healing for their health (body-mind-spirit), based on a fusion of principles from ayurveda-yoga-and western naturopathy. all of this based on an initial session of assessing constitutional composition and current elemental imbalance.

based on this, subsequent sessions may involve: nutritional adjustment/support/alignment, talk-therapy using tarot, bodywork (abhyanga, shiroabhyanga, shirodhara, vastis), etc. and/or plugging clients into a program:

programs: 1. panchakarma 2. nutritional alignment 3. seasonal alignment

courses: for me the idea behind the courses is to build community through a meaningful experience that grows them in their individual path, and in community. some course offerings: ayurvedic-nutrition, ayurvedic herbalism, poetic-homeostasis (creative sensory writing workshop to heal from our past), intro to ayurveda (for practitioners who want to incorporate ayurveda into their work/lives), yoga system (a course that goes through angas of yoga, including pancha-maha-kosha, asana, pranayama, diet, etc.)

my price point: my rate has been $125 per session for some years now. the average rate for ayurvedic/yoga therapy/naturopathic work is $175/hr. most of these practitioners curate/diagnose, similar to western physicians who see a client for a little bit and all the work is done by the flibotomist, nurse/s, pharmacists, etc. i am the only one i know who does the actual hands on Work... in the traditional way of medicine man - assessing the client, and then coming up with a meal plan, bodywork plan, movement plan, herbal medicine plan... and doing this hands-on - the bodywork, making the medicine, sharing and teaching how to cook in alignment, etc.

pricing rational: i think pricing should be based on experience, amount of time studying, relationship to craft, practicing/growing deep in your craft, and offering meaningful Work. i've spent over 6 figures in my studies. i've studied and am degreed in creative writing (which is a deep part of my healing work), nutritional science, herbalism, massage (LMT), Ayurvedic Panchakarma (diagnosis, treatment planning, nutrition, bodywork (over 13 types), herbalism), and yoga. i also live this through daily practice in yoga/veganism/prayer/meditation/herbal balancing/medicine making/fasting/detoxing...