Ayurvedic Health Instructor Certification
Bring Ayurveda into everyday health behavior change
14 weeks3–4 hrs/weekNext cohort Dec 2
Graduate as Gaja Ayurvedic Health Behavior Change SpecialistAyurveda at Gaja
Ayurveda for the way people actually live.
Gaja teaches Ayurveda as a practical science of daily life: digestion, sleep, rhythm, seasons and food. It is taught by physicians and Ayurvedic practitioners who hold it alongside modern medicine, not instead of it.
What Gaja believes about ayurveda
Four things we won't compromise on.
1
Start with digestion and rhythm.
Before supplements and protocols come the basics Ayurveda has always insisted on: when you eat, how you sleep, how your day is shaped by the season. Level 1 teaches you to assess constitution and imbalance and to coach routines that hold.
2
Within scope, alongside care.
Our Ayurveda faculty include an M.D. and a BAMS-trained Ayurvedic physician. You learn to counsel with confidence and to know exactly where the edge of your scope is, so that clients get Ayurveda and their medical care, never one instead of the other.
3
Food is the first medicine.
Level 2 goes deep into nutrition: dosha-informed eating plans, seasonal resets and cleanses done responsibly, and the counseling skills for people who need more than a handout.
4
Taught by people who live it.
Monthly mentorship with the program director, case studies on real clients, and faculty who cook, treat and teach from this tradition every day.
How it's taught
Two levels. Level 1, the Ayurvedic Health Behavior Change Specialist Certificate, runs fourteen weeks with four live mentorship sessions and a case study. Level 2, Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Counselor, runs sixteen weeks with monthly mentorship from the program director and two counseling case studies. Level 1 is the usual way into Level 2; experienced nutrition and health coaches may be admitted directly.
What you graduate with
Level 1 graduates are Gaja Ayurvedic Health Behavior Change Specialists; Level 2 graduates are Gaja Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Counselors. Both come with a verifiable certificate and a Pro Directory listing.
Certifications
2 levels of ayurveda certification.
Graduate as Gaja Ayurvedic Health Behavior Change Specialist
Ayurveda Level 2
Level 2: Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Counselor Certification
Counsel with Ayurvedic nutrition, integratively
16 weeks5–6 hrs/weekNext cohort Jan 11
Graduate as Gaja Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Counselor
Foundations course
Start here: understand your dosha, then balance it.
Take the free two-minute Dosha Quiz for your mind-body type and a week of lessons on balancing it, then go deeper with Ayurvedic Health Foundations: the first ideas of Ayurveda, made for everyone, with a certificate of completion at the end. All courses →
AyurvedaAbout 4 hours
Ayurvedic Health Foundations
Go beyond your quiz results. This self-paced course shows you exactly how to use your dosha to build a personalized daily health practice for your energy, digestion, sleep and mind, guided by board-certified physician and Ayurvedic expert Dr. Sheila Patel.
Start today →
Upcoming cohorts
Dates, seminar times and seats.
- Dec22026Ayurvedic Health Instructor CertificationEnrollingDecember 2026 cohort · Dec 2, 2026 – Apr 7, 2027
- Jan112027Level 2: Ayurvedic Integrative Nutrition Counselor CertificationEnrollingJanuary 2027 cohort · Jan 11, 2027 – May 3, 202725 seats leftApply
Faculty
Who teaches ayurveda at Gaja.
Lead facultyDr. Sheila Patel
Chief Medical Officer and Director of Ayurveda Programs
AyurvedaMeditationCoachingYoga
Lead facultyRoger Gabriel
Director of Meditation Programs
MeditationAyurvedaCoaching
Laura Plumb
Vedic & Jyotish Scholar, Gaja Faculty
AyurvedaMeditation
Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar
Ayurvedic Expert, Gaja Faculty
AyurvedaMeditation
Michelle Kabashinski
Coach Mentor
CoachingAyurveda
Gaja Studio
Upcoming ayurveda classes.
Live online for Studio members; the recording and class notes join the library afterwards.
- Seasonal Ayurveda KitchenWed, Oct 28, 2026 · 6:00 PM EDT · 60 min · Talk + practice · Dr. Sheila Patel
- Seasonal Ayurveda KitchenWed, Nov 4, 2026 · 6:00 PM EST · 60 min · Talk + practice · Dr. Sheila Patel
Gaja Pro · Ayurveda
Upcoming in the cohorts.
Live seminars, Q&As and workshops for enrolled students. Dates only; the sessions themselves are for the cohort.
- Nov4Bridging Worlds: Interpreting Common Allopathic Diagnoses Through an Ayurvedic LensLive seminar Ayurveda Level 2 · September 2026 cohort · 11:00 AM PST
- Nov11Embodied Digestive Healing: Ayurvedic Yoga, Breath, and Lifestyle Practices for the GutLive seminar Ayurveda Level 2 · September 2026 cohort · 11:00 AM PST
- Nov18Clinical Integration and Case Study PracticumLive seminar Ayurveda Level 2 · September 2026 cohort · 11:00 AM PST
- Dec2Welcome & OrientationOrientation Ayurvedic Health Instructor · December 2026 cohort · 12:00 PM PST
- Dec5Ayurvedic Health FoundationsLive seminar Ayurvedic Health Instructor · December 2026 cohort · 8:00 AM PST
- Dec12Ayurvedic Philosophy and Essential ConceptsLive seminar Ayurvedic Health Instructor · December 2026 cohort · 8:00 AM PST
- Jan6Coaching Framework & Assessment ToolsLive seminar Ayurvedic Health Instructor · December 2026 cohort · 12:00 PM PST
- Jan11Ayurvedic Health Mentorship with Dr. Sheila PatelMentorship Ayurveda Level 2 · January 2027 cohort · 12:00 PM EST
Admissions
Which level is right for you?
Admissions can tell you whether to begin with Level 1 or, if you already hold an Ayurvedic qualification, whether Level 2 is open to you. Or email support@thegajacollective.com.