School of Ayurvedic Diet & Digestion
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Herbs & RemediesWELCOME TO THE JOYFUL BELLY SCHOOL OF AYURVEDA
Be Transformed by Your Experience at the Joyful Belly School of AyurvedaGet ready to experience powerful insights and an extraordinary education through interactive learning under the guidance of our distinguished teachers, hand-picked from around the globe, to provide you with an education that excels in the world of Ayurveda. We value the acquisition of Knowledge, but at Joyful Belly we believe that the application of this knowledge is most important in bringing health to yourself, your community, and your clients. Discover the innovative approach that makes Joyful Belly a torchbearer in bringing ancient healing into the modern era.See why we are a leader in Ayurveda innovation.Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine
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Education Highlights |
Teaching Philosophy
Assignments are designed using active learning methods so students engage with and apply the knowledge to heal themselves and others. Practical exercises will help you discern the subtle cues your body uses to communicate imbalance.
Experiential learning will be accompanied by weekly case studies on advanced disease for a complete, in depth natural approach to health.
Use of multimedia makes online learning more effective than traditional in-person classroom settings, where the teacher may be more than 50 feet away from the students.
Our inspiring courses do not rush education. 2 years is the minimum to understand the full scope of Ayurveda. An additional 2 years is required for advanced level practice.
Our courses are more challenging, but build more confidence and results in your personal healing journey, and those of your clients.
Avoid comparing schools based on price. Instead compare clinical outcomes. Don't skimp on education. Focus on your lifetime career, not on 'geting a deal' today.
Harvard is not the cheapest school, but you can actually have a successful career and your lifetime earning potential makes it worth it.
When you graduate from Joyful Belly, you are investing in a high-quality, in-depth education, your future clinical confidence, and a lifetime of achieving your goals.
All of our teachers receive ongoing pedagogy training (teacher training) customized to medical education.
We train our teachers in active learning methods and mutliple intelligences and learning styles. We've organized assignments using these pedagogy tools.
Study after study proves great teaching is essential to learning outcomes and competency.
The founder of our school graduated from Harvard, and his academic qualities infuse the whole school to a higher quality education.
Joyful Belly takes a natural, common sense approach to Ayurveda education so that people in your community can relate to your future clinical practice and engage in your services.
Patient centered care focuses on the culture of the client, not the medicine, ensuring your practice will be accessible in a cross-cultural context.
Your journey will not only be profound, it will also make sense.
Clinical Mentoring & Support
Business Support
Gain experience running your clinic and business while in the course.
Once you graduate, you are already setup for practice.
Receive expert 1-1 guidance from business advisors at Joyful Belly.
Homework Support
Assignments include both multiple choice questions and written work that graders analyze and offer corrective feedback.
Your accuracy is ensured and developed every step of the way. Gaps in your understanding are identified and remedied.
This feedback will give you confidence in yourself and your knowledge.
Community
You can't become a clinician just by studying on your own. Self-paced and open enrollment 'by modules' don't work.
All students start at the same time and grow together as a class, while combined synchronous & asynchronous learning maximizes flexbility.
You are joining a community and you will learn from each other. Expect to make lifelong friends and colleagues.
Our students are leaders with busy lives. We DO offer flexiblity for any life events or plans you have during the school-year. Contact us for details.
Alumni Support
Leadership
Our leadership, expertise, and commitment to Ayurveda is best demonstrated through our many accomplishments incuding our pioneering research studies involving over 75,000 participants.
The quality of a school is measured by what it does, not what it says. We don't just teach Ayurveda, we study and develop it.
The scope of knowledge you will receive is demonstrated by the thousands of free, down to earth, practical articles we provide on the website and the many free tools we offer to the public.
Ayurveda is a grass roots health movement that is more accessible to the public because of the free content we offer.
Great schools of Ayurveda publish content and have a strong public service mission.
You will come to understand Ayurveda they way the ancient pioneers did, from the ground up, using your body as the guide.
At Joyful Belly, you will not only study what Ayurveda was, but what it will be. You have a chance to be a part of Ayurveda's development and growth.
Competitive Price
They exist to protect their donor schools, increase the cost of education, and do not represent clinicicians. They offer little to no benefits to our graduates.
Unlike associations, state school licensing boards conduct regular audits. State school licensing is a much better measure of quality.
Despite this, associations frequently scare students by convincing them they have authority. They have no legal authority with the government, and no impact on your ability to practice.
Employers largely ignore association membership when hiring. Instead they look at years of clinical practice and education level.
There is no travel required in the program.
An Interactive Online Ayurveda School
Where students all over the world come to join our community and find a seat at our table.
At Joyful Belly School of Ayurveda, you will discover your purpose through an advanced, clinically-focused Ayurvedic education. Joyful Belly is a North Carolina, State Licensed college nestled in the mountains of Southern Appalachia. As a state-licensed college, we take academia seriously and offer a rigorous curriculum that includes: Ayurvedic medicine, herbal formulation, digestive tract pathology, pulse and tongue diagnosis, tailored diet and lifestyle planning, and so much more! Our courses provide you with the solid foundation of both Ayurvedic knowledge and clinical training to legally practice Ayurveda and see clients in the United States. Our many international students are able to work within their local laws to practice Ayurveda as well. Here are just some of the reasons students choose Joyful Belly Ayurveda:
- Joyful Belly is renowned as the premier Ayurveda School for food and digestion, the focal point of health in Ayurveda.
- Our distinguished educational strategy boasts a dynamic balance of down-to-earth, practical teaching styles and an innovative, experiential learning approach that focuses on training students for clinical excellence.
- At Joyful Belly, we value academic rigor, student support, and wellbeing with equal magnitude. We believe in a high quality education and the high quality experience of our students.
- Operating since 2008, we have diligently worked to develop a strategy of student and alumni support to ensure high success rates in personal clinical practices. Students receive business training and a completely functional online clinic, hosted on JoyfulBelly.com, upon graduation - giving you the credibility of our brand while you build your practice.
- Joyful Belly offers the most in-depth clinical training of any program in the West in addition to being a research institution that has published over 175 novel research studies in food and digestion (over 50 studies a year).
- John Immel, founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda is a Harvard graduate and passionate teacher that brings the rigor and excellence of an Ivy League experience into the realm of Ayurvedic education, teaching students to become convergent thinkers in a clinical setting.
- In the passion we have to bring the practice of Ayurveda into the modern world, Joyful Belly School of Ayurveda emphasizes a professional integrative medicinal approach to appeal to a broad range of individuals and ensure maximum receptivity in both local communities and metropolitan areas alike.
How Does Joyful Belly Stack Up in Ayurvedic Higher Education?
Learn what to consider and how to be discerning when choosing an Ayurveda School in the guide below, and see for yourself how Joyful Belly strives to check all the boxes.Why Joyful Belly?
We teach the rich foundations of traditional Ayurvedic medicine while also teaching our students to be critical, convergent thinkers in a clinical setting to bring about high quality client outcomes. We are innovative: We conduct research in the field of Ayurvedic food and herbs and are pioneers in the development of Ayurvedic diagnostic strategies and clinical programs and tools to put forth the strongest practitioners in the field.
We provide an exceptional education that also delivers an accessible and convenient online platform so students can succeed from anywhere in the world and in any walk of life. We teach in a step-by-step approach that makes the learning of even the most complex Ayurvedic concepts feel natural.
Weekly live classes give students access to distinguished teachers and practitioners in the field, bringing experience, perspective, and clarification to the curriculum in real time. Exercises outside of the classroom will supplement presentations, ensuring a firm grasp of Ayurveda's concepts and methods.
Personal mentoring sessions will fine-tune assessment & recommendation skills while building confidence as a clinical practitioner.
What Our Students are Saying
"Hi John! The lecture was fabulous! So interesting and informative!!! I really LOVED it! It was very useful info. I am running a weight loss workshop and was able to share so much with them from your teachings. I would love another call on detoxing the body.
Peace and light,
Anonymous"
"This was a very well-spoken presentation. I love the thorough, yet simple way that ideas were explained and expounded upon. Going through each of the body channels (srotas) and reviewing the Sanskrit name and connecting each to either excess or deficient slow guna was a very helpful way to make the information meaningful and applicable. "
"The class, has brought a certain calm to me, I have experienced my mental warrior energy, where as before this ive only experienced my physical warrior energy. To absorb this information is a lot for a 24 year old to take in but the fact that I gave it my best, showed me what I am truly capable of and I am seeing the outcome of giving your all to something you dreamed about doing. I feel strengthened, and motivated to see the world and my part in it in through a more experienced lens. Ive learned how to balance, school, relationships, work, and play in a whole new way. I have a deeper respect for teachers, and think that we have been spoiled to have such knowledgeable and nurturing teachers to learn from, couldnt thank the Joyful belly team enough."
"John did a wonderful job in presenting completely new concepts to a varied group of students, answering questions patiently and clearly. I felt like a whole new world opened up for me, one in which my body can and will be healthy. It is attainable more easily than I initially believed. It brought back the knowledge of wholeness which can so easily slip further and further into the background with our busy lives and non-supportive patterns we find ourselves in. John's teachings about balance also reminded me that the responsibility to heal myself is in my own lap, no excuses!"
"Just wanted to say that today's teacher was amazing! She did such a great job interviewing the client, explaining pathogenesis, breaking down the treatment plan, and answering questions. It was very organized, thorough, and informative. Would love to see more classes like this!"
"I really love the sample case-studies thath help us practice giving recommendations and getting direct feedback about them. "
"Hi John,
I have loved every minute of the course, and it has truly changed my life. It is exciting to be learning something so completely new, yet intuitive to some degree. My biggest challenge is simply slowing down to pay attention. Its a big shift, but the time has come...
Thank you so much; Im thrilled that I found you and Joyful Belly."
"I ate salads every day until I took this class. Thats when I totally stopped until now in summer and swtiched to soups which were literally HEAVEN for my mind and body. I really never connected the seasons with my eating. I thought seasonal eating was just a marketing catch phrase used by high end restuarants to charge more. Lol"
"I approached the Joyful Belly Ayurveda Health Counselor Course because I wanted a solid curriculm and foundation in natural holistic medicine. Joyfulbelly has helped me reach this goal. I use this ancient knowledge not only for myself but for others."
"I just met with my 88 year old client who is having trouble with nausea. I explained the Ayurvedic perspective you discussed in the free call and how unexpressed anger, guilt or shame could be a possible cause. A light bulb went off in her head and she revealed childhood traumas that had cause the same feeling of nausea in her stomach. This new perspective gave her insight into her current condition."
"I have found that taking this course has helped me to become very in-tune with my body."
"I love your classes, John! I find you very inspirational. You have a glowing passion and simple wisdom about you. I love that your business is called Joyful Belly. That goes back to that cosmic giggle thing. I feel like your smile and enthusiasm is like a joyful belly - the radiance makes others smile and laugh! Your ability to pinpoint reality and human nature is just amazing. True medicine, and I truly appreciate you sharing!"
"John,
I've made some great friends and connections through this program. It has been a great way to bring people together from all walks of life and areas of the world!
Thanks so much!
Lisa"
"These were so helpful. Even as a practitioner this was not something that I had a lot of experience coming into the class and the things I discovered during these exercises were amazing."
"Regarding my feedback thus far, this course has overall exceeded my expectations. The level of detail covered on the topics and the range of backgrounds and experience across the instructors is very balanced and definitely contributes to the effectiveness of the material being covered. I enjoy all of the lectures so much, as well as the assigned reading material. "
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