Education Highlights |
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 exercises 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.
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.
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.
Our leadership, expertise, and commitment to Ayurveda is best demonstrated through our many accomplishments incuding statistics on over 1,000 symptoms!
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.
Unlike associations, state school licensing boards conduct regular audits. State school licensing is a much better measure of school professionalism than provided by associations.
At the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda & Greek Medicine, 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 (Note: The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges is not an accrediting agency). 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:
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.
"Hi John,
I would like to thank you for an amazing program. it was challenging for me because of my personal situation but I really enjoyed it.
I officially finished all the assignment yesterday night and I am very happy. Part of me wanted it to last forever, but everything has to have an end.
If by any chance, you are passing by Virginia, you have an open invitation for you and your family to stay with us.
Have a wonderful day,"
"The Dosha composition quiz is one of the most comprehensive tests you can find on the internet and the website has a huge collection of recipes for all the seasons. The recipes are nourishing, tasty and leave you satisfied."
"I love, love, love this website and John Immel is the best! After 30 years of practicing & teaching nutrition, my eyes were opened WIDE to eating for my dosha and I enjoy it so much. I'm losing weight effortlessly, feel amazing (at 52), adore his recipes and I'm happy knowing I'll eat this way the rest of my life. Joyful belly is now my favorite online resource (encyclopedia) and I trust John wholeheartedly. If you are considering taking his cleanse, course, a consult or just using his recipes - I say YES! My 76 year old Mom is loving this with me, it has changed her life too, Yippee! Thank you John, many blessings"
"I came into the Joyful Belly Master of Digestion program with many years of knowledge and passion surrounding nutrition, health and wellness. I wanted to elevate my holistic health knowledge to a higher level. I never realized how much I would be getting out of this program. From a broader perspective, my understanding of holistic health has in fact reached the deeper level I aspired to. The program enriched my understanding of what many of us are struggling with on a day to day basis. I also understand more about how to help myself and others reach more of our short and long term health goals. I came out at the end of this program with more knowledge then I could have ever believed possible in such a short amount of time. I am extremely grateful for the experience."
"I have enjoyed this course so much, it's been a life changer and so glad I did the step to take it."
"I would like just to leave my comment regarding the class given just now. The live consultation was amazing, full of new information and the thought process was very useful! I have been loving all the classes, but I would like to stand out this class today and share my gratitude with Jessica, it really made a big difference for me today."
"It's like my intuition is being reexplained in depth. It's overwhelming in a good way because I'm so interested in what we're learning! I'm so inspired by the daily routines and rituals that Ayurveda practices. "
"Yes! I throughly enjoyed the Ayurveda Workshop and look forward to more. The material was relevant and comprehensive to my goals. I found the material concrete and practical. I think you are skilled and informative regarding Ayurvedic teachings. I am thankful to have people like yourself commited to helping and teacing this fine medicine. I have already pasted the information to others to come to learn more. Thank you and we will meet again..."
"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!"
"A quick note about this fun assignment of buddy consultation! I learned as much about my knowledge and delivery as I learned about my student buddy. It was powerful and we are going forward with another session in two weeks. It was powerful to see how her connect the dots and feel empowered to make some new shifts as a journey for feeling better."
"After listening to the Enzyme Deficiencies lecture I made up the banana, lime and coconut water smoothie for my elderly client who is always complaining about dry mouth. Her doctors have tried prescribing her everything under the sun. She reported today that she LOVES the smoothie and how much it's helping her mouth! THANK YOU John Joseph Immel for sharing your knowledge and this course! I cringe at the stuff they have her taking for her digestive issues and she's so frustrated because nothing is helping her."
"I just spent two hours on the Joyful Belly website, just looking around and LEARNING. Have you all seen what is offered to us, just free information given in easy to understand language??!! I have referred every one of my family, friends and clients to this site. I am overwhelmed with gratitude, John Joseph Immel. And I just cannot imagine having all this knowledge at my fingertips. Thank you!"
"I have a success story that I just had to share. Last week a man came to see me ready to change his diet. He has a history of excess alcohol/liver heat, excess weight (not a lot but more than he would like), a lot of cold in the GI tract, dry colon with inflammation, lincoln log stools which sometimes purge yellow stools after doing yoga. He also has a history of indigestion with acid reflux which the doctor gave him Nexim for.
The Nexium did not help at all which he told his doctor, but the doctor insisted he keep taking it.
I gave him a vata/kapha diet with no solid foods after 2pm. Lemon/honey/ginger drink in the morning plus CCF tea during the day, I asked him to use certain spices in his cooking and practice mula bhanda to help with the stress he has been feeling. That's all, no herbs.
I spoke with him today and he is feeling fabulous. He said that he is feeling a warm heat throughout his body that he hasn't felt in a very long time. His bowels started to regulate very quickly and his body is starting to sweat during yoga which doesn't usually happen. He has lost a lot of weight, is feeling much lighter, more energetic, and his ankle is starting to heal itself.
If I had not taken the joyful belly course I would not have known that acid reflux can be caused by indigestion/lack of fire. I would have assumed that with his liver being hot that his stomach was too acidic as well and I would not have understood why his bowel movements were alternating.
I would have been nervous to treat him and likely would have treated him similar to the doctor instead of treating his case as having too much cold.
I am in tears at having helped someone and hearing the excitement in this man's voice from how good he feels. He's coming back next week for another consultation"
"First of all I would just like to say that I am LOVING this course. It's so interesting and applicable for someone who suffers from digestive discomfort. I have already felt a shift after implementing very simple changes."
"I loved the class..great information..thank you very much!"
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
