This interview was conducted via email with Niika Quistgard, CAS

Niika has been practicing and teaching Ayurveda for individuals and groups since 1996. She has taught yoga in the U.S., Europe and India. She's been a regular contributor to Yoga Journal on the topic of Ayurvedic wisdom (see Writings), and was founder, editor and publisher of Inside Ayurveda, the first international journal of Ayurvedic Medicine.
Niika spent most of 2006 in Kerala, India, exploring the birthplace of Ayurveda and related healing system, Siddha Vaidya, while writing, studying and teaching.

Niika had the good fortune to spend abundant time observing and learning from Dr. Reghu Harichandran, a 9th generation, traditionally-trained Siddha Vaidya doctor and herbal pharmacist in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

For more information about her work, go to this website: www.mayashakti-ayurveda.com


Jake: I'm curious about the transmission/translation of Ayurveda and Siddha
outside of its local and indigenous place of origin. What do you think
changes when it travels to the US, what is lost and what challenges arise?

Niika: That is a huge question. On many levels, it changes very much. I'll try to address only some aspects of the practical level here.

Internal Siddha medicines are limited to patented products here in the West, or some small amount of choornams, kashayams and some oils that can be hand-carried in airline luggage. In India, fresh medicines can be made per a patients needs as required.

Siddha external treatments are not usually applied daily for 5, 7 10 or 40 days in the U.S. People just don't typically have the time and money for what would be seen as a normal series of treatments, in India.

Another profound difference is that the therapy ingredients used in India, are just not available in the West. In Ela Kizhi, for instance - the leaf pouch treatment - we cannot, in the U.S., venture outside the morning of the treatment to pick the correct leaves for the pouches. That doesn't mean we don't have effective alternatives, but a change of ingredients does create
differences. Here, we use dried grains and herbs, or ground coconut and lime. The oils, though - in this case Vatarajangam - are easier to import, and some can be made here.

The attitude of the therapists is very different, as well. In India, the treatment atmosphere is much more casual. Treatment time is seen as more matter of fact, although some therapists feel it's important to lift the mood of the patient. There is no thought of creating the kind of womb-like environment we've come to expect when receiving body work in the West. Of
course, each person is seen as sacred and everyone is treated with respect, but not with soft New Age music and the kind of sometimes sentimental preciousness we are used to in the West. In India, there may be noise, or cooking smoke or some other distraction, and more likely than not, lots of joking going on. (In fact, I found I had to rename the SV clinic I
go to "Chiri Vaidya Clinic," in honor of the therapists who are always laughing and inspiring patients to do the same. (Chiri means laughter in Malayalam.)

Treatments often happen in open air coconut thatch structures, so the sounds of the crows and the sight of the coconut palms is part of the experience. This offers a healing feeling of oneness with nature that doesn't happen so readily in the West.

Our level of skill is not on par with most of the therapists from India, as well. We are learning, but some Indians have a lifetime of experience!

Also, Westerners are used to learning in very structured, formal ways. While there are universities now for the study of Siddha, in India, many feel that the traditionally trained practitioners are best. In fact some Siddha practitioners don't even know they are such. They simply do what their father taught them in the course of daily living - how to make medicines for
family and friends, from plant and animals materials found in the local, natural environment. We, on the other hand, tend to lead with the mind. We usually need to think through material, rifle through binders of notes, etc.

The knowledge just isn't as integrated in us if we've learned in a classroom situation, as it is if we've had an opportunity to learn in a more personal way, and especially in the land it's come from. But over time, we'll absorb much of what is relevant and helpful to our western clients.

Finally, there is little understanding of the value or even the existence of Siddha medicine in the West. Practitioners here are pretty much pioneers, and usually practicing in relative isolation from other Siddha practitioners. That's a big reason your efforts to create a Siddha community on-line are so valuable!


Jake: Why do you think Ayurveda has become so popular in the US?

Niika: Many factors have ripened public interest in Ayurveda here. A recognition of the value of yoga has really become mainstream, and once a person has practiced and understood something about yoga, learning about Ayurveda is a natural next step. Originally, the main purpose of Ayurveda was to support physical and mental health so a person could pursue spiritual develop through hatha yoga or other practices. It's hard to meditate when you have chronic migraines or other symptom of imbalance, right? So, as many more people discover the value of ancient Indian or Vedic wisdom in the yogic path, they are getting curious about what Ayurveda has to offer, too.

Another factor bringing Ayurveda into the spotlight now is a widespread dissatisfaction with, and growing distrust of allopathic medicine - especially in areas such as chronic illness. People don't feel their doctor spends enough time with them to really get to know them, to understand their complaints completely. Every day there is more negative press about the dangers of many pharmaceutical drugs. People everywhere are turning to holistic alternatives, especially for prevention (which western medicine doesn't address), stress-reduction and management of chronic diseases. The Ayurvedic system of natural medicine is comprehensive, and excellent at addressing these basic health needs.

Some people are drawn to Ayurveda because of its association with the spa experience. Just as some people come to yoga at first for purely physical exercise and end up finding a spiritual path, some people come to Ayurveda the first time looking for a pleasant warm oil massage. But if they come to a knowledgeable practitioner, they will likely find a much more comprehensive experience that touches on all areas of life, and will inspired to take not only treatments, but practical, customized action with diet, herbs, etc. toward establishing deep wellbeing and balance.

Finally, all things Indian are rather in vogue right now, so there is general openness to trying out what ancient India has to offer us today.


Jake: As a practitioner, how do you negotiate using western diagnostic tools with therapies not based on western ontology and epistemology?

Niika: Honestly, I pretty much don't. In Ayurveda, we don't treat conditions. We treat patients. Allopathic condition diagnoses and lab or scan test results can be useful, but primarily, as a practitioner of Ayurveda, I seek to understand the full picture of a person's health situation, and how each area of life contributes to the whole. In Ayurveda, we want to create the experience of balance in a person, rather than focusing on the eradication of a specific pathogen or symptom.

A few weeks ago, a woman came to see me for the first time. She was curious about Ayurveda, and was hoping Ayurveda might help relieve the debilitating headaches she'd been experiencing daily for about three weeks.

As part of the intake process, we learned (I always work in partnership with those who come to me) that she was particularly stressed over her boyfriend's recent unemployment. We discussed the nature of the relationship, and mentioned that she had been calling him from her place of work several times a day to "check on him" and his progress toward getting a job. Well, just hearing about this gave ME a bit of a headache! I told her this, and she agreed. She felt the same way, but hadn't realized her fixation until we talked about it.

After we had a good laugh, I suggested that she experiment with a different behavior. Instead of calling her boyfriend every time she felt anxiety about his unemployment, maybe she could put that same energy into an activity that would enrich her own work experience, or somehow improve her direct experience of life. We also practiced some deep breathing and simple
meditation together so she'd have the tools to connect with her deeper experience of being if she was feeling stressed.

I didn't offer any herbal medicines or other advice right away. As a precaution, I referred her to her MD for further assessment or tests if the headache continued or worsened, but when she returned a week later for her report of findings, she walked in, sat down and said with a wide smile, "I haven't had a single headache since I walked out of here 7 days ago."

When a manifesting imbalance is just emerging, a return to homeostasis is often as simple as becoming aware of our actions, and learning to choose a balancing response.

All this said, there are times, however, when I will recommend a particular herbal formula based partly on a known condition, but only when it also makes sense from a dosha-balancing point of view as well.


Jake: What do you enjoy most about being a practitioner, and where do you see your practice heading in the next 5-10 years?

Niika: Working with women for their health and happiness is my passion. This is for it's own sake, but I also see the role of women in a larger context. Of course men deserve wellbeing too! But the old saying, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." is oh, so true! And in both Ayurveda and Siddha Vaidya, the health of each newborn child is understood to be dependent on the health of the mother. And as a child grows, the state of the mother will influence the child. At every life stage, whether or not a woman is a mother, women embody the power of shakti - that creative energy that is based on seeing how all life is naturally connected to life.

Also, women seem to easily grasp the truth of our interconnectedness, that feminine natural ability to understand the natural connection between herself and others. Every woman, whether she is a mother or not, nurtures other people, beings and growing things according to the quality of their energy. So the health of women affects everyone. Healthy, happy women are a primary cause and indication of health and happiness across a family, a community, a society.

An important aspect of my work, and I feel essential to healing, is restoring the responsibility and the JOY of health to the individual, as embodied in the term "svastha." We westerners have gotten too used to turning to others or to some outside source of information for answers to our problems, hoping others may be able to "fix" us. It's very healing when women recognize their innate power to embrace balance, and the principles of Ayurveda and Siddha Vaidya can illumine that possibility beautifully.


Jake: Any other goals with Siddha?

Niika: Oh - I have big visions! There is so much to learn and share.

I hope to spend much more time in India each year. My dream project is to establish a women's retreat and herb conservation and crop farm in a somewhat rural location in south India, where Western women can come to restore themselves and learn Ayurvedic self-care, and also interact with local women to enjoy cultural exchange around issues of self-care and healing. This will involve cooking and herb growing/harvesting/use.

For starters, I'll hope to begin leading small groups of women on these kinds of travel experiences, starting next year.

I'd also like to foster a program that promotes backyard herb growing and fresh herb use among women across South India. Many herbs are being "strip-mined" from the landscape by corporations as Indian medicine ingredients become more sought after all over the world. As Ayurveda and Siddha Vaidya become more commercialized, local people are having a harder time using their native ingredients for their own health.

I'm interested in discovering more about women practitioners of Siddha in India. Who are they? Where are they? How are they practicing?

I have a basic understanding of course, but I'm very interested in learning more details about Ayurvedic and Siddha approaches to treating mental illness, which is so common in the West. Many traditional practitioners do not treat it, considering mental illness a karmic disease. But I'd like to explore what more there is to learn from those who have the compassion to treat those who suffer mainly in the mind.

And of course, pursuing some writing projects goes without saying...

I may have to undergo Kaya Kalpa - the mystical 90 day longevity boosting process - to extend my life long enough to learn and do all I'd like! Like most humans, my joy comes from helping and inspiring others, and enjoying a positive hands-on relationship with our good Mother Earth, so I'm hoping to do a lot more of these things over the years to come.


Jake: Thank you so much, I really appreciate your insight and willingness to share your experience and vision. I hope that you are able to manifest all of your goals – may you have all the resources and health you need to accomplish them!