Current situation - Introduction
More and more people in the west get to know and to appreciate Ayurveda. The interest of public media and consumers in this ancient Indian Art of Healing with it's holistic therapy forms has been growing continuously in the last years.
It really experienced a boom. The term and methods of Ayurveda however are so far known only as a kind of wellness therapy. More and more hotels and health institutions would like to implement Ayurvedic treatments in their portfolio. In this regard quite often it is not about quality but rather about swimming with the tide.
In the fields of scientific and medical teachings Ayurvedic medicine - although recognized by the WHO as an official traditional medical system - only gained little attention or recognition in the core countries of Europe so far. The first official thesis and dissertations were admitted in the year 2004 at different universitarian institutions. Also some educational programmes were accredited occasionally by medical associations. This shows a cautious impulse in the direction of perception and acceptance of Ayurvedic medicine as a holistic and complementary medicine.
Few institutions specialized on the qualified dissemination of the methods and the curative treatments in Europe. New institutions - often originating from the field of esoterics and Yoga - recognize a new market in Ayurveda and jump to the market with short and ill-conceived programmes and insufficiently trained, often unexperienced teachers. The same thing happens in the field of tourism. Here also new, unexperienced providers join the traditional vendors of Ayurveda-treatment-trips to India. India is in.
So Ayurvedic vacation in India is a fast seller and you will hardly find a wellness hotel in Europe not offering Ayurveda in their programme. There are a lot of seminars and educational programmes on Ayurvedic medicine, therapy, massage, nutrition, cosmetics and more. The courses vary widely in length and quality, therefore therapists also possess very different qualifications. At the same time every Ayurvedic products are available and it is very difficult to differentiate between good and less good quality. In general it is not advisable to buy products which have not been controlled in Europe as the quality control in India does not come up to the necessary standards.
That's why it is so important to think about quality when choosing an Ayurvedic treatment, education or buying a product.
The assurance of the highest level of quality in the various parts of Ayurvedic medical science is one of the main concerns of VEAT. Therefore we would like to assist you with the following pieces of advice in the choice of your Ayurvedic treatment.