Getting to Know Chitra
(pronounced chih-truh)
Doctor of Ayurveda
I help peri and post menopausal women who are 40+ and have always prided themselves in living a healthy lifestyle, now anxious and fired up by symptoms such as brain fog, uncontrolled anger, weight gain, thinning hair or hair loss, sleeplessness, hot flashes, cold flashes, skin breakouts, dry skin, bloating and digestive issues and simply cannot or do not want to undergo the HRT route.
I began as an energy healer looking for a language for what I did naturally. After a 20-year exploration, I finally landed on Ayurveda, a whole, complete proven ancient system of medicine that encompasses all the holistic practices, including nutrition, massage, yoga, essential oils, lifestyle modification, and much more.
I spent the late 80s and 90's being schooled in and practicing a mixed bag of approaches to healing after being introduced to my own innate energy work by a curandera. Some methods were extremely esoteric and some practical.
When I got a call from my mother with news of my father's failing health, I completely focused on caregiving and spending time really understanding the needs of an aging population and why most methods, while providing some short-term relief did not address the cause, and created all sorts of other complications.
I became completely disillusioned by the health care system (which wasn't hard) as well as new age holistic practices that focused on the founder's technique and teachings.
Why didn’t those methods work completely? Were there ways of healing that were both specific and effective and had thousands of years and millions of good outcomes behind them? Was there a system that did no harm to the body, got rid of the disease, got to the cause, and even rejuvenated the body and mind? It took time but I finally found Ayurveda. Once finding Ayurveda I discovered that while the principles were sound the methods and practical application were not suited for modern-day women who lived outside of India.
In 2009 I began my formal studies of Ayurveda while running an organic food-buying club, teaching yoga with an active healing practice and taking weekend classes. After all, the foundation of health is having access to clean whole food and appropriate exercise. At the suggestion of my husband, I moved to Albuquerque to study at the Ayurvedic Institute with Dr. Vasant Lad.
Unfortunately, life happened and I had to put my dream of graduating on hold.
Caregiver once more
My husband, who was very much a holistic health-conscious yoga practitioner, who had been diagnosed with cancer. The lesson of this experience was to fully understand the role of the mind and social influence on health and healing.
All things Change
I promised my late husband that I would pursue the completion of my formal Ayurvedic schooling at the Ayurvedic Institute. I discovered that my journey and education had gone beyond the scope of what was being taught at the Ayurvedic Institute at the time.
I had by then become one of the first Westerners to tackle the editing and translation of the Ashtanga Hrdayam with Dr. Sanjay Pisharodi.
In 2017, I organized and facilitated the first online Ashtanga Hrdayam study group which was open solely to practitioners of Ayurveda, attendees included novices as well as well-established Ayurvedic doctors and teachers. Today there are a few of these groups which are directly descended from the original study group.
There was still something missing...
I decided to become a Doctor of Ayurveda by my 61st birthday. AND DID!!!
I currently live in Albuquerque, NM (the traditional land of the Pueblo of Sandia and Tewa). I am exploring the notion of being an expat or at least the notion of spending a few months of the year living out of the country.
I'm a mom to 4 cats who are forever walking in front of the Zoom camera seeking attention.
I am committed to dedicating the remainder of her life to the promotion of Ayurveda specifically as it pertains to menopausal women making sure that a woman's health is more respected, her natural processes not medicalized, and sustainable.