Vision & Mission Our vision is to bring the healing science of Ayurveda and its modalities to the forefront of integrative medicine in the West. By sharing our wisdom, extensive education and experience, diverse backgrounds, collective knowledge of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, AAPNA strives to:
Build bridges of knowledge across all health professions to incorporate the healing approaches and modalities of Ayurveda into mainstream health care.
Bring together all Ayurvedic and integrative health professionals to offer each other support, academic discussions, professional development, and friendship.
Strengthen the awareness of Ayurveda as a healing science, thereby contributing to bringing the wisdom and knowledge of Ayurveda to everyone.
How we came to be: The founding of AAPNA (Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America) began as a discussion amongst Ayurvedic professionals in 2002.
We wanted to create a community of Ayurvedic professionals with the common goal of growing the presence of Ayurveda in integrative health care.
AAPNA incorporated in December of 2007 as a non-profit 501(c)(6) corporation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA; it has since grown to unite Ayurvedic and integrative medicine health professionals, students, academic institutes, and corporations throughout North America and internationally.
Now it has grown to 370,892 members from 134 countries - including the USA, Canada, India, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Japan, Belgium, Bahrain, Hungary, Austria, Algeria, Armenia, Italy, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Germany, Israel, Spain, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, France, Greece, Bangladesh, Turkey, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Croatia, Serbia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ethiopia, Albania, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burma, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Panama, Bahrain, Sweden, Jordan, Denmark, Malaysia, Mauritius, Costa Rica, Estonia, Cuba, Vietnam, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Guadalupe, Saint Lucia, Aruba, Dominica, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Peru, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico, Fiji, Argentina, South Africa, Jamaica, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Guyana, Australia, Qatar, Oman, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Philippines, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Suriname, Venezuela, Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Korea, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Moldova, Morocco, Estonia, Cameroon, Honduras, Georgia, Uganda, Czechia, Slovakia, Cameroon, Guinea. Senegal, Mali, Congo, Zambia, Haiti, Somalia, Paraguay, Andorra, Yemen.
Some of our accomplishments to date include:
Recognizing excellence in Ayurveda and Vedic sciences by bestowing annual awards for experts in the field of Ayurveda and Vedic sciences
Forming a network of alliances with national and international organizations
Celebration of World Ayurveda Day (as per the recommendation of AYUSH, Ministry of Health, New Delhi, India)
International conferences on Ayurveda and Vedic sciences and integrative health in collaboration with Global Ayurveda Conferences, LLC, USA
Offering professional liability insurance for Ayurvedic professionals
Recognizing highly talented and accomplished mentors in Ayurveda and Vedic sciences
Conducting various free medical camps in India for needy
Organizing various online educational lectures by multiple experts in the field of Ayurveda and integrative medicine
Listing AYUSH Trained BAMS, MD (Ayu), MS (Ayu), PhD (Ayu) professionals by various countries on our website
Recognizing highly qualified AYUSH trained Postgraduate and PhD professionals as "World Ayurveda Specialists"
Creating Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for Ayurvedic Health Professionals
Creating FAAPNA – Fellow of Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America, Inc.
Offering free supporting membership to support the mission and vision of AAPNA in 134 countries
Creating various levels of membership and registration for various levels of training
Creating a special category for Integrative Ayurvedic Doctors for licensed healthcare professionals
Creating a special category for Integrative Ayurvedic Researchers for PhD training in various health fields
Creating specialty training certifications in various Ayurvedic subjects
Creating Global Ayurveda Ambassadors to promote and propagate Ayurveda globally
Appointing state and country directors to promote the vision and mission of AAPNA and spread the knowledge of Ayurveda internationally
Supporting "Ayurveda Journal of Health," Massachusetts, USA
Creating various levels of gold standard curriculum for different levels of Ayurvedic training programs
Working on and supporting the licensing of Ayurveda in various countries
Creating PACE (Professional Ayurvedic Continuing Education) to encourage providers to update their knowledge in Ayurveda and integrative health
Defining scopes of practice for various levels of professional Ayurvedic training
Creating a database of all Registered Ayurveda Professionals.
Recognizing various Ayurveda educations institutions, schools, colleges, and universities
Endorsing and recommending various Ayurvedic books, products, and innovative research
Conducting International Yoga Day Celebration annually.
Conducting World Ayurveda Day in collaboration with AYUSH Ministry guidelines
Creating various national and international alliances with Ayurveda institutions, organizations, and allied health professional organizations
Receiving numerous testimonials on our community supporting activities
Following the guidelines of AYUSH approved Ayurveda training programs for various countries
Following the guidelines of Benchmark Training stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO)
Created "Scope of Ayurveda Practice" for 21 levels of ayurvedic trainings
Created "Board Certification" for Registered Ayurvedic Professionals
We are committed to sharing Ayurvedic knowledge & wisdom and exchanging ideas with integrative health professionals interested in Ayurveda.
Why Ayurveda Should Be Regulated and Licensed in Various Countries
Ayurvedic medicine has a significant time-tested impact on a person's overall health and well-being with a unique mind-body concept and approach. Recent years have brought a heightened interest in Ayurvedic medicine globally. The public has a right to expect that Ayurvedic professionals have adequate qualifications to practice effectively and safely. Legal recognition of the practice of Ayurvedic medicine and clearly-stated requirements to practice are essential to promote the profession and protect the general public's health, safety, and welfare.
a. Legal recognition of Ayurvedic medicine in the form of state licensure creates standards of minimum competency. Competency is measured and enforced through formal education, training, and examination requirements as per the independent body's guidelines.
b. Legal recognition of Ayurvedic medicine ensures that individuals have met the eligibility requirements needed to practice Ayurvedic medicine and are qualified to represent themselves to the public as state-licensed Ayurvedic professionals.
c. By providing a legal definition of the scope of practice of Ayurvedic medicine, professional licensure helps consumers identify the responsibilities and services unique to an Ayurvedic Professional. It allows consumers to select the most appropriate Ayurvedic professional for their needs and benefit from open access to the selection process.
d. Legal recognition of Ayurvedic medicine through licensure enables a state or jurisdiction to discipline Ayurvedic professionals. States cannot regulate a profession that is not formally recognized in statute. Professional licensure laws enhance public safety by enforcing disciplinary actions against non-compliant professionals.
e. Legal recognition of Ayurvedic medicine through licensure protects the public in other ways as well. It establishes a consistent standard of practice that is enforceable by a professional code of ethics. In addition, it defines a formal grievance process for consumers that helps prevent unethical and non-compliant Ayurvedic practitioners from continuing to practice.
The word “aapna” means “ours” in Hindi. “AAPNA” in our logo is written in English with a Sanskrit stylized font.The circle symbolizes wholeness and oneness.
The globe represents our world and the fact that we are all connected. It also represents all the people and health professionals integrating ayurveda into their practices all over the world. Green and blue in our logo indicates the inherently environmentally and ecologically conscious nature of Ayurveda and its natural healing modalities.