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FEATURE
G’DAY INDIA | OCT 2021
The Healing Practitioner
Meet Melbourne based Vanita Sharma, an authentic traditional Ayurvedic and Yoga practitioner, winner of IABCA 2018 Business Woman of the Year award to 2019 Woman Entrepreneur; not only lived to tell a near-death experience but encompassing nature, human body and seeking ways of healing the mankind or all three.
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second chance in 2008 changed the course of life for Vanita, travelling to India with her then sixyear-old son to attend her cousin’s wedding in New Delhi and also travel to Jaipur for business. Just within a week of arriving in India she met with a horrific accident - her car a complete write off after being hit by a truck. Being in a coma she had no idea she survived an accident that left her with a frontal lobe brain injury and cut on her face. Although she had no memory loss but was without work for nearly three years as she was unable to attend to her clients to practice, once arriving back in Melbourne. Vanita says, “I lost hope and thought I’m done.” They say angels come in many forms and in Vanita’s case, it was her brother, a practising GP in the UK, a successful doctor in his own rights and he too survived a road accident at the age of four. Although it was challenging, he decided to move to Melbourne, along with his family to support Vanita and her family. In 2011, she gathered all her energy and inspired herself with a can-do attitude that she didn’t give up. Vanita started studying Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Swinburne, in the meanwhile she also started working from home, initially contacting her old clients. A television interview with ‘David & Kim Morning Show’ Channel Ten changed things for her, moving her business into a commercial place in Kew during 2014, building it again from scratch with family support. In 2016, Vanita got elected as a Vice President in the Ayurvedic Association and served for two years. In 2018 she got elected as a Deputy Chair, Complementary Health IRC, SkillsIQ to represent Ayurveda & other complementary
health modalities. Just recently in 2020, she had to undergo another eye surgery; and within four months her vision was restored that was impaired during the accident. It was important to take a glimpse into her backstory before indulging straight to the interview as it enables us to understand the visionary doctor’s achievement in Ayurveda. To initiate things off, could you tell us is Ayurveda an idea or a concept? Ayurveda is a consciousness based approach to health, truly a science of life or experience that determines the quality of wellbeing evolving five thousand years ago. An ancient scripture Charaka Samhita, (Sutrasthana, first adhaya) has given a specific idea, a clear concept of human life, sharirindriya meaning: ‘Whenever human body is in combination with the consciousness (mind) then only one can call it a human life; whenever there is a separation between them it is death.” The levels of these two are different, the material (physical) level, but the consciousness (mind) the metaphysical level, a sort of energetic level. Unless these two levels are taken into account, it is very difficult to maintain life at a normal level or to treat disease conditions. The concepts of universal interconnectedness, the body’s constitution (prakruti), life forces (doshas) are the primary basis of Ayurveda. Being a fifth-generation Indian Integrative Ayurvedic Doctor, you bring the wealth of legacy and experience through your family’s practice in India. So how did Urja Ayurvedics in Melbourne (Australia), came to fruition? A family background of physicians not only being inspired by her grandfather, but also
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having had the luxury of observing him doing ‘Pulse Analysis.’ Her involvement with it has been truly compelling as Vanita was fortunate to choose between conventional medicine and Ayurveda, but the love for nature was her unanimous approval for the latter. Vanita was amazed to see the lack of Ayurvedic practice in Melbourne, giving her a reason to be among the first to introduce Ayurveda in Melbourne, almost twenty-two years ago by the name of Vibe Ayurveda. Now ‘Urja Ayurvedics’ is a reflection of her, giving back to the community. ‘Urja’ meaning ‘energy’. According to you, have the people in Australia (Southern Hemisphere) holistically grasped to the idea of Ayurveda yet? According to Vanita, Australians have grasped the idea of Ayurveda within the field of holistic health and traditional Yoga. Complementing the conventional medicine, it is accepted as an Integrative Ayurveda, acting more as a preventative approach, focusing on nutrition, diet & lifestyle; widely practised and registered in SkillsIQ (national not for profit organising supporting industry) under complementary health Australia. Most recently an MOU has been signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda and Western Sydney University and an Ayurveda Chair is getting established in the University early next year for its recognition & propagation in Australia. It is all possible with the support of AYUSH Health Ministry and Indian High Commission and there are few private institutions in Australia who are providing Certificate level & Diploma level qualifications. You single-handedly facilitated an international collaboration with Australia,
