DeAnna Batdorff is an Ayurvedic Practitioner and “Renegade Health Detective” with over 30 years of experience, who has supported more than 250,000 individuals on their journey to better health through owning their right to "self-care as healthcare." Follow DeAnna on her podcast, MyBody, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen free.
You've heard of the doshas, but what are the gunas, and why do they matter? These qualities help explain all the diversity in nature, including your own unique self!
The body works hard for us, day in and day out, always doing its best to steer us toward optimal health. Our part of the agreement is to take care of it through the emotional extremes of life.
The more we cultivate love and respect for our bodies through the wisdom of Ayurveda, the greater our capacity to embrace and respect our communities at large.
Experience and Education
DeAnna has been offering consultations via private practice since 1988. She is the founder of both the dhyana Center, a “by donation” Ayurvedic clinic, and Aushadi Health Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit for Ayurvedic education and low-cost healthcare clinic services.
Her Ayurvedic training includes 3 years of study in Tibetan pulse and tongue diagnosis, as well as marma massage with Dr. Lobsang Rapgay. She also spent 2 years at the Bihar School of Yoga in India, where she studied ancient Ayurvedic texts and ran an infirmary for local residents.
She has volunteered at senior centers for many years, and spent 12 years working with the Immune Development Trust/Shanti Project, a global advocacy group for HIV prevention and in-home health support.
Degrees and Certifications
Certified Massage Therapist—South Blossom Massage School
Ayurvedic Practitioner—Ayurvedic Institute
Marcel Lavabre Clinical Aromatherapy
Nutrition Counselor—Bauman College
Nationally Licensed Cosmetologist/Esthetician
Publications
DeAnna’s writing has been published in Alternative Medicine, Sunday Health, and Yoga Journal among other publications. Learn more about her published works on her website.
Upcoming Events
DeAnna co-hosts Edible Ayurveda, an Ayurvedic cooking and diet course. Sign up for her waitlist to learn more about the course, early bird pricing, bonuses, and recipes.
DeAnna's Point of View
How were you introduced to Ayurveda?
In 1990, I was working at a spa in San Francisco when a massage client from India asked if I had ever heard of Ayurveda. I told her that I’d heard a teacher mention it, but that I wasn’t sure what it was.
She gave me Dr. Lobsang Rapgay’s phone number, mentioning he taught a class in LA. I called him immediately after she left, signed up for his next 2-week course, and studied under him for 3 years. As a monk, he could not touch female clients, but he held panchakarmas as well. I was one of many who were his hands—administering the treatments and interning under his guidance.
It was Dr. Rapgay who urged me to go to India to continue my studies. I left for India in 1993, at 23 years old, where I spent 2 years living in an ashram and running a public support infirmary with a medical doctor.
At 25, I moved to Albuquerque to study with Vasant Lad. It was there, in 1995, that I first met Kevin (co-founder of Banyan Botanicals) and his wife, Tammy. I was their tenant and when I moved out, Banyan Trading (now Botanicals) was born!
When are you most likely to go out of balance and how do you bring yourself back in balance using Ayurveda?
Daily dinacharya care (daily routine) is a great focus, but sometimes a tall order. I focus on healthy foods as my primary daily care and do a weekly dinacharya restoration program to keep me stable from week to week.
Every Monday, I spend 3 hours on steam inhalation, neti pot, and Nasya Oil to clear my upper channels. Then I use salt scrub, svedhana bath, and full-body gua sha massage to move lymph and blood dhatus.
I conclude with a basti (enema) to clear primary intestinal channels and secure downward motion.
What does the future of Ayurveda look like to you?
I see it going global, expanding into user-friendly ways for all people to understand the self. I see it merging with allopathic medicine to balance the needs of patients by putting certain aspects of health care into their own hands.
Ayurveda will intertwine preventive medicine with intervention-based medicine as equal values. It will be a super system of health! This is already happening at the West County Clinic, which I supported in securing MediCal and Medicare coverage for Ayurvedic consultations. It’s only one county, but it is a start!
What's one Ayurvedic practice anyone can implement to spur change in their life, right here, right now?
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