Suzanne first applied Āyurveda to her yoga practice and found Āyurveda  transforming her life in powerful ways.  She knew she had found her healing home and was inspired to study this ancient wisdom so that she could help others.
 
After several years of formal study with Ed Zadlo, D.Ay, Suzanne received her certification as an Āyurvedic consultant, but it was not until she met her guru, Vaidya Ramakant Mishra, that she realized that studying the Āyurvedic texts is not enough to be a healer. Suzanne was gifted a living lineage, called Shaka Vansiya Āyurveda, from Dr. Mishra, a visionary healer who brilliantly updated Āyurveda for modern times and Western lifestyles.  When Suzanne graduated from his Āyurvedic pulse diagnosis and marma therapy program, Vaidya Mishra called her “a bright student, very bright.”  Suzanne was used to being a straight A student, but Dr. Mishra’s praise meant something different.  He was referring to her inner light, the wisdom of her heart and mind connected.  Dr. Mishra taught Suzanne that a true healer is not just book smart, a true healer has awakened their healing energy and embodies the wisdom in their heart, mind, and daily life.
 
In daily life, healing starts in the kitchen and this is the place where Suzanne spends most of her time.  She has taken Āyurvedic cooking classes, mastered the art of Āyurvedic nutrition, and raises her children on an Āyurvedic diet.  She loves inspiring her clients to heal their digestive systems and adapt an Āyurvedic diet so that their food nourishes them on every level of their being.
 
Yet Āyurveda is so much more than finding balance through food.  Studying Sanskrit has helped Suzanne deepen her own personal practice and offer her clients more ways to find balance.  Suzanne first began seriously studying Sanskrit so that she could read Yoga philosophy and the ancient Āyurvedic texts in their original language.  This translation work has been nourishing for her spiritual life.  Suzanne also discovered that the sound of Sanskrit itself is a powerful means of healing, which she has experienced firsthand through her daily mantra practice.  When Suzanne isn’t translating Sanskrit texts or chanting mantras, she loves to curl up with a novel by Louise Erdrich or listen to a Beach House record to elevate her vibrations.
 
Spending time in nature is another way to elevate our vibrations. Āyurveda  teaches us to live in harmony with our own unique nature (our dosha), as well as to connect with the rhythms of nature, so Suzanne makes sure to spend time outside each day, whether she is hiking with friends, gardening, or gazing at the night sky. 
 
Suzanne also studies the night sky to connect with her and her clients’ cosmic nature.  Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) allows us to connect to the energy of the planets and our Vedic birth charts reveal how the planets have influenced our lives.  Using Vedic and Āyurvedic Astrology, Suzanne gives clients even more insight into their dosha, their dharma (life’s purpose), and karma.
 
Speaking of karma and cosmic connections, Suzanne is married to a musician, with whom she has shared many incarnations, attended countless concerts, and traveled the world. Together they created two artistic, musical, and inspiring daughters whom Suzanne homeschools, though her daughters teach Suzanne more than she teaches them. 
 
Suzanne’s Experience

• Offering group and private yoga classes to adults and children since 2009

• Offering Āyurvedic consultations since 2016

• Offering collaborative Āyurveda and Yoga workshops and guided group cleanses since 2016. In the Philadelphia region, she has led workshops at Amrita Yoga and Wellness, Barefoot Community Acupuncture, Gabrielle Sigal Iyengar Yoga, Hot Yoga Philadelphia, Jenkintown Hot Yoga, and Move with Love.

 
Suzanne’s Credentials, Trainings, and Studies

• Active member of the Pennsylvania Āyurvedic Medical Association (PAMA)

• Āyurvedic Lifestyle Consultant (500 hour) through the American Institute of Vedic Studies

• Integral Vedic Counselor (500 hour) through the American Institute of Vedic Studies

• Āyurvedic Pulse Diagnosis and Marma Therapy certificate through Vaidya Mishra 

• Āyurvedic Cooking Masterclasses through Divya Alter 

• Certified Vinyasa Yoga Teacher (200 hour) through Dhyana Yoga

• Yin Yoga certificate through Amrita Yoga

• Ongoing Vedic and Āyurvedic Astrology (Jyotish) studies  

• Herbalism studies, including Wild Wisdom, a nine month foraging class and Herbal Aid Ed, a nine month herbal apothecary class, both through Alyssa Schimmel at Awbury Arboretum

• Sanskritist, including nine semesters at the University of Pennsylvania; multiple courses on Pāṇini and the Yoga Sutras through the American Sanskrit Institute; and continuing studies with a private tutor

• MFA in Poetry from Emerson College

• BA in Literature and Creative Writing from Dartmouth College; completed the pre-medical curriculum; graduated magna cum laude and inducted into Phi Beta Kappa

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