Hi and Welcome!

My name is Mary Thompson and if you don’t already know me, let me introduce myself.

I have been teaching Ayurveda
for the past 20 years at the California College of
Ayurveda. During that time I have worked with hundreds of students, interns and practitioners as they have moved forward on their chosen path with Ayurveda.  I discovered that my favorite thing to do is to support those who have chosen to move into the study or practice of this healing science.

My own path towards Ayurveda began when I was directing school-age childcare centers for the City of Sacramento.  One of the sites I worked at had more than 10% of the children receiving medications for managing ADD/ADHD.  I didn’t know anything about Ayurveda at the time, but I suspected that their issues had more to do with diet and lifestyle than with any particular chemical imbalance.  All I could do in my role at the center was to observe.  I had no training and no basis for my beliefs.  I wanted to find a way to address the needs of this population without needing to medicate them.  I sought out books on nutrition, herbs and alternative health care approaches.  One day I came across the word that would change my life, “Ayurveda.”

I began to study Ayurveda on my own through books, so many books, but I found that my study was haphazard.  I had the desire but not the discipline to create a foundation of study and build on that foundation.  I came across an ad for the inaugural year of the California College of Ayurveda’s Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist Training program.   I entered that program in 1995 and immediately immersed myself in the study of Ayurveda.  The day after I completed my internship, I stepped into the classroom as an introductory teacher of Ayurveda.  During those early years I taught introductory level classes, supervised interns in the Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist internship, and began to see clients.

After my study at CCA, I attended an internship in Pune, India with the International Academy of Ayurved.  I served as an officer on the founding board of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine.  I am a practitioner member of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.  I have presented at national and international conferences and summits on Ayurveda.  I have published articles in Ayurvedic periodicals.  I have worked with the Ayurveda Experience to produce two programs, “The Ayurvedic Woman” and “Sattvic Mind.”

After 20 years, hundreds of students and countless hours of study, I have decided to move away from the teaching of the curriculum at the California College of Ayurveda and to reach out to the students and practitioners of Ayurveda and offer them the support of my years of experience.  I plan to continue to develop my Ayurvedic offerings to include blogs, articles, podcasts, and online classes and I’d like for others to join me in these endeavors.

I have been acknowledged for my ability to express complex and, often, esoteric principles in a way that makes them easy to understand.  I bring “fresh-eyes” to client care and real-life examples of the Ayurvedic principles in action for students.  I invite you to partner with me in education, mentorship or collaboration.