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National Ayurvedic Medical Association

National Ayurvedic
Medical Association
NAMA

The National Ayurvedic Medical Association is a national organization representing the Ayurvedic profession in the United States of America. Its mission is to preserve, protect, improve and promote the philosophy, knowledge, science and practice of Ayurveda for the benefit of humanity. NAMA is the largest membership association of Ayurvedic practitioners in the US. It is charged with representing and supporting the profession of Ayurveda in the US. Some of its activities include: holding an annual conference; lobbying to create national standards for Ayurvedic colleges and practitioners; lobbying to create standards for a state license for Ayurvedic practitioners; making sure that Ayurvedic medicines used in the US are safe; promoting the availability of professional liability insurance coverage for Ayurvedic practitioners; and supporting research into the study of Ayurveda.

Sevanti Institute encourages all students and practitioners of Ayurveda to become a NAMA member.

NAMA Recognition
Matters

Sevanti Institute derives it’s curriculum from the NAMA standards and scope of practice for the board certified Ayurveda Health Counselor (C-AHC) level of practice. We work diligently to ensure that the education you receive meets, and in many cases exceeds, NAMA standards so that the knowledge, skill and insight you bring to your clients as an Ayurveda Health Counselor will effectively heal and change lives for the better. We encourage you to apply for NAMA student membership during your Ayurveda education. Volunteer at NAMA conferences. Meet other inspiring practitioners and teachers in the community. Upon completion of your training, we suggest that you take the NAMA AHC National Certification Exam and register for professional membership. We hope you will play an active role in the NAMA community. Join a board sub-committe. Present at NAMA conferences. Connect with other educators in the community. Sevanti Institute supports the mission of NAMA and we hope you will too.

NAMA Ayurveda
Professional
Categories

The National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) recognizes three categories of Ayurveda practitioners, based upon the scope of practice and the educational and experiential background needed to be competent as a professional in each category. As per the NAMA website, the definitions of each category are as follows:

Ayurvedic Health Counselor, C-AHC

Aka Ayurvedic Wellness Counselors, this category includes Ayurvedic professionals trained to focus on preventive healthcare as well as health promotion, with a specific focus on diet and lifestyle. The recommended hour range of training is 600-1000 hours for this category.

Ayurvedic Practitioner, C-AP

This category includes Ayurvedic professionals with additional training in pathology and disease management beyond that of the Ayurvedic Health Counselor. These professionals also practice preventive healthcare and health promotion, using diet and lifestyle. The recommended hourly range of training for this category is 1500-2500 hours.

Ayurvedic Doctor, BAMS

This category includes Ayurvedic professionals who have specific specialized training in Ayurveda with overview training in conventional medicine that enables them to interface with western medical practitioners and provide comprehensive Ayurvedic healthcare to their patients. The recommended hourly range of training for this category is 3000-4500 hours.

The Sevanti Institute curriculum is focused exclusively on the Ayurveda Health Counselor practice. We believe that client education and self awareness are the keys to sustainable wellness and an enlightened self care.

Ayurvedic Health
Counselor Scope of
Practice

Ayurvedic Health Counselors are competent in health promotion and disease prevention (swasthavritta). They utilize the principles of Ayurvedic medicine to create diet and lifestyle (āhāra and vihara) recommendations according to their assessment of the patient’s Ayurvedic constitution and imbalances (prakṛti and vikṛti), as well as the state of the doshas, agni, dhatus, malas, and manas (mind).

After the completion of academic training, NAMA requires 50 hours of supervised clinical practice, with a minimum of 50 patient encounters. The newly trained AHC practitioner will be capable of educating, motivating and counseling patients to implement the principles of Ayurveda into their lives. Ayurvedic Health Counselors will refer patients whose disease state (samprapti) is beyond the third stage (Prasara stage) to Ayurvedic Practitioners or Doctors of Ayurveda for diagnosis (nidan) and treatment (chikitsa) of disease

NAMA Certification Board (NAMACB)

The NAMA board of directors recently announced the formation of the NAMA Certification Board (NAMACB), an autonomous auxiliary board of the Association. The NAMACB is the certifying body for the following professional designations:
• Board Certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor (C-AHC)
• Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner (C-AP)
Earning NAMACB certification represents a significant professional achievement. As an emerging healthcare profession in the U.S., Ayurvedic medicine is not yet widely recognized. Building off of educational competencies and standards developed by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association, NAMACB certification is the first well-established credentialing process for Ayurvedic medicine in the U.S.; as such, it provides one of the few means by which clients, healthcare entities, government agencies and others can determine whether individual practitioners are qualified.

AHC National Certification Exam

To become recognized by NAMA as an Ayurvedic Health Counselor (C-AHC), students must pass the Ayurvedic Health Counselor National Certification Exam. The first exam, a beta test, was offered in January 2017, and without a doubt NAMA will be refining the exam for years to come. Exams are offered through local Kryterion Testing Centers found all across the US in all major cities. The AWCP Level 2 Advanced training program was specifically designed to prepare students to pass the AHC Exam.

Study Guide for the AHC National Certification Exam

NAMA kindly provides a study guide for the AHC National Certification Exam for your review. This comprehensive outline establishes the basic curriculum foundation for Sevanti Institute AWCP trainings. The outline is a study guide, but not a substitute for proper education. It outlines the relevant Ayurveda topics that should be understood to pass the exam and practice competently as an Ayurveda Health Counselor. It serves as a list of topics expected to be on the national exam. The list is generated from online surveys of hundreds of Ayurveda practitioners who contributed their views on the relevancy of dozens of Ayurvedic principles, theories and practices. Please own a copy and review the outline as you prepare for the national exam. A downloadable version is available below.

Download the Study Guide for the AHC National Certification Exam

The link below will initiate a download of the official NAMA Ayurvedic Health Counselor Certification Exam Study Guide. The outline highlights all of the most relavant Ayurvedic principles, theories and practices as expected to be on the exam. The complete teachings of this outline are included in the AWCP Level 1 & 2 curriculum. We highly advise you to attend these trainings before taking the exam.

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