ACHARYA SHUNYA
Acharya Shunya is an internationally recognized spiritual teacher, ordained lineage holder, and authoritative scholar of the Vedic Sciences of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta. Described by her students as a truth teller and an awakener of health and spiritual consciousness, Shunya is known for her embodied wisdom, impassioned knowledge, unique self-expression, and inspirational style of teaching.
In 2007, Acharya Shunya founded Vedika Global, a spiritual foundation in northern California, with a wisdom school, illuminating the sciences of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta. Here, Shunya leads regular satsanghas, where she expounds upon rare spiritual insights and the non-dual meditation tradition from Vedic and Upanishadic scriptures as well as awakening spiritual practices.
Shunya’s foundation also supports myriad wellness educational programs for public and healthcare professionals. In association with graduates, it supports Ayurveda lifestyle courses at Stanford University’s Health Improvement program and provides Ayurveda staff trainings in California prisons and police departments.
Acharya Shunya is President of the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM) since 2013. She is also Chair and advisor to several noteworthy national and international organizations, including the Government of India, on international Ayurveda and Yoga affairs. In 2015, Shunya was featured in Spirituality & Health magazine as a Top 100 Trailblazer in Yoga and Ayurveda.
Acharya Shunya lectures internationally and is a sought-after speaker. She delivers inspirational speeches, workshops and retreats throughout the world and has delivered keynote addresses for members of the World Ayurveda Congress (a multi country consortium), the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA), Association of Ayurveda Professionals of North America (AAPNA), and the Global Ayurveda International Conference. She was also invited to present on the status of “Ayurveda in the United States” by the Government of India, on behalf of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Overseas Affairs in 2016. This is a rare honor.
Acharya Shunya’s newest book, Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom, a complete prescription to optimize your health, prevent disease and live with vitality and joy, is inspired by her own life journey. Shunya was born into an uninterrupted Vedic spiritual lineage dating back to an ancient era in the holy city of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. She spent 14 formative years experientially studying Vedic scriptures and spiritual practices from the time-honored Vedic tradition, perfecting the sciences of Ayurveda, Yoga and Adwaita Vedanta with her Guru Baba Ayodhya Nath—a renowned Vedic Guru of his time, who is also her paternal grandfather.
Thanks to this unique learning and living experience, Shunya was inspired to revive elements of the traditional Gurukulam System of Education from ancient India, characterized by ethical, experiential, and spiritually profound learning, across all learning programs at Vedika Global. She has also established her own private Vedic Gurukulam, wherein select students are being trained long-term by her to take forward the Vedic sciences and spirituality of Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta as full-spectrum healers, teachers and ambassadors.
Shunya has received prestigious awards both in the United States and India, including for Distinguished Service by the California Institute of Integral Medicine (CIIS), excellence in education by the Association of Ayurveda Professionals of North America (AAPNA), the Vachaspati Best Speaker Award at Global Ayurveda International Conference, and the International Ayurveda Ambassador Award from Indian Institute of Medicine (IIM).
Visit acharyashunya.com for more.