On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, the Ayurveda Association of British Columbia (AABC), the Ayurveda College of BC, and Samya Spa came together at Samya Spa (Victoria, BC) for a full-day celebration of Ayurveda's heritage, its evolving place in modern health, and its future in British Columbia.
From 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, the event combined an open house, practitioner meetups, clinical displays, and a strong slate of presentations and a panel discussion. The open-house format allowed attendees to drop in throughout the day — to explore Samya Spa's offerings, meet practitioners, learn about the Ayurveda College, and enjoy refreshments.
The day culminated with a panel discussion and Q&A that invited robust discussion among practitioners, the audience, and AABC organizers about the future of Ayurveda's place in BC.
Public safety and consumer protection — Ensuring that practitioners meet minimum educational, ethical, and competency standards.
Professional legitimacy — Helping Ayurveda gain recognition within the broader health ecosystem and preventing dilution or misrepresentation.
Quality assurance — Preserving classical Ayurvedic heritage, avoiding "watered-down" versions of the practice.
Pathways for education and accountability — Enabling a structured framework for continuing education, recertification, and oversight.
Concerns about bureaucratization — Worries that regulation might impose rigidity or stifle the unique, individualized nature of Ayurveda.
Potential exclusion of practitioners with partial or non-standard training — Resistance might come from those who fear not qualifying under stricter frameworks.
Risk of corruption or capture by medical-industrial interests — Some voiced skepticism that regulation could be co-opted or manipulated to favour conventional biomedical stakeholders.
Implementation complexity — Defining scopes, standards, oversight bodies, certification processes — all require careful design to avoid unintended constraints.
The event affirmed strong interest among practitioners and the public in an organized Ayurvedic presence in BC.
The panel debate, though intense, underscored the urgency of having clear governance, transparent standards, and broad participation in designing regulation.
We heard a clear message: those most grounded in authentic training and clinical practice must help build the system, so that Ayurveda remains true and accessible.
Professional Dialogue Framework: Going forward, the AABC will ensure that future conferences, panel discussions, and events are structured so that only registered members and invited speakers/panelists present perspectives, while members of the public are welcome to participate through questions and inquiries.
This will help preserve constructive dialogue and protect the focus of professional exchange.
The day also fostered networking, inspiration, and renewed commitment among attendees to collaborate on the next phase of Ayurveda's growth in BC.
Registered Advanced Ayurvedic Practitioner
BAMS, MD (Panchakarma), MA (Leadership)
BAMS
BSc, BAMS, YIC, MA (Leadership)
BAMS, MPH
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