Real science

With a delightful smile, Dr Grigoriy Gridor'evich, 46, explained the reason behind his passion for Ayurveda. "I got a chance to read a book on Ayurveda written by Dr Deepak Chopra and I was enlightened. Ayurveda sticks to the basics and it is beneficial for the common man to prevent diseases, in simple way. And the principles, which attracted me more, were - how to take food, when we should sleep, significance of doing exercise etc. In short, how to live a joyful life concept encouraged and motivated me to learn more about this real science."

Dr Grigoriy had his basic education in Ayurveda from Hyderabad. In that intensive course he studied basic principles of ayurveda, pharmacology, and a few panchakarma therapies like nasyam and vasti.

East meets West...

May be it is hard to believe. Nine years ago, when tourism industry was not active that much, Dr Grigoriy with a mission to promote authentic Ayurveda, added Ayurveda treatment centre in addition to acupuncture, yoga and modern medicine in his East West Clinic at St Petersburg.

The challenge

Dr Grigoriy, however, shares the concern in doing ayurveda practice abroad. "Getting genuine ayurveda medications and oils, has become a tough task. If it is not original, efficacy will be less. What gives confidence is the fact that recently the Russian Government slightly revised the rules and regulations in importing ayurveda medicines hoping that it will meet the requirements."

Immense scope

He adds that in Russia there is a growing interest for alternative medicine such as Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Unani. "There more people are prone to psoriasis, spondylosis, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and other auto immune diseases etc. However, the main villain is stress. All these can be managed and controlled well by alternative medicine system with an integrated approach. For example, Ayurveda therapies with Yoga can bring wonders in managing stress."

AVN experience

It was through Mr Nibin, 25, who was in Russia before, hailing from Perumbavoor, Dr Grigoriy heard about AVN Centre. He came to Kochi on 12th March with his friend, Mr Shianov Alexander for exploring Ayurveda.

Dr Grigoriy said he is overwhelmed by the hospitality and authentic rejuvenation treatment of AVN Centre.

Future plans

After his visit to head office of AVN, Dr Grigoriy is planning to have a tie up with this leading Ayurveda institution. " I will be extremely happy, if I can associate with them."

Before boarding the plane to Russia on March 27, Dr Grigoriy assured - will be in Kerala next year.

Yes, he has started the (Ayurveda) journey...