Krishna Consciousness 101 is that we are not our bodies. We may not be our bodies, but our bodies are our vehicles, we use them to get around this world, and just like vehicles it’s important that we maintain them. Simple understanding but we tend to forget this. Even Srila Prabhupada emphasized health from time to time. “It is important to keep the body fit and healthy so that we will not meet the obstacle of ill health while serving Krishna. Ill health may hinder one’s service, so, we want to avoid it as much as possible.” -(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 19, 1975)

As devotees we may neglect our bodies from time to time in the name of service and the Vaishnavi Ministry of North America is now presenting a class to help us find the balance.

This class will be given by Her Grace Vrindavaneswari Radhika dasi. Vrindavaneswari is a doctor of clinical nutrition and a clinical herbalist. She also holds a masters in integrative nutrition. She is the sole proprietor of her own health clinic called Sage Integrative Health in Philadelphia where she specializes in gut health, women’s health, chronic illness, and plant-based nutrition. Vrindavaneswari also teaches at Bhaktivedanta College in Durbuy Belgium where she teaches their Plant-Based Nutrition Course. “In my experience, whether a person is on this particular spiritual path or not, when the body is out of balance, when there are aches and pains and discomforts, it can really become the focal point” states Vrindavaneswari, “If a person is in pain, they are not sleeping well, their gut is out of balance, they are suffering from headaches and so on, they may find that these things can detract from life. When we are trying to focus our energies on a relationship with God through our sadhana (spiritual practice), if our body is complaining it can make progress difficult. So health issues, if not addressed, can become impediments on our spiritual path.”

This class will be focused on addressing imbalances in the female body. The purpose of this particular class will be to provide an overview for Vaishnavis while also offering suggestions on nutrition and herbal medicine. Vaishnavis will be able to have an open discussion about health concerns from a devotional standpoint. This class will use a natural approach to health concerns and bodily issues that affect women, and to allow the Vaishnavi community to explore some other topics in a safe space.”Sometimes women in our society (and all over the world) hold the weight of the world on their shoulders, and in taking care of so many others aside from ourselves we often put health on the back burner. One thing that I really want to bring to the table for this class is to encourage Vaishnavis to take their health seriously, to recognize that their health is beneficial not only to themselves, but to their families, to their service, and to their relationship with Krishna”.

This class will have practical applications that you can integrate into your life with ease. Vrindavaneswari will go through common health concerns, address nutritional and holistic approaches to healing, and herbal treatments for the body. It is the primary goal of this seminar to give Vaishnavis a safe space to talk about their health issues, but Vrindavaneswari shared that she really wants it to be an example of how females should treat one another as well. “It’s important that women support one another and to encourage a culture of self-care and nourishment.

To RSVP for this event, please visit Vaishnavi Ministry North America.