Vedic Study Members Enter Above
Student Expressions
Heartfelt Gratitude
Acharya Shunya teaches in a deeply authentic yet modern and relatable way. I gain depth and clarity from her ability to weave together different strands of Vedic knowledge and intersperse them with contemporary examples. So many times, when I hear her teachings, I am stunned by her timing, as I have the sense that they are just what I needed to hear in those moments of my life. Vedic wisdom provides me with a more holistic, expansive, inclusive, and timeless perspective into which I can anchor so as to flow on the river of this life’s journey with greater ease, steadiness, joy, and peace. The longer I sit at her feet, hearing, contemplating upon, and striving to integrate this wisdom, I find that I am able to remember it more readily and easily. I always feel uplifted, nourished, and inspired after participating in a study circle with Shunyaji and fellow seekers.
Maria Kristic
Acharya Shunya has always been the bright, unwavering flame leading seekers into truth. The world doesn't see through her eyes. And for people like Acharya Shunya, their path is lonely. Just ask Gandhi, Ammachi, or Mother Teresa. It is not easy to tread the path that few follow. But that lonely path touches far more people and brings the type of change this world needs. There is a hunger for this knowledge in its pure, unfiltered form. I've always loved this Robert Frost poem. The line, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" is all about Acharya Shunya.
Alexandra Krasne
​ My good fortune has led me to many teachers that helped move me through the dark times, but Acharya Shunya is one of those teachers that gave me the necessary tools to access my own strength, power and purpose.
Acharya Shunya is a powerful, honest, true-to-life teacher too. She speaks from the heart, leads by example, and is not afraid to look into her own life to teach through those savory or unsavory examples. These qualities have always been an important aspect in my search for teachers. To be taught by Acharya Shunya is to be in the presence of the Sun. Any remorse, guilt, or fear melts away the ice from the mind when listening to her speak and you begin to understand that darkness cannot survive the presence of light; unconsciousness can’t survive in the presence of consciousness. She moves you with her ability to expound the scientific and complicated knowledge of the Shastra (ancient textual knowledge) in accessible and modern ways. She also draws deeply from the accumulated knowledge of her own ancestral lineage. The lessons she gives are not based in “maybes”, she works with students from the ground up so that one can use their own discrimination and experience to see that these Shastras ARE true.
Tracy Cunningham
Studying the timeless teachings of Ayurveda, Yoga and Vedanta with Acharya Shunya has brought an enormous expansion in how I live my life. I surprise myself with a new-found, but very grounded understanding of my own capacity for healing, joy and equanimity.
Amrita Wasowski
I don’t have the language to describe the nature of my experience in studying with Acharya Shunya... or what it truly means to me. What I can say is that there is something unspeakable within me that is growing, by the grace of this wisdom & practice. A remembrance is rising in my heart & in my life. I am grateful to my dear teacher & to her lineage. I know there is no looking back from here....
Medgar Marcus Rogers, Instructor, Adult Developmental Issues
It is with deep gratitude and love that I write this testimonial. As a Holistic Nurse Practitioner who has had years of schooling, both traditional and non-traditional, I must say there is no comparison to what I have received as Acharya Shunya’s student. It has been the most holistic, heartfelt approach to living a healthy, well balanced, spiritual life. All aspects of our wellbeing were addressed in a forum of unconditional love and wisdom, touching my inner being, and allowing me to accept and grow with the knowledge I have been receiving. Yes, transformation has occurred, slowly but surely. I think the greatest change that has happened is I feel I have become a more conscious being who feels connected to a greater source of Health, Light and Love. I have learned how to care for my body, mind, and spirit in a more conscious way through the guidance of Acharya Shunya’s Ayurveda teachings and her many blessings. I am her dedicated student of more than six years now, and this path only continues to grow and evolve. Many people comment on my appearance lately. It’s not the physical aspect, but something else, a glow or beauty of some type. I know this is an opening of the heart and Shakti, an inner strength that carries me along my path of Dharma. What an amazing experience it has been. We are so fortunate and blessed to have Acharya Shunya blazing the Path of Transformation for Humanity.
Kamala Debra Reaghard, Holistic Nurse Practitioner
Acharya Shunya has been my spiritual guide for more than 15 years now. Through her guidance and wisdom she helped me overcome and surpass obstacles with a grace and dignity that will never allow me to carry such burdens again.
When I met Shunya, I had both physical and emotional troubles that I lived with every day - heavy burdens I carried around with me everywhere with much confusion as to why they were presented to me. I was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and scared. I was clinging to past grievances and life's disappointments while quietly managing day-to-day anxiety and anger. It was difficult to separate one of these emotions from the other. At the time I saw two options: break free from my suffering or learn better skills and Ayurveda tools to endure the ongoing angst. I could not conceive of any other way out. I only knew thoughts of slaying or living with my perceived demons. Shunya taught me another way of being that required no struggle or fleeing. Rather than push or pull at how our life unfolds, there is an option to consciously accept, and truly find peace, with life's unfolding.
Before Acharya Shunya began teaching me, or even counseling me, she modeled how one can live with a chronic health issue and thrive beautifully. She models this every day - for every single day I have known her over these years; I have traveled with her, I have lived with her for a month at a time - and there is no wavering. For this reason I deeply respected her firm words to counsel and teach me the importance of properly caring for myself - physically, emotionally, spiritually - all equally valued. Through her guidance she gently put me in touch with my own capacity to heal my body and mind, igniting a slow steady flame of knowledge. As I felt the draw to becoming a dedicated student of this knowledge I had a feeling of deep relief and falling, or surrendering, into the wisdom of Ayurveda and Vedanta, as unfolded by her. Decades of deep effort to change were transforming into an ease of acceptance.
Today, many years later writing this, I am reminded of the gift of self healing Shunya's soul put before me - like a wonderful birthday present all wrapped up. I eagerly opened it and relished in the newness, the potential, the appeal of it. Shunya guided me over the years and made sure I knew how to use the wisdom tools properly, how to take care of my body and nurture it over time, in it's "ever changing and evolving state". And to acknowledge it each day and take it everywhere I go. She encouraged me to expand how I use my body and explained the significance of sharing myt health and knowledge opportunity with others Today, I continue to sit at her feet and learn (even as I gratefully give back as her teaching assistant), and enjoy my gift of the lived wisdom of Vedanta. I need not do anything in return other than to remain open and receptive to receiving the teachings of this wisdom. I am grateful to write such a story of a revealed and quiet health and happiness from within.
Vimala, Teaching Assistant - Alchemy through Ayurveda Course, Former Board Member, California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM)
Acharya Shunya is my teacher. She has guided me in a gradual transformation via spiritual awareness, mental health, social consciousness, and improved physical health. Her amazing teachings, as well as her personal interaction, have always felt genuine, and have naturally seemed to make sense - I was not expected to make a leap of faith. Based on having Acharya Shunya as my teacher, I have achieved a greater sense of peace and calm, and a confidence that life can get better and better, largely based on a greater understanding of who I am, and the nature of the world we live in. I feel like I have acquired knowledge and tools to help others, as well as myself. As an example, I remember Acharya Shunya’s first lecture on Ayurvedic Psychology, where she began with the basic framework on how an individual can approach his or her life, both in terms of what he likes about his life, as well as in terms of aspects of his life he finds more negative, unsettling, and disturbing. Just in hearing her talk, I achieved a peaceful state, and in fact, one I was searching for when I majored in Psychology at the university level. I can honestly say that I learned more useful information in how to approach my own life in Acharya Shunya’s opening teachings during the first hour than I did in my entire study of Psychology that covered several years.
Steve Longbotham, Operations & IT Consultant
I met Acharya Shunya when I was about to turn 60. I wasn't looking for a teacher, or at least that wasn't my conscious intention. My heart had been torn apart that year when my 19-year old son had been hospitalized and my world just didn't hang together in the same way it had before that incident. But, that was the good news! Because when I met Acharya Shunya, my heart was more open than usual, and her presence seemed to call out for me to listen in a new way.
The process of listening and contemplating on the knowledge Acharya Shunya was delivering was like receiving pure mountain water, after having been accustomed to drinking chemically altered recycled water from a reservoir, having forgotten how the essence of real water is almost a magic elixir.
I cannot say strongly enough how thankful I am that I met Acharya Shunya and participated in the classes she designed to give us the best chance ever of integrating practices that were aimed at each student's own healing. Thank you, Acharya Shunya , for saying yes, so many times in the face of odds that, on the surface, may have seemed intimidating, and for sharing your love and knowledge with so many dedicated students.
​
​
​
​
​
​Suzanne Saucy, Retired Language Teacher
I have spent much of my life seeking deeper knowledge. This has inevitably led my journey inwards.Who I am today is reflected not only in the knowledge that I am receiving from my Ayurveda education, but in the manner in which that knowledge is being conveyed to me.
In my studies under Acharya Shunya, which starts with unearthing true awareness of the Self, healing our own experience of ourselves, our lives, and our worlds. It is only once we heal ourselves that we have the capacity to heal others, and the insight to apply this venerable tradition to healing our communities.
Our teacher presents us with the opportunity to discover truth for ourselves, to shine the light of Vidya (True Knowledge) on the recesses of our soul, so that it may illuminate every facet of our being.
From the moment you begin studying, you enter a classroom environment that is harmoniously congruent with the principles being taught, which is conducive to true higher learning. What’s more is that Acharya Shunya’s teaching style is so warm and inviting! The word ‘teacher’ is not enough to describe our teacher. Our beloved Acharya Shunya carries with her - her Sampradaya, her living lineage of Vedic Truth. She grants us access to a source of wisdom, which has been passed down uninterruptedly from time immemorial to bless us in the here and now, to allow us to rise to our most wondrous heights and find the truth hidden within. May the light of true knowledge through these studies illumine your Being too!
Ryan Kannett
When I just started my educational journey with Acharya Shunya, I had a lot of Tamas (an unconscious quality of the mind that creates inertia). Nine months ago, I felt like I was walking in a dark tunnel. Today, even though sometimes I still feel like I am walking in the same tunnel, instead of looking at the darkness, I see a light at the end of it.
Vidya Deepa Gupta, Software Engineer
The first time I saw Acharya Shunya was through a lecture I attended with my wife last year. The subject was Ayurveda. I was overcome by her clarity. I understood everything she said in that event and to me she was an authentic teacher. She touched my heart in a deep way. After having gone to Mother India to find a teacher and encountered many experiences that left me so confused, It was a breath of fresh air holding her hand and looking into her eyes and knowing that I am with a true and compassionate teacher who is authentic. Studying with her has changed my life in every aspect. I feel healthy, not only in my body, bit mind too, emotions too!
Shahdad Shojazadegan, Business Owner
Studying with Acharya Shunya, I feel inspired and supported and humbled. These are three aspects of having a teacher that I neither knew that I needed, or wanted, or had been missing. With grace and silence, strength and intensity (each in its appropriate moment), Shunya shows the immensity of this practice along the possibility that we can indeed walk it, and find ease and beauty in walking it together.
I had never understood the value of lineage. Like many of us, my goal had been to learn a little about a lot of things and create my own path. When I began studying and living Ayurveda from Acharya Shunya, I realized what I had been missing. The commitment to the depth of this practice and the connection to generations of spiritual teachers that come before her, ignited a new commitment to the study of life itself. From literally the first conscious waking moment of the day, her Ayurveda teachings make me fully alive and awake: which side of my nose is clearer, how do I place my feet on the ground in the morning, what thoughts are guiding my actions, which words do I choose to send into the world? Ayurveda has made my life an art form.
Kate Shankari Sadoswky, Ayurveda Practitioner, Founder of Embodied Health
With Acharya Shunya, you learn life wisdom, and what it means to be wise. With this spiritualized education, I see my priorities being sorted out. I am finding myself with a whole new set of health awakening attitudes and values: cleanliness, acceptance, trust, gratitude. As a result, I feel like I am in a partnership with Life, learning about my true Self every day. And, best of all, I am beginning to become more and more pleased with what I find inside. I learned that I don’t need to have a perfect life to be happy, but rather that the life I have is perfect for me; and knowing THAT makes me happy.
Shreyas Derek Cousineau, San Francisco
A rare teacher who walks firmly on untrodden paths, living by the wisdom of her lineage, with a vision that soars and reaches for the highest, like the firmament. A compassionate teacher who cares deeply for each seeker, and in that caring, wants the best and the truth for them.
​
She is able to convey the integration of philosophy and practical knowledge that has always existed between Vedanta, Yoga and Ayurveda, in way that brings wellbeing to our body, mind and spirit. Without compromising on the tenets of these ancient life sciences, she helps us to live them in the 21st century. In the years that I have studied with her, I have benefitted through her advice to improve my outlook, interactions, attitude, and wholistic health. With her, I am able to understand the wisdom of living with the cycles of nature, seasons, and adopt a balanced attitude towards the process of life.
Shivani Maheshwari, Yoga and Ayurveda Teacher, India
Personally, I did not need or even read any testimonials when I began my studies with Acharya Shunya. I just knew, from the moment I heard her speak, that this was someone with true integrity and someone I could trust to impart the wisdom I was seeking. My trust, and conviction has only grown, along with my deepening awareness of Self. The illuminating knowledge she so generously shares has brought such peace and the loveliest undercurrent of ease and contentment to my life. To have found this beautiful and truly authentic teacher, to be led by her on this wondrous yogic path, to receive the knowledge and wisdom she imparts so beautifully is a gift and a blessing for which I am eternally grateful.
​
Tami.D
The teachings from Acharya Shunya have had a deep impact on my everyday life. I find myself more grounded, more connected to myself and more clear on my motivations. I have been looking for teachings like this, my whole life, and feel fortunate to have found this teacher. There’s a way that I can walk through my ups and downs of life now with a sense of safety, security and groundedness that I never had before these learnings. Every class feels as if it is being given directly to me even though so many others are also benefiting. These teachings are expansive for my heart and my soul while also being practical for the body and mind I carry around with me. There is so much to be learned from this special teacher and teachings.
Elizabeth Griffin Cohen
Are you someone curious about Ancient Vedic knowledge and the wisdom contained in the sacred texts of the Vedas? Longing to find a teacher who comes from a true, ancient yoga wisdom lineage tradition, to guide you through these exciting and profound texts? Then meet Acharya Shunya, a female wisdom lineage holder that introduces, guides, explains and empowers us to experience and embody these teachings. I’ve been a dedicated student of Acharya Shunya’s, since coming across her book, Sovereign Self in 2020. I am so very grateful for all the knowledge I have received and learned from the ancient wisdom texts through Acharya Shunya’s profound teachings and our sangha’s (community) teachers and guides. My spiritual life is greatly aided by having a true and courageous traditional teacher, a consist personal practice, and the support and upliftment of fellow seekers. Knowing my teacher and others are dedicated to infusing these gems of knowledge and wisdom in their lives is heartwarming, inspiring and encouraging. It gives me greater peace.
Plus, if you have an inclination toward Devine Feminine Shakti (power), as a driving energetic force, we explore these archetypes too! Through Acharya Shunya, and her Goddess worshipping lineage, we’ve learned about the nine Vedic goddesses’ and their many skills and powers, and how we can benefit and empower ourselves, and make our lives richer, by emulating them in everyday modern life.