Accreditation

Written by John Immel, Asheville, NCHere are some of the US-based groups that recognize or accredit our courses:

• College in the State of North Carolina. We are a state licensed college approved to teach Ayurveda by North Carolina at the Ayurvedic Health Counselor and Practitioner levels. All of our graduates can legally see clients without joining any association listed below. Note: The state is not an accrediting agency.
• Association of American Biocharacteristics Clinicians (AABC). AABC offers credentials in Biocharacteristics, Ayurveda, Unani Tibb, and Greek medicine that are suitable for integration with modern healthcare providers.
• Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA). AAPNA is the largest association of Ayurvedic schools and practitioners in the USA. Graduates of our Fundamentals program can apply to become a Registered Ayurveda Health Counselor at AAPNA. Graduates of Mastering Ayurvedic Digestion can apply their 500 hours to their training as an Ayurveda Food Consultant.
• American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). Joyful Belly is accredited with the AADP and our graduates can apply to become a Certified Health Coach with the Association after passing their board certification exam.

Joyful Belly is also recognized by:

• National Association of Ayurvedic Schools & Colleges. John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly School of Ayurveda, is the current president of the NAASC and Joyful Belly School is a current member of the Association.
• American Herbalist Guild. The American Herbalist Guild has the highest standards for alternative health & wellness practitioners, and clinical requirements that are far above Ayurveda associations. In Joyful Belly courses, we follow the American Herbalist Guild standards for clinical education.

A certificate of completion is given to those graduates who successfully complete our programs. You can legally start your clinical practice providing Ayurveda consultations once you graduate from our professional certification programs in the United States. You do not need any additional exams, testing or certification after graduation to practice.

As Ayurveda is an unlicensed profession in the United States, you do not need to join any third-party associations to practice Ayurveda. Associations are essentially private clubs and do not have any authority with the U.S. government and do not add any legal scope to your practice. They are generally formed to promote a group of schools with a particular ideology.

Associations do not have the capability to review the quality of education or teaching provided by schools, and are generally ignored by Ayurveda professionals when assessing quality of new graduates.

Joyful Belly has a license to teach Ayurveda from the state and thus do not need membership in any association to teach.

Read more about the legal status of Ayurveda.

Our students can and do join various Ayurveda associations and clubs, and have our full support.