THE AYURVEDIC APOTHECARY

Hello, my name is Bill Courson and I have been a teacher and practitioner of Ayurveda  for the past 10 years. 

One of the very first things that I learned in practice is that the quality and safety of ayurvedic medicines - particularly herbal preparations imported from abroad - is of paramount concern for practitioners and their clients.  While there are now many ayurvedic pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors who adhere to rigorously monitored and enforced international GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) this is far from being a universally observed  standard.

In practical terms, one can only know the safety and reliability of ayurvedic herbal  medications by experience and reputation.  The questions, "is this herbal substance what it is claimed to be?" or "does this substance contain contaminants or other unwanted constituents?" or "is the dosage and date labelling accurate?" are among the many questions that only one who had devoted considerable energy to the process of getting to know the medicines and their sources can be expected to have satisfactory answers to.

There is an ayurvedic aphorism, of ancient provenance, that states there are four pillars of successful treatment: the skill of the healer, the cooperativeness of the  patient, the supportiveness of the patient's environment, and the quality of the medicines used to treat him or her. 

It is in ensuring adherence to and compliance with the fourth of these that I established The Ayurvedic Apothecary for my friends, fellow-practitioners and clients.