Sasha Bershadsky is a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, founder of Ojas Oasis and host of the Ojas Oasis podcast. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2011 with a BFA in Communications Design. Sasha completed her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2017 while working as an Art Director in New York City. It was there that she first heard about Ayurveda, and the rest is history. She received her Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist certification at the California College of Ayurveda in 2021. Sasha is currently in her final year of the Ayurvedic Doctor program at Kerala Ayurveda Academy, working remotely with health seekers around the world.
MY DHARMA STORY
As the granddaughter of a medical doctor, the compassion and drive to heal human suffering is deeply rooted in my Being. At 27, while living in New York City and working in corporate advertising, I did a yoga teacher training that would change the trajectory of my life. What struck me was the undeniable familiarity and resonance I had with Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science. It did not feel as though I was learning this ancient knowledge for the first time. It felt more like remembrance—as though I were picking it up where I left off in a previous life. An inner voice that began as a whisper became louder and louder until it was an undeniable ring, as though the Divine himself was calling me on the phone. Upon turning 28, I listened to that voice and bought a one-way ticket, setting forth on my Dharmic path with the California College of Ayurveda.
The same inner voice would lead me to India, where my studies began to deepen—from academic to experiential. I received 1 month of Panchakarma Therapy and took a course on Prasooti Tantra (Ayurvedic pregnancy practices), where I met my Guru. My classmates were 7th generation Vaidyas (Ayurvedic doctors) and Medical Jyotishas (Vedic Astrologers) who not only taught me, but showed me what Ayurveda truly was—a way of being. My experience in India opened my eyes and my heart to the depth and beauty of this wisdom science.
After a few weeks visiting Vrindavan, I was on my way to venture into the Himalayas, when officials at the state border stopped me and denied my entry: COVID-19 had officially made its presence fully known and India was about to close its international border. All flights were getting cancelled, and I had about 24 hours to find a way home. It was by the grace of The Divine, and a very good friend, that I got out in time. But the world I came home to was very different, and very troubled. I was grateful to be back, but I realized I needed to bring it all back with me: everything I saw, experienced and became in India.
Amid the pandemic and global dis-ease, there could be no better time to introduce Ayurveda, the ancient, timeless knowledge of how to prevent and reverse dis-ease at the root. My love, respect, and gratitude for this knowledge deepens by the day as I practice Ayurvedic lifestyle and help my patients heal on the deepest levels of their Being. Here and now, it is my humble honor and profound responsibility to bring it to you.
Here’s to the journey: yours, mine, and the collective awakening.
Hari Om.