By Michael J. ARVIZU

La Crescenta holistic chiropractor Dr. Mark Anthony is set to hold a series of classes on the ayurveda system of traditional medicine at Center for Spiritual Living, beginning with an introductory class on May 15.

For the past seven years, Anthony has studied this 5,000-year-old form of alternative medicine native to India. He is certified by the Deepak Chopra Center and will bring his series of five, two-hour weekly classes to Center for Spiritual Living in the hopes, he said, that students will learn to make better choices when it comes to their health.

“The ayurveda that we’re going to be teaching for 10 hours is going to be how people can make different choices in their life, and then have a better life,” Anthony said.

One of the biggest issues people face when it comes to taking care of themselves, Anthony said, is a failure to understand that poor lifestyle choices can have a significant impact on health. The course will teach students how anything from what they eat, to what time they go to bed at night, to how they deal with stressful situations, can positively or negatively alter a person’s health.

If followed correctly, ayurveda can help people live healthier lives and lessen or even eliminate their dependence on prescription drugs, Anthony said. People, he added, have a tendency to blame illness on everything from poor genetics to bad luck. What they don’t understand is that all of these conditions are due to the choices people make in their everyday lifestyle, whether it is a lack of exercise, overeating or the way they handle stress.

At first, a person may be overwhelmed by the changes they need to make, Anthony said. As such, he wants to teach people how to “effortlessly create change in their life so that they can easily start to move into a healthier life and a happier life, as opposed to being stressed by it.”

Although the concept of ayurveda is relatively unheard of in the Western world, Anthony said mainstream forms of the practice already exist in the form of yoga and meditation.

The first class on May 15 is a free introductory class to ayurveda. Following the introduction, the entire course is $200 and will be held at Center for Spiritual Living in La Crescenta, at 4845 Dunsmore Ave. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Wednesday.

For more information, call Anthony at (818) 957-7035, Center for Spiritual Living at (818) 249-1045, or visit
www.lacrescentachiropractor.com.

  Michael J ARVIZU