21 Years of Tri-Dosha Academy: From a Bedroom to a Community of Learning

21 years ago, on 1 October 2005, Tri-Dosha Academy began with a rather simple idea: to share what I had been learning about Ayurveda and holistic health with other people.

At the time, I was still working as a Senior Journalist, while also running my own 1:1 clinic in London.

I was juggling two very different worlds – journalism and holistic therapy – but increasingly I found myself drawn towards teaching. I had spent years asking questions, researching, observing and learning, and I wanted to create a space where other therapists could explore these approaches too.

So, I started developing the Academy.

The First Course

Our first training course was held in a hired venue in North London.

I remember those early days vividly.

We welcomed around 60 students over two months – which, for a brand-new training programme, felt like a pretty good sign that we might be onto something!

I also invited my teacher, Dr P. Nair, over from India to facilitate the first month of teaching alongside me.

That first training experience gave me the confidence to think:

Perhaps this is the direction I should be moving in.

And so the journey began.

We’ll be sharing some photographs from those early training days because, looking back, they really do tell part of the story.

And Then There Was the Bedroom…

While the Academy was beginning to grow, something else was happening.

Product development.

And it started, quite literally, from my bedroom.

There were boxes everywhere.

Samples arriving from different suppliers. Ingredients to investigate. Formulations to explore. Emails flying back and forth with manufacturers and suppliers, trying to work out how we could take traditional Ayurvedic principles and develop them into products that people could actually use in their everyday lives.

Those were the days!

There was no big team or elaborate infrastructure.

Just a lot of curiosity, persistence, paperwork, parcels and a determination to create something meaningful.

That early experience ultimately became the foundation for what would become Tri-Dosha’s professional product range and our work with therapists, spas and wellness businesses.

From One Training Course to a Growing Academy

Fast-forward 21 years and Tri-Dosha Academy has evolved considerably.

We continue to offer hands-on professional training, including Ayurvedic massage and holistic facial therapies, alongside a growing range of online learning opportunities.

And our thinking around education has evolved too.

We don’t believe learning has to stop once you have qualified.

In fact, some of the most interesting learning happens afterwards.

As practitioners, we continue to encounter new clients, new challenges and new questions. The more we understand, the more confidently we can adapt our work.

This is why we have developed online programmes that allow therapists to continue learning at their own pace – whether they want to explore a new modality, develop their business or go deeper into their own personal development.

Our Integrated Energy Therapy Diploma, for example, takes learning beyond simply acquiring another technique. It provides a much deeper exploration of self-awareness, breathwork, meditation, reflective practice and tools for self-regulation.

We believe that the practitioner is part of the therapy.

The more resourced, present and self-aware we are, the greater our capacity can be to genuinely hold space for another person.

Learning Doesn’t Always Have to Mean Another Qualification

One of the things we have particularly enjoyed developing over recent years is our collection of free wellness CPD webinars.

These were created to make learning more accessible to therapists and practitioners – whether you’re completely new to holistic approaches or already have experience and want to broaden your understanding.

You don’t necessarily need to commit to a five-day course or a diploma every time you want to learn something new.

Sometimes you simply want an hour to explore an idea.

To refresh your knowledge.

To discover something that might influence your practice.

Or perhaps just to understand more about the wider world of holistic health.

New to holistic wellness?

Our Free Wellness CPD Webinars for Beginners provide an accessible starting point for therapists who want to explore different areas of holistic wellbeing and expand their knowledge.

Already have some experience?

Our Intermediate Wellness CPD Webinars for Therapists offer the opportunity to explore subjects in greater depth and continue building your professional knowledge.

Both are available online and are designed to fit around working therapists and busy lives.

From Nottingham to the South of France

The Academy has also grown geographically.

Alongside our training in Nottingham, we now partner with Lylis The Sanctuary in Antibes, where we host our annual Ayurvedic Massage Course & Retreat.

It has become one of my favourite parts of the Tri-Dosha calendar.

There is something very different about learning when you step away from your normal environment.

You are not rushing from work to training and then back home.

You have time to practise, receive, reflect, ask questions, share meals and get to know the other people on the course.

And, of course, you’re doing it in the beautiful surroundings of the French Riviera.

For me, this is what education can be at its best: professional development combined with personal experience, connection and a little space to breathe.

Working With the Wider Wellness Industry

Over the years, our work has also expanded into partnerships with leading holistic spas and wellness venues.

We collaborate with properties to develop bespoke treatment menus, drawing on Ayurvedic principles and our experience of professional therapy.

It’s an area of our work I particularly enjoy because every venue is different.

The environment, clientele, therapists and ethos all influence what works.

Rather than simply putting a treatment on a menu, we look at how the experience can genuinely fit the property and the people it serves.

And There Is Still Plenty More to Come…

Twenty-one years feels like quite a milestone.

But strangely, I don’t feel as though we’re looking backwards.

There is still so much I want to explore.

The Academy continues to develop new training programmes, online learning and collaborations, while Tri-Dosha continues to work across professional skincare, Ayurveda, education and therapist development.

And, of course, there has been another very important project happening in the background.

Shift Happens | The Passi Method

After around two and a half years of research, writing and deep exploration, my new book, Shift Happens | The Passi Method, is now being launched.

The book explores a question that has been at the heart of much of my work:

What happens when we have moved so far away from the things our bodies naturally need that we have to consciously learn how to come back to them?

Touch. Movement. Breath. Rest. Connection. Awareness. Nature.

The book brings together thousands of years of Indian wellbeing wisdom with the realities of modern life and introduces The Passi Method – a practical 90-day approach to self-care, self-awareness and creating meaningful change.

In many ways, it feels like another chapter in the same story that began with Tri-Dosha Academy 21 years ago.

Learning.

Questioning.

Exploring.

And then finding ways to make that knowledge practical and accessible for modern life.

21 Years On…

When I think back to that first course in North London, the boxes in my bedroom and those early conversations with suppliers, I couldn’t have predicted where the journey would lead.

From 60 students in our first two months to a community of therapists and practitioners we’ve had the privilege of teaching over the years.

From product samples scattered around my bedroom to professional Ayurvedic skincare.

From working in my London clinic while writing about technology to developing training programmes, books and new approaches to holistic wellbeing.

There have been plenty of twists and turns along the way.

And there will undoubtedly be plenty more.

But one thing remains unchanged:

We are here to learn, to share, to connect and to support practitioners in doing the work they do – while remembering that they need looking after too.

So, as Tri-Dosha Academy celebrates its 21st birthday, thank you to every student, therapist, teacher, partner, supplier, colleague and friend who has been part of the journey.

And if you’ve never trained with us before, perhaps this is a good time to start.

You can begin simply with one of our free wellness CPD webinars, explore our intermediate learning, or take a look at the wider training programmes available through Tri-Dosha Academy.

21 years in – and we’re still learning.

And that’s probably the best part of it.

Until next time, Namaste!

Sunita Passi

Founder, Tri-Dosha