DeAnna Batdorff is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, educator, and “Renegade Health Detective” with over 30 years of experience. Since 1988, she has helped more than 250,000 people learn to understand their bodies and take ownership of their health through self-care as healthcare.
She is the founder of dhyana Essentials, offering Ayurvedic education, products, and practical health tools, and The Areola, empowering women through lymphatic and breast care education. DeAnna continues to teach alongside her students through immersive educational programs and low-cost community clinics.
The more we cultivate love and respect for our bodies through the wisdom of Ayurveda, the greater our capacity to embrace and respect our communities at large.
The body works hard for us, day in and day out, always doing its best to steer us toward optimal health. Our part of the agreement is to take care of...
You've heard of the doshas, but what are the gunas, and why do they matter? These qualities help explain all the diversity in nature, including your own unique self!
In Ayurveda, there are seven tissue layers known as the dhatus, and they are a vital component to our overall health. Get to know the first layer, rasa dhatu.
In Ayurveda, there are seven tissue layers known as the dhatus that make up our body. Learn more about rakta, the blood, and how to keep it healthy and strong.
Ayurveda recognizes seven distinct tissue layers that make up our being, known as the dhatus. In this article, we take a look at mamsa dhatu—the muscle tissue.
The tissues of the skin and bones are vital to our health, providing protection, movement, and stability. Explore Ayurvedic tips for how to nourish and care for these tissues layers.
The nerves are related to how we perceive and respond to our environment, as well as our emotions and memories. Learn how to care for this tissue, known as majja dhatu.
Responsible for more than physical reproduction, our reproductive health provides the creative energy to achieve our goals and enjoy the fullest and most juicy version of our lives.
DeAnna has been offering consultations via private practice since 1988. She is the founder of both the dhyana Center, a “by donation” Ayurvedic clinic, and Aushadi Health Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit for Ayurvedic education and low-cost healthcare clinic services.
Her Ayurvedic training includes 3 years of study in Tibetan pulse and tongue diagnosis, as well as marma massage with Dr. Lobsang Rapgay. She also spent 2 years at the Bihar School of Yoga in India, where she studied ancient Ayurvedic texts and ran an infirmary for local residents.
She has volunteered at senior centers for many years, and spent 12 years working with the Immune Development Trust/Shanti Project, a global advocacy group for HIV prevention and in-home health support.
Degrees and Certifications
Certified Massage Therapist—South Blossom Massage School
Ayurvedic Practitioner—Ayurvedic Institute
Marcel Lavabre Clinical Aromatherapy
Nutrition Counselor—Bauman College
Nationally Licensed Cosmetologist/Esthetician
Publications
DeAnna's writing has been published in Alternative Medicine, Sunday Health, and Yoga Journal among other publications. Learn more about her published works on her website.
Upcoming Events
MyBodywork Therapeutics Immersion — October 2026
Join DeAnna for an immersive, hands-on training designed to awaken your healing hands. Pancha Karma Therapeutics and Ayurvedic bodywork. Limited spots available.
A deep dive into traditional Ayurveda, clinical assessment, diagnostic tools, and practical application. Designed for students and practitioners ready to deepen their Ayurvedic education and clinical skills.
Learn the foundations of health and develop a deeper relationship with your own body. Explore body mapping, elemental principles, and Ayurvedic foundations in an accessible online format.
Lympha Immersion: Chest, Breast & Pelvic Floor — February 2027 | Two-Week Intensive
Join DeAnna Batdorff for an inclusive, in-depth immersion exploring the health of the chest, breasts, pelvis, hormones, lymphatic system, and reproductive organs for all people.
DeAnna co-hosts Edible Ayurveda with Mary Sheila Gonella, an Ayurvedic cooking and diet course available year-round. Learn how to bring Ayurvedic principles into everyday food and life through practical teachings, recipes, and live group check-ins.
In 1990, I was working at a spa in San Francisco when a massage client from India asked if I had ever heard of Ayurveda. I told her that I'd heard a teacher mention it, but that I wasn't sure what it was.
She gave me Dr. Lobsang Rapgay's phone number, mentioning he taught a class in LA. I called him immediately after she left, signed up for his next 2-week course, and studied under him for 3 years. As a monk, he could not touch female clients, but he held panchakarmas as well. I was one of many who were his hands—administering the treatments and interning under his guidance.
It was Dr. Rapgay who urged me to go to India to continue my studies. I left for India in 1993, at 23 years old, where I spent 2 years living in an ashram and running a public support infirmary with a medical doctor.
At 25, I moved to Albuquerque to study with Vasant Lad. It was there, in 1995, that I first met Kevin (co-founder of Banyan Botanicals) and his wife, Tammy. I was their tenant and when I moved out, Banyan Trading (now Botanicals) was born!
When are you most likely to go out of balance and how do you bring yourself back in balance using Ayurveda?
Daily dinacharya care (daily routine) is a great focus, but sometimes a tall order. I focus on healthy foods as my primary daily care and do a weekly dinacharya restoration program to keep me stable from week to week.
Every Monday, I spend 3 hours on steam inhalation, neti pot, and Nasya Oil to clear my upper channels. Then I use salt scrub, svedhana bath, and full-body gua sha massage to move lymph and blood dhatus.
I conclude with a basti (enema) to clear primary intestinal channels and secure downward motion.
What does the future of Ayurveda look like to you?
I see it going global, expanding into user-friendly ways for all people to understand the self. I see it merging with allopathic medicine to balance the needs of patients by putting certain aspects of health care into their own hands.
Ayurveda will intertwine preventive medicine with intervention-based medicine as equal values. It will be a super system of health! This is already happening at the West County Clinic, which I supported in securing MediCal and Medicare coverage for Ayurvedic consultations. It's only one county, but it is a start!
What's one Ayurvedic practice anyone can implement to spur change in their life, right here, right now?
