DRAVYAGUNA:
THERAPEUTIC WISDOM OF PLANTS
Learning Outcomes
This is where the language of the plants begins to reveal itself.
Through the study of Dravyaguna, you move beyond memorizing herbs… and begin to understand their consciousness — how they warm or cool, kindle or soothe, cleanse or build, awaken or restore.
By the end of this journey, you’ll find yourself thinking not only more critically — but more intuitively — as an Ayurvedic herbalist.
You’ll learn how to read the body like a landscape…
to recognize the presence of āma, the strength or fragility of agni, and the subtle movements of doṣic imbalance.
Rather than reaching for generic recommendations, you’ll begin crafting herbal responses that feel precise, thoughtful, and deeply aligned with what the individual truly needs.
This training also opens the door to advanced herbal preparation — teaching you how to customize formulas, combine plants synergistically, and prepare remedies in ways that honor both tradition and safety.
Over time, herbs stop feeling like substances you “use”…
…and begin to feel like allies you collaborate with — supporting the body through both long-standing imbalances and moments of acute need, always with respect, discernment, and ethical care.
Curriculum
This is where you begin to step into the role of the Ayurvedic herbalist.
Not someone who memorizes herbs…
…but someone who understands how to listen to the body — and respond with precision, care, and intelligence.
Through this training, you build a strong foundation in advanced Ayurvedic herbal medicine, learning the principles and therapeutic strategies that guide meaningful herbal work.
You’ll learn how to assess what’s truly happening beneath the surface of imbalance — recognizing the presence of āma, the strength or depletion of agni, and the movement of doṣa through the tissues.
From there, formulation becomes deeply personal.
You’ll learn how to craft herbal blends that restore balance constitutionally — not just symptomatically — creating formulas that speak directly to the individual in front of you.
You’ll explore how herbs influence digestion, metabolism, and tissue health… how they kindle digestive fire, clear toxicity, nourish depletion, and stabilize excess.
You’ll also step into the art of preparation — learning advanced techniques that allow you to tailor potency, delivery, and therapeutic impact through oils, decoctions, ghees, powders, and compound formulas.
As your knowledge deepens, so does your confidence.
You’ll gain experience working with herbs across a wide spectrum of need — from long-standing chronic imbalances to more immediate, acute disturbances — always guided by discernment and respect for the body’s pace of healing.
And just as importantly, you’ll learn the ethical and safety frameworks that ensure herbal medicine is practiced responsibly, skillfully, and in integrity with its lineage.
By the end of this training, you don’t just “know herbs.”
You think differently.
You observe differently.
You formulate with intention.
You stand rooted in both knowledge and intuition — capable of working with plant medicine in a way that is grounded, thoughtful, and deeply impactful.
Competencies
Demonstrated ability and knowledge to safely recommend predesigned herbal medicines, minerals and other natural substances for internal or external use with consideration of the dose (mātra), vehicle (anupāna) and timing (auśadha kāla) for the purpose of balancing agni (digestive fire), eliminating āma (undigested material) while supporting the malas (waste) and protecting and building ojas (essence of life), and treating disease.
Demonstrated ability and knowledge to administer, combine, provide, compound, and dispense herbal medicines, minerals, or other natural substances. Herbs may be used for internal or external use for the purpose of balancing agni (digestive fire) and eliminating āma (undigested material) while supporting the malas (waste) and protecting and building ojas (essence of life), as well as for treating specific diseases affecting any dhātu (tissues), upadhātu (by products of nutrition), malas (waste) or srotas (pathways) in any stage of the disease pathology.
Demonstrated ability and knowledge to make the following recommendations and provide the following treatments and interventions:
- Appropriate herbs to balance agni (digestive fire), eliminate āma (undigested material) and support the malas (waste)while protecting and building ojas (essence of life).
- Pre-designed herbal formulas or create custom herbal formulations that include the use of herbs, minerals or other natural substances for internal or external use with
consideration of dose (mātra), vehicle (anupāna) and timing (auśadha kāla). - Prescribe herbal and related medicines for the purpose of treating disease.
Knowledge of:
- Herb classification and their energetics based on taste (rasa), potency (vīrya), post-digestive effect (vipāka), quality (guṇa) and unique action (prabhāva)
- The actions of herbs (karma). The counselor is informed of the major actions of an herb. When Western terminology matches the Saṁskṛta t terminology, the Western terms should be known. When a unique action is described in Saṁskṛta that has no simple translation into English, then the Saṁskṛta terminology for that action should be known
- The effect an herb has on the agni (digestive fire), āma (undigested material), doṣas, and malas (waste)
- How to prepare powdered mixtures (cūrṇa)
- Appropriate dosage (mātra) based on age, strength, doṣas, agni (digestive fire) and pattern of elimination ( koṣṭha)
- The indications for using herbs and contraindications to assure safe use
- Herbs based on storage, processing, purity and government regulations
- The use of appropriate herb and herbal related medicines for the management of
specific disease conditions. - The effect an herb has on dhātu (tissues) and srota (pathways)
- Different anupānas (adjuvants) to target different doṣas and dhātus (tissues)
Your Mentor: Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa
When students speak about learning with Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa — known to most simply as K.P. — they rarely begin with his credentials.
They talk about his presence.
They talk about his candor… his quick wit… his ability to say the thing everyone is thinking in a way that disarms the room and makes people laugh while they’re learning something profound.
There’s a groundedness to the way he teaches — a lifetime of experience translated into language that feels accessible, human, and immediately relatable. Complex concepts don’t stay abstract for long. He has a way of breaking things down so they land, so they stick, so they make sense in the context of real life.
Of course, his professional background is extraordinary. With more than 50 years devoted to holistic health, he holds the title Yogaraj (Ayurveda) and has served in leadership roles that helped shape the future of natural medicine in North America — including President Emeritus of the American Herbalists Guild and Director Emeritus of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. He has taught at leading institutions, authored thousands of published works, and contributed to the evolution of integrative health education for decades.
But what students remember most isn’t the length of his résumé.
It’s how he makes them feel capable.
He teaches with humility, humor, and a kind of lived authority that can’t be manufactured — the kind that comes from decades in practice, decades in classrooms, decades walking the path himself.
Learning with K.P. feels less like sitting in a lecture…
…and more like being guided by an elder who genuinely wants you to understand, to grow, and to carry the wisdom forward in your own way.
It’s this blend of brilliance and approachability that makes his classes not only deeply educational — but unforgettable.
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