Aveda Heritage Tour
India - the birthplace of Aveda and home to Ayurvedic heritage ! Salon Yazbek’s director Nathan recently went on a heritage tour with Aveda Australia in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan foothills beside the Ganges River. "We were learning about Ayurveda - the traditional Hindu system of medicine, which is based on the idea of creating balance in body through diet, herbal treatments and yogic breathing...It was such a great experience and I was completely grateful for being in such a lush environment" says Nathan Yazbek.
"We stayed at Ananda Spa Resort in the Himalayan mountains set amidst the forests, it was overlooking the river Ganges and close to Rishikesh. The castle was built by the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal in 1910 and has now been converted to a luxurious spa. Ananda has been frequented by the likes of Bill Gates, Nicole Kidman, Prince Charles and Oprah. The Ayurveda treatments we received were amazing, I am now able to understand why Aveda has based alot of their philosophies off Ayurvedic traditions"
We also did some meditation at the Sadhana Mandir Ashram. This is where Aveda's founder Horst Rechelbacher gained greater appreciation for the power of wellness to promote balance in mind, body and spirit. Horst met Shiv Nath Tandon whilst staying in the ashram in Rishikesh, and together they developed Avedas first Clove Shampoo in a kitchen sink in Minneapolis!
Aveda's relationship with Ayurveda began in 1978, thanks to two renowned Ayurvedic physicians and scholars, Drs. Vinod and Kusum Upadhyay. Globally sought for their expertise in Ayurvedic medicine, pharmacology, botanical research and aromatherapy, they brought 1,000s of years of Vedic and Ayurvedic tradition to the Aveda network. Their guidance first helped Aveda identify botanical ingredients for our products and allowed Aveda to pioneer powerful plant derived products.
While staying in the Himalayas we set off to the village of Tilwari, to see firsthand how the relationship with Aveda and supporting charity Global Greengrants is funding clean water projects... "You know those Aveda Earth Month Light The Way Candles for sale at Salon Yazbek? Well it was amazing to see the impact the proceeds have made to the local community of Tilwari" says Nathan.
Nathan Yazbek with the local kids from the Kaaya learning center - Kaaya in Hindi means 'body'. Aveda supports this learning centre through charitable donations which serves as a space for the children to learn, interact with nature and supports local village life.
When you participate in Earth Month events for clean water like purchasing a Light The Way Candle, you are supporting projects like clean water, where Aveda funded a Well for clean, running water for the Tilwari village - which means these locals kids dont have to walk 30mins for clean water, enabling them to spend more time at school.
There was also time to visit the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort to see where some of Aveda's photoshoots have taken place. Aveda's campaign for the Invati range and new skin range Tulasara were all shot on location in India.
"It was such an amazing experience. India is truly a beautiful place full of contrasts. It was a fantastic journey with the Aveda Australia group, India has been on my wish list to visit for a long time and I can't believe it was through my relationship with Aveda that I was able to visit this great land!"