Our Faculty

Founder of Mādhya Way

Anjali Deva, the founder of Mādhya Way Ayurveda, is an Ayurvedic practitioner and teacher in Los Angeles, CA. Her private practice, Rooted Rasa, specializes in anxiety, depression, PTSD, digestive disorders, and women’s health issues from a holistic and integrative perspective. Anjali was greatly fortunate to be introduced to Ayurveda and Yoga at a young age by her father and mentor, Arun Deva. Her clinical experience began at Hope Integrative Psychiatry, overseen by Omid Naim, MD. Her familial lineage is rich with the desire to preserve and maintain these healing arts. Driven by her aspiration to better understand the connection between food and mood, she has trained with Kerala Ayurveda Academy, Loyola Marymount’s Yoga and the Healing Sciences Program, and with various teachers both in the United States and India. Her strong passion for digestion and mental health provides others with a holistic approach to find their inner harmony and resilience for healing. Personally influenced by using food as medicine, daily and seasonal routines, herbalism, Buddhist philosophy, self-compassion, and breath-based practices, her approach to Ayurveda is gentle and compassionate. Anjali believes strongly in the importance of connection and the need to heal in community. She is dedicated to sharing the Wisdom of Ayurveda for the benefit of all living beings. Learn more at Rooted Rasa

Ayurvedic Practitioner & Yoga Therapist

Arun Deva will guide us through the traditional foundations of Ayurveda. Arun, AP, AYT, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is a NAMA-certified senior ayurvedic practitioner, ayurvedic yoga therapist and an IAYT-certified yoga therapist and YA-certified teacher of vinyasa krama yoga in the Kriśnamacārya tradition (E-RYT500). He has had the privilege of serving on both the National and State Ayurvedic Associations’ Boards. Currently he also chairs NAMA’s Committee for Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy. Arun teaches internationally, lectures at conferences, writes for different publications—including peer-reviewed Ayurveda Journals—and has been featured on both radio and television. He is director of Ayurveda for Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Born and raised in India, where he began his yogic studies, Arun Deva has made his home in Los Angeles since 1977.

Find him at: yogarasayana.com

Trauma Recovery Coach

As a trauma recovery coach, Julie helps people reclaim their bodies and build trust in their innate wisdom. Using tools and techniques from yoga, breathwork, mindfulness practices, Somatic Experiencing, martial arts and other body-centered modalities, Julie invites the exploration of unsettled trauma in the body—helping people listen to and trust their bodies, attune to their real needs, and move through life with less stress and anxiety, and more peace and connection. She is most passionate about empowering people to reconnect with their strengths and innate capacity to heal.

Julie’s experience comes from working in domestic violence shelters and rape-crisis centers throughout New York City and Los Angeles, working with at-risk teenage girls and disadvantaged youth in Inner City schools, and working at eating disorder centers. She is the primary trauma therapist on the Hope Integrative Psychiatry team in Los Angeles and the lead Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher and Trainer for Exhale to Inhale, a non-profit organization that empowers survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault using the healing and grounding practice of yoga. Learn more about her at: Metta Healing Arts

Assistant Teacher & Meditation Instructor

Diana Charkalis - a graduate of Mādhya Way - teaches Vedic Meditation, a practice that provides relaxation, clarity of mind and a sense of inner well-being to guide you through the rough patches in life.

A note from Diana: In 2008, I learned this simple mental technique that involves repeating a mantra or sound twice daily for twenty minutes. Despite never being able to stick to a routine, this practice quickly became an integral part of my life, not only because it was easy, but also because the positive effects were immediate. I felt more grounded, calm and clear. In the past ten years, my practice has centered me as my career in digital media has accelerated. When my parents became ill, it softened the edges of my cross-country commute as a long-distance caregiver. And when I left the corporate world to spend more time with family and start my own business, it fueled me as I moved forward.

Learn more at: take20med.com