By Dr Mridu Sharma
The Global Centre for Indic Studies is pleased to highlight the ongoing work of Dr Mridu Sharma in the development of an Ayurveda-centric therapeutic parenting framework. This initiative integrates classical Ayurvedic principles with contemporary understandings of child development, nervous system regulation, and trauma-informed care.
“Parenting becomes therapeutic when we respond to the child’s nervous system, not just their behaviour.”
Conceptual Foundation
Ayurveda approaches health as a dynamic balance between constitution (prakriti), environment, lifestyle, and relational context. When applied to parenting, this perspective reframes behavioural challenges not as isolated problems, but as expressions of constitutional sensitivity, developmental stage, and environmental mismatch.
Ayurveda-centric therapeutic parenting draws upon:
- Individual constitutional understanding (prakriti-based temperament awareness)
- Regulation through daily rhythm, sensory balance, and lifestyle alignment
- Relational attunement rooted in calm nervous system presence
- Preventive orientation rather than reactive discipline
The model positions parents not as behaviour managers, but as regulators and environmental architects who support stability through predictability, nourishment, and attuned responsiveness.
Therapeutic Orientation
This framework is trauma-informed and non-pathologising. Rather than viewing dysregulation as defiance or disorder, it recognises patterns such as impulsivity, withdrawal, emotional intensity, or fatigue as adaptive responses influenced by both constitution and context.
The emphasis is on:
- Long-term resilience over short-term compliance
- Co-regulation before correction
- Rhythm before rule enforcement
- Environmental modification before behavioural labelling
Efficacy and Observed Impact
Emerging observations from structured parenting sessions and applied guidance indicate:
- Improved parental attunement and emotional regulation
- Reduction in reactive disciplinary cycles
- Enhanced child sleep patterns and daily rhythm stability
- Greater understanding of temperament-linked behavioural patterns
- Strengthened parent–child relational security
Parents report increased clarity in recognising early signs of dysregulation and responding proactively rather than reactively.
While formal quantitative research is ongoing, qualitative reflections and practice-based observations suggest meaningful shifts in both parental confidence and child regulation capacity.
Integrative Dialogue
The initiative encourages dialogue between Ayurveda, developmental psychology, nervous system science, and trauma-informed frameworks. Rather than replacing contemporary models, Ayurveda-centric therapeutic parenting complements them by offering a constitution-based lens for understanding difference and regulation.
The work contributes to broader conversations on culturally grounded therapeutic frameworks and integrative family support systems.
Further publications and research findings will be shared as the initiative progresses.
