Lecture: Ayurveda Day 2026 – “Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow”
Healthcare is undergoing an important transition from predominantly disease-centred and population-based approaches towards prevention, personalisation and increasingly precision-oriented care. Ayurveda offers a distinctive perspective within this evolution, having historically viewed health and disease through the lens of individual constitution, physiological function, diet, lifestyle, environment and the interaction between mind and body.
This joint presentation will explore how the principles of Ayurveda can contribute to the development of a more integrative model of healthcare. Dr Akanksha Bhardwaj and Dr Vijay Murthy will examine the continuing relevance of classical Ayurvedic thinking in modern clinical practice, while considering how traditional knowledge can engage responsibly with contemporary biomedical science, public health, research and personalised healthcare.
The session will discuss the potential for Ayurveda and modern healthcare to complement rather than compete with one another, with particular emphasis on prevention, lifestyle medicine, individualised clinical decision-making, patient participation and improved long- term health outcomes. It will also consider the importance of evidence, research and professional collaboration in ensuring that integrative healthcare develops in a scientifically responsible and clinically meaningful way.
About Dr Akanksha Bhardwaj
Dr Akanksha Bhardwaj is an Ayurvedic wellbeing practitioner and NHS Healthcare Consultant with fifteen years of experience in the healthcare industry. She holds a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (2008), an MBA in Hospital and Healthcare Management from Symbiosis International University (2011), and further qualifications from the University of Oxford in brain, behaviour and agile systems leadership. She is active member of King's College London's Ayurveda and Sustainability Group and contributes as a practitioner voice to international Ayurveda and mental health research, including a Marie Curie Fellowship project at the University of Birmingham and dissertation research at the University of Glasgow. She consults from Canterbury and Harley Street, London, and is dedicated to establishing Ayurveda as a credible and evidence informed voice within modern healthcare.
About Dr Vijay Murthy
Dr Vijay Murthy, BAMS, ND, MS (Ayurveda), MPH, PhD, IFMCP, is an Ayurvedic and Functional Medicine physician, public health researcher, and founder of The Murthy Clinic on Harley Street, London. With more than three decades of clinical experience, his work focuses on integrating the individualised principles of Ayurveda with contemporary evidence-informed, functional, and personalised healthcare. He trained in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and Master of Surgery in India before completing a Master of Public Health at the University of Auckland and a PhD in Health Services Research at the University of Technology Sydney. His academic career has included leadership in Ayurvedic education, research in complementary and integrative medicine, and publications in international peer-reviewed medical journals. He has held editorial roles in academic journals and currently contributes to Frontiers in Medicine as a Guest Associate Editor. Dr Murthy is Executive Director of Functional Medicine at The Women’s Hospital, Delhi, and Global Scientific Advisor for Kama Ayurveda. He also serves as a consultant and scientific advisor to a range of international brands and emerging healthcare and Ayurveda-focused start-ups, supporting the development of evidence-informed products, services, clinical models, and health innovation. He has contributed extensively to the advancement of evidence-informed Ayurveda and integrative healthcare internationally. His clinical work on Harley Street has included caring for members of the British royal family, as well as patients, senior executives, and leaders from the UK and internationally.