Ayurveda’s unlikely ambassador

He does pranayama twice daily and swears by it like a yogic guru. He also does a rigorous vata massage every day, like a zealous vaid, informing you that it’s done with a special oil of sesame seeds and herbs. Nothing new, except that we’re talking about a former Australian professional footballer who’s taken it upon himself to spread awareness on ayurveda, propagating its “wisdom” in every country, through every platform available.

“India,” says 40-year-old Mark Bunn from Sydney, “is the land of the Vedas. And ayurveda, its traditional health system, can give enormous benefit to people. We need to reconnect with this timeless knowledge.” He’s done precisely that. Bunn’s new book Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health, which will be released in India this month, asks everyone to go back to this 6,000-year-old system of medicine.

The western system of treating illhealth, he asserts, is not perfect. Take concerns over sun exposure in the west — they have led to Vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis. Similarly, inadequate sleep or late nights lead to disruption of the body's nighttime detox mechanisms, causing problems.

So while he may no longer be dribbling a football, his love affair with ayurveda has kicked off a different career. It was in 1990 when he started playing football that his sister and brother-in-law were practicing transcendental meditation (TM). “I was introduced to ayurveda then. Ayurveda gave me mental clarity, good sleep, and reduced stress.”

Even after his playing career got over in 1996, Bunn’s passion for ayurveda remained. He travelled to Cambodia for three months as part of an aid organization. “I got attached to an Indian ayurvedic doctor and saw how he treated people for skin rashes, nutrition deficiencies, worms…” After he came back to Australia, Bunn studied ayurveda at the Maharishi Vedic College in Melbourne, travelling across Australia with Vaid Rajan Mulay. Asked about Bunn, Mulay says, “Mark is a good practitioner of ayurveda and helps create awareness and knowledge of the system in Australia.” The continent now has many ayurvedic clinics run by Indian and Australian doctors.

Any final word? “It’s not enough to look after just physical well-being,” he says. “Spiritual aspects, too, should be watered. Watering only the leaves of a tree will not make you enjoy the fruits. One has to water the roots
too.”