WHO WE ARE
We are not a wellness brand that found Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is not something we adopted. It is something that has been lived, understood, and practised across generations.
Ayurda was founded in 1996 by Dr. Ajit Sandhu and Rippan Sandhu, a physician and his wife, who arrived in New Zealand carrying that knowledge with them. At the time, Ayurveda was virtually unknown in Australasia. There were no clinics, no practitioners, no products on shelves. There was only what they knew and the certainty that it was worth sharing.
That belief remains the foundation of everything we do.
OUR STORY
What we built and what it took.
Most brand stories leave this part out.
They leave out the years before the brand had a name. The years of building the foundation quietly, without recognition, without a launch date or a ribbon cutting and without certainty of outcome.
Dr. Ajit began seeing patients from a home clinic. From 1997, he started traveling regularly to Brisbane to teach Ayurveda at AIAS, the Australasian Institute of Ayurvedic Studies, while continuing his clinical work in New Zealand.
He has not missed a year. Over time, he has trained more than a thousand students, including nurses, general practitioners, and health and wellness practitioners, many of whom have gone on to build successful Ayurvedic practices.
He was establishing the clinical foundation of Ayurveda in this region.
Rippan was doing something equally essential. She was making it liveable. Translating Ayurveda into something a modern person could understand, use, and trust without diluting its depth.
In 2002, they co-created Ayurda Skincare with Dr. Ajit. The first authentic Ayurvedic therapeutic skincare range in Oceania. Not the first to use the word Ayurvedic.
The first to mean it completely, without compromise.
Formulations drawn from classical texts.Therapeutic-grade, wild-crafted ingredients.
No shortcuts. Because she understood something clearly:
Shortcuts are how ancient knowledge disappears slowly, one compromise at a time.
In 2010, Rippan opened Spa Ayurda on Ponsonby Road, Auckland’s first dedicated Ayurvedic wellness spa, which won Best Ayurvedic Spa in Australasia three consecutive years.
In 2024, they decided to bring everything together under one name. The clinic, the spa, the skincare, the products united under one name: Ayurda Wellness.
“We did not create this because we saw an opportunity. We created it because we believed in something so completely that we could not imagine not sharing it.”
- Rippan Sandhu
What Ayurda means
In Sanskrit, the name comes from two roots:
Āyur - life, vitality, longevity
, Dā - to give
Together: one who gives life.
The word appears in ancient texts, including the Atharva Veda and Taittirīya Saṃhitā, and it is the name of a protective goddess, Durga,’ associated with protection, nourishment, and longevity.
For Ayurda, this is not just a name. It is a standard.
Ayurda exists to support vitality, restore balance, and help people return to themselves in a steady, lasting way.
We do not come here to fix you. We work to restore what your body already knows how to do.
OUR LOGO
The Symbol Behind Ayurda
The logo reflects the same philosophy.
At first glance, it is a lotus, a symbol of renewal and natural rhythm.
Look closer, and it reveals the deeper structure of Ayurveda:
• The force of transformation.
• The space that allows movement.
• The still centre that holds everything together.
• Three forces. One body.
A reminder that healing does not come from force, but from restoring the conditions the body already understands.
WHO WE MADE THIS FOR
Ayurveda has never been for one kind of person.
It is five thousand years old. It has outlasted empires, crossed oceans, and moved across generations, continuing to support people in different bodies, at different ages, and through every stage of life.
It did not survive by being selective. It survived because it works for every constitution, every age, everybody carrying every kind of life.
Ayurda was built with that same understanding. Not for the person who has wellness figured out.
For the person living a full life, carrying responsibility, feeling its weight, and looking for something real to support them.
FOR HER
The woman who holds everything together. She is not looking for another product to add to her list. She is looking for something she can trust - something that works with her body, not against it. Her body is changing. Her life is full. She has been last on her own list for long enough, and she knows it. She wants to age on her own terms. With grace. Without apology. Without a ten-step routine she does not have time for. She does not need to be fixed. She needs to be honoured. Rippan has used these formulations on her own daughter since her daughter was three years old. She is twenty-four now. Not as a marketing claim - as a mother's conviction, lived every day for two decades.
FOR HIM
The man who keeps going — until he can't. He does not think much about wellness until something stops working. Then he wants answers - real ones, not generic advice. He wants to understand what is happening in his body, and what to do about it. He carries more than he shows. Stress accumulates quietly. Energy fades gradually. Sleep becomes lighter without explanation. He is not looking for a ritual. He is looking for results - and the knowledge that what he is putting into and onto his body is backed by something deeper than a trend. Ayurveda has been giving men exactly that for five thousand years.
Whatever brought you here...
...a body asking for more attention than you have been giving it, a health challenge that has not been fully answered, or simply the instinct that there is a better way, you are in the right place.
You do not need to be fixed.
You need to be understood.
We do not treat bodies differently based on who they belong to. We treat them as they are unique, intelligent, and capable of restoring balance when supported correctly.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
Dr. Ajit
Co-Founder · Ayurvedic Physician · Educator
Australasia's most experienced Ayurvedic practitioner. 43 years of clinical practice. Nearly 30 years of teaching at AIAS Brisbane. Over 1,000 students trained. TGA-approved formulas. Author of Ancient Secrets.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
Rippan Sandhu
Co-Founder · Brand Visionary · Certified Health Coach
The architect of the Ayurda brand. Co-creator of Australasia’s first authentic Ayurvedic skincare range. Founder of the award-winning Spa Ayurda, now part of Ayurda Wellness. Her work reflects a long-standing commitment to the wellbeing of women and children.
What is Ayurveda?
A system that begins with you.
Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest health systems still in continuous use today.
Its foundation is simple: True health is balance.
Balance between body, mind, and environment.
Balance between individual and natural world we live.
Ayurveda does not begin with a solution. It begins with the questions:
Who are you? How are you built?
What does your body need?
From there, everything follows.
In thirty years of practice in New Zealand, we have seen what it can do. We have watched people arrive depleted and leave restored. We have seen ancient formulas do what modern ones could not. We are not surprised. We never were.
Begin Here
You do not need to understand everything to begin.
Whether you are coming for the first time or returning after years, you are welcome. Dr. Ajit’s door is open. Rippan’s care is in every product.
Start where it feels right.
