That high-stress jobs are taking a toll on young professionals is hardly news any more. The lifestyle changes that have accompanied the new economy jobs have seen a rise in 'diseases' and ailments among (especially) IT professionals. Little wonder there's a mad scramble for remedies for relief from stress.

While several hospitals have tied up with IT firms to offer solutions for stress-related problems, now established ayurvedic and homoeopathic practitioners are also coming forward to offer their services to techie professionals.

Drawn in by the trend, a leading Kerala-based ayurveda centre, Ashtavaidyan Thaikattu Mooss Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, headquartered in Thrissur in northern Kerala, has opened its branch in Bangalore so that IT professionals seeking stressbusting do not need to travel to  Kerala.

The ayurvedic centre of the Rs 30 crore Vaidyaratnam is set to open in Koramangala in south-east Bangalore on January 14. The specialised centre will specifically address problems of IT professionals.

Four years of research had convinced the Oushadhasala on the need for exclusive lifestyle treatments. "At our facility in Thrissur, we used to provide treatment to about 15-20 IT professionals a week, who complained of different problems," said T Unnikrishnan, deputy general manager, Vaidyaratnam.

"This led to research on the lifestyle diseases typically affecting IT professionals, such as computer vision syndrome, cervical spondilosis, lumbago, insomnia, gastric problems and carpel tunnel syndrome. The aim was to evolve an integrated ayurvedic system of healing to help people facing such afflictions," he added.

The Kerala-based Vaidyaratnam started focussing on IT-related lifestyle diseases in 2005 as part of the centenary celebrations of Ashtavaidyan Padmashree E T Neelakandan Mooss, founder of the Vaidyaratnam Group. And there has been no looking back since!