Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products International Inc., which sells herbal health care products, is considering a move out of Colorado Springs.

The company blames the wobbly economy for its decision to look for a new location, as well as for the layoffs of eight to 10 employees last month.

“We just looked at the whole business operation, in order to be more efficient, more profitable, and we made those decisions,” Steven Bartag, vice president of Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products, said Tuesday.

Bartag said the company is comparing the advantages of relocating with staying in Colorado Springs.

The company might expand its product lines if it moves away, he said.

Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products occupies a 75,000-square-foot building on Elkton Drive, near Garden of the Gods Road. The company employs 47.

Bartag said demand for the company’s products still is good although the economy has put a damper on customer spending. The company’s costs to produce herbal products in Colorado Springs, and to import products from India, have gone up.

The company has raised prices to cover its higher costs, but the number of products sold to customers has slipped, Bartag said.

The company’s products are rooted in Ayurveda, ancient health- care teachings and practices that originated in India 5,000 years ago.

Maharishi Ayur-Ved Products was founded in 1985 in Lancaster, Mass.

The company moved to Colorado Springs in 1992 to take advantage of a more central U.S. location.

The company won’t decide for about two months whether to relocate, Bartag said.

The company is a privately held corporation owned by its shareholders. Peak employment in the Springs was about 60 people.

Its products include herbal supplements, teas, foods, aromatic oils, skin and hair care products, books, tapes and musical instruments.

The products are sold through grocery stores, health professionals, mail order and the Internet.

Ayurveda, which translates as the knowledge of the span of life, is said to be the traditional health care system of India.

Ayurveda languished while India was under British rule in the 19th and 20th centuries, but was revived about 50 years ago by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the transcendental meditation movement made famous by the Beatles.