The Role of Mind in Health

I keep returning to how important mental balance is in becoming aware of our bodies, our food choices, and how we care for ourselves. What has intrigued me most in my Ayurveda practice is the role that our mind plays in our ability to listen, heal, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Stay tuned for more from Ayurveda on mental wellness this week. 

A former extremist, I’ve learned about balance by swinging in either direction a good deal, which might make me the ideal guide. It’s been a process and not always an easy one. 

Always good to keep in mind that the process is our friend. 

I’ll be teaching a 5-day retreat this May @kripalucenter on Sattvic Living. We will cook, we will breathe, and we will connect. 

What’s the deal with HONEY?

HONEY! It’s THE spring sweetener because, unlike most sweets, honey is astringent. This means it dries up excess moisture. Honey also has the special power of “scraping” goop from the channels. 

If your springtime is moist and heavy, move to herbal honey such as turmeric or elder here from my buds @banyanbotanicals. These are great products, I lick them off with a spoon, a tsp or so as a dessert. 

They are both excellent cold care as well and curb sore throats and mucus conditions.

Don’t Forget the Carrot Ginger Muffins!

Who’s baking?? This is one of the most often shared baking recipes from my books. 

Don’t forget about these carrot ginger muffins from Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Clam, Clear Mind. Wheat flour-free and veggie packed. Kids like them too.

Top Five Food Tips for Spring Diet

Ayurveda sure has it going on when it comes to seasonal food transitions!

Number five may be the most important!

The Time my Ayurvedic Doctor Taught me a Lesson on Moderation

The time my Ayurvedic doctor taught me a lesson on Moderation …. 

At an Ayurveda clinic on a local holiday, a reveler wandered in from the street with sweets to share. I was observing a cleansing diet that week, and when the man put a sweet in my hand that I “shouldn’t” eat, I wanted to cry.  

Seeing my reaction, the doctor broke off a chunk and said, “enjoy this small piece, and be happy.” This challenge to my “all or nothing” approach was the beginning of a continuing path toward moderation and a true, mindful enjoyment of food. 

Ayurvedic meals often feature small amounts of ingredients, which could be aggravating in larger quantities. Rather than omitting an ingredient, dishes will have just a sprinkle of roasted nuts, chopped chili, or potato, for example- enough to please the senses without accumulating in the system. 

Spring Digestive Tea Uses and Recipe

RECIPE ALERT! 

Don’t miss this one, extremely useful and tried and true by #everydayayurvedacookbook readers for nearly ten years now. 

This tea breaks up congestion, improves digestive fire and appetite, as well as tastes delicious, and curbs a sweet tooth when you sip a bit after meals. 

Spring Digestive Tea 

• Fresh Ginger, ½-inch piece 

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder  

• ½ Star Anise 

• 2-3 Cloves 

• 2-3 Black Pepper Corn 

  2 cups water 

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. 

Coarsely chop the ginger root, including the skin. 

Add the ginger, anise, clove, pepper, and cinnamon to the water. 

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10+ minutes. 

Take 6oz. alongside or after meals. 

Use this consistently for a week or two and you WILL notice a difference. 

What is a Seasonal Change About?

Rtusandhi = climatic transition 
Ayurveda describes a two-week period for this gradual transition, but honestly in New England, I find its more like a month of the old back-and-forth. 
 
A spring “cleanse” doesn’t have to include dieting measures but can be used more as a time set aside to observe, and flow with, this transition. To take stock of habits, to recharge, to refresh. 
Cravings change, and we notice. Our gravitation towards external activities and relationship to exercise are likely to shift. It’s a natural and beautiful thing to flow with the seasons, and we’ll be doing it together over a ten-day period in the Spring Community Cleanse in a few weeks. Yay Ayurveda for teaching us how! 

How to Know How Much to Eat

How to know what is the “right” amount of food? 

From the Ayurveda view, this depends on a multitude of factors:  

how hungry you are – if you’re not, skip it. 

Activity levels- sedentary generally need less food. 

What time of day- more earlier, less later. 

Time of year- cold weather = more food. 

How old you are- aging often means less food is needed. 

Emotional state- texts state to avoid eating much when angry or anxious. 

The problem is that a lot of us learned there is a “right” amount of food that is static. Ayurvedic eating is not about following rules, it is about paying attention to factors of self and environment and going with the flow. 

Then and Now

Here’s me in a yoga teacher training nearly ten years ago. The second photo shows my first teaching gig at Kripalu School of Ayurveda in 2012. How did I get from the goose-sweater-wearing girl to author of four books, self-employed Ayurveda teacher?

Well, I went to India when I was 19 and never looked back. Kept going every year or two, and still do. My practice of the arts of Yoga and Ayurveda has never wavered, it has seeped into everything I do- even cocktails. This practice is my meaning and my Love. Sharing it is the principal way I avoid loneliness. I love teaching.

I hope to continue to teach into my old age and be an honest advocate for aging women, and for spirituality in daily life.

My business has been a slow grow over 25 years, constantly watching these arts make their way into western lives. Now, I offer online and in-person workshops on whatever topics people are asking about. I seem to have specialized in Ayurvedic digestion and nutrition- people kept asking me what to eat so I finally wrote a cookbook. In 2022, I began moving into professional training for Ayurveda Health Counselors and Practitioners.

I currently work with groups more often than individuals, but I will be opening 1:1 mentoring, as well as a group program, for professionals next month! The Community Cleanse Leadership Training is launching in earnest next week and it's not too late to join! It’s all in the bio.

The Community Membership is for all those who want to learn and experience Ayurveda in daily life.

OM!

The Girl with the Goose Sweater

Sixth grade was one of the most difficult years for me. It felt like over that summer, everyone took a quantum leap towards adulthood, and I missed the boat.

I showed up for the first day of school in a sweater with geese on it.

I was continually pummeled in the tiny budding breast by the backpacks of 8th graders. I prayed for boobs on the first star every night from my bedroom window. I wanted them so badly.

Now I am a D cup. Who knew it was coming?? I am a testimony to the power of prayer.