Why Ayurveda?

In Ayurveda, this spice is esteemed for its circulation powers, expectorant effects, and digestive properties. Let’s look at its energetics and actions on the body and mind and learn how to benefit from it in our daily lives.

This movement snack explores 360-degree breathing with a strap (you can also use a resistance band, a belt, or something similar). For many of us, sensing the back of the body and even the sides doesn’t come so easily. The brain connection to that area is fuzzy… The strap is a great tool to begin creating the link.

Did you know that the nutmeg tree gives us two spices in one fruit? In this blog, we will look at nutmeg. In Ayurveda, this spice is esteemed for its absorption powers, carminative effects, and relaxing properties.

This movement snack explores a sitting pigeon pose where you take one hip into external rotation and the other into internal rotation. In addition, it challenges us to hold our hips in external rotation without the support of the other leg, making us use our own neural-muscular control.

Cardamom is an antidote to foods that increase mucus formation in the body such as sugar, dairy, bananas, AND ice cream… Let’s look at its qualities, tastes, and actions it has on the body and mind and learn more about how to benefit from it in our daily lives.

This sequence explores our ability to tilt the pelvis forward, backward, and laterally. It also challenges us to hold our pelvis neutral as we move towards child’s pose and back to tabletop position.

Bringing cumin into our daily diet is an excellent addition to maintaining optimal digestion and addressing compromised digestion. Let’s look at its energetics and benefits according to Ayurveda and how to benefit from them in our daily lives.

his dynamic balasana-vajrasana sequence asks us to add some variable loading for the toes, ankles, and knees. With that, our joints get more resilient. We feel strong and firmly grounded on our own two feet.

Rose petals’ rich aroma and soothing energy have been promoting vitality and inspiring and healing many for thousands of years. Ayurvedic healers use rose petals in herbal formulas, teas, oils, and skincare preparations to balance the five elements and slow down aging.

Here is a side-bend snack to keep you cool and calm during the summer season or if you are experiencing signs of excess heat in the body (acidic digestion, heartburn, loose stools) and in the mind (irritability, anger, jealousy). Side bending can also improve breathing capacity and spinal mobility and increase the range of motion in the shoulders and hips.

When learning about mint, I was amazed by the large size of the mint family. It includes many culinary herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, and lavender! But I think when we hear ‘mint’, most of us think of peppermint and spearmint, right?

Play with these combined movements of the neck and eyes to release strain in those areas and experience your head balancing lightly atop your neck with easeful breath.

Fennel is an ancient spice that has been used gastronomically and therapeutically for centuries. Fennel leaves are delicate in flavor and look like dill. In fact, they are members of the same family that also includes carrots, parsley, cumin, coriander, and celery… Fennel is one of the best herbs for digestion. I don’t think there is a day in my kitchen that fennel doesn’t show up!

The idea here is to bring movement to the knees to bring more awareness to the back of the knees and possibly more strength to the hamstrings. It also improves circulation in this area increasing lymph flow and reducing swelling.

Coriander seeds and leaves have been used by many cultures for ages. Coriander can be found in regional cuisine worldwide and it is believed to be native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Let’s take a look at coriander’s qualities and benefits.

The idea here is to bring movement to the shoulder blades, creating optimal ranges of motion, greater neural control of motion, and improving circulation in this area to lift up the heaviness of Kapha, preventing its accumulation.

Our kitchen can be a powerhouse of herbs and spices that can efficiently aid our health when used daily. Fenugreek is one of these herbs but it is often overlooked! Let’s take a look at fenugreek's qualities and benefits.

It is time to lighten up so we can stay inspired and revitalized during the springtime!

Turmeric has been used in therapeutic preparations and all different types of cuisine over the centuries throughout Asia. In Ayurveda, turmeric has been used as a remedy for 4,000 years. It is considered the holy powder because of its proven medicinal properties.

For this month, your movement snack is upper-mid back spinal articulation that you can do on the floor or on a chair. Keeping this area moving will help release stagnation and invigorate the body and mind to feel light and bright.

In Ayurveda, ginger is called vishwabheshaja, the “universal medicine”. It is also recognized as a sattvic herb, meaning it carries the vibrations of harmony, balance, and clarity. Understanding its qualities will guide you in deciding when is the best time to use it.

For this month, your movement snack is a reset practice that you can do on the floor or on a chair. We are so used to holding in our abdomen the entire day that we don't spend very much time moving our core dynamically.

In Ayurvedic cooking, spices and herbs have been used for thousands of years with incredible success. They play an essential role in nurturing our health. They make the food taste delicious. And more, they have incredible medicinal powers. Spices are what turn food into medicine.

According to Ayurveda, the five elements — ether, air, fire, water, and earth—found in all living things are the building blocks of life. The doshas are an organizing principle that help us to describe the action of the five elements within us. The concepts of the five elements and the doshas provide a foundation to understand ourselves and the world around us.

It is pitta season! It is hot. It is humid. It is feisty and its days are longer! We experience vitality and drive. We can do the most. While doing more can be great, excess doing will burn us out…literally! We will end up with burning sensations in the body, sour stomachs, and inflamed tempers. In Ayurvedic terms, we will end up with excess pitta.

Now more than ever, we need to find our inner resilience and cultivate calm, so these uneasy feelings can be reduced and released, and we can be useful to our families and community. Yoga & Ayurveda offer insights and practices that are powerful support for the body, mind, and spirit. These practices help us to stay grounded and healthy.

Yoga and Ayurveda are related healing disciplines of India. Both have their own exclusive benefits; however, they were designed to be practiced together, providing us with a complete system of wellbeing for the body, mind, and spirit.

I have been waiting and waiting and now I can finally see the hopeful signs of spring! The earth is awakening once again. The trees are coming back from hibernation, pollen is increasing, daffodils are popping up, and insects are starting to buzz... The rain makes the land soggy and muddy. The combination of moisture and dust brings a heavy quality to the earth and our body senses it is time to lighten up.

Winter is kapha season, with strong vata undertones. In the natural world everything is withdrawing -- preparing for hibernation and rest. The sky is often gray. The weather is cold and there is increased dampness due to rain or snow. There is a sense of heaviness and life in general moves more slowly.

From the Ayurvedic perspective, travelling, especially flying, increases the Vata dosha — the energy governing all movement in the body-mind. The more we move around, the more Vata qualities we bring in.