Let’s talk about stress baby! (hummed to a Salt-n-Pepa tune) Stress can look a lot of different ways for different people. Some feel it in their physical body with tight shoulders and a locked jaw. Others experience overwhelming anxiety and can’t focus on anything. Some are hyper focused and can never seem to “turn off” constantly distracting themselves with tasks. All of these different expressions relate to the doshas (combinations of the elements). When we can identify whi

We are beginning our slow transition into autumn and can feel it in the chill of the morning air. Autumn can be a lot of different emotions for different people. Autumn can mean... 1- Spooky Season, Yay! 2- The start of winter, No Thanks 3- Fall hikes & apple cider, Welcome 4- Cold & Flu Season, Hell No! Whatever it is for you, there are great Ayurvedic ways to prepare our body & mind for the transition. Autumn is vata season. This means transition is in the air for our natur

It can be frustrating and confusing to see a whole list of benefits from 1 simple ingredient. Does that 1 ingredient really hold ALL of the benefits listed? I feel like there is a new magic elixir everyday and it can be tough to decide what options are going to be best for you. When I first started my wellness journey all of these new options really excited me. It felt like continual learning and experimenting, but a lot of what I bought to try didn’t have a big effect on me

Boredom has been said to be a side effect of not paying close enough attention to our experience. Seeing freshly is a skill we can build to

Ayurveda is usually known for its unique lens of understanding diet and food. Rather than getting caught up in protein, fat, carb or calorie counting, we look at taste. Taste can tell us exactly what we need and don’t need to put in our bodies. Saliva & our taste buds are some of our best teachers for our diet, if we learn how to listen to them. Today people have been calling it “intuitive eating.” Taste is more than the tongue The taste of our food is only activated throug

Vata season can be a time of great motivation, change, and creativity. Often this is paired with creaky joints, dry noses and cracked lips. Ayurveda works off the principle and understanding that all aspects of our life are connected; therefore the same actions that help ease our physical pain will also help ground and support our mental and spiritual growth in this season. A few qualities to keep in mind this season Weight This season is very light and can cause our joints

If you live in the 21st century you probably feel overextended, and that there is never enough time. You are not alone! In our evolutionary history we have been in a time of incredible individuation and so much is demanded from each one of us all the time. Not only are we expected to balance our work, social life and spiritual growth; we are also expected to know everything about our candidates to vote, be as environmentally conscious as possible, unlearn our conditioned sel

The elements are in all aspects of our life and do affect us, whether we know it or not. Ayurveda is a way to see HOW they affect us so we can pick and choose activities, foods and more in ways that will bring us back into balance. Ayurveda for the busy parent One of the biggest excuses I hear about why people can’t “do” ayurveda is because they have no time or have kids which take up all of their time and mental space. It’s funny because ayurveda is actually a way to find

Ayurveda is the sister science to yoga. It literally translates to Ayur-life, veda-science, and looks at everything in terms of its’ elemental core. (Earth, Fire, Water, Air & Space) We are all impacted by nature and the seasons, as I am sure you can feel, but ayurveda goes even deeper than that. Every food, activity, color and smell is associated with particular elements AND reacts with each one of us uniquely. (based on our own elemental makeup) It is pretty cool if you

Have you ever been confused about the difference or benefit of taking turmeric, ashwagandha, triphala, insert herb, insert herb, insert herb etc? You are not alone. We hear about all the incredible balancing, anti-inflammatory and calming effects of herb after herb and it can feel confusing! A lot of my clients come to me and are taking 5 different herbal supplements and aren’t sure if any of them are even doing anything from them. It can become costly and eventually most p

This has been a huge theme with all of my clients throughout the summer season. Travelling is fun and stimulating and it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the excitement (especially in the summer) When we get back, it tends to be harder to continue our new ayurvedic routine we have been working on. Here are some tips to help enjoy your travels to the fullest AND find your way back into a healthy routine. Keep an aspect of your morning and night routine consistent. This coul

Doshas are your unique elemental makeup. Knowing your own gives you a sense of how to prevent illness, boost your own energy, understand what might be getting you sick and so much more! In the same way we know our family medical history so that we are prepared for the future, by screening for particular things, or avoiding certain foods and situations, knowing your dosha just gives you a leg up. I always love my initial consultation with new clients. At the end of the 6 pag

Tongue Scraping is a practice that is a little strange looking today, but historically has been done since the 15th century! Have you ever noticed your tongue when you wake up? A lot of us tend to have a coating on our tongues. This has a lot to do with the type of foods we eat and how we sleep. Is it bad? I don’t think of the coating as “bad” unless it is super thick. I like to think of it simply as information about my body I can use to balance throughout the day. The c

I have mentioned them a lot in past blogs, but haven’t really taken the time to get into it as much as it deserves. The doshas are basically the elements, and every person, plant, animal, and activity has a unique constitution (or order) of the elements creating its individual dosha. Sound’s confusing, but it really isn’t. Take me for example; I am Pitta Kapha, meaning I am made up of fire, water, earth, air and space (in that order) This basically tells me how to interact

I have been consulting a few clients for a little more than 6 months and it has been so exciting to see the success and changes! One of the most important parts of Ayurveda, (and holistic health in general) and often the most difficult, is accountability and consistency. I know I am personally struggling with this as I try to practice what I preach. It just goes to show the importance of a counselor or mentor to check in and guide you along the journey. It is the differenc

When I tell most people I am an Ayurvedic Counselor the first thing people think of is food. Ayurvedic nutrition is pretty popular (thankfully!) but it can be super complicated. There is a lot of info out there and it doesn’t always seem very intuitive (although I promise, it becomes intuitive over time) The easiest way I have found to enter into the world of Ayurvedic foods is through color. Color therapy is one of the pillars of ayurveda that is so much more than wearing

Summer can be our favorite and most challenging season, especially for my Pitta, Pitta Kapha and Pitta Vata people out there. I know I enjoy the longer days, hot weather and time spent outdoors. It wasn’t until last summer that I started to realize how challenging the heat can be. I was feeling exhaustion, dehydration, and even depression. At that time I didn’t know how all of this could be contributed to the season, and more importantly, that I could balance through littl

Ayurveda is really healing through our 5 senses, we can use color, taste, touch, scent, and sound to bring our bodies into balance every day. It is just a matter of knowing the different ways smells, colors, foods, oils etc affect us so we can make informed decisions about what we want to choose. Today I want to focus on smell. This is one of our most powerful senses because it is directly linked to our brain. Smell has been used as a healing agent for everything from dement

In our current culture medicine can feel like one big question mark. Often opinions are super polarized; some completely denounce eastern, holistic approaches, while others are not willing to consider western medication. I recently had a minor medical scare from a bug bite which caused a crazy fever and chills. I couldn’t seem to balance with any of my holistic knowledge. Luckily there are multiple approaches to balance and figuring out the root cause of illness. I went t

Detox or Panchakarma has been one of the most recognizable forms of Ayurveda in the West. I have had some good and some awful experiences with detoxes. There is so much information out there about the “best” way to do it and why it is important. Here is my take on how and why we should detox! No “one size fits all” In alignment with my approach to Ayurveda, I believe it really depends on what feels best for your body. I did Dr. Junger’s clean diet (as a detox) when I was s