Ayurveda is excellent medicine for modern humans because it teaches us pragmatically how to notice nature’s influence, how to feel the guiding pulse of nature moving through us - and how to follow its lead. Our modern conveniences have moved us out of contact with the most basic of natural influences - temperature, weather, daylight, … Continue reading 5 Reasons You Need to Get Outside!
Wednesday last week, I made a spontaneous decision - I packed my suitcase, called a cat-sitter, and the next day I drove to my father’s house in Florida. I hadn’t seen my dad and his wife in awhile, but more than that, I realized I could use a break. So I put everything on hold … Continue reading Just Stop
The bright yellow daffodils poking their heads up amid the brown landscape promise the arrival of Spring here in North Carolina, yet cool mornings remind us why Spring is the season of Kapha dosha. While moisture’s return in the tender petals and frequent rainfall banishes the dryness of Vata season, the cool temperatures maintain the … Continue reading Pre-emptive Spring Sinus Relief
In January in the Northern Hemisphere, we are on the border between the high-Vāta season of winter (cold, blustery and dry), and the high-Kapha season of Spring (moist, muddy and phlegmy) right around the corner. Some locales will be entering Spring any day now, with buds already forming on tree branches. Other locations have several … Continue reading Winter Warm Up: 7 Ways (and Why!)
One of my teachers said this to me last year: Let yourself be changed by the pandemic. Do not struggle to hold on to how things were. Do not attempt to maintain your life in the image of the past. The world is changing massively – be changed with it. While I took in this … Continue reading Let the Pandemic Change You
The Charaka Samhita, one of the ancient texts of Ayurveda compiled around 100 BCE, specifies 3 pillars of good health, or 3 key ingredients to longevity and overall vitality. Of course, simply knowing what makes us healthier doesn’t automatically change our behavior. It’s the first step, but only the first. There are two necessary follow-up … Continue reading The 3 Pillars of Good Health
It’s not an exaggeration to say changing deeply ingrained habits is the hardest - AND most necessary - step to being healthy. By definition, habits put us on auto-pilot, which is either a good thing or a bad thing. Habits can free us up so we don’t have to think too hard about something, like … Continue reading The Only Shortcut to Change Old Habits
In autumn, the body and mind start shifting away from the external focus of summer activity, and we naturally draw our attention inwards. We are surrounded by the qualities of Vata dosha, including a drier climate, windy weather, colder temperatures, and changes to our routines, which can lead to a subtle (or not so subtle) … Continue reading 5 Steps to an Autumn Reset
On Wednesday, we officially enter autumn, the season of Vata dosha, when dry, cool and rough qualities ramp up in nature as Air and Space elements start rising compared to the waning Fire of summer. We can feel it in the cooler air, the dry leaves gathering on the ground, the rougher breezes kicking up. … Continue reading Time to Get Well-Rooted
We are fast approaching summer’s end. Early summer invited us outside, where the sun’s vital energy is easily accessible, Nature’s gifts are abundant, and physical activity flows more easily into our lives. The warmth of early summer relaxes and softens the muscles and inspires more movement, helping to pacify the heavy, moist, “phlegmy” Kapha of … Continue reading Summer Rest is Restorative
Ivy Ingram, MA, AP 