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Top ten reasons to do an Ayurvedic cleanse
An Ayurvedic cleanse is a simple, nourishing practice that can be done safely at home. If you’re new to Ayurveda, it’s a wonderful way to quickly feel the benefits of Ayurveda in your own body! I practice a cleanse twice a year and find the benefits to be both physical, mental and energetic. Here are the top ten reasons you might want to consider practicing your own Ayurvedic cleanse! 1. Connect to the cycles of nature Many of us live lives that are out of sync with nature these days. We do little to mark the changing seasons or passage of time. Our holidays are disconnected from a deeper meaning…
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Prepare for a healthy fall: 8 Ayurveda hacks you can practice right now
Ayurveda works most effectively when we use it as preventative medicine. This requires a shift in thinking for many of us. We are used to waiting until we get sick before we go to the doctor. Perhaps you typically experience good health during the summer, but find yourself at the doctor’s office every fall once you come down with a cold or flu. The doctor may send you home with some medicine to relieve your symptoms, but there’s not much they can do to cure the cold once you’ve contracted it. The same is usually true for Ayurvedic medicine. While I swear by my soothing Ayurvedic teas, herbal honeys and…
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Five steps to get skin you love
Acne has been a consistent struggle for me since my preteen years. In my ongoing quest for “good skin” I have tried many things: from Proactiv to painful facials to rubbing olive oil on my face every night. I like to think I’ve done it all, and at age 31 I wish I could tell you that I finally have it perfectly figured out. The truth is, acne will still flare up and surprise me at times, but I do have a greater understanding of what causes it, some helpful tools in my toolkit, and a healthier emotional response to it. Part of me feels like a fraud (how can…
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What I learned from keeping a food journal for two weeks
One of our recent assignments in my Ayurvedic Health Counseling program was to keep a journal for two weeks tracking the state of our agni (digestion) and ama (toxins in the body). If you ever work with an Ayurvedic coach or practitioner, you may be asked to do something similar to help the practitioner understand what is causing your imbalances. I found the process helpful and it allowed me to make some changes in my eating habits that quickly had me feeling better. I want to share some tips for how you could keep your own food journal, some things to watch for, and some ways it might help you.…
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Recovering from perfectionism
“Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough.” – Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way On long summer days, is it easy for you to find time to relax and let the worries of the world melt away? Or do you find yourself working even longer hours at your computer, driving yourself to accomplish as much as possible? As the hot, sharp qualities of pitta rise in the summer, we may find ourselves getting more intense, judgmental, or critical of our own work. I’ve previously written about ways…
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Rethink your summer vacation
This summer feels a little different than most. For me, there are no outdoor concerts, no plane trips to visit family, no beachside brunches. So how can we still get that “summer feeling”? Ayurveda tells us that connecting with the seasons is important to our health and well-being. We are not supposed to have the same routine, diet and practices all year long. Part of bringing summer into your life is switching up your routine, and that is something we can all do no matter what our summer plans look like. In fact, I would argue that this summer might present the perfect opportunity to enjoy the relaxation that summer…
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How to create a Summer Solstice ritual
The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of sunlight, and the official beginning of summer. Traditionally, this day is celebrated in many cultures with fire ceremonies, dance, and rituals of fertility and abundance. Personally, I like to use the Summer Solstice as a time to both honor nature, and to turn inward and spend time with myself. For several years I’ve been setting my “New Year’s” intentions on the day of the Winter Solstice, and the Summer Solstice is a good mid-year check-in point to reassess and reconnect. From an Ayurvedic perspective, we always want to look at the qualities that we see showing up in nature, and try to…
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Keep the channel open – five cleansing practices to support creativity
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to…
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Five ways to spark inspiration when you’re stuck at home
We are all living different lives right now due to COVID-19. We are trying to adjust to the new normal. There are ups and downs. Some days, I feel like I’ve cracked the code on this stay-at-home life, and other days, everything feels like it’s falling apart and I don’t know why. I have to remind myself – this is not normal life! I’ve been keeping myself to a pretty strict routine, scheduling my work/meals/exercise for each day, perhaps to make up for lack of external schedules that I am used to. It had been going well, but the past week I found myself feeling drained and uninspired. This shouldn’t…