It's Kapha Time! Time to Lighten Up

Unless you’re on the southern side of this planet, you are probably now in the season of late winter, which in Ayurveda is considered deep kapha time. Because kapha is the energy of structure and lubrication, made of earth and water, it is the heaviest, densest, dampest, stickiest time of the year. (Think about all that mud.) Although winter kapha time ushers in the fertility and renewal of spring, it’s also a time we may all start to feel sluggish in our digestion, congested in our heads, heavy after eating warm and dense winter food all season, and really ready for the warmth of spring to lighten and warm us up.

Ayurveda suggests some valuable seasonal practices we can do in this time to burn away the stagnation accumulated all winter, revitalize our mind and bodies, and prepare to shift into the blossoming, energetic, thriving activity of spring.

• Heat up with movement: Now is the time to shake off the sluggishness and cold of winter with invigorating movement and heating activities such as hot yoga, jogging, dance, cardio classes, and getting outside during the bright and warm part of the day for brisk walks.

• Somatic Activating Practices: Shaking, body tapping, and making sounds through your throat like roars, sighs, and moans are all ways to activate and release stuck/stagnant energy

• Consider a spring cleanse: An ayurvedic cleanse is a gentle, nourishing way to reset your digestion, clean up your diet, and rev up your energy. (Reply if you’re interested in hearing about a spring group cleanse!)

• Kapalabhati (Skull Shining Breath) is very effective at warming the body, boosting the metabolism, and lifting the spirit. Method: Start seated comfortably. It can help to have a hand on your belly when learning, noticing your hand moving in towards your spine as you exhale. Take a deep breath in and out. Then let your inhale come in naturally about 3/4 of the way in. Exhale strongly by engaging the abdominals and diaphragm muscles, feeling your belly push towards to spine to expel the air in your lungs. Start with about 50 pumps of breath. With practice, extend the number of breath cycles. Always rest or slow down if you start to feel discomfort, cramps, or dizziness. When you practice, visualize your skull filling with a bright light. Not for pregnant women or those with high blood pressure, heart disease, or abdominal pain.

• Dress in warm layers and bright warm, colors like yellow, red, and orange. Don’t get fooled by seemingly warm temps and catch a chill outside. It’s still cold out there so bring a jacket and accessories!

• Lighten up your diet: go easy on the ghee and oil (but don’t avoid them and use more of the lighter oils like olive). Minimize heavy foods like red meat, cream, fried foods, and aged cheese. Switch from heavy grains like wheat and refined white rice, to light ones like quinoa and brown rice.

• Herbs and spices best for this season include: cumin, ginger, turmeric, coriander, basil, ashwaganda, tulsi, pippali, cayenne, pepper, and bibhitaki.

• Clean Your Space: Now’s the time to declutter your home and refresh your environment. Start with one room at a time—clear out old items, reorganize, or even consider a mini-renovation project. Creating a clean, open space reflects the fresh energy that’s starting to emerge outside.

• Spring into Action: Spring is all about new beginnings, and it's the real new year energy—far more than January 1st! Visualize, dream, and plan your next big project, whether it’s your business goals, a personal endeavor, or even a wedding.

  Remember, these are all general suggestions, and may need to be adjusted for some people depending on your situation and BodyMind Type.

As an Ayurvedic Wellness Practitioner, I help my clients understand their BodyMind Type and address root causes of pain, anxiety, and disease, with nutrition, lifestyle, embodiment, herbs & mindset, to bring greater balance, wholeness, and radiance.

By changing your lifestyle and living more harmoniously with nature, you will begin to create within your body the optimal environment for healing.

Savory Beef Veggie Stew Recipe

Do Ayurveda and Meat go together?

Actually, they do!

Depending on your cultural background, upbringing, bodymind type, health circumstances, and other factors, consuming moderate amounts of high quality, humanely raised meat may indeed be very healing for you.

Although many ayurvedic practitioners refrain from meat due to cultural and ethical reasons, meat is not prohibited by the foundational texts of ayurveda, and in fact is recommended for building strength in the weak, nourishing pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and for healing many conditions. Because of its dense, heavy, building qualities, when over-consumed it can contribute to sluggishness and stagnation. Over time, high quantities of meat, especially red meat and processed meat, can lead to diabetes, liver congestion, and mental density.

As someone who has experimented over the years with vegetarianism, and having dedicated myself to more deeply understanding the role of meat in our diet and health, I have found that it is very situational and dependent on who you are, your lifestyle, your time of life, the type and quality of meat, and more. I talk about this in a lot more detail in the Ayurveda Deep Dive course.

Personally, I have found that as an active, menstruating, Vata type woman nearing perimenopause, eating red meat about once per week and poultry or fish several times per week, while mostly eating a vegetarian diet, to be the right balance for me. When I meet with clients as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I can help them discover a good balance for them as an individual. For some, a vegetarian diet is going to be healthier, while for others, eating meat at certain times of day, year and time of life will be more balancing.

Look for high quality, humanely raised, pasture fed beef not raised with antibiotics or hormones. These animals will be happier, healthier, and contribute less to global warming. Limiting your intake of red meat to about once per week is a considerate way to consume, as these animals require tons of water and contribute greenhouse gases to the environment.

If you are feeling the need for deep nourishment, this recipe is for you! I just made it for my family the other day and the meat came out so soft and just fell apart in your mouth. It is balanced by LOTS of veggies and a nourishing, savory broth. Perfect for fall and wintertime.

Savory Beef Veggie Stew

Ingredients:

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 onion chopped

1 pound beef stew meat chopped to bite sized pieces

1 can diced tomatoes

3 stalks of chopped celery

4 golden chopped potatoes

2 sliced carrots

1 small chopped sweet potato (opt)

4 cups chicken or beef bone broth, + 2 cups veggie broth

1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3/4 teaspoon rosemary (fresh or dried)

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot to medium. Add onions and stir for 1 minute.

Add stew meat and stir until meat in browned.

Add can of tomatoes and stir in all the veggies and broth.

Add the salt, pepper, and rosemary

Heat until boiling, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are cooked

Alternatively, in an Instapot, start on Sautee function for onions and beef until browned. Then press Cancel and stir in all the other ingredients. Close lid and Seal. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes and let steam release naturally for 10 before serving.

Enjoy!

Dealing with Dryness

If you’re anywhere near me in Colorado, you’ve probably noticed how insanely DRY this winter has been! No snow, and my hygrometer consistently reads 22 percent humidity. Ideal humidity for humans runs between 40 and 60. Below that starts to dry out your tissues and sinuses, as the dry air pulls moisture from your mucous membranes. This impacts not only your skin, lungs, and nasal passages, but also your digestive tract, causing constipation, and even your mental health. That’s because dryness aggravates Vata, the dosha of air and space, and when Vata increases, we feel more spacey, anxious, and have trouble focusing and sleeping.

Here are some amazing ways to beat the dry this winter and lubricate your bodacious bod!

Eat your moisture

Take in more oil, by adding healthy fats to your foods (think ghee, drizzles of olive oil, avocado, and coconut oil).

Hydrate!

I think this one is obvious, but it may be less clear that it’s important to not only drink water, but to drink WARM water which is better absorbed, and to make lubricating herbal teas such as licorice and marshmallow root. You can also make an ayurvedic gatorade to hydrate even better by adding a squeeze of lemon, a dash of sea salt, and a little natural sweetener to your water.

Self-Oil Massage

If there was ever a time to do Abhyangha, this is it! This is the sweet self love practice of massaging your whole body with herbalized oil from bottom to top. This not only nourishes your skin, but also strengthens the mind-body connection, and is grounding and soothing to the nervous system. Wrap yourself in a robe for 10-20 minutes afterwards, and then take a bath or shower to help your pores absorb the oil and rinse away excess.

Protect Your Hands

Before heading outside into the cold and dry, rub some sesame oil or abhyanga oil onto your hands. This seals in your body’s moisture and protects your hands from the arid weather, and will keep them warmer as well! In place of oil I sometimes use my friends Ali’s incredible True Radiance Tallow which is extremely nourishing and protective.

Oil Your Nose

The sinuses especially suffer during these extreme bouts of dryness. You may notice waking up with crusty inner nostrils, and you may notice feeling congested with thick dry mucous. To help out your nose, sniff in a few drops of nasya oil each morning and evening.

Get a Humidifier

Seriously, get a sizeable one and keep it running, especially at night near your bed.

Nasal Steam

Fill a pot with half an inch of water and cover it. Heat until steaming. Move the pot to a table and remove the lid so the first strong wisps of steam escape. Add a few drops of echinacea, and then lean over it with a towel over your head and breathe deeply for a few minutes. This will help clear and lubricate congested sinuses.

Keep Plenty of Plants Around

~and water them well. They will brighten up your space and help keep the air moist for you too through the process of transpiration.

Cover Up

When it’s this cold and dry out, and especially if it’s windy, take care to cover up as much of your skin as possible with hats, scarves, gloves, and coats. The combo of cold and wind is especially rough on our skin and mucous membranes.

Steam Sauna

There’s nothing quite like getting hot and steamy in a sauna on a cold winter evening. Detoxification, warmth in your lungs, and open pores ready to take in any oil or moisturizer you slather on when you get out. Join the upcoming Women’s Sauna + Song Circle February 16th, link below to sign up! deeply for a few minutes.

I love to share ayurvedic lifestyle tips! Please reach out if you’d like one-on-one support for your unique mind-body type. Your body and mind will thank you!

A WELLNESS WIN! FDA bans food dye red #3

Today, the FDA announced a ban on red dye #3, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

Used primarily in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, red dye #3 has faced scrutiny due to studies linking it to potential adverse health effects, including hyperactivity in children and possible carcinogenic properties.

Although this is a victory in the efforts to get our government to hold the food industry responsible for keeping toxins out of our food, it’s also a reminder that we cannot trust this agency to keep our food is safe. We must take care to learn about what we are eating and how to choose the safest, most wholesome, and natural things to put into our body.

Evidence has been plentiful and available for many years about the risks of red dye #3, and yet the FDA failed to act all this time. There are many hundreds of other dyes, artificial flavors, preservatives, food enhancers, conditioners, binders, and other food additives that are known to be dangerous to health, and yet still allowed in our foods. Many of these chemicals have been banned in places like Europe for years.

What can you do to protect yourself?

I KNOW, it can feel daunting to eat healthy and take care of ourselves in a world laden with toxins. But here are a few tips for simplifying this task:

• Gradually shift away from processed foods, fast foods, and favor whole, fresh, organic foods. The more you can cook for yourself, the more you know what is going into your body. But everyone is at a different stage of wellness practice, so start where you are at. If you eat a lot of packaged foods, start to gradually reduce, or see if there are healthier versions of, those items.

• Familiarize yourself with the top chemicals of concern, and read ingredient labels to avoid them. Some of the worse offenders, according to the Environmental Working Group, are: Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Bromate, Propyl Paraben, BHA, BHT, TBHQ, Artificial Food Dyes, Artificial Sweeteners, Brominated Vegetable Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Azodicarbonamide (ADA), and Propyl Gallate.

• Know that you can’t get it perfect all of the time. You can try your best to buy and eat the healthiest things, and still be exposed to toxins. The best you can do is make an effort, build resiliency and strength, and trust that you are made to survive and thrive. Follow the 80/20 rule, and take good care 80% of the time, allowing yourself to relax and enjoy 20% of the time.

Ready for a DETOX? The Great Return to Love Retreat for women in Mexico is just that. Physically and mentally, we’ll be cleansing ourselves of things that bog us down, hold us back, and limit our potential to feel our best and truly thrive, the way we are meant to! There is just ONE SPOT LEFT. Is it yours?

Why go on a Women's Retreat?

Are you craving a women’s retreat, but keep coming up with excuses not to go?

“I can’t leave my family for that long.”

“I can’t spend the money”

“I won’t know anyone there.”

I hear all kinds of reasons why women don’t sign up, but year after year say they will join “next year”.

Let me ask you, what’s really stopping you? Is it the many excuses, or is it the part of you that isn’t fully believing in your worthiness to deeply take care of and nurture yourself?

Because I know, as women, we’re pretty much wired to take care of others first. But how can we give the best of ourselves when we’re burnt out, tired, and overworked?

You need a time and place to go to take care of yourself and reignite your spark. Here are a few reasons why attending a women’s retreat just might be the best decision you’ll make this year:

1. Rest and Rejuvenation

A retreat is the ultimate sacred pause, an intentional time out of time to regroup, rejuvenate, and restore the nervous system. While every need is being tended to and safety is prioritized, you can focus on rest and presence, instead of dishes, cooking, chores, challenging relationships, and work.

2. Introspection and Personal Growth

Women's retreats create a supportive environment that encourages introspection and personal growth through guided experiences and practices. By gathering in a nurturing space away from daily responsibilities, participants can explore their inner selves, connect with others, and engage in activities that promote self-discovery, such as yoga, meditation, and workshops. Retreats create a space which allows you to reconnect with yourself, your hopes, your needs, your buried dreams.

3. Connection and Community

A strong community of caring women is an incredibly uplifting support system. By coming together with like-minded individuals, women can form genuine bonds, share experiences, and find support in a nurturing and non-judgmental environment. 

The collective wisdom, stories, and diverse backgrounds of women in the group create a rich tapestry of inspiration and solidarity. Retreats provide a platform for women to connect, network, and build lifelong friendships, creating a support system that extends long after the retreat concludes.

4. Inspiration and Renewed Focus

Stepping away from the demands of everyday life and immersing oneself in a retreat environment can reignite inspiration and provide renewed focus. Through engaging practices, and creative workshops, women can tap into their creativity, set new goals, and envision a path for personal and professional fulfillment. 

The supportive atmosphere of a retreat encourages women to dream big, embrace their passions, and live a fulfilling life according to their soul’s purpose. A retreat can serve as a reset button, allowing you to take new ideas or values and implement them into your daily life.

5. Laughter and Fun

A trip with a great group of women is SO MUCH fun!

It is a guarantee that you will be talking and laughing throughout the retreat with new and old friends. These retreats provide a unique opportunity for women to connect, unwind, and engage in activities that bring laughter, adventure, and a sense of lightness in world that often encourages us to take ourselves WAY too seriously.

6. Spiritual Growth

Taking a retreat from the business of daily life to engage in daily practices of intentional breath, movement, and prayer will open the door to spiritual growth. There will be many opportunities to converse and learn from other women, as well as times to sit in the quiet and listen for guidance.

Taking time out in nature brings a quietness and peace that is hard to find in the busyness of daily life.

9 Ways to Make Your Yoga Practice More Somatic

Somatics refers to a holistic approach to body awareness and movement that emphasizes the internal perception of the body. Somatic practices encourage you to explore your bodily sensations and emotions, fostering a deeper mindbody connection. Proprioception, sensing where your body is in space, and interoception, the awareness of sensations you’re feeling physically and emotionally, are both foundational somatic practices. These days, somatic therapies are blossoming as a potent way to heal physical and mental challenges.

In somatics, the focus is on personal experience rather than external forms or techniques. This approach can include various practices such as bodywork, guided therapy, movement therapies such as yoga, and mindfulness techniques. By cultivating greater awareness of bodily sensations, we can release tension, improve mobility, reduce pain, and move stagnant or deep seated emotions.

One of the things I love about my yoga practice and how it has evolved over the years is the somatic lens I practice through now. My time on the mat is a dedicated time to connect with myself physically and emotionally. This stands in contrast to my early years in yoga which began over 20 years ago, when the emphasis I picked up on from teachers and the yoga culture at large was more about correct alignment of each pose and getting my body to achieve certain shapes.

Though I still enjoy challenging myself (and my students!) to explore the edges of their strength and flexibility, what’s more important to me now is how the inquiries posed by the yoga practice guide us to more deeply embody and connect with the true wisdom that lies within.

How to Make Your Yoga Practice Somatic

1. Focus on Body Awareness: Begin by tuning into your body. Take a few moments at the start of your practice to notice any sensations, areas of tension, or points of comfort. This heightened awareness helps you connect more deeply to your experience and to the wisdom of your body.

2. Use Breath as a Guide: Incorporate conscious breathing into your practice. Pay attention to the rhythm of your breath, allowing it to lead your movements. Inhale and exhale deeply, noticing how the breath moves in various parts of your body.

3. Slow Down Your Movements: Move through your poses slowly, inviting a sense of exploration. This gentle pace encourages you to feel the subtleties of each posture and can help deepen the connection between your mind and body.

4. Incorporate Sensory Experiences: Engage your senses during practice. Observe how the mat feels under your feet, the sound of your breath, or the scent of your space. By grounding yourself in sensory experiences, you enhance the somatic aspects of your practice.

5. Practice Mindful Transitions: Pay attention to the transitions between poses. Rather than rushing through movements, focus on the sensations experienced during changes in position.

6. Explore Movements Intuitively: Allow your body to lead. Experiment with spontaneous movements that feel right in the moment, whether through gentle swaying, stretching, or other spontaneous actions.

7. Integrate Restorative Practices: Include restorative poses that encourage relaxation and awareness, such as Child’s Pose, Pranam, Shavasana, and supported postures. These positions create space for introspection and listening to your body’s needs.

8. Practice shaking, tapping, and self touch: These somatic practices help us shake loose stuck and stagnant feelings and regulate our nervous system so we can feel more safe to feel!

9. Remain Open and Curious: Approach your practice with a sense of curiosity. Allow yourself to explore new feelings, sensations, and movements without judgment.

10. Use Guided Somatic Techniques: Explore guided meditation or somatic movement classes focused on body awareness. These resources can help you further embody your practice and enhance your understanding of somatic principles.

By integrating these techniques, you can cultivate a more somatic yoga practice that goes way beyond the physical, making your relationship with yourself more sacred, intimate, and compassionate.

Today, I have a gift for you: A guided 20 minute Nervous System Nourishment Guided Meditation with Somatic Practices. Listen for free on Insight Timer.

My Favorite Way to Make Oatmeal

Oatmeal… do you love it or hate it?

It’s one of those dishes that can be really boring and bland and mushy… like something Oliver Twist or Orphan Annie would be served.

OR, you can make it taste like absolute heaven!! I prefer option 2.

Why oatmeal?

In the morning, our digestive fire is still low, and so it’s good to eat a light, easy to digest breakfast to help fire up the metabolism. Eating something heavy in the morning is like adding a bunch of big logs to your bonfire before it’s really gotten going. It smothers it, and in our body, that creates ama, known as toxic buildup.

One of ayurveda’s common breakfast suggestions is stewed fruit, such as apples and pears. which when cooked provide a wonderful source of fiber that supports easy elimination as well as prebiotics that nourish the microbiome (don’t peel ‘em!). While this can be delicious, it doesn’t fill me up. I have a strong appetite and am pretty active so I need something that will tide me over till lunch.

So what I love to do is chop a whole piece of fruit, such as a pear, apple, or peach, and cook it with my oatmeal. Cooked fruit is easier to digest than raw, and more grounding and nourishing.

I also add a small handful of raisins, OR 1 chopped date. With these fruits, there’s no need for any added sweeteners.

Sometimes I feel like adding a handful of nuts or seeds, my favorites are pecans, which makes it more filling because of the protein in the nuts.

Add a pinch of sea salt, a hefty amount of cinnamon, and a good dollop of ghee (or coconut oil), and you’ve got a nourishing, warm, easy to digest, agni stoking, filling morning meal.

Here’s the recipe:

My favorite way to make oatmeal:

Roughly chop one apple, pear, or peach and add it to a small saucepan (no need to peel).

Add a small handful (about 1/4 cup) of raisins.

Add 1/2 cup organic rolled oats (not quick cooking).

Pour in one cup of water (or your favorite milk to make it even more filling).

Add a pinch of sea salt and a bigger pinch of cinnamon

Throw in a dollop (about 2 teaspoons) of ghee (can subsitute butter or coconut oil)

Stir it all together and bring to boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 7 minutes.

After 7 minutes or when fruit is soft, turn off the heat and let it rest, covered, about 5-10 minutes.

Stir and enjoy!

How I'm Healing Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism

Dear community,

I’m so grateful. This summer has been one of huge, yet subtle, growth for me. Such is the potential of life changing diagnosis!

In June I went for some blood testing to determine if I was anemic, as I had been feeling extreme fatigue during my menstrual cycles for some time.

What I found out shocked me. “Your tests are abnormal. You have Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism. Your PCP called in a prescription for you” said the nurse on the phone.

As someone who considers myself very healthy, I was shocked to hear this and felt betrayed by my body. How could this happen to me? I do all the right things. I spend so much time on self care, I spend so much money on organic food, on cooking healthy meals every day. I practice yoga and meditation every day. I’m a health Practitioner for f#$* sake!

I also felt shocked at the phone call, that there was no mention of alternatives, of diet, herbs, or lifestyle suggestions, just a synthetic hormone to replace what my thyroid was not producing.

The conventional medical system is like this. If there is a problem a drug can solve, take the pill. If that causes another problem, there’s another pill for that.

But as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I know the problems with that strategy. It treats the symptom, not the root.

I did not pick up the prescription.

Instead, I dove into all the healing modalities I know of, and searched inside myself for the wisdom to heal. I reviewed the module on the Endocrine System and the protocols for hypothyroidism from my Master of Science program. I took herbs and minerals, adjusted my diet.

I sought the support of a Naturopath, of energy healers, of body works, of my family.

I put all my major work commitments on pause for a while. I postponed my Yoga Teacher Training. I spent a lot of time this summer at home, and in my backyard, laying on the earth, gardening, resting in the hammock. I finally gave my nervous system the reset it has needed for years.

I tended to my throat chakra. I practiced a lot of singing, Oming, chanting, primal screaming, I worked on emotional release. I talked to my thyroid, to my body, reminding it it was whole and had the capacity to heal. I have gotten very curious about where in my life I am out of alignment, and in what ways I can be more true to myself.

And after 2 months, I went back for retesting. When I went to see my Primary Care Provider, she was surprised about the results. I was ecstatic when she told me that though the tests still showed I had antibodies (Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks your thyroid), my thyroid function had returned to normal range. She asked me what ayurveda was, and if she could have some business cards for her patients.

I still have work to do. Having an autoimmune condition means I’ll always need to pay attention to my body and deeply support it. But, really, in this world, we all need to.

Some day, I may need medication. I’m not opposed to that. But I’ll always try to heal first from within, and with the support of herbs, diet, and lifestyle. When we simply take a pill to treat a symptom, the root cause of the problem is always underneath it and will rear its head from another direction.

This is just my story. I’m not suggesting anyone else with Hashimoto’s, or another autoimmine condition, or anything else, can heal in the same way. We are all individuals and healing has many paths.

I share my story to offer hope. And to offer an alternative, or at least complementary, path to western medicine. There are SO many avenues for healing. The main aim of Ayurveda, and of my Ayurvedic healing practice, is to enliven the inner intelligence. I know in my heart that our body is supremely wise. From two cells, the intelligence of our body created our human form. It knows how to heal our wounds. It knows how to digest food and turn it into energy and new cells. And, it knows how to heal us. If only we get quiet enough to listen, and get honest enough to be absolutely true to ourself. That means no more masks, no more false pretenses, no more yes when we mean no, no more numbing, no more hiding behind false stories of who we are. It means embracing every aspect of ourselves, of unleashing the fullness of who we are and what we need and want.

I’d love to support you in your own health journey, as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, and as a friend. Explore Ayurvedic Wellness Counseling with me here.

Listen to me discuss my healing journey in more depth on my latest podcast episode of Your Inner Radiance.

And, consider joining me and Malka Russell live in Mexico this February 5-10 for The Great Return to Love Women’s retreat!

• We’ll be nourishing our nervous system and liberating ourselves with:

• Daily movement practices, dance, yoga, and somatic practices

• Daily soaks in the private mineral springs

• Delicious, revitalizing Ayurvedic inspired meals

• Practices of self expression and connection: singing, sharing, laughing, and sound therapy.

• Sound healing sessions

• Hike along the beach to an incredible oceanfront restaurant

• A Digital Detox experience