Tuning into how we feel and what our body needs takes time. It’s a relationship that requires conscious development. Nurturing and development. Based on trust, intuition and understanding.

Being able to listen to your body, amongst countless other frequencies that are imperceivable to the naked eye, takes dedication and a considerable amount of work.

With the infinite amount of new and circulating information at our fingertips, it’s easy to absorb, analyze, perfectly implement and expect precise results. Unfortunately, life just doesn’t work that way. Each of us is so beautifully different, and depending on our past experiences and programming, our bodies will react differently to different inputs and stimuli.

Most of what I teach and live by is based on Ayurvedic principles, which aligns with my background in biology.

Ayurveda = Science of life

Biology = Science of life

KNOWING YOUR DOSHA

Knowing your Dosha and how to balance it is the first step to healing with Ayurveda.

health = order

disease = dis-order

Your Dosha is determined by the state of your true nature, PRAKRUTI.

In Sanskrit, prakruti means “nature” or “first creation”. Your prakruti is determined by the combination of elements present at the time of conception.

The moment in time in which YOU were created.

Your dosha is constantly in flux in relation to and as a result of your reaction to the environment and your thoughts.

THE 5 ELEMENTS

ETHER // AIR // FIRE // WATER // EARTH

The 5 basic elements (ETHER, AIR, FIRE, WATER, & EARTH) manifest in the human body as three basic principles known as the tridosha.

Each person is a combination of all three elements (vata, pitta & kappa) with a tendency toward one or more based on their prakruti.

One aspect of the game of life is accepting the challenge of committing to bringing the mind, body, and spirit back into balance.

One cannot stay in balance forever. Coming back into balance is like coming back to the present moment. It takes continual work and commitment. Knowing peace is possible and infinitely stems from within.

By balancing your dosha and nurturing your natural state, balance follows.

DOSHAS

Generally speaking, there are 7 types of doshas, with vata, pitta, kapha at the foundation.

1- vata

2- pitta

3- kapha

4- vata-pitta

5- pitta-kapha

6- vata-kapha

7- vata-pitta-kapha

The three elements (vata, pitta, kapha) govern all the biological, psychological, and physiopathological functions of the body, mind, and consciousness.

A few common psychological traits that relate to each of the three main doshas are listed below:

VATA = ether & air // imaginative, sensitive, spontaneous, resilient, exhilarated

PITTA = fire & water // intellectual, confident, enterprising, joyous

KAPHA = earth & water // calm, sympathetic, courageous, forgiving, loving

There are several websites and books that can help you identify your dosha, which I encourage you to explore. Upon researching, you might “think” that you’re a particular dosha, only to later find that you have been living in an unbalanced state and your true nature has yet to be fully expressed in balance.

It’s easy to get caught up in calculating, restricting, and or controlling our diet in an effort to change the body and force it to resemble an ideal image.

Coming back to Balance

Rather than trying to control and force, take a moment to get to know yourself and listen to what your body is asking for. Get to know where you came from. Get to know your true nature and the balance your mind, body, spirit, and heart crave.

Creating balance is a science.

Ayurveda is the science of life.

Biology is the science of life.

Getting to know yourself and your body naturally brings forth balance.

A life force that knows itself is deeply beautiful and magnetizing.

Several years ago, I was fortunate to have worked with a woman, Marianne Teitelbaum, who studied with Vaidya R. K. Mishra, a successor of the SV Ayurveda lineage.

What to Eat for How You Feel was written by Divya Alter, a student of Marianne Teitelbaum.

Divya’s cookbook has been one of my favorite resources that I often come back to. It’s a wealth of true information, tools, and recipes, all of which are rooted in nourishment and love. Whether you’re seeking transformation or a sliver of peace, Ayurveda helps you return to your true nature and balance.

One of her students wrote and created a cookbook that has been a wonderful resource for true and current Ayurvedic practices to help build a foundation of balance within the body as it relates to the seasons and pulse of the earth.

Contemporary Ayurveda

vs.

SV Ayurveda

“Unlike contemporary Ayurveda, which is built on the limited ancient texts that survived the Mogul destruction, the knowledge and practice of Shaka Vansiya (SV) Ayurveda was handed down through a familial lineage tracing back to the ancient Vedic texts, the Puranas. Today’s application of SV Ayurveda healing protocols factors in our exposure to the many stressors of modern civilization that did not exist when the ancient texts were written: hectic lifestyles, electromagnetic frequencies, environmental pollution, depleted soil, toxic and processed food, imbalanced personal routines. One of the main differences with contemporary Ayurveda is the effective delivery of remedies to protect the liver and digestive system from being overwhelmed and to avoid herb-drug interaction commonly caused by unprocessed herbs.

Vaidya R. K. Mishra was the successor of the SV Ayurveda lineage. He was born into a family lineage of Ayurvedic doctors in India who preserved their medical knowledge even through the Mogul era, when most Ayurvedic Sanskrit texts were destroyed.”

-Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum