Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

Ayurveda is a complex discipline based upon Vedic spiritual tradition, and is a powerful system of mind-body health. Learning to work with its principles will aid you in maintaining vibrant health or in achieving health if you are in a state of dis-ease. This sister science of yoga integrates beautifully with your asana, pranayama and meditation practices.

This soothing toddy will warm your bones as we transition from long summer days to the fall and winter months. The ginger lends a spicy kick, turmeric brings in an earthy quality along with an array of health benefits, the honey soothes the throat, and lemon balances it all out. You can make the turmeric honey paste ahead of time and keep it on your counter so that you can whip up this delicious toddy in just a couple of minutes.

Summer is winding down and as the season starts to shift, it’s a perfect time to integrate some more calming practices to not only beat the last hot days of summer, but also to remind ourselves how important it is to chill out in our busy, high-tech world. Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, offers advice on how we can acclimate to the heat and balance it out through both diet and our asana, pranayama and meditation practices. When we align ourselves with nature, we learn to live in balance no matter what’s happening externally or internally. Without launching a dissertation on Ayurvedic principles, we’ll give you the quick basics on how Pitta energy can be exacerbated in the summer and provide some practices that will help you stay calm, cool, and collected no matter how steamy it gets.

About a year ago I shared an article about the Ayurvedic perspective on circadian rhythm. In it, I shared how different times in the day have different qualities associated with them, thus making certain times more appropriate for specific activities.

Ayurvedic philosophy teaches that we are all unique, not just by looks, but by the things we are made of. We know we are made of bones, skin, hair, and squishy stuff. And true, we all are built with two eyes, two arms, two feet, and a liver, but none of these parts are the same shape and size in any of us. In Ayurveda, one size does not fit all.