Surya Bhedana: Right nostril breathing to warm up the body If you live in the northern hemisphere, winters can feel harsh. The low temperatures, short days, and an envelope of darkness can feel depressing. Surya Bhedana is a warming pranayama that can help drive the winter blues away. Unlike Chandra Bhedana Pranayama, this breathing technique activates [...]
The three Maha Gunas in Ayurveda and their impact on your mental state What doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) are to our physical well-being, Maha Gunas (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) is to our mental health. However, unlike our three doshas, our three maha gunas aren’t fixed. We have a lot more freedom over how to manage [...]
9 Ayurvedic sleep remedies to manage insomnia Optimal health, according to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, can only be achieved when there is a proper balance of the three pillars of life. Ayurveda considers sleep as one of the three important pillars of health. In this blog post, learn about how not only can Ayurveda help [...]
Yoga to release heat from the body Just because the weather is becoming cooler … it doesn’t mean the heat has completely left our bodies. The transition from summer (Pitta season) to fall (Vata season) takes some intentional work. It needs working on our diet and lifestyle while honoring the change in seasons. A client recently said [...]
Agni and Ama: The foundation of Ayurvedic Digestive Health Did you know that several diseases and health conditions begin in the gut? Ayurveda teaches us that the health of our digestive system is the singular most important factor that determines our health and wellbeing in the long term. The same way as western medicine reminds us [...]
What is Ama in Ayurveda? The other day, a client asked me about, ama, a unique concept in Ayurveda. "Ms. Vikram, what is ama? What does it do? Why does it ammeter?" In Sanskrit, ama means toxin or undigested metabolic waste. Ama translates literally to mean things like “unripe,” “uncooked,” “raw,” “immature,” or “undigested.”[1] What causes ama? There are [...]
What is Agni according to Ayurveda? It is crucial to understand the role of Agni in Ayurveda and its impact on our bodies. In Sanskrit, our digestive fire, is known as agni, and it is responsible for transforming the food and beverages that we intake. Agni also absorbs, assimilates, and converts the food into energy. It regulates the body temperature. [...]
What are the six tastes in Ayurveda? The six tastes in Ayurveda has an effect on the three doshas of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. According to Ayurveda, every substance found in nature is made up of some combination of the 5 basic elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. The same elements make up the Ayurvedic [...]
What is an Ayurvedic Diet? Ayurveda is one of the oldest healthcare systems to originate from India. Ayurveda focuses on eating in a way that we can prevent diseases and promote longevity. It’s a living science that honors your age, your doshas, your geographic location, your agnibala (strength of digestive fire), your metabolism, season, your prakruti (constitution), [...]
Natural remedies for acid reflux/GERD, based in Ayurveda Acid reflux disease - also called Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition in which acidic digestive juices from the stomach move up into the esophagus (food pipe). The stomach normally secretes acid that is essential to the digestive process. When there is excess production of acid in the stomach, [...]
