Holiday time is supposed to be a joyous occasion. A time for family, sharing food and gifts, vacations, and festivities. Yet, all too often, we get stressed with the “to do” list for the holidays. There’s holiday shopping, baking, travel planning, party planning, finding babysitters, making room for guests, writing holiday cards, trips to and […]
Sister Sciences
The word yoga means union. When we typically use the word we mean yoga asanas, or poses. Asana is one of the limbs of Ashtanga (ashta = eight and anga = limbs) Yoga as described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The word sutra means thread, that which ties everything together. We know that everything in the […]
You are what you eat!
We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” What does this really mean? Basically, everything that we take in impacts us – both physically and mentally. Food can be used as medicine and it can also that which requires us to seek out the correct medicine. Food supplies essential nutrients to our body […]
Being Mindfully Present
There’s the saying, “Today is tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.” While it’s humorous, it rings true for the majority of us. We’re so busy worrying about, thinking about, contemplating, planning, getting anxious over what has happened and what has yet to happen. There’s no time to just be. The “to do” list grows. […]
Meditate on This
All too often people say that they can’t meditate, or they don’t know how. Meditation is what happens when one sits down with the intention of meditating. It does not mean that one has to sit crossed leg in lotus pose or padmasana (pud-ma-sun-ah), that they have to say “Om” all the time, or that […]
Be Irregularly Regular
In the system of Ayurveda, there are three doshas or body types: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata, the principle of movement, is aggravated by an erratic lifestyle. The more that Vata is out of balance, the more that an individual engages in irregular regimens. So, the cycle perpetuates itself. We must learn strategies for balancing […]
Add some spice to your life!
While Indians do have lower life expectancies than people living in the West, and they suffer from diseases like malnourishment and malaria, it’s a well-documented fact that they don’t suffer from some of the same dis-eases as Americans. They have lower rates of heart disease, cholesterol, and diabetes. One reason that Indians do maintain their […]
Something to smile about!
One oft-neglected regimen in our lives is our mouth and dental hygiene. We take our teeth, lips, saliva, etc. for granted until we have a problem. Then we run to the dentist. When was the last time you saw the dentist? Make an appointment today if it’s been a while since you got checked for […]
New Regimens for a New Year
Today marks the first day of the Indian new year. Yesterday was the festival of Diwali (dee-vaah-lee) or Deepavali (deep-uh-vaah-lee) – the festival of lights. Deepa means dharma (sacred duty) and avali means a continuous line. Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama back home after a 14 year period of exile. The residents of […]
Winter is upon us
It is November and while we’ve been having atypical weather everywhere, the true taste of winter is just around the corner. Speaking in Ayurvedic terms, winter can easily imbalance both Vata and Kapha doshas (body types). Vata is cold, dry, rough, and mobile. Kapha is heavy, static, cool, and dense. While we can consider the doshas […]
