It’s the #1 question I get...

Let me guess, you’re trying to be a good Ayurvedic student and make the right choices for your health, but your progress is stuck because now that you have begun learning, you realize you have no idea what dosha to balance! “How do I balance my natural dosha if the imbalanced one is opposite qualities? And what if I’m two doshas? And what about the seasons?” Sound familiar? I’ve totally been in your shoes! And I can help.

So, first. You don’t have to know your dosha, exactly.

When I first started learning Ayurveda in 2007, it took me 1 1/2 years to figure out my prakruti (natural balance of doshas), because my vata was so high, I acted and felt like a true vata. However, after some time, introspection, observation and practice I’m 90% sure I’m vata-pitta even split. See!? I’m still not exactly sure what my prakruti is! But I’m okay with that.

I share with with you because, even by...

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Sooo...have you ever found yourself consistently dissatisfied with your food?

Or maybe you have endless cravings and you're mindlessly munching, and you're like, "Nothing is satisfying me. I don't know what my problem is. I can't find anything that hits the spot."

Or maybe you get caught in a rut with overeating or emotional eating? You might even be completely aware and you're like, "I'm totally sad, so I'm just going to have the ice cream."

Yah, I think we've all been there! I know I have.

Today I'd like to teach you what you're likely MISSING if we consistently reach for food and yet, still feel discontented or dissatisfied.

I'd like to share an unexpected perspective that can help you through this the next time it happens.

When we go out seeking something to satisfy our taste or our taste buds, sometimes we're missing the "higher food."

When we go out seeking something to satisfy our taste or...

Want to know how to improve your energy for the whole day? Like the whooooole day!? The sustained, feeling good in your body/mind, energy!?

I'll tell you the number #1 thing to do in your morning routine that is absolutely essential in order to have great energy all day.

But first here's where most people think they're doing a great routine, but miss the most important part.

When I ask my clients or students what they are doing for a good morning routine, they usually say something like, "Well, I'm doing really good! I drink lemon water and I scrape my tongue!!" And they get very excited about that.

And I'm like, "That's great! Any other practices in your morning routine?"

They say, "No, that's it."

Then they get a little surprised when I say, "Drinking water and scraping the tongue is basically just good hygiene and hydration. Which is good (better than not) but likely not going to create drastic changes."

However, something that ...

*raise your hands if you're a vata*
Or
*raise your hands if you get anxious from time to time*

If you have your hand up, this is lesson is for you! We live in a vata-increasing world and often struggle to calm our racing or anxious mind. If you feel a bit anxious, here are 5 things to avoid (and I've included the fixes too). 

Note: Vata is the energy of movement in our bodies and minds. So when we feel a racing or anxious mind, we want to decrease the energy of vata in our bodies and minds.

So let's dive into these five things that create anxiety, or vata increase. 

1) Overwhelm.

Yes, overwhelm, it means that vata-type people like to accept all the projects from all the people all the time, they love to say yes, they love to be creative, they love to think they can do it all, and they quickly get overwhelmed because...they can't do it all! They pile more on their plate which creates more worry and anxiety.

The fix for overwhelm: Choose...

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H.A.P.P.Y. CHEAT SHEET download here

For much of the northern hemisphere, February is smack dab in the dregs of winter. *raise your hands if that's you* Even though we're close-ish to March, we know winter weather is not going away any time soon.

While we might try to enjoy our winter wonderland, sledding is really only appealing until January and then we want to wear shorts and canvas sneakers. I get it.

A former midwesterner myself, I know how looooong winter can be! 

This time of year we might feel a dose of cabin fever or S.A.D.

In Ayurvedic terms, S.A.D. happens when we are surrounded by cold, dry air, lack of light, too much time spent indoors, and lack of "green" nature around us —we get depressed! It's an overall lack of prana (life force! life energy!). Because we are governed by nature around us, when that nature is lifeless, we often feel the same.

BUT we...

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One of the questions I get all the time from my clients and students is, "I know the right choice to make, but WHY don't I actually follow through with it?!"

Sound familiar? Like you know which foods you should be eating or what you should be going to bed . Or you know that you should get up before the sun or exercise or take a break during the day or build in time for self care, or, or, or., etc., but you're not doing any of those things. And you're like, "What's my problem?"

Well, good news, you're not broken. And it is totally possible to break that cycle of disappointment! Especially now that it's the new year, you might have new practices and new goals — so how do you stick to them?! 

I have two tips for you to start practicing what we call in Ayurveda, "right choice, followed by right action."

Tip #1 is No Negotiating. Act Fast.

You know those little glimmers of right choices come into our brain like a...

Many people choose January 1 as the day to turn over a new leaf and rework their life habits. I don't think that's a bad plan. The only bad thing is punishing yourself or quitting all together if you get off kilter. If you made a resolution already, remember to have forgiveness and tenacity. Meaning, don't beat yourself up for not adhering to perfection (psshhht...who's perfect afterall) but at the same time, don't throw your hands up and quit if it's not easy.

There is a fine line. Two steps forward, one step back is still one step forward. Right? Cool.

I put together some DOSHA-lutions that you might like if you are having trouble deciding what to work on. These are suggestions based on your dosha! So, more than a resolution, this is a dosha-lution which is based solely on what will benefit your life and body-mind.

The goal is to build upon your dosha-lutions over time so you build yourself new habits and a better way of living healthy! Remember to pick just one thing to work on....

Our energy is a CHOICE.

If you don't love your day yet, you have all the power to change it in an instant.

One of the fastest ways to create a quick energy uplift is to move your body.

Action transforms things. When we are transforming we are changing. When we move our body, our mind changes. When we gain the right mindset, we can jump up quickly to a higher level of positivity.

Ideas to change your energy:

Next time you find yourself not loving the day, it probably has to do with the energy you are putting into it, rather than the energy you are gleaning from it.

The more we complain, the worse we feel.

So stop that! ha. I don't say that out of judgement, I say that coming from a place of empowerment.

Don't let your day take you for a ride, be the boss of your day.

Change your energy. Own it and change it to a positive ANY time!! *raaawwwr*

This is the story of a major Thanksgiving fail, but Ayurvedic win. 

For Thanksgiving last week, I wanted to make fun mini caramel apple bites on a stick! So cute and mini-sized to go along with some of the heavier desserts. Perfect! 

There is nothing Ayurvedic about these, btw. 

Around 11am on Thanksgiving (after the parade! *jazz hands*), excitedly, I went to work. I didn't burn the caramel!! And that's the only good thing that happened.

Watch this 4 second video to see the results of those sassy apples...

Never make mini caramel apples. Just don't even do it. No matter how cute the Youtube videos are, they lie. It sucks. 

Ok, so. In a panic, I scrapped the cute little disasters. My husband calmly said, "What do you know how to make that's tried and true?"

{think-think-think} 

"My chewy ginger snaps!"

I ran to the closet, grabbed my book, In Your Elements, and flipped to page 155. RECIPE!

{stomach sinks} Uhhh...I don't...

^{Photo by Milan Popovic on Unsplash}

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 Let's chat about how to create a high quality mind by learning about sattva, rajas and tamas.

Cause, you know all that time, money and care we spend taking care of our bodies?!

Well, what if I told you...the mind is actually more important than the body! *big smile* To create a healthier body, we must start with a healthier mind.

The mind is the control center, the driver, of all we think and do.

When the mind makes choices, whether right or wrong, the body follows suit.

Example, if our mind chooses to get up early for exercise, breathing, and meditation, the body will do so. The body will feel energized and good based on that decision.

Flip side, if our mind chooses to sleep in, rush out the door, grab a coffee (for energy!) and pastry to go, the body will feel the effects of that rush and will only have nutrition as good as...