For more videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Grab a copy of my book In Your Elements on Amazon!

This question is stemming from several of you!

"What balances vatas and pittas in kapha season?"

Overall, vatas and pittas are going to be balanced by kapha season. Happy day!

I quickly made this crude little chart (it shows up reversed in the video), but in very simple terms, these are how the qualities shake out in kapha season.

In general vatas and pittas will be balanced by kapha season. In Ayurveda we talk a lot about the qualities — we use the opposite qualities to bring balance.

Kapha qualities are: cold, wet, heavy, static (non-moving) and dull.
Vata qualities are: cold, dry, light, mobile, and rough.

Vata qualities: all except COLD are opposite of kapha which means, kapha will balance vata for the most part. However, vatas need to stay warm in their environment, body and diet in spring.

Pitta qualities are: hot, slightly-oily...

Oh man, our clocks changed! Just as we got used to the glow of the sun waking us, it's pitch black again when the alarm goes off. The reward is a longer day, which, "Hooray for extra daylight!" but the time change can still throw us off

Time change in Ayurveda affects vata because, well, we've made a fast change. *Poof* just like that, we "lost" an hour. It can take some of us weeks to adjust but hopefully the tips below will help you slide back nicely into nature's rhythm quickly.

6 Ayurvedic tips to balance the time change

1. Wake up before sunrise. Ha! Easy enough to do now, 'cause you kind of have no choice. My point is, just because it's dark at 6:00 a.m., don't go hittin' the snooze until the sun comes up. We already know waking up during vata time (before sunrise) gives us a daily boost because as we rise in the energy of movement. So keep doing that! Yes it's dark, but you'll have more energy than if you pull the covers over your head until...

Is anyone feeling lethargic, a little sad, unmotivated, heavy with maybe some sinus congestion? *raise your hands* Well if your hand is up, I have good news.

It's not you!! You're NOT crazy. It's just the start of spring, or kapha season! I think you'll enjoy the simple Ayurvedic tips to transition into spring below.

Get the Free Kapha Quick Guide! Diet & Lifestyle practices for kapha.

Before the buds sprout lime leaves, before flowers peek above the grass (or snow) and before we get all springy and happy, kapha season is cold, wet, cloudy and heavy.

Kapha season dampens our agni, which can give rise to disease.

The biggest difference between vata season (fall and winter) and kapha season is the wetness, the damp quality. The coolness/cold will still be there since the "cold" quality is common for both vata and kapha doshas, but it will become more damp, wet, humid vs. the dry cold. 

This wet heaviness can make us feel a little...

For much more on Ayurvedic nutrition, grab a copy of my book In Your Elements on Amazon!

Ayurvedic nutrition has such a different and refreshing lens!

Is there such a thing as "Ayurvedic food"? No. Food is food.

So don't stress about whether food is "Ayurvedic" because there is no such thing. Yay!

What matters is a) the quality of food — is it high quality or low quality and b) are the "tastes" of the food — and whether those tastes balance your dosha. 

In Ayurveda, foods consist of the 6 tastes. The 6 tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter astringent.

Having a balance of the six tastes in our diet creates harmony in the body and mind. Each taste contains certain elements (space, air, fire, water, earth), so depending your dosha, there are tastes that will be more balancing for you than others.

The tastes that balance vata are: sweet, sour, salty.

The tastes that balance pitta are: sweet, bitter, astringent.

The tastes that balance...

Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more videos.
Grab a copy of my book In Your Elements  on Amazon.

Some of the biggest challenges my clients and students have is figuring out their food.

I know that a lot of you get confused. "Should I be eating this? What's good for me?" We go looking for online articles for answers. We go looking for online videos. We try and make all the cool recipes that people are making and sometimes our digestion ends up funky. Sometimes our minds end up feeling funky about that too because we're like, "What the heck? I don't even really know what I should be eating for me." 

I'm going to give you three ways to not overthink your food so that you can feel a little bit more empowered in this area.

3 ways to simplify your food.

The first thing is so simple. You're going to be like, "Duh," but it really is. 

1) Eat what works for you.

Write down, grab a piece of paper and a pen if you have it handy or just think in your mind. What...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Dosha Menus download here

Food is the basic building blocks for our physical bodies. Depending on who we are as a unique person, or, our balance of doshas, we might need different types of foods.

Vatas are very light and airy. They will need foods that are grounding, stabilizing and warm. Since vatas don't have a lot of structure, their food needs to have more structure or they will get weak and their tissues will break down. They need to eat what I call "building" foods.

Pittas are slightly oily, hot and sharp. They will also need foods that are cooling, fresh, and mild. They will also need grounding foods but for a different reason — pittas will burn through food quickly, so if it's not substantial enough, they will be hungry (and cranky!) often. Pittas have medium structure and also need "building" foods so their naturally strong digestive fire stays strong, without burning up the tissues.

Kaphas are already quite built! They need light,...

One of you wrote to me and said: I had a couple discouraging weight loss setbacks early on that stopped me in my tracks for a couple weeks...

And I responded: OK!!! May I? Weight loss. Weight is a number. Focus more on your a) overall energy b) how you feel in your body c) how your clothes fit d) knowing that no matter what the results now, you are doing the RIGHT thing and that transformation takes time.

Sometimes numbers can bum us out and suck away our motivation! Don't let them tap your spirit, they are just numbers.

A story: 10 years ago, I was a personal trainer and taught an outdoor women's bootcamp at the crack of dawn in San Francisco right near the water (view of the Golden Gate bridge!). We had a BLAST each morning!! Everybody worked hard, had fun, told stories, made friends.

When the 8-week session was over, us coaches had to do a health assessment including weigh-in, fat check, and measurements for each woman. Some gals were happy with...

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos.
Grab a copy of my book In Your Elements on Amazon.
**Scroll to the bottom to see a cool progress story from my friend I reference in the video!**

Summary

Sometimes, even if we think we might be lost, we know exactly what bad habit we have that is not supporting our best life. Whether we are not getting enough sleep, working too much, lacking consistent exercise, or eating too much quantity of food, when push comes to shove and we ask ourselves what we can do better, we usually have an answer or two.

In this video, I give 3 takeaways on how to adhere to the practices you already know will help you.

So, if our buddhi (wisdom) knows what we should be doing, why don't we just do it? The answer to that is, we can. We just have to practice it so that we can feel the benefits. Otherwise we will not be motivated to make the change. Motivation comes AFTER you feel the awesome...

Visit my YouTube Channel for more videos.
Transcript below 

Today, we're going to talk about why low energy happens and some of the tools we can use to boost our energy in an instant.

A couple weeks ago, one of my dear, sweet clients was talking to me and she said, "You know, I had low energy, so I was looking to try and find a food that would give me more energy."

I said, "Stop. Were you hungry?" She said, "I don't know." I said, "How do you know it's food that you need to give you more energy? Just because we're eating more food doesn't necessarily mean we're going to get more energy and, in fact, if we eat too much food, we're going to get even lower energy."

It was like a light bulb went off for her.

I wanted to share that with you, too. When you're feeling low energy and reach for a snack food, bring awareness to your hunger. Ask yourself "Am I hungry? Do I feel the burn in my stomach? Do I feel that hunger for more food or do I...

For more videos, subscribe to my youtube channel

Sometimes our internal dialogue is our worst enemy! In this short video I'll inspire you to shake out old beliefs (they are just beliefs, afterall, they aren't the truth) and begin speaking to yourself as a loving cheerleader.

Be nicer. Treat yourself as if you were an innocent child with loving kindness, patience and...a little discipline too. If there is work do be done, do the work. Do your best. But don't sass your body — it is your most prized gift.

If this inspires you, like it and share it please. I also invite your comments below. Have you changed your internal dialogue so that you are kinder? Share how you did that so others who are having trouble can make changes too.

We all need to be so much kinder to ourselves. When we are kinder to ourselves, we will be kinder to others and the WORLD needs a dose of that!!! *can I get an amen!?*

Keep bringing Ayurveda to life.
Love,
Monica B.