When was the last time you practiced self-love and self-care? In our upcoming Intro to Ayurveda workshop, we’re going to share how you can apply this Ayurveda, ancient healthcare practice, to your life to live radiantly in body, mind, and spirit.
To give you a quick primer, here’s your quick intro to Ayurveda:
Intro to Ayurveda
Developed in India over 3000 years ago, Ayurveda is an ancient system of whole-body (aka holistic) healing and care. In this practice, we believe that everything is connected including your mind, body, and spirit. In addition to being used as a basis for the treatment of illness and disease, Ayurvedic practices to help you maintain a healthy, vibrant life and live your life to its truest potential.
Based on Ayurvedic knowledge, every person is made up of a unique combination of 5 basic elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. The 2 most dominant in your body correspond to a dosha:
- Vata Dosha: space and air
- Pitta Dosha: fire and water
- Kapha dosha: water and earth
Based on your dosha your Ayurvedic practitioner can recommend the best treatments (usually consisting of herbs and other alternative healthcare practices like yoga and meditation, for example) that will best work to naturally balance your unique dosha. Ultimately, optimal health relies on awareness, balancing your dosha, and balancing your body.
Ayurveda takes a holistic approach to your wellbeing and health to combine traditional medicines and practices aimed to help you balance your dosha and live a healthy life. Deepak Chopra says, “Freedom from illness depends upon expanding our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body.”
Here’s a high-level intro to Ayurveda healthcare as it relates to finding and maintaining balance your body, mind, and spirit:
Ayurveda for your body
Good nutrition is vital to our health. In Ayurveda, eating a colourful, flavourful diet is the first step. The best-coloured foods to boost your immunity and health include deep blue, purple, red, green, and orange.
Also, when you introduce a variety of tastes in every meal you will finish feeling more satisfied and your unhealthy snacking urges between meals will lessen. These six main tastes are:
- sweet
- salty
- sour
- pungent
- bitter
- astringent
Focus on eating from these main tastes and the colours of the rainbow at every meal and you will start seeing the benefits in your body. Good nutrition is also the first step to fueling your mind.
Ayurveda for your mind
Nothing is more powerful than our minds. Our mind has the ability to heal and transform our body, which is why we want it at peak performance. An important step to maintaining a clear mind is to get a good night’s sleep as often as possible.
Sleep is when our body works overtime to heal and repair itself. A good nap or restful sleep gives us more energy and increases our ability to process the world around you with more clarity. But, our lives are so full of distractions and many of us find it difficult to calm our minds and get that really good quality sleep that we need. This is why activities like yoga, meditation, and massage are used often in Ayurveda.
Lack of sleep disrupts your body’s balance, can weaken your immune system, and speed up ageing so focus on getting a good six to eight hours of sleep, regularly, every night. If you need a little help getting more restful sleep at night, here is a great sleep routine from the Chopra Center.
Ayurveda for your spirit
There is a phrase in Ayurveda: “living in tune with nature.” It means that you should desire only what you actually need and you should be following your body’s natural rhythms. If your body is imbalanced, you start to have those “bad cravings” for foods or activities that do not serve you.
Listen to your body. If it’s sending signals of physical or emotional distress, step back and evaluate if what you’re doing aligns with your well-being and dosha. Activities like Yoga and meditation can help you quiet the busy outside world so you are free to explore your spirit and listen to what it’s telling you.
We’ll be discussing this more in our Intro to Ayurveda Workshop on March 8.
Ready to live radiantly in body, mind, and spirit?
Are you ready to receive the practical tools and knowledge to eat healthier, sleep better and relieve your everyday stresses? Are you ready to live radiantly in body, mind, and spirit?
Learn more about Ayurveda ancient eastern practice and how it’s used in today’s western world at our upcoming special event on Sunday, March 8 from 10 am to noon at the Bombay Brow Waterfront location.
Leading this fabulous event is Dr. Alexina Mehta, a naturopathic doctor and Ayurvedic practitioner who will teach us healing remedies to align our body, mind, and soul. Along with our team of Ayurveda beauticians, we will educate and inspire you to live your best, balanced self.
About our Dr. Mehta
Dr. Alexina Mehta is a global leader, speaker and teacher with 21 years of experience in natural and holistic healthcare. In addition to her naturopathic medical practice in Vancouver, BC, she is also a practitioner of Ayurveda and Energy medicines and well as a Pneuma Breathwork facilitator. She has a yoga teacher training program, an online women’s empowerment website, and has spoken on the topic of stress management to over 150 different organizations.
What to expect
We’ve got lots planned for this two-hour workshop including:
- an introduction to Ayurveda workshop,
- our “Discover your Dosha” quiz,
- a 30-minute yoga class (please bring your own mat),
- complementary marma facial massages, and
- a goody bag of Bombay Beauty products and teas.
We’re creating an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation with pillows and blankets for each guest as well as a selection of light snacks and teas to enjoy.
Tickets are available now on Eventbrite. Space is limited so book your spot soon to avoid disappointment.