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Quick lesson on kapha dosha: Kapha is the energy of lubrication and structure. Kapha type people will have a very well-built structure in their body and are very steady in their mind. They don't get really stressed out or angry like a pitta and they don't get anxious or worried as much like a vata. They're pretty steady, easy-going, peaceful, and happy.

But when their food is too heavy, kaphas can feel very heavy in their body, and in their mind — because kaphas already have a well-built nature.

Because of that risk of getting overly heavy or overly built, a vegetarian diet is the most balancing for kapha.

Why? Because vegetables light, astringent, and bitter — which are all the qualities and tastes that balance kapha.

The bitter and astringent tastes are foods that "break the body down" which are balancing for kapha. These tastes...

Lassi is a yogurt drink made especially to enhance digestion. Please note that while made from yogurt, lassi is not yogurt.

In fact, they have completely opposite qualities. Yogurt is a channel clogger and not good for any dosha — it can really screw up peoples' digestion. It starts out too cold and damp, but then digests very hot. It dampens digestive fire and when combined with fruit, it becomes a double whammy Ayurvedic no-no because fruit + diary are considered a wrong food combination.

If you have any problems with allergies, slow metabolism, cloudy mind, lethargy, tendency toward being cold, heartburn, acid reflux, burping up food, sinus problems and/or chest congestion, try stopping the yogurt. Just try it for two weeks and see how you feel. You can always go back to yogurt if you want, but my guess is that you will feel better.

BUT! We're not talking about yogurt, we are talking about lassi! Beautiful channel opening, digestion enhancing lassi!!

Lassi is made from...

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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

 Alright, you guys. I'm going to tell you something, but only because I think you can handle it.  And I would rather you hear it from me, than hear it from one of your friends who doesn't have the correct information.

I will tell you on one condition and that is, you have to promise not to abuse it. If I give you an inch, don't take a mile. Don't get all willy nilly excited and tell thousands of your friends, "MonicaB said *hiccup* I could!"

Do you promise? Pinkie swear? Ok then, here we go. In today's Ayurvedic lesson, we need to talk about, alcohol.

Mind, body and...spirits! 

In Ayurveda, there is something called draksha. Draksha is medicated wine used for a variety of remedies including blood, liver, skin, and digestion problems to name a few. As we know, alcohol is absorbed very quickly into the blood stream. So, Ayurveda puts the herbs into the wine, which are then carried directly to the blood and dispersed where the herbs are most needed.

How smart...

Hey Monica B, I'm trying to breakfast easy, so I'm trying not to eat yogurt. Is non-dairy yogurt okay to eat?

In answering her question, I'd like to address two things. One, why Ayurveda does not recommend yogurt. Two, why "substitutey" foods are not a good idea.

According to Ayurveda, yogurt is not beneficial to anybody.

Yogurt is really not the best thing for our digestion and can cause problems. Why?

Because yogurt digests too sour and heating for pitta. It is too sour, goopy , heavy and cold for kapha. And it is too cold for vata, it's like putting their digestive fire under a snow pack. It's just too darn cold.

You might be thinking, "Sour? No, it's sweet." No, it's sour. It only tastes sweet because they have to add a ton of sugar to it because it's naturally really dang sour :) That amount of sour taste along with the cold and goopy qualities imbalances all 3 doshas. It completely dampens/extinguishes digestive fire and clogs channels. 

She...

You might look at the photo above and think "Mm! Yummy and healthy!"

I look at that photo and think "Ugk. Digestion nightmare." 

Food provides the basic building blocks for our entire physical and mental bodies. We feel better or worse depending on the quality of foods we've been eating. And because we are no dummies, we know that foods like fresh veggies and fruits are better nourishment for us than a pan of brownies. (I'm not here to take away your fun. In moderation, sweeties are to be enjoyed and savored. But if you eat the whole pan...yeah, that's not good.)

So! Whatever we put in our mouths is either proper nourishment or not. And we usually know the difference between the two.

But here's something you probably don't know.

In Ayurveda, there are certain food combinations that should be avoided. While an occasional brownie won't hurt you, the consistent practice of incompatible foods probably will imbalance your digestion (gas, bloating, heartburn, diarrhea,...

If you prefer, check out the Video HERE: 5 Healthy Digestion Tips for Thanksgiving {Based on Ayurveda}

For us Americans, it's Thanksgiving this week!

*parade* *family & friends* *good food*

For the non-Americans, these digestion tips will apply to any celebration that includes a big family/friends gathering and a feast.

In Ayurveda, what we eat is not nearly as important as how we digest we eat.

Meaning, we can pop anything into our mouth but our body might not digest the food that well. For example, we eat a salad and instantly feel bloated, or the jam-packed burrito sits in our gut like a rock, or the spicy chicken wings leave a burning discomfort in our chest. 

If our body does not digest the food properly, it doesn't nourish our body properly, which is the whole point of eating. The goal of a celebration is to be with friends and family while sharing a meal, good laughs and creating good memories...