I thought this was an appropriate time to talk about immunity, especially since many of ya'll have asked me how to build strong immunity with Ayurveda in the past week or so... ;)

So let's do it! Below is an overview of 'Bringing Ayurveda to Life' podcast episode #36.

First, you have to understand what immunity is and how immunity is created, according to Ayurveda.

Below is an excerpt from my book In Your Elements. 

In Ayurveda, our immunity is called ojas (OH-jus). Ojas is the essential energy of our vitality, immunity, strength, luster and health. Ojas is the pure essence of all bodily tissues. Which means that after all the tissues in the body have gone through their transformative digestive processes, ojas is what is left. Ojas is our immunity and responsible for reproduction and creation. We only have a tiny bit, a few drops, and it lives in the heart. People with good ojas rarely get sick and often avoid even the most contagious office bugs.

When ojas is low,...

This weekend in the United States, some of us move our clock 1 hour forward, which also means we lose 1 hour of sleep. This can mess people up energy-wise and yet some people do just fine with it.

Personally, I think a lot of this has to do with the mindset because a) we are pretty resilient beings b) it's only one hour. You've stayed up one extra hour before and it didn't mess you up.

I have 5 easy Ayurvedic tips to keep in mind as the time change approaches!

1. Control your mind and go with the flow. Don't make the spring time change a bigger deal or worry than it needs to be, because the mind affects the body. If you tell yourself it's going to be bad and you're going to be dragging for two weeks, you'll probably fulfill your prophecy  :) However, you've done this before and have done just fine. Remember that you used to rock out on the occasional Saturday night, losing at least an hour, and then you woke up on Sunday and got your stuff done. No...

In Ayurveda, one of the three categories for imbalance is: wrong choices or mistaken intellect. 

Examples of this Ayurvedic philosophy (or should I say...daily life lesson) can sneak into our lives in so many different ways. But if you're unaware of it showing up, you might not learn the lessons.

The best Ayurveda is used daily and it's actually simple — you just need to know what to look out for. 

So let's bring some awareness to what mistaken intellect in Ayurveda really is, how to recognize it and how to correct it!

I've been traveling the past 2 weeks eeking out the last bit of summer before my daughter starts school on Monday.

For the second half of our trip I went Wisconsin to see my family and dear friends — I even taught an 'Ayurveda Made Easy' workshop for about 30 students at my friend's yoga studio! 

While prepping for WI, there was ONE main thing I kept top of mind and that was, "Avoid hurting your achilles tendon...

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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...

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*

Grab a copy of my book In Your Elements on Amazon!

Interacting positively with each other is what makes life AWEsome so we should know what the doshas need emotionally to feel supported and loved in their relationships.

Use the insights in this video to start reshaping and invigorating your LIFE with the people who surround you.

I swear, when you have amazing relationships, life gets RICHER! All great relationships begin with you, so this is all about self-awareness, expression and showing our appreciation for those we care about.

In summary, here's what they need.

What vatas need in a relationship

Freedom of expression. Give them space to freely sing, dance, emote, play, whatever. They will get sad if they feel they don't have the allowance or the space to express themselves

Confidence builders. We all know confidence comes from the inside but vatas are emotionally sensitive and tend to be self-doubters. So while they work on building their confidence from the inside,...

Who just got back from spring break or is going on spring break soon? *raising my own hand!*

We did an impromptu quick trip down to LA for a few days to reset and it was awesome! Warm weather, our favorite foods, flip flops, no real agenda except to enjoy ourselves as much as possible (and avoid rush hour).

It's always hard for me to leave LA and as we were heading out I said to my husband, "How can we feel like this all the time?"

And isn't it true? We get back from a wonderful vacation and after 2 days back in daily life, we've already lost our bliss and relaxation. What the Fruit?!

But WAIT! How sad is that?! LIFE is WAY longer than vacation! So, let's learn how to bring joyful aspects of vacation to our every day — daily enjoyment is what life is all about.

While taking time to luxuriate daily might seem impossible (or makes you roll your eyes), it's not. It just requires a little prioritization and focus. We work hard — we all deserve to take an every day vacation....

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...

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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...