While a great deal of thought is often put into choosing healthy foods, less thought is given to our ability to actually digest the food we eat. Ayurveda considers good digestion to be central to good health. The only way to take advantage of the health-promoting benefits of the food we eat is make sure…

The change from Vata season to Kapha season is not as clear as the change from Kapha to Pitta, or Pitta to Vata. Both Vata and Kapha are characterized by cold. When the dry cold of fall and early winter transforms into a wetter cold, this heralds the switch of seasons. Often this change occurs…

Barley is a wonderful grain to begin working into your diet during the late winter months. As we transition from the cold, dry Vata days of early winter to the cold, wet Kapha days of late winter and early spring, our attention should be on shifting our diet to Kapha-reducing foods. Favoring astringent, spicy and…

For those of us who live in northern climates, by the end of January and beginning of February the accumulation of Vata dosa in our physiology is at its peak. Months of cold, dry, windy weather result in an increase of those same qualities in our bodies: dryness, coolness, movement and quickness. When Vata becomes…

The holiday season is over and so is the parade of celebrations and get-togethers with their enticing treats. How many New Year’s Resolutions lists have “Weight loss” (or “Improve diet” or “Cut out sugar and carbs”) near the top? Luckily for the diet-inclined, the ancient science of Ayurveda offers some simple tips that can help…

Here’s an easy New Year’s resolution: Drink hot water throughout the day. Ayurveda considers the removal of toxins and impurities from the body — and the prevention of their build-up in the first place — to be a key element in staying healthy. Ayurveda refers to impurities as “ama”.  Ama is considered to be a…

What is “Ama”? “Ama” is the Ayurvedic term for toxins and impurities that build up in the physiology, creating blockages to the flow of nutrients, circulation and biological signals. These impurities are most often attributed to poor digestion, but can also come from environmental pollutants and/or stressful experiences. Essentially, Ama is a form of un-metabolized…

If you are familiar with Ayurveda, you are familiar with the concept that everything in life — including our bodies, the food that we eat, and the environment around us — is composed of the three “doshas”; Vata, Pitta and Kapha.  These qualities, or principles of nature, each have their own fundamental traits. Vata, the…

Regular eating after 8 PM leads to weight gain, according to modern research. Study after study has shown that those who dine late in the evening typically have waistlines two inches larger than those who dine earlier. The results of these kinds of studies underscore the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. Ayurveda provides the knowledge of…

Ayurveda can give helpful insights into dealing with the common problem of constipation.  It relates constipation to an imbalance in Vata dosha and, more specifically, its sub-dosha, Apana Vata. Apana is downward moving and governs elimination and menses. An imbalance in Apana Vata can cause dryness and a sluggishness of bowel functioning. If you are…