My Ayurvedic Journey
How did I get to where I am today
Today, four years ago, I posted the above picture on Facebook and other social media and said something about taking my training to the next level. This was a 300-hour Yoga therapy-based training. During this training, my eyes were opened more to Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda. Chikitsa, or therapy in Sanskrit, traditionally involves Ayurveda, which is a key component of yoga therapy and its study. I first learned the basics of Ayurveda in my initial yoga training and have learned bits and pieces over my teaching and training years. This was my first in-depth look at it and how it applies to yoga therapy. Fast forward a bit. After finishing this training, I learned more about Ayurveda and jumped into the Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist training. After completing that, I still felt like I didn’t have enough information. Keep in mind that I’ve been teaching yoga since 2012, and I have been doing yoga my whole life. Ayurveda feels like a missing piece in a puzzle I’ve been trying to solve for what feels like forever, so more information is important in solving what I’ve been feeling that is missing. After that, I jumped right into an Ayurvedic Practitioner course. Mary, my oldest instructor at the studio, asked me to do a yoga therapy course, which turned into a yoga therapy and an Ayurvedic Practitioner course together. This course is sanctioned by the Ministry of AUSH in India. Sure! Why not. I knew with this one, we would get more of the traditional views of Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy vs. what I had done so far. Fast forward to the beginning of this year, the same organization offering the Ayureda Practitioner and Yoga Therapy course I was doing with Mary made a special offer to those already enrolled to make a 3-year commitment to become a Doctor of Ayurveda. Well, I am doing that today as well. I will finish the Practitioner and Yoga therapist in the interim, and by the time I’m 60, I will be a Doctor of Ayurveda.
What is it that has driven me to do all of this, you may ask? Well, first of all, I am disgusted by the medical industry. Ayurveda is considered the Mother of Modern Medicine, and many of the old-fashioned remedies we knew from our grandparents, etc, and the old family doctors are based on many of the therapies and treatments done in Ayurveda. Plus, it makes sense to me logically. Ayurveda says everything comprises 5 elements: Earth, Air , Fire, Water, Space, or Ether. Including the human body. Like Yoga, it believes something greater exists inside the human body. Both have roots in the Vedas, in Sankhya Philosophy. So, there are many things that I learned about in my yoga training that are mirrored in Ayurveda. Remember, I said it always felt like a piece was missing somewhere. I found it. The 3 main principles of Ayurveda also make perfect sense. Food is Medicine. I was raised by my mother, who practiced herbal medicine, so seeing food as medicine is second nature to me, honestly. The other 2 also make sense. Like Attracts like, and opposites create balance. It's almost a DUH moment there, honestly. That’s just the basics. Ayurveda also takes into account everything about you. Growing up we had a family doctor, he treated the entire family and knew everything about us. He knew when you were being affected by stress or if you were prone to viruses, etc., and he would not only prescribe an antibiotic but would often tell you to have something like hot water with lemon and honey for what ailed you. This is medicine to me. The last time I went to a doctor, I felt like I wasn’t being listened to at all, and he was in too much of a hurry to prescribe something and move on. Needless to say, that appointment did not go well and is a story all its own.
Since completing my Ayurveda Yoga Specialist training, I have done more than 20 consultations, multiple workshops and classes, blog posts, and more about Ayurveda. I’ve been told I can get as excited talking about Ayurveda as I have always talked about the finer points of Yoga. When I say finer points, I’m talking about more than the poses. Get me talking about either, and I can go on for a long time. ;) These 2 sister sciences are about lifestyle and involve so much more than poses or just food. They value individualization, and in a day and age when everyone feels like they are just part of an assembly line, so to speak, it can be welcome. Want to know more? Give me a shout! Let’s talk. Let me show you how Ayurveda and yoga can be life-changing. It certainly has changed mine.