Kristen Lillian Riordan

’Tis the season—the season for joy, celebration, family, friends, lights, gifts, and yes—challenges to our health. Here are six immune-boosting tips to help you stay happy and healthy this season!

If you were to go over to your mirror right now and stick out your tongue, would you see a thick, white coating? If so, it might be time to clean your tongue.

Our skin has a lot to teach us, and everything physical has a corresponding mental/emotional counterpart. Our skin is symbolic of how we see ourselves. If we see ourselves as flawed humans, this can manifest as flawed skin. If we’re angry, our skin can look angry and agitated.

Ayurveda teaches us that our gut health is a determining factor of our overall health, and it’s important to learn how to keep our agni, or digestive fire, strong and efficient. Our agni is a big soup of acid, bile, and enzymes that help transform food into usable energy. Maintaining a balanced agni translates into better digestion, elimination, and immune function.

Let me be clear, I hate that fat has a bad reputation. Fat isn’t bad. Fatty tissues help protect our organs, lubricate our joints, and store hormones so we can carry babies and breastfeed our little ones. Fat helps us stay satiated after a meal. Fat fuels our brains. Fat is wonderful. Now that we’re clear on the goodness fat offers us, let’s address the concern with having too much fat.

Cat-Cow is actually two poses that combine together to create the common mini-sequence known as Cat-Cow. This sequence is designed to help lubricate and warm the spine. We use both flexion and extension to restore the space between each vertebra and support the supple nature of the spine.

We all know the value of sleep. Perhaps more importantly, at some point in our lives we’ve endured the consequences of not getting enough sleep. Both the quality and quantity of sleep play into our moods, hormones, organ restoration, and energy levels.

Here are three yoga sequences that are especially good at balancing one particular dosha. Choose from these sequences, or mix and match the postures to create your own unique asana flow.

Anjali mudra evokes the qualities of being present and grateful. Whether you are new to the practice, or have been a yogi for many lifetimes, Anjali mudra can change your life. 

It's all about the bitters this summer! Try this amazing bitter and cooling aloe vera smoothie recipe to keep yourself in balance when the heat starts to rise!

How do we navigate new time zones, different foods, varied climates, and unfamiliar mattresses (or sleeping bags) in a way that promotes balance? As always, Ayurveda is here to guide you. 

Eating fresh food is important, but do you get tired of the same salads, soups, and steamed vegetables day in and day out? Spices are colorful, aromatic, and exciting. There are no rules when it comes to spices, so don’t be bashful—get creative! 

Whether you love them, avoid them, or cherish them—we all have them. With Valentine’s Day in the air, I wanted to shed light on how we can illuminate our relationships through awareness of the doshas and the practice of meditation.

We can launch change and growth in our lives by being deliberate with the thoughts and language that support our beliefs. Reinforcing our beliefs on a daily basis provides cosmic nutrition so that the universe can support us while we take the necessary actions to move in the direction of fulfilling whatever it is we want.