Sierra Brashear, MA, CAP

Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Wellness Educator, Entrepreneur


Sierra is the co-founder of Cultivate Balance, an Ayurvedic practice and educational platform that specializes in resilience and intentional lifestyle design for purpose-oriented people. She is humbled to share this ancient wisdom as it intersects with contemporary themes of environmentalism, liberation, and justice.
You can connect with Sierra through Cultivate Balance where she offers in-depth lifestyle programs like The Reset for Resilience Ayurvedic Cleanse for Body and Mind. Or check out her adjacent wellness and lifestyle projects—Vibrant Souls and Moon Bath.
Follow Sierra Brashear, MA, CAP
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- Routines and Rhythms
- October 18, 2023
Read ArticleFeeling foggy or distracted? These simple daily habits will help clear your mind, sharpen your focus, and stay actively engaged with the task at hand.
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- Routines and Rhythms
- July 12, 2023
Read ArticleSimilar to a daily or seasonal routine, lining up your self-care with the cycles of the moon can help you tap into greater radiance and ease throughout the month.
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- Health and Wellness
- June 14, 2023
Read ArticleTejas—the subtle energy of pitta dosha—is known in Ayurveda to bestow a radiant and lustrous inner glow. These simple practices will help you sparkle and shine.
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- Holidays
- May 23, 2023
Read ArticleAir travel can take quite a toll on our bodies and minds. Use these simple Ayurvedic flying and packing tips to stay healthy on your journey.
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- Routines and Rhythms
- April 26, 2023
Read ArticleThroughout history, menstruation has been honored as a time of rest. Learn how choosing to slow down while you're bleeding can serve your health in powerful ways.
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- Holidays
- November 14, 2022
Read ArticleThe holiday season can be brimming with joy, but it can also add to our stress. Find a moment of comforting self-care with these sweet and spiced poached pears.
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- Health and Wellness
- August 17, 2022
Read ArticleGrind culture—the idea that we achieve success by working harder and producing more—is taking a serious toll. Learn how to encourage more self-care in the workplace and beyond.
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- Routines and Rhythms
- March 07, 2022
Read ArticleSmall but consistent practices are the most powerful way to create lasting change—both within us and around us as we co-create a more just and sustainable world.
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- Routines and Rhythms
- November 28, 2020
Read ArticleNeed inspiration to hop out of bed in the morning? Soaking up the early morning sunlight has a myriad of benefits for your skin, vision, sleep, and more.
Education and Experience
Sierra began incorporating Ayurveda into her life in 2016, when the discovery of her pitta kapha constitution first sparked a new understanding and appreciation for herself. Her love for the wisdom and practices of the ancient healing science led her to have the privilege of studying with Alakananda Ma for over 2,000 hours at Alandi Gurukula in Boulder, Colorado, and she became a NAMA-Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner in 2020.
Also holding a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master’s degree in Environmental Peace and Security, Sierra truly understands the ways in which we are deeply intertwined with the health and well-being of the planet at both the individual and the collective levels.
In 2018, Sierra co-founded Cultivate Balance with her dear friend and fellow practitioner Molly McConnell. The two have been working together for many years to create a practice that embodies intentional and intersectional Ayurveda.
Through their work with Cultivate Balance, Sierra and Molly have come to understand that internal alignment manifests external radiance, and that balancing oneself is the foundation for balancing one's family, community, and the planet.
Sierra also co-authored Moon Bath—Bathing Rituals and Recipes For Relaxation And Vitality, published in 2020 by Chronicle Books, with Dakota Hills. The book offers Ayurvedic bathing and self-care rituals that support realignment with the rhythms and elements of nature.
Upcoming Events
If you’re curious about working with Sierra, one of the following offerings may resonate with you.
- The Reset for Resilience: A 21-day program, centered around a five-day detox, that is designed to improve digestion, enhance immunity, and promote clarity.
- The Art of Work Life Balance: Learn to foster a more strategic approach to living a meaningful life that enables personal and collective wellness.
- The Art of Fertility: A 16-week program that prepares your body, mind, and heart for an easeful conception and healthy pregnancy.
- The Art of Ayurveda: In this 3-part life-altering course, you’ll learn easy-to-implement nutrition, daily routine, and self-care.
Or, start small and simple by exploring the Cultivate Balance virtual workshop library. Learn practices that will shift how you experience your body and lay the foundation for a lifetime of vitality.
Sierra’s Point of View
What does the future of Ayurveda look like to you?
I see Ayurveda as an opportunity to build individual and collective resilience through intentional lifestyle design that supports us to embody the just and sustainable world we all know is possible.
Cultivating resilience is the strategy for bolstering health and resisting systemic illness—those illnesses that are caused by overwork, chronic stress, lack of access to nourishing food, inequity, racism, multigenerational trauma, pollution, and climate change.
The holistic wisdom of Ayurveda can provide a container that supports us in navigating these and other factors, especially if we as practitioners broaden our definition of wellness to consider the intersectional impact of systems of oppression.
This ancient science of life offers small practices that leverage the rhythms and elements of nature to build resilience.
By illuminating a web of interconnection and balance, Ayurveda provides a system for structuring and implementing these simple, small-scale practices, bringing a unique recognition to the way we know ourselves and design our lives for intentional impact.
As my co-practitioner Molly McConnell so eloquently said, the future of Ayurveda is one that promotes a culture of community care, in which more people feel able and inspired to show up for their purpose in the world.
The future of Ayurveda is also accessible, inclusive, embodied, and integrated into collective daily life as a foundation for a solutions-oriented way of living that creates space for all beings to thrive.
What's one Ayurvedic practice anyone can implement to spur change in their life, right here, right now?
Sip warm lemon honey water slowly upon waking. Well actually, right after tongue scraping!
I love this practice because it invites us to make an intentional choice first thing in the morning—one that hydrates, activates digestion, and supports elimination of toxins.
This is such a quick and easy thing to do, that anyone can do, and it has such a broad impact on the body and mind. I think this is a gateway practice—once you begin, and you feel the positive results, you’ll be inspired to take the next step.