There are several ways to naturally support the liver using items you probably already have in your kitchen—or at least items you can find at any grocery store. Two of my favorites are lemons and beets. Both of these foods promote bile flow, helping to clear out the liver as well as boosting digestion. Here are two delicious ways to incorporate them into your daily diet.
Maybe you have heard the yogic advice “what you meditate upon, you become.” In other words: that which you spend your time thinking about and focusing on, becomes your reality. This isn’t just guidance for when you are sitting on your yoga mat or on a meditation cushion. It’s about the symbols, images, and thoughts which occupy your mind throughout the day. And it can be much more tangible and specific than just “stay positive.”
Ayurveda describes six tastes by which all foods can be generally categorized. They are: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. Each of these tastes has a different effect in the body. By understanding the way that the tastes affect the three doshas, you can choose foods and herbs that will create balance and healing for your individual constitution.
Psst. Hey you. Yes, you. I see you staggering out of bed in the morning. You have low energy, and you catch every cold going around the office. You crave salty foods (potato chips at 10 am, anyone?). Stress—both physical and emotional—puts you over the edge. Low blood sugar, lower back pain, loss of muscle tone, dry skin, dizziness, poor circulation… these complaints make you wonder, “What’s wrong with me?”
It’s been a decade since I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 38 years old. At that time, I was told I had a good chance of living for five years if I had both my breasts removed, one as prophylactic, a hysterectomy, also as prophylactic, chemo, and radiation. I chose chemo because I felt my cancer was systemic and that’s what the insured medical system offered me.
The idea of cleansing means many things to many people. A cleanse can be subtle or intense, simple or involved. A cleanse can be done on your own, or as part of a program overseen by a healthcare professional. Cleanses are especially recommended in Ayurveda as a means of staying balanced and vibrant during seasonal shifts.
If you are trying to conceive, are thinking about conceiving, or know someone that would like to conceive, this webinar is for you.
Ayurveda has a long tradition of supporting couples through the preconception period, which begins long before conception. To optimize the health of the child and parents, Ayurveda recommends a phase of cleansing and rejuvenation prior to conception, filled with a rich tradition of determining good timing and good practices for conception. In this way, the preconception period is often viewed as being even more important than the pregnancy period itself, from a preparatory and preventative point-of-view.
When Amy came into the office she said she was having some “stress and was feeling overwhelmed”. She told me that she had been to see her doctor as she was having trouble breathing at times and, “was worried that something was wrong with her heart”.Over the course of our sessions we began to create daily routines to support Amy so she did not feel like she was “drifting”. We gave her anchors to start and end her day. Her dinacharya began with tongue scraping, then having some warm water with lemon, followed by neti pot and nose oil with some warming and calming essential oils like rose. We built upon this foundation over the next few months.
The heat continues to rise in Southern CA, and it’s so nice out that many of us are taking the opportunity to soak in the sun. For some of us, however, we already have signs of heat excess in our systems. This really applies to anyone that has a good amount of pitta in their constitution. One of the hallmarks of pitta excess is inflammation. I have a lot of clients whom, like myself, are showing signs of inflammation in their nervous and digestive systems. So let’s take some time to learn about inflamed guts and feelings.