Note: This post contains affiliate links. There’s nothing like a hug from a loved one (human or animal) to settle the body and mind in times of distress. Hugs are powerful medicine for a host of reasons, but in Ayurveda we also look at theread more

Most of us associate the idea of cravings with comfort—whether it’s chocolate, coffee, cookies, or ice cream, the foods we crave are messengers of important information about what our bodies and minds are experiencing. But not all cravings are of the sweet variety; our bodyread more

In nature, the five Ayurvedic elements—ether, air, fire, water, and earth—very rarely exist on their own. Instead, what you see are beings and creatures that are combinations of elements, usually all five if they are alive. This is especially true in us humans, for withoutread more

Vata, Pitta, Kapha: The Ayurvedic doshas are part of our vocabulary usually thought of as yet another label we can put on our personalities, body types, and diets. “I’m so vata,” you might hear from your friend who can’t keep a lunch date or constantlyread more

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu.… I sit on my yoga mat, ankles crossed in a Half Lotus pose, eyes closed and struggling to form the shape of these foreign sounds in my mouth. Horns blare and headlights shine dimly through the gossamer-curtained window—the thinnest of veilsread more

A warm breeze was flowing through the window of my acupuncturist’s office in Brooklyn, tickling my exposed abdomen. I’d felt this way before—raw and vulnerable under the cold eye and gloved hands of Western medical doctors—and in remembering those appointments everything inside me tensed. Inexplicableread more

If I had had a different sixth grade math teacher (or, while we’re going here, ninth grade biology teacher or twelfth grade English teacher(s)), my life would probably look much different than it does now. It was in Mrs. C’s “honors” math class that Iread more

Earth, wind, and fire—besides being a great musical group, these three elements are part of a beautifully designed system of matter and energy at the core of Ayurvedic teaching and healing practices. Add in water and space (which are effectively the containers of the otherread more

so tell me about your poop… When these words came out of the mouth of my first Ayurvedic practitioner, a sweet, doe-eyed woman whose illuminated presence made up for the awful fluorescent lights of her tiny Wall Street office, I was a little taken aback.read more

“Have fun on your retreat!” I’ve heard this countless times over the past six months during which I’ve been a student at the Kripalu School of Ayurveda. The 650-hour certification program to become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor is split over six ten-day modules, four toread more