There is a really close relationship between yoga and Ayurveda and many people are introduced to Ayurveda through their yoga practice. This photo was taken in my garden while one of my Ayurvedic Apprentices reset with some yoga during her lunch break! Yoga was introduced to the West from India by gurus such as Swami […]
I wonder if you have ever asked yourself, “What do we all want?” From my experience as a practitioner over the last 40-something years, I would say that most people want health and happiness for themselves and their loved ones (and of course world peace!). That sounds so simple – but as we all know, […]
I am so excited to be taking an online webinar for the APA, on Wednesday 21st April from 17.00-18.30, when I will be looking at local spring herbs from an Ayurvedic perspective. I’d love it if you could join me for a discussion about common local herbs using Ayurvedic classifications. I strongly feel that […]
We have had some great feedback from the first Zoom calls we have been doing with students on both A Beginner’s Guide to Ayurveda and also Living Wisdom courses. It has been fantastic to meet new students and say ‘hi’ to people we haven’t seen in a while. We have put two more dates in […]
I wanted to share with you an interesting piece of news about Andrographis. This wonderful Ayurvedic herb is used regularly in the dispensary here at Artemis House, for instance we include it in our Immune Boost tincture that provides many of you with immune support through these challenging times. It was reported by Bloomberg recently […]
If you’re feeling a bit low, fed up and unmotivated by our current situation, it would hardly be surprising – it’s January, it’s grey and cold and we’re in lockdown! Generally during the dark winter months after Christmas, many of us lack energy and vitality and feel at low ebb health-wise, and I was thinking […]
Delicious warming spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, clove, turmeric and black pepper are some of the best remedies for the winter. They stimulate the circulation and warm you from head to toe. They also improve digestion and absorption, combat unfriendly microorganisms in the gut and help establish a healthy gut flora. This is […]
I will be hosting the first Zoom call for current students on my new course, A Beginner’s Guide to Ayurveda, on Wednesday 10th February at 2pm. If you are a student (or will be by 10th February) and would like to join in please email admin@learnlivingayurveda.com to be sent the Zoom invitation/link. I’ll be answering […]
The humble garlic bulb, much maligned for its powerful and lingering odour, is truly a wonderful medicine. It is perfect for the help we need now to protect our immune systems, just as it has been valued as such for thousands of years, and probably by more cultures than any other plant. It originated in […]
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness has come round again, the Autumn winds have started to blow again, there’s a slight chill in the air and the children have gone back to school. This is the time of year that we are normally more prone to cold and flu viruses, but clearly this is […]
In February’s blog I described how wintery, cold weather causes our bodies to contract, inhibiting the flow of energy and fluids around the body and making it harder for the body to release toxins. Winter is a time for hibernation and storing our vital energy and we generally feel more sluggish in the colder months […]
In February’s blog I described how wintery, cold weather causes our bodies to contract, inhibiting the flow of energy and fluids around the body and making it harder for the body to release toxins. Winter is a time for hibernation and storing our vital energy and we generally feel more sluggish in the colder months […]
It’s time for the rose harvest. I’m making rose glycerite today! I love roses…doesn’t everybody? I think I use more rose than almost any other herb in my practice…maybe as much as California poppy, gotu kola and chamomile. The beautiful rose is a wonderful rejuvenative, helping to decrease the signs of ageing when used internally as well as applied to the skin. It makes a great tonic for the […]
We are currently living through what can only be described as strange and unsettling times and I, probably like all of you, have found that my days are very different from how they were a few weeks ago. So I thought that this month’s newsletter might be a good time for us to look at […]
I was interviewed by Elizabeth Roberts and Jane Clark for Beshara Magazine’s Spring 2020 issue. We had a long, wide ranging discussion about my love of both herbal medicine and Ayurveda, working with people in their miriad different constitutions, using the herbs from my garden as well as traditional Ayurvedic herbs, tapping into the […]
Why we need to detox Just as we regularly take showers, wash our hair, brush our teeth and tend to the outside of our bodies, the internal systems of our body – most importantly our digestive system – benefit from regular cleansing and care. Toxins are a product of our everyday lives and are related […]
February is a month when warm blankets, roaring fires and hot soup are particularly appealing – I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t mind being able to hibernate! But why is it that long nights and cold weather make us feel so lacking in motivation and energy? When we wake up in daylight we […]
Happy New Year! Are you feeling tired and somewhat jaded after the excesses of the festive season? If so, you are not the only one, for during the apparently unending, dark winter months after Christmas, many of us feel that our health is at a low ebb. This is just at this time that we […]
We are so excited about our new website that we just want to tell everyone all about it! The aim of the Learn Living Ayurveda website is to give you access to a vast resource of knowledge and wisdom about the incredible system of Ayurveda that you can use to optimise your health and wellbeing […]
Oil Massage (Abhyanga) We are deep into Autumn and the holiday season is upon us – cold, wind, dark and busy equals vata derangement! We can easily find ourselves feeling scattered, ungrounded and stressed. Immunity can be compromised and sleep disturbed. Vata needs balancing! Fortunately, Ayurveda comes to the rescue with the deeply healing practice […]
Foods for Body, Heart and Mind Eating plenty of grounding foods and drinks, with regular mealtimes and being around those with more water and earth in their constitution is recommended. Eat a light diet, with warm, easy to digest, soft foods. Use ghee for cooking. Increase foods that are heavy and oily as these nourish […]
Part 2 by Anne Bergeron. One of the many wonderful aspects of Ayurveda is the practicality and simplicity of its application. Ayurveda’s ancient wisdom asks us to pay attention not only to ourselves, but to the constantly changing energies of the earth, and to find balance in cultivating the opposite of the dominant discomfort in […]
Part 1 by Anne Bergeron, recent graduate It was an unusual August. The month that typically brings a week of cool, dry winds, the classic harbingers of Autumn in Vermont, brought instead an uninterrupted string of sultry days that unfurled in waves of heat throughout the entire month. So, when I realized in mid-August on […]
Staying In Balance As discussed in my last blog post, health is not just freedom from disease. The ideal is that our body, mind and emotions are in a state of ease and harmony so that we can fulfill our dreams and obligations, and our roles and potential in To be healthy our doshas must […]
Meet Deanna! She is one of our Ayurveda course graduates and lives in Rumney, NH (near the White Mountains USA). For many years she ran a local natural food store with two other women (we started in the 70’s!) she passed the business along a couple of years ago but still misses interacting with folks […]
Signs of Increased Vata With their erratic digestions, people with excess vata can have wind, bloating and discomfort after eating. They might suffer from dry bowels and constipation or maybe bowel problems like irritable bowel syndrome. Women can have irregular cycles and may miss periods due to stress, over activity or being underweight. Their bleeding […]
This is the first of a several part series on nourishing and supporting Vata Part 1. Understanding Vata From the full splendour of late summer to the fruitfulness of autumn when each plant reaches its full expression…we are in vata time! Vata is the most important of the 3 biological humours. It forms the vital […]
Our own minds can be as busy as traffic at rush hour. Anxiety, overwhelm, exhaustion and irritability are all too common. For many, the “to-do” list gets longer and stress escalates in this season of peace and joy. What to do? Ayurveda is unique in that it offers us a healthy path, overflowing with all […]
What awoke your interest in taking the Living Wisdom Ayurveda Course? My interest in Ayurveda began after reading about it and discussing it with a friend who was studying it at the time and also she was becoming a Yoga therapist. We both have spiritual practices where the idea of mind, body and spirit were […]