The start of the year brings thoughts of renewal, fresh starts and often prayers and aspirations as well. Aspirations and prayers for our own health and well-being and also for greater health, harmony and peacefulness for our planet and all inhabitants. May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness May we all be […]
Few activities are as satisfying as gathering with a group of women to join in the ancient ritual of making and sharing a nourishing meal. The women of the Maine Ayurveda Study Group gathered in the warm, early evening of one of the longest days of the year. The moon was full, spirits were high […]
How do we take care of mind and body in this dynamic season? This time of year mind and body can be vulnerable to vata derangement. The energies of our environment can’t help but influence our health and well-being. The holidays increase activity, responsibility, and stress. Meanwhile daylight diminishes, the cold wind blows and even colder days approach. […]
Anne has been here in Maine this week stopping in for a visit on her way to NYC to teach at Arbor Vitae Herbal School. After a productive planning meeting in the morning, we set out to nourish our senses by the sea. First, we took a leisurely walk on one of our nearby beaches then […]
Tulsi is a plant that I would not want to be without in the garden. In late May, I direct sow the tiny black seeds into the soil of one of my circle beds and by August it has grown in thickly, revealing its beautiful toothed leaves, clove-like fragrance and emanating a purifying and peaceful […]
I was happy to have a chance to catch up with Julie Brown, the first student to complete the Living Wisdom Ayurveda course and had a chance to ask her a few questions. She lives not far from me in Portland, Maine What peaked your interest in taking the Living Wisdom Ayurveda Course? Deepening my […]
Recently, I spent some joyful time in my home kitchen experimenting with a delicious treat that deeply nourishes and strengthens the brain and nervous system. These slightly sweet confections are more medicine than dessert, but can satisfy the sweet tooth. They are filled with rich oils, minerals and nutrients for the brain including delicious coconut, […]
Ghee is something I would not go with out in my home kitchen. Imparting a depth of flavor and healing benefits, ghee makes each meal deeply nourishing. Ghee, also known as clarified butter, is made by simmering unsalted butter until the milk solids are separated, leaving behind the golden aromatic oil. Ayurvedic texts tell us […]
It’s deep winter and winter is kapha season…cold, slow and still. In the north of America here in Maine, the ground has been blanketed with snow for weeks; stillness and quiet beauty pervade. If you’ve arrived at winter’s door step feeling stressed, dried out and frazzled, this season offers time to slow down and surrender […]
The New Year brings fresh opportunities and inspiration to take really good care of our one precious body. Health trends come and go …but Ayurveda has sustained the tests of time. Its advice has been practiced for thousands of years and science is telling us….it works! Have you ever wished you could make a visit […]
In Ayurveda, food – like everything else in creation – falls into three categories; Sattvic, Rajastic and Tamasic, and foods in these categories have the ability to increase these qualities within us when we eat them. Sattvic food are considered to be the most healing and also help to harmonize all three doshas. These are […]
Harvest time is here and there is much to be savoured and enjoyed. Late summer is also the time when vata dosha begins to increase. Do you feel scattered, ungrounded, and exhausted with all the summer activities and dry heat? You can feel vata energy accumulating through dry skin, cracking joints and trouble sleeping through […]
How do we know when pitta is aggravated? Feeling irritable, frustrated, impatient? Holding yourself to a very high standard? People with pitta in their constitution can have an underlying fear of not being perfect and feel unloved or unrecognized. This can bring about low self-esteem, a general feeling of not being good enough, and fear […]
Taken from ‘The Ayurveda Bible’ by Anne McIntyre For the first of our ‘Spotlight on Herbs’ blog posts I’ve chosen Shatavari. This herb is an excellent nourishing tonic and the most important Sattvic rejuvenative for women – hence the name which translates as ‘she who possesses a hundred husbands‘! It is cooling and moistening, restoring balance when […]
I have been studying and practicing Ayurveda now for more years than I care to think about, but even so I am scratching at the surface of a healing system with over 5,000 years of history. As a student of the Living Wisdom course you may be interested in Ayurveda on a personal level, or it may […]
After the last post we have heard from many people that they were excited about trying kichari! Now we’d like to tell you about Ayurveda’s famous “three fruit” formula triphala. Triphala is by far the best and safest Ayurvedic formula for cleansing the bowel. Triphala is a blended powder of three amazing tropical fruits; amalaki, haritaki, […]
In our last post we offered 3 gentle ways to detox in the Spring. Today we are giving you our favourite recipe for Ayurveda’s ultimate cleansing food, Kichari! It’s nourishing, light and easy to digest and so gives the body a break from the work of digesting, making it easier to clear a backlog of toxins. […]
Spring is a natural time for cleansing and clearing but detoxing doesn’t have to be rigorous and intense to make you feel great! Ayurveda gives us a variety of different ways to detox based on our individual constitutions and offers great wisdom as well as practical support. Here are 3 simple things you can do to […]