Ayurveda is an ancient system of wellness that comes from India and has been practiced for over 5,000 years. At its core, Ayurveda is about understanding your body and mind as unique, and learning how to care for yourself in a way that keeps you balanced.

Here’s a simple way to think about it:

Ayurveda = Personalized Self-Care

Ayurveda teaches that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health. What helps one person feel energized and calm might leave another feeling tired or overstimulated. Instead of asking, “What’s the best diet or routine?” Ayurveda asks, “What’s best for you?”

The Three Energies (Doshas)

Ayurveda describes three natural energies that exist in all of us, called doshas:

  • Vata – linked to movement (breath, circulation, nervous system). When balanced, you’re creative and lively. When off, you may feel anxious, scattered, or exhausted.

  • Pitta – linked to digestion and metabolism. When balanced, you’re focused and driven. When off, you may feel irritated, overheated, or burnt out.

  • Kapha – linked to structure and stability. When balanced, you’re calm and grounded. When off, you may feel sluggish, heavy, or unmotivated.

Everyone has all three, but usually one or two are stronger. Ayurveda helps you support those energies so they stay in balance.

Balance Over Perfection

Ayurveda focuses on daily habits, not extreme changes. Things like:

  • Eating foods that support your digestion

  • Following a daily rhythm that matches your energy

  • Using breathwork, movement, and rest intentionally

  • Paying attention to how stress shows up in your body

It’s less about rules and more about listening to your body.

Mind, Body, and Spirit are Connected

Ayurveda doesn’t separate physical health from emotional or mental well-being. Stress, emotions, sleep, digestion, and energy are all connected. When one area is off, the others usually are too.

A Gentle Return to Balance

Think of Ayurveda as a guide that helps you come back to your natural state—feeling nourished, grounded, clear, and supported—rather than constantly pushing through exhaustion or discomfort.

In short, Ayurveda is the practice of learning how to live in rhythm with your body, your mind, and nature, so you can feel your best in everyday life.

Meet Your Doshas

Vata Dosha: The Energy of Transportation

Made up of Air and Space, Vata governs movement and communication.

Vata’s qualities are light, dry, cold, rough, mobile, and subtle. It brings enthusiasm, creativity, and adaptability — the energy behind all motion in the body and mind. Vata is responsible for circulation, elimination, and the transport of nutrients and intelligence throughout the body.

When in balance, Vata is creative, communicative, and uplifting — your inner cheerleader.

Vata’s Time of Day: 2–6 AM and 2–6 PM, Season: Winter (cold, dry), Life Stage: 60+ years

Ideal Vata Routine

Morning:

  • Wake between 6–7 AM

  • Hydrate with warm water

  • Meditate to center the mind

  • Practice gentle yoga or stretching to ground the body

Daytime:

  • Maintain a consistent routine — Vata thrives on stability

  • Eat lunch at the same time daily

  • Practice mindful eating in a calm, uplifting environment surrounded by positive energy

Evening:

  • Eat dinner at the same time each night

  • Wind down with light reading or gentle movement

  • Incorporate breathwork (pranayama) or meditation

  • Bed by 10 PM — essential for calming the mind before sleep

Foods to Favor

  • Fruits

    • Sweet grapes, plums, cherries, kiwi, peach, apricot, mango, papaya, pineapple,  berries, oranges, grapefruit.

  • Vegetables

    • Asparagus, zucchini, fennel, carrot, tomato, artichokes, cucumber, yellow squash, okra, tiny eggplants, spinach, red or green chard

  • Spices

    • Cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, celery seeds, fenugreek, hing (asafoetida,) cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, anise, fennel, black pepper, salt, black salt, lemon juice, tamarind.

  • Sweeteners

    •  Date sugar, rock sugar or raw, whole cane sugar

  • Dairy

    • Warmed milk (types of milk-cow’s, almond, rice, oat, goat’s),ghee, lassi, butter, cheese

  • Grains

    • Cooked oats, sprouted wheat, durham flour, quinoa, rice, Seitan

  • Oils

    •  olive oil, ghee, canola oil, almond oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil

***You may juice your own fresh vegetable or fruit juices at home

Foods to use sparingly or avoid

  • Fruits

    • Jams or dried fruits

    • Raw apples, bananas, pears

  • Vegetables

    • Raw vegetables or salads

    • Onions

  • Spices

    • Hot spices such as chilies, hot peppers or jalapeno

  • Sweeteners

    • Refined sugars, processed sugars/sweetners

  • Dairy

    • Curdled milk products such as yogurt (except lassi,) cheese, cottage cheese or sour cream, butter, cream, ice cream, frozen yogurt or any other frozen desserts, powdered milk

  • Grains

    • Barley, buckwheat, cereals (cold, dry, or puffed), corn, couscous, millet, oats, Dry, pasta, wheat, yeasted Bread

  • Oils

    • Canola oil, corn oil, flax Seed oil, soy oil

Intuitive Healing with Vata

Heart chakra due to it being an air element, Throat chakra due to it being associated with communication are assoicated with Vata. Lead with love, speak your truth respectfully to help support this trio. Colors that support the chakras, green for heart and blue for throat.

Incorporate stones or crystals:

  • Tree Agate

  • Moss Agate

  • Cintrine

  • Jade

  • Ruby

  • Garnet

Affirmations:

  • I am grounded and centered

  • I speak my truth

  • I am calm in the face of challenges

  • I am connected

  • I slow down when my mind and body tell me to

  • I am at peace

Mantras: Chant these while holding love at your hear center. Say them out loud and repeat with your breath

  • Om shanti shanti shanti-centers and focuses the mind

  • So hum-harmonizes your breath and mind

Pitta Dosha: The Energy of Transformation

Made of the elements fire and water, Pitta embodies the power of transformation. Its nature is hot, sharp, flowing, mobile, and slightly oily — much like lava—radiant yet intense.

Pitta’s energy fuels drive, ambition, and focus, helping us execute tasks efficiently and with precision. It governs digestion, not only transforming food into nourishment but also converting experience into wisdom and knowledge into intelligence.

Pitta is most active during the summer season and the ages of 30 to 60, when vitality, purpose, and productivity peak.

Ideal Pitta Routine

Morning

  • Wake before 6 a.m.

  • Splash cool water on your eyes to balance heat

  • Drink warm water to awaken digestion

  • Meditate to calm the mind

  • Move your body – gentle yoga, a morning walk, or light stretching

Daytime

  • Create consistent mealtimes, with your main meal between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

  • Maintain a structured work schedule – Pitta thrives with order and routine

  • Schedule rest time – though it may feel uncomfortable, it’s essential for rejuvenation

Evening

  • Eat dinner before 7 p.m.

  • Wash your face to cool and cleanse

  • Abhyanga: massage coconut oil on your feet and scalp to soothe and cool the system

  • Be in bed by 10 p.m. for deep, restorative sleep

Foods to Favor

  • Fruits

    • Apples, apricots, avocado, berries, cherries, coconut, dates, fig, grapes, mangoes, melons, oranges, pears, pineapple, pomegranates, prunes, raisins, watermelon

  • Vegetables

    • Asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green beans, kale, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce, okra, olives (black), onions, parsley, parsnips, peans, peppers (sweet), potatoes (sweet & white)

  • Spices

    • Coriander, cumin, ginger (small amounts), turmeric, saffron, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom

  • Sweeteners

    • Sugar cane products (unprocessed white rock sugar/natural candy sugar is best; raw cane sugar, unrefined brown sugar), maple syrup, honey (do not boil or put in extremely hot foods or drinks, it is best to wait until they are warm not hot before adding)

  • Dairy

    • Ghee butter, milk, butter, sweet buttermilk, lassi, cream cheese

  • Grains

    • Wheat, rice, barley, millet, corn, oats

  • Oils

    • Ghee, coconut, olive

Foods to use sparingly or avoid:

  • Fruits

    • Avoid sour forms of apples, apricots, berries, cherries, cranberries, oranges, plums, pineapple,

    • grapefruit, grapes (green), lemons, mangoes (green), peaches, persimmons, rhubarb, strawberries, bananas 

  • Vegetables

    • Avoid raw: beets, leeks, onion, radishes

    • Garlic, green chilies, horseradish, mustard greens, olives (green), peppers (hot), tomatoes, turnips

  • Spices

    • Spicy spices-Chili pepper, cayenne,

    • Black pepper, mustard seeds, celery seeds, fenugreek, sea salt

  • Sweeteners

    • Molasses, brown sugar

  • Dairy

    • Sour milk products, yogurt, sour lassi, cheese (especially old and salty), salty butter, quark, sour cream

  • Grains

    • Rye, buckwheat

  • Oils

    • Almond, corn, safflower, sesame, sunflower

Intuitive Healing with Pitta

Solar Plexus Chakra and Sacral Chakra are associated with Pitta.

Solar-Wear yellow, ground in nature, meditate while holding the intention of supporting your solar plexus located above the navel.

Sacral-Wear orange, let your creativity flow, ground to cool Pitta

Incorporate crystals and stones such as:

  • Larimar-cooling, relieves stress, cools hot tempers

  • Moonstone-soothes emotional instability, reduces stress, eliminate short tempers

  • Blue lace agate-supports calmness, reduces stress

Affirmations:

  • I am calm, relaxed and at ease

  • I am patient with myself

  • I am patient with others

  • I release all judgements

  • I am able to release control

  • I go with the flow

Mantras: Chant these while holding love at your hear center. Say them out loud and repeat with your breath

  • Som

  • Sham

  • Shum

Kapha Dosha: The Energy of Structure


Made of the elements Earth and Water, Kapha embodies stability, nourishment, and love. Its qualities are heavy, dense, sweet, cool, oily, smooth, soft, and sticky, bringing a sense of grounding and calm. Kapha energy nurtures and supports, offering a steady foundation and an embrace of compassionate, nurturing love. It governs lubrication, structure, cohesion, emotional grounding, joint lubrication, and immunity. It is most active in late winter and spring and during the ages of 0-30 years.

Focus: Lightness, movement, and warmth to balance heaviness and stagnation.

Ideal Kapha Routine:

Morning:

  • Wake before 6 a.m. to prevent sluggishness.

  • Dry brush (garshana) to stimulate circulation and lymphatic flow.

  • Sip warm water with lemon and honey to awaken digestion.

  • Take a brisk morning walk to energize the body and mind.

  • Avoid a heavy breakfast; choose something light and warm.

Daytime:

  • Eat light, warm, and freshly prepared meals.

  • Incorporate movement—gentle yoga, brisk walks, or stretching.

  • Stay mentally active and avoid long naps to maintain energy flow.

Evening:

  • Enjoy a light dinner before 7 p.m.

  • Spend time connecting with loved ones—nurture emotional balance.

  • Take a gentle walk after dinner to support digestion.

  • Sleep by 10 p.m. to restore naturally with the rhythms of nature.

Foods to Favor

  • Fruits:

    • apples, pears, persimmon, papaya, guava, pomegranate, cranberries, apricots, berries, cherries. cranberries, peaches
      peaches, pears, persimmons, prunes, raisins

  • Vegetables:

    • Artichoke, asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, corn, daikon radish, eggplant, garlic, green beans, green chilies, horseradish, kale, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, okra, onions

  • Spices:

    • All spices and fresh green herbs except salt. Favor especially ginger, black pepper, mustard seeds, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, basil, turmeric, cinnamon and cloves

  • Nuts and Seeds:

    • Sunflower and Pumpkin

  • Sweeteners:

    • Raw honey in small amounts-do not boil or put in extremely hot foods or drinks, it is best to wait until they are warm not hot before adding.

    • Old Jaggery

  • Dairy:

    • Lassi, buttermilk, low-fat milk, ghee

  • Grains:

    • Barley, millet, buckwheat, rye, oats, kashi

  • Oils

    • Sesame, mustard, olive, ghee

Foods to use sparingly or avoid

  • Fruits:

    • Banana, avocado, coconut, citrus and any sour-tasting fruit

  • Vegetables:

    • Potatoes, beets, sweet potato and other root vegetables

  • Spices:

    • salt

  • Nuts and Seeds:

    • All nuts

  • Sweeteners:

    • Sugar cane products except jaggery

  • Grains

    • Wheat and rice, new grains

  • Dairy:

    • Cheese, whole milk

Intuitive Healing with Kapha

Root Chakra and Sacral Chakra are associated with Kapha.

Root-Wear red, go out in nature and ground, during meditation place your awareness on your root chakra.

Sacral-Wear orange, let your creativity flow!

Incorporate crystals and stones such as:

  • Citrine-enhances mood and supports metabolism

  • Ruby-boosts confidence, supports circulation, supports root chakra

  • Garnet-supports emotional balance and healing, supports self-love and compassion

  • Red Coral-strengthens bone health, enhances circulation, supports immunity

Affirmations:

  • I am loved

  • I am love

  • I am grounded

  • I am worthy

  • I am oneness

  • I send love out into the world and receive it effortlessly

Mantras: Chant these while holding love at your hear center. Say them out loud and repeat with your breath.

  • AIM

  • HUM

  • OM