What is Ayurveda?

Mona is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic-Yoga Therapist, and author, located in Kingston, Ontario. 

 

In its biggest sense, Ayurveda is a holistic science dating back many thousands of years. On a practical level and today in North America, Ayurveda is a science based in aligning ourselves with the rhythms of nature (currently known as “circadian medicine”). It recognizes that what is happening in nature is reflected in our body and mind.

The intention of Ayurveda is to maintain health (disease prevention) by aligning with natural rhythms and using Ayurveda’s Three Pillars of Health which are: 1. Nourishment (diet), 2. Sleep, and 3. Energy Management (daily routine). Bringing together knowledge of the natural seasonal shifts (rhythms) AND the three pillars, we can predict certain imbalances and work to bring more balance and harmony into the system. With this method, we can also back track imbalances that have led to disease and work to re-align the innate functioning and wisdom of the body-mind-spirit to bring about healing.

Ayurveda is holistic in that it sees the person as more than a biology… We recognize that humans have a physical body (biology), energy body, emotional body, mental body, and spiritual self and that true lasting health means working with all these layers of being.

 

Who consults an Ayurvedic Practitioner?

1. Individuals who are looking for long term health and well-being

2. Those who want to incorporate nature and the natural into their healing and daily lives

3. Folks seeking to complement conventional treatments with natural ones – Ayurveda is a great complement to many other approaches and modalities

4. Those for whom the conventional approach doesn’t work/resonate

5. People who’ve tried everything else and it hasn’t worked

 

What can I expect during an Ayurvedic consultation?

Consultations are conversations between myself and the client. It can happen in person or online. It is based on the client’s health goal, therefore we begin with talking about where you are and what is happening, then we talk about where you want to be, and my job is to use the Ayurveda tools to support you in getting from where you are to where you want to be.

Based on our conversation, we then talk through the possible recommendations that the client could implement to create the specific desired changes. This list is the client’s homework. Recommendations vary greatly depending on what is going on, however, they usually include practices around diet, lifestyle, daily routine, self-care, movement, breathwork, meditation… It can include the medicine of addition (add this) or subtraction (stop doing something). Ayurveda recognizes that the things we do every day have the greatest impact on our health.

 

What can Ayurveda help with?

So many things…

• Digestive concerns
• Nervous system concerns including sleep, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue
• Skin conditions (e.g. eczema, rosacia)
• Reproductive health, including menstrual and menopausal symptoms, pre-natal and post-natal health
• Hormone imbalance
• Cardiovascular and circulatory health
• Rejuvenation therapies (i.e. aging well)
• Life transitions, such as puberty, and parenthood

 

For more information about Ayurveda, please enjoy these videos: “What is Ayurveda“, “What Can I Expect From a Consultation“, and “What Can Ayurveda Health With“.