Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Mushrooms have become increasingly popular in the modern wellness world, particularly for their potential benefits for the nervous system, immunity and resilience. But where do they fit within Ayurveda? In this episode, I'm joined by Sharmistha Guha Majumdar to explore mushrooms through the lens of Ayurvedic principles. While mushrooms are not extensively described in the classical texts, Ayurveda...

As winter transitions into spring, many people begin to notice subtle shifts in how they feel. You might experience brain fog, sluggish digestion, low motivation, seasonal allergies, or new cravings for sugar and comfort foods. While these symptoms may seem random, Ayurveda recognizes them as common responses to the seasonal shift from winter to spring. In this episode, Colette shares seven signs...

Have you ever felt tired… but something about it didn't feel like true fatigue? In this episode, Colette explores the subtle but important difference between Kapha accumulation and true fatigue, and how easily the two can be confused. What feels like low energy may actually be heaviness, stagnation, and mental fog, which are signs that the body is asking for movement and stimulation, not more rest...

Healing rarely happens through a single change. More often, it unfolds through awareness, consistency, and a growing relationship with the body and mind. In this episode, Colette is joined by her client Erica, who shares her deeply personal journey of healing through Ayurveda. What began as a search for answers during a period of fatigue and sluggishness became a transformational process of self-d...

As we approach the Spring Equinox on March 20th, nature reaches a moment of perfect balance, equal light and equal dark. But this shift isn't just happening around you… it's happening within you. In Ayurveda, seasonal transitions are considered powerful physiological turning points. The Spring Equinox marks a pivotal moment when winter's accumulated heaviness begins to melt and move through the bo...

What happens when we slow down enough to truly listen? In this heartfelt conversation, Colette is joined by her client Jenny, who shares her personal journey with Ayurveda, from her early connection with nature to her recent experience on the Digestive Reset Cleanse. Jenny reflects on how growing up in rural Ireland with a deep love of the natural world quietly shaped her path toward yoga and, eve...

Hormones influence every system in the body, from mood and metabolism to sleep, fertility, and the transitions of midlife. In this episode, I'm joined by Vaidya Princy Prasad of Kerala Ayurveda Academy to explore hormone regulation through the classical lens of Ayurveda. Rather than viewing hormones in isolation, we discuss how endocrine balance reflects the state of the doshas, agni, the nervous...

In Episode 432, we explored how awareness builds integrity, how listening to the body moment by moment allows coherence to arise naturally.  But what happens when awareness feels muted? What if you can't clearly feel hunger, fatigue, or even your own emotions? What if instead of clarity, there's numbness, confusion, or second-guessing? In this follow-up episode, Colette explores what happens when...

What if integrity wasn't about discipline, willpower, or doing the "right" thing, but something that naturally arises from awareness? In this episode, Colette explores one of the most foundational yet often overlooked principles of Ayurveda: awareness. Beneath dosha food lists, routines, herbs, and lifestyle practices lies Ayurveda's deeper invitation, to notice what is happening in the body, mind...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, love is everywhere, on our screens, in shop windows, and throughout marketing campaigns. Yet for many of us, this time of year can feel complicated, tender, or even disconnecting. In this episode, Colette explores what Ayurveda really teaches about love , not the fleeting or idealized version we're often sold, but the steady, nourishing love that begins...

Ayurveda can feel deeply nourishing and also overwhelming especially when you've been learning for a long time and don't know where to begin, how to stay consistent, or how to soften self-pressure along the way. In this solo Ayurveda Q&A episode, Colette answers thoughtful questions from the Elements of Ayurveda Podcast Community, exploring how to work with overwhelm, perfectionism, and stress thr...

What does it mean to heal when the nervous system no longer feels safe in the body or the world? In this episode, Colette is joined by Sita Severson, Director of the Soul of Yoga Institute in San Diego, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Vedic counselor. Sita's work lives at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern trauma science, supporting people through grief, addiction...

Winter is often misunderstood in modern wellness culture as a season to simply endure, yet Ayurveda recognizes it as a powerful time for nourishment, restoration, and deep tissue building. In this episode, Colette is joined by experienced Ayurvedic physician Dr. Sujatha Kekada for a classical and clinical exploration of winter wellness. Together, they move beyond surface-level seasonal advice to e...

As winter settles in, many of us notice shifts in mood, energy, motivation, and emotional resilience. In this episode, Colette explores Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) through the compassionate lens of Ayurveda, reframing seasonal low mood as a natural response to changes in light, rhythm, digestion, and mental qualities. You'll learn how winter affects the doshas, digestion, and nervous syst...

If you're feeling heavy, foggy, congested, or more run-down than usual as we move into January, this episode is for you. In Ayurveda, post-holiday sluggishness isn't just about overindulgence, it's often a sign that the lymphatic system and rasa dhatu (the body's primary nourishing fluid) need support. In this episode, we explore why sickness is so common at this time of year and how to gently res...

As we step into a new year, many of us focus on resolutions, but what if a more powerful question is: How do I actually want to feel ? In this episode, Colette explores Ayurvedic cleansing not as a quick detox or rigid reset, but as a gentle ritual, a way to digest the past, build resilience, and step into the year ahead with clarity, steadiness, and intention. Rather than pushing or restricting,...

Colette is joined by Dr. Ishan Shivanand, mental health researcher, professor, bestselling author, and founder of Yoga of Immortals (YOI). Raised in Indian monasteries within a 21-generation yogic lineage, Dr. Shivanand brings a rare integration of ancient wisdom and modern science. His groundbreaking double-blind RCTs show up to 82% improvement in insomnia, anxiety, depression, and overall qualit...

As we move fully into early winter, many of us begin to notice changes in our skin, tightness, dryness, rough patches, or increased sensitivity. In Ayurveda, these seasonal shifts are meaningful clues about what's happening internally. Winter, especially early winter, increases Vata dosha with its cold, dry, and mobile qualities, which can intensify skin imbalance if we don't adjust our routines a...

In this episode, we explore how to support steady blood sugar during the holiday season using Ayurvedic wisdom. With more sugar, irregular meals, travel, and stress during the holidays, it's easy for the body's metabolic fire (agni) to become overwhelmed. Ayurveda offers practical, gentle tools to keep digestion strong, cravings balanced, and energy steady. We take a deeper look at the pancreas as...

In this inspiring episode, Colette is joined by her client, Sónia from Flores, a small and remote island in the Azores archipelago off the coast of Portugal. After an overstimulating and energetically demanding Summer season, Sónia felt called to reset her body and mind. She chose to do the private Digestive Reset Cleanse in October, but quickly realised that the cleanse required a pace of life sh...

Holiday season is here and this time of year often brings a beautiful mix of joy, connection, nostalgia and let's be honest, a little chaos. The festive season can easily throw us off rhythm. We may be travelling, eating differently, staying up later, or navigating emotionally layered gatherings. Ayurveda offers practical tools to support digestion, soothe the nervous system, and help us meet this...

In this heartfelt and deeply personal episode of the Elements of Ayurveda Podcast, Colette is joined by her sister, Niamh, an Occupational Therapist who specializes in mental health for children and young adults. Together, they explore Niamh's honest and vulnerable journey through perimenopause, a time that tested even her professional understanding of the mind and her long-time relationship with...

In this episode of the  Elements of Ayurveda Podcast , we're exploring a truly beautiful concept in Ayurvedic wisdom, Sneha, a Sanskrit word that means both oil and love . And that's no coincidence. Sneha is the essence of softness, warmth, and care that keeps our body, mind, and heart supple. It's both nourishment and an act of conscious love, a daily reminder that tending to ourselves is not sel...

In this heart-centered episode, Colette explores the vital role of community in Ayurveda and how sangha, a gathering of like-minded souls, nurtures our healing, balance, and wellbeing. In a world where loneliness has become a quiet epidemic, Ayurveda reminds us that true healing doesn't happen in isolation. It happens through connection, in shared rhythm, trust, and support. Join Colette as she re...

Ayurveda teaches that the heart (Hridaya) is not just a physical pump for blood, it is central to our physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. Together, we explore how chronic stress, unresolved grief, and emotional trauma can affect both the heart and mind, and how Ayurvedic wisdom can guide us toward healing from the inside out. We also dive deep into the subdoshas, exploring the subtle...