Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Kate Siraj and Joanna Webber are both Ayurvedic practitioners and are the co-founders of The Ayurveda Academy. In this episode we discuss the importance of tuning into the subtle signals of imbalance from our body and mind. Understanding these early stages of aggravation of the doshas can help us to prevent dis-ease. By implementing small dietary and lifestyle adjustments we can pacify the doshas...

Kaela has a passion for health and fitness and enjoyed working as a personal trainer, however, once she discovered Ayurveda it has led her on a journey which has impacted her whole life. In this episode, Kaela shares her continuing Ayurvedic journey: Kaela's introduction to holistic health via a skin condition. Her different experiences on the Digestive Reset Cleanse. Learning to tune in and liste...

Colette continues her discussion on the Ayurvedic view of the menstrual cycle from episode #256 where she talked about the menstrual cycle, the doshas involved at different stages of the cycle and the gunas or qualities that you may experience throughout your cycle. In that episode she also discussed how PMS or pre-menstrual syndrome is a sign of aggravation in the doshas and gunas along with how...

Katie first contacted Colette in October 2021 to participate in the group cleanse. She had endured a lot of stress in recent months with her job and a serious car accident. In this episode Katie shares her healing and educational journey with Ayurveda. Colette and Katie discusses the following: Katie's introduction to Ayurveda. How stress was affecting her health and wellbeing. Katie's experience...

Ayurvedic educator Mary Thompson returns to the podcast to discuss tips on how to manage our mental health during the stressful holiday season. Stress can manifest in many ways over the holidays, be it family dynamics, economical, travel, social stress, loneliness etc. In this episode Colette chats with Mary about the following: Building resilience to buffer against stress. Navigating uncomfortabl...

Vaidya Kamya Pillai is a specialist in Ayurveda, with more than a decade of clinical experience. Coming from a family of teachers and healers, it has always been a calling as well as a privilege for her to choose this noble profession and serve the community. She believes in helping her clients through creative practical tools using the principles of Ayurveda and Yoga. Colette chats with Vaidya Ka...

Dr. Paul Dugliss is a pioneer in the American medical system being one of the first physicians to integrate the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda into modern healthcare. In this episode Dr. Dugliss chats with Colette about emotional digestion and they discuss the following: What is emotional digestion. How do we know if we have old emotional baggage. What inhibits the digestion of emotions. What happens...

In this solo episode Colette shares the experience of her recent trip to India, where she spent three weeks continuing her Ayurveda studies. She discusses the following: Her 10 day internship at an Ayuredic Health Village in Kerala which included: Visits to local Ayurvedic clinics In-house practicums  Visit to the herbal gardens  Ayurvedic medicine factory visit. Outreach day in the local communit...

Kamalesh Ginger Hooven is interim Provost of Mount Madonna Institute, a regionally accredited college located on the central coast of California where she is the Director of the Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy program.   In this episode Colette chats with Kamalesh about the mind and in particular, balancing the gunas/qualities of the mind during Vata season. They discuss the following: How the mind is affe...

In this episode Colette discusses the role the doshas of Vata, Pitta and Kapha play in our menstrual cycle. What doshas are dominant at the different stages of the cycle, how dosha aggravations can manifest in our cycle and how to pacify these aggravations. She discusses the following: The Vata phase of the menstrual cycle. The Kapha phase of the menstrual cycle. The Pitta phase of the menstrual c...

Dr. Sujatha Kekada from Amrtasiddhi Ayurvedic Clinic in Bali is my guest today. In this episode I chat with Dr. Sujatha about the Ayurvedic approach to weight loss and we discuss the following: Understanding our unique constitution and accepting our natural body shape. The four main causes for weight gain and the doshas involved. Weight gain during perimenopause and its role. Important diet and li...

Colette takes questions from the Elements of Ayurveda Podcast Community and answers the following questions: Betty: I'm enjoying learning about Ayurveda from your podcast and in particular, I'm learning a lot about how to manage my Vata dosha. I understand that routine is very important for Vata and I have great intentions, however, I find it to figure out what type of routines to focus on. Any ti...

Ritucharya is the Ayurvedic practice of changing our diet and lifestyle routines with the seasons in order to maintain balance and prevent dis-ease in the body or mind. "Ritu" means season and "charya" means regimen or discipline. In this episode Colette chats with Jen Rand of the Mount Madonna Institute about the seasonal guidelines for the coming seasons of Autumn in the Northern hemisphere and...

Divya Alter is a certified nutritional consultant, educator, and chef. In this episode she discusses snacking with Colette and in particular, Ayurveda's view on snacking. They discuss the following: The general principles of good snacking. Having awareness around the impulse behind your snack i.e. hunger, thirst, emotions etc. The importance of routine in eating, good food combinations and nutriti...

Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh, is an Ayurveda Wellness Expert on a mission to show how Ayurveda is a health catalyst to achieve optimal wellness in modern life. In this episode, Colette chats with Dr. Avanti about hormonal health and how Ayurveda can help to prevent and heal hormone dysregulation. They discuss the following: Dr. Avanti's personal journey with Western medicine and Ayurveda. Zooming in on...

Monica is a busy single mother with her own prenatal massage and yoga business. She had been practicing yoga for many years and when she discovered Ayurveda it deeply resonated with her.  Monica connected with Colette in 2021 to help her tailor the Ayurvedic wisdom to her needs and help her implement the practices into her life. She then went forward to do the Ayurvedic Digestive Reset Cleanse in...

August 17th is the 5th anniversary of this podcast!!! I started this podcast back in 2017 as I couldn't find any regular podcasts on Ayurveda, so I decided I had to share this amazing ancient wisdom with the world. Here I am 5 years later and now on episode 249!!! In this episode I share a little about the start of this podcasting journey, podcast reviews and a recent chat with my client Amy. Amy...

Ashtanga Hridayam, one of the primary ancient root texts of Ayurveda lists eleven types of headaches. In this episode, Colette details the following: The eleven types of headaches. What causes headaches. How to determine which dosha(s) are aggravated and manifesting in a headache. How to treat a headache. The four stages of an Anantavata headache or migraine. * Thanks to the sponsor of this episod...

Dorothy has had many life changes since starting her journey with Ayurveda and she shares her experience with incorporating an Ayurvedic lifestyle as a new mother. We chat about the following: Dorothy's introduction to Ayurveda. Adapting the cleanse to her busy life with her young baby. Feeling lighter physically, emotionally and psychologically. Setting boundaries to avoid overwhelm. Letting go o...

Dr. Claudia Welch has practiced Ayurveda and is licensed as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. She has lectured internationally on Oriental medicine and Ayurveda, exploring how Eastern medicine applies to Women's Health, and today's reality in general. In this episode we discuss the emotional transition between the Pitta stage of life into the Vata stage of life, the challenges that can arise and how...

Monica from Tasmania shares her experience with the Digestive Reset Cleanse. Her jobs as an engineer and yoga teacher keep her busy and tailoring the cleanse to her lifestyle was essential. We wanted to make sure there was no added stress creating overwhelm in her already hectic schedule. We discuss the following: Monica's introduction to Yoga and Ayurveda. The mental and physical imbalances exper...

Colette talks about the importance of regular cleansing in Ayurveda and how it plays a major role in keeping the doshas in balance, preventing aggravations and disease. She discusses the following: How toxins form in the body. Signs of toxins in the body and mind. How dosha accumulation during the seasons can affect our health. Details of an Ayurvedic cleansing program. The benefits of cleansing t...

Dr. Paul Dugliss returns to the podcast and we discuss our previous two podcast episodes in the context of healing. In episode #219 Dr. Dugliss talked about 'Ayurveda, The Chakra System and Human Needs' and in episode #227  he discussed 'The Ten Facets of the Heart.' In this episode, we get a deeper understanding of what healing is and why radical acceptance can be crucial in promoting healing. We...

In part one of this discussion on Ayurveda's empowering approach to aging and longevity, Colette covered five of the six components of aging according to Ayurveda: Physical health Mental health Diet Sleep Stress management In this episode Colette talks about the sixth component of aging, rasayana. Rasayana is the study of anti-aging, longevity and rejuvenation in Ayurveda. The main purpose of rasa...

Our modern society has a negative outlook on aging and we tend to glorify youth and oftentimes our elders are ignored and considered to be of no value to society.   This glorification of youth leads to a battle against aging, along with a huge industry of anti-aging products. This is a battle that we will never win and one which can lead to feelings of disempowerment and a lack of self worth as we...