Personalize Your Yoga Practice with Ayurveda
How can you make your yoga practice more effective? More enjoyable? More personal? The key lies in understanding Ayurveda, the ancient Indian wisdom of life, health, and longevity that has been practiced in India for thousands of years and is gaining popularity in the Western world. By utilizing concepts from Ayurveda, you can create a personalized yoga practice that will have an immense impact on both your physical and mental health, as well as your daily lifestyle.
Connecting the Dots Between Ayurveda and Yoga
Ayurveda is Yoga’s sister science. Think of it as a how-to-guide for yoga techniques like postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. They were meant to be practiced together and when they are, they’re more effective at mind-body balance.
If a yogi wants to personalize their yoga practice, then Ayurveda would be how to do it. This is because Yoga was created for the specific purpose of honing in on the well-being of the individual rather than the general public.
Ayurveda Says: Know Thyself
First, Ayurveda recommends understanding your true nature by learning about your constitutional Prakruti – or body type – and any imbalances (Virkuti). You learn about the 3 Doshas – Vata, Pitta, and Kapha – and which one is strongest in you. Next, you can learn which poses and techniques balance those doshas. Now, we’re getting somewhere!
What If I Don’t Feel Good After Doing Yoga?
It’s telling about your inherent nature when you find yourself drawn to one type of Yoga. Do you like intense classes like Ashtanga or Hot Yoga only to leave feeling more exhausted and overheated than invigorated? Do you go to Vinyasa classes but then feel too spacey to function afterward? Have you found yourself tuning out or even falling asleep during a Restorative class? This might be because you are choosing the wrong class! Ayurveda teaches us to seek harmony with our dominant energy (dosha or body type) to avoid pushing it into imbalance, which eventually causes us discomfort in some way.
The key to knowing if you’re doing yoga right for you is how you feel after a class. It’s not just about feeling great. It’s about feeling balanced: alert, calm, and peaceful.
One of the most important principles of yoga is that it should feel good. This relates to ahimsa or self-compassion.
Why A Personalized Yoga Practice Can Make A Big Difference
Personalized yoga practice is more effective because poses and techniques are used therapeutically to support the doshas that need the most attention. We learn that some poses help us. Others not so much. We learn from positive feedback from our body and mind that we’re moving in the right direction. What does that feel like, exactly? Consequently, our energy levels become more stable and our moods become calmer. Success! Conversely, when our energy feels low and our mind turns negative or flighty we know something’s off.
Balancing Your Dosha Through Poses, Mindfulness Practices, And Diet
Understanding your balance of energies is crucial. When you know your Prakruti (body type or constitution) and Vikruti (imbalances), you can use the same principles in your diet and lifestyle, too. You learn that to remain balanced, there is an overarching theme for everything you do. It’s a little different for everyone. In time, you can feel great off the mat, too.
How Do I Personalize My Yoga Practice?
If you’re interested in learning how to use Ayurvedic wisdom to enhance your Yoga practice and lifestyle, take a look at my Yoga Balance Guide (free download).
Here are the main takeaways from my Yoga Balance Guide:
- Discover the ancient teachings that will unlock the potential with practice.
- Understand the signs of a disconnected practice.
- Balance energies in your Prakruti & Vikruti.
- Discover Your Prakruti & Vikruti.
Find Balance On And Off The Yoga Mat with The Life of Balance Program
Check out my new online course, Life of Balance. It’s a self-paced way to create your best holistic lifestyle with Ayurveda & Yoga with plenty of peer and practitioner support. Sign up now to lock in early registration savings before the end of May 2023.
Take care.
Discover the transformative power of Ayurveda for women’s health and wellbeing. Ayurveda offers a holistic approach to enhance women’s well-being by integrating principles of lifestyle, nutrition, herb medicine, yoga, and meditation. Choose an entry way that interests you to get started!
Ayurveda can address the challenges women face in today’s fast-paced world. Ayurveda provides effective solutions to manage stress, maintain good nourishment, and sustain energy levels. Let the time-tested tradition of Ayurveda empower you to cultivate overall well-being and address the unique needs of women’s bodies and minds in the digital age.
Understanding Ayurveda for Women’s Health and Wellbeing
Ayurveda understands that health and wellness is a personal thing. This is not a cookie-cutter approach. Your challenges and needs are unique to your body-mind system, which is decided by the balance of your doshas.
The Three doshas and Your Body-Mind Type
The three main doshas are ruled by different natural bioforces including Air (Vata), Fire (Pitta), and Earth/Water (Kapha). Your constitution is based on the predominant dosha in your body-mind system. Since everyone has a different combination of doshas, this makes your wellness journey as unique as you are.
For example, if you have predominantly Air energy, you’re a Vata body-mind type. If you tend to be fiery, you may be a Pitta type.
Not sure? Get my Self-Discovery Guide below to find out.
What’s my dosha and body-type? Do I have imbalances?
Get the Self-Discovery Guide
Find out in our Self-Discovery Guide.
Imbalanced doshas mark the onset of disease.
It’s helpful to know that any of your doshas can become imbalanced. This can happen when we let go of healthy routines and foods. Like the holidays! When this happens, we can start to notice mild symptoms that come and go like indigestion, insomnia, and irritability. This is a good sign that something’s up and your mind-body system is asking for balance.
You can correct course by returning to routines and foods that are most supportive of the dosha that is unhappy. For example, when we eat in a rush this may give us indigestion. Eating on the go introduces more air energy into our digestion. That aggravates the Vata dosha. When we return to regular, more relaxed meals again we may feel better. Vata has been satiated. For now. Make sense?
Ayurvedic Nutrition for Women
Ayurveda nutrition for women’s health and wellbeing is all about embracing a holistic approach to food. It’s about finding nourishing foods that not only provide sustenance but also support focus, energy, and mood throughout the day and throughout the month. In addition to choosing the right foods, practicing mindful eating is crucial as it helps us develop a deeper connection with our bodies and nourish ourselves regularly.
Ayurvedic diet is a personal journey meaning that based on the state of your doshas (balanced or imbalanced), you may need foods that are balancing to that particular dosha. Ayurveda also teaches us to make seasonal changes to our food so we’re not eating the same thing all the time. Our needs change along with the changes in our environment. For example, we tend to eat more cooling fruit and salads in the Summer and more warming, comforting foods in the Winter. You’re probably already doing this!
The Best Foods for Women’s Health and Wellness
If there’s anything that Ayurveda has taught us is that wholesome nutrition is timeless. In other words, Grandma was right. Eat your greens. Eat whole grains. Eat warm meals. Don’t eat foods with mystery ingredients, etc.
Ayurveda believes back to the basics is best. You can’t go wrong with unprocessed, whole foods. For a well-rounded diet, try to get the real deal as often as possible and include foods from each food group every day. Yes, it can be that simple! Ayurveda also favors cooked food because it’s warm, nourishing and easier to digest. Try to eat something cooked every day. Add a cup of soup to your meal whenever you can.
An inclusive diet of whole (unprocessed) foods, healthy protein sources, healthy fats and so on are all good ideas for women. Maybe more importantly, try to avoid processed foods including flours and sugars because they do very little for us nutrition-wise which means we won’t get long-lasting energy.
Why Timing Matters in Women’s Holistic Nutrition
The biggest difference for women’s nutrition is timing, especially menstruating women because we lose a lot of nutrients around our period. Due to that, there is a nutrition cycle that better suits a woman’s body and mind during her reproductive years.
This means you favor some foods during one phase of the menstrual cycle and other foods during other phases. These foods support hormone balance (which is a misnomer because women’s hormones are always changing!). This can be life-changing for women who suffer from PMS and painful, heavy periods including those in perimenopause.
You really can eat your way to a more peaceful period!
Get Our Free Guide the Period Before Your Period: Natural Solutions for PMS with Ayurveda
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Ayurveda also says that the foods you need the most are based on a combo of the balance of your doshas and the current season. Remember that Ayurvedic nutrition is personal and so what works best for your bestie may not be great for you. Everyone has their own special needs based on the energetic makeup of their body-type and imbalances they might have going on.
A Word About Dieting and The Ayurvedic Diet
Women have suffered from the diet industry for long enough. I mean, really suffered! Women need MORE nourishment NOT less. MORE real food and LESS processed stuff. Restrictive diets are generally for those with food allergies and sensitivities. Otherwise, women should enjoy a wide range of whole foods as long as they digest them well and they get good focus and energy in return.
The Best Ayurvedic Herbs for Women’s Health and Wellness
Let me start by saying that there isn’t a “silver bullet” Ayurvedic herb for women. Remember, your unique body-type/constitution? Yep, I would suggest herbs that support your special balance of the doshas that addresses imbalances, too.
Whenever I talk about herbs, I like to do a consultation first because your needs can be very specific. It also depends on the season. However, if there are a handful of herbs that I tend to refer to again and again. That is a whole blog post unto itself. More on that coming soon!
East and West Herbs: Better Together for Women’s Health
I also like to take an East-West approach to both diet and herbs and may combine Nettle with Shatavari and Dandelion with Ginger. Combining Eastern and Western herbs is something I like to do because they complement each other so well.
Please talk to an experienced herbalist first before you start taking herbs. Don’t forget to consult with your doctor especially if you’re on medications that might react with herbs. Your doctors need to know everything you’re taking whether it’s OTC, prescribed or self-prescribed so they can look for interactions.
You can set up a Free 20-minute Discovery Call with me to ask me general questions about taking herbs.
Managing Stress for Women’s Health and Wellness
For women, managing stress may be just as crucial as maintaining a healthy diet. Adopting daily habits that reduce stress isn’t merely advisable in our digital era; it’s essential for staying energized and avoiding illness.
In today’s faced-paced environment, we’re constantly releasing stress hormones, which heightens the risk of developing chronic inflammatory diseases. Stress management is a priority for women in today’s high-stress culture.
For women, who often shoulder the majority of responsibilities in managing work, home, and family, it’s crucial to prioritize health and self-care routines. Understanding that time is limited, it’s essential to find moments for self-care whenever possible.
Here are five lifestyle essentials that can assist women in feeling more relaxed and less overwhelmed.
- Move your body every day for 20-30 minutes (break it up between AM/PM) in a way that’s enjoyable for you. Walk more, take the steps, park further away from your destination, etc.
- Drink a glass of water before you drink anything else in the morning. You might like a cup of warm water with ginger or lemon on cool mornings.
- Take a break at some point in your day to unplug and relax even if it’s just for 5 minutes.
- Go outside every day to get some air and Vitamin D from the sun.
- Have a wind-down routine like pjs, sleepy tea, reading, etc.
- Turn off screens an hour before bed whenever you can.
- Go to bed by 10 PM
Yoga and Meditation for Women’s Health and Wellness
Yoga and meditation are fantastic additions to a woman’s health regimen. Yoga boosts mood-enhancing hormones and maintains both physical and mental fitness. Meditation strengthens the mind in the face of everyday stressors.
Studies show that meditation can do the following:
- Reduce stress
- Manage anxiety
- Manage depression
- Lowers blood pressure
- Promotes emotional health
- Improves focus and memory
- Increases self-awareness
- Regulates mood
- Improves sleep
Meditation is something you can’t do wrong, even as a beginner. Start with brief sessions focusing on body and breath awareness. Attune to your senses and environment. Such simple exercises enhance awareness, a key aspect of meditation. It’s not about silencing the mind, which is an impossible task. Instead, cultivating self-awareness and mindfulness of your surroundings is an excellent starting point—and remember, breathing is important too!
If you want to start a meditation practice, I suggest choosing a meditation app and listening to guided meditations. Listening is an easy way to start. Just sit back and relax.
- I love the Balance meditation app because it has so many options to fit into my schedule like short, guided meditations for waking up, an afternoon nap, a midday refresh, a walk, a bedtime stretch, or soothing music to lull me to sleep. The options are endless! You can even get your partner and kids involved in meditation, too. And, no they are not paying me to say so!
- I also love the Insight mediation app because it’s free and there are so many guided meditations to choose from. Plus, you can listen to my guided meditations there as well!
Sign up for my Women’s Meditation Group on the Insight app.
Ayurveda Courses for All Stages of a Woman’s Life from Reproductive Years to Menopause
Choose an online course that suits your needs and transform your lifestyle into one that supports your health and wellness goals. Why not start today? There’s no time like the present!
The Balanced Cycle with Ayurveda course is designed to assist women in harnessing the power of holistic nutrition, herbal medicine, and lifestyle medicine to naturally balance their energy and hormones, including my top yoga and meditation tips.
The Graceful Menopause course does the same for women who are entering perimenopause so they can experience a smooth transition into menopause.
Enrolling in any of our courses provides you with:
- 6-8 weeks of educational and motivational guidance with instructional videos.
- PDF guides featuring dietary, herbal, and lifestyle protocols featuring my unique East-West approach.
- Webinars to review the main principles and practices.
- Private, secure online client portal (HIPPA compliant)
- Invites to live webinars and events including the Women’s Full Moon Circle
- Option for all online clients to enhance their learning experience through a private telehealth consultation with me, available at an extra charge.
Discover the empowering feeling when you take charge of your health and wellness journey. Receive content in a simple, understandable format to avoid stress and overwhelm – you don’t need more of that!
Let Ayurveda empower you to address the challenges women face, in all stages of life, and cultivate overall well-being from the inside out. All you need is to choose a place to begin. Peruse our many online courses and programs to find the best place to start.
Keep in mind that Her Well Being’s online courses are not intended to replace medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making changes to your health regime or medications.
Take a look at our online Ayurveda courses for women here!
Online Courses Page
If you need help deciding, schedule a Free Discovery Call with Heather to talk about your options.
We look forward to hearing from you!
It’s easier than you think to incorporate Ayurvedic principles into your daily routine to experience the profound impact on your overall health, managing hormonal imbalances, enhancing fertility, and promoting optimum health well into our golden years.
Combine Online Courses and Private Ayurvedic Consultation for a Personalized Experience with a Qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner
Customize your wellness plan through a combination of online learning and private consultation with Heather’s years of expertise with women’s wellness issues and unlock your innate capacity for balance and well-being. You can get started with this article and then decide where you want to go!
Be well,
Heather R. Burkart
Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner
Founder, Her Well Being Ayurveda & Yoga
Please be advised that the content on this website is for education and information purposes only and does not replace advice from a medical professional.
Heather R. Burkart
Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner
Founder, Her Well Being Ayurveda & Yoga
Please be advised that the content on this website is for education and information purposes only and does not replace advice from a medical professional.
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