Power of WE Podcast Episode 8: The Mindful Practice of Ayurveda and the Benefits of Knowing Your Dosha and Living Aligned with Nature

Women stretching while overlooking the ocean

I have known Amy Younkman, my guest for this week's podcast, for at least seventeen years. If you've listened to the Power of WE Episode 7 with Austen Brower, you'll recognize Amy as the person who gifted me his book, Gratitude: A Work in Progress. Amy is a bright light who radiates her passion for exercise, yoga, fitness, Pilates, nature and living an Ayurveda Lifestyle. We got to talking about what this lifestyle means and I was fascinated by the idea of living more mindfully not just with the seasons, but also with the seasons of our lives.

Amy shares that she first became interested in Ayurveda - which translates to Knowledge of Life - after reading Autobiography of a Yogi, the firsthand account of Paramhansa Yogananda, who in the 1920s became the first yoga master from India to permanently live and teach in the West. The 1920s! I had no idea yoga had been introduced to the states a hundred years ago!

Through our conversation, Amy explains that Ayurveda is about finding balance in thinking, diet and lifestyle and living in tune with the seasons. In Ayurveda, balance is the natural order; imbalance is disorder. Health is order; disease is disorder. Our job is to find that balance between the two and when we do, we just feel better.

I'm always interested in learning new things and can absolutely geek out over ideas that feel right and harmonious, and the simple things that Amy and I talked about really resonated with me. I hope you enjoy listening to this packed podcast on Spotify HERE or YouTube below, and take away some tips to help you find more balance as you move through your year.

"We're meant to be in rhythm with Mother Nature, it's how we're designed."

Vata, Pitta and Kapha - The Three Principle Energies of the Body

As Amy explains, energy has a unique blueprint or dosha - an individual combination of physical, mental and emotional characteristics - and our pattern is as distinct as our fingerprints. So in the same way that understanding your core values helps to better understand yourself, knowing your dosha is another way to give us knowledge about ourselves.

Vata - The Energy of Movement
Pitta - The Energy of Digestion and Metabolism
Kapha - The Energy of the Bodies Structures

"Awareness is the first step toward change."

Amy's Top 3 Recommendations for Beginning an Ayurveda Lifestyle and Living Aligned with Nature

Many of the principals of an Ayurveda lifestyle and living aligned with the nature are known to us, they're almost common sense. But as we're award, knowing something and DOING something are two completely different concepts. These three are a good place to start:

picture of colorful vegetables at a farmer's market

Shop at a Farmer's Market and eat what's in season.
Take a quiz to learn your Dosha - she recommends this one from the Chopra Center.
Take notice of your sleep, digestion, circulation and elimination.

“In the end, these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” – Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book

Amy's #1 Tip to Balance and Ground Yourself

two women with hands on the head, breathing

If you find yourself feeling stressed, foggy, or just out of sorts, Amy always recommends returning to the breath and becoming aware of the air coming in and the air moving out. Her absolute favorite is alternate nostril breathing in Sanskrit, known as nadi shodhana pranayama. Here's how it's done:

Find a quiet spot.
Bring your right hand up to your nose and place your forefinger and middle finger between your eyes just above the bridge of your nose. Take one slow inhale and exhale.
Place your thumb on your right nostril - with this nostril covered, close your eyes and inhale fully and slowly through your left nostril.
Once you’ve inhaled completely, put your ring finger on the left nostril and release your right nostril.
Exhale completely on the right side and then breathe in deeply and slowly making sure your breath is smooth and continuous.
Once you’ve inhaled completely, place your thumb on your right nostril and release your ring finger, exhale completely on the left side and then breath in deeply.
Repeat the full process five or more times.

“There's a big difference between exercising and mindfulness.”

Amy's Favorite Daily Yoga Pose

For staying agile, mobile and grounded, there's no better daily pose than the Yogi Squat!

This pose is a great hip opener that stretches the groin and glutes and builds strength and flexibility in the feet and ankles.

Amy shows us how, but to meet her there:

Heel-toe your feet to the edges of your mat
Bend your knees and come down into a squat*
Bring your upper body in between your thighs, press palms to sternum & lift chest
Inhale & lengthen your spine
Exhale & root down through your tailbone
Press your elbows against your knees to open up your hips
Close you eyes, focus on inhale expanding, exhale rooting down
Hold for 30 seconds or 10

*If your calves or achilles are tight, you can put a blanket or towel under your heels as Amy is in the bottom photo.

BONUS: What Amy's Reading

Like me, Amy usually has a few books going at the same time, here are two she's loving right now.

I've Been Thinking...Reflections, Prayers and Meditations for a Meaningful Life

by Maria Shriver

Get it HERE

Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself

by William W Li