Ready Set Coach Podcast

The Power of Ayurveda, Intentionality, and The Butterfly Effect with Ileana Gonzalez of Apurva Wellness

• Emily Merrell and Lexie Smith • Season 2 • Episode 108

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In this episode of the Ready Set Coach podcast, Lexie Smith sits down with Ileana Gonzalez of Apurva Wellness to discuss the transformative power of Ayurveda, intentionality, and how small shifts can create lasting change in our lives—a concept she likens to the Butterfly Effect. Ileana shares her journey into Ayurveda, revealing how a spiritual quest led her to discover this ancient practice to cultivate deeper awareness and agency. She explains how small, mindful actions—from nourishment to movement—align the body and mind with nature, creating a harmonious foundation for long-term health. 

The conversation delves into how Ayurveda teaches us to tune into the rhythms of nature, from our daily routines to seasonal changes, to make better, more informed decisions for our health. Ileana also highlights the importance of consistency and mindfulness in everyday life, encouraging listeners to take small, meaningful steps toward positive change. She shares actionable insights, including how understanding your Ayurvedic dosha can reveal your unique needs and tendencies, setting the stage for a more intentional and balanced lifestyle. With practical advice and a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment, this episode is a rich resource for anyone seeking to live with greater purpose and harmony.


Here’s what you’ll learn: 

  • What Ayurveda is and how it connects us to the rhythms of nature for long-term wellness.
  • The importance of intentionality in shaping your health and lifestyle choices.
  • Small, subtle actions—like the Butterfly Effect—can profoundly impact your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
  • Starting healthy habits early can support you through different life stages, including menopause and beyond.
  • Ayurveda’s holistic approach helps balance the nervous system and manage hormonal shifts during significant life transitions.
  • The role of nutrition and movement in supporting long-term vitality and stability.
  • The concept of doshas in Ayurveda and how identifying your dosha can guide personalized health choices.
  • Understanding your circadian rhythm can improve sleep, digestion, and overall health.
  • The importance of mindfulness in everyday activities—how your morning routine affects your night’s sleep and vice versa.
  • Practical tools and tips for introducing Ayurvedic principles into your life, including cooking seasonal foods, committing to consistent wellness practices, and practicing self-awareness.


Listener Links: 



Lexie Smith  00:02

hello, hello. You are with Lex today. If you don't recognize my voice by now, then you are a new listener. If you're an old listener, Welcome back, guys. I'm super, super excited to be leading you through an interview and a conversation with a wonderful guest and a member of the Ready Set coach community today. Ileana Gonzalez, welcome officially to the Ready Set coach podcast. I know the answer to this, but for those who are listening, can you let them know where in the world you are located? Yeah, thanks. First of all, thanks for inviting me and having me. I am in Annapolis, Maryland today. So east coast, very cold, 27 degrees, I think. Come on over to California. It's nice and hot here. Yes, literally, I laugh. I'm like, one of those people that sometimes laugh at inappropriate moments. This might be one of them. Um, if you're tuned in, we are coming to you on january 15 during recording. So there's a little bit of some problems over here in California at the moment. So I had to give I'll give everyone watching too, a heads up that if my connection sounds less than ideal, then I blame the fires ravaging the state. But I digress. Okay, so are you born and bred east coast? Are you a transplant?


Ileana Gonzalez  01:26

Transplant? I was actually born in El Salvador. Oh America. But I came, I came here when I was sick. So basically, yes, born in Brad for the most part, and then I lived. I lived abroad for many years. So I came back to the states in 2011 so I like in this general area where we're in DC Metro. So this is the general area that I've been in since 2011 where else abroad Did you live? I lived in Madrid, Spain for almost 14 years. Wow.


Lexie Smith  02:04

Okay, what brought you there?


Ileana Gonzalez  02:07

I had gone to do a masters. I did an MBA there. And of course, you know, I was like, oh, I'll just be there for two years, and I'll come back. And two years turned into almost 14 years, I just kept looking for excuses to stay, you know.


Lexie Smith  02:26

Okay, so already you're teeing up the most interesting life. So let's do this. Let us start with what you're doing today, and then we'll rewind a little bit. So what is it that you do today? Yeah,


Ileana Gonzalez  02:40

so today, I help women navigate any stage of menopause. So whether you're in perimenopause, and if you know, I always tell, I always tell my my women clients, like, if you think you're in perimenopause, you are like, if you're like, Hmm, I wonder if this has, you know anything to do with perimenopause, then yes the answer is you are, because it's that a time where you know a lot of changes start happening. So I use my my background and my experience in helping women navigate in a in a way that will make them feel stable, in a way that will make them feel confident, in a way that they can get through this stage, in a, you know, in a natural way without feeling a lot of times when women are Going through this stage, they feel really overwhelmed and desperate, because it's like, it's like you're, you're just plugging holes here and there, right? And if you are approaching it from a more holistic view, you're more likely to get through it, um, without feeling overwhelmed and frazzled. So from the holistic side, I use a framework of Ayurveda. So maybe we can talk a little bit about that, because probably a lot of people don't know what Ayurveda is. Let's let's


Lexie Smith  04:13

pin that, because Absolutely I want to get into that, but first I just want to say I do. I am not in that phase of life yet. However, I am recently went through the transition of becoming a mother, and I do feel like that transition in life is very talked about, and there are a lot of resources. What I don't feel like as much attention is what you're focusing on. So I'm really, really curious about what led you to this specific line of work, or this niche specifically? Yeah,


Ileana Gonzalez  04:44

I mean, it a lot of it has to do with what you just said, right that there, there really isn't a lot out there. There are lots of, I guess, theories about why that is so that was, that was a. A major thing. And the other thing is, of course, that's the stage of life that I'm in. And, you know, I came to the realization that I'm really grateful for my lifestyle, the lifestyle that I've that I've really committed to over 10 years ago. And I think that because of that, I'm able to go through these changes in a, I guess, in a smoother way. But by no means I'm saying that I don't feel any, you know, any of the typical menopause things like the hot flashes and that thing. But when you have the foundation of a a routine and a lifestyle, and you're really focused on supporting your you know yourself with nourishment and movement in proper sleep, you're able to really manage the things that tend to dis disharmonize or imbalance the the nervous system, and that's basically what happens when we have these hormonal surges. Right? The hormones are controlled in the same part of the brain as your nervous system, and so when, like, all of these shifts are happening. Of course, your nervous system is like whoa, and it's really looking for that grounding and stability. So by really having that the lifestyle as a foundation can help you get through it more smoothly. I


Lexie Smith  06:38

really appreciate again, that you're deciding to target really an underserved demographic. Would you say that the teachings and lessons that you're you're offering are transferable beyond that demographic? Absolutely,


Ileana Gonzalez  06:53

absolutely, and as a matter of fact, like one of the core teachings is, the sooner, the better, right? And you may have, you may have heard something very similar to this belief that what you do in this decade will impact how you feel in the following decade. So whatever you know, stage you're in now, if you want to keep mobile, if you want to keep active in the next phase, in the next decade, you have to do it now, right? Because it like, it's, like, it's, it's like a snowball effect, and you take it with you. It's not like a switch goes off, right? Okay, I'm 45 so the switch goes off and, you know, I start gaining weight, or I get joint pain, or what, whatever you your symptoms, for lack of a better word, are, um. They don't happen overnight, right? It starts way, way, way before. Um. So the number, you know, the number one takeaway is, yes, the sooner you start, the better. And yes, there it's going to support you throughout any stage of life.


Lexie Smith  08:08

Okay, so you said about 10 years ago you adopted, or shifted or maybe adopted something into your lifestyle. Let's, let's pick up there. What was going on and what happened.


Ileana Gonzalez  08:21

Well, my own personal journey was more of like a realization. So what happened in my case is that I was, I would say, like on a spiritual quest. I guess I had a lot of unanswered questions. I had a lot of things that had never really been fulfilled through my religious upbringing. And so when, you know, I started looking outside of that, and I found that there were a lot of things that resonated with me, and that's initially what drew me to Ayurveda itself, so that I think that is kind of unique, because I don't have the typical story that a lot of other, you know, health related coaches have, where they're like, Oh, I was really sick and I couldn't figure out what it was. And, you know, my my own personal journey was a little different in that sense. But I would say, like the the thing that really resonated with me the most in my in my head and in my heart, was this idea that I have, I have agency over my life and how I choose to live it, and that everything that I do will impact everything else in my life, in so many, you know, in so many ways. And so I really began on this path and this commitment to be very cognizant of that and be very. Where, and not just mindlessly, you know, I'm just going to do whatever because it doesn't matter. You know, blah, blah, blah. I decided to really commit to the idea that, no, actually it does matter, because I'm going to, I'm going to pay for it in some some form or another, right? My body is eventually going to say, no, no more


Lexie Smith  10:22

the butterfly effect, which I deeply believe in, exactly.


Ileana Gonzalez  10:26

And it's so funny that you mentioned that Lexie, because that is probably one of the most truest statements, as far as Ayurveda, because Ayurveda is a natural science, so it follows the laws of nature. And one of the most important laws of nature, of course, is that nothing happens in isolation, that everything is affecting everything else. And that's exactly what the butterfly effect is about, right? Yep. And even more impactful in the sense that it doesn't even have to be like a big thing. It could be a little, tiny thing, and a lot of times it is. It's very subtle, which is exactly why it's a problem, because we are not aware of it, because we're running around all the time, we're busy, we're, you know, we have work and our in our family and all this other stuff. We don't have time to pay attention to the little details that our body and mind are trying to tell us, either that or we're like, oh, you know, it'll, it's okay, it'll, it'll kind of go away. And that's what I meant when I said before. It's like, you don't just wake up one day. Yeah, right. So these things are, they're, they've been happening for a while, and so going back to you know me personally, I think that that was like, the biggest thing is that I am responsible, and I will, I will be very, very intentional in how I feel, because I do want to stay, you know, mobile and active, and I want to feel good for as long as possible.


Lexie Smith  12:14

There's so many moments of what you just said that I want to call to first. I want to appreciate your journey into coaching, something that Emily and I have reflected on a lot are and have really experienced having a coaching community. I think coaching is such an interesting career choice, and usually people start somewhere else. There are different ways to get in here, like my way into coaching was very different than hers, and your way into your practice might be different, to your point, than someone else's, and I think that's what makes almost every single coach or advisor, whatever you want to, some people get hung up on on titles, but what makes them have such interesting and fascinating stories? Something else that came to my head about the butterfly effect, which maybe will resonate with a listener or two. This is another way to think about it. My husband will often get really frustrated. He is a very, very different brain than mine. It's very he's an engineer. It's very literal. And when I get annoyed about something, or I bring something up in a fight. He's like, where is this coming from? I'm like, little things compound over time. Not every little thing operates in isolation. So I just had to bring another kind of tidbit in our where in our world. Yeah, that comes to light. So let's go into you kind of started us off on what Ayurveda is, but let's bring that full circle and really get into that now.


Ileana Gonzalez  13:44

Yeah, so as I said, it's a natural science, so its main goal is to connect back to nature, which means that really all the answers to how we can live our life are in nature. And so the teaching really begins with this awareness of the nature around you and the nature within you. So it's this microcosm and the macrocosm are together. We've heard this in many different ways. For example, we've heard as above so below. We've also have heard the the now we know it's a fact that our cells have the same they're made up of the same components as the stars right the nitrogen, oxygen. And the third one that I always, I always forget a carbon, carbon, like I have


Lexie Smith  14:48

no help here,


Ileana Gonzalez  14:49

carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. And so, if, like, if you were to take a little, teeny, tiny portion of a star and put it next to. To you know that little, teeny, tiny portion of our of our DNA, it's basically the same, the same thing. And this is the foundation of what Ayurveda has been teaching for 1000s of years. And why is this important? First of all, because we can learn a lot about ourselves through nature. We can learn about things like the butterfly effect and how everything we do impacts everything else, right? There is nothing in our life that is not directly impacting something else in our life, and in that way, we learn to be more intentional about everything in our life, everything coming from the outside, and also the things coming from the inside. So we always we use nature as as our guide, as our teacher, to tell us what we need. So for example, in the if you were to go to a farmer's market in in in the fall, right? If you go like in October, November, you'll find things that are very grounding, things that require heat to to cook, things that are going to be very nourishing for your body, because it's it's winter, at least where, you know, where I live, maybe not in Southern California. Where do


Lexie Smith  16:25

you live? We're weird. We can just put aside.


Ileana Gonzalez  16:31

But if we, if we pay attention to that, then we, we understand that that's what our body needs. As this season, you know, changes, whereas, if we, if we were to go in the spring, in the summer, we would find things that it's okay to eat raw, where, you know, you don't really want that kind of food in the in the winter months, you're it's, you would see, like, a lot more different colors. Like, in other words, we can, we can use nature as a way to understand like what it is that our body is needing in every season. One of the biggest ways that we come back to nature is by following the what we what in modern in modern times we call the the circadian rhythm, which is basically that rhythm of the sun and the moon right the the dark and light which every single time of the day is informing our brain, or it's informing our nervous system, as to what physiological activity needs to happen. But what happens is that, because we have, you know, artificial lights, and because we can do anything at any time of the of that 24 hour cycle over time, it becomes disrupted. And we have a term for that now where they're called lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart heart disease, which is the number one killer in this country, people die from heart disease that is a lifestyle disease. A lifestyle disease is something that is caused when you're because of that circadian rhythm disruption. So anyway, these are just some examples of how we can really use nature as our ally for long term health and well being, but you can only do this when you're intentional about it, right when. And


Lexie Smith  18:33

I know we're, yeah, we're barely scratching the surface of your brain right now. So I'm very curious, high level. How does this come to play in the or when you work with people in the practice? So what exactly are you, are you doing with an individual in your practice? Yeah,


Ileana Gonzalez  18:52

that's a great question. Usually, they will come to me with a like, a complaint, right? I'm not sleeping well, or I have XYZ digestive problem, which, by the way, these are, like the common, you know, the most common things, right? And so we'll deconstruct that and kind of work backwards. So let's just say, Okay, I have, I have sleep issues, right? But I want to know everything that happens leading up to your sleep, your bedtime. And then I want to know everything that happens like when you wake up, because, again, like everything that you do is impacting everything else, right? So actually, the way that you wake up in the morning is going to impact the way that you go to sleep at night. And then again, like the way that you go to sleep in that night is going to impact how you wake up in the morning, right? So I basically want to deconstruct everything that happens in your in your routine, and then together, we decide if there's, like, the. The the thing right, the one thing that you can change right now that will gradually help you sleep better. And that could be anything from like, don't drink caffeine after 9am or, you know, don't have a heavy meal before you go to bed. Or maybe it's, it'll be try this herb or avoid this, you know, avoid this food. So there is no cookie cutter answer of course, but it's basically finding a feasible, reasonable and sustainable shift that you can start making in your lifestyle that will have that impact, that will have that butterfly effect, right? Because if you change the one thing, it's impossible for everything else not to change as well. And eventually, we want to be in a place where you're following that routine in a very natural way, because that's what's, that's your foundation for aging, that's, that's what's going to take you into, you know, the long, long, long term.


Lexie Smith  21:16

So first off, guys listening, if you are like, wait, wait. Let's go deep, deep, deep into this topic. We will include all of her resources and links and website in the show notes. So I really encourage you to reach out, but I do want to take a minute and flip your hat for a second, right? So we talked a lot about you as a practitioner, and I want to talk a little bit about the business side, something that Emily and I have reflected on is there are certain types of coaches who have a, I guess, a less challenging time going to market or selling or marketing their services. Usually, you know, a business coach feels pretty, pretty clear to most people. There's an ROI when we start getting into the less tangible industries, or the health related industries, we hear a lot more stories. And I am just curious about what your experience has been overall. Because even though Ayurveda, to your point, has been around for 1000s and 1000s of years, I don't know. Is it something that everyone knows and is looking for, and you're, you know, it's a flood of everyone knows that's what they need. Or has it been a challenge?


Ileana Gonzalez  22:29

I love that question, because I can totally relate to it, and you have to understand that I started, I started my practice in 2011 nobody knew what Ayurveda was back then, and that was such it was like, probably the biggest hurdle I had to, you know, had to conquer. Because, you know, how do you explain something so profound to somebody who, who's never heard of it. Now, of course, 14 or it'll be 14 years in April since I started, so 14 years later, I'm totally aging myself. Now, yes, I would say maybe 75% of people they they would say I've heard of it, or know a little bit about it. So you know that wall has come down considerably, and to the point where I meet, I meet more and more people who have had some exposure to Ayurveda. So if I were to start my practice now, I think that I would have a head start in that, in that space. Having said that to this day, I still don't know how to, like easily explain it to people without


Lexie Smith  23:57

it's challenging. It's yeah,


Ileana Gonzalez  24:00

to this day, it's still a challenge. But I I'm really, you know, hopeful and optimistic and happy about the headway that Ayurveda has made. In that sense, one of my teachers actually happens to be the first person to have brought it from India to the the West, and definitely to the to the states. And if anybody's interested, there's a, there's a sweet little documentary movie called the doctor from India. And it's the story of him, Dr Bassett lad, and how, you know, this was in the, probably in the 70s, sometime in the 70s, and he would literally, like, drive around from, you know, city to city where his students were, that that would invite him. And I remember once he said, like, the first talk he ever gave, only one person showed up, right? And I can totally. Relate that to that, because that's happened. You know, that happened to me as well. It's like one the one person shows up. And I think this probably happens to a lot of coaches, where, in the end, like, just the impact of that one person is really, that's what you want, right? Like, that's like, it's in your heart, and it's not about like talking to a a crowd of 500 people, because in the end, you're that the impact that you make to that one person is going to be greater than the five the room of 500 people, right?


Lexie Smith  25:35

Yeah, I think that's a beautiful mindset, and it really shows that you're in this for the right reasons, and for, you know, the impact of it all. I you know, in 2024 actually, it's 2025 Geez, that happened. What has been something I'd say in the last year that you have found successful in getting out. I mean, are you at maybe it's even 14 years in, your whole business is run on referrals at this point. I just would love to know kind of what has worked for you in the last year? Um,


Ileana Gonzalez  26:12

yeah, for sure, the referrals are the biggest, and they always happen from the from the beginning, the word of mouth and referrals have been the engine of, you know, of my, of my business in the past, in this past year, I would say, and probably you know, that, like during COVID, of course, this was, this was very different. But in the past year, I would say, like, the more in person, hands on, you know, like face to face with people, talking to them, maybe showing them a little bit about because there's, there's a I also offer a therapy. It's a very specific Ayurvedic therapy. It's energy therapy. And you you like, touch certain parts of the body with acupressure, and just like, showing people in person what what that is, and how it feels. And, you know, let them experience I think that's that's helped a lot. I think maybe people are, are ready for that once again, right? Yeah, they're, they're really craving that the in person experience, well,


Lexie Smith  27:28

especially for something that your craft, that I feel like in person versus sitting behind a screen, yeah, makes such a such a difference, whereas someone in, you know, a situation like mine, where I do more public relations and business development coaching, yes, in person is has its benefits, but I'm not needing to touch, you know, as I touch the camera, touch anyone to get my point across, right? Yeah, okay, well, thank you for sharing that. And I know, again, we're barely scratching the surface here, but at the end of every Ready Set coach podcast episode, when we have a guest on, or if it's just Em and I, we wrap up with homework. So and what I mean by that is we like to give our listeners a piece of homework. And we could go a whole lot of different ways here, and I'm fully putting you on the spot. That is the nature of the show. That if someone wants to, maybe it's begin their Ayurvedic journey, or what have you, what would be their first step or a piece of homework you can offer to them today? Wow,


Ileana Gonzalez  28:34

there's so many different things I'll mention a


Lexie Smith  28:40

couple. Okay, those, those extra credit that counts. That's


Ileana Gonzalez  28:44

right, because depending on which one you do it, it will take you in a, kind of like a different direction. So the first thing they could do to kind of like, wet, you know, wet their toe into the vast ocean of knowledge that is Ayurveda. You go to a website called Banyan botanicals.com that's Banyan like the tree B, A n, y, a n botanicals with an s.com and first of all, they have a ton, a ton of just information about Ayurveda, but there's a section, there's a little button somewhere on that, on the site that says, take the dosha quiz, and you enter that quiz, and it'll it'll walk you through a series of questions, and at the end, when you finish the quiz, it gives you The result of what your dosha is. And this is, like the most, I guess, well known part of Ayurveda. People will always like, Oh, this is my dosha. Or I really want to know what my dosha is. And a dosha is basically a it's an energetic template of what your your constitution is, what your own. Nature is. And why is this important is because it predefines the your tendencies. It predefines your patterns. And so this is, like, a nice starting point, but it's also a rabbit hole, because then you're going to want to, like, you know, discover more and more and more and more and more you'll have. You'll have, you'll have more questions than you will answers. After I was


Lexie Smith  30:25

gonna say I know what I'm doing, after this podcast recording, you'll


Ileana Gonzalez  30:28

have a lot more questions and answers. So that's one thing. The other piece of homework is to really think about what your what your commitment is in terms of your lifestyle, right? Are you somebody who is actively and intentionally making choices that will support your long term health and well being, or are you just kind of like, you know, whatever like, if you you and that's and wherever you are is fine. Wherever you are is fine, but you you, you must understand that it will have an impact at some point in your life, sooner or later, for better or for worse, it is going to impact you, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It will have a it will have a way to manifest itself. So there are lots of tools. And this is, this is why Ayurveda is so beautiful. Is because there are so many tools at your disposal that will allow you to, you know, start that journey into being a little bit more intentional and mindful. And it could be whatever you want. You can focus on one thing you can focus on, I'm going to I'm going to cook one meal a day, or I'm going to go to a yoga class, or I'm going to go for a walk, like, commit to something that brings you joy and be consistent with it. And observe, observe what you know, what what happens and what it brings to to you.


Lexie Smith  32:10

I love both those homeworks. I think that's phenomenal. You get gold stars on your homework, giving skills. What last question I have for you is, what is, or where is the best place for people to connect with you, to learn more about your practice. Yeah,


Ileana Gonzalez  32:24

well, definitely. My website, aprovo wellness.com, and I know you said you would include that in the show notes. I'm on Instagram. I have to, you know, admit that I'm not, I'm not very active. I'm kind of like on my own little social media cleanse these days, but, you know, I'll come back to it at some point. So those are the two best ways I you know, I'd love to answer your questions if you if you do decide to either take the quiz or to think about your you know your lifestyle commitment. I'd love to to know the answer so you can send me an email. It's my first name, I L, E, a n, a at a poor wellness.com and, yeah, that's those are the three, the three big ways to get into perfect,


Lexie Smith  33:18

perfect, perfect. Well, you guys, thank you, as always, for tuning in, and thank you so much for all of the knowledge I know. Again, we barely even like cracked to the code. So you guys follow up with her, connect with her in the community. If you're in the community, if you're not in the community, what are you doing? Get in the community. And we'll put all the links in the show notes, per usual. So until next time on The Ready Set coach podcast and.