Know Ya Flow
Women in flow, share what they know. Hear women's stories of how they've grown, what they know, and how they are living in flow.
Know Ya Flow
Learning How to Ground Your Energy - Spring Ayurvedic Practices
Follow Carinne @carinnesmoot on Instagram
Catch one of her classes at Shine Yoga Sundays 9:30 and 6:00 Thursday at 5:30 and Saturday at 10:00
Carinne is back for our last installment of Ayurveda for each season!
We talk a little bit about her and her journey into Ayurveda and yoga.
Practices for the seasons, foods we should eat and well as finding balance in the seasons with our movements are key points. Enjoy!
Welcome to Know your Flow podcast, where women in flow share what they know. I'm your host, Lauren Barton. Join me as we talk to women and hear their stories on what they know, how they've grown and living in flow, and we're back. We're back with corinne today. Hi, corinne. Lauren, so this is our like fifth part series. I mean we had, yeah, because we had one about just like what is Ayurveda and now we had, so maybe it's the fourth.
Speaker 2:Maybe it's the fourth, yeah, cause we had like a what is slash fall?
Speaker 1:Oh no, so this is fifth. Yeah, cause we had that and then, but that was winter too, so I think this is the fourth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Winter that and then, but that was winter too, so I think this is the fourth. Yeah, winter, summer, fall, fall, and now it's spring. And now it's spring, yeah, well, it's funny because I came, yeah, because I came to your spring class. You had it shine last year, I remember. Yeah, I came to it and it was fabulous. And then when I was like, oh, I'm gonna have podcast, corinne needs to be a part of this and we'll do each season. Yes, so we're making good on our word.
Speaker 2:We are Hope you've been following along on our out of season seasonal journey Exactly.
Speaker 1:They're all there for you.
Speaker 1:So if you're in winter right now, and you know there's one for that. So, anyway, so we're here with Corinne today. We're going to be talking about spring Ayurveda stuff today different rituals, different foods to add in, different morning routines, how we change things up, things about the seasons, the qualities, things like that. But before we begin, I told Corinne I'm like let's talk about you for a minute, like you know, because we've talked so much about what you know, but what about how you've grown and live in flow? You know what I'm saying. So, yeah, so like, how did you get into, how did you start practicing yoga? Because I feel like yoga always comes first for most. And then, yeah, how did that evolve? And we can go even all the way up to where you are now yeah, yeah, I'm sure we'll journey along the way yeah, um.
Speaker 2:So I found yoga as a way probably a lot of people find it as like another workout. That's how I found it at first. When I first found yoga I was I think I took my first actual like class class when I was in college. My roommate was in the fitness like branch of college. I was in business management. I should have known like right then, when I met Mandy, that I should have switched to be a fitness major, but whatever.
Speaker 2:So she was teaching classes you know, all sorts of classes like step, aerobics and I don't even remember what else and she was also teaching yoga. I was like, oh well, I'll come take yoga with you, because she needed a person to you know practice with and all that. And it was great, but it was in a gym, like at a college. So it was a very much of like a workout. Yes, we were stretching and breathing and doing the poses and stuff, but it was much more of a physical thing, which I think is a great way. It can bring so many people to their mat and it may evolve from there. Maybe that's the only yoga they get and that's great too.
Speaker 2:So I found it that way. You know, I'd been lifting weights and running and all of the like high intensity, and so, yeah, it was just another way to like work out. And then after college, I found there was a program on TV called like Namaste TV or something like that, and it had these beautiful people doing yoga on, like their mat was floating in the lake or something really cool like that. I'm like, oh, that looks fun. So I started doing that. It was on TV like every day at 530 or something like that. I can't remember.
Speaker 2:Wait their mat was floating on a lake. Well, once you saw the behind the scenes, there was like a platform, like just under the water. And so then their mats were like right on the surface, but you couldn't see that there was like something under there.
Speaker 1:So yes, it looked beautiful.
Speaker 2:The scenes of this show were amazing and they were all very picturesque, or they'd be in really interesting spots, like floating on a lake or out in the middle of, you know, this big green field, and of course, the the people who were doing it were like the most flexible, amazing yogis ever and I'm like, oh, I can't quite do that, but I can sort of do it.
Speaker 2:Um, so I did that for a while and then I got some like DVDs and just did you know whatever random yoga? And then I kind of just didn't do it for a while. And then I got some like DVDs and just did you know whatever random yoga? And then I kind of just didn't do it for a while. And probably back in like 2000, early 2000, teens, like 12, 13, 14. I just felt the need to like go back to a studio and do some more yoga, because I was back into like heavy weightlifting and I was running like three times a week and just noticing that I felt not so great in my body anymore, like my shoulders hurt, my knees hurt. I hadn't done a stretch in like I don't even know how long, because I'd gotten away from the yoga and I'm like man.
Speaker 2:I remember I could like touch my toes and my heels were on the ground and down dog, you know all those like check the boxes of I'm a great Yogi, Um. So I did that for a while and then just felt a calling to like go back to a studio and like have someone teach me. And at that time there were still a couple other studios in Winchester and I was a little snobby and was like I don't want to go to a hot yoga studio because I'm going to have to take a shower after I work out, even though I would take a shower anyway because I don't know what my brain conjured up that I didn't want to come to a hot yoga class. I went to a studio that didn't have hot yoga and loved it. It was so great, I'm like man, it feels so nice to be in a studio. And then I started to find the other like benefits from yoga beyond the physical stuff.
Speaker 2:And the teacher was talking about these weird words that I'd never heard of before. I'm like what is Ahimsa? What is my Satya I don't know how to self-study Swadhyaya and all this stuff. And like what is Pratyahara? I don't know what that means. So I kept hearing all these other words and other things that the teacher was so lovely, lovingly, like, sprinkling throughout the class and I'm like this stuff's pretty cool. I like this.
Speaker 2:I'm feeling good about myself, I, you know, and I was still working out at the gym and there was actually a lady at my gym that had just started taking the teacher training at Shine before I did, and I got the little jealous bug and I'm like, oh, she's doing teacher training. Wait, do I want to be a yoga teacher? Um, and so she told me and this was in 2016, I think when she told me that, um, and she had just started, it was like October 2016. And the shine teacher training had just started in September, so I had missed it. But I was like every time I saw her at the gym I'm like, oh my gosh, how's your teacher? What?
Speaker 1:are you?
Speaker 2:doing and she'd say, like those other words, and I'm like, what is that stuff? She's like, oh, it's like the philosophy, there's other parts of yoga. I'm like there's more to yoga than just on your mat. What are you talking about? Um, so I just got really curious about it and kind of followed through her journey, what was happening. And I then also started coming to Shine and my first class was with Caroline. I was like right up front and we did like a thousand chaturangas and all the things. I'm like I'm going to do all the things. And so I again became a little more workout-y as I lived like through you know this other lady's telling me of the teacher training and I was like ready to sign up as soon as the next one came along. I told Caroline like shortly after I met him, like I can't wait to do your next teacher training. And she's like never met me.
Speaker 1:She's like great you know, I was very um.
Speaker 2:I was a little more excited than I am now about things. You know. Got real, got real worked up was very excited, um. So, yes, eventually kind of trickled my practice over to shine yet to meet the teachers and learn more about hot yoga and, of course, fell in love with that. How?
Speaker 1:often were you going to yoga like, like almost every day.
Speaker 2:Really, I was the person who got like the three month unlimited pass and went to like all the classes. Um, then it was that way, at the other studio the other studio that I started at they had a like new member special 30 days for $30. So I pretty much went every day and tried all sorts of different classes. They had, you know, a vinyasa class. They had a moderately hot class, um, it was like 80 degrees or something.
Speaker 1:So it was like warm, warm.
Speaker 2:Um, and then started doing some other stuff. Like I did a few workshops, you know, on poses. I think I even did like a restorative and yoga nidra workshop at that other place. I'm like this stuff's pretty cool. But then eventually came over to Shine and just stayed there and started that teacher training in September 2017, graduated March 2018. And then Caroline was like hey, do you want to teach a class? Um, maybe, I don't know, and I did and it was great. It was when we used to have the Friday hot. What was it called? Hot happy hour? Yeah, the Friday happy hour was the class that I taught was my very first class.
Speaker 1:I remember when you used to teach it yeah.
Speaker 2:So it was like very much with the vibe that I was still in, like super high energy, more of like a workout versus a mental kind of a practice. But it was so much fun and it was super high energy and I loved it, got hot and sweaty, met tons of cool students, like got to sit in the seat of the teacher which is a very interesting transition when you've always been the student and then, like, looking at students' faces the first time I taught I thought they hated me. I'm like, oh, I don't know why I'm even doing this. Everyone hates me. But they're like that was such a great class, I feel great. I'm like, oh, okay, I guess it's not as much about me as I thought it was, and it just kind of has gone from there.
Speaker 2:You know, I've gone through phases where I practice a lot at home, practice a lot at studio, don't practice very often, just teaching, you know, and took on a couple more classes and then you know the whole world shut down and we, like did no yoga, and so I'm glad that things have come back and opened up and we're. You know I'm still at Shine, of course, but I've, over the years, my practice has changed a lot from feeling like I need to work out to more of like that mental check in and like a time to not really think and just let someone guide me and lead me and like move and breathe and stretch. So I'm much more like I love the hot vinyasa. I love to teach it, but it's not really my favorite class to take anymore. I enjoy more of a slow flow or like yin restorative, stretch myself out. So yeah, that's kind of where it started, way back in the day college in the early 2000s.
Speaker 1:And now here we are. And now here we are. Yeah, and I think you know, for people that don't go to shine, you know in Winchester that don't know Corinne kind of is the what do I want to say? Corinne teaches a lot of classes. Without Corinne, there's not. I mean, yeah, she has the Sunday morning at 930. The Saturday morning at 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Slow flow at 530 on Thursday.
Speaker 2:Slow flow to Yen throughout Thursdays and then just straight up slow flow on Sunday.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so four, yeah, four classes a week. Four classes a week which feels great.
Speaker 2:I'd love to, you know, teach a little more, but I don't want to overfill my plate yet but. I enjoy the variety that I teach and that I can bring to shine and offer to the students there, because not everyone wants a hot vinyasa class, so I'm glad that that's there, but there's also other options.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause the thing about your classes, your classes, in my opinion, if I may, um, they're always very like, very uh, like your Virgo is there, in terms of like.
Speaker 1:They're very like grounding, they're very efficient, they're very like get out of your brain into your body, like. Sometimes I'm like like whoa, I really haven't thought in a long time, like and I think that's the point you feel very not, I feel very like you're not attached at all to my practice, which feels nice sometimes, like to just be able to like go in and move and like that person does not care what I am doing at all, correct, you know, and like I know, sometimes we want to go in and like we want the adjustments, we want the feedback, we, you know it's like a different thing, but for yours, I love and I know that other people feel this way that I can just come and like actually move my body, get in my body. It feels very grounding, it feels very like cool, I did a lovely practice and I can like move on, like it's you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like it's a very like um yeah, it's a very grounding good, solid ass thing every single time and that's kind of the you know what I hope to bring to the class, because I'm basically just there to offer you time and space on your mat to do whatever you want to do, and if it's for you to be more like a workout and you want to follow and do all of the things that are offered, go right ahead. But there's also a really lovely thing to look out into the sea of students and see someone going for it. Someone's adding a couple blocks. That person's in child's pose, that person's on their head. You know, whatever If you're there and in your body, you know, I'd just like to like.
Speaker 2:it's such a privilege which I know kind of sounds, kind of like that's what you would say, but like it really does feel that way like to be there and offer that and know that like there's enough kind of this mutual trust between teacher and student, that like it's okay if you don't do everything and it's also okay if you do everything, and you know I might offer three different variations on your side angle, and you did all of them. Or you just stayed where you were with your arm, you know, propped on your leg, you know. So I like that. I feel like that's something that I have kind of grown into as a teacher.
Speaker 2:It was, it was challenging at first as a new teacher to see people all over the place be like wait, now, I don't know how to tell people to do something else, but it doesn't't matter, they'll. You know they'll figure it out. If you call the pose and they're somewhere else, they'll figure it out. So, yes, I'm glad that my classes come across that way. I also like to practice that way. You know where if.
Speaker 2:I'm in a studio-led class, like, yes, the teacher's giving me all of these fantastic things, but I might not do them all the time, or maybe my hamstrings are too tight. I don't feel like forward folding today, you know so I won't, but yeah, I like. I like that it comes across that way. That's my intention always when I teach is to have it just as an offering.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think the thing with you too, cause you really I feel like show up and like do the things like you really like show up and teach the class and have that like um, and you've been teaching for a long time, so would you say that? Cause I feel sometimes like when you first start teaching, every single time you're really in your head like I don't even know what I'm going to do. This is going to be. Oh, I'm so nervous. It's a big thing Like every time, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And the only thing that changes, that is showing up and doing it over and over and over again until it starts to feel like okay, I think I might know what is going on here.
Speaker 2:Like yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, I feel like I might have something to offer. Yeah, you know, yes, and so I feel like you've been doing it so long at this point to where you really like, have really honed in and are just such a good teacher, like you are such a good yoga teacher, thank you, and I feel like, yeah, it's kind of like Ekeren's like there and low key whatever, but like you really are like such a grounding, like force, thank you, thank you when I try to bring that kind of grounding thing.
Speaker 2:Yes, it does. My Virgo is very strong. She loves to be grounded and held and nurtured and supported and I also have found, through, you know, my continued studies of yoga but also my studies in Ayurveda the world in general is not grounded. You know that up and out energy is always there. Do more things. Make another phone call, send that email, work past five, be there, be the first one, there, be the last one to leave. You know, burn yourself out candle at both ends. Do all the things without any help. Because you know burn yourself out candle at both ends. Do all the things without any help.
Speaker 2:Because you know whatever, like that's a lot and that's how the world kind of is and almost expects that of you, of people. So I like to bring in that like let's tone it down and slow down and you know, come back to our roots and really ground and just like not worry about what's happening out there for the next 60 minutes and stay connected to your breath. You know all those things that help you feel calm and stable and grounded. Like bringing in that you know earthiness that we're all full of, like there's just wind and fire everywhere out there, like do more things go faster, so bringing the the grounding element in there and like, while we're saying grounding, like we're also not just rolling, like in practice we're not rolling around on the ground.
Speaker 1:We are moving quite a bit, you know a sweat does happen, like so many people were like. Oh I just, you know, I don't know if I could do. I've heard so many people say I don't know if I could do yoga, I don't like like slow things and it's like. Well, it's not.
Speaker 2:We're not saying it's not hard, right, you know, yes, we're grounding, yes, we're moving. It might be a little slower, but it's hard to ground. Right, it is hard to ground, yeah, and like you know, looking at you know, and you ground through so many different ways like, no, we're not just rolling around on the floor, but you know, thinking about grounding yourself in every pose that you're in, like feel yourself through your feet, feel yourself through your hands, come back to your breath in your body.
Speaker 2:I like to offer little pauses throughout class or take a moment or two in between. You know right side and left side to. You know pause to ground. To come back to the middle, like, yes, you may know what we're going to do next, but we're not going to do that quite yet. We're going to take a minute and mr whoever's already got their left leg up in the air doing stuff and I'm like psych, psych.
Speaker 2:You're doing this, we're gonna wait. I mean, if you want to go on and stand in your warrior one for three extra breaths, go for it, but we're gonna be in like child's pose or down dog coming back and settling in for a minute so we don't stir up your wind and your fire too much, um. So, yeah, yeah, there's, there's all sorts out there. There's the ones that don't want to pause and then there's the ones that are pausing for extra long and it's all wonderful and yeah and beautiful, because we're not used to it right and even it is a thing I'll just.
Speaker 1:I wanted to come back to you said like a new teacher versus like a.
Speaker 2:you know, I've been teaching for a little while, you know, um, but it was like it was very challenging to try to do anything except for, like, read from my notes when I used to teach and just over time, yes, I'm still a little, you know, like apprehensive when I go to teach, you know you're holding, you're kind of like a big deal, Like you're holding space for all these people and they're listening to you to guide them to do stuff.
Speaker 2:So you know, if I stand up there and say nothing, they're all just going to stare at me, you know. So, um, being more intuitive, like I still have my book of things, but it's more of like an inspiration to whatever the environment is. You know how the class is feeling Like. If everyone's in there chit-chatting and going crazy and like doing yogi bicycles, we might do a little more. But if everyone's just kind of sitting on their mat or laying down, we might have a little less or we might move in a different way. That speaks to that energy that's just a little lower, Because, not that I want you to fall asleep, but obviously doing 10,000 vinyasas when the whole class is starting out in shavasana is maybe not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're like I don't want to do this yeah, um so just learning to like read the read the room, read your students is just. I mean, you can't really tell somebody how to do that, just learn you just learn it true over time, um, and if that's not how you teach, that's cool too, like you know, you do you, but I've, I've found that that's kind of how I've evolved.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure yeah exactly, and then blending, like, what you've learned with Ayurveda into your practices, probably as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love to do that. I try to bring it in in places where I can, because of course you know that's not everyone's jam and you know to talk about, like the five elements and cup of season in class, when everyone's like I just came here to like breathe and stretch, you know. So I try to bring it in where you know appropriate. But that's why we like to do things like this. So then all those Ayurveda nerds who want to come listen to the chat can listen and enter the chat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so tell us a little bit about your training right now and like what you're doing, cause we, you know, are you're a little Ayurvedic queen here, uh, but yeah, what you know, what like background do you have? And tell us about your studies and stuff. Yeah, I know it's fun.
Speaker 2:It is fun.
Speaker 2:So I had heard of like Ayurveda I don't even know sometime many, many years ago, but the first time I actually did anything with it was through my teacher training at Shine and I was looking back at my notes when I had the amazing opportunity of sharing Ayurveda with the newest batch of teacher trainees that we just had. It was a very like full circle moment. I'm like I'm sitting in the same spot that Amy was sitting in and it was January of 2008. That's what my notes said January, whatever, like 15th or something, 2018, excuse me, 2018. You know that's when I first got my actual like let's talk about Ayurveda and like what does that word mean? What is Ayurveda? And so that was the first little sprinkling I had. There was maybe a couple hours and we talked about you know what Ayurveda is and the seasons and the doshas, and you know the laundry list of things you could or could not do for the dinacharya or the daily practice, like your morning routine, your evening routine. You know the laundry list of things you could or could not do for the Dhinacharya or the daily practice, like your morning routine, your evening routine. You know Ayurveda is all about, like the, the routines and the rhythms of your day and your life with the seasons. But it felt very overwhelming at first, which it's kind of like the first time you go to a yoga class, like wow, that was a whole lot of information. I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet.
Speaker 2:So I felt the same way about Ayurveda Like wow, this was amazing, but that was a lot of information and I'm not really sure what to do with all of that, and so I really didn't do a whole lot at first. I think I might have got a tongue scraper and started scraping my tongue. I'm like I can do that Because at that point I was still more on like the regimented, like workout kind of a kick. Like I remember we were talking about the like the um, the diet plan that they suggest us to try while we're in training, where you like eat the fruit for a day or two and then you have like a very simple, you know diet and then fruit again. I'm like I can't do that. I work out, I need to eat more protein than that. Like that was my answer when they asked if we could do the trip, do the, the, whatever the cleanse.
Speaker 1:I'm like, oh no, I need to eat way more than that.
Speaker 2:I work out, I run, I'm like yeah, and I think of myself now saying that I'm like oh, oh that person, love her, love all of her um, like. It reminds me of that poem we listened to at the retreat. Like the thousand versions of the previous you like. We love her. We pay homage to that person, but I'm really glad that I have evolved from her, because she was great yeah.
Speaker 1:But she was doing good.
Speaker 2:She was doing good.
Speaker 1:But yeah.
Speaker 2:So you know, kind of keeping that little tongue scraping Ayurveda thing in my brain and that was kind of all I did for a really long time. And through some you know, random searches, like on Instagram, through some other people I had found through Ayurveda, which I can't even remember how I found them now Probably like hashtag Ayurveda and like whoever popped up on Instagram like I'll follow her, I'll follow her, I'll follow her. So I did. And through those people they taught at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, which is where I then I'm like yoga and health, which is where I then I'm like what's this Kripalu place? So I started following Kripalu and they had it was right as we were coming into. I don't even want to say that word, okay, word, yeah. That time of 2020 where everything was like closed just kidding, nothing for you.
Speaker 2:I couldn't go to Kripalu to one of their programs they had up there, but they were offering a ton of online programs and the program that I first found once they offered all that stuff was Ayurveda for Spring. I'm like, oh well, that sounds cool, I can do that. Spring. I'm like, oh well, that sounds cool, I can do that. And it was like a three Wednesdays for like an hour and a half each Wednesday online and it was a really good price and you got like all of this information. You even got this two hour video to watch before. That was all about like the doshas, what Ayurveda is. So it was really. We got like another intro and then we had the class and so it was the season of spring when we did it. And you know, we had one meeting where we talked about probably what we're going to kind of talk about here, like what does spring and Ayurveda mean to you and the world? And then we went through some self-care practices on the next Wednesday that we met and then the third Wednesday we were in the kitchen with the lady presenting and she made some spring stuff, but we were like in her kitchen with her. So it was really cool, you know to, to watch her do this and at the end of it she's like, well, come back, we're going to have one for summer and we're going to have one for fall or fall and then one for winter. I was like cool, I can check this out, for, you know, three Wednesdays every quarter.
Speaker 2:Um, and so that was my first like true experience with what Ayurveda is and I find that by myself learning it that way was much more easy for me to dip my toes into slowly and kind of focus on one thing at a time, like I just did all whatever the spring stuff that she suggested, and all of you know there were so many handouts and so much information. It was amazing, at least for me who enjoys like learning, information and kind of becoming like grounded in like where I'm going to go from there. My Virgo likes to have things nice, neat and organized and know where I'm, or at least at the time know where I'm going to go. So I just did all the spring things and then went back for summer and fall and winter, and so that of course obviously took a whole year, um, but in the midst of that, after I did the summer one, of course, tinkering around more on Kripalu there was like foundations of Ayurveda. I'm like, well, what is that? I want to know more.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, the Ayurveda bug really got me and it was such good information and it helped me just become more like situated in myself. You know, it gave me like some other things to like do some practices that I think invited me to be more grounded and not so airy and like got to do all the things. And so I then signed up for the foundations of Ayurveda training. It's very similar to like a 200 hour teacher training yoga teacher training where you learn like the basics and it's more about information that you can then use for yourself. So that was in the fall of 2018.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so then at this point, have you pretty much like when you're done with the program you're in now? Is it like you'll be like 500 hours? It's actually a 650 hour. Oh, so, like you'll be like 500 hours, it's actually a 650 hour Plus the oh, so, like total, you think Total is 650.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a, so that the first part like the Ayurveda teacher, yoga teacher training is a 200 hours, so the foundations of Ayurveda, at least through Kripalu. There's other schools and it may be it should be about the same hours but it might be, you know, a little different. But about 200 hours for your foundations of Ayurveda training. And you know, we went back through kind of all of the same things that we had learned spring, summer, fall, winter, because it is very much about living in harmony with nature.
Speaker 2:But then all the nitty gritty stuff like what your dosha is and what does that mean, and you know what, where does vata, pitta and kapha fit in all of these other places like the time of day?
Speaker 2:Where does vata, pitta and kapha fit in all of these other places like the time of day, your time of life, the seasons? So we learned all about that stuff, a lot of the Sanskrit words with the qualities. Ayurveda talks about things in terms of the qualities of them, like heavy, light, soft, hard, mobile, stable, like those types of qualities, and it just really like I don't know, it felt so like just it, like that's what I just wanted, I needed that. Like that was the part of me that felt like there was something else I could do, but I didn't know what to do and like yoga was checking a good box but it wasn't like enough. There was still I just now that I look at it like I didn't understand where I kind of needed, like I needed an avenue of something else, like to do with myself Totally, and and because you do love information, I think that it's a really yeah.
Speaker 1:I think it's a really good thing for you, because it's like that or I feel like astrology is kind of like that, but almost, maybe less, I don't know. There's a lot of layers and a lot of different things and, like with Ayurveda, like a lot of people would not have the patience to like go through all that information because, the answer is always it's. It depends.
Speaker 2:It depends.
Speaker 1:It's so true you need the backing like the well, depends on what this, this, this, this this like so many different, you know, pardon my alarm so many different elements to it and you are the person to like take in all that information and then reshare it and really like learn it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love yeah, I love to read, to learn, to take in information, like I feel like I'm a forever student. You know my swadhyaya, my self-study is real high. So, yeah, and it just I love the information and, like you know, it depends when you look up, you know, google or search or wherever. Even if you go through like another yoga practitioner or Ayurvedic practitioner, it's still it depends because, does that, or just because it works for Lauren, is that going to work for me? Well, I don't know, probably, but maybe not. Um, and so there was always this inquiry like, well, I just need more information, I just need more information, I just need more information. Um, but you can only get so much because it's like yoga.
Speaker 2:I mean there, you know, yoga is just the term that we, you know, kind of call the entire like philosophical system. You know, yoga is just one of the paths or one of the limbs, asana. So Ayurveda is very similar in that it's this huge forest of information. You know, the asana, the yoga, is just one part, like your vata, your pitta, your kapha is just one part of this Ayurveda forest. And so I just felt like I needed more. I needed more, I just wanted to know more, like I want to understand myself more, so where do I keep going? So that was kind of my intro there. And then I was going to sign up to take the program that I'm taking now, which is Ayurvedic health counselor training, similar to a 500 hour yoga teacher training. But when I get finished with this part of the training I will have accumulated 650 hours of Ayurvedic study to be an Ayurvedic health counselor.
Speaker 1:Um, I mean it's like four years, it's like a call, like a whole college. Oh, yes, the whole thing is yeah, I feel like I'm a college student. There's since like 2020. You started, yeah, and now it'll be like 2024.
Speaker 2:And there's more. I mean I'm going to take a big pause for now because there's a lot of things I'd like to actually put into practice now that I feel like I have enough information. But yes, I mean it can go on and on and on and on and on. You know, kind of like your yoga studies, your yoga practice. It can just go on and on and on and you find out all of the other things like yamas, niyamas, you know, pranayama, dharana, all the things. So, yeah, I was going to take this program that I'm in now in the summer of 2022 to something like that, 2022, 2023. But they didn't offer it. There wasn't enough enrollment. I'm like, well, I really would like to do something. I've kind of thought that I had this time laid out. So, a little more.
Speaker 2:You know me searching on the Kripalu website. They had this really cool program called Uniting Yoga and Ayurveda. Well, that sounds awesome, but it was through the yoga branch of Kripalu. So I ended up by accident getting another yoga certification after I did that. But it also continued on my Ayurveda journey. So that program I had a really amazing teacher. Larissa Carlson is like she's one of my favorite Ayurveda people. You don't follow her on Instagram, larissa Hall Carlson. You should follow her, she's so great. Um, she was one of our teachers for that and we spent a week at Kripalu learning how to teach yoga or do yoga things that had a influence of Ayurveda, like for the dosha or for the season.
Speaker 2:So we spent a couple a weekend online, a couple days online, learning about kind of more of the nuts and bolts, the philosophical part of of that. You know, the Ayurveda care for yoga teachers, like what are some Dhinacharya things that are good for yoga teachers, with all of our you know use of expression and holding space in front of people. But then also, how would you teach a Vata balancing you know yoga class? How would you lead a Pitta balancing meditation? How would you lead a Kapha balancing pranayama? So all of those different doshas with all of the different types of yoga that you could do, or you know practices that had that you know the balancing qualities of the season in there. So we spent a whole summer working on that and then that was done and then this program came back again and there was enough enrollment, so I started this one in like August, september, ish of 2023 in it.
Speaker 2:Now I graduate the end of May and I will be an Ayurvedic health counselor. Yay, so you know all in that like health and wellness kind of a thing, but with the lens of Ayurveda. So everything that I do when I work with people and I've, of course, continued to incorporate it into my own practices and teaching Like, how would like, when you get that it depends answer well, who do you go to to find out what it's depending on? You can come to me and tell me all of your things and we'll figure out what your answers depend on. You know, depending on your lifestyle, your diet, what things you want to work on or not work on. Or you know if you just want to like, add in a new habit or live more with the seasons.
Speaker 2:You know there's so many things that we are now learning through all of this information that I've been absorbing for years. How do you apply? It is how we're going now, and so that'll be in like the first kind of level, and then there can be, you know, ayurvedic practitioners, ayurvedic doctors. You can keep going up the line, but we're going to take a nice big pause after this one and actually do some like apply, yeah, do some actual practice and see some people and put all of this information into practice and continue to share the Ayurveda love in this little corner of Virginia and continue to share the Ayurveda love in this little corner of Virginia.
Speaker 1:What do you think is the biggest way that Ayurveda has like the practices and stuff that have changed your life?
Speaker 2:So many things. I think a big thing is allowing me to be more kind to myself by just learning about myself. More kind to myself by just learning about myself more and the parts of me that I didn't feel great about, learning to love those parts, but also how to make those parts of you feel better I, just through studying I'm, you know, resonate more with, like the Vata Pitta energy. I'm still kind of torn as to like which one rules. It just depends, just depends, but it depends look at that um, but you know the vata and pitta dosha don't have any grounding.
Speaker 2:They don't have any earth in their elements, like vata, the ether and air, and then air and fire for pitta.
Speaker 2:So there's no grounding. And so I always once I realized that it kind of made everything make sense for me, like why I always, once I realized that it kind of made everything make sense for me, like why I always felt very like revved up, very energized, very in my head, like emotions and thoughts always going up, you know, I felt kind of like anxious and nervous and I would get, you know, frustrated and irritated, like all super fast, all the time, you know, with work or even with like just trying to teach a yoga class, like if it didn't feel like I could come up with the right sequence, I would get all in my head about it and then just knowing that the elements of earth and water weren't as present in my physical makeup, in my constitution, in my property, so what are ways that I can bring that into my life that will then create this like more balanced human interacting with the world, who doesn't always feel like the energy is going up and out?
Speaker 1:that is. So the up and out thing is huge. We talked about that at our retreat last weekend and you're talking to me and hannah about how like we're like doing things all, like talking all the time and like doing, you know, actually up and out action all the time, and I totally feel that way too, as very like I can get very frustrated and irritated like easily. And the up and out thing makes so much sense and how like just in our world there's nobody's, not nobody's, there's not a lot of grounding you know Correct and it's.
Speaker 2:You know, do more, be more, attain more, buy more, get more, earn more, more, more, more, more, more. Like this very up and out energy, like the, the winds of the body, you know, move in different directions and you're like that up and out is your Udana Bayou, like just one of the movements of the wind in your body. And it's good to go up and out because it also governs your exhale, like you want to be able to exhale, like that's a good thing too. But if there's nothing for that to like come into, it just will spout up and out. And that can happen with the world we live in.
Speaker 2:A lot of talking or just using of your expression. You know you're listening, you're watching, you're talking, you're using your hands, like with what you do. I mean lots of people do that. And if you're talking you're using your hands, like with what you do, I mean lots of people do that. And if you're spending time like looking on screens, you know that's also pull your eyes, you're pulling it all your senses, so all of your. It's like your exhale, just like that upward, outward energy that's great to breathe out, but then it's like there's nothing for it to settle into.
Speaker 2:You know you need to like, ground your prana, tap into your apana. You know you need to like, ground your prana, tap into your apana, you know, get into those in and down, down and out things. And that's hard to do because everyone wants you to do more, you know. Or your boss wants you to do more, your friend wants you to do this thing, or your spouse wants you to do this thing, or your kids or your pets or whatever, pulling you in 10,000 different directions. So finding ways that work for that person to ground them even if they have, you know, a lot of that in them, the world around you is not is very like yeah, exactly very like up and out the energy moving.
Speaker 2:You know the wind's just going everywhere, having nowhere to to go, and like stoking that fire all the time. Like you get those fiery emotions like rage and irritation and frustration. You know that fire just spreads and if there's no grounding for it, it spreads up and out. And frustration. You know that fire just spreads and if there's no grounding for it, it spreads up and out and the wind goes behind it. You're like this hot tornado, just like in the world.
Speaker 1:And I, yeah, and I feel like what's cool too is that Ayurveda offers so many ways to bring it in throughout your whole, entire day, not as like a separate occasion to bring it back down. You know whether it's just like you know by movements, or you know just, I don't know. Yeah, like give us the yeah, the example like I'm thinking about, like, even like rubbing body you know rubbing your body or like you know, yeah, that can be great.
Speaker 2:Like you physical grounding things where, like you feel your feet on the ground, you feel your seat in your chair. You know you could take some deep belly breaths, that like diaphragmatic breathing, where your belly like inflates when you breathe, like you, and then you exhale and the belly comes back in, like taking a few grounding breaths, either seated or standing, you can put your hands like on your lap or, you know, put your hands together. That can be great. You know, taking a break from the screen can be great, like literally closing your eyes or doing that thing where you like. Look 20 feet away at something. What is it? Look away from your screen every 20 minutes at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds, some 20, 20, 20 thing. Like giving your eyes. You know, a break can be a good way to ground.
Speaker 2:Of course, food you eat. Yeah, having like warm cooked drinks too. Yeah, like instead of grabbing like a bag of pretzels. You know, airy, light food great little snack. But again, it's a substance that's like dry and rough and has that vata energy. So maybe you snack on like some dates or some peeled almonds or like make yourself a little snack mix that has like some goji berries and pine nuts and raisins and, you know, almonds again, walnuts are really great. Like make yourself a little superfood trail mix. Yeah, anything that's like warm and cooked. Of course, you know kitchery is like an Ayurvedic. You know, fan favorite staple like dolls. And even you know, as we move into warmer months, like people don't always think of like grounding, warming foods because it tends to get warm outside. But you know you could steam your food, you could grill your food. You know saute your food instead of grill your food. You know saute your food instead of using your crock pot or your oven. Find other ways. But like cook your food. You know have a warm food so as it goes in, it's like just enforcing that like warm, nourishing, calming kind of energy.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, and just trying to remove distractions can help you feel more grounded. You know, put your phone down when you're eating, you know. Know maybe you drive without your radio on. Take a walk in nature without your earbuds in. I mean, listen to this podcast before you go for a walk, or you know whatever. You know spending time in nature is good.
Speaker 2:You know obviously like poses if you were a yoga person. You know obviously like poses. If you are a yoga person, you know grounding poses where just more parts of your body are on the ground Child's pose, down dog, even like a mountain pose can be great. You know rooting through your feet. You know little moments like that, finding these like many times throughout the day to reconnect back with what you need. Like most of the time it's something that's like grounded and still, because we're often moving and doing and expressing and pulling in information. Something that invites you to be still and steady and grounded without a lot of distractions can be super helpful and it can.
Speaker 2:Then, if you start to add in like these little mini moments of calm and ease and grounding into your day, you might find that other things improve as well, like maybe you digest your food a little better because you weren't checking your email and scrolling your phone and talking to your friend and you know listening to your kids scream at you or whatever. You know trying to kind of simplify, often the best medicine is the medicine of subtraction. So when you're feeling overstimulated or doing too many things or feeling those, you know, hot emotions or those upward moving sensations like the nervousness, anxious, uneasy kind of panicky sensations are also that like up and out type of an energy, just more from your vata as opposed to pitta with your fiery things. You know, throughout your day you might, yeah, get better digestion. Maybe you sleep better because you weren't so overstimulated all day long that your brain is still looking for stimulation even though it's time to go to sleep. You know, maybe you I found this a fairly helpful practice that someone told me recently that I had already done but didn't realize it was like a thing you know, turn off the notifications on your phone.
Speaker 2:Like you don't need your phone to ding at you every time you get a text or an email or a Facebook or an Instagram or a whatever. You know, do not disturb Airplane mode or just like turn that function off where it like makes a noise when you get a notification no sound, you know, because it's like your brain is almost searching for that information all day long. Like I know I'm going to get a ping, is it? No, no, that wasn't my phone. Someone else is. Oh, but was it my phone? You know. So, like knowing that there isn't going to be a dinging on your phone can help tremendously with lots of things, including sleep. You know we don't realize sometimes that like it's what we've done all day, not necessarily the practice right before bed or not, you know.
Speaker 1:I mean, all of these are just so powerful and like practices that allow us to be regulated human beings in the world, which is very important, to be able to interact with other humans and to be our best selves and just to be a regulated person.
Speaker 2:Because often we're dysregulated and we're like living in that you know sympathetic nervous system where it's just like go, go, go, fight or flight, got to do all the things, or maybe you know.
Speaker 1:It happens so fast. You know like it happens so fast. Even if you, I could leave here right now and we're having this awesome grounding conversation. I, you know, went to your grounding awesome class this morning and immediately I could go out and have an annoying conversation and be completely like off the hook, like I need something to make sure that I can come back down always, like over and over again all the time. So, learning that about yourself and, of course, if it was the opposite, where you can get maybe really sluggish over and over, and knowing how to get yourself back up and out yeah, how to give yourself a little stimulation.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about maybe some of those things in a minute when we come to spring.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, but yeah, like you said, having that annoying conversation but then knowing like okay, when I'm away from that, maybe I take a minute and close my eyes and breathe or look out the window, you know or just also the use of I've been doing this as a newer practice for me, like incorporating a little bit of scent, like having a bottle of one of your favorite essential oils with you and you can even just take a sniff, you know, if you don't want to, like put the oil like in a diffuser or put it on your body or whatever you know. If you know that cedarwood or frankincense or like spruce is really grounding for you, you maybe you keep a little bottle or a little rollerball in your purse or your car or wherever. And when you get done with whatever you're doing a conversation, a lunch, an email take a sniff, you know, give yourself like 30 seconds to just whiff that grounding aroma in and then, like try to go on with your day.
Speaker 1:So we overcomplicate it and while Ayurveda can seem at first like when you start, like you know, tuning in, it can seem complicated. It's actually like not because all these things that we just talked about are very simple and make sense when you hear them and you don't have to do all of them or any of them, but even just incorporating them slowly over years, years time, long time, like oh, that resonates and feels like what I need. Right now. I'm going to take that and incorporating it like and being able to get these and to be able to help ourselves and become like independent of our own health too, which I think is what is huge about this being able to say I'm stressed, I have some things I can bring in.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, exactly, and that's all. It is One little thing. You know, I started with tongue scraping for the longest thing, like that was the thing I did forever. And then, like I had some lemon water in the morning you know some mornings and yeah and then, like just about three months, four months ago, like I started doing the practice of Abhyanga, which is a self oil massage. It took me years, like almost four years, to even think about wanting to do that put oil on my body in like a self love type of a situation. It just I wasn't ready for it, but I had all these other things that worked really well for me and that I really liked and have incorporated, you know.
Speaker 2:And what hasn't worked, you know, I've been okay with letting that sit to the side and maybe I'll try something else, or maybe I'm good with just what I have now. So, yes, it can be so overwhelming, but you only need to do the stuff that works for you. You don't have to do everything that I do or everything that Lauren does, or everything that you know your neighbor does or whoever Kind of like in a yoga class, you know, just because the teacher said side angle. Well, what's your side angle. Is your elbow here? Is your hand there? Did you bind? Are you in bird of paradise, like I don't know? What is it for you? There are 17 options, but you just pick the one that you like yeah.
Speaker 2:Same thing with Ayurveda, like there's a hundred things you could do, but pick the one that works for you and that you can stay with and gives you benefit.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so springtime, though, baby, we're here. What are some qualities of spring? What's the dosha, yeah, what's the vibe?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So spring is governed by Kappa Dosha, which is the water and earth elements. And if you think about, like outside which we've kind of, I think, maybe done this with all our other ones Like if you look out your window, you know we have a nice window here, you know it's spring. Like what's happening? There's new things are starting to emerge through the dirt, through the earth. There's usually a little bit of extra water around, you know there's dew, there's rain, there's fog, there's mud. When water and earth mix together, you get mud. So it's a very grounding time of year.
Speaker 2:But with all things in Ayurveda, you want to be mindful that you don't do too much. Like, if you're a person who resonates more with the Kapha Dosha and you have more water and earth element in your body, like you have more of that building structure. You know you might be someone who has who's a little taller. You might have just thicker bone structure doesn't necessarily mean your body size is bigger, like it could be sure, but it could be that you're. You know, whatever your body shape and size is, but your actual bones, like you, your bones feel like super strong and stable. Like you know, whatever your body shape and size is, but your actual bones, like you, your bones feel like super strong and stable, like you know you've just you're a very solid base.
Speaker 2:You might find that if you were more of a cup of person, that sometimes spring can be like too much for you because there's so much water, there's so much earth, like on top of like, could be a time where you get that sluggishness. You feel like there's too much water in your body, like you might get puffy or feel like you have water retention. Kapha also governs the upper third of the body, so like from your lungs to your head, and so that area is very like, wet and moist I hate that word and mucousy.
Speaker 2:You know which I don't know if that word might even be worse than moist, but you know all of those things when you think of like water and the water in your body, like there's a lot in that area. So this is also a time where there could be like seasonal allergies, that whether you have kapha dosha in that much of a degree, like we all have kapha dosha, we all have obviously bones, we have structure, we have skin, we all have kapha dosha, we all have obviously bones, we have structure, we have skin, we have muscle, we have fat, we have all those kapha tissues. Some of us just have more water and earth, whereas you know, like myself, I have more air, ether fire, not as much grounding, um, but like I love me a good kapha person because they're like strong and stable and structured and like don't get too excited about stuff you know we want to be like it takes like right.
Speaker 2:It's like you're always kind of reaching for that opposite. So for someone who you know might love the spring, if we're coming out of, you know, winter and you were a Vata or a Pitta type, you might really enjoy spring because it's a little more uplifting, it's a little more renewing. A Kapha person would want to tap into a little bit more of that like uplifting, energizing, so they don't have too much of that like increasing, like and feel bogged down or heavy or getting a bunch of like sinusy stuff, chest gunk, you know, just feeling like sluggish and slow and lethargic and heavy. The people that are more in the kapha dosha in their body would want to do a little bit more of those like opposite, renewing, invigoring practices, which we'll get to here.
Speaker 2:But it could feel really nice for those who don't have a lot of water and earth, like myself, like I love spring and summer because there's like earth and heaviness and keeps me stable. But there's always practices that anybody can bring in and you'll just decide like do I need a lot of this practice because I'm more of a cup of dosha and I need more uplifting, or do I just need a a little bit because I don't have very much water and earth in my body. So, yeah, water and earth spring upper third of the body. It also, this kapha dosha governs a certain time of life. I think we've touched on this briefly, but this governs kapha dosha, governs the like your childhood from you know conception through about puberty, because you're in this building stage of life. You're meant to grow and build and get taller and stronger and you know that time of year.
Speaker 1:So we want the young ones to be in touch with their kapha dosha and build and nourish and sustain and grow and and all that stuff it is so funny too when you think about the body types of like children and like when you're like little, and you of like children and like when you're like little and you got like that extra, like little bit of you know fat and like yeah, you're kind of like filled out and then you like go through life and you kind of like change. You're more like strong, like I don't know, I don't know if that makes sense. And then you get older and you're like drier and like maybe thinner, losing, losing weight, you know.
Speaker 2:So In the vata stage of life. Yes, yeah, you said it's exactly how it goes, like we go from kapha to pitta to vata stages of life. So the qualities that are in this season, similar to like if you would think of what earth and water kind of combine to be, they bring stability. Yeah, it can definitely be stuck in the mud, so that can be. You can like get into the mud if you need grounding, but you don't want to get stuck in the mud, you know. So there's that like with everything. It depends.
Speaker 2:It's a very fine line. It's not black and white, very gray, um, you know being a little more oily or like smooth, soft, a little more cool. Not a lot of fire right now, not not always very warm, so you kind of feel that like cool dampness, heavy and then kind of slow or dull because there's no fire to like brighten and illuminate things. So those kinds of qualities are the qualities that kind of are around in the environment. You may feel them more in your body. You know you're a cup of type. Maybe you don't like spring. You know I you're a cup of type, maybe you don't like spring. You know I'm more of a Vasa type. I don't really like winter. Someone who's a super strong Pitta may not really love summer because it's so much of the same quality, just like piling on.
Speaker 2:But spring is so great, I mean it's a great time to like do new spring things. Like, if you need a little more uplifting, maybe this is where you visit some of the activities that you've been doing the same thing for the last six months when it's been cold and wintry. You know you might change up your yoga practice. Or if you do go to a studio and you you know like to take advantage of the options, maybe you pick it up a little bit in your classes, you know, do an extra sun salutation. Go to the next option in, you know, your side angle or your warrior two pose or your balancing pose, to like challenge yourself to kind of shake off any of the, the stuckness, the dullness, the you know heaviness that could potentially be there. So spring's a nice time to like add some variety in your everything practices spring's a nice time to like add some variety in your everything practices.
Speaker 1:Food you eat, yeah, because winter feels so long. Yeah, the change from the crock pot food to the warming grilled food, I mean that's a change in of itself, you know, and like the change of you know laying around and having no ideas and hibernating to waking up, I mean that is kind of, yeah, quite the change really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is quite the change and you can incorporate it slowly. Like that kind of shoulder season, that time where we transition from winter into spring, like that two week where you end one season and then start another, is a great time to start to think about changing your practices. One of my teachers suggested that, you know, in regards to, maybe, food, if that's an easy place for you to start out with, change your you know breakfast first and then change your lunch and then change your dinner. You know, kind of go like one meal at a time and it could just be like if you love oatmeal for breakfast, you can eat oatmeal all the time, but maybe you and of course you still want it warm and cooked you just might change up your spices or the little things that you, you know, add into your oatmeal.
Speaker 2:Like in the wintertime you might've been having, like, you know, some dates and some maple syrup and some cinnamon, very warming and like heavy and grounded. But then in the springtime maybe you use, you know, a little like some chopped up nuts and like ginger on your oatmeal. So you still have the same base but you add a little more like a little more uplifting, a little more warming like that sharp kind of penetrating warming of like a ginger, because there's not the fire, so it'll help like get into the, into the belly and really like feel like you're nice, warm and satisfied I, yeah, I what are like the main um ingredients or foods, like maybe five that you would incorporate into your spring, like whether it's like produce or spices, or as we into spring, like with a lot of the seasons, it always is suggested to lean into the seasonal harvest.
Speaker 2:So, seeing what is available at the farm market and there's so much that's green right now, like all the green things are coming, like all the lettuce, yeah, which is really nice, cause like, yeah, it was all the root vegetables which, can you know, are great for winter but are very like heavy and building and nourishing.
Speaker 1:Ooh. So wait, side note. So think about, if you like, just kept eating those over and over and over again right now in the spring, when we're moving into a season that is like dewy and heavier and you're eating heavy food and that's what the environment is, and then you know you're feeling like mucus and like all of it's going to be heavy, which just shows why it's good to change it, because if you don't, you stay in that heavy food then you yourself are going to start getting heavy, you know, and feeling like ugh.
Speaker 2:Yes, and it yeah, and you might not feel like as good after you eat. You know your hot crock pot meal. You know, in the middle of spring, at six o'clock in the evening, you know the like in the wintertime. You know the, the digestive fire. Your agni is more concentrated, like in the middle of the body, like that's why it's we suggest eating warmer, denser, heavier foods because the fire is so strong in your belly it's like trying to keep you warm and alive so there's a lot more energy there to digest your food.
Speaker 2:Well, in the springtime, you know, as it starts to warm up, the fire kind of, you know, dissipates not really dissipates, but it spreads more throughout the body so it's not as concentrated in the center and you might find it harder to digest those foods or that like you ate at your normal time. You know 630 with my great, heavy, yummy, delicious food. But I'm ready to go to bed at 10 and like I still feel full. Or I wake up the next morning and my stomach still feels full and gross, or like there's a bunch of gunk. Now that's coming up on my tongue when I scrape my tongue in the morning because I've been eating like the same heavy foods for dinner.
Speaker 1:Move forward.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like damp and wet and foggy outside, like, yeah, time to move forward, time to touch. Yeah, get the green things. Um, like all of that green stuff that's that you see at the farmer's market, like all of your bitter greens, um, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, asparagus not a cruciferous favorite vegetable but delicious Like I love that it's asparagus season, it's so nice and and refreshing and a good veggie to cook. And then like peas and what else is coming up Ramps, like that oniony garlicky thing, other onion and garlicky things, like leeks are coming up, little spring onions, so everything's very green. So try, and you know, getting a little green sprinkle in through your food could be good, can be very good. And then like fruits too. You know we're starting to, not quite yet, but getting into the berries, like berries are a very great spring thing to have, you know, and flavors that are. So those would be more like kind of the astringent type of things where astringency is going to help to like draw the moisture out of stuff. Yeah, so that things that kind of like make you pucker a little bit are kind of astringent, astringent, like a little more drying things that are drying and things that are pungent. So each we haven't really gone into this much. It's kind of a whole nother podcast but, like, each dosha also kind of coordinates with one of the six tastes that Ayurveda has Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent, astringent and so each dosha also coordinates with a taste that is either increasing or decreasing. So since we're in kapha, we would want the tastes that decrease the kapha dosha Things that are pungent, or like warming and heating, like spices like ginger, black pepper, lemon, turmeric, drying things that help to draw out excess moisture.
Speaker 2:So you might try like your oatmeal might be a warm oatmeal-y thing for breakfast, but maybe you try like buckwheat or millet or barley instead they're a little more drying of a grain as opposed to like oats are really dense and sticky and you know whatever. You can still have them, of course, but but maybe change your spices like we talked about. And then astringent foods, um, that help also kind of draw out a little bit of excess moisture. So, yeah, those types of things still staying. You know, if you were eating maybe heavier proteins in the winter time, like some of your darker red meats, you might switch to a more vegetarian or like the lighter type of, like white meat, things like fish and chicken and tofu. Well, it's obviously vegan or vegetarian, but yeah, maybe things that are a little lighter in the if you're a meat eater in the meat category.
Speaker 1:I've been feeling that very naturally of like I don't want any like dark meat, I don't want any heavy meat, Like I don't even want meat like chickpeas, like things like that.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh, yes, yeah, yeah, chickpeas are really great now, like all, like the beans and lentils. Like chickpeas, black beans, green lentils, red lentils those are great as well to have on there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are the practices, then, this time of year?
Speaker 2:so again, we want to be mindful with these practices, especially if you're a person who does not have a lot of earth and water in their makeup. So just keeping that little like asterisk over there to the side. The palette out there is very green, which is great. We love green trees, we love the grass, we love all the green foods. But our body takes in nutrition in all ways, not just through actual, like eating food, but what you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you feel on your skin. So when we're looking at all of our green foods out there it can be kind of boring in a way, because that's like all that's there. So, bringing in color other ways into your life, you might get some pretty spring flowers to put on your table, like yellow or pink, gold, red, orange, like those type of colors, and you can bring that in through clothing as well or accessories. You know, I've been trying to wear my spring colors.
Speaker 1:When I teach I dressed like an easter egg this morning kind of with my pink and green or apple blossom.
Speaker 2:If you're a Winchester person and you like your apple blossom, pink and green, great time to start bringing out your pink and your green to go with everything. So bringing in a little more color, whether it's through you know, the clothes you wear, the flowers you put on your table, or maybe you didn't put flowers on your table all winter because there's not a lot of flowers, so you bring in a little spring pop of color into your, into your kitchen or wherever you like to have flowers. If you do practice any type of self-massage that Abhyanga, whether it's the full body thing or sometimes people do, like a localized, you know, put oil on my feet in the evenings or something like that you might change the type of oil from, you know a heavier if you were using like a heavier sesame oil type blend, you might try something that is a little more neutral, like a sunflower oil or jojoba oil, and you could even mix in a little bit of you know. If you love a nice uplifting scent because we talked about some grounding scents, you know you can still bring your grounding practices when you need them, but like as an overall theme, if you like to put you know essential oils or a really good quality you know body butter, or an oil you might add like a little bit of lemon or some bergamot in there, like something that's a little more like uplifting and and refreshing, and you could also bring that with you now, like if you do feel like you're getting a little stuck or the energy does get low right now.
Speaker 2:Maybe you have like in your you know ayurvedic, uh, arsenal, arsenal, yeah, you know you have your, you know your grounding oil when you need it. But then you might also bring along like, oh, I'm gonna pop in like a yummy citrus oil. You know, if I'm feeling a little like bogged down or it's a really like foggy, not so great day, maybe I, you know, use my more invigorating oil today. You could also add in whether you do it all the time or maybe it's just a spring practice the dry brushing and you can either use like an actual dry brush that's made, you know, for your skin, not like the brush you use to brush your hair.
Speaker 2:Don't brush your skin with that so you can use an actual dry brush. Or if you have just like an old like washcloth that's just a little like scratchy, you might use that. Or if you want it to be really fancy and get yourself a pair of Garshina gloves they're a raw silk glove. They look like a little Mickey Mouse hand. They have like three weird fingers on them, you can use that for your dry brushing. So it helps to, you know, bring a little warmth and circulation to the body because things are watery and earthy so you might notice some stagnation of just areas in your body that might feel a little puffy. Or if you're into the whole like lymphatic draining thing, you might amp up your lymphatic draining with your dry brushing and you know, doing it in the direction where you kind of pull things towards the heart and you can pair that with your arms towards the heart too right everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Arms towards the heart legs, towards the heart. Yeah, up towards the heart, too right everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, arms towards the heart legs towards the heart yeah, up towards the heart, yeah, and like circular motions, like you would apply your abhyanga oil, circular motions on the joints, you know, like your ankles and your knees, and then like long kind of up and down strokes. Or you could just do more, like upward strokes on the legs, like the long bones of the legs and the arms, you know, circle on belly, circle on your low back. So you can do that maybe sometimes. I just do that, usually in the spring, like once or twice a week, but I don't usually do it in the winter. But if you were a cuppa type you might do that every day. You can do it before the shower. After the shower there's different like schools of thought. It's like when's the best time to do it? But the best time is when you're going to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't really matter as long as like, if it works for you to do it after the shower, do it after the shower. If it works for you to do it before the shower, do it before the shower. Um, you could also practice, um, the neti pot, where you put, like the water, the salty water, through your nose yeah, clear out your sinuses. Um, and again, that can be a practice you do all the time, or it could just be a practice you do in the springtime, being mindful that if you're totally clogged and congested and there's no air going through one or both sides of your nose, please don't put water up your nose, because there's a potential that it might get stuck in your sinuses and then you're gonna have a lot more problems than you started out with. So, as long as you can like breathe through your nose, you can do your neti pot. And you can get them, like everywhere health food store, amazon, anywhere, any Ayurvedic shop online will have them.
Speaker 1:What is your favorite pranayama practice for spring or for right now? Even in your own practice, if you have one, your breath.
Speaker 2:Well, my own breath practice is always Nadi Shodhana, alternate nostril breath. I just find it very balancing for me. I can have a tendency to get like up and out, and Nadi Shodhana is really nice to balance both sides of the body. It also is kind of like a meditation because you have to pay attention or like you get the whole. Am I inhaling? I don't know which finger's on my nose, I don't know what's happening. So I love Nadi Shodhana all the time and I've been doing it with a little bit of retention on the inhale, where you inhale close off both sides of the nostril. Hold for like a count of four is usually what I do, and then exhale and then start again. Don't know no hold at the end of your exhale, just that hold in between. I like that.
Speaker 2:But the Kapalabhati or Bastrika breath can be really nice for this time of year. It's that like intentional pumping of the stomach, depending on which one you do. One's like pumping in and out, one's just a pumping on the exhale, but they're both really good. So you're getting your diaphragm involved, which is one of the biggest pumps for your lymphatic system, and you you know we want to keep the fluids not stagnating in our lymph system because you need movement, of course, to move the lymph. So those can be nice practices to try, especially if you feel congested in the lungs or in the head, because you're also really like pulling air in and out of the lungs and you might like it might bring up some stuff. You know, you might need to keep a tissue nearby and, like, blow your nose or spit out a little something that you, you know, pulled up with your breath practice and we always, even though it sounds kind of gross, like you don't want to sniff it or swallow it back down, you want to, you want to get it out.
Speaker 2:Um, so those things, um, what else? You know, this could be a time where you change up your activity and maybe do a little more on your activity, like get some actual like water coming out of your skin, like get to the point where you're getting a little sweat, you know, and that can be done. You might just pick up the pace, like, if you're a yoga person, do a little more of the yoga things. If you like to walk, maybe you pick up the pace of your walk. If you, you know what else you could do? Ride your bike, you know, maybe ride a little faster or you take a different path this time.
Speaker 2:You know, try things that are within the realm of what you enjoy, but a little extra uplifting, a little new view, a little something to refresh yourself from that same activity and maybe anchor things like if you're not a person who needs a lot of uplifting, anchor it with a grounding practice so you keep that balance for yourself. You know, kapalabhati, bhastrika are great breathwork practices for whoever, but they are very uplifting, they're very energizing, they're very like clearing the clutter and that can. If you just like I'm going to do Bhastrika for five minutes and then go to work, it could be a rough go for you and the people you work with. So maybe you do a couple of deep belly breaths, do your however long of Bastrika or Kapalabhati and then end it with a few more grounding belly breaths so you get the biggest like bang for your buck in your practice. There you get a little uplifting but you anchor yourself at the beginning and the end, so the energy is still like balanced and contained.
Speaker 1:Balanced, yeah, cool, anything else that you feel like?
Speaker 2:I feel like it's all really good, you know like but you know a lot of the stuff that we've talked about and just you know again, not letting yourself get too overwhelmed, because life is overwhelming. You know, if you're listening and one thing sounds like a great idea, try the one thing you know. Maybe it's wearing your bright, colorful clothes this time of year.
Speaker 1:Putting away like the black. You know the.
Speaker 2:Black Panther suit of wintertime, exactly, and bringing out some pinks and purples in your color, you know. Be more playful. Yeah, be a little more playful, you know. If you are into the essential oils, bring a more invigorating one with you. Or if you have like a diffuser in your house, maybe you change it up with a more uplifting scent. You know, bring some spring flowers in there.
Speaker 2:Try a new type of practice within the realm of what you already enjoy doing. Or take a different walking path, you know, take a different bike riding path, you know, and just be, be gentle with yourself and just appreciate the season for what it is. You know, be curious when things come up, like with all seasons, with all times of life. If you try a new practice or notice a new something, you know, think about it, inquire about it. How is it, you know, feeling to you this time of year? And just be gentle with yourself. Maybe bring in a little more silence and sometimes, like when you go out in nature, listen to the birds. I can hear a bird chirping outside our door right now. So, yeah, another way to use your senses in like more of that sattvic, balanced, harmonious way Take your podcast off or your earbuds out when you go for your walk and listen to the birds and look at the flowers and I think they're all, yeah, really great suggestions, like so many good nuggets.
Speaker 2:Maybe you get up a little earlier in the springtime. Some people say that's a good practice, like waking up probably with the sun.
Speaker 2:The sun looks so great at this time of year, too, in the morning yeah, it's so beautiful and getting up a little bit before like real quick side note before we're done. Like each dosha has a time of day, couple of time a day is 6am to 10am and then 6pm to 10pm again in the evening. So right at that junction of six o'clock it might be more beneficial to wake up closer to that time so you don't have too much of that building earthy, watery time of day Right.
Speaker 2:You know. So sometimes if you wake up at like eight o'clock you might not feel very rested. You're like you cause you've slept into the cup of time of day, where that building heavy energy is just accumulating in the day. Yeah, so you might. Maybe that's a practice you check in with, is adjusting your wake up time this time of year to be a little more early, before too much of that heaviness has started to build. And a way to take advantage of that is maybe that's when you do your movement practice, when there's like the stability of like the world behind you.
Speaker 2:We're just waking up. We want you to like get your good grounding practices in, like the world behind you, we're just waking up. We want you to like get your good grounding practices in, but don't sleep too late. Maybe you get up and like do a sun salutation or like do your two favorite yoga poses, or you know it doesn't have to be a big thing, but yeah, maybe waking up a little earlier, especially if you're a person who has more of the water and element in their body, it might be even more beneficial for them to wake up closer to sunrise this time of year. I it might be even more beneficial for them to wake up closer to sunrise this time of year.
Speaker 1:I love it. That feels true for sure. Like if you sleep until 8 at this time of year, it does sort of feel weird, like it does feel kind of heavier. I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just yeah. The qualities, it's like on top of like. So we're in the cup of season You've slept until the cup of time of day.
Speaker 2:You know like increasing, like you need a lot more of like all the other stuff to help you. You know that might be when you're reaching for like all the extra coffee and all. It was like I'm not awake. Even though I slept till eight o'clock, I still feel tired. Um can be one of those situations. So yeah, finding out your, it depends and what practices to add, what practices to take out or change and modify, and you know, if all the nerdiness really speaks to you, maybe we come hang out in June and we can. I can sit with you and you know Ayurvedic health counseling. We basically just sit with you for like an hour or two and give us a bunch of information about all of your lifestyle, your digestion, your sleep, your food, your whatever is, and I put my ayurvedic lens on and say, okay, these practices would be better, these might be good to take away.
Speaker 2:And then you know you get your own little like ayurvedic direction, yeah, prescription, instead of you trying to like try it all out on your own, which can be really great and you can do wonderfully. You don't have to ever have anybody talk to you about it or sit with someone who's you know but still like me and delve into it, you know but it can be yeah, it can be helpful, especially if you feel like there's too much or you're unsure of just where to go.
Speaker 2:Or maybe you feel like I'm so vata but I'm so kapha and like my pitta's crazy, like I don't know what to do because I feel all of the things you know.
Speaker 1:It's very yeah, it's very helpful. And the intake form that because I was one of Corinne's little practice clients, you know, and the intake form is awesome to do and it really makes you think because it's really thorough, really long, really makes you think about it and it's just. I think it's just so good to have different options in terms of when it comes to, like, your health, and you know different ways that you can serve yourself, and so this is a really great avenue for that, for sure. So that's gonna be really cool.
Speaker 2:It's a great way to like, be your own advocate and and you know, learn more about yourself and like what does and doesn't work, without someone just writing down something on a piece of paper and like here, do this like it's a conversation. A conversation, it's a back and forth and it's, you know, usually something that, yeah, needs, you know, a little followup as we grow and change through the seasons, you know. So so much.
Speaker 1:All right, corinne. Well, thank you so much for being here, as always. Who knows what the future holds, but yeah, and if you are planning on coming to our Know your Flow moon gatherings, corinne is going to be doing our fall ones, so the ones in, I think, august and September, so that'll be cool, so looking forward to that We'll probably see each other in the same realm for a while, so thank you all for listening, thank you.