Amalaki (Amla) or Indian Gooseberry is a great natural source of vitamin C and one of the 3 fruits used to produce the highly revered ‘triphala’ formulation. Amla helps to manage excess pitta in the body, supporting the natural functions of the liver and the immune system
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Amla oil or churna made into a hair pack is especially good at alleviating hair loss and early greyness. It is a renowned rejuvenative and adaptogen for slowing age (vayahsthapana), increasing virility, promoting immunity and inducing balanced health (satmikarana).
'When ojas is low the person is fearful, weak, worried, has deranged senses, poor complexion, weak mind, is rough and thin’ (Caraka Samhita Sutrasthana 17.73). However, a person with healthy ojas is calm, content & peaceful within, has strong immunity, digestion, potent fertility and endurance. There is a sparkle in the eye and a special ‘glow’ around them.
Read MoreWhen discussing wellness habits and routines, you might often have heard of this suggestion to wake up peacefully, without checking phones, socials, emails, calendars. Quite often a part of the 'programming' in modern life will be to reach for a device, sometimes with eyes still half closed. Without giving our psyche, energy, minds, selves a chance to recalibrate to the waking state from the dream state.
We might carry on then, overtly or subtly impacted by what we see - the ticking over our to-do lists of having to be somewhere, do the next thing; the inward groan or twinge of being reminded of something you'd rather forget... the list is endless!
Read MoreGift experiences and not things this season, with an Ayurvedic Health consultation, uplifting herbal massage or oil treatment, Private Yoga Classes or some Ayurvedic herbal goodies
Give the gift of wellness!
Gift vouchers can be purchased online (here) or contact us (here) to place orders and we will be happy to post these pretty little cards out to you or the recipient.
Messages can be customised, to include recipient name plus a little greeting
Read MoreSnapshots of our Spring Wellness Day 2019!
This day was designed to coincide with the Spring Equinox (today!) and provided a space to experience the cleansing and pausing between seasons preceding a Spring routine
We started with stimulating the thymus for immunity and then practiced invigorating and flowing asana (including lots of khatu pranam from the Yoga in Daily Life System) and pranayama, followed by a yummy, nourishing Spring friendly lunch and bliss balls for snacks, magnesium foot soaks and cleansing golden turmeric teas, healing massages, time for reflection and an uplifting yoga nidra
The way we breathe is strongly linked to the way we feel. When relaxed, we breathe slowly, and when anxious we breathe more quickly.
When we inhale we take in oxygen (O2), creating a waste product carbon dioxide (CO2) when we breathe out. With relaxed breathing, the levels of O2 and CO2 we produce are balanced, allowing us to function efficiently. Exercise too leads to an increase in breathing rate to take in more O2 to fuel the muscles, thereby producing more CO2 being expelled, and the O2/CO2 levels are balanced. However, when we are anxious our breathing rate increases and this same process applies but our bodies are not working any harder ie we are not necessarily exercising and not using up any extra O2 and thus the CO2 level in blood concentration drops, creating a state of alkalosis. This is why we feel light-headed, tingly, clammy and sweaty.
Recently, I was sitting in my meditation space and watching the rays of the early morning sun bringing things to life in the room around me. The light flooding through the windows had ribbons of colour as they hit the ground, and there was vitality, freshness and ‘prana’ in the air I breathed in. There is something special about dawn, and I began to contemplate the interconnectedness between living things and the earth’s energy.
Later on, in my desk research I read about a phenomenon known as Schumann’s Resonance, which is like the Earth’s heartbeat - a pattern of electro-magnetic waves that sit between the Earth surface and ionosphere (this is a layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is ionised by the sun and cosmos).
Read More2018 was a year of exploring ayurveda & wellness basics, cleansing and routines. Since then, there’ve been some requests for a few other specific topics which have now become sessions for 2019!
The topics we plan to cover this year will range from ayurvedic philosophy, ayurvedic lifestyle tips and routines, beauty care, gut health, general wellness, mindfulness as well as an all new set of workshops on stress management using ayurveda and yoga.
Read MoreThe start of a brand-new year brings with it the promise of new beginnings, growth, change and good times. While our personal perspectives of the times we’ve left behind may be very different based on the experiences leading to them, most ‘bags’ of experience come with a mix of good, bad, ‘meh’, bizarre or more (insert your word here!)… and the natural tendency afterwards is to push ourselves to increase/ replicate/ decrease/ erase these experiences.
The sentiment to consider in this instance is ‘push’. When we push, we force our energy into what I call the ‘must-have’ zone. The issue with this is if that one thing isn’t reached, it typically creates a sense of lack or disappointment (or similar). That’s not to say that purpose, direction and goals aren’t important; rather, it’s our approach that makes the difference.
With this in mind, instead of the ‘must have zone’ or that one thing, I have decided to take on the yogic approach of adopting a ‘sankalpa’ for 2019, which is similar to an intention. For instance, when life becomes about managing a whole lot of moving parts – family and friends, jobs, relationships, finances, bucket lists (in no particular order!) - most of us tend to multitask for efficiency in juggling these. The end result (typically) is less presence, more detachment, more anxiousness and lesser enjoyment of the ‘journey’ and the task. So this year, I intend on doing less, to do more.
Check out this blog post below with a few more of my thoughts on how to get more done in a day while staying balanced, relaxed and content..
Read MoreWe've had a number of chats about back, neck & shoulder aches and pains with clients in the last few weeks. Aside from being due to a specific injury, this may be due to an accumulation of tension in the area over time, stemming from poor posture. This includes how we sit, stand, sleep and carry our frames in general.
During colder months in particular, posture is impacted by us tightening up and contracting muscles to protect it from cold. The next time you are walking outside, pay attention to your shoulders and back. Many of us move the shoulders up towards the ears, ‘balling up’ and pulling inwards. This moves our upper body and neck area out of alignment leading to back and neck pains over time.