Let's keep talking about Ayurveda

[Kimberly]

Building on our time together focused on Ayurveda, what realizations did you have about your daily habits? Personal practice? Any changes you’ll be making? How will this knowledge help you as a teacher?

[LAD92761]

Lori
I absolutely loved this topic and am fascinated by it. I had several realizations first and foremost, FOOD! My first focus is on schedule and when to eat, really sticking with this plan. Secondly, the mindful eating blew me away meaning I realized I have completely not been mindful, which is most likely why I continue eating after a meal. Just putting the breath, smell, chewing and focus behind dinner last night left me more than satisfied. I’m seriously considering Ahisma in my food choices, last night was completely vegetarian which we planned but after the class I had a whole new view. And I noticed a difference in the way my digestion worked this morning as well as my scales. Therefore I’m putting a plan in place based on clock, choices AND mindfulness.
SLEEP! So after my first Ayurveda workshop I was focused on my sleep pattern. Then I lost focus. The clock and my mind indicates my problems are not sticking with the plan. I’ve worked up until bedtime reading classwork and researching class designs, so my mind goes to be completely not ready to rest. So I’m sticking to my plan from the Ayurveda clock and will keep 6-10 pm sacred. I will use 2-4 for planning as well as early morning.
Practice: I’m heavy Vata right now, unbalanced, which I believe is why I don’t have a consistent practice plan. Lately every week is different, either type, time or place. I need to get a practice plan together which I believe will help with my balance. And I will work on making sure I have Kapha and Pita classes in my weekly plan.
I am considering taking Kathy’s program to help me on my balancing, food choices etc. I think that enhanced knowledge will help me more.
I am now working on how this will help me as a teacher. My thought is how to creatively bring bits of this knowledge into each class to use as weekly learning lessons for my students. Thinking ???? that through now. Thank you Kimberly for such an amazing day!

[regmarlew63]

In learning Ayurveda, I realize I need to start rising much earlier in the morning. (my nighttime routine, is pretty good)..I need this to get my agni firing up to set up the rest of my day for better digestion. I understand how important drinking my water at room temperature, is for better digestion. I also found out I need to incorporate more heart pumping exercise and asanas into my practice.
I would love to have these findings become a strong habit and natural in my daily lifestyle. So, my plan is to make little adjustments, so I don’t get discouraged and quit. I plan to make my meals a more spiritual experience and really slow them down, set a mood. I plan to slowly cut out diet sodas out of my diet. I would also like to take longer, more fast paced walks to give my body and dosha type what it needs to be healthy.
As a teacher, knowing dosha types can help me incorporate asanas that please all types. I can tend to the pittas by letting them know we will get more movement at certain points of class, allow the kapphas to get their restorative moments, and keep the vatas in a good centered state to calm their fleeting thoughts. By trying to attain the goal on focusing on and recognizing the individual dosha tendencies, the other doshas will get what they are lacking and need to get balanced.
Regina Lewis

[sally200]

This entire experience has reminded me, enlightened me, and changed me. And those shifts are continuing. For my students, suggesting they make changes now at a younger age make it easier on themselves and their family. That you can make a difference in how you Feel, and you can feel energetic and more alive. And for my older students, go for it, small shift can help you.

My lifestyle wheel- daily habits had a whole section missing, as I do struggle to get out of bed in the AM. Working on it. How wonderful to have a few hours in the AM for self care. My first focus of changing habits this summer is Rising earlier, being more in nature, slowing and quieting the pace. Listening more to my body.

As I create my future classes, my choices of time is day, and the season will be taken in consideration. Giving them information on a yoga lifestyle, it’s benefits, and consider going alittle deeper into the lifestyle.

Truly enjoyed the book, and Tammy’s knowledge helped tremendously.

[KHuttsell]

I have been completely blown away by Ayurveda. I started reading “In Your Elements” on vacation – and I couldn’t put it down. This is the piece I have been missing the last few years – how to get my internal physical body back in balance.

I began to realize how poor my eating and sleeping habits are. So I have started a process to focus on these two elements.

EATING: I have incorporated drinking warm water into my day – especially in the morning. I have found that restaurants are actually very accommodating if you ask for water without ice. In addition, I am eating the foods that support my Pitta dosha. When I don’t – I find that I feel ill or lethargic. At times I find it challenging to give up some of my favorite fiery spices and my absolute favorite, French fries. But I can put that aside as I like how much better I feel. Ghee has become my new “oil” of choice and makes my veggie stir fry taste great!

SLEEP: This one has been tough – I am a self-proclaimed night owl and love to sleep all morning. I have begun to try to move my bedtime back 30 min every few nights. I am trending in the right direction and using gentle yoga to aid in moving my body toward sleep. I also have started to naturally wake up earlier in the morning. I use yoga in the morning to ground me for the day and give myself some “me time.”

From a teaching perspective – I believe I can be more observant of my students to determine what doshas are in the class and work to support their needs. Balancing Pitta-Kapha-Vata energy is beneficial to all students as much as the physical asanas themselves. I also realize I need to ensure that I am not “teaching to my dosha.” I reviewed some of my sequencing and realized that I am probably guilty of that in most hatha classes.

[dooley]

First of all I want to say what a great session. Even though I have had some prior knowledge on Ayurveda, I learned so much more. What I realized is that I still have room for improvement in my daily eating habits. My past readings has showed me that you only eat 3 times a day, but in her presentation is showed that Vata should eat 5 times a day, which is what I do at the times suggested. I just need to changed what I eat during those times.

In my daily practice I do need to adjust my asanas to help me balance my dosha, which means brining in more meditation. I have been working on this, but not being consistent with it. That will change. I know how important it is for me to have the calming of the mind.

The changes I will be making it to keep learning and making adjustment to my daily practice and eating habits for I can find the balances of my imbalances. I struggle with understanding how to balances the other parts of my dosha so I want to learn how to do that.

As a teacher I will work on making the connection with the students, so when they come to my class I can make adjustment to my sequencing or plan my class to help them balance their dosha. For example, a student with a pita dosha will do well with Hatha or yin yoga because they like to make sure their moves are in right alignment and a workout that is challenging.

[msinghal]

First of all, what a bummer, I missed this class!

Even though I had some previous knowledge of the doshas and Ayurveda, I never did take the time to connect why I am a certain way. Since the time I started the training, I have connected a few things about myself: why I am cold all the time or why I have weak digestion (because I am vata) or why I like soft warm foods/water and why I like balancing poses (because they ground/pacify vata).

I realize the following for my personal practice:
1. I should be eating small meals but more frequently
2. Grounding is essential on poses for vata. I should also increase the length of each pose (slow flow) to avert anxiety and that forward bending poses help vatas. (courtsey https://chopra.com/articles/designing-a-yoga-routine-for-your-dosha)
3. I should focus on calming pranayams like alternate nostril and bhramari (and reduce kapalbhati – but I love it!!!) (courtesy – https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/yoga-for-balancing-the-doshas)
4. I should be more regular with meditation. Vatas need that the most.

As I continue to teach and have regular students in my class, knowing a student’s dosha might help me understand why a student likes or dislikes certain poses or what I can suggest to students to benefit them to balance their doshas. Seasons and time of the class should also be considered in planning the class.

Meenal

[Beth]

Ayurveda is something I have been reading about and listening to podcasts about since February. I coudln’t wait until July to learn more about it! I really enjoyed the class on Sunday with Kathy, she really knows her stuff. I think the part that I learned the most about and surprised me was my aversion to routine but how important it is. I know that I need to sleep a certain number of hours and that I need to eat at certain times of the day, but I struggle with the idea that my most productive hours are 10-2.

I also learned that it was ok if I woke up in the middle of the night, because that 10PM – 2AM is the restorative part of my sleep. I was always worried that I wasn’t getting what I needed when I wake up after 2AM before my alarm goes off. I have made the adjustment of eating my largest meal of the day at lunch, and eating a lighter, smaller dinner. This has helped me sleep better. I have cut my coffee intake roughly in half, I drink less all the time. I have long since cut my alcohol intake to two times a month, and it’s not more than one or two drinks. Alcohol has all bad affects on my body.

I also have tried in the last week to be aware of what sort of mood I am in when I start to eat. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that this affects my digestion. I have been taking my lunch outside at work twice a week, or more when I can. I have been drinking room-temperature water for several months on my way to work in the morning, and it really does help. That used to be my coffee time but I delay coffee now until after I’ve had the water.

I’m interested to learn more about how to observe other people’s doshas in a class. I feel like I can see them when they are single dominant, but so many of us are a pretty even split between two. I also found it interesting to explore in the future with my students the concept of having a mental constitution and a physical one. I have already begun talking to my students from karma yoga at my job in Newark about the doshas, and there have been six or seven people who’ve taken the test. There is a lot of interest on this topic and I hope to continue learning.

[lisaclick48]

I’ve been living as a Kapha for over a year now and I know that my life has improved greatly for killing various bad habits with focus on creating good habits. I try to go to bed much earlier and wake up early to start my day. Recently, I stopped consuming dairy products and I’m avoiding eating meat. I listen to my body and how I feel. I’m much more in tuned with my habits. I learned so much last year in the workshop, it really changed how I looked at myself and who I was. I try to take salt baths often as I’m super oily. I try to do Pilates often as I know I need to stay in balance with my Kapha ways. I’m more focused on doing things during other seasons where I struggle. I’m more self-aware and more self-accepting too. I feel like I’m on a good path.
Even with my recent health concerns, it was only my body telling me that I have a lot more work to do. I will be more focused now. I’ve been told things and assumptions validated. I need to walk barefoot in the grass to ground me to the earth, get massages often, take many salt baths and do Reiki always. I went thru a hypnosis session today and it confirmed much of what I thought I should and shouldn’t be doing. I need to be focused and be consistent. I need to be more disciplined with the understanding, if I create the good habits now, I will be healthy and focused for my older years. It’s been a true blessing to have gone thru this year exactly the way it played out. Gratitude…
My personal practice changed with Colleen’s workshop on personal practice and what it entails. What understanding my dosha and where I was struggling, I changed my entire practice and location which opened my mind and calmed my body. Meditation has saved me in so many ways. I feel gratitude for Colleen for this gift. It really hit home for me. Meditation will always be a part of my daily routine.
I think as a teacher it will be interesting to see if I can determine what dosha my students are and how I can provide pointers on self- help or self-care. Knowing and living the Ayurveda lifestyle will benefit myself and my students as I hope to be the type of teacher who is very in tuned to my students and is practicing self-care. I would like to be a good role model and yoga guide and changes lives.

[CindyHurst]

The focus on Ayurveda and my current lifestyle has made me realize that I have definitely allowed/caused a pretty strong Vata imbalance in my body. YTT and practice teaching, combined with a crazy busy job, have made me realize that my workaholic tendencies have not been serving me well and it’s my eating that has been impacted most. Reviewing the material for class reminded me that I need to be better focused on the content and the time of day that I eat my meals. Working late is also impacting my sleep – especially the time I go to bed. What really resonated with me was Kimberly’s statement – not sleeping from 10PM to 2AM robs you of your rest and digest.

Yoga is my lifestyle (that is, when I’m not working too much). I often think about what it was that a substitute gym teacher said to me back in elementary school that pointed me to this journey. What can I say to my students that might help them discover their own Yogic path. I know that I will be able to relate well to students that come to Yoga to help reduce their job stress. I hope to be a good example of someone that has reaped the benefits of Yoga.

[heatherfly]

I feel like Ayurveda is something I’ve been looking for for a long time. I’m so grateful that it was part of this curriculum. Thank you, Kimberly!

I learned that I’ve been eating all wrong. Timing has been off. I often eat little to no breakfast, a little lunch and then snacks and a big dinner late at night. Contrary to preachy pop parenting culture, I don’t like eating with my kids very much. It’s not relaxing. So my husband and I have always waited til they’ve been in bed to eat during the work/school week so we could enjoy it. But bedtime has creeped later and later and we’ve been eating at 9:30 for years. Very near when I need to go to bed but I don’t wind up going to bed til much later. But I still try and get up early. It sets off a cycle that isn’t harmonious with when I’m actually hungry or tired. So I’m trying to make changes. My favorite thing I’ve paid attendtion to this week and also talked about with my kids is feeling relaxed and happy before and during a meal. It makes my belly feel glad and receptive whichb must be good.

I think I’m still too new to it all to have started to bring much Ayurveda awareness to teaching. But I always target Vata calming with the classes I teach because it’s likely to be beneficial for all.

[melross1]

I gave up coffee and to my surprise no headache. I feel better without coffee. I’ve started drinking things without ice. I’m slowly changing my diet. Removing red meat (again).
My diet has been off, this has helped me understand why I have such bad heartburn and just feel yucky so often.

I have always gone to bed at about 9:00 and get up early to workout so that’s a change. It was nice to know that I need to continue doing this.

I had an ah-ha moment last night talking to a stranger. He said when do you have time to relax? Oh, I do work a lot and I’m always on the go. But I feel like yoga anywhere is my happy place. That’s a start.

[EmilyD]

Building on our time together focused on Ayurveda, what realizations did you have about your daily habits? Personal practice? Any changes you’ll be making? How will this knowledge help you as a teacher?

Some thoughts on my daily habits:
– lunch is NEVER my biggest meal of the day
– I snack too much
– I have too much caffine in the afternoon
– I need to eat “lighter” foods.
– I stay up too late and sleep too late and take too many naps
– My digestion is pretty strong
– Warm water with lemon really does help me avoid over-eating at breakfast
– Tongue scraping still makes me feel like I’m going to gag, but it does reveal how I’ve been feeding myself

Thoughts on personal practice:
– I am pretty good about getting some kind of activity in five days a week. I need more “physical” activities to make myself sweat. I need to find some vinyasa or higher level classes to make me sweat while I get my yoga in.
– I will be more consistent if I have a friend to get me going. We are on vacation this week, and my brother and sister in-law convinced me to go run with them in the morning. While I can’t keep up with them, it got me out the door. Once I get started, I always finish.
– I need more meditation in my life. It will help my Vata come back in check.

Changes I plan to make:
– Once we’re back from vacation, I want to try to follow the schedule and kapha foods list for a week or so and see how I feel. I have bene searching for a way to help me lose/maintain weight my entire life. I have had issues with lipedema, swelling, and heartburn for most of my life, and now, my cholesterol is creeping up. This way of eating just makes sense. I wish I had stumbled on it sooner.
– I am going to try to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Maybe not 4:30…although I did naturally wake up at that time the first two days of vacation.
– I want to continue doing a mono-diet “cleanse” between seasons to help me make the transition.

How will it help me as a teacher:
– This is a little bit trickier for me. I see Ayurveda as a lifestyle for myself. I can share stories of how it has changed me. I can plant seeds. But this is new to me, so sharing advice or thoughts on the topic is not something I will be able to do.

[Author]

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