Posts In: diet

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization” 

by David Frawley

Summary: Yoga & Ayurveda is an excellent primer for those new to either topic. Known as the “sister sciences,” Yoga and Ayurveda have been practiced together for centuries to bring the whole person into a state of health and wellbeing. This book summarizes the most important tenets of each practice and gives intelligent ways to implement its teachings into your everyday life. It also contains enough pictures of yoga poses to support a beginning home practice.

Why I Love It: With the rising popularity of Yoga in the western world, I believe it’s important to show how Ayurveda is a necessary and hugely beneficial complementary practice. From the seasoned practitioner to the brand new beginner, both disciplines are relevant to contemporary spiritual practice and healthy living.

I especially enjoyed the chapter on chanting – finding my voice as a teacher has been a journey of constantly going deeper and accessing that true connection within. Using the techniques from Yoga & Ayurveda, I’ve learned so much more about my unique constitution and how I can best support this body from my diet to my skin care routine.

As they say, knowledge is power. Empower yourself to heal yourself.

Recommended For: Anyone wanting to know more about the harmonious interplay between Yoga and Ayurveda and their healing magic for the human body and experience. Even though the two practices are different and unique, it is their combination that will catapult growth and change into your life.

These practices may come and go or may become part of your routine – either way, this book is a good reminder to keep coming back to self-love and self-care. This “coming home” into our own hearts ripples out through our environment and the practice of healing oneself becomes the practice of healing the world. 

 

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

Birds migrate, snows melt, green sprouts poke their courageous heads out of the earth, ready to live. It’s time to shrug off those winter blues and embrace warmer weather and a fresh start. While the San Diegan climate doesn’t allow for a lot of seasonal variation when it comes to temperature or rainfall, it’s hard to miss all the trees and flowers in bloom and the lengthening hours of daylight. With the official start of Spring right around the corner, the vernal equinox on March 20th, perhaps some yogic spring cleaning is in order. Here are five ways to re-center, re-invest and re-vitalize your commitment to your yoga practice!

1. Change it up! If you regularly go to the same class with the same instructor, try mixing up your schedule. Don’t worry about abandoning your favorite instructor, there’s a reason you love their teaching style and you’ll definitely be back. All it takes are a few words from a new teacher that strike you personally or the way your body feels doing a different type of yoga to renew your energy and passion.
2. Take the reins and actively direct your study of yoga. Re-invest in your education by signing up for a workshop, a private lesson or even making the leap to join the next Yoga One Teacher Training. Purchase or check out from the library a new book on yoga, read or re-read the Sutras. When you open the door to knowledge, you get to form new connections with yourself and the world around you.
3. Lighten up your diet. Don’t worry, this isn’t an injunction saying you must eat this and never eat that and so on. From a purely health-oriented perspective, I think we can all agree that more fruits and veggies are the way to go. Bonus points if they’re raw. When you eat healthy food, your body gets the nutrients it needs to help you feel lighter and more alert both on and off your mat.
4. Get a change of scenery, starting with your wardrobe. It’s no secret that we’re drawn to certain colors and assign them emotional meanings; so choose to wear colors that inspire you and represent the energy you’d like to have and project to others. Ditch the black and try out a fresh green, exuberant white or daring hot pink and notice the difference in your warrior two.
5. Break out of old habits by experiencing each pose as if you were brand new to yoga. We’ve said it before, begin again. When in doubt, focus on the breath. Take a few minutes each day to sit with yourself in silent meditation. By increasing your mindfulness, you welcome a heightened awareness into your everyday life which can lead to less anxiety and a clearer sense of purpose.