As the harvest moon approaches, the season of fall is in full swing. The air is brisk, and the hours of daylight are noticeably diminishing. Often, we begin spending more time indoors, enjoying the warmth and comforts of home. We tend to exercise less and eat a bit more, usually, craving foods that make us feel good, temporarily; foods that contain increased amounts of sugar and fat. With Halloween right around the corner, it is important to avoid overindulging in sugary treats in order to maintain balance in mind and body. Similar to the autumn air, the qualities of vata...

by Dr. Brian Keenan In Ayurvedic medicine, there are 5 elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ether (or the space between things) that interact and combine to form the 3 dosha: vata, pitta, and kapha. These dosha go on to be the functional and corporeal interactions of life, nature, and by extension, human health. Moreover, beyond governing all aspects of life, the dosha are also responsible for the variety and uniqueness of life. This is said to be because these three dosha combine and interact in various ratios and at various levels in each living being. Simply put, this explains...

Of the three doshas described in Ayurvedic medicine, Pitta is the one that is associated with water and fire. The interplay of these elements creates a transformative property and is associated with processes such as digestion and detoxification. When Pitta is too hot, the Ayurvedic practitioner will look to cooling herbs to bring the body back into balance. Traditionally, Pitta imbalance is generally characterized by night sweats, irritated skin, and anger. Western trained providers tend to think about systems involved in the presentation of an illness, such as the nervous or endocrine system, as do providers trained in Eastern disciplines...

The air feels warmer and the sun is shining brighter. As many people have noticed, the skin feels different than it did in winter, feeling itching, tight, or extra dry or oily. Winter is governed by the doshas Kapha and Vata. Cold, dry, rough, heavy, dense, slow, and cloudy qualities have followed us for months. Ama, or toxins, accumulated during winter start to move with the increased Vata energies of mobile, subtle, clear of spring. Without proper detoxing, these qualities can stay in the skin, despite the growing pitta qualities outside. With the renewed feeling that spring brings, we all...

By Dr. Anju Sodhi (Bams, ND) We’ve made through the holidays and now we have a new year ahead of us. Many of us make New Year’s resolutions and then realize that we don’t know how to accomplish them. Our minds seem cluttered and a big goal seems to be so far away. These roadblocks in our minds could be from a buildup of ama, or in other words, toxins in our bodies and minds. Our Agni, or digestive fire, is most likely weak this time of year. It is important to kindle this fire and regain our optimal strength....

We are sure you have seen many back-to-school articles discussing immune health and protecting against allergies. However, has anyone thought about discussing mental health with their kids during this jarring transition back to school? Fall is a time for Vata energy to collect. It gets dry, cold, and windy, all Vata qualities. Additionally, changing from a lax summer schedule to a rigid one, such as the start of school, is a Vata event. This is a beautiful season, but if we are not careful to change with autumn, many issues that correspond to Vata can occur. Having a conversation about...