Ayurvedic Match Making

Ayurvedic Match Making Have you ever wondered which body types go together well in a relationship? Match making is quite an intriguing topic when you consider all the qualities that are at play between the dosha types. Infinite scenarios pop into my imagination of opposites attracting or repulsing and similarities nourishing or consuming each…

Detox Basics – Considerations before starting

Detox Basics No time like spring time to be on a detox. If you are considering doing it you are timing it right because, right now, the body is keen on loosing releasing the extra pounds we’ve piled on. That fat is also the storage of toxins. Season appropriate weight loss diet is always the…

Saffron Season

Safron Season My daughter brought me a beautiful purple crocus from the park. It had a the sweet and light fragrance of saffron. I remembered the times I’ve dreamt about being a farmer in the Mediterranean and particularly a crocus farmer…. My daughter almost got a bollocking for picking up that beauty, instead I…

Our Eating Habits: Amorous or Amoral?

Our Eating Habits: Amorous or Amoral? Remember the film Amelie? One of my all time favourites, filled with endearing characters, particularly the rude shopkeeper’s one armed assistant. His deep affection for the vegetables he sells struck a chord with me. Watching him lovingly caress his little endives is a reminder of the amorous relationship that…

Warm and Heavy Comforts

Warm and Heavy Comforts Autumn is the season of withdrawal. It makes you want to put warm slippers on and enjoy a warm cuppa on the couch. After a long period of growth and production in spring and summer, nature is preparing to rest and gather strength for the growth season ahead in spring….

Autumnal Cravings and Aversions

Autumnal Cravings and Aversions Last night it rained heavily. The sun showed his face in the morning but, nevertheless, it was cold and damp. Autumn has broken the summer’s neck. It felt like on Tuesday we enjoyed our last summery day in Kensal; a heavy damp heat which, for certain, is over now and…

Green Magic – The Power of Chlorophyll

Green Magic – The power of chlorophyll The spring has turned into summer. We know this because the leaves in the trees have grown into full size. Who would have thought we experience three seasons during the lockdown? The start of the lockdown coincided with the start of the annual growth season. Plenty of time in…

Social Isolation Time

Social Isolation Time From an Ayurvedic perspective having a strong routine and a framework around which conduct our lives increases our tolerance levels and resilience. A solidly structured life decreases reactivity and reduces the incidence of losing control. But what if the structures around us start disintegrating as we have seen in the last…

Ayurvedic Tips for Corona Virus Management

Ayurvedic Corona Virus Management Tips We are witnessing something unique happening to humankind and nature around us. Observing the process unfold moment by moment is humbling. Scary as this all might seem we are already noticing the nature starting to react when there is a reduced interference and less obstacles and containment of its forces….

Ayurvedic Thoughts on Global Warming

Ayurvedic Thoughts on Global Warming The climate change is real, most of us agree on that. Even many of the so-called deniers admit that the change is happening, although they may not agree on what or who has caused it. Nevertheless, the warming of our planet is a reality and we can observe it directly…

The Ayurvedic Way Of Balancing and Regaining Energy During The Highest Vata Period

Hello Vata my old friend, I’ve come to be with you again…. Oh boy, we are getting closer and closer to the climax of vata! Every time period of the year of a specific dosha exhibits an increasing amount of their characteristic attributes by the end of that period. Summer, the pitta period, is at…

The Two Best Ayurvedic Energy Hacks

Ayurveda offers a nice range of daily routines to make the best of our lives. Some of these are known to everyone like adequate sleep or brushing the teeth. Some recommended daily routines seem quite exotic like gargling oil. Others, at first impression, seem even toxic like inhaling herbal smoke. The recommendations of daily routines…

The essence of Ayurveda

I am an Ayurvedic practitioner. This means that for work I help people to find balance in their lives through diet, lifestyle, herbs, relaxing treatments and detoxing. For me, the principles for finding balance are clear and simple. However, the main challenge I find in this profession is that I have to fight against prejudices…

Small intermittent fasting

There is a growing interest in the world of science on the gut function, considering the latest discoveries of the importance of our diet and lifestyle on health. Microbiology, with the study of gut biology and how bacteria, viruses and even so called parasites interact to create good digestion and better health is one of…

Detoxing is not a myth

Last year an article came out in The Guardian heavily criticising the detox craze and the detox market in general. It was good reading since the market has indeed gone bonkers selling everything under the sky as good for detoxing. Consumers are faced with a dilemma on what products to choose and which detox program to go…

Super soup

My sister was very excited about a soup with leeks and asparagus but we never got to make it together. Recently, when I got home after work, I realised I had the necessary ingredients in the fridge and got to cooking because it sounded like a very quick thing to make. And what a wonderful surprise…

Empiricism in Ayurveda

I was engaged once in an interesting conversation on herbs and their medicinal properties with someone who had just retired after a long career in a well-known pharmaceutical company. Although quite skeptical of alternative healing methods he was still curious to hear what ayurveda had to offer. One of the things he asked me was…

Ayurveda for addiction: The serotonin factor

Ayurveda has recognised the deep connection that exists between the brain and the gut for thousands of years. But what is the connection? The answer lies in serotonin, the “feel good” hormone. In Ayurveda addiction is called madatya and the three different body types (vata, pitta and kapha) are all susceptible. Each body type is…

Sprouts : Spring food “par excellence”

Is there anything that takes my fancy more than sprouts in spring? No, there isn’t, or maybe, but I cannot figure it out now. I am so excited about the first sprouting year after year. It brings such joy and delight to see life expressing itself so vitally. The transformation that goes on in these…

Healthy food is good… but it can also be your undoing

I just ate a slice of wonderful Finnish cabbage pie I baked modifying my mum’s recipe ever so slightly towards my Italian culinary preferences. A bit of parmesan won’t hurt any dish. Or maybe a fish dish… oh no, I do put it there as well sometimes!! Flexibility is one of the requirements of good…