Let me say this as loud as I can. A LOT of health food trends are based in Ayurveda. Yes, you read that right. Let's dive into the whole foods trend, and why it's one that I'm able to get behind. Here's why. 

Digesting food from an Ayurvedic perspective actually takes a lot of effort and work. Eating has become such a random act and just a "to-do" in our life, that we've sort of taken it for granted. And even if we get digestive discomfort, unless it's really bad, we often pay no heed to it. 

But in Ayurveda, what we eat AND how it digests is so key to our whole health, vitality, and ultimately the joy and bliss we feel. 

Why do we naturally gravitate towards the warmer spices and flavors during the cold fall months? From an Ayurvedic perspective, there is a natural phenomenon that is pulling us towards the spices and heavier foods as the body's natural way of harmonizing and balancing ourselves out based on what is happening outside. Vata is on the rise, and it's time to bring it into balance. 

My teacher Dr. Lad always says--whatever is outside, is inside--and we don't necessarily take this with a grain of salt. Whether its the weather patterns, the sun, the change of the season, the general energy of what is happening--all of these in some way manifest within us as well on a physical, mental, and emotional level. Everything in existence is made up of the 5 elements--ether, air, fire, water, and earth. And because of that everything has some combination and permutation of vata, pitta, and kapha. So, with this same logic, everything that happens out in our surroundings and environments is essentially a play of vata, pitta, and kapha. 

In the Autumn months as the temperatures begin to drop and the wind picks up, we begin to see predominantly the qualities of ether and air begin to rise--cold, rough, dry, mobile. It is officially vata-season. This is why we experience things like dry hair or our digestion becomes a little irregular, or when we say "I feel the cold in my bones"--well ether and air qualities are going to impact the spaces and holes within us. So it makes sense that we feel these things. 

Gut health. It sure has become quite the hot topic amongst wellness influencers. But honestly, Ayurveda has been talking about this for thousands of years. The phrase "you are what you eat" isn't really a random thing to say. Everything that we put into our body is hopefully absorbed in a meaningful and useful way for the body. And all of that actually starts with digestion. 

Understanding how our digestion is Ayurveda 101. As much as we've been trained to think that gas and bloating is somewhat normal--just take gas-x, heart burn is a byproduct of the food we eat--take a tums, feeling sleepy after eating--just take a nap. None of these are actually normal. It's a tell-tale sign that our digestive capacity isn't where it needs to be, and we're not actually digesting (meaning breaking down and assimilating the food) into our bodies in a way that actually nourishes. This tends to be the starting point of poor bowel movements or lack thereof, various other gut issues, and a disturbance in our gut microbiome. 

In this series, I want to breakdown what is healthy and what isn't, what is appropriate and what isn't, and what does our body need and what it doesn't. Because, honestly, we've all fallen to the whims of a one-size-fits-all method of looking at our health, and that unfortunately is just not the way our bodies work. We are a unique and beautiful combination and permutation of so much--the 5 elements, different qualities, our genes, plus plus plus--and if we look at our digestive health and just take some probiotics and call it a day, well, we've missed the mark on what is actually good for us. So, what is agni?