Geeta Vara: A beginner's guide to Ayurveda

 

23.09.2021

Geeta Vara: A beginner's guide to Ayurveda image

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In episode #22 Basis London founder Tom McAdam speaks with Ayurvedic medicine practitioner Geeta Vara

In the context of allopathic medicine and evidence-based fitness and nutrition, we can forget or dismiss the wisdom of ancient Eastern disciplines like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Western medicine has its place and should rightly be celebrated for its many life-saving and life-improving innovations. Equally, evidence-based fitness and nutrition is at the core of a lot of what we do at Basis London.

But traditions like Ayurveda offer a powerfully different and valuable perspective that we can all learn from.

This episode is for those of you who know little about Ayurveda but are open-minded about the potential of learning from this fascinating 5,000 year old tradition of holistic health.

Geeta is the perfect guide for an introduction to Ayurveda. She has both a BSc and a PG Dip in Ayurvedic Medicine from Middlesex University and has been practicing for over a decade delivering truly holistic healthcare for her clients. She is also the author of the fantastic Ayurveda - Ancient Wisdom for Modern Wellbeing

Find Geeta @geetavara on Instagram and on her website geetavara.co.uk where you can learn more about working with Geeta as well as finding amazing Ayurvedic recipes and educational articles. 

We speak about:

* Geeta’s personal journey from business degree and office job to Ayurvedic practitioner

* The difference between Ayurvedic medicine and Western / allopathic medicine

* Fundamentals of Ayurvedic medicine: the 5 elements; the 3 doshas and their roles in the human mind and body

* Understanding your personal constitution (prakruti) and mind-body type  in the framework of vata, pitta and kapha (the 3 doshas)

* Balancing the doshas with nutrition and lifestyle practices

* Understanding how to listen to our bodies, disengage from the mind and avoid “crime against our body’s wisdom”

* The importance of seasonal and circadian rhythms in Ayurveda and how to eat, move and live in harmony with these cycles; why you perhaps shouldn’t eat like a King at breakfast.

* Gut health, digestive fire (agni) and how to approach gas, bloating and food intolerances through the lens of Ayurveda

* The importance of how foods are cooked and prepared and the implications for digestibility and nutrient availability

* Conscious eating to improve digestion

* What your bowel movements say about your gut health

* Why you should drink warm water

* Drinking water from a copper vessel

* What your tongue says about your health and the practice of tongue scraping

* How to practice oil-pulling correctly for improved oral health

* Morning rituals for optimal health

* The medicinal properties of herbs and spices

We hope you enjoy the conversation!

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