Ayurvedic Culinary Healing
Ashley Chavez photo by Julie Laflamme
Ayurveda means the wisdom of life. It is a natural system of medicine used in India and Nepal for over five thousand years. Herbs and spices are used for healing and balancing a person's individual nature, known as Dosha. With an understanding of the five elements, space, air, fire, water and earth Ashley Chavez of Clean Nature infuses venerable information for those ready to re-align with themselves and nature’s wisdom.
Ashley is a personal chef trained in holistic cooking, an Ayurvedic nutrition educator, and a yoga teacher based in Joshua Tree, California. She started her business, Clean Nature, after graduating Bastyr's Nutrition and Culinary Arts program.
Living healthy is a body-mind-soul connection. Ayurveda is fundamental. It illuminates the root cause of individual imbalances. Eating mindfully is an Ayurvedic priority with benefits that have profound effects on the entire system. When we eat in a distressed state like eating too quickly, watching TV or with negative emotional feelings, it will affect how we digest our food. Maintaining proper digestive fire is a key factor for healthy living.
Introduction to Ayurvedia takes you on a deep dive into your health assessment, daily living habits and a roadmap to healthier consciousness. Be prepared to transform your relationship with food. While food and nutrition are highlighted in Ashley’s sessions, there is an emphasis on yoga, meditation, breathwork, physical movement practices, and nature-based observances. Your overall well-being is through "in the body" practices that help establish a healthy foundation for daily living.
4 Simple Habits To Nurture Proper Digestion Now.
Replace your cold water with warm water. Try to drink warm water before eating in the morning or consuming caffeine. Cold things have a constricting and contracting effect on the body, whereas hot things have an expanding and dilating effect. Warm water is like food to our digestive fire- it stimulates gastric juices and basically gets everything moving by hydrating, soothing, moistening, opening, cleansing, and allowing for flow.
Eat without distraction. Another hard but doable habit. Disengage from electronics or work and give yourself the gift of presence. Eat slowly, chew well, and increase your body’s ability to properly absorb and assimilate nutrients. Mindful eating can help us pay attention to our hunger cues, as well as making food more enjoyable.
Take a light walk after meals. After eating, take it all in, give thanks, commune, rest. Lie on your left side if needed for a few minutes. Then, walk 100 steps, something to encourage the food to move along in the digestion process.
Be kind and gentle on yourself. @clean_nature
Earth Yoga, : 57272 Twentynine Palms Highway, YV
Photos by Julie Laflamme / Cover Photo Curcuma longa via Wikimedia Commons