A few years ago I decided to put teaching Ayurveda on the back burner so I can focus on Pain Care and Structural Yoga Therapy. Yet, Ayurveda has never been too too far from the forefront of my thinking: whenever I feel unwell, I naturally dive into my Ayurvedic toolbox, and whenever I work with clients I automatically dosha-type them, without so much as even thinking about it...

Last week - and seemingly out the blue - I found myself knee-deep in Ayurvedic conversations.

I explained different doshas - some rather confusing Ayurvedic body-mind principles - to one of my private clients;  talked to my mom about seasonal changes and why they are messing with her blood pressure, and gave some dietary change suggestions to my son to help him feel grounded after all-too busy summer of hiking and moving to a different city.

Clearly, it's time to dust off my Ayurvedic lifestyle teacher skill set...

Ayurveda - in translation from one of the oldest languages on the planet - literally means the "science of life." It originated in India, some studies say over 5,000 years ago. A lot of modern medical sciences we know and love - Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example - draw their roots from Ayurveda.

While the branches of Ayurveda are many, the basic direction they all follow is the same: to develop knowledge and understanding of how we can live in harmony within ourselves, and also with our surroundings.

In fact, Ayurveda defines health not as an absence of disease (or no abnormal lab results), but as this state of internal and external harmony. This very concept has lured me for a very very very long time...

Conversation about Ayurveda can go on for almost ever: when I used to teach  Ayurvedic Lifestyle Workshop just the bare basics filled 5 2-hour lessons up to the brim... The good news is that you can enjoy the benefits of Ayurveda without ever delving into the science of why or how they work.

Here is a magic potion that can warm you up on a cold fall day, stoke up slow metabolism and lazy digestion, and ward off the flu bugs that are out and about the moment the school is in. {The gals at Homesteader were quizzing me about what I was going to do with ALL THAT GINGER - here ya go!}

1 cup purified water

3/4 cup raw organic honey

Juice of 4 to 6 lemons

Juice of 3 to 4 inch piece of ginger ( or 3 to 4 tbs of ready made ginger juice)

1/4 tsp of black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until blended.

Store in glass jar in refrigerator.

Take one ounce of Ginger Elixir before lunch and dinner.