The Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Episode 297

Colette chats with Jamila Colozzi about her new book, Moonlight & Shadows - a poetic discourse on Ayurveda and Yoga in the West. She speaks from her many years working in the Ayurveda and Yoga industry, along with her personal studies of these sister sciences. 

Jamila sees this book as a conversation stater for anyone navigating how to study, practice and engage with the ancient Vedic wisdom system. We cover the following topics in this episode:

• Jamila's story on how she came to write her new book.
• Discussing sensitive topics in the Ayurveda and Yoga communities.
• The shadow of social injustice in the industry.
• Spiritual bypassing - it's not all "love & light".
• Jamila's personal healing journey with fatigue. 
• Cultural appropriation in the these communities.

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Check out Jamila's website and purchase her new book here... missjamilacat.com

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Click here to learn more about the 7 day Ayurveda Rejuvenation Retreat with Dr. Sujatha in...

Episode 296

Colette continues her series on the srotas or channels of the body and in this episode she focuses on the channel for urine, mutra vaha srotas. She covers the following topics:

• The root, passage, opening and subdoshas governing mutra vaha srotas.
• Ayurvedic perspective on urine formation.
• The four main diseases that can manifest during an aggravation of mutra vaha srotas:
• 1. Mutraghata (urine retention)
  2. Mutrakricchra (difficulty in urination) 
  3. Mutrashmari (urinary stones)
  4. Prameha (diabetes)
• Signs and symptoms of aggravation.
• Causes of aggravation of mutra vaha srotas.
• Diagnosing doshic imbalances in the urine.
• Treatment of imbalances of mutra vaha srotas.

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Thanks to Kerala Academy for sponsoring this episode. Fall training applications are open and now is the best time to join for super early savings! $200-450 off tuition is available this month, and listeners like you can enjoy an additional $100 off when you share the code Elements100. To learn more,...

Episode 295

Ayurvedic Doctor Simmi Chopra practices in New York and has a double Masters in Biostatistics and Molecular Biology from Rutgers University and JNU which helps her to understand health problems from both mainstream as well as the Ayurvedic perspective.

Colette chats with Simmi about her passion, geriatric health and preventing age-related diseases. They discuss arthritis in detail and focus on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. They cover the following topics:

• Preventing age-related diseases in the Pitta stage of life.
• Types of arthritis and how each manifests in the body.
• The samprapti or progression of arthritis.
• Ayurvedic treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Diet and lifestyle guidelines to help manage arthritis.

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Check out Simmi's website here.... www.sidhayur.com

Here's the buttermilk recipe mentioned in this episode.

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Click here to learn more about the 7 day Ayurveda Rejuvenation Retreat with Dr. Sujatha in Bali, Indonesia - December...

Episode 294

In this solo episode Colette continues her series on the srotas or channels of the body. If you're not familiar with the Ayurvedic wisdom on the srtoas, check out her first episode in this series #272 titled, The Food Channel & The Srotas for an introduction to the to the channels of the body.

Colette focuses on purisha vaha srotas which is the channel that is in charge of the storage and excretion of solid waste and other toxins out of the body. This channel also absorbs liquid, minerals, vitamins and electrolytes and plays an important role in nourishing ashti dhatu or bone tissue as the the bones are nourished by the absorbed nutrients through the colon mucus membrane. She discusses the following:

• The root, passage and opening of purisha vaha srotas.
• Which subdoshas govern this channel.
• The importance of paying attention to your bowel movements.
• Signs and symptoms of aggravation:
  • Excessive gas and bloating
  • Dry, hard stools, pellet-like stools
  • Painful...

Episode 293

Jackie Christensen, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized educator in natural health, herbology, and Ayurveda. In episode #281 Colette and Jackie discussed the topic of herbology and in this episode Jackie shares information on herbs that are ideal for Summer and preparations to help our skin and body during the hot season.  

Colette and Jackie discuss the following:

• What qualities we should be focusing on during the hot season.
• Internal herbal preparations for Summer:
  • coriander seeds
  • hibiscus
  • aloe vera
  • rose
• External applications to soothe our skin during hot weather:
  • comfrey
  • aloe vera
  • tamuna oil
  • sea buckthorn oil
  • neem
  • calendula
• Guidelines on how to make herbal oils.

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Check out Jackie's website here.... practiceayurveda.com

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Click here to learn more about the 7 day Ayurveda Rejuvenation Retreat with Dr. Sujatha in Bali, Indonesia - December 2023.

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Visit Colette's website www.elementshealingandwellbeing.com 

• Online...

Episode 292

In this solo episode Colette continues her series on the srotas or channels of the body and focuses on the channels for the reproductive tissue:

• Artava Vaha Srotas is the channel carrying nutrients for the female reproductive tissue, the egg.
• Shukra vaha srotas is the channel carrying nutrition for the male reproductive tissue, the sperm.
• Rajah vaha srotas is the menstruation channel.
• Stanya vaha srotas are the channels for lactation.

Colette discusses the opening, passage and function of each channel along with the subdoshas governing these channels. She also details the possible causes of aggravation and the signs and symptoms of aggravation which can include:

• Premenstrual syndrome and menstrual cycle disorders 
• Fibrocystic changes in the breasts
• Cystic changes in the ovaries
• Cervical polyps, uterine fibroids, endometriosis
• Low libido and sexual dysfunction
• Infertility
• STD’s - sexually transmitted disease

Colette also shares the recommended Ayurvedic...

Episode 291

Dr. Sujatha Kekada is the Head Physician and Co-Founder of AmrtaSiddhi Ayurvedic Clinic in Ubud, Bali. She is a certified Ayurvedic Doctor (B.A.M.S) with a degree from Rajiv Gandhi University, Karnataka, India. 

In this episode Colette chats with Dr. Sujatha about the Ayurvedic perspective on cancer. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, cancer is the 2nd leading cause of mortality after cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death in over 50 countries. 

They discuss the following:

• What is cancer.
• What are the conditions in the body that could cause these malignant cells to grow.
• Why cancer is a complex disease to diagnose.
• The types of cancer according to Ayurveda.
• Ayurvedic treatment protocol for cancer.
• Steps we can all take to prevent all diseases, including cancer.

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Check out Dr. Sujatha's website here.... amrtasiddhi.com

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Click here to learn more about the 7 day Ayurveda Rejuvenation Retreat with Dr. Sujatha in Bali,...

Episode 290

In this solo episode, Colette continues her series on the srotas or channels of the body and focuses on majja vaha srotas, which is the channel carrying nutrition for the bone marrow and nerve tissue. 

The passage of this channel is the nervous system (the central, peripheral, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system), the brain and the bone marrow in the cavities of the bone e.g. spinal column.

The limbic system is the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses and these responses occur through majja vaha srotas along with communication, coordination, sensation, learning and memory. 

Some of the signs and symptoms of aggravation of majja vaha srotas are:

• Neurological symptoms
• Tingling, numbness, tremors, tics, spasms
• Ringing in the ears
• Feeling of darkness in front of the eyes
• Dizziness, lack of stability and equilibrium, vertigo
• Memory loss 
• Bell’s palsy 
• Convulsions, seizures
• Alzheimer’s,...

Episode 289

Dr. Akil Palanisamy is a Harvard-trained physician who practices integrative medicine, blending his conventional medical expertise with holistic approaches including functional medicine and Ayurveda. 

Dr. Akil is a widely known speaker, educator and author of The Paleovedic Diet: A Complete Program to Burn Fat, Increase Energy, and Reverse Disease which we discussed in episode #138.

In this episode we're talking about his new book, The T.I.G.E.R. Protocol: An Integrative, 5-Step Program to Treat and Heal Your Autoimmunity and we discuss the following:

• What is an autoimmune condition and what's happening in the body.
• Combining functional medicine and Ayurvedic medicine in his practice.
• The TIGER protcol - Toxins, Infections, Gut health, Eat right, Rest.
• Implementing the TIGER protocol.
• Dr. Akil shares 2 case studies from his practice.

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Visit Dr. Akil's websites:

• thetigerprotocol.com
• doctorakil.com

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Visit Colette's website ...

Episode 288

In this solo episode, Colette continues her series on the srotas or channels of the body. If you’re unfamiliar with the Ayurvedic wisdom on the channels of the body, check out the first episode in this series #272 titled, The Food Channel & The Srotas where Colette does an introduction to the srotas.

Colette focuses on ashti vaha srotas in this episode. Asthi dhatu is our bone tissue and asthi vaha srotas is the channel carrying nutrition for the bone tissue. She discusses the following:

• The opening, passage and formation of asthi vaha srotas.
• The subdoshas governing asthi vaha srotas.
• Signs and symptoms of an imbalance in the channels.
• Causes of aggravation of the asthi vaha srotas.
• The relationship between asthi dhatu and the vata dosha.
• Ayurvedic treatment for aggravation in the channels.

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Thanks to Kerala Academy for sponsoring this episode. Kerala Ayurveda’s annual Skin and Beauty workshop is coming this June 24-25 and is open to...