Ayurveda Newsletter February 2025

“Happy New Year and all the best for 2026!”

I have given up making New Year’s resolutions, as they seem
to be best known for the speed of which they have been forgotten.

Instead, I have focused on gentle, steady acts of self-care that soften warm, deepen my connection to my core values. This is what I have been focusing on over the summer break - swimming daily, eating healthy simple food, gardening, hanging out with my family, and daily activities that soothe and nourish the nervous system. These small steady practices ground and support my new year intention - to love more care more and be a nourishing positive presence in the world.

Gut Health - the Foundation of Good Health

We talk a lot about gut health, but it can’t be overstated.... Ayurveda has always looked at the gut first for any signs of imbalance including mental. The second brain... "Amazingly, if you were to isolate these neurons [in the gut] and clump them all together, they would form a mass of neurons larger than the ones in your head. In fact, the brain in your gut is way more active in the production of neurotransmitters than the brain in your head. Serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of happiness and well-being, is primarily manufactured in the gut — 90 percent of it, in fact." – Alejandro Junger MD, Clean GutPlease think

Please think about what you (and your children) eat as it becomes who you are, in more ways than one.

The Brain Gut Connection

How I interrupt the brain gut connection- the mind is like the sea, the body is the land, and the sphere of interaction is the seashore. When the sky is peaceful and relaxed the sea is calm, however, when the mind is troubled, the sea becomes turbulent, and waves beat against the shore tearing away sections of land. This is the psychosomatic disease process resulting in diarrhea, constipation, ulcers, indigestion and IBD.

PROBIOTIC RECOMMENDATION

My Recommendation

If I had to recommend one product it would be a probiotic that is designed to improve mood and sleep. Dosage is one tablet per day and yes, they can make a difference. Click on the Biome Lift Probiotic image below for more information. If you're interested in trying, please contact me.

Phone: 021488054 or email: perry@ayurvedahealth.co.nz

YOGA OFFERINGS

The increase of awareness and desire for somatic yoga, gentle yin practices, mediative movement, restorative yoga are timely. As the world around us becomes more challenging we need an anchor – both physically and mentally.

I have been studying the fascial system more recently and how Yoga can assist. This relates to the Ayurveda concept of. Strotas, body channels that offer the internal transport system of body fluids and the process of flow of intelligence in the body. These are the ducts, tubes, and channels through which flows all the information involved at all the processes that are constantly unfolding in the body. The seeds of disease are sown when part of the strotas gets blocked.

Keeping the fascia healthy as we get older is essential to our health. Linear stretching has benefits but the fascia network is not linear - it wraps around everything hence we need to work in multiple vectors. This requires repetition, variation, compression, hydration, micro movements, and a proprioceptive component. Think mobilizing, sliding, and gliding rather than just stretching. Think not a workout, but a “felt” experience.

This will be the focus of the Yoga I will be teaching this term.
If you are interested, please contact me.

SEED CRACKERS

A recipe that was gifted to me (thanks Lani). I have made these seed crackers repeatedly this summer, they never fail and never last long, so delicious and handy.

1 cup of organic cornmeal
3 tblsp each of- pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, linseed, sesame
seeds
1⁄4 cup of olive oil
1 1⁄4 cup of boiling water
Salt

Instructions :
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Once blended spread thinly onto a baking dish lined with baking paper and sprinkle with a good quality salt. I cut mine into pieces, before they went into the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 30 mins at 150 Degrees Celsius. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Ayurvedically the quality of the seed biscuits, are building (heavy) and heating. They are a good choice for those needing to gain weight or recover strength.

Hence, they are great for Vata constitutions, and Pitta in moderation. Kapha should eat sparingly.

Modification can be made for Kapha constitutions by adding ajwan seeds, chilli flakes and turmeric.

MUSIC HAS THE POWER TO HEAL

Finally, some beautiful, haunting, and inspiring music...

Namaste - Perry 🙏