With all the holidays (and birthdays!) going on during winter, we tend to gravitate towards all things sweet, from baked goods to hot drinks – sugar is abundant! This post from my favorite guest blogger, Adena Harford of Adena Rose Ayurveda, couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.  She explores the realm of sweet, known as Madhura in the six tastes of Ayurveda, and what …

This post kicks off a new monthly series where I’ll be talking about little rituals of self-care and natural beauty recipes for that radiant glow inside and out.  But before we dive into the external, let’s talk about real beauty for a minute.

If there’s one thing a personal yoga practice has taught me is that you must, absolutely must, take the time to nurture yourself each …

Twice a year, every spring and fall, I take a week or two to cleanse my body and prepare for a new season.  This spring, I did a 10-day raw juice and broth fast paired with some deep healing herbs.  When the weather is warm after the equinox, I like to do my longer juice fasts as a way of releasing stagnant energy, reconnecting with myself from …

I came across this article from the Kundalini 3H0 center a few years ago, and these teachings have stuck with me whenever I make my way to the table for a meal.  It’s a manifesto, you can call it, on how to eat consciously for optimal health, written and taught by Yogi Bhajan back in August of 1992.  Bhoj means food, and Kriya is …

I’m very excited to announce the first guest post series of many that will be coming to the Vidya blog!  Today, I want to introduce to you my dear friend and fellow yogi, Adena Harford of Adena Rose Ayurveda.  Adena is a certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant and AyurYoga Specialist based in Vermont.  We met back in 2009 during our yoga teacher training program at Yoga Vermont, and became …

In the winter, my body craves cooked foods – as it should! From an Ayurvedic perspective, we should eat warming, grounding foods in the wintertime to keep us well…warm and grounded.   So instead of a raw broccoli and chickpea salad, I decided to toast the chickpeas in the skillet with caramelized onions, lightly steamed broccoli and lacinato kale.

If you’re sprouting the chickpeas, make sure to …

Flavors inspired by my last trip to India.  Masala simply means a mix of spices. Masala Chai are the deliciously sweet and warming spices of fresh ginger, green cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and sometimes black pepper, all simmered in raw milk and steeped with black tea. Chai wallahs (tea stands) are an intrinsic part of Indian culture, many times you are paying less for tea and more the performance. …