Ayurveda & Yoga: Balancing Elements for Inner Peace w/ Sophie Malahieude | YogaScussion Preview

[00:00:00] Very simply put, yoga is a methodology for us to become a better person. [00:00:06] Now Ayurveda, again very simply put, is knowledge about what we are made of, what we are made of and on all level, body, mind and spirit. [00:00:20] So Ayurveda is based on five elements. And so life is created by those five elements of earth, water, air, space and fire. And so when we understand that all those elements that are creating us, for example, there is more, maybe more fire in me and maybe Gina, there is more water in you and maybe for you there is more, I don't know, water. So when we understand that there is an element that is shaping us, it means that what it will influence the way we eat, the way we think, the way we act. [00:01:02] And for me it goes hand to hand with yoga practice because when I was practicing only yoga, I was keep missing a part because I didn't know exactly what food was very beneficial for me. I didn't know if my practice I had to push myself or to slow myself down. And when I started to study yoga I realized that, oh my God, I have so much fire in me. [00:01:29] If I eat too much spices then I become judgmental, I am angry, I really don't like to be around people. [00:01:38] And so when I was modifying the way I was eating, I was calmer, my mind was more clear, I was able to catch the ego before it becomes out of control. [00:01:50] So I think it's that practicing or at least learning about Ayurveda, as you are practicing yoga, it gives you more tool for self inquiry, more tool to understand who you are and how you can help yourself to be in a state of be more attentive, attentive to yourself, attentive to your life. So Ayurveda, it's about nutrition, yes, but the yoga practice, the lifestyle. So when you study yoga you understand that for example, deep, strong exercise when you have lot of fire. So if you do, for example kapalabhati, so you have to build more heat in your body. [00:02:33] So if I am on a good day, I feel a little tired, I'm going to do a run round of Kapalabhat in the morning and yay, I'm good to go. But if I am in a stressful situation at home or at work and I do kapalabhati, then I increase the fire in me and I am more angry. [00:02:54] So in Ayurveda we learned that we balance each other with different. So how do you balance fire with more earth element with more water? [00:03:05] So I can go for cooling food like cucumber and cilantro mint. So I can drink mint tea all day long, do very soothing breathing like citali. [00:03:19] Yep, yep, I like that one. Yeah, yeah. Because it's very cooling. It cools the body, it's a system and it cools the mind. [00:03:27] So what I like about, for me, Ayurveda is so complementary to yoga practice because again, if we go, simply put in, the reason we go toward yoga is to find inner peace. But if I do the practice of yoga with inner peace, but I don't realize what is good or not good for me, and I go into a hot yoga class and I push myself because it's good to push yourself. And I go back home and I am angry at the world. [00:03:57] I'm missing a point. They're missing a point. [00:04:00] So, and earlier we were talking about anger and I say, well, I know that I have a tendency, I can be angry. But because of practicing yoga and Ayurveda, I know also how to cool myself down. [00:04:16] I know that when I'm not in a good mind state, I'm just going to have a mint tea, I'm just going to have rice, I'm just going to have cooling food, and I'm going to do sitali. And so I can rebalance myself. So for me, really, even if you, you are advanced in your yoga practice, just learn a little bit about Ayurveda because it will help you to go further into your own practice of yoga.