Did you know that food and nutrition is not the only Ayurvedic pathway? The other 4 are yogic practices, lifestyle practices, herbs, and therapies.
When I finally turned my health around, I was confused because it appeared like I was aggravating Vata (air element) by eating so much raw food. And yet, I was finally healing. My Ayurvedic doctor commented on how much prana I had flowing through me. This was coming from all the fresh and living food I had started consuming. For years before, I been following a Vata pacifying diet and lifestyle.
Vata needs grounding, so I was cooking most of my food because I understood that too much raw food would aggravate Vata. The Ayurveda we read on websites and Instagram posts discourage us from eating raw food. So, I didn't even tell my Ayurvedic doctor about my diet change, because I worried that she would discourage me. I was eating lots of heavy food too as this is very grounding for Vata.
What I didn't realise was that Hashimoto's is actually a Kapha condition, and all the rich and heavy food I was consuming was making me sicker. The typical foods that aggravate Kapha are wheat, dairy, corn, processed sugar and a high-fat diet.
Medical Medium protocols encourage eliminating all of these foods. And bringing in lots of light and fresh food. This is basically a Kapha pacifying diet!
Through my Ayurvedic studies, I have been learning that practitioners can prescribe a diet to pacify a certain dosha while prescribing lifestyle practices to pacify another dosha. So, it does not have to be all or nothing. We are complex beings after all and our needs change over time. Practitioners also prescribe yogic practices, herbs and therapies and these can be to support different doshas in different ways.
I healed myself because I was pacifying the Kapha part of the Hashimoto's through diet, and I was following yogic and lifestyle practices that were supporting Vata and Pitta, which are my main constitution.
Ayurveda is a living science that can’t be summarised just by following a list of foods to eat for your dosha. And the food that was being eaten 5,000 years ago is not necessarily the same food we need today. Unfortunately, our environment and food supply is much more compromised than it was back then and we need way more prana rich food to clear out toxicity and give us nutrition. Also, India is quite dangerous when it comes to consuming raw food as there are so many airborne diseases and the soil is not safe. Have you heard of Dehli Belly? So, it would make sense that Ayurvedic doctors of 5,000 years ago would be telling their patients to cook their food. It was keeping them safe.
However, in this day and age, we need way more raw food than we ever did because our soil is so depleted. And people are way sicker than they were 5,000 years ago because we are dealing with so many viruses, toxic heavy metals, plastics and herbicides. The heavy, grain-based diet that is typically prescribed needs to make way for a diet that is way higher in living food, full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes.
Our lifestyles are also much more Vata aggravating than ever, so we need to take lots of steps to pacify that energy too. This can be done through restorative yoga, meditation, keeping a gentle routine, healing toxic relationships and following exquisite self-care.
We can further support the doshas that need help through targeted herbs and essential oils. Massage therapies and enemas are just two Ayurvedic therapies that have supported me over the years.
I recently had a consultation with my Ayurvedic doctor. I am now at the maintenance stage of my visits with her. She asked whether I am still having all my smoothies and juices. I said that I am, so she prescribed some therapies for me to bring into my life. She said that I am entering the Vata stage of my life and the raw food can aggravate it, so let's be proactive and take steps to keep Vata under control. I clearly need all the living nutrition from a plant-based diet and she is not discouraging me from stopping, as I initially feared. She is supporting me where I am and helping me to find even more vibrant health.
This is the beauty of Ayurveda. It is a living science that is relevant today, as long as we are willing to open our eyes and get in touch with what our bodies need right now instead of just relying on an old textbook.