The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
With gratitude to Dr Stephen R Covey for his inspirational book – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Dr Stephen R Covey (1932 – 2012) has been (and continues to be) a major influence in the field of leadership and interpersonal/ organisational dynamics. His book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ became […]
Is Stress Affecting Your Weight?
We now know that chronic stress is a major contributing factor to weight gain and can be keeping people from losing the weight they want, or it might make losing weight a bit more difficult than what it should be. In fact, studies show that stress causes people to consume more calories, have more trouble being motivated to exercise, and even experience changes […]
So What is Coaching… ??
I think there must be as many definitions of coaching as there are coaches out there. However, one of the most succinct definitions I’ve come across is from the International Coach Federation (ICF): “Coaching is an on-going partnership that helps clients producefulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen […]
Nine tips on how to stick to exercise!
Have you ever heard the expression “use it or lose it”? It’s true! If you don’t use your body, you will surely lose it. Your muscles will become flabby and weak, your heart and lungs won’t function efficiently and your joints will be stiff and easily injured. Inactivity is as much of a health risk […]
7 Tips on How to Improve Your Willpower
A lot of research has been done on willpower but there is one that stands out and that is the chocolate and radish experiment by Dr. Roy Baumeister in 1996. It challenged old misconceptions on willpower and gave birth to the modern conception of it. Dr. Baumeisters’s groundbreaking research on self-control became the dominant theory. […]
Top 10 tips to Spring Clean Your Body!
Do you also get that urge of spring cleaning your house and garden? Spring can be such an exciting time of year when everything in nature starts blooming and growing. It is the time for a new start! It is also an important opportunity to give our bodies a new start. How about spring cleaning […]
How to get Relief from Sinus Problems
The sinuses are these tiny cavities in our head. Most of us never think about our sinuses until they give us grief and get blocked. Then we might experience problems such as hayfever or blocked sinuses that give us painful headaches. Every spring and summer pollen can irritate them and in winter sometimes a cold […]
Triphala – an ancient herbal combination
Triphala is the most amazing Ayurvedic herbal combination there is. It means literally translated “three fruits”. It is one of the most used and famous herbal compounds in Ayurvedic medicine. The three fruits contained in Triphala are Haritaki, Amalaki and Bibhitaki. Together combined these three fruits make up an excellent combination that balances all three […]
Top 10 Tips on Improving Agni
Agni is our digestive fire (metabolism) which is responsible for processing and absorbing the foods we eat. Here are 10 Tips to improve your Agni and therefor your digestion naturally. 1. Drink Agni tea (see recipe below) 2. Avoid overeating, eating too fast or on the run and not paying attention to your meal 3. Eat right […]
Vata – Diet and Lifestyle that suits Vata
Vata comes from the elements of Air and Ether (Space). Because of this Vata has a lot to do with movement since Air or Wind move as well all the time. Therefore Vata governs all movement in the body, the activities of the nervous system and the process of elimination. It also controls the movement […]
Pitta – Diet and Lifestyle that suits Pitta
Pitta comes from the element of Fire. Because of that, it governs all heat, metabolism and transformation in the mind and body. It controls how we digest foods, the metabolism in the whole body right down to the cellular metabolism. It also controls how we metabolise our sensory perceptions and discriminate between right and wrong. […]
Kapha – Diet and Lifestyle that suits Kapha
Kapha governs all structure and lubrication in the body and mind. It controls weight, growth, lubrication for the joints and lungs, and formation of all the cells and tissues. It is the principle that holds the cells together and forms the muscle, fat and bone. The primary functions of Kapha are building and protection. Qualities of […]
Characteristics of a Vata, Pitta or Kapha type Person
In Ayurveda there are three primary energies, also called Doshas. The three Doshas are named Vata, Pitta & Kapha. If you look at the people around you, you’ll soon learn to recognize the different types of Dosha. Tall or short, slim build people are mostly Vata type. Medium size people with a more muscular structure are mostly Pitta type, […]
Why We are Different? or What is Your Ayurvedic Constitution?
Have you ever wondered why you are different? Why you are unique and not like anybody else? I often wondered that too. When I started to study Ayurveda I got some answers to my questions. Ayurveda believes that everybody has a unique own constitution that is made up out of the five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Ether and Air). Each one […]
Do You Have Ama (Toxins)?
Ayurveda talks a lot about Ama — toxins that build up in the body due to an improper diet or lifestyle or pollution and provide a fertile breeding ground for disease. We can eat the best food but if we can’t digest it properly, we will be on the path to creating some sort of Ama. Malfunctioning […]
Why Agni is the Key to Health!
Agni is our digestive fire (metabolism) which is responsible for processing and absorbing the foods we eat. It is similar in its function to Pitta. Pitta contains heat-energy, which helps digestion. This heat-energy is Agni. Pitta and Agni are essentially the same with this subtle difference: Pitta is the container and Agni is the contents. […]
Winter Skin Care through the Principles of Ayurveda
I know this might seem like a long blog and that I got a bit carried away but don’t worry, you don’t have to read it all. If you find out what your own skin type is and how the winter conditions you live in affect your skin then you will know which part […]
Apples are Powerful Nutritional Foods
You have all heard the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. But honestly, how many take this saying seriously? I think we should. This saying is gaining more and more credibility as research mounts on this common fruit, of which there are over 7500 varieties worldwide. Even ancient civilizations have known the […]
Boosting Your Immunity Naturally
There is a theory of immunity in Ayurveda called the beej-bhumi theory, which means “seed and land.” In this theory the body is compared to being the land and infection or “bugs” are like seeds. When the body is filled with toxins (ama) and lacking in natural immunity (ojas), the infection will spread easily because […]
A Healthy Digestion
Digestion is the process by which foods and liquids are broken down to their smallest parts so that the body can absorb them and nourish cells to provide us with energy. Being healthy isn’t just what you eat or how you eat it, it is also whether your digestive system can process it and eliminate the […]
Are you deficient in Magnesium?
Magnesium is one mineral that we usually don’t get enough of even with a healthy diet. Magnesium is difficult for the body to digest and depletion of magnesium levels in our soil and water means it is hard to get enough magnesium through dietary sources. For this reason I often recommend magnesium supplementation to […]