How to Cultivate an Ayurvedic Lifestyle
Steph Ball-Mitchell, ERYT-500, RPYT, RCYT, YACEP
How to Cultivate an Ayurvedic Lifestyle
By: Steph Ball-Mitchell, ERYT-500, RPYT, RCYT, YACEP
How to Cultivate an Ayurvedic Lifestyle
Ayurveda is an ancient medicinal practice that originated from India thousands of years ago and is often considered the sister science to yoga. Weaving Ayurveda and yoga into your daily life has the power to transform your wellbeing in profound ways.
Understanding the 3 Doshas: The Basis of Ayurveda
The first step to living an Ayurvedic lifestyle is understanding the 3 doshas. In Ayurveda, each person has a unique constitution made up of the 3 doshas. Generally, people have one predominant dosha, but you can also have two or even all three in equal amounts. The three doshas are vata, pitta, and kapha.
• Vata dosha
Vata dosha consists of the air and ether elements and typically shows up in the body through thin structures, small features, cold limbs, and dry skin.
• Pitta dosha
Pitta dosha consists of the fire and water elements and appears as a medium body frame, slightly oily skin, moderate muscle tone, and a reddish complexion.
• Kapha dosha
Kapha dosha consists of the earth and water elements and generally appears as a larger body frame, oily skin, and thick hair.
The Benefits & Components of an Ayurvedic Lifestyle
Living an Ayurvedic lifestyle means aligning with your unique constitution or dosha combination and with the seasons. So, what makes up an Ayurvedic lifestyle will change depending on your constitution. Some typical components of an Ayurvedic lifestyle include waking up early in the morning, eating fresh foods, scraping your tongue, drinking warm water throughout the day, and practicing self-massage or abhyanga.
The benefits of Ayurveda are uncountable, and with these practices, you can access radiant health, a calm mind, balanced digestion, and inner alignment. Our online yoga teacher training program will explore Ayurveda in greater depth and help you incorporate these profound healing practices into your daily life. So, join us today and begin your journey towards a complete Ayurvedic transformation!
When you enroll in our 200 hour yoga teacher training, you get our Ayurveda Specialist Certification for free! Our Ayurveda Specialist Certification is also offered as a continuing education course.
About the Author
Founder of Online Yoga School and Yoga & Ayurveda Center
Steph Ball-Mitchell, E-RYT-500, RPYT, RCYT, YACEP, CAADC
Steph has over 25 years of experience in yoga and movement. Her understanding of yoga and the human body has been influenced by lifelong dancing and holistic health. She found her life’s purpose in helping people become happier and healthier through her own healing journey. Steph assists her students in knowing the joy and wonderment of integrating the mind and body through accessible yoga. She encourages an authentic and life-nurturing practice, one that brings greater consciousness to each moment and every movement of the body with a heavy emphasis on breath.
With a masters degree in counseling, Steph brings awareness, acceptance and a down to earth approach to her classes. She studied with Maty Ezraty and later completed her second 200-hour training with Nancy Candea at Yoga Impact in New Jersey and her 300-hour training with Chris Loebsack at Boundless Yoga Studio in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The perpetual student, Steph has studied with Leslie Howard, Travis Eliot, Bryan Kest, Donna Farhi and countless others. She has extensive training in pelvic floor yoga, restorative yoga, yin yoga, power yoga and accessible yoga. Most recently, Steph was certified as a Grand Master of Meditation through Swami Vidyanand.
Steph founded Yoga and Ayurveda Center with her husband. She later launched Online Yoga School to support her local trainings and has recently launched a virtual yoga studio to accommodate the international community of trainees.
When she isn’t on her mat, Steph can be found volunteering, enjoying her husband and children, dancing and cooking. She currently enjoys serving on the board of World Yoga Federation and Meditation Alliance International and previously enjoyed serving on the Education Committee of Yoga Alliance and places a strong emphasis on inclusivity in her teacher trainings.