Ep 203: Demystifying The World Of Ayurveda (feat. Ivette Desai)

On this One Time , on Psychedelics , chances are this isn't the first time you're hearing the term Ayurveda . For those of us who identify as spiritual seekers , the world of Ayurveda is already one we hear of often and already practiced to some degree in our lives where my Shilajit lover's at .

However , I know for me that , although I knew a little about Ayurveda , I had long been fascinated with the topic and had wanted to learn more . Well , this week I had the opportunity to sit down with an Ayurvedic expert , and let me tell you that I learned a ton , and so will you , on this episode .

She has spent countless years not only studying Ayurveda , but also yoga , meditation , energy healing and various lifestyle tools , and in this episode we dive into how she has incorporated these modalities together to create something truly remarkable . So , without further ado , please help me in welcoming Yvette Desai to the show .

Yvette , I'm so excited to have you here with me today .

You know , as I said in the intro for all of you tuning in , yvette and I were connected through a mutual friend of ours , jen Callowar , who's in the Conscious Cannabis Collective , my mastermind that you guys all know about I talk about all the time , and it was amazing getting to do our networking call because , you know , you asked me .

I remember you were like , do you know Ayurveda ? And I was like kind of , I do Shilajit , and so we found like a common ground , like all right , cool . But I'll be honest , you know , I've , I've always been fascinated with it . It's kind of like human designer gene keys for me . Like every time I hear anything about it it fascinates me .

But for whatever reason , I hadn't taken the deep dive and just talking to you for 30 , 40 minutes I feel like I got brought to school , you know , like I learned so much about it and so we're going to dive into that for all you listeners , we're going to get all those juicy details out .

But before we dive into that , you know , since this podcast is called this one time on psychedelics , I'd love to hear you know how someone like yourself found your way into Ayurveda . You know , were you interested in , let's say , different topics throughout ? You know your upbringing . Did this happen later on in life ?

How do you think this , this all kind of you know , amalgamated into who you are today ?

I think the first time I was introduced to Ayurveda I was a little resistant to it and I think what put me off was having that larger meal in the middle of the day , and I had young kids at the time and I was like that is not going to work in my life .

But I became a health coach about 12 years ago and it was as a result of my own sicknesses that I was facing with , you know , with adrenal fatigue , spinal myelopathy that I've experienced and also thyroid issues .

And you know I was told that at that time I was going to need to have surgery within a year and likewise to be on medication for the rest of my life . And I was fortunate enough at that time to have people around me , people who were holistic in nature and said wait , let's try it this way , and that's what really spoke to me .

And I think something that has consistently resonated with me in my life is listening to my body . Is it a full body ? Yes , or am I feeling this contraction in my body , no , and I felt that way about the surgery and the medication .

And so , after I began to heal myself and really experimenting , I realized , if I could do this , everybody should be doing this . And so , you know , through time , I had to change a lot in my life . The way I exercise , the food that I ate really changed my schedule in terms of how I balanced my work and my life and my family .

And so it was probably when I , you know , I'd been studying yoga for a while , in terms of being a student of yoga , and I eventually became a teacher about six years ago . And it was that time , simultaneous with that , that I began to really dive into Ayurveda again .

And it was really one of my mentors , kate Stillman at that time , who really opened up the door to that . And what I loved with her approach and his approach that I take today is around this idea of the circadian rhythm , right , and you know , often when I talk about Ayurveda , people are like what is Ayurveda ?

And so , you know , not everybody is open to Eastern modalities of medicine , as you know , right , and not open to anything that's not Western . So , you know , for me , you know it was gradual and what really spoke to me were these energies of the circadian rhythm and how they were within our own bodies , within nature .

It , you know , helped to remind me that we are one with nature , when so much in society today is , you know , we are apart and separate from nature in the Western society so much , and so that's what really began to heal me on another level . So that's really where , you know , my origins came , you know , with Ayurveda . Wow , that is amazing .

You know my , my origins came , you know with with Ayurveda .

Right , it's really what it is like , that feeling of being in touch with your body , listening to your body , and I feel , like , you know , when I think about why I got into psychedelics , why I got into self-development , like why I got into any of these , you know , kind of branches of different theories and different practices , it's ultimately for that goal right

, to just be able to discern my own truth , to not have to take what someone else thinks I , you know , should do , or this is the next best tip and trick for gaining muscle , or whatever it is .

Whatever the goal is , you know , like , I think it's very human nature to , if you find something that you feel helps you to want to , you know , spread it to others .

But the challenge is that if you're not aware of what's going on right on an intuitive level , or on a mineral level or any of these things , then you're just really like throwing things at it and maybe every once in a while something helps , but there's not really a system there , you know , or a structure .

And in order for there to be play in life right , like structure is the preliminary to play . You know , if we were going to play a game , the first question you'd ask is what's the game right ? Aka what's the structure , you know .

And so in order to actually be able to fully express ourselves and to have physical , emotional , mental and spiritual well-being , or become what I call highly optimized , we got to have some kind of system that allows us to tap into the innate state of wisdom within us .

You know , because if we're only using intellect I was talking to Rachel about this last night , you know we were going down a rabbit hole and I was talking about how you know . It's kind of like intellectual information , knowledge , et cetera . I kind of see that as the user manual for a car like super important . You definitely want to know about it .

You'll learn a lot about a car a lot faster . But it's not the experience of driving the car , you know . The experience of driving the car is why you're reading the manual , not the other way around . So I think a lot of people get stuck just there and they don't add in that critical component of like . How does it feel in my body ?

Like , how do I just what ? What thoughts , feelings , sensations , emotions arise when I tune into my own truth about , let's say , getting a surgery or a certain supplement or whatever it is .

So the reason I've loved Ayurveda you know what I've looked into it and how I talk to you about it is because it feels like it's a very individualized system , like it doesn't just say here's the thing , everyone do it .

It's more like no , we got to figure out what those things are first for your individual makeup , and then we'll create the structure and then the rest of life in theory , can become play of sorts , you know , so I love that yeah absolutely , and you know I agree with you .

We have the elements , right , the elements of water and air and ether and earth and fire , right , that are within nature , that are within each of us , and we are born with what we call a procrutee , right , is that combination of elements and everyone has a different set of them within us , right .

And so when we begin to live our life excuse me , we begin to develop what we call a recrutee . We become imbalanced , right , because of the things that are pulling at us from outside . But I also love what you said about looking at . We're always looking for that best thing , the best medicine , the best coach , the best book , the best exercise , right .

But if we are able to clear through those beliefs , right , those belief systems and those structures and those patterns that we have held on to from our ancestors , from society , right , then we can understand our true nature , right , and we can delve into that deepest sense of our intuition , and it takes time and it takes trust , right .

So one of the things that I really work on with my clients is to be able to , or to coach them , to teach them to listen to their own inner wisdom , that they already have everything within them they need . It's really important to understand .

But so when we have these elements and we understand , like you know , you understand the seasons the seasons change , right , the seasons of our life change , right . And so when we're born , we're born into the kapha time of life earth and water . So kids , right from the age that they're born , we're born into the kapha time of life earth and water .

So kids , right from the age that they're born until their late teens , early 20s Right , you know , little kids have a lot of mucus and runny noses , right , but that's the foundation , right , that's where our strength is built in our life .

And then we move into what we call the pitta time of life , from like our mid 2020s to our late 50s , mid-50s sometimes it's a little bit earlier where we're really striving forward , we're working really hard , we've got all this fire and water and we want to accomplish and build and create , right , and then we move into the vata time of life , which can be

anywhere from our 50s onward , right , and that's the time of Aaron Ether , right , where we're creative , we're sitting back on life , maybe , if we're fortunate enough to be able to do that , and just kind of recreate ourselves and share our wisdom , right . And you know , I would love for the perspective of aging to change .

That's that's one of my goals in working with , with people , right ? So you know we have that and we have those within us . So when we understand what our imbalances are , ayurveda helps to teach us that we do the opposite to bring ourselves back into balance , right ? So very simple . You know where I live in New Jersey now , we've had a little bit of snow .

It's really cold , right . So we look at what we call the qualities , the gunas . Right , there's 20 of them , opposites , 10 opposites , pairs , where , like , if it's cold , you know , we do something that'll heat us up , right , so that we come back into warmth right .

Like I feel like it's part of my like you know , if we were looking at Maslow's hierarchy of needs , it would be directly related to safety . For me , like it's a I don't do it every day . I tune in and I kind of feel like you know how I'm feeling , because my old way would be , which is actually I was talking about this yesterday too .

I was talking about how the easier way for a lot of like type A people and whatnot is just to say I'm just going to do it every day , Right .

And it seems like to a lot of other people like , wow , you're so consistent , that's so challenging , you're so , you know , able to stick to routine , and it's like , well , if that's what's comfortable to you , then actually the challenging thing is to tune in and weigh with your intuition that may come up against belief systems of like oh , my goodness , I'm not

going to be the best in the world if I don't do this every day or any of these silly things that come through my mind anyway . And so I've touched the hot stove very often when it comes to overexercising , doing a sauna too much , all these things .

But these days it feels like I'm much more able to tune into my intuition , which in the winter does lead me to a lot of heavier foods like stews and things like that and a lot of heat , you know .

So it's very interesting you say that I mean again , it's not mind blowing information like oh my God , ryan , of course you like cold and warm in winter , but but it is very interesting Cause , on an intuitive level , like I've been really feeling into like , no , like there are a lot of days where I genuinely feel like the most joyous thing I can do is go

get in that sauna , you know .

Right , we're still in that cold season of Vata , right , so there's air and ether and you know , that has this tendency to make us feel ungrounded , a little bit overwhelmed , cold in our bones , right , so we want things that will warm us and things that are easy to digest . So that's soup and stews , right ?

I know Mars is one of them , and this winter has felt like the only winter that I've gotten myself to really lean into , like I just don't want to do anything , like I don't want to do anything other than what I really want to do in the moment . And the second , I don't want to do it anymore , I'm not going to .

And I've been respecting those internal boundaries of myself and it's been amazing .

Like I'm going to Austin , like I was telling you before we hit record , and there's a part of it that's just so excited to be back home , like I don't really want to do anything , you know , and typically I get frustrated with winter because I try to treat it like I would spring , let's say right , like just going as fast as I can , and then I leave the

winter feeling exhausted , you know , which is when I'm supposed to get my recovery . So it feels like this is the first year in a long time that I've really like , obeyed my own inner boundaries , you know , with regards to what this season represents . You know which is to me slowing down . You know getting clear .

You know having a lot of time inward and figuring out , like what is the trajectory for the next , you know , period of my life year , however long you want to see it . So it's really cool .

You know it's time to turn inward , it's time to reflect , it's time to nourish , it's time to see what we want to create when the spring comes around , when it is the time to rejuvenate , come out and recreate yeah , makes perfect sense and it's just it .

You know , and what I know anyway about the modern day is that it's very hard to trust anything , you see , because everything now is AI and also , like you never know what the implications or kind of like the reasons someone is putting information out is .

So there's so much discerning that has to happen these days that to me , if I look into the past , I like to start there , because I'm like at least they didn't have the challenge we have right now with social media and all these things .

You know again , albeit , they definitely had challenges , right , there's never been a period in human history I think we've been in a utopia , but at the same time , like it allows for , in my opinion , a much better starting point anyway , you know , because I feel like in the past people were more identified with the right brain and so it was more intuitive based

.

It wasn't so like linear and logical , which again both have their place , but I feel like maybe back then it felt like , at least to me , that there was more of a balance of that , whereas these days , for a series of time 2000 , years , 3000 , however , when you want to say it , it's been more of like that overly dominant masculine balance of like we just need

more information , then we'll gain knowledge and we'll change everything you know , and it's like . I don't think it really works that way ?

And when we are able to tap more into the feminine , we can be more creative , more joyous . Right , we can live in the moment and be present with what is coming up and , like you said , be in the moment . And you know it's really important for us to slow down this time of the year , but it's super hard .

I think one of the things that you said is that ability to you know , not slow down right , or not be doing something right . Um , that's very hard for people because often when you ask people how they are today , what do they say ? They say they're busy , right , that that's the cool thing . And you know it's not about an emotion .

It's not like how are you feeling ? Or are you sad , are you happy ? And we're really taught with social media and all of this technology and everything , all the information coming to us , to numb our emotions , and so that doesn't give us space to tap into intuition if we don't know how to feel .

It's like , why do we have fast food ? Well , obviously something's more important . If that has to be fast , well then let me ask , like what has to be long , you know , like what has to be slow ?

Well , you know , what I think about is kind of the idea that if we want to look at , like the imagined core values of , let's just say , america , but it could be all Western countries you know , obviously productivity is at the top of that list . You know , that's why we have fast food .

Productivity is at the top of that list , that's why we have fast food , that's why we have all these things that create quote unquote conveniences which are not so convenient when you actually look into them .

But again , I think that we've been trained from a very early age I know I was , I'll make it personal I know I was trained from an early age to really think into what can I do today ? How can I do the best I possibly can today , like all these things that don't really speak to being at all , which is what I see that counter of feminine to be .

So it's very interesting to look into even the language and all this kind of stuff that they use in society , because it does program us on an unconscious level for sure .

But if we're more in tune with what we're eating , it also allows us to connect on a deeper level with our body and understand to smell and taste and see the food . What does my body need today ? How can I nourish my body today ? Right , and in Ayurveda , you know , we learn that we want to eat with the seasons . Predominantly . We want to eat local food .

Right , so we're not eating strawberries in the middle of winter . Right , it's more root vegetables . It's more stews . Right , and herbs that help to digest that right . The spices that help us to digest , assimilate and absorb those nutrients . Right .

And you know , when we sit down to eat , you know , often people are sitting with their phone in front of them or in front of a TV . Right , Are you able to take a moment to express gratitude ? Right , and just take a breath before you eat , and can you chew your food and actually taste it ?

Right , rather than gulp it down in one bite , because you know that is at the core of so many people's digestive issues , right ? If you're just taking two bites of food , where are the digestive enzymes coming from ? Right , not everything's in our stomach , you know that's . The purpose of chewing our food is to activate all of that , right , you know .

And equally it's you know the time of day . You know . I always say to my clients you know're not eating the best food every single day , but how are we eating our food and what time of day are we eating our food ? So , having a light breakfast , a big big lunch and a very light dinner ?

Right , because our digestive fire is at its highest in the middle of the day . Right , so that in itself has helped so many of my clients to ease digestive issues and to lose weight , if that's their desire .

I think he says about 30 times each bite , which I , you know , when I first said I was like , well , that's gonna take so long , and it was like , oh , there is my issue right , so so . And then for for water , he said really chew it . You know , like get it all around .

You know your mouth , and you know , I always remember that because if we think about like the most important things in our life , like moving our body , you know , I mean I guess we'll just stick with the first four that are like individual based .

Obviously connection with other people is a big part of this too , but you know moving your physical body , having time in quiet , you know sleep , whatever , meditation , that kind of stuff , your diet , and then also what you do to feel happy every day , like . You know those kind of four , yeah , like those kind of four things .

It's like those are the things we , we I'm not going to say should , because I don't like to shut all over anyone , but but at the same time , like we know what we could put a lot of our emphasis into .

Because if we put a lot of our emphasis and intention into those four areas of our life , you know , if we eat our meals , at least having that gratitude before and if nothing else , right , if we take that time , even if it's just 30 seconds , to close our eyes and just take some deep breaths , if we you know , I have a small trampoline in my office If I

take a minute in between calls to jump on that thing , right , like we're talking very minimal , viable products here . But if we at least take the intention and just be with those things when we do them , yeah , that changes so much because then , like you said , we can be in tune with , like I ate this food , how do I feel eating it ?

How do I feel after ? Did I actually get energy from this ? Do I feel bogged down after I ate ? You know , these are the things that most people , you know , when they're very sped up , they don't really have time to think about . They're just like I'll take an Alka-Seltzer , oh , I must have an Advil efficiency .

You know , because they've been trained to just like . It doesn't matter what happens , just get back to work , you know . Just make sure you're productive , make sure you're providing , and as long as you're doing , that and you're climbing some ladder .

And so a lot of times when I'm working with people , it's like you know that you , you cannot keep a consistent hard work effort for eight hours or 10 hours a day . You ebb and flow , your mind comes in and out . You want to give up , right .

But if you can work in one to two hour blocks , right , and really just , you know , tune in and put on that P to energy and focus , right , you get everything done that you need to be done . And if you're stuck , you know moving forward , or you're unmotivated , you can't get started .

I was put on like a two minute timer and like start the work and by the end of that two minute timer I'm through that work . Right , I'm ready to . You know , continue that momentum of moving forward . So there are so many ways that working hard can be interpreted right .

And then when I started business about five years ago now it was kind of funny I was once again talking about this yesterday too . The whole conversation now that we talked about yesterday I brought into the show .

So we were talking about how , like , when I first , you know , got into the cannabis work I do and things like that , and I birthed my first program , I didn't know anything about business . I didn't know you're supposed to go do field research and figure out what's your ideal client . I didn't know any of that .

So I just went out there and made a program and because I did that and I thought I knew nothing around business which , yeah , in a way I did I didn't know how to use Kajabi or , like you know , do an online business , but I actually did get a lot that I didn't think I got , because the most important part of any business is having your heart in it .

And my heart was definitely in it . So I overlooked that because it came so naturally to me , because that's what I was leaning at that point .

I then spent the next three years trying to move the needle the other way , towards more of the masculine , because I thought I had an issue where I just had to , like figure out more strategies and systems and modalities and things like that . And what ended up happening was because I thought that I knew nothing around business .

I took a lot of advice from a lot of people and before I knew it , three years later , I woke up in a business structure of , like doing a shit ton of sales calls every week , being on calls nonstop and having to take stimulants to stay at that level , because that's what I thought I needed to do .

And then since April , I've been working with a new business coach who's smashed through a lot of those barriers for me and allowed me to finally , like I really feel like I'm in a good middle ground now , where now my calendar is pretty much open every day . I protect my time like nothing else .

You know , because of that now I also don't do stimulants or caffeine or anything , and because of that . Now I have to find ways to be efficient with the energy I do have . And that has been so much fun . I've been having the most fun ever because now I can take breaks and play guitar for an hour in the day . I can take my dog .

I'll do whatever I want , you know . So I totally agree with this . This is , like I think , the big thing that could revolutionize billions of people . You know , like oh , absolutely .

But I want them thinking about like , what is their year , what do you want to do ? Do you want to travel ? How do you want to have fun ? Right , and put you in the calendar first . And this was a lesson I learned five years ago , right , and it was too late in life , not too late in life . But you know we can't have regrets .

But you know , I wish I had learned it . We've talked about things that we wish we had learned earlier .

That was something I wish I had learned earlier because for many , many years , especially as a woman and a mom , you know I put my kids first , my husband first , my work first , my friends first , everybody first , but me , right , and then , all of a sudden , I had to shift . I was like , hell , yeah , why aren't I putting myself first ?

Right , because I matter ? And so putting that calendar .

It's like , okay , this is what I'm going to see my friends , my family , I'm going to work out , I'm going to do my walks in nature , you know , and then I'm going to put my work in there and it's made such a shift in how I work and it brings so much more joy to my life , and that's what it's all about .

When you're able to do that , it builds a faith and trust in yourself and then also that magnifies out to everything , because now you become more attractive to those looking to receive support from you . Right , because you're happier , you're fulfilling your own needs , your own cup is full .

You're also able to find the system , strategies , offers , any of that kind of more masculine stuff that is most in alignment with your values and slim down the amount of stuff you do and just really make the things you do amazing . And these are all indicative things I've noticed of you know , having a calmer mind .

It's kind of , like you know , during the daytime it's a lot of hustle , bustle , fun stuff , and it's fun . But also nighttime can be so amazing , just like you know , the sound of a pin dropping throughout the neighborhood . Like you know , finding the balance in between day and night . You know , because for a while I think I was imagining , or pretending .

I lived in Alaska , where the sun never sets , you know like . And again , it was just like , based on the fact that I thought that's what it took to succeed . So I had a limiting belief that I had to work hard .

And then working hard had to be overextending myself and constantly putting an effort which , by definition , is unsustainable because it requires energy to be able to actually receive and achieve my goals . You know , and that was the big thing , the huge aha moment I had is that we hear it often work smarter than harder .

But , like , it's so true , it's not just because working smarter than harder is better , it's because , like dude , it's so much more enjoyable , it's so much more fun .

You'll love what you do , you'll have balance in your life , or you'll have the opportunity to create balance in your life , and , as a result of that , you'll actually be in a place where you can support others or be that pillar for the people around you to love you , you know , and that you love .

You know , when we want to use those energies to do the things that we need to get done , we have certain elements that are within nature that can influence how we are . Right , your girlfriend's . You know an astrologer . She talks about the moon and the sun , and that energy definitely affects how we live and we work , right .

So the fire , you know , is in the middle of the day and that's when we should really be doing our activities that create a lot of focus and concentration and detail oriented orientation . And that's when we should eat our biggest meal . Right , because we can digest it easier because we have the fire , we have the agni right , the ability to digest at that time .

And during the afternoon , like two to six , you know , that's a time where there's a lot of ether and air . It's a time to be more creative , like we're meeting now .

So you know , you talking about you know the day , meeting , the evening , being able to hear that pin drop right , that's the time where you know we should do joyous activities , hobbies , connect with you know , our loved ones , you know , do some reading , some quiet activities so that we can get ready for , you know , the night , because that sleep is so important .

And you know it is so easy , like you said , to pretend we're living in Alaska because there's light all the time and it's , you know , and it doesn't .

But you know , the thing with that is it's not allowing our melatonin to naturally , you know , trigger so that we can begin to feel that sense of sleep and tiredness , so that we can ease into sleep rather than fight sleep and try , and you know try and will ourself into sleep , right .

So , and then in the middle of the night , you know what's happening between 10 and two is , you know , we are detoxifying our body , regenerating ourselves , right , which is really essential .

So if we're missing , you know , that time of sleep , we're robbing ourselves , you know , from that opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves for the next day , right , and then two to six is in the morning , is that time where we're dreaming , right .

We can wake up between five and six , that time of Brahma Mukharata , where our intuition is at our highest , maybe go into meditation or journaling and watch the sunrise , right , and it's for some that sounds like a dream , but some people are getting up that early to work anyway , right , so why not take advantage and look out the window and take a quiet moment ?

But as soon as , like literally as soon as six o'clock happened and the sun started setting you know , in the summer it's actually a little bit later , usually around eight o'clock I would feel I don't know if that is accurate , but that's just how I'd feel it .

But in the winter it's usually right around like six , when the sun's fully down all of a sudden , all my like all that intuition between five and six in the morning , type thing , it's that . But for music and my hobbies , like it's like all of a sudden not start undoing themselves , I , I feel like I , my fingers just flow .

I don't really have to think about anything . I can memorize patterns way better , like I've always felt . Like I love playing at night . The challenge was as a kid that I liked playing a lot too late , like I would play till two in the morning , you know . So you know I had to nip that one in the bud .

But these days , you know , playing like I usually play right around like 630 to like 730 or eight , right in there is like my guitar time , and then after that , rachel , I will wind down , watch a show or whatever .

And you know what I've done to kind of counteract , you know , because blue light obviously at night , like you said , stops production of melatonin , is , like you know guys , like for anyone listening going like , oh no , I have to give up my favorite stuff . It's like what if you didn't have to give it up necessarily , at least not start there ?

What if you could just get a really good quality of blue blockers and that way , while you're reintegrating a new nighttime routine , you're at least doing something to counteract the blue light that you're getting from watching a TV or looking at a phone or something like that .

So there are like little changes you can make on the full trajectory to like a perfectly , you know , centered circadian rhythm that I feel luckily we have these days , you know .

I mean again like they can kind of be thirst traps in a way , because I don't want people to think they can just , you know , stay up all night with blue light blockers and they're fine , but it is definitely a step in the right direction , for sure . Yeah .

You know , it's just something simple of dimming the lights , maybe initially right , and you know , maybe just having a conversation by candlelight rather than with the , you know the lights blaring , or you know just something very simple , right ?

And it's the same thing when you know we talk about , like , the simple shift of changing our food , like having something lighter in the evening rather than heavy , right , maybe it's just initially you're just doing roasted vegetables or a very simple soup . It doesn't have to be complicated .

I think we make things so complicated in our mind at least , I do , right , I used to , and I try and bring things back to the simplicity of life that it doesn't have to be everything at once . You know I often .

You know I grew up as a perfectionist , right , everybody in my family was a perfectionist , and you know I had to keep that smile on my face and move forward , and you know it wasn't serving me . It created a lot of anxiety and angst within me .

You know , one of the things I teach my clients is this idea of going for B minus right , so that we can make small little shifts each day and we get to the goal eventually . Right , but there's no rush , right .

So I started reading it today and it makes a lot of sense because he's saying the same thing and that's exactly how it's worked for me .

I just did this intuitively because I try the other side of making the extreme changes and of making the extreme changes and even if they kind of worked , sometimes like it was so much stress and so much pressure that it wasn't sustainable as a strategy long-term . So , what I love about his strategy is he talks about exactly like you were saying .

He basically said there's three ways to have a habit change . He said the first way is an epiphany , which he said like I don't have a crystal ball , neither do you , so good luck waiting on that one . I forget what the second one was I literally just read it an hour ago . But he said the third one was to create small incremental shifts over time .

So like this is what I always tell my clients Like if someone's like going to bed at two in the morning and they want to go to bed at 10 . And they're like I'm going to just go to bed at 10 this whole week just to like , literally just to prove to yourself over and over that you can set a goal and fulfill it .

And then , as you gain more trust in yourself , yeah , maybe you naturally feel like you can set a little bit bigger of a goal and it doesn't feel stressful to you .

But yeah , this whole idea that we need to , like you know , because our minds want that right , say , if we want to lose weight , our minds like like I want to lose weight and I want it now , but the body takes time to catch up .

So I think it's important to give ourselves that grace , you know , and realizing that we do have our entire life to figure these things out . And if we just get 0.01% you know more aligned each day , then it's only a matter of time until any of our dreams come true .

And you know , while I love that idea I love what Shilajit's all about at least what I've learned about it I am curious if , when you are a full-on Ayurvedic practitioner , if it plays as big of a role as the Instagram ads want you to believe it does .

But again , it comes back to that individualism , right , and what's going on with you and what you need and what your goals are right . Because you know Shilajit , yes , I think , can be very potent and a great rejuvenator for many , many people .

You know we're we're using , you know , these deep minerals that are found , you know , in the earth to rejuvenate ourselves , and a lot of times , you know , our soil is robbed of these minerals . So , you know , in terms of longevity , it's a great thing to take . But there's also many other things .

There's other things that are going on with people , people that are dealing with stress , like you know , it's also a little , it can also be good for stress . But you know we don't want to just again find one thing right , like we began our conversation with that .

You know , hone in on that one thing and say this is , you know , my lifesaver right , and a lot of times , with herbs , we want to take them for , you know , maybe one to three months , that we want to see what the effect is , you know , on our body .

We , you know , when we use these different substances or herbs in Ayurveda , we want to think about first of all , like what is the taste ? What is it giving right ? And you know , what do we also use to help heal are the different tastes in Ayurveda .

So there's sour , sweet , salty , pungent , bitter and astringent , and we use different tastes predominantly in our meals , according to what our imbalances are and the time of year . So , but we want to see what the taste is , what is the ? And then we want to see what the digestive effect is on us .

It's called the Vipaka , and so you know that might help us deeper . And then we want to think about , you know , what is the virya , what is the action that it takes on us ? Is it a neutral one , or is it making us hotter or cooler , or what kind of healing effect does it have on us ? And then you know , how is it affecting the doshas ?

So you know , we have to think about first of all , what is our imbalance , right ? So if we're feeling depleted in nature , right then chilesh , it might be a good solution . But we have to think about what is the overall picture .

He's been on the show probably like five or six times now , but he does something that now that I'm hearing you know even more about Ayurveda out loud it seems like it's almost an ancient system that seeks to do exactly what my buddy Jason's HTMA work and kind of like his I don't know , you know what to call it .

The closest thing to what he does would be called the root cause protocol and it's all based on , like mineral supplementation , so like basically , you get these tests on a hair tissue mineral analysis every three months and his whole theory and based on his mentor who trained in this is that all disease , all , all dysfunction , all anything starts at the mineral

level before it goes on to , like you know , hormones or blood or anything else , right ?

So if you can understand the mineral imbalances , which are definitely based on elements and things like that , because jason talks about it all the time , he's a doctor , medical qigong , so he brings in a lot of this kind of stuff if you can understand that like it's almost like this protocol is a little it meets like some type A people probably more where it's

at . It has some test results or whatever . You can read numbers . But to me it actually seems like it's kind of based off of what Ayurveda was doing even without that technology . It's just kind of like a stand in in the way for , you know , to meet people where they're at now until they get back to like being able to fully use their intuition again .

That's kind of how I see it . You know , it's kind of like training , yeah .

So that's why Agni , this idea of your metabolism , of transformation , is so important , right , and it's not just digesting our food , it's also digesting our emotions and our experiences , right .

And when we have that imbalance , and when we're properly digesting our food and experiences , then it gives us the opportunity to build what we call OGIS , that resilience in life , that immunity that helps us to have that longevity that Ayurveda can really help us with .

And you know , if we're not , if we don't have proper Agni and we're imbalanced , then we develop something called Ama , which is what you might interpret as inflammation , right , and so that is what causes disease .

If we have a lot of ama , you know , I always say you know , if we stand up , if we can pinch an inch in our tummy or a little more , right , then we've got ama , right , we've got inflammation in our body .

And so there's a lot of things that we can do to do that , and the first thing is learning how to better digest our food right , and then we can come back to . You know , and I said I like these markers , I love functional medicine because it can give us the statistics right .

It can give us the tests to show us what we are in balance , right , because we are in a Western society , people like to see things in black and white , right , so it's a nice compliment .

You know , like , because the Ayurveda to me , like you know , gives me an understanding of like for me , like I'm a very spiritual person , so for me , I like working with the elements , I like working with archetypes , I like working with all these different types of things which I feel like Ayurveda gives me my dose of that , you know , with the elements and

things like that . And then on the side of my you know , my masculine side , my left brain side , it's like I get , you know , really nerd , I nerd out on like , ooh , my numbers went up or they went down , or like , whoa , what's happening there , you know . So I think , like it know and be able to work with them together .

You know , one thing I'm curious on with you is I'm always fascinated to ask people that have like a very specific area they focus on . You know , like for you , ayurveda , for me plant medicine , things like that . Is there one experience that stands out to you , either in your own life or someone else's ?

Maybe you've worked on , maybe a story you've heard that really blew your mind when it comes to Ayurveda ?

Because , again , like , I love stretching people's minds on this podcast , so I'm just curious if anything pops into mind or heart when it comes to a radical healing story or a just any story that sticks out to you to be really amazing to do with Ayurveda .

And you know , one of the things that is and I'm leading into the answer is that how profound breath work can be and , with respect to Ayurveda , it can help to heal us . I've seen a lot of different healing , nothing like out of this world yet , so I don't have a response to that .

But you know , yoga has these eight limbs , one of which is pranayama , and one of the things that I have found , not only with myself but with my clients , is how profound the way that we breathe can affect the way that we live and digest .

And I had a recent client who was recovering from colon cancer , had emergency surgery and she had to have part of her colon removed , which found her in a place that was very hard for her to relieve herself and go to the bathroom and poop every day , and so we started using this three-part breath because we realized that she wasn't breathing the right way , and

so she wasn't activating the diaphragm , which activates the digestive system because it allows it to massage , right , and so we really . I know it sounds so simple , right , but the way that we breathe really affects the way that we feel in our body and how our body processes things .

And so , using that , I worked with her for three months and you know we did other things as well . That wasn't the only thing that we did , but it's these subtle little changes that really make a difference , and this is a practice that she has maintained every morning .

You know , she's in my yoga classes , so I talked to her and so I know that she's using this . So you know , things like that can be very profound and that's why it's just a subtle . It's like I said , you know , changing your meal to the middle of the day . You talk about people who have sleep issues .

You know , if you're eating your meal and at least three hours before you go to bed , it gives you time to digest that food so that your body can properly process , rejuvenate , detoxify what it needs to do during the middle of the night and assimilate those nutrients right , and you can really find deep sleep . And I'm into monitoring things .

I don't wear an Apple watch , I wear a Garmin watch and I like to watch my sleep . I'm really obsessed with my sleep because for a few years I had a really tough time sleeping and , you know , over the past few months I've been getting 100% Right , and that that's for my body battery . That's pretty impressive , you know .

So you know , if I'm above 90% , I'm a happy girl , and so I like these metrics . I like to pair science with Eastern medicine right , because it gives us some continuity and something to fall back on . But you know , I've had people come off of acid reflux medication . I've had people come off of anxiety medication , right .

So I'm not proponing that everybody has to come off of medication . Right , because there are definitely places that we need it , but I don't think that it is the solution to everything . Places that we need it , but I don't think that it is the solution to everything .

I think there are many things that we can do through lifestyle , through food , through herbs , through spices right , that can really help us to change our digestion and really eliminate so much disease if we're willing to do that work , and it doesn't take a lot of work .

You know , I'll go through periods like in the summer I'm outside every morning doing breath work to the sunrise and things like that . In the winter , though , I'll usually maybe do Tai Chi in the morning it's a little colder just sit there and do breath work . So I'll change it up different times of the year based on how I feel .

But yeah , like there have been I mean , some of the most psychedelic experiences I've ever experienced have been me ripping holotropic breath work , completely sober you know otherwise and literally leaving my body , forgetting who I am .

Like I mean having straight up five MEO , dmt level experiences , and that's just completely sober in , like an auditorium with a bunch of other people .

So I think , like getting into a practice like that that can remind you of who and what you truly are , right , remind you that you were God embodied like everyone else's and everything is , and also that can help you of who and what you truly are right , remind you that you were god embodied , like everyone else's and everything is , and also that can help you

calm down . I mean , there's so many different styles and , like you were saying , you know , one of the big issues I had that I didn't realize I had when I had it , but I remember when I first , uh , met my friend , leah drew , who's been on the show .

I met her , uh , probably about eight years ago at the dispensary I worked at and she was a personal trainer . She did neural neurokinetic therapy and amino neurofrequency therapy , so three times fast and uh .

And so she started working with me because I was having like all this neck tension , like all this stuff happening , and one of the first things she had me do was blow a balloon up and I was like I'm doing blown up a balloon , you know . So I'm like it up and she's like you didn't use your diaphragm at all .

I'm like huh , and then , like you know , I had a six pack , so I'm like my core is fine . She's like that's the you know .

Most people think that you know , and so the last eight years have been me completely going against so many things I grew up doing and really now , like eight years later , really being like , wow , my core fully works , my breathing is , I mean , almost perfect . I'm sure it'll be perfect , but very good , now my anxiety has come down .

I mean , there's so many changes it's almost hard to talk about it , and breath is the thing we all have access to . That doesn't cost any money . You know it doesn't cost anything .

You know , when you think about biohacking , for instance , like I love biohacking , you know it's fun , but how many people are like I need a hyperbaric oxygen chamber , I need to buy an inference on it ? It's like those things are cool , they're awesome , but is your breath okay ? Because , like , if that's not , you could do that .

It's just a small series that I'm doing , and we began just by breath work , right , just so that they can relax . Because the first thing is , none of these people had ever meditated before and they don't know how to relax .

They can't turn off their mind , and so , you know , I I like to start people off with just some breath work so they can relax in their body , just feel into that stillness .

To just be right and most of us are not taught to breathe , the native americans used to purse the lips of their babies when they were asleep to teach them to breathe through their nose , right . So , you know , I always ask people , you know , at the beginning of a yoga class not every class but where are you breathing ? Where's the breath flowing ?

Is it just in the upper lobes of the lungs ? Are you able to draw that down more deeply so we can activate that ?

So if I become aware of a issue , it's almost like it goes hyper , polarizing the other way . So when Leah and I had talked about my diaphragm , I wasn't using my bottom like the actual diaphragm a lot like my upper lobes would inflate , whatever but I wasn't using that .

So then what started happening was I started pushing my stomach out so much that I gave myself dystasis recti right , like pregnant women , have you know . So that was pretty funny to go to physical therapy for .

But basically when that happened I was doing bickram yoga a lot and I really enjoyed bickram in terms of like the , the structure you know , 26 and 2 every time .

But what ended up happening was I created like a I don't know if I'd call it a pelvic floor , but definitely like a right iliacus , like psoas type thing going on where it just everything clenched there . And so the last couple of years I've really opened back up that side and leveled it out .

But yeah , like that was all breathing mechanics , like all breathing mechanics and my mindset , you know , my mindset had a big part to do with it focusing way too much on each individual part instead of the big thing inflated together . But yeah , it was a complete , I mean 180 , you know , and how my body feels , it's wild .

That way I can never tell myself , because I realized my biggest thing was I'd create these big goals for like an hour or whatever , and then when I didn't have the time , I'd be like , well , I can't even , I shouldn't even open the guitar up , I don't have an hour . So I realized that early on .

So now , with meditation , with breath work , you know , the only thing that doesn't really work good for is the sauna . You can't really go in a sauna for a minute , but other than that , you know , like , like with these things .

Since I started doing that , the funniest thing is I usually meditate and do breath work and all these things way longer than I did when I had the goals there , because I don't have the pressure anymore . So that's been a big tiny habit I picked up with regards to breath work and meditation . It's been a game changer for sure .

Beautiful Yvette , this has been amazing . I'm so excited to have you back on and keep riffing .

I want to make sure that , before we wrap up here , I give you an ample opportunity to tell the listeners where they can find you , where they can connect with you , maybe any services you currently offer , any things you have coming up , where can I send the people to find you ? And I'll make sure to put it in the show notes too , of course .

And that's available on Amazon . And I have a women's circle that meets once a month . It's not online , it's in person , right . So if you're in the New Jersey area and would like to join , you can connect with me on that . I hold different mini retreats . I do a sound healing pretty much once or twice a month in my area .

I have a spring cleanse coming up April 4th and I am co-leading my first mini retreat to the Azores in October , so super excited about that , and I have a couple spots open for two one-on-one clients .

So if you're interested in that , you can come and meet me there , and I have a healthy habits group on Facebook , so I would love to see any of you there and appreciate this time with you , ryan .

What is the one piece of advice you could relate to them to allow them to use the proper discernment in discovering if Ayurveda , psychedelics or any of these things are right for them at this point in their life right now ?

So if your body's expanding , yes , that's for you , and if it's contracting and you're feeling a little uneasy about it , then it might not be the right time .

Like I said way back in the intro and like we talked about quickly , I got connected to her through a very dear friend of mine who spoke extremely highly of yvette and now that I've got to hang out with her a couple times , I totally corroborate everything that jen said . So make sure you go check it out .

If you love the show , give us a five star review on iTunes and or Spotify helps us so much in getting the show out to more people just like you , more cool people . So wherever you guys are in the world , I hope you're all having the best day ever and , as always , may the source be with you . Peace for now .