My Step by Step Morning Routine (Refined and Validated Over 18 years)

Many of you have asked me how I am staying in shape, keeping my digestion regular and overall maintaining balance while traveling for 9 months. Among many things that I do, a regular morning routine is at the core of my self-care. I use morning to set the tone for the day, optimize digestion and elimination pathways, move my body, and calm the mind. I get all of this done in two hours 6-8am or lately 530-730am.

Dessert Turned Balanced Dinner

It’s been awhile since I posted any recipes. My diet is pretty simple most days and consists out of one-pot lentil and quinoa with veggies stews, salads, and soups. I’m more about functionality and digestibility when it comes to my foods rather than gourmet dishes. If it’s easy to make, simple, and easy to digest, it gets my approval.

The recipe that I about to share was inspired by a recent visit to one of my favorite vegetarian Indian restaurants in Murray Hill. I kept thinking about this dish for a few days after and tried to create my own version at home. It came out so good that I think it deserves sharing. It is an unusual combination of tastes for a Western palate – lentils, raisins, coconut, cardamom, and dates. It might sound too weird but surprisingly it tastes pretty damn good!

Is Your Tongue Trying to Tell You Something Important?

We all have our pet peeves. Some hate when a toilet paper roll is placed the wrong way, others cringe their teeth at noisy eaters, and many of us dislike when someone is taking forever to order when there is a line (juice bar lunch line that is:)).

Quick Power Up Breakfast Bread (Gluten, Sugar, Fat Free)

There are days when there is barely any time to take a slow breath and definitely no time to cook a healthy breakfast. If you are familiar with a feeling and anxiety and being overwhelmed from the early waking hours and running around on coffee until late afternoon, I hope this recipe will help.

Food Combining 101

Recently, I wrote an article for Mind Body Green on food combining  10 worst food combinations that can wreak havoc on your health. The response was overwhelming with over 2 thousand people liking the article on facebook. If you haven’t read it, please check it out, it’s a fun read!

Ayurvedic Take on Juice Cleanse

Does cleansing from long-stored toxins and regaining child like energy sound appealing to you? Did you hear amazing reviews from friends and strangers about the miracle powers of a week-long juice cleanse? Are you considering investing in one sometime soon?

Feel-Good Holiday Travel Tips

This post is for all lucky travelers who are going to celebrate holidays with the family and friends or taking off to a vacation spot. Traveling is always fun and exciting but it can also get quite stressful, especially if you are flying. Packed airports, TSA screenings, and delays can upset even a tough traveler. Besides that, Ayurveda says that any movement faster than a walking speed gets the entire system out of balance. Also traveling disrupts your daily routine and often pulls you across time zones. All this aggravates the vata dosha—the subtle energy that governs movement—and leaves you vulnerable to dehydration, insomnia, sluggish digestion, anxiety, and jet lag. As a result you might feel a little spacey, irritated, and tired upon your arrival to the  destination. To make sure this doesn’t happen and that you arrive ready to party, follow these simple Ayurvedic traveling tips:
Before you leave the house:
– Take a few ginger or cinnamon tea bags with you. Both herbs have warming and calming qualities. Herbal caffeine-free tea is a good alternative to coffee and black tea since they won’t have a dehydrating effect.
– Bring healthy snacks or a home cooked meal. You will save money and your stomach. Most airport terminals still lack freshly prepared meal options. So unless you have something with you, you will end up eating a day old dry sandwich. If you don’t have time to prepare something, take a packet of instant oatmeal. You can get hot water at any terminal.
– Bring an interesting book and ipod with calm music. That’s in case you get delayed.
– Carry a Lavender pouch if you are an especially sensitive traveler. Lavender has a calming effect on the nervous system.

4 Ways to Stay Healthy and Balanced During The Fall

Beautiful yellow, orange, and red tree leaves, crisp cool air, an elevated level of creativity and lightness – the Fall brings all of it to life. It was a favorite season for many bright minds known to humanity. Alexander Pushkin sang odes to Autumn – its colors, freshness, and a sweet melancholy of a passing summer. While some might feel the same tender love to this beautiful season others may experience quite the opposite – constantly cold feet and hands, dry skin, chapped lips, racing thoughts, fatigue, and even depression. Add to it constant digestion problems and you get a rather unhappy individual. All these are signs of an aggravated Vata that tends to accumulate in the Fall. However, Vata season doesn’t have to be miserable. Balanced Vata portrays characteristics of an increased creativity, lightness, and enthusiasm. As always in Ayurveda, it is up to you to decide how you want to feel this Fall! Below are some easy tips that you can use throughout day to keep capricious Vata in balance.