
Fasting between meals gives the digestive organs a chance to rest, and improves the ability of the body to digest fat, a stable source of energy. Although recommended by western medicine, many small meals causes blood sugar instability and leads to...
Part of what makes loneliness unbearable is the aspect of mystery in it. When you are alone, you may not know how and where you can find human connection, and feel your self-esteem quickly wither before the enigma. When you feel like you are unloved or...
Eating late at night provokes Kapha. When a person goes to bed with undigested food in the stomach, the food tends to stagnate both in the intestines and the blood, leading to weight gain. Sumo wrestlers in Japan gain weight by eating late at night. If...
Eating late at night provokes Kapha. When a person goes to bed with undigested food in the stomach, the food tends to stagnate both in the intestines and the blood, leading to weight gain. Sumo wrestlers in Japan gain weight by eating late at night. If...
Studies show over 1/5 of all eating happens in a car. The flavor curve of food changes with every bite. When you are distracted, you may not be aware of how the taste of food is changing. Distractions make it impossible to listen to your body's cues to...
Eating happens. Food calms you down when you feel overwhelmed, stressed, or hazed, which can create an almost instinctive impulse to reach for a snack, even when you're calm, when life and your diet are going swimmingly well for you. Two elements,...
If you lead a hectic lifestyle and find yourself always running from place to place, it can be hard to switch gears and slow yourself down. The first step might be in planning, long before the meal. Have you carved out enough time in your schedule to...
Eczema is skin inflammation caused by hypersensitivity to allergens & irritants (atopy). Dry eczema tends to increase during winter months when the skin is very dry due to cold. Although eczema is a sign of Pitta aggravation it may be caused...
Edematic swelling can result from stagnant circulation or low osmotic pressure in the blood compared to cells. Circulation becomes stagnant in Kapha dosha when the blood is too thick and sweet. "Sweet" blood means blood that is rich in sugars, fats,...
The kinds of food you crave can give you clues as to what's going on internally When you eat, are you truly hungry for food?...
Emphysema is a condition where the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs are damaged and rupture, creating large air filled spaces in the lungs. The early symptoms of emphysema are shortness of breath, coughing, and recurrent lung infections....
An empty vessel pulse could mean low blood pressure or dehydration. The vessel feels especially deflated between heartbeats. A wide pulse (due to vasodilation) sometimes feels more empty because blood pressure drops when vessels are dilated.
Endometriosis comes the from the word endometrium, the tissue lining of the uterus. It refers to the abnormal growth of uterine tissue outside of the uterus, often in the abdominal cavity. These growths may be adhered to various abdominal organs....
Excessive lactation can cause engorged breasts. Peppermint and culinary sage can help reduce excessive breastmilk.
The spleen has two main functions in the body. The first is to filter the blood by removing microbes as well as dead or damaged red blood cells. The spleen also produces white blood cells for the immune system. Ayurveda considers the spleen (along with...
Ayurvedically, a seizure may represent a kind of nervous system colic. The nervous system fires asynchronously, leading to twitching. The recovery stage resembles a reboot of the nervous system. This "reboot" takes time as all systems resynchronize....
True erectile dysfunction is frequently a circulatory problem. If you have morning erections, the root cause of sexual dysfunction may be nervous system related, due to exhaustion, or other factors.
Estrogen sensitive tissues include tissues we would expect: breasts, endometrium, and ovaries. Additionally, estrogen receptors are found in the bone, brain, liver, colon, skin, and salivary gland. Estrogen domination is also called unopposed...
Excitement and inspiration can lead to greater focus and determination, if rooted in reason. Sometimes, however, excitement and inspiration become an imbalanced habit, caused by excess wonder or curiosity. Wonder is a source of...
A person may decide to exercise frequently when self critical of their body, to overcome feelings of helpless, when trying to flush out toxins, or to release ambition and stress. Ayurveda suggests a mild restorative daily exercise routine without...
Gas and watery stools together make the elimination explosive. Explosive elimination is often a sign of both irritated and weakened intestines. It may be a sign of colic, or irritable bowel syndrome. This condition should be addressed as quickly as...
Eye twitching generally comes from toxicity or imbalance in electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, or taurine.
Fainting may be due to a sudden drop in blood pressure, such as when a person quickly stands up, hyperventilates, is stressed, or is shocked by a traumatic event or news. Fainting is primarily Udana Vayu (upward moving Vata). It is a sign that a person...
Fast food isn't all that fast in the digestive tract. We've had clients burp up the flavor of a big mac more than 48hrs after consumption. If you have acid reflux, bloating, feel tired, or your thoughts become cloudy after eating, the fast food has...
A fast heartbeat could indicate stress, anxiety, dehydration, and heat. It is normally associated with Vata dosha and toxicity in the blood. If Kapha thick blood congests circulation too much, it could create panic attacks / anxiety related tachycardia.
Fat on the back of the arms or on the back is generally not as problematic: Ayurveda is more concerned with fat concentrated disproportionately in the hips, belly, and thighs. Unequal distribution of fat is a sign of circulatory problems. Often either...
If fat on your buttocks is proportional to weight gain in other areas of your body, you do need to give special consideration to fat in this area. If you gain weight disproportionately on the buttocks, it may indicate that circulation in this region is...
Fat appears wherever circulation is stagnant. The circulatory system is responsible for carrying dietary fats out of the body and it is often stored in those areas where circulation is slow-moving or sluggish. When excess fat appears on the thighs,...
Fatigue generally comes from congestion, deficiency, excessive activity, or poor mental health. Tired Due to kapha Hypothyroid Thick blood (Kapha) Eating a large meal Lack of...
Lumps and bumps could be lipomas, cancer, or other diseases. Lipomas indicate a problem with fat metabolism and lipid congestion of the lymphatic system.
If you ever asked why fried food is bad for you, you're not alone. We understand your concern. After all, the sizzle of french fries in a deep fryer or the sight of a funnel cake at your local fair can be hard to resist. These foods are fun...
Fatty Liver is a condition characterized by a buildup of fat (triglycerides) in the
Fecal incontinence may result from weakness of the muscles in the rectum, rapid emptying of veins in the sphincter, or inflammation causing an acute urge to defecate. Ashwini mudra may help in weakness. reduce blood stagnation in blood stasis.
Many people with heartier constitutions or excess weight may feel silenced or ashamed because of their weight as a result of cultural or family pressure. You might feel afraid or embarrassed to eat in public, believing that a heavier person is not...
Slipping up does not make you a failure; when you start to change a habit around food, especially if its one you've had for many years, you are bound to go back to the old line of behavior every now and then. Instead of feeling like a failure,...
In Ayurveda, excess weight is considered a symptom of something deeper. You might feel physically heavy, puffy, or sluggish; perhaps there is a feeling of discomfort in overly tight clothing or a shame about the number on the scale that makes you...
Feeling pain less than other people, or hypoalgesia, is a condition in which there is decreased sensitivity to painful stimuli. Hypoalgesia is a potentially dangerous condition as there may be a reduced or delayed response in processing painful...
Feeling pain more than other people, or hyperalgesia, is a condition in which there is increased sensitivity to painful stimuli. Pain is detected by sensory nerves. If you feel pain more than others, the nervous system is likely agitated or on high...
The liver is a very sensitive and self conscious organ. Feeling unliked can undermine our ability to trust others. Since trust is at the core of human relationships, feeling unliked can become a self fulfilling prophecy. Relationships work best when we...
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics. By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies - such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance your healing.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’