My journey with Ayurveda

My journey into Ayurveda is the result of me living and breathing India for ten years. I currently live in South India. After meeting my husband in America in 2010, we decided to visit his family in India in 2012. We had return tickets booked and had not planned on moving to India. We ended up staying and moving to India.

Upon arriving in India, we lived with my husband’s family for the first couple years. There were eight of us living all together. To go from a very isolated America to joint family living was quite a surprise.

One of the main things that touched me was my mother in law’s total focus and dedication on food. For me as an American who had a lot of canned and processed food in my past diet, her dedication to preparing meals was very inspiring. I would observe her in the kitchen and often join her in cooking. She would often tell us rules about what to eat or not to combine. “Don’t eat curd at night” is an example. “Don’t mix fruit with that.” At the time, the rules seemed arbitrary, as there was no reason why. Little did I know at the time, that she was actually saying ayurvedic principles.

Everyday, I was in charge of making dinner. So my cooking skills were born! Ayurveda is a kitchen science, but it is also so much more. It was through cooking with my Indian mother in law, that my journey into Ayurveda was born.  Food was my doorway into Ayurveda, but I don’t only focus on food.  I am a holistic ayurvedic wellness consultant.

Qualifications:

Ayurveda wellness counselor, Maharishi Ayurveda Association of America

Ayurveda consultant, Shivani Ayurveda- Located in Dharamshala, India