Ep #153: Ayurveda Basics with Katelyn Sonnier

Welcome to More Than Mindset, the only podcast that bridges the gap between spirituality and success. Go beyond the mind with clarity and confidence Coach Kim Guillory and learn how to integrate your passion to serve with your skills and experience to create a business you love. Let’s get started.

Kim: Hey there and welcome back to the More Than Mindset show. My guest today is Katelyn Sonnier and we are talking about Ayurvedic basics is what I’m going to call it, Katelyn. You can call it something else if you want to.

Katelyn: Okay.

Kim: And the point of the show today is to introduce this, I’ll say this lifestyle, or this path to wellness, or this holistic adventure. We can call it whatever you want, for those who are interested in yoga and meditation and just holistic living. When I say the word, I think of more like naturalism. What about you, Katelyn? How do you–

First of all, let me let you introduce yourself and then we’ll kind of get into that. So do you want to tell the audience kind of who you are, where you’re from? Why are you here today?

Katelyn: Yeah, my name is Katelyn Sonnier and I’m originally from Eunice, Louisiana. I spent 10 years in Kentucky and then took a leap of faith and moved to Mandeville in 2020.

And here in Mandeville I teach at a studio called Just Breathe Yoga, where I teach yoga and also do workshops on Ayurveda. And I’m also an Ayurvedic wellness consultant where I work one on one with clients who want to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle and learn more about how it can benefit their lives and kind of put them back into balance.

And to answer your question, to me, Ayurveda is an innate wisdom. It’s like a wisdom we’re all born with and we all have inside of us, that we can choose to awaken through the path of Ayurveda or through something else. So it’s a Sanskrit word that translates to wisdom of life. And that’s basically what it is, it’s the wisdom of life and how to live your life based on your unique mind body type.

Kim: How did you first find it? What drew you in? Because I remember for myself in yoga teacher training when I first started learning about it, I mean, I was a bit overwhelmed because it’s such a huge body of water. I was like, I mean, I was instantly attracted to it.

Katelyn: Yeah, I did my 200 hour yoga teacher training in Kentucky. And what led me to yoga teacher training is kind of what led to the path for me for Ayurveda. I was already dealing with health issues. Because I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I had intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut. So I was just not in a good place.

And then in my yoga teacher training they introduced us to Ayurveda. And when they were talking about the basics of Ayurveda I just lit up. It was like every cell in my body was like, this is it. This is for you. This is what you need to learn about to heal yourself. So I took a deep dive.

I bought all the books. I worked with an Ayurvedic health practitioner to try to get myself back on track. It changed my life and it’s continuing to change my life. Like every year I take kind of a health assessment and I see how different things have changed in my body from where they used to be. It’s really my jam, I love it.

Kim: Can we talk about the beginning of when you heard about it, you started researching it, you bought the books, and where you are now. Can you tell me the span? Because that’s, I think, is so important whether we’re talking about Human Design, raw food vegan, any kind of lifestyle change. And I love the way you said it’s your choice of the path of awakening.

So for some it is diet, it’s fitness, it’s a marriage falling apart, whatever it is. How long or how far in are you right now? And can you share that beginning phase? Because this is where I find most people get hung up.

Katelyn: Yeah, I started the deep dive in 2012.

Kim: Wow.

Katelyn: Mm-hmm, so I adopted an Ayurvedic lifestyle in 2012. I was just kind of a mess all over so there are so many things that I needed help with. But from 2012 to I’m going to say 2021, because that’s when I started healing myself and then I learned how to start helping others heal.

Kim: 2011 to 2021, that’s a long time, Katelyn.

Katelyn: Yeah.

Kim: Can we talk about the struggles of that and what kept you in the game? Because let me just kind of explain what we’re doing here on the show, this is like practical living. And I use the word simplical. Simple, practical, and it applies to no matter what you have going on in your life.

So if there is someone here who’s just feeling– Could you tell us a little bit about the symptoms you were feeling before?

Katelyn: Yeah, so before I started I was– Like I said, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and leaky gut. So I was trying to figure out what in my diet was causing havoc and wreaking havoc. I had digestive troubles, I had acne, I had severe anxiety and depression, which are two opposite ends of the spectrum. Lack of clarity, like nothing was clear. I was like living in a gray cloud of just fog. Just confusion, sheer confusion.

And I was living a life that I forced upon myself, is basically what it kind of all boiled down to. I was trying to be something that I was not. The roller coaster of Ayurveda was up and down for me. So I learned about it, I developed a practice and a lifestyle for it, and then it kind of just all fell away. So then I stopped doing it because life happened, life got in the way.

Kim: And the environment where we live is not easy.

Katelyn: No. I mean, it is a roller coaster, it’s a constant guessing game. And so then life happened and it got in the way and I just kind of quit my Ayurveda lifestyle. I just kept, you know, going back and eating the fried foods, eating the spicy foods, working a nine to five. You know, things that I know weren’t working for me, but I just had to go back and do it.

Kim: How far in? When did the temptation to quit and the inconvenience set in? How far in was that?

Katelyn: About a year. I graduated from yoga teacher training, I did the lifestyle, I worked with a practitioner. So I was working with someone who was keeping me accountable for all of it.

Kim: Right, right.

Katelyn: And then it was like all right, Katelyn, you’re on your own to do it. I did it for a little while and then it kind of just fell away.

Kim: So important to say that because that’s why practitioners and coaches are so important in helping us. We know we can do everything ourselves, but we honestly don’t have the tools and we don’t have the belief. The belief might be planted, but it hasn’t actually acclimated into the nervous system and become the new us yet.

So you told us the years, but how old were you? Because you’re pretty young, you’re my children’s age.

Katelyn: Yeah, I’m 33 right now.

Kim: And so you were really young.

Katelyn: Yeah. And yes, it was a roller coaster. And then I eventually just did my annual health assessment. I was like, what changed in my life that threw me off again? Because I was feeling good, I was doing great. And it was I am not seeing my coach anymore. I’m not waking up doing my Ayurvedic ritual practices. I’m eating whatever is put in front of me, I’m not making conscious choices of what I know is good for me.

So I kind of just lost control. So then I brought it all back and I was like, you know what’s going to help me stay on this track? This track that I know is so good for me, is being educated and helping others on this same path. So as I help others, it helps me. As I help others heal themselves, I’m also continuing to heal myself because it keeps me straight.

Kim: Yep, become the teacher if you want to learn. Do you want to become an expert at anything?

Katelyn: Teach it, yep.

Kim: I was going to look at your Human Design to see what’s in there. Because that’s another thing that’s really like kind of a game changer for recognizing that we are different and unique. We’re not necessarily like the family we were born to or the environment that we were raised in. So I want to kind of see how that played into it.

So for those who don’t know, Katelyn went to school with my children and lived right down the road, like a mile and a half. And has currently kind of come back into it. I didn’t even know where you were, and I think Mallory connected us. And whenever you told me what you were doing I was like, oh, no, no, we got to do something together. And I invited you. I was like, we’re going to do something in the future coming up. Are you in for it? You were like, yes.

So how has that played into the challenge? Like where you were, I would say the first 15 years of your life, the first 10 years of your life, and then trying to incorporate a new lifestyle even though you moved away. The imprinting of the old environmental pattern of being here in Evangeline Parish, in Louisiana, with the Cajun culture, how has that played into it for you?

Katelyn: Taking all of that of who you are and who you were told to be and bringing it with you to a different environment and trying to be who you were told to be instead of having the liberation and freedom to create who you want to be was really hard. Really, really hard. Because then it’s a whole different environment. It’s a whole different culture.

It was a whole different ballgame and I was trying to force all of that into the confinements of a whole different structure. That was really difficult.

Kim: Do you think it was a part of what made it so challenging? Because it’s deep, man, our Cajun roots are deep.

Katelyn: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely. And also just the way the North is and the way they relate to people is so different. And we’ll dive into this a little in a little bit, but I’m a Kapha of nature. So I love that part of our culture where our culture is nourishing, our culture is very grounding. Our environment is very grounding, we live in mud and water, right? So I love that part of our culture.

And when I moved up north to Kentucky, they don’t have that richness that we did. So I did miss that aspect of it and I think my soul craved it. So moving back here in 2020, not necessarily being around my family, but just being around the people who they draw you in. They want to know about you. And for whatever reason they want to know about you, they do. They draw you in. And I really missed that about our culture and I think I was looking for that in Kentucky but I couldn’t find it.

Kim: So you know my business is right here on the highway, so when someone meets their internet mate or whatever and comes rolling into town, we know. We’re like, “Oh, what are you doing in here?” But they would always find my business first. And so having like hair and nails and tanning and exercise is like the perfect nest for a new woman in town.

And so over the years since 1997 I’ve just always gotten these people who came from other cultures. And it was so fascinating. And I think what kept them here, and I have some really good friends now who stayed, is that we kind of like welcomed them in, put them on the ottoman, rub their feet, massage their shoulders, fix them a bowl of gumbo. And we’re like is there anything else that you need? What else can I do for you?

Then when I started traveling, like with doTERRA and stuff when we were meeting with groups in other places, they are not like that. They just go out to dinner, they don’t wait for you at the elevator. I’m like what’s happening here?

Katelyn: Exactly, exactly.

Kim: Oh my god, it’s so good. So okay, let me come back to your journey. I love throwing all this in because I think if we were more transparent about it, we would quit judging ourselves and thinking it’s personal and it’s about us. And that we’re weak and we’re the ones who are not committed and we can’t stick to it. That is not true.

We are conditioned by our environment up until the age of seven, for sure. But when you’ve stayed there up until 20 it really creates a huge impact. So I mean we can’t go to anything else, but you’ve met other people in other places. And so when you started your yoga teacher training and it wasn’t in the south, were you able to relate and see that other people weren’t struggling with it so much because their beginning was different? Did you experience that at all?

Katelyn: I found, and it could have been me just needing the need of someone have this nourishing relationship with me. I’m part of a yoga teacher training here, so I see the people in the yoga teacher training here, how they relate and they start relationships together. Versus in my yoga teacher training, it was just there to learn.

It was just there to learn, have the educational relationship shoulder to shoulder. But it wasn’t until like the very end where everybody just dropped their guards and were able to just embrace each other. So I feel like in the north it takes a little bit longer. Like they’re a little more guarded than in the south. But we were all basically on the same journey, we just got there at a different time.

Kim: I’m curious if that’s why so many are drawn to come back home. Because even for myself, I’m ready to go but I was like, I need a little house here because I know I’m coming back. I want to die here, man. This is like people are going to come, you’re not going to die by yourself. They’re going to feed your family and come hang out with you.

Katelyn: And I think it’s just where your roots start. Even people who, I mean if anybody in Kentucky is listening from this they could argue with the fact of no, I feel how she’s talking and I’m from Kentucky. So I think it’s just like this is the dirt that I’m made from.

Kim: Yeah.

Katelyn: You know, I’m made from the swamp and the mud, I’m a prairie princess, you know? So I think it’s just where you’re from and what resonates with you.

Kim: Yeah, and all those mud bugs are up in your system. So let’s talk about Ayurveda and actual picking or understanding your constituents, because that is a part that was a little tough for me. I do believe I’m primarily Kapha also. I’m flimsy, it’s like that’s my first go to and I am dark, I am heavy, I’m super grounded. People gravitate to me because I’m like a 300 year old oak tree, like rough.

But I don’t know that, I am not an expert in this at all. I have all the books and I’ve done the research, but I have not had a regular practitioner consistently. But I’m super interested and I’m thinking that is something I will work on this year with you.

So how would you start with someone brand new out of the gate. They know what it is, they have at least an understanding of okay, this is a holistic path to wellness, where do I start?

Katelyn: So the best way for me that I found to understand Ayurveda and to explain Ayurveda is going back to like creation. So all the way back to creation we have this vastness, this emptiness. And then God spoke the word om. And from om all of the five elements were created. So foundationally, it’s based on the five elements.

So the vastness is ether. And then from ether creates movement, which is your air. And then from air creates friction, which makes fire. And then fire warms different particles of ether creating water. And then the water settles in and creates Earth. So it’s based all into the five elements.

And then after you get the foundation of the five elements it’s better understood through the qualities of each element. So for example, if you think of the element of fire, fire is dry, fire is rough, fire is mobile. So then you think of those elements that it has.

So Ayurveda says that all of the elements create the doshas, and the doshas are the patterns for existence. So every living thing, everything on earth is made up of matter. And all of matter is made up of the five elements. And all the five elements are explained through the qualities.

Kim: Okay. So I get the basics of that. But the first thing my mind wants, and I feel like everyone else will want, is what am I? Just like with Human Design, it’s like but tell me about me. I don’t really want to know about all that. So I get the basics. And is there another way that you would re-frame that that if you were talking to your fourth grade nephew? How would you say that?

Katelyn: Well, I would ask my fourth grade nephew, what do you feel most of? Do you feel more like wind? Do you feel more like fire? Do you feel more like water? Do you feel more like air? Or earth? Which one?

So thinking about superheroes, if you were a superhero and you had to choose one of the elements, like Pokémon is a great way to frame the kid mind for it. Think about the elements that would best describe you. And you went straight to Kapha, which would be earth and water.

Kim: Yes, for sure. My friend Becky, who’s listening to this, is going to laugh because we’ve been doing some sessions around there’s so much water moving right now. And if you notice, even the picture in More Than Mindset that we just put up, the cover, is water. It’s the same thing. It’s like so when we’re in it, it’s everywhere. We’ll start seeing it everywhere.

And so I love that you– That’s kind of where we want to come from with a new person, right, new practitioners. To get them to understand it in English because those other words are really big if you’ve never heard them before.

Katelyn: Right, yeah. So the first thing that I always mention to my clients is sit down, close your eyes, feel in. And what do you resonate with the most? Do you feel, based on your behaviors and your actions and what you’re drawn to, do you feel more watery? Do you feel more sedentary like Earth? Do you feel more like fire, like having a lot of drive and motivation? Do you feel more like wind, scattered?

And so when you kind of draw in and figure out which one resonates with you most, and you can usually figure out what your dosha is and what resonates with you.

Kim: I love that. And we all have all of it, it’s just sometimes it’s more heightened than others, or more on board. That’s how I understood it. 

Katelyn: Yeah, we are born with all five elements, which means we have all three of the doshas in us. And our bodies need all of them to function because they’re present in different parts of our bodies.

And you are born with a specific constitution, so just like Human Design, you were born in a specific way. And that will change and fluctuate based on your environment that you’re living in, how you were guided throughout your childhood before you can make your choices. And so that creates imbalances based on all of that.

Kim: And I’ve been studying just Chinese medicine and face reading and all of this stuff, and one of the things that really solidified this for me is describing the quality of the earth being. And we tend to have a lot of stuff in front of us. Anyone who knows my desk, everything is on my desk. Like everything. If you look in a room at everyone sitting at tables, that person who has a couple of cups, and their wallet, it’s like there’s that around it.

So it’s so interesting when you start weaving in all of these other understandings. And then it’s like, finally it’s like the mind can accept it and understand it that it’s not about judgment in comparison. It’s actually about coming home to yourself and what was always there anyway. I was always the kid with all the things. Think about the kids you went to school with. The one who had everything in their book sack, and the one who just walked in and never had anything.

Katelyn: Right, and that is such a Kapha nature. Kaphas love to collect things and have everything that they need. It’s that woman and the purse that has– Like Mary Poppins has just got all the things. Whatever I need I have it, it’s in my bag.

Kim: So let’s go into, you choose, what’s next? Where do you want to go from here? We’ll just kind of go through each of them, we’ll end it and then we’ll just kind of pick up after this.

Katelyn: Yeah, well we can go into Vata type first. Like when in doubt, always balance Vata because Vata is what keeps things moving. So air and ether makeup Vata. The qualities of Vata is you think of air. They’re dry, it move, it’s light, it’s cold, it’s rough, and it’s clarity. So those are the qualities of Vata.

Vata is found in your body, it’s found in your colon, it’s found in your bones, and it’s found in your joints, and it’s responsible for mobility and movement. So anything that moves in your body, your eyes blink, that’s Vata. Your heart beats, you need Vata for that. And it rules breathing, communicating, circulation, and creativity.

Kim: Okay.

Katelyn: So it’s important to understand that we need all of these doshas, whether it’s your primary dosha or not. You need Vata in your body to function. When Vata is in balance it’s creative and it’s flexible. When Vata is out of balance there’s fear, anxiety, certain movements and muscle spasms is an excess of Vata in the body.

And it also goes on to explain your time of life is separated into your doshas. And the Vata time of life is your wisdom years. So it’s any time after 60 is your Vata time. So if you think like older people, they start losing their balance, they start losing their hearing and their site. Vata season is fall, because in fall you have a lot of wind, it becomes very dry, and then the early part of winter.

Now, the seasons are kind of different because you think of the early winter, like we’re in early winter here in South Louisiana but we’re not experiencing Vata at the moment. We are experiencing Kapha, right? So that’s just something to keep in mind.

Kim: Yeah.

Katelyn: And then also in the time of day, the Vata times of day is from 2 to 6 AM and PM. So that would be the time where you would work on something creative. You would work on light movements, breathing practices, pranayama, things like that at those time of days. So the energy that’s present for you between 2 and 6AM and PM is Vata energy of air and ether. That’s why it’s a good dream state.

So if the question was to come, okay, so I have an excess of Vata in my body. I have fear, I have anxiety, I have constipation because I’m super dry, how do I balance that? Well, then you do the opposite qualities.

So for example, Vata high is very dry. So you would have an oil practice where you oil your body down. You would eat oily foods. I love to recommend to my clients using ghee on their meals. Like if they make oatmeal then drizzle some ghee on top. So use and eat oily things. Smooth things like avocados that are soft and smooth, mangoes. Vata is very mobile, so be still, sit still. Nadi Shodhana, alternate nostril breathing to slow the breath down will calm the mind.

So different types of practices to balance the qualities because opposites create balance.

Kim: Yeah, love that. Super simple to understand. Hope everyone’s getting this.

Katelyn: So if you’re not getting it, I totally get it. There’s so much depth to it, but opposites create balance. So that’s a little bit about Vata.

So for example, you wake up in the morning, you’re dealing with really dry skin because it’s so dry you’ve been running your heater for a lot or you have a dry scratchy throat. Then I invite you to do an oil practice. Massage your skin with warm oil, sesame oil in particular because sesame is very warm. Drink some warming liquids. Eat warm foods to balance those qualities of Vata.

Kim: And slow down,

Katelyn: Slow down, slow down.

Kim: And it’s like as soon as you say it, guys, think about that person that you know their hair is dry and brittle, and they’re like nervous. That works for me, if I can find like I’m saying like the person digging in the purse or the person that’s got stuff all over the place, then you’ll get a vision of it, an understanding of it. And then because you know it your mind will start looking for more evidence and then you’ll better understand it.

Or this is how I will offer you to teach it. I’m wide open, my centers are wide open so I don’t retain a lot of big words. But I definitely retain to relate to other humans.

Katelyn: Yeah, so just think about the energy that it has to offer. I like to think about animals too. Like a squirrel or a bird, something that has like really spastic– A rabbit, fast.

Kim: A little hummingbird.

Katelyn: Yeah, like the fast movements.

Kim: Okay.

Katelyn: The next one, we would go on to Pitta. And Pitta is made up of the fire and water elements. Pita’s qualities are hot. So if you think of the qualities of fire and water they’re hot, liquid, it’s also movement, light, and it’s oily. So to balance that you would think about the opposites of balancing that.

Pitta is housed in your small intestines, your liver, and its function is digestion. It regulates body temperature, hunger, and it’s also in the gray matter of your brain. So it’s responsible for your intelligence.

So you might think of a friend who is very, very smart, knows the right answers, they’re very sharp in their way of thinking. They’re very organized, they’re very precise. That’s the Pitta energy that they’re operating in. So maybe they have Pitta in their constitution. I don’t have a lot of Pitta, but I do on certain types of topics.

Kim: Isn’t that like whenever you get the hot on the tongue, the red tongue?

Katelyn: Yes.

Kim: Like the little babies even, you’ll see that happen. So it’s like I’m trying to find something to grab because I agree, I don’t have a whole lot of that either. What would be characteristics of human behavior, habit and behavior that would relate? Like when you think of a person who is, how would you describe her?

Katelyn: They’re very, very great leaders. An out of balance Pitta would be controlling. So someone who’s very forceful in their nature. like I’m a leader, but I’m going to lead you to do it my way. And my way is the only way.

A Pitta in balance has very good understanding. They’re very intelligent, they’re very sharp, they’re very smart. A Pitta who’s out of balance would have anger, jealousy, and then they would have inflammation in the body. So if you’re dealing with inflammation in your body, that means you have a lot of Pitta. A lot of Pitta. Because it’s fire, so fire is hot. Fire is hot and Pitta is also very oily. So if you’re dealing with like cystic acne, that’s a Pitta imbalance.

Kim: Mm-hmm. What about the animals that relate? Which animals would you relate to it?

Katelyn: A lion is very Pitta, a hippopotamus.

Kim: Either way they’re leading but more in a calm centered way rather than an attack way.

Katelyn: Right.

Kim: What was the second one?

Katelyn: A hippopotamus. So think about the animals that are super, super aggressive. Super aggressive. Kangaroos also have the Pitta energy.

Kim: Okay. What breed of dog?

Katelyn: Probably like the Pitbull or the Doberman Pinscher.

Kim: I was thinking the same, and I was like, is that why it’s pit.

Katelyn: Pit, it could be.

Kim: When you don’t really start marrying all this stuff, a lot of that will start making sense. And I’m like, why don’t we know this?

Katelyn: Yeah, well Pitta is a Sanskrit word and pit means fire.

Kim: But the Pitbull being named the put, that’s just an interesting coincidence.

Katelyn: So knowing what you know about the Pitta quality of fire and water, what season do you think it’s it would be?

Kim: Summer?

Katelyn: Yeah.

Kim: Yeah, because you’re hot and you cool off in the lake.

Katelyn: There’s a lot of heat present. The best time to start a diet and start something different in the way you’re eating is right before summertime. So like the end of spring, right before summer and implement a new diet, in the Ayurvedic way, implement a new diet in the summertime.

Kim: Yeah.

Katelyn: Because you’re more likely to stay on track with it because you have that planning energy available to you. Even if you don’t have a lot of Pitta in your constitution, it’s available to you in your environment.

Kim: Nice. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am.

Katelyn: The Pitta time of day is 10 to 2 AM and PM. The Pitta time of life is 25 to 60. So that’s like the time where you are more active, you are planning your life, you are executing your action plan of life.

Kim: I love how it all makes sense when you say like that’s the times you’re the most active. And in the summer you’re most active. And then that age is the age group where you’re so active. How it all goes along, for my brain anyway, I need to have all of those analogies and understandings in order to learn because I experience more than I memorize.

Katelyn: Yeah, like how it looks.

Kim: And that’s how I teach. All right, I’m looking at the time and making sure that I get as much from you as possible.

Katelyn: Yeah, so the last one would be Kapha. And Kapha is made of water and earth. And we live in the most Kapha state in the united states. Louisiana is Kapha in every way, shape, or form. We create a lot of Kapha people. And the Kapha qualities are dense, heavy, it’s also cold, oily, soft, very soft in nature, and static.

People who have a lot of Kapha qualities prefer to be on the couch, prefer to sit, prefer to be still. So to balance the Kapha you want to bring in more movement. You want to bring in more heat. You want to bring in more of the dry qualities, less oily, more dry.

It’s housed in the lungs, the throat. It’s responsible for structure and stability in the body. It rules your immunity and it also rules your hydration. A balanced Kapha has a lot of love, they’re very calm, and they’re very forgiving. They’re like the salt of the earth.

An unbalanced Kapha is attached, possessive, greed. Then they have congestive disorders. Like right now I’m sure a lot of us are dealing with the phlegm, that wet cough and then it’s just like clear mucousy stuff. A lot of people are probably dealing with I just don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything because everything feels so heavy.

Kim: It’s like swimming in wet cement. Kayla, I’m thinking of Kayla. She’s the integrative herbalist. You’re just kind of like stuck in it. And the way I used to see it is I have a crawfish lake across the street from me and it’s like putting chest waders on and walking through the crawfish lake. It takes so much energy to move.

And what helped me balance it is when I started a yoga meditation and the Peloton. You know, riding, walking, moving. And so for 15 years when I opened the gym I would get up and go exercise between 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning, that is what balanced me out.

Katelyn: Yeah, definitely movement during this. Even though you don’t have the motivation. The motivation will come after the movement, after the effort.

Kim: That’s right. And what’s so interesting is when you get the– What it creates is fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, adrenal fatigue. And then when they get that diagnosis, they don’t realize that that’s actually the treatment.

Luckily, I had a rheumatologist who turned me around by explaining that. Because the more you watch Netflix, and the more you sit on the sofa, and the more you just let it pull you down into the earth, it’s like Covid. Covid starts pulling you down and you have to get out of bed and move because it will suck you in. And it’s a very Kapha illness, like it hits the inflammation and then it’s mucousy and it draws and draws and draws and pulls you down. That reminds me a lot of this conversation.

Katelyn: Yeah, it’s deep stuff. So I mean, like we said earlier, opposites create balance. So if you are feeling stuck and you’re feeling like you can’t move, do it. Make yourself move, the action will come, the motivation will come after you start moving. And then the Kapha times of day is from late morning, late morning and late afternoon.

Kim: Oh, that’s so interesting. I’m thinking of the kids, they’re the laziest. When they’re in high school you can’t get them off the sofa.

Katelyn: Yeah, and a lot of people have the Kapha crashes like right after lunch.

Kim: Yes.

Katelyn: Right at two o’clock and then the sugar cravings start coming in. You feel like you need the sugar, you need to eat something to stimulate
yourself.

Kim: Yeah, that mid-morning after the coffee, after the break there’s this and then after lunch they have it again. I love this, so good.

Okay, so we’ve just covered the three, you want to run down really quick, just say one, two– Like bringing it all together for someone who wants a summary before we hop off?

Katelyn: Yeah. So you have the three doshas. And the three doshas is the expression of the elements in matter and in form. So you have Vata which is air and ether. You have Pitta, which is fire and water. And you have Kapha, which is earth and water.

So if you think about the elements that make up the doshas and you think about the qualities of those elements, then you can use the qualities, the opposite qualities to create balance. Just check in with how you feel in the morning because your constitution and your dosha is going to change. It could change day by day, it could change season by season.

So just check in, how am I feeling right now? What elements do I feel most present in my body? Like right now I woke up and I checked in and I’m like, I feel so much yuck, so much Kapha in my body. So I woke up, put ginger, ginger is very warming and spicy. So I’ve got slices of ginger in some warm water with lemon, which is very warming, and some honey. Honey is very dry and it’s very good.

So I’ve got all those three qualities to balance the qualities of Kapha so I can– I accept that I’m in Kapha but I need to balance it. Not get rid of it, just kind of tone it down a little bit.

Kim: When I noticed that, so I was recently traveling and I will start getting that heavy if I travel and I’m really, really tired. And then when I arrive at my place if I do the lemon water, and even apple cider vinegar and lemon water, even a little bit of pepper, red pepper in it. Compared to coffee with heavy cream or coffee with even coconut. Anything that brings that coffee down, which I love because Kapha loves Kapha. I mean, it’s like bring me the blanket and let me warm down in it. So I love that you said that.

So she’s saying wake up, check in, see which one you’re feeling today. And then balance it out with either something warm, or movement, or what’s the third one? 

Katelyn: You can also have some stimulating practices, like you can dry brush. Dry brush is very, very good for feeling stuck, sluggish, lethargic, feeling. A dry body brush.

Kim: Yeah.

Katelyn: Yeah.

Kim: So if someone wakes up and they’re more dry and anxious, then for them it’s going to be maybe a meditation practice bringing them down and bringing in the warm, the mud.

Katelyn: Yes, the mud, like a bowl of oatmeal. Pour a bowl of oatmeal. And if you wake up in the summertime and you’re sweating, and you’re hot, and you’ve got this red acne breakout because there’s just so much oil on your skin, then you can put some coconut oil on your body. Coconut oil is very cooling. You can drink aloe water, have some peppermint tea. Peppermint is very cooling.

Kim: I love it. So for myself when I’m feeling heavy compared to when I’m exercising, so I’m sluggish and I get on the Peloton and I do a 20 minute ride, I go in the opposite direction. I mean I can’t settle down with all the ideas. I get so vibrant, everything is like really hyped up.

So I’m wondering if its balance out the type of exercise? Maybe only doing 10 minutes of walk or high intensity and then balancing it out with yoga. Would you think that would make a difference?

Katelyn: Yeah.

Kim: Not that it’s a terrible thing, Katelyn, but I get a lot of ideas that I want to pounce on when I’m exercising. It’s almost like a warning sign, danger, watch it, Kim is moving fast.

Katelyn: Yeah, when I have those experiences like that, like after a really good workout I feel like I can take on the world.

Kim: Yeah.

Katelyn: And it’s like I’ve got 50,000 things in the world that I want to take on. But I’ll lay down in Shavasana, corpse pose, and I’ll kind of just let myself calm down. And then when I get out of Shavasana, like for 10, 15 minutes, the first thing that I decide to do is the thing that I go on. So it kind of brings everything back to center and back to focus. So you still have all of that, that energy, that creativity, that drive and desire, but it’s more to a central point.

Kim: Which is so addictive. That’s why we get addicted to running and high intensity, hard core yoga. Especially for our constituents that believe, anyway, it’s that once you get that up and go, I mean, you want to hold it.  It’s like flying, because we’re so used to being heavy and grounded. You know, roots in the ground heavy, oak trees, and wet. And so it’s like finding that balance and playing between it. Which is kind of like that shadow dancing, like how can we do a little bit of both?

Katelyn: Right, yeah.

Kim: And you want to keep flying.

Katelyn: Keep flying, yeah. I mean, allow yourself to be in those states from time to time too. When you have the million ideas and you just want to go with it, allow yourself to be in what are Ayurveda would call that very rajasic state. You’ve got a lot of action, a lot of energy and like right now is the time in my life where I just want to go, go, go and get things done.

But then let the pendulum swing in the other direction and let yourself have those moments of rest on the weekends or one week out of the month where you’re not doing as much. You’re letting yourself rest.

Kim: Yeah. Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you want to add? We’re 45 minutes in, so we’re a little bit over than what I originally wanted to do. But today was a great summary of everything. And what I would like to do is bring in one little topic from here on out.

Katelyn: It’s so vast, and it’s so, so big. But yeah, when in doubt, guys, just balance Vata, it keeps things moving. You can move a little bit, you can move a lot. So just when in doubt, watch your Vata which is air and ether. Your anxiety, your fear, your creativity, keep those things in flux and moving.

Kim: Thank you. Where would you suggest someone start? Is it with a book? Is it following you? Do you have social media places where they can find you? Is your program available online or is it just in person?

Katelyn: Yeah, so I have a six week program for an intro to Ayurveda lifestyle where you work with me one on one and I explain all of these components each week. And then I teach you how to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle. So you can basically heal yourself and find balance on your own.

That’s a six week program. If you want to find me you can do that. You can also buy a book, Dr. Vasant Lad does really, really well with all of his books describing what Ayurveda is.

Kim: Is that the burgundy one?

Katelyn: Yeah.

Kim: Okay, I thought so.

Katelyn: Yeah, the intro to Ayurveda one, yeah, that’s a very good book to start with too.

Kim: Okay. And I’ve already invited you to do a live event here. So those who are local, or here in Louisiana, if that is an interest please contact me because I need something to respond to and Katelyn needs an invitation. So if this is something you guys want to hear more about and let her come and do a four to eight hour workshop with us, where we have her in person and you can ask questions. I’m just going to kind of plug that in and leave it.

Katelyn, thank you for coming on the show.

Katelyn: You’re welcome, thanks for having me.

Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than Mindset.