To achieve one’s purpose, one needs a long life. Discipline is the most important quality one must possess to learn the science of Ayurveda. Ayurveda explains how to achieve your life purpose.
-Ashtanga Hridayam
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the science of life and is the oldest known medical system dating back to over 5,000 years ago. It is believed that this knowledge was transmitted to a group of sages who meditated and communicated with Vedic gods in the Himalayas. These sages were given all the knowledge of everything from daily care to how to build a home to surgical procedures. I mean they learned how to do surgery 5000+ years ago while putting the patient in a meditative trance — how amazing is that? This knowledge was transmitted through an oral tradition and was later transcribed into 3 main texts.
Ayurveda is a healing system. If one understands their true unique nature - of body, mind, and spirit - and how all things in this universe also have their own true nature, from herbs to weather to locations - they can master their own health to live a fulfilled and happy life. Ayurveda works by creating a lifestyle of routines unique to a person’s nature (the microcosm) in balance with the nature around us (the macrocosm). As above, so below - meaning that everything happening in nature around us, from war to pandemics, to fires, to chaos, to love, to balance is all a reflection of what is happening within us. We are what we eat - meaning that everything we digest from food to thoughts will impact who we are, and what we don’t digest will manifest into toxins of the mind, body, and spirit. This makes a lot of sense when you think how not processing traumas will ultimately show up in the physical body.
Here are 8 points that I want you to know about Ayurveda:
You are a unique blend of the 5 elements of air + space (vata), fire + water (pitta) and water + earth (kapha). Vata, pitta and kapha are doshas. The unique combination of your doshas at the time of your birth is your baseline health - or your prakruti. Health is when you are at your baseline level.
When you move away from your baseline, dis-ease shows up. If you are in a state of dis- ease for a long time, the accumulated dosha will spread to other parts of your body, like an overfilled bucket will spill over into surrounding areas. Your present doshic state is your vikruti and the role of a practitioner is to get your vikrukti back to your prakruti state, or balance.
The 3 doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) show up in everything around us — body types, times of the day, seasons, times of your life, foods, etc. — like increases like and opposites balance. For example, if you are congested (heavy/wet/cold), drinking milk can increase mucous (like) where as eating bone broth with millet (opposite) can help to rid the cold with its opposite qualities (light/dry/heating). If your prakruti is vata (dry/cold) and it is the fall season (windy and dry), you will likely have a vata imbalance (could show up as constipation, anxiety, dry skin) unless you use the opposite qualities to balance it such as by eating cooked foods with warming spices or oiling your skin.
You are what you digest. This is so important. All disease stems from improper digestion. If you are not having good bowel movements and not properly digesting, any food you take in no matter how healthy it is, can turn into toxins or ama, blocking channels and creating doshic imbalance. Your digestive fire - agni - must be addressed. This goes for unprocessed or undigested emotions. As people start to do the work and change their lifestyle, they may also start to process past traumas and find that they shed many pounds as they process traumas. Another important point is hunger. If someone doesn’t have proper hunger - too little or too much - this is a sign of improper agni. If you’re stressed for prolonged periods, your body will move energy away from digestion and slow down hunger cues to move into fight or flight - flooding your system with hormones. Incorporating mindfulness is helpful for everyone because who isn’t in a state of some stress?
The 7 bodily tissues (plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, nervous tissue, reproductive tissue) are nourished successively, taking about 30 days. So, the food you eat today will nourish plasma, and plasma will nourish blood 3 days later, so on and so forth. If you have ama blocking certain channels or a doshic imbalance, tissues will be improperly nourished and therefore will not function properly. Think about it: Your reproductive tissues are at the end of the food chain and if you’re having trouble conceiving, have missed menses, premature ejaculation, low libido - you need to look at how the preceding tissues are doing and address the overall cause.
After the 7 tissues are nourished, a few drops of life force, or OJAS, is released bringing vitality and immunity to your body, mind, and spirit. We all want more OJAS.
The mind (manas) plays a huge part in making change — we must treat the mind to ensure that you will want to and can stick to your new routine.
Ayurveda is a lifestyle, not a diet. Once you understand and embody the principles, you won’t be able to look back. You got this.
How I work with you as your Ayurvedic Best Friend
Change is hard and I know it. I’ve done most of all the things I recommend to my clients so I can understand where it’s hard and when it gets easier to better guide you.
Non-judgmental safe space -
Body Care — Warm medicated oil application (abyangha), vaginal and uterus herbal steam (yoni steam), acupressure (marma therapy), enema (basti - as needed) are a few of the therapies I use to help restore mama’s nervous system. I teach you how to wrap your belly to support your shrinking uterus, how to give your baby an abyangha for better sleep and digestion (best way to prevent and combat colic), and help with breastfeeding concerns.
Mindfulness — I hold sacred non-judgmental space during our time together so that you’re able to grow into your new version of you. I handcraft all your goodies and do our treatments together while internally chanting mantra. I can use our time together to guide pranayama, yoga nidra, or light asana. I absolutely love this work and feel so honored and revered to be in the presence of a mama and new babe.
Rest — I got you. I am here so that you can rest, heal, and regenerate. I will watch your child(ren), run errands, prepare meals, do light housekeeping.
I am a trained Ayurvedic Doctor, meaning that I can administer herbs and treatments as part of my scope. If you are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, or need support beyond postpartum, check out my Ayurvedic offerings.
As long as we are not living in harmony with nature and our constitution, we cannot expect ourselves to be really healed. Ayurveda gives us the means.
-David Frawley
AYURVEDIC OFFERINGS
Available to mama up to 6 months postpartum
01 | PRECONCEPTION PLANNING
Regardless of your experiences with fertility, Ayurveda offers a complete approach to fertility that embraces both the male and female roles as equally important. Preconception is just as important as pregnancy itself in Ayurveda. Calling in a baby Preparing the soil is just as important, if not more important, than watering after planting the seeds. Lakshmi is the Goddess of Prosperity and Fertility. I created this package because this is the care that I wish I had. If you feel that you need more support, preconception/pregnancy did not come easy to you, you already have kids and may have struggled during your postpartum, you tend to over-do, you struggle with any vata disorders (reach out to learn more), it’s hard for you to ask for help, or you just know in your bones that you need this - then this is the package for you.
Package Includes:
Full Ayurvedic Assessment Intake for Preconception Planning for both partners (the ovum and semen are just as important in creating your baby. If you are in a same sex partnership, and using a donor, this is just as important
3. 6 or 9 months of prepping the body, mind and soul
6 weeks Postpartum Care + Supplies (the sacred window!) + Ayurvedic Check-ins
3x/week Mama Medicated Warm Abyangha + Marma Body Therapy
3x/week Organic Ayurvedic Postpartum Prepared Meals for Mama
3 hours/week Light Housework/Childcare (so Mama can rest!) + Errands
Belly Binding Wrap + Instruction
Tikshna Ghee
Shatavari Ghee
Digestive Herbs
Lactation Tea
Mama Abyangha Oil
Baby Abyangha Oil + Instruction
Ubtan Beauty Powder for Mama and Baby (to keep your glow going!)
Yoni Steam (herbal repairing vaginal + uterus steam)
Photo Sessions (during time together - this time will go fast, and you will cherish these pictures of everyday life)
Closing the Bones Ceremony (to seal in the sacred window with your community)
$5000
“Every penny I paid to Cara was worth it. She is incredible. Her delivery of services blew my mind. 100% would hire her as my Ayurdoula again.”
02 | LIFESTYLE MAPPING
Saraswati is the Goddess of Music and Science. This package is for the mama that understands the basics of how to properly care for oneself during the sacred window but would like extra support.
Package Includes:
Full Ayurvedic Assessment Intake for Postpartum Planning
6 weeks Postpartum Care + Supplies (the sacred window!) + Ayurvedic Check-ins
2x/week Mama Medicated Warm Abyangha + Marma Body Therapy
2x/week Organic Ayurvedic Postpartum Prepared Meals for Mama
2 hours/week Light Housework/Childcare (so Mama can rest!) + Errands
Belly Binding Wrap + Instruction
Panchakola Ghee
Shatavari Ghee
Digestive Herbs
Lactation Ladoos
Lactation Tea
Mama Abyangha Oil
Baby Abyangha Oil + Instruction
Yoni Steam (herbal repairing vaginal + uterus steam)
$3500
03 | SEASONAL
Shakti is the creative feminine energy. You’ve got support and you know what to ask for and how. You understand the importance of the sacred window and how to care for yourself. This package is for those that feel that they can get proper rest and nourishment through their support system for most of the week, with my weekly support. I can help prepare caregivers on how to support mama, too!
Package Includes
Full Ayurvedic Assessment Intake for Postpartum Planning
6 weeks Postpartum Care + Supplies (the sacred window!) + Ayurvedic Check-ins
1x/week Mama Medicated Warm Abyangha + Marma Body Therapy
1x/week Organic Ayurvedic Postpartum Prepared Meals for Mama
1 hour/week Light Housework/Childcare (so Mama can rest!) + Errands
Belly Binding Wrap + Instruction
Panchakola Ghee
Shatavari Ghee
Digestive Herbs
Lactation Ladoos
Mama Abyangha Oil
Baby Abyangha Oil + Instruction
Yoni Steam (herbal repairing vaginal + uterus steam)
$2000
04 | PARVATI
Parvati is the mother of Ganesha, the elephant God. This is the virtual package for those that may already have cooking and bodywork support, will do this on their own, or those not local to me. You will receive all the herbs you need for the sacred window and virtual support as I teach you how to cook and do your own bodywork.
Package Includes:
Full Ayurvedic Assessment Intake for Postpartum Planning
Recipes + Pantry List
Support for 6 weeks
1x/week 30 min Zoom Calls (If local, 1st session can be in person)
Belly Binding Wrap + Instruction
Panchakola Ghee
Shatavari Ghee
Digestive Herbs
Lactation Ladoos
Lactation Tea
Mama Abyangha Oil + Instruction
Baby Abyangha Oil + Instruction
Ubtan Beauty Powder for Mama and Baby (to keep your glow going!)
$1000
05 | EXTRAS
Sometimes we all need a little extra support beyond 6 weeks and good for you for asking for it! For those that already have a package, you can add on after 6 weeks up to 6 months. Postpartum is considered when Sutika (postpartum woman) gets their menses back.
90 min Abyangha + Marma Therapy - $200
120 min Abyangha + Marma + Dough Basti - $250
Add on Organic Ayurvedic Prepared Meals for Family of 4 - $108
2x Monthly Ayurvedic check ins, especially important for those with preexisting conditions - $108
“I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.”
-Oprah Winfrey