Ayurveda literally means the knowledge of life. It is a sister science to yoga and like yoga sees the individual body mind as interconnected with the bigger picture of life in a fundamentally holistic system. One of the oldest medical systems in the world, traditional to India and still widely practiced there, ayurveda is rich with simple methods to support your health and well being.
An ayurvedic yoga specialist consultation is a one-to-one in person appointment in which we bring the ayurvedic lens to your particular health and wellbeing concerns. You’ll then receive some targeted recommendations—a combination of yogic techniques and basic ayurvedic lifestyle and diet/nutritional adjustments—designed to move you towards a more balanced state of being in body heart and mind. It is a collaborative process and you’ll be an active participant in deciding what recommendations best suit the realities of your life and your personal preferences. The Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist toolbox is big and bountiful and there are lots of effective interventions and together we’ll discover what makes sense for you.
PLEASE NOTE that an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist Consultation is NOT in any way in competition with or a substitute for standard western medical advice and treatment. Neither is it on a par with a visit to an Ayurvedic Physician who may provide Ayurvedic Herbs and offer other Ayurvedic procedures and treatments.
The Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist Consultation scope of practice is to explore doshic imbalances that can be addressed with regard to choices around nourishment on all levels (breathing, food, beverages, sleep, movement, relationships and all that we take in through the sense doors). We explore how we can make accessible interventions and adjustments in these very ordinary areas of our lives so that we can digest our lives, optimally absorbing nourishment and optimally eliminating what is no longer functional in body heart or mind.
An Overview Of Ayurvedic Principles
A core theme in Ayurveda is the relationship between our Prakriti (natural constitution or balanced state) and Vikruti (state of imbalance). Ayurveda sees our dosha prakriti (natural physiological constitution) as a combination of Vata (air and space elements), Pitta (fire and water elements) and Kapha (water and earth elements). We each have an individual and unique combination of Vata Pitta Kapha (VPK)—this combo is what my teacher Kathryn Templeton calls “your super secret sauce”. There’s no ideal combination of VPK. It’s a matter of finding out what your combo is and learning how best to maintain that balance.
The vicissitudes of life will naturally knock us off balance, and that’s when we have Vikruti or imbalance—one or more of the doshas (VPK) have become aggravated and need to be brought back to their natural state of relative harmony. The sooner we notice we are out of balance, the easier it is to return. So we can learn in an ayurvedic consultation how to spot the signs of the various kinds of doshic imbalances as well as how to most effectively turn them around. The Ayurvedic clock shows how our dosha is affected by the time of day, the season of the year and the season of life.
Image Courtesy Of AYS Teacher Kathryn Templeton for KT’s array of wonderful courses and services visit Kathryntempleton.com
While it might seem complicated, it’s actually an elegant system that allows us to understand how to navigate life in a healthy and satisfying way for our individual nature. It offers insightful perspective on why certain foods are excellent for some people, while others might have difficulty digesting the very same food. Or why certain kinds of exercise suit some folks down to the ground while others just don’t find them appealing or beneficial.
The Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist (AYS) Consultation Process
The full initial consultation comprises of 3 elements
Comprehensive intake (75-90 mins in person or zoom)
Individualised Recommendations (30-45 mins in person or zoom)
Personal Implementation Check-in (20-30 mins phone call/zoom)
The whole process adds up to 145 mins and is thorough exploration of your daily habits, lifestyle and how you are feeling in body heart and mind leading to recommendations that are specifically tailored to your unique situation. This process takes place over 3-4 weeks and follows the steps below.
Step 1: Scheduling A Consultation:
The process begins with your email/text requesting an initial consultation. Look for the buttons on this page to send an email request or text 087 1740357. In your initial communication, please state if you’d like to move directly to scheduling or would like to have 10 min free mini-consult to see if this process is right for you at this time.
I will respond to your request as soon as I can usually within 24 hours. If you do not hear from me within 48 hours, please re-send email or re-text as things can get lost in the mix.
I will communicate with you as per your preference, (text, phone call or email) and offer times and dates to schedule our appointment(s). At this point I will also send the link to book and pay for our time together.
Step 2: Pre-appointment Questionnaire:
Once we schedule your initial appointment you’ll be sent a pre-appointment questionnaire to read and reflect upon. Fill out as much of it as you are comfortable with and bring this to the initial appointment.
Step 3: Consultation:
Together, we will review and discuss your questionnaire and any issues that arise from it that are relevant to your stated concerns. This discussion will also explore which of the many AYS recommendations that could be offered might suit your life experiences and temperament. You’ll leave this consultation with some immediate initial recommendations and access to some Yoga Home Sligo online support resources. If we have not already scheduled the recommendation and implementation appointments, we will do so at this time.
Step 4: Recommendations:
Approximately 3-7 days following the intake assessment, we’ll meet again to discuss the personalised recommendations to help bring you towards balance for your particular constitution. Access will be given to further Yoga Home Sligo online resources to assist you in the implementation of these recommendations. An implementation email will be sent to you within 48 hours. You can of course begin implementation immediately but it’s helpful to have the written outline for reference.
Step 5: Implementation and Check-In:
Following the recommendations, it’s up to you to put them into practice and see how they work for you. There will be a 20 minute check-in phone/zoom call 7-10 days later to see how things are going, troubleshoot and change recommendations accordingly. This completes the process of Initial Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist Consultation.
Optional Follow Up: At least one optional Follow Up Consultation (50 mins) is advised for at least 3-4 weeks after we complete the initial consultation process.
This is not included in initial consultation but will review ongoing progress from initial consultation. This is an opportunity to further troubleshoot and add additional recommendations. It’s a great time to assess whether you would benefit from and would like to have ongoing support.
Ongoing Support Packages: These ongoing support appointments involve a collaborative organising and planning of goals around Ayurveda and yoga practices to help you develop self-regulation, adaptability and resilience. We would meet every 2/3 weeks to assess your experience with our collaborative plan, troubleshoot obstacles and weave in new elements as progress allows. The aim is for you to cultivate a workable, beneficial and balancing daily routine and introduce regular yoga practice in a way that is both satisfying and sustainable for your real-life life situation. Ongoing support appointments are 75 mins and are available as a single session or in a package of 4. See choices and pricing below.