Āyu-Embodied

🥵104° outside. Scarf on anyway.

Woke up fine - by mid-morning, scratchy numb throat, allergy type symptoms out of “nowhere”.

In Āyurveda, this cluster is a part of what’s called pūrva rūpa of jvara- the early signs that undigested material (ama) is accumulating/ obstructing before a fever fully shows up.

🧐Think: obstructed channels (no sweat, no urge to p*e), heaviness, tastelessness, congested or watery eyes, tooth sensitivity, chills, low appetite, restlessness.

Body is telling us something!

The classical response isn’t push through or suppress, it’s to help body metabolize what’s causing the symptoms. Cha Chi 3/142 lays out the protocol:

🔥 Langhana - LIGHTEN. Eat less, eat lighter.

🔥 Swedana - STAY WARM, sweat it out passively, gently. Warm compress if needed.

❌Avoid exertion/ exercise - body’s reserves are already low. Workout extracts resources you need to metabolize what’s causing this response. Plus, circulation is already not working properly, aggravating the doshas makes them harder to expel when your metabolic fire is already weak.

❌Skip oil, internal and external, anything that can further obstruct the channels.

🔥 Kala - give it TIME. And rest. Classically, around 8 days to fully digest but if you catch early, symptoms subside sooner (but you still want to keep up these suggestions).

🔥 Yavagu - congee/PORRIDGE. Simple, warm, easy to digest.

🔥 ✅Tikta rasa - BITTER tastes. Bitter greens in your porridge, tea, etc. Here I am having room temp VIRIDEM mineralizer concentrate w/ water from ANIMA MUNDI HERBALS

So this is what the scarf is for.

😏Vibes + to open channels, and process what needs to be cleared.

Respond to what body is saying, even if it is uncomfortable as all heck.

💎Best part is this isn’t just about the symptoms that started today. When body finally has the conditions to metabolize waste and toxins, it can process stuff that’s been sitting there a lot longer than this week!

(This is self-guided, general information - not a diagnosis. If symptoms are severe or don’t resolve, see a physician or credible BAMS Āyurvedic Doctor.)

Your neighbor’s healthy diet might be making you feel bleh.

Āyurveda calls your unique blueprint your prakṛti - it’s your natural base state, the ratio of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha you were born with creating homeostasis for you.

It’s why “eat clean” or “just drink more water” can work wonders for one person and backfire on another.

One quick self-check: think about your digestion on an average day.

🔥 Fast, sometimes urgent, get “hangry” fast → possibly Pitta predominant (tendency to tikshna agni)

💨 Irregular, gassy, changes daily → possibly Vata predominant (vishama agni leaning)

🌊 Slow, steady, can skip a meal easily → possible Kapha predominant (manda agni tendency)

None of these are “bad” - they just need different fuel, different timing, different portions, a different rhythm.

One small shift for each you can try and start learning more about yourself:

🔥 Pitta-leaning? Don’t skip meals or let yourself get hangry - eat on a regular time, block that time off, and favor cooling/moderate foods over spicy or fried when irritability creeps in.

💨 Vata-leaning? Skip the raw smoothie first thing - trade it for something warm and cooked. Even warm water with lemon or room temp lime-ade before coffee if you can’t cut the caffeine makes a noticeable difference.

🌊 Kapha-leaning? You can handle skipping a meal so you can actually feel the profound feeling of hunger. Favor warmly spiced food (ginger, black pepper) over heavy or cold to keep your fire lit.

There’s no universal “healthy.” There’s only your healthy and it’s something you feel your way into, not something you read your way into😏😉

💭 Pick ONE shift above and try it for 3 days. Notice what changes. That’s Āyurveda - not a rulebook, an experiment you run on yourself, an embodied wisdom.

💙 Eat like your ancestors workshop
📅 Saturday, September 26th | 12 PM
📍 Core Movement Studios
39621 Los Alamos Rd, Unit A-C
Murrieta, CA 92563
🎟️ Early Bird: $25 through 8/31
🎟️ After 8/31: $30
Core_Movement_Studios

🔥Agni in Āyurveda includes your digestive fire, your ability to combust/ break things down.

💧Water is actually what gives it shape. Without it, agni won’t cook, but instead it scorches.

🧘Modern physiology says, without real parasympathetic recovery, the body can’t actually absorb what it’s burning through.

☀️Mid-August in the northern hemisphere ~ agni has been doing its best. But the summer heat pulls its blood, its strength to the surface near the skin, leaving internal organs and overall energy depleted.

🐢Mama turtle says
• rest before you’re depleted,
• have food that’s easy to digest,
• less complex, less ingredients,
• and less pushing to do too much overall.

The fire that got us here still has weeks left, take it easy.

📸 Dika Menjangan 🫶🏽

Finally feel like I’m landing after 2 months of traveling.

🌕My bleed is finally here, (late from all the movement in this summer heat)..

🍫🌺But this means, chocolate cake and hibiscus raspberry leaf tea is all my Friday night consists of 🙌🏽🫖

and I’m STOKED about it.

😬But realistically, not everything will turn out exactly as planed.

The chicken and gravy, I mean cake, turned out dryer then I wanted, so I made a second batch too. 🥲

And shoot, I’m grateful because that’s what is possible when we do less and make space to rest

We have time, patience, and grace to try again

Because not everything will turn out perfectly - do it anyway and be stoked you did the dang thing.

I shared this before- here it is in action.
Made this for my dad while he’s sick.

I rarely cook with garlic anymore - it agitates the mind, adds heat to a system that’s already running hot - it’s best as a strong medicine, not daily food for some.

This recipe came from my Tia Malena in Querétaro, Mexico passed down from my grandmother and great-grandmother. - It can cut sickness time in half or stop it in its tracks.

What’s in it & why:

🧅 Onion - Quercetin inhibits viral replication + reduces histamine
🫚 Ginger - Universal medicine. Antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and one of the fastest ways to rekindle your digestive fire (which is also your immune fire).
🟡 Turmeric - Hardly absorbed alone. Which is why you need what comes next →
🤎 Cinnamon - Blood sugar regulation matters when sick. Glucose spikes slow immune function.
🧄 Garlic (chop swallow whole, don’t chew) - allicin travels further intact. Works deeper. Chewing inflames an already inflamed gut.
🍋‍🟩 ½ Lime or Meyer lemon - V C makes every other compound more bioavailable.
🍯 Raw wildflower honey after mouth cools - never into hot liquid to avoid destroying their already pre-digested enzymes.

Directions for 2 servings
(Best to have 2-4 a day):

• Boil 8 cups water with onion, ginger, turmeric + cinnamon → simmer 10 min → strain → cool slightly → swallow garlic whole → add lime → honey after it cools in your mouth → sip all day

❌ Avoid oil until symptoms clear to keep channels open (congee is great to have + bitter greens to gently flush)

🤧 Spit + blow out all mucus - don’t hold it in

📖Full signs you are about to get sick + complete protocol link in bio

We practice paying attention to what the body is asking for.

Take care of your people 🫶
Xxo

Your body is your most consistent tool to regulate itself, repair itself, send us signals to go or not go, sustain energy without force, create, etc. - especially if we keep her nourished.

This ritual to dive into the lunar new year is simple:

1. frozen blueberries
2. goji berries
3. star anise
4. cinnamon
💦Plus a splash of water
❤️‍🔥Stew for 10-15 minutes
🫂Share with loved ones

Right away you may feel digestive comfort from the warmth and spices + a sense of calm.

Over time you are supporting hormones, steadying blood sugar, reducing inflammation and building protection from oxidative stress, inflammation, fatigue, and cognitive decline.

Whether you’re trying to conceive, postpartum and rebuilding, or quietly birthing something else this year - a business that helps make this world function in more harmony🙏🏽, a creative project, a new version of yourself for you and your loved ones - it all gets processed through this body first.

🫐Five days a week or so (gives you consistent intake to build up the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits while giving your body breaks to avoid over-reliance on the phytoestrogenic compounds in star anise)

🤤A small bowl as a snack or over oats, congee, toast, and some roasted nuts

My # 1 rule for letting that sh** go 🐺and stop exhausting myself in mental chatter, doubt, worry, anxieties. . .

Stop making up stories.
Ask questions.
Seek to understand.
It might be uncomfortable first.
But we get better.
And we can move onto what’s REALLY important.

Living your own dang life connected to the heart.

Everyone talks about the Bristol Stool Chart (yes, aim for Type 4 smooth snake like 🐍 as we close this year of the snake, 😮‍💨😅..shedding!)

But let’s talk about what very few mention: the sense of ‘completeness’.

That feeling of “did I get it all out?” matters just as much as what it looks like.

When your BMs feel incomplete, it’s often your body saying: I’m holding tension, I’m rushing, or something deeper needs attention and care.

3 things to try to feel complete in the bathroom:

1️⃣Squat, don’t sit - Use a stool under your feet (Squatty Potty vibes). This aligns your colon for full release.

2️⃣Breathe & don’t rush

Deep belly breaths signal safety to your nervous system. Let your body do its thing.

3️⃣Gentle belly massage

Clockwise circles on your lower abdomen before + during, maybe a castor oil belly massage at night to help unclog things along. Plus diaphragmatic breathing through the day 🫁

4️⃣Have at least one warm freshly cooked meal a day (especially in the winter)!

Cold/raw foods require more digestive fire to break down, which can slow or weaken your system (especially if you’re already holding tension). Warm, cooked foods are pre-digested by heat, making them gentler on your gut and easier for your body to assimilate while you strengthen. They also calm the nervous system (warmth = safety) and support the smooth muscle movement needed for complete elimination.

5️⃣Simplify your ingredients

Complex meals with 10+ ingredients tax your digestive system as it has to work harder to break everything down, which can lead to incomplete digestion, bloating, and sluggish elimination. Simpler meals (3-5 ingredients) are easier to digest fully, reducing the burden on your gut and allowing your body to fully absorb nutrients instead of creating partially digested built up waste. When digestion is effortless, letting go in may ways follows suit.

Your gut is always speaking. Completeness = your body’s way of saying “I can let go fully.” 🌀Listen.

🌱Prepping for Panchakarma ‘26 (link in bio)