The festive pressure cooker!
It’s easy to feel burdened, upset and triggered at this time of year.
My goodness no matter how much we love our families, boy-oh-boy… they can bring up the “stuff”. 

You know what I mean…the regressing back to childlike states, behaviours etc. 

The way you feel sure you NEVER behave with others! 

What is Kichari?

Answer: Wellness, love and nourishment for the body and mind overall.

Kichari (sometimes known as kichadi) is one of the traditional meals used in ayurveda to help strengthen, detoxify and revive impaired digestion (known as agni meaning digestive fire).

BOOK you session at the CLINIC
I am now offering clients and friends my Holistic Wellness consultations/clinic at Evolve Wellness Centre, South Kensington (SW7 3HG).Contact me directly to book.

Hello & Spring ISHTAR greetings to YOU,

"ISHTAR" greetings?
Yes. Ish-tar. Pronounced Eeesh-taaar (a bit like EAS-TER no?)

Ishtar is a name from Babylonian era for the goddess ISHTAR who governed abundance, sex and fertility.

I made these divine little goodies for my beautiful Mama as an Easter gift.

Traditionally she loves her special Easter hot cross bun with cinnamon and raisons. She is not typically a “sweet tooth person”. They remind her of her childhood.

She loved these Easter LOVE loaf slices just as much… in fact even more!

Emily Reed has studied ancient eastern wellness (mainly Ayurveda & Yoga) for over 15 years and teaching for a decade. In this blog post she explores how the 5 Elements (earth, water, fire, air & space) and the science of Ayurveda can reduce and alleviate suffering for the individual as well as communities and society overall.

One client a while ago shared with me he feared silence.

Each day when he got back from work he would turn on radios, TVs or make a phone call to create sound and distraction. He confessed he was not even listening to the devices. 

I asked him why he compulsively had to make noise around him. 

Why on earth be silent?

I talk a fair amount in my daily life. 

I use speech in my work with clients, when guiding retreats, teacher trainings, workshops, seminars/talks and also with my family and loved ones. Speech is a form of connection.

I also (like the masses) use emails, sms, WhatsApp daily. 

This is another form of speech/communication.

It’s 6am and I am sitting watching the sunrise on January 1st at Vaidyagrama a wonderful ayurvedic, healing village tucked away in the foothills of Tamil Nadu, just over the boarder from Kerala, South India.

This summer I spent a wonderful 12 days in the glorious, green, rolling hills outside Salzburg. For the first 5 days I was sous chef to a gifted friend and Ayurvedic cook Daniel Wolf. We cooked for 25 people on a yoga and meditation retreat preparing fresh, seasonal foods all organic, home or locally grown.

Alternative Ayurvedic Home Remedies

ALLEVIATE ANGER & IRRITABILITY:

Oh my golly gosh GHEE!

This is one of the several methods to help pacify anger:

Apply a small amount of softened ghee to the insides of the nostrils (NASYA). Gently inhale upwards.

After the rain comes the sunshine!

The rainfall today felt so pleasant after yesterday’s Saturday swelter

And to add to that cool weekend vibe – I have another one of my helpful suggestion for keeping you cool this summer.

This little concoction is the perfect Sunday tipple:

Em’s Autumnal Bliss Bombs…(NB: secret recipe!!);)… To make 10-15 bombs;)

Ingredients: 1 cup dry chia seeds – wonderfully soothing and moisturising for dry digestion which can be caused by excess Vata (air and space elements) 6-7 fresh medjool dates– sweet and juicy- nicely grounding

Festive healthy veggie nibbles (recipes divulged due to popular demand!)

CRISPY TOFU with SECRET-ZINGALICIOUS marinade:

This is for any of you who feel this time of year can get a little “intoxicating” with all the IN-PUT of food, booze, sweets and meats etc!

All THIS is FULL

All THAT is FULL

From FULLNESS, FULLNESS comes

When FULLNESS is taken FULLNESS remains

(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

The Spring time kichari challenge!

Sweep away the winter cobwebs and rekindle your digestive fire with

…the Springtime Kichari quest… !

A retreat testimonial from our magical Spain Yoga & Meditation retreat in Andalusia, May 2016

Dorry Golden had just landed in London from Venice Beach California. She knew barely a soul in London and ended up coming on the Spain Yoga Retreat. Below she shares her personal experience of our time on retreat in Spain.

It’s super inspiring to connect with yoga teachers who are passionate, kind, and open-hearted. London-based Emily Reed is at the top of the list! After attending Emily’s transformative retreat in the hills of Andalusia (read the review here), we asked her some questions to learn more about her personal yoga journey.

Our digestion LOVES routine. More importantly it LOVES easy to digest foods… especially if there has been travel, busy/stressful periods and during times of change in the natural environment - like a shift in season. If you find you are suffering from gas, bloating, acid reflux, constipation, loose bowels….