I recently had a conversation with a client that felt worth sharing. Because if you’ve ever felt confused, overwhelmed, or like you’re “doing Ayurveda wrong,” you’re not alone.

Client Question:

Your article opened up some quandaries around some of my staples… namely coffee (half caffeine), cocoa, nuts/seeds, and salad greens.

I’m endeavoring to remain open and aware of their impact. I do feel that soaking raw almonds and seeds feels better for digestion, but I don’t soak walnuts or roasted nuts.

When my digestion got unhappy a few months ago, I did fully embrace a vata-pacifying diet, which felt very nourishing—though also effortful and not really sustainable.

So while I know an Ayurvedic approach can be so helpful, I do find it tricky not to think that it’s full of rules to follow… of which I continually fall short, lol. =P And/or it feels complex.

I had thought that I was pitta/kapha dominant from quizzes awhile back, though I know we all have all three, and until my digestion went wonky I had presumed vata was fairly stable within my system.

At any rate, I had not correlated scoliosis with vata at all prior to your article, so that was illuminating. I’m not quite sure what my question is…if anything comes to you to respond with, please feel free, and also feel free to let this all go.

My Reflections:

I honor your openness to explore different ways to bring balance.

When our bodies and minds let us know that our ways of living aren’t working, we’re given an opportunity to choose differently.

And yet… our existing imbalances—and our ego—will fight that.

They come up with all kinds of stories and excuses (and they’re so convincing, aren’t they?).

At that point, we can gently ask ourselves:

Do I want to feel right?

—or—

Do I want to feel well?

Ayurveda, as it’s often presented in mainstream culture, is painfully misrepresented and incomplete.

It tends to overemphasize the physical body while neglecting the mind and spirit, which are actually the most important pieces since it’s these subtle aspects that create our physical experience.

This is what makes Ayurveda what it is.

Without that… it just becomes another thing.

Another system to turn into a trend. Another set of “rules.”

I can assure you that Ayurveda is not a rulebook.

There are no rules. There is nothing to “fail” at.

There are only guidelines and invitations, rooted in:

• the unchanging principles of nature (Water is wet. It will always be wet.)

• and thousands of years of observing cause and effect (When I do x, I get y. If I want to change y, I must change x).

Food lists, dosha quizzes, rigid frameworks, etc. can be interesting and maybe helpful, yet they’re incomplete and ineffective when relied on too heavily. They may actually take us further away from ourselves, wholeness, and true understanding.

We each have an innate constitution based on how the elements are proportioned with us.

Our health depends on how closely we stay aligned with that inner blueprint.

And when we move out of alignment (which we all do), we simply learn how to return to our own unique homeostasis again and again. It’s a dynamic, fluid, intentional dance through life.

Vata is the initiator of imbalance regardless of what is the predominant dosha in one’s constitution.

It’s like:

• vata = the bus driver

• pitta = the engine

• kapha = the structure of the bus

If vata is disturbed, everything else follows.

If Ayurveda feels “effortful,” it’s often because it’s different from what we’ve been taught.

But in my experience, it’s actually incredibly simple.

It brings coherence, understanding, and makes life—inside and out—just make sense.

And one last thing that feels important:

We often focus on the characteristics of the doshas when they’re imbalanced at the expense of highlighting their wonderful life-giving qualities in their balanced expressions! None of them is “better” than the other and all three—vata, pitta, and kapha—are integral to life.

Above all else, Ayurveda is an invitation into remembering how to live in alignment with what is natural, real, and true so we may find wholeness and balance and live our fullest potential in this life.