Our Nature: Conversations about the relationship between nature, spirituality, and well-being
EP 01: Ayurvedic Chef Divya Alter – What To Eat For How You Feel
Episode Notes
Have you heard of the term Ayurveda and wondered what it’s all about? Or maybe you already know the basics, but would like to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of this system of medicine, which is over five thousand years old. Divya Alter is a chef, entrepreneur, teacher, nutritional coach, and author of the best-selling cookbook, "What To Eat For How You Feel". In the first episode of the Our Nature podcast, Divya shares her incredible journey from growing up in Bulgaria, discovering Ayurveda and healing her autoimmune condition, to eventually finding success in New York City with her cookbook and her restaurant, Divya’s Kitchen. This episode is for anyone who is currently struggling with their health, who wants to feel better and prevent disease, who is interested in Ayurveda, or who is simply curious about alternative ways of healing.
Resources:
“The goal of Ayurveda is to help us achieve balance and harmony with nature - with our own nature, with who we are, and also with the nature around us.”
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COMPLETE SHOW NOTES:
- What life was like growing up in Bulgaria
- On discovering Ayurveda in India while she was living and working at an ashram
- How nature can heal us
- Studying Sanskrit poetry, Ayurvedic cooking, and the Bhagavad Gita while living in India for five years
- Attending the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and how it got her through a major healing crisis
- What Ayurveda is and the core principles you should know
- How Ayurveda teaches us how to determine what is good and bad for us to eat and why Ayurveda always treats the cause of the symptoms
- How Ayurveda’s principles can work for us today
- Ways you might already be practicing Ayurveda
- What are the doshas and the qualities of each one: vata, pitta, kapha
- Why it is so important to eat seasonal foods
- How Ayurveda can be relevant today even though it’s 5,000 years old
- How EMFs cause problems and a few easy, practical ways we can cleanse our bodies from the harmful effects of EMF
- The latest health and diet fads and how they correspond to Ayurveda
- How everything is medicine in Ayurveda and how to know whether something will be good or bad for you specifically.
- What inspired Divya to write her book “What To Eat For How You Feel”
- How the book is structured and what it can do for you
- The misconception that Ayurvedic food is Indian food
- Why eating local is so essential for your health and well being
- Ayurveda’s perspective on mushrooms and which mushrooms are the best to eat and why
- How stones and other minerals can become medicine
- The importance of cooling our livers
- Transdermal medicines bypass the liver and how they can help people with weak digestion
- What to do if you’re dealing with chronic conditions
- The celery juice craze and what Ayurveda believes about its effectiveness
- How vegetable juice is really hard to digest
- The Ayurvedic approach to vegan diet, raw diet etc.
- GHEE - the miracle ingredient in Ayurveda!
- The one recipe you can make each day that is simple, quick and incredibly healthy for you
- The last 5 questions with Divya
THE LAST 5 QUESTIONS:
- What is your favorite place in nature?
The Bulgarian forest because that’s where I grew up, but any forest is what I gravitate to.
- What is the animal, mineral or plant that resonates with you the most?
Cows. They’re beautiful animals, very sattvic and also cows teach me patience.
- What is one thing we can do right now to connect with the natural world and bring more harmony into our lives?
Breathe deeply and calm your mind and meditate because this helps us center ourselves and be fully present in the world.
- What’s the greatest lesson nature has taught you?
Purity. Nature is perfect and nature is pure in its origin and even when it looks imperfect, it’s actually perfect the way it is. So that is what nature inspires me to be.
- Nature brings me…
Peace.