Hi, I am Tracy Zuschlag, a licensed Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant. I just led a lecture at our local library about Ayurveda. Ayurveda (pronounced Eye-Your-Veda), a sanskrit word, is broken down into two root words: Ayu=life and Veda=science or knowledge so Ayurveda is the "science of your life". Ayurveda is also the sister science to yoga and one of the oldest health care systems in the world (over 5,000 years old). Ayurveda gives us the tools and knowledge to understand the 5 elements or energies: ether, air, fire, water, earth that are in nature and in each living system on earth.  Every organism is comprised of ether, air, fire, water, earth and yet every organism is a different combination of these elements - not one of us is the same.  This balance we strive for in Ayurveda begins with understanding our biological constitution and how that relates to the seasons of the year, the time of our life, time of the day, along with diet and lifestyle. We then look at your current imbalances and how we can bring you back to a state of balance and optimal health. Remember it took you a lifetime to get to where you are so it may take some time to bring you back to where you should be.  This type of medicine isn't a one size fits all plan. I work with each client to individualize a plan that will work for you. When it comes to diet we look at seasonal foods, herbs, spices and within that framework we can talk about recipes, when to eat, what to eat, how to eat. Ayurveda is a whole foods based diet that encourages a variety of foods, depending on your tastes and what will work for you. When it comes to lifestyle we talk about your daily routine, exercise, stress reduction and therapies intended to calm the nervous system and bring about overall health and well-being. Ayurveda is a whole healing system of medicine that balances the body-mind-spirit. 

A simple concept yet and so profound but at times we all get into the trap of eating the wrong foods during the wrong seasons, at the wrong time of day and yet we continue to create disturbance. Remember to listen to your intuition, your inner knowing. Our bodies are always striving for homeostasis or balance. Ayurveda gives us the tools.