AYS Unit 3:

Improving Our Digestion of Foods, Thoughts, and Actions

 
 

Prerequisites

Total Hours

-All students will have completed Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist modules 1 and 2.

-For Certification-Seekers – 200 hour Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher (or currently enrolled in a YA accredited program)

-20 Classroom Hours

-10 Independent Study Hours


 

Course Overview

Using food as medicine is an ancient idea that many of us have lost touch with in our modern lives. The science of ayurveda uses food and spices to address specific imbalances and health concerns. In this unit, we will use ayurvedic recipes and dietary principles to support and enhance digestion of food, thoughts, and life experiences. Anyone who loves cooking or eating a delicious meal might be surprised at how vital these simple ayurvedic applications are to creating nourishing and balancing food. When you cook and eat in a way that supports optimal digestion, this creates a vibrant and solid foundation for moving forward in life and for spiritual development.

Using interactive group work, lecture, and time for practice, you will:

  • Be introduced to the six rasas (tastes) as the secret ingredient for optimal nourishment and for unlocking balance and overall wellness

  • Learn how ayurvedic digestive theory supports physical, mental, and emotional digestion

  • Understand how simple dietary changes can profoundly improve overall digestion and elimination

  • Discover how ayurvedic cooking can heal when you use food and spice combinations to address specific constitutional imbalances and other health concerns

  • Experience yogic practices that support agni and improve digestion naturally

  • Work together in the kitchen to gain hands-on experience with preparing ayurvedic recipes including kitchari, ghee, churnas (dosha specific spice mixes), chai, and many more

  • Enjoy the fruits of your labors in the kitchen, tasting your ayurvedic meals with your classmates

 

Homework For This Module

  • Start preparing to apply principles from AYS 1-3 in a client setting by taking yourself and your lifestyle through the process and asking yourself how you would do so for a client.

  • Hands-on work in the kitchen learning to make the staples of an Ayurvedic lifestyle (ghee, kitchari, seasonal veggies, churna, and medicinal teas).

  • Reviewing your food sadhana according to Ayurveda
    -Can you identify the six tastes?
    -The subtle essences of the doshas (ojas, tejas, and prana) and their manifestation in the body.