If you’re involved in the world of yoga, you’ve likely heard the term Ayurveda (eye-er-vay-dah) in conversations at your studio. Also originating in India, this holistic medicine is considered the “sister science” to yoga which completes the practice’s influence on the body beyond meditation or movement.

Ayurvedic philosophy aims to align your body with nature; Seasons, constitutions, and natural biorhythms are all taken into consideration while creating Ayurvedic routines that prevent imbalances of the mind-body. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the world of Ayurveda since being introduced to it in 2018 by a chiropractic mentor, Dr. Sarah Kucera.

This chiropractic yogi designed a healing office that incorporates all the techniques above and was so passionate about Ayurveda that her chiropractic practice morphed into an Ayurvedic focused approach. Her transition eventually inspired the birth of her first published book, The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook.

Like with all healing concepts, most of us won’t dive headfirst into a new subject until the need for it outweighs the risk of starting a new venture. Without this need, I didn’t feel called to flip the switch on introducing Ayurvedic principles into my life until 2021. Prior to finding an accessible guide like Sarah’s, it was hard to know where to start and what tools were necessary to create lasting routines. As a yoga teacher and chiropractic body worker, I’d dabble with the Ayurvedic doshas (temperaments that live within our personalities and natural structure), but I never really considered myself an active member of this medicine.

Many patients have asked me about the importance of yoga’s sister science but without being a certified specialist in the area, I was hesitant to give advice on how to introduce Ayurveda into their lives. The Indian influence of uncommon spices, oils, and recipes were so foreign to me that it was easier to assume that the medicine of Ayurveda was not for everyone, especially someone so distant from its original culture.

But that was the exact mentality that I’ve spent my career trying to reduce in the realm of chiropractic and while helping others build a personalized yoga practice. Natural rhythms and intuitive mindfulness, within any healing system, are inclusive constants that should encourage everyone seeking equilibrium to pursue. Like all healing practices, focus on the portions of a system that ignite your fire for further learning and make it your own throughout each stage of implementation. I didn’t realize that this basic human right applied to Ayurveda as well until the late stages of my first pregnancy……

After a long day of treating patients, I sought out my favorite support team of nighttime comforts and healing rituals. My Epsom salt bath, body oils, Neti pot cleansing, and inversion yoga poses were a tried-and-true group of friends that never let me down. Before bed, I massaged sesame oil into my skin, happy to be carrying a healthy pregnancy without many physical discomforts or limiting fatigue. I swished coconut oil around my mouth as I scanned the contents sitting on my bathroom counter until - spit take- I realized…. “THIS IS ALL AYURVEDA!”

My brain started to back track, scanning the last seven months and how much I depended on simple, non-toxic tools to keep my skin, airways, circulation, and immune system optimized. My personal hygiene routine had grown at such a natural pace towards the intuitive and non-toxic aspects of an ayurvedic practice that I didn’t notice until that moment that I am a full-blown believer, and user, of the science. Pregnancy had brought out the fully conscious yogi in my self-care routine without any decision to label it as ayurvedic medicine.

Through new ears, I heard the conversations in my office (the ones that I thought were avoiding Ayurvedic recommendations) and instead, heard how many times I had sent people home to trial my favorite healing rituals that could decrease their sinus congestion, circulation issues, or sleep disruptions.

I’m happy to now to share my recommendations for the Ayurvedic techniques and tools that have carried me through a healthy and happy pregnancy; not as a specialist in the medicine, but as a consumer who is sharing her testimonials of their successful influence. Pregnancy consists of ten months where you will be overwhelmed with recommendations, unsolicited advice, oversharing, and awkward comments. So, in an effort not to add to the list of things you’re just learning to categorize as a pregnancy “do” or “don’t,” I’m sharing my patients’ favorite practices that are easy to approach, feel good, and supply you with the calming sense that you are doing something important for yourself and your growing baby. Just like the mantras that Dr. Sarah shares at the beginning of her book, we will “Start simple” and “Simply start.”

Taking Care of My Mouth - Tongue Scraper

Even before noticing that the tools around my bathroom sink are on Ayurveda’s recommendation list, I knew to keep my mouth’s environment clean while pregnant. I spent each morning/evening at the sink hearing recommendations from women rolling through my mind, “Make sure you take care of your gums while you’re pregnant.” Due to an increase in hormones like Estrogen and Progesterone, the gums of the mouth become easily inflamed and if not taken care of, can encourage an overgrowth of gingivitis. Because the state of pregnancy causes the body to be slightly immune compromised already, all normal efforts to avoid getting sick were now emphasized. For me, that focus begins at the mouth.

Allowing bacteria to go unchecked within the mouth increases our chance of infection and enables the pathogens that we swallow to challenge a healthy digestive system. Like the old nutrition adage goes, “we are what we eat.” Meaning, what we eat seeps into every other system of the body to either enhance it or challenge it. The first step of any successful digestive breakdown involves the enzymes of our mouth.

Using Ayurvedic tools to decrease the bacteria that grow within the mouth (more so at night while things are closed and inactive) the first practice that I adapted is the art of Tongue Scraping! A tongue scraper is a horseshoe shaped piece of metal that aids in removing the topcoat of bacteria off the tongue. A variety of metals can be found for the product including copper, silver, and stainless steel. Like Chinese Medicine and their belief that different metals instill specific healing traits, traditional Ayurvedic practitioners prefer you use a metal that restores your specific imbalances. Without working with a specialist and knowing what that imbalance is, I find that for novices (like me), stainless steel is a wonderful antibacterial option and is much easier to maintain than copper.

Side note*** In Chinese Medicine, acupuncturists use stainless steel needles to bring whichever imbalance you have back to baseline. It acts similarly to an adaptogenic plant in that the metal’s interaction with your system “knows” if you need more or less of a treatment. ***

Beginning a tongue scraping practice will teach you a lot about the state of your tongue. It will offer a daily understanding of when your health environment seems “on” or if you may be inching closer toward falling “off.” The more days you gently scrape the center and sides of the tongue, you’ll start to notice patterns of buildup that reflect how you feel everywhere else. If I have bad allergies or inflammation from a week of less than ideal foods, I see the product that comes off with the scraper increase in size, color, and texture. The clean and healthy weeks match a gentle maintenance on the tongue, removing less buildup of near invisible residue. Cleaning your tongue up to twice a day can remove unwanted oral infections preventing tooth decay, swollen gums, and digestive disorders. Added perks include an improved sense of taste, decreased poor breath, and reducing toxic loads before we ingest them into our system.

Buy a scraper similar to this product on Banyan Botanicals.

Preventing Poor Circulation - Dry Brushing & Lymph Massage

Thanks to the growing miracle inside of you, the circulation of blood during pregnancy has more to supply and less room to comfortably do it in. A personal goal of my pregnancy was to keep an eye on my circulatory system (heart, blood vessels, and swelling) and to prevent the chance of forming another blood clot. I’ve already suffered through a blood clot in my life after a freak incident with surgery and I was warned that pregnancy could predispose me to another episode. Due to the increased amount of Estrogen in the system as pregnancy progresses, women’s blood will become hypercoagulative. This normal response to pregnancy enables the blood to easily form clots, preparing women to recover from the tissue disruptions of labor.

Most women will not experience any issues with blood clots forming. More likely, they feel circulation become strained as size increases demand less activity. Without constant activity in the lower legs, no muscular pumping occurs to help push blood back to the core. Add the growing weight of pregnancy to that uphill challenge, and we start to witness the swelling of ankles, leg discoloration, and varicose veins. I hope that through mindfulness of daily behaviors and the utilization of Ayurvedic rituals, you can keep your circulation and heart health in check during pregnancy. A simple recipe for healthy circulation includes = Movement + Breath + Inversion.

For me, automatic blood flow comes from the movement of yoga, rehabilitative motions, and cardiovascular exercise. I have always been an avid mover and still, up to this eighth month of pregnancy, hold a very active career that keeps me strong and mobile. While I can’t blindly state that every pregnant woman should go exercise for 30 minutes like I aim to, I can encourage a few gentle Ayurvedic practices that improve blood flow without straining a pregnancy or your already tired body. Have you heard of dry brushes? This practice consists of using a wood holder, attached to thick bristles on one side, to rub all over the skin before getting wet (hence the word dry).

Ayurveda recommends using this hand-held brush along your skin in repetitive, circular motions. Working from the extremities of your body towards the central core, rub the brush in small strokes to improve circulation and wake up the blood vessels beneath the skin. Each stroke will leave a little red patch on the skin, showing how quickly the underlying tissue responds to stimulation. It can be a little uncomfortable at first, but after a few shorts minutes of deliberate brushing, bending, and breathing, your skin feels tingly and alive. For this reason, most Ayurvedic practitioners recommend this invigorating practice first this in the morning, before a shower.

The goal of this practice is not to break the skin or irritate dry regions. If you suffer from skin imbalances, be careful; buy a very soft brush or apply a gentle oil while working (more on oils in the section below). Remember that the stretched skin around the belly may be very sensitive. While pregnant, I barely dry brush my stomach and choose to focus more on the lower extremities.

Buy a dry brush here through ECOTOOLS.

Less is more when it comes to lymphatic drainage, the system that moves closely with blood vessels but transports lymph instead of blood. Helping the lymph nodes of the body to better communicate with a cleansing flow reduces toxic buildup and infections from hiding in any stagnant region of the body for too long. Whenever you aim to improve blood circulation, you will automatically influence the lymphatic system as well. My truly favorite way to get the lymph and blood back to our core is by getting upside down.

I just posted a fun Reel on Instagram about the different stages of yoga inversion for pregnancy, check it out!

The goal for inversion is to help the lymph/blood battle the effects of gravity and get back to our core, where both are processed for cleansing or eliminating. Dr. Kucera explains in her guide how the yoga pose called, “legs up the wall,” can become a daily event that tackles the problem of lower leg stagnation. I send this practice home with any patient, pregnant or not, that spends a lot of hours travelling or working on their feet all day.

By closing out your day with 5-10 minutes upside down against a wall or the headboard of your bed, you will feel the sediment like sensation of weight in your veins falling toward the hips. This relaxing practice restores your sense of calm and prepares you for a night of good sleep without cramping legs. Cramps often come from poor circulation or nutrient deficiencies. Besides asking your doctor how magnesium can combat the latter, check circulation off your list by completing a daily inversion like the one pictured here.

Recognizing the Signs of Respiratory Imbalances - Neti Pot

Despite the immune compromised risk that pregnancy creates, and the fact that I was in the presence of constantly sick patients, I’ve only had one small cold over the course of eight months. I attribute this resilience to numerous mental and physical practices, but one Ayurvedic tool stands out. When all else fails, and I can feel something showing early signs of infection in my nasal passage, my final layer of protection, is a Neti Pot. A Neti Pot is probably a familiar sounding product that has worked its way into common, household medicine cabinets.

The goal for this cleansing routine is to introduce a saline like solution into the nose and sinuses of the frontal skull, hoping that the flow of water will wash away pockets of infectious build up or respiratory triggers. The tiny spout of water is placed up against one nostril as the head hovers horizontally over a sink. One nostril at a time, allow the warm water to combat chronic congestion or mucus build up, reintroducing a clear pathway to the opposite, free nostril. Cleaning the upper respiratory system regularly (or as needed) can reduce the inflammatory response of the tissues that line those passages. Things like allergens, chemical irritants, and pathogens are combatted with sporadic use of a Neti Pot.

Many women complain of late-night nasal congestion and not finding a comfortable position to sleep in while pregnant. They recognize that pregnancy increases the production of mucus membranes everywhere in the body (including the sinuses) but don’t consider how that limited breath is as much a cause of their sleeping discomfort as pressure on the back can be. Clear nasal access is so important during pregnancy because deeper sleep enables us to restore at a cellular level and fuel the energy needed to grow a baby, all while reducing our susceptibility to getting sick.  

By recognizing the drastic benefits of a cleansed nasal system, I have gained an internal awareness of signs of distress. The lack of ability to breathe through one nostril can alter many things about our movement, internal skull pressure, and overall efficiency. You’ll be surprised at first when you find one nostril that refuses to allow in any water from the Neti Pot! The internal blockage of breath isn’t always obvious on the surface but when my patients start to utilize the Neti, they have a heightened ability to recognize small signs of distress, helping them to get ahead of a respiratory induced sickness. I agree with them when I hear their feedback that they can tell if something irritable is starting to distress the sinuses, feeling like “they are on the verge of getting sick.” This last layer of protection reinforces the other healthy habits that can carry you through an enjoyable pregnancy.

 I won’t lie, this practice takes some getting used to. If you’ve avoided getting water in your nose throughout childhood, this is the chance to rewrite that experience, allowing the cleansing properties of water to work their magic in a controlled process. It may feel like you’re drowning for a moment but if bent over appropriately, the completed water will exit out of the open nostril, leaving you room to breathe through the mouth. I think the brief discomfort of using the Neti cleanse is far less important than clarity that the ritual provides. After a quick rinse and some minor choking, the humidity levels within the sinuses feel restored and once more, are prepared to filter the 15-20,000 breaths that we take each day.

Special note*** Make sure to use filtered water, not tap water! ***

Buy a Neti Pot similar to this product at the Himalayan Institute.

Overcoming The Fear of Oily Skin - Sesame Oil & Lymphatic Massage

One endearing aspect of ayurvedic medicine is that many of the recommended self-care rituals double as beauty tools. The cosmetic goals of seeking healthy skin tone, proper hydration, and fluid circulation are all satisfied by using these ancient techniques. Because we are part of an advancing society of consciousness, most consumers prefer natural products that are kind to the environment. Ayurvedic beauty and self-care has been ahead of that trend from the start.

I’m sure you already have some variety of skin routines or product lines you gravitate towards but it’s easy to compliment that existing routine by adding in a few natural oils. I don’t judge myself for wanting to maintain clear and healthy skin while pregnant, it’s natural to want to maintain some control over our cosmetic beauty during a time where we our insides feel very “out of control.” Hydrated, elastic skin around the stretching stomach and other growing limbs of the body has less chance of leaving permanent changes when cared for appropriately. I have found that the body or face oils commonly found in Ayurvedic medicine have kept my skin from experiencing the drastic surface changes of pregnancy.

When selecting which oil would have the best influence on my skin, I wanted something affordable that smelled good and didn’t have a bunch of toxic nonsense in the ingredients. Dr. Kucera describes how we all have different skin constitutions that will match the chemistry of certain oils better than others. Some skins prefer the density of a coconut-based oil while I prefer something less sticky, such as sesame oil. Many of my patients report an aversion to oiling the body or face because of “the breakouts” it will cause. I tell them I can relate to this; I’ve grown up having a poor relationship with my skin through years of athletics and the stress of school environments. Pregnancy has allowed me to heal my relationship with oils and find that balance between lightly using the ingredients without overdoing it. Experimenting with ingredients or working with an Ayurvedic practitioner is necessary to find the right oil for you.

Sesame oil is one of the most popular oils in the Ayurvedic system. It is considered a warming oil due to properties within the seed that influence our body to produce gentle heat. Like all warming agents, it helps the skin cells to dilate enabling it to better absorb, providing us with longer lasting benefits. I first started using sesame oil on my growing stomach to help reduce the chance of stretch marks. I also knew that I would depend on weekly swimming throughout the later stages of my pregnancy to keep up with cardiovascular exercise without the forces of gravity on my growing size. After swimming or showering I massaged sesame oil along the limbs, face, and core to prevent the drying effects of Chlorine and winter months. Eight months later? Zero signs of stretch beyond what my natural skin elasticity could handle on the stomach. I’m also happy to report that I have very little facial swelling or hormonal blemishes.

Similar to the practice of dry-brushing, the ritual of oil massage gives you an intimate chance to monitor changes of the body during pregnancy each day. Without adding in oil, massaging my tissue, and staying flexible enough to reach my whole body, I would have missed subtle signs of pregnancy showcased on the skin. Beyond watching for circulation issues, staying in touch with your skin on a daily basis will help to stay ahead of food allergies, nutrient deficiencies, and hormonal imbalances. Knowing what your skin both looks and feels like will help you seek the right help if anything starts to change in a way that requires medical attention or a change in dietary behavior.

Over the past eight months, I have learned that pregnancy is an exercise in self-evaluation as well as a life altering period of deep reflection. When something precious and seemingly fleeting finally lives inside you, the mind and body will leave no stone unturned.  Non-tangibly, pregnant women are forced to face how they perceived their upbringing, their present circumstances, and their goals for the future. Physically, the decision to focus on self-care routines, health behaviors, and rest becomes an easy one to make. Because after all, your health is your baby’s health. That realization easily shifts the previous priorities of life to match that new commitment. A commitment that will require constant reassurance each day, until you the two of you get to meet one another.

Hopefully the art and soothing nature of an Ayurvedic practice benefits you as much as it did for me during this special time. The practices above that have brought me simple acts of peace can be the launching pad for your own introduction to Ayurveda. Remember to “start simply”; perhaps focusing on more of the cosmetic goals (teeth cleaning, skin soothing, swelling reducing things) until the deeper preventive medicine goals (respiratory cleansing, circulation strengthening things) speak to you and your needs. Follow the links above to purchase beginner products or follow along within the pages of Kucera’s Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook to help you “simply start.”

Resources

1.     Sarah Kucera, DC, CAP, The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook (New York, NY: The Experiment, 2019) Print.

2.     Heather Gryzch, DC, CAP, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2020) Print

3.     Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE, Real Food for Real Pregnancy (USA, 2018) Print.

Photo Credit

1.     Elizabeth Unruh Studio. 2023.

2.     Stock Photos- Purchased online. 2023.