How Ayurveda Can Improve Sleep

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome everyone to another episode of Sleep Science Academy, interviewing the experts. Super excited to have my friend Hannah Levin, who is an auric health counselor, yoga teacher and yoga health coach, and also the founder of The Vitality Circle, which is a year long program to help women who are ready to thrive on today’s session. So, Hannah, welcome to Sleep Science Academy, interviewing the experts.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Thank you. I’m really delighted to be here. Thanks for having me as a guest. And I’m, yes. So, oh, go ahead.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
We, we met, uh, in Miami, uh, let’s see, was it last year

Speaker 2 (00:43):
At a, it was last workshop at November. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
<affirmative> last November. Yeah. And we connected, I think, on a break, and you were sharing a little bit about what, what it is that you do with Veda, and I was telling a little bit about what I do with sleep and with helping insomniacs, and we kind of got to talking. We thought it would be beneficial to share how, what you do with au Verta and how the, the cycles and the rhythms of, of nature, how that can help people improve their sleep and, and really thrive in life. Because obviously right now, especially, we’re totally disconnected from nature, we’re totally disconnected from, you know, our natural body rhythms. And we could definitely use some insight and some help, uh, for, from you with how can we start to using Aveta, this ancient wisdom from India, how can, how can we start to use this to really help us kind of reconnect to, you know, these natural rhythms to help us sleep and manage stress and thrive.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah. Such great topics to cover, <laugh>. Yes. Well, first of all, I just wanna thank you for having me on here and also for the work that you’re doing in the world, because when we originally connected, I was like, oh, this is so cool, because he’s doing work that aligns with what I do as well, but from the scientific modern standpoint, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I was fascinated to learn about the work that you’re doing, supporting sleep, sleep, people in their ability and knowledge about sleep, because it is, it’s so important. It’s, if you don’t have good sleep, you’re not gonna have a good life. <laugh>, like plain and simple. And, um, and so with Ayurveda, it’s, it’s really amazing. It is connected to nature, and like you said, Ayurveda originated from India. It’s over 5,000 years old. It’s the sister science to yoga. So yoga is really the spiritual path, and Ayurveda is that sister science of like what you do the rest of the time, diet, lifestyle, and herbal medicine. And the word Ayurveda actually gives us a lot of information about what it is. So in Sanskrit are you means life, and beta means knowledge or science.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Wow. So, so that’s a know, so, so put that together. So it’s,

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah. So it’s the knowledge or science of life, which I like to translate as the owner’s manual that none of us ever got. Basically, it’s like, how do we understand the individual bodies and minds that we’ve been gifted for this lifetime? So Aveda set up on a five element system. So it’s based in the five elements of space, air, fire, water, and earth. And everything comes back to those five elements, whether it’s, um, a body constitution, like the build of a body, whether it’s food, whether it’s the weather, whether it’s a emotion. All of those things come back to elemental natures. And so the way that Ayurveda is set up is on an individualized, um, trajectory where we look at, each person has a different amount of each of the elements in their constitutions, and we call that dosha or energies. So there’s three doshas in Ayurveda that are each made up of the elements.

(04:16)
So I’ll just briefly share what those are. Vada is made up of air and ether, so that’s more of like a thin, thin build lighter, um, co constitution tendency towards anxiety. We see this vada imbalance coming in for a lot of people Right now. Pitta is made up of fire and water, a more medium build, and, um, more focused, competitive, linear thinking, logical, organized. Um, but that fire can sometimes get out of control. We’re seeing that a lot now too. And then KAA is made up of fire and wa or sorry, earth and water. And so KAA is more heavy. The, the build physically is a thicker build. It doesn’t mean necessarily overweight, but like a thicker body type. But then also kafa is the more dense, um, feelings too, like more grounded. It’s what allows us to sleep well, but it can also be lethargy or feeling unmotivated or brain fog, things like that. So each of the doshas can show up in different ways, but each of us is made up of all three, but in different amounts. So for instance, I am vada predominant with a high secondary Pitta and hardly any kafa in my constitution. And the point is never to balance all three. It’s simply to get to know the constitution that we have and be able to work with it skillfully for all optimal health and wellbeing. So, wow, that’s a little introduction.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
So that’s a lot. So I’m gonna try and break that. No, it’s awesome. It’s amazing. So, so we have these five elements, and then we have these three doshas, which are like body types or, um, constitutions, I think you, you said,

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Right? Yeah. We can think of them as constitutions.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Okay. Constitution. And can you share what, what, how would you explain a constitution? It’s like, that’s like your makeup, or how would you, how would you define, like, how, how would I know what I’m, what constitution I am?

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yeah. So to really get to know it, I recommend working with a practitioner of Ayurveda so that you really get to have that deeper exploration. There’s lots of dosha quizzes online that you can take. Um, and maybe we can link some to this, uh, to this conversation. Um, but really it’s an exploration, like how you experience life. Like, there’s some things like for your body, like, do you tend to be thin? Do you have trouble gaining weight? Do you have trouble losing weight? Right? And then there’s kind of mental tendencies as well, like, do you tend towards anxiety or tend towards anger, or tend towards, um, lethargy? Do you tend towards, um, having a ravenous appetite or forgetting to eat meals or Right. There’s all these pieces that come together that, um, so a dosha quiz can, can help guide you into that. But one distinction I wanna make is that there’s, there’s two terms that are helpful here.

(07:24)
One is called procr, and the other is Vic. So Procr is your base nature constitution. So it is established when you’re conceived. So it has a lot to do with the state of your parents when they made you, and that your property is where it’s like the recipe of vada and kafa that makes you uniquely you and where you are the happiest and the healthiest. Vic is imbalance in dosha, and that comes in as we live our lives. And so we’ll see imbalance come in, in where we get out of the path of ease, basically, where we experience dis-ease. Now that could come in as, you know, stomach issues or headaches or, um, anxiety or depression, or it can be anything that’s like, or sleep issues, right? Like having, yeah, sleeping. That would be a vic, not your property. But some properties have more of a tendency towards certainties, if that makes sense. Like it’s okay, so set up by your original constitution to have more issues, um, later, later in life. So we all have vicar that we’re dealing with, and that’s really where this practice of Ayurveda comes in, is it can help you just simply live a good life knowing your constitution and be healthy and happy, but it can also help reverse disease to get you back on the path of ease from getting out of balance.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Got it. That’s

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Expertise.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
So that’s, that’s also, so we’re, we’re adding in another layer here. So are you born with your constitution? Is that something that you’re born with? Yes. Okay. And then what you’re saying is certain constitutions have certain tendencies to have imbalances, which you call Vic Vics,

Speaker 2 (09:19):
Is that Vic? So everybody has Vic throughout their lives. Um, but depending on your constitution, your original constitution of proc, you’re gonna have more tendencies towards certain Vics. Shall I give an example?

Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah. Well how about, I, I’m really curious, I mean, is with people with sleep challenges? Yeah. Can you sh is there like this, like people that have insomnia and sleep challenges where they tend have the, you know, go, go take it that way for a

Speaker 2 (09:47):
Second. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s, let’s talk about that. Cool. Yeah. So, um, generally sleep challenges show up in either vada or Pitta imbalances. So imbalances are vic, so with vada imbalances that would show up for sleep as a few different things. It could show up as, um, trouble falling asleep, but most often it will show up as trouble staying asleep, that the light qualities of va of air and space don’t, uh, allow that person to sink down into the depth of sleep. So, and there’s also a doshic clock, which, um, different energies from these constitutions govern different times of the day. And so between two and 6:00 AM is governed by vada. So this is a time when a lot of people wake up. When people, when I work with clients and they say, I often wake up in the middle of the night and I’ll say, is it between two and 6:00 AM?

(10:55)
And they say, yes, I would say like 98% of the people I talk to, yeah. And maybe you see this too Yeah. Is if they’re waking up, it’s been between two and 6:00 AM and that is the va time of that early morning time when the energy is really light. Va also governs movement. So it might be the time when you need to get up and pee, right? And then your mind starts getting active and you don’t feel grounded enough to get back to sleep. You’re wound up and the anxiety starts, or the to-do lists or the just all the what ifs. And then maybe you get up later in the morning or you go back to sleep and you wake up and you’re like, why was I so worried? Like, that seemed so hard really early in the morning, and now it’s not such a big deal, it doesn’t feel as out of control.

(11:45)
So that vada energy is, is something to be reckoned with. Um, I’ll talk about remedying those in a moment. From an Ayurvedic perspective, we can see Pitta show up in, so that’s the fire energy with, um, going to sleep in that, uh, people have trouble like winding down. This can be vada and Pitta, but they’ll get in bed, but they’re just like overstimulated, right? And that the, their body can’t actually relax enough or tune out enough to sink into sleep. And so there’s, there’s pieces of timing that are helpful for that. And also, um, sleep hygiene, right? That mm-hmm. <affirmative> that you teach as well, that, that are really key pieces to, to supporting sleep in that way. Kaa generally doesn’t have trouble with sleep, except the issue of staying asleep too long or sleeping too late into the morning. Yeah. And, um, and so yeah, you might see that as well in your

Speaker 1 (12:53):
Work. Yeah. That’s interesting. So, so there’s a, there’s actually a, a sleep doctor. His name is Dr. Michael Bruce. Are you familiar with him at all?

Speaker 2 (13:00):
No.

Speaker 1 (13:00):
So he, he has this thing, it’s very cool. Um, it’s, you know, you’re, you’re we’re talking a little bit like chrono, we in modern science or whatever. Yeah. We call it chronobiology, right? So, and he came up with these different types of, um, similar to the, the doshas and, and there’s different types. And he, he, he calls ’em different animals, right? And depending if you’re, if like, so for instance, sharing a little bit about the, the KAA type would be like a bear. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and a bear is like a good sleeper and like, you know, can sleep and kinda like heavier and bigger. And then he has like the dolphin, which is most cases insomniacs, which sounds maybe like a [inaudible] or what was the first one you, you, you shared about

Speaker 2 (13:41):
Nevada?

Speaker 1 (13:41):
Nevada. So, so like a dolphin would be like Ava. So he kind of took the ancient wisdom of, uh, Aveda, it sounds like, and he kind of mm-hmm. <affirmative> brought it to, to modern science. And, and you know, there’s a whole book on it called Power of When, but it sounds like, so it’s, it’s, it’s very interesting. So it sounds like there’s these, these common threads based off of your constitution, and depending on what your constitution is, then there’s, as far as sleep goes, there’s these potential issues of either getting to sleep, staying asleep, or being an awesome sleeper, right? Is that kind of what you’re saying?

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah. Or, or sleeping too much. That’s often the KAA issue. Um, which, which can also be detrimental, um, of, of staying asleep too much. I know that’s not probably your clientele, <laugh>.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
No, no, it’s not. No, they’re, they’re, they’re, they’re wishing that they were kaas <laugh>. Uh, yes.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah. So we can cultivate that kafa energy so that the general overarching wisdom from Ayurveda is to balance with the wisdom of opposites.

Speaker 1 (14:48):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
So this is where this elemental nature comes in. So if there’s too much air that’s like lifting you up and you’re like spinning around in the sky that you can bring in earth to help ground down. So this is where timing comes in. And also sleep hygiene. So for those people that feel too wound up or go to sleep and then wake up wound up, there’s some simple little tips like rubbing the souls of your feet with sesame oil before you go to sleep. That helps ground your energy. And sesame oil is very warming and nourishing oil in general is a great balance to the dry light qualities of air. So that’s a really simple thing you can do. You might wanna wear a pair of light socks so you don’t get your sheets all oily, but it’s really nourishing to the whole body and the whole nervous system.

(15:45)
Other things that can be really helpful are staying away from stimulation for one to two hours before you go to sleep. I know these are some things that you, you teach about too, like staying away from blue lights, staying away from, um, heated conversation <laugh> or Yeah. Listening to the news or, you know, really protecting that time, that sleep bubble before you go to sleep. And when we look at the dosha clock that I was referring to earlier that time before bed, between 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM is kafa time. Kaa time. So kafa energy is predominant during that time. And I really ask all of my clients to notice when they start yawning in the evening, cuz a lot of us do maybe around 8, 8 30 mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And we don’t take note of it. We’re just like, oh, that’s just normal. But when we notice that we’re like, there’s that KAA energy that’s like, ah. Right. Or even taking awe breaths. That’s something I teach too. Or you go, ah,

Speaker 1 (16:50):
It’s kind of letting, letting it all go, letting the day,

Speaker 2 (16:52):
Letting it go. Relax. You

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Guys letting time. She did not say coffee, she didn’t say coffee time. She said Kaa time let’s time’s be clear. Not coffee time. No, no

Speaker 2 (17:02):
Coffee

Speaker 1 (17:02):
Time. Kaa time. So, so taking a deep inhale on an exhale, you know, is letting the day kind of settle. That would be more kaa sort of, yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
Rituals or,

Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah. So doing that, you know, I also teach yoga, so doing some really gentle yoga forward folds, laying on the floor with your legs up the wall, inversions are really relaxing to the nervous system. Those pieces are really helpful. And then also when we look at the doic clock, that 10 o’clock time is a cutoff where the dosha clock switches from Kaa time into Pitta time. So that fire lights up and we know from chronobiology, from understanding our body functions, that that’s a time when inner fire lights up again during the day, the middle of the day, 10 to 2:00 AM to pm our bioproduction is at its strongest in the eve at night, 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM is when our cellular intelligence lights up to take out the trash. Hmm. So if we’re not asleep during that time, our body lights back up, we get a second wind, we wanna do projects, we might get hungry again, which is very detrimental.

(18:15)
<laugh>. Yeah. And then we get all off of schedule, right? This is probably very similar to all, all that you teach, but knowing that energetic time of the doshas is really helpful. So utilizing Kaa time, like the witching hour is 10:00 PM maybe 10 30 this time of year because it’s staying light so late. But that we have this little window of like, if we can sink into sleep, we have this support of earth element helping us ground down, be at peace, be held. If you think about being nurtured and held by Mother Earth, that’s what we can take advantage of before 10:00 PM after that all bets are

Speaker 1 (18:56):
You, you, you’re, you’re missing, you’re missing what I call the sleep train.

Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
It’s coming around. Yeah. And it, you wanna get on it <laugh>, right? So, so, okay. So yeah. And so, so it sounds like, you know, it, what’s really interesting about this is it really sounds like the whole science of chronobiology has come literally from this ancient 5,000 year old wisdom that these yogis knew 5,000 years ago about, you know, the, the body clocks. And, and, and so it’s really, this is really interesting, um, kind of diving into

Speaker 2 (19:29):
This Yeah. And, and I think it’s really cool, like having studied Ayurveda and yoga to see all of this now being proven by modern science.

Speaker 1 (19:39):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
It’s so cool. It’s so cool.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
You know, it is cool. It’s kind of like, well now it’s not guys, it’s definitely not woowoo, right? Because Right. And, but it’s, what’s it’s crazy. It’s it is, it’s amazing actually. Like, I don’t, if something works, it works. Like I don’t, I, it’s great to have scientific evidence and double placebo studies on things, and that’s all great, but if something works, it works. So, you know, this is obviously it’s been a system for 5,000 years. There’s a reason why, right?

Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah. So I like to tell people things that don’t work don’t stick around. So if this has been around for over 5,000 years, there’s gotta be something to it. And that it’s still applicable to our lives. You know, human life looked very different 5,000 years ago, but that these basic principles can still hold true and can still help guide us to optimal health and wellness is incredible to me.

Speaker 1 (20:37):
So let me ask you something, Hannah. Yeah. So this time period, you know, if you took like a 30,000 foot view of like what we’re experiencing now in this like 21st century craziness, could you like say, okay, this is overarching, this is more like Pitta energy. Like we’re, we’re in this like Pitta energy state over the last 10 years. That’s the dog barking. Sorry. Yeah. <laugh>,

Speaker 2 (21:02):
My dog’s snoring in here. I don’t,

Speaker 1 (21:05):
You might start. No, I can’t, I can’t <laugh>. So what would you, what would you say that, like, this,

Speaker 2 (21:13):
That’s a great, great question. So I would say in general that we live in a very vada elevated time. Okay. And this was true before Covid v this was true before, you know, race issues surfaced that we live in a Nevada elevated time because we’re multitasking, overstimulated and undernourished.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Okay. Okay. We we’re overfed, but we’re undernourished. Yeah. And in terms of having our senses, our nervous systems have time to reset. We’re living in high stress, constant high stress, and not having, I mean, no wonder people can’t sleep. We don’t know how anymore we have texts and emails and people talking to us. And you know, even in social isolation, right? There’s, there’s a lot that’s coming at us, bombarding us. So vada has been elevated for a long time. How that shows up is as overwhelm and anxiety, sleep issues, um, in decision and worry, fear. So we were already there <laugh> and now bring in what’s happening with Covid 19, with what’s happening with Black Lives Matter race issues, right? Yeah. That we’re all being called to the table to this larger conversation of like, how are we evolving right now? And I see more pitta showing up.

(22:52)
More anger. Yeah. More frustration, more desire for logic, for structure as things are crumbling, right? That we’re, we’re experiencing a lot of frustration. What are the rules for life right now? Who, who can help us determine what’s the right way to function right now? So that Pitta energy is rising? In some ways it’s helpful because that’s bringing some sort of structure or systems to the chaos. At the same time it can be detrimental because it’s that fiery energy, right? We’re seeing fire erupting <laugh> in our cities. We’re seeing literally fiery language, fiery action come out in general. That is a time of p fire is the element of transformation, right? So if we look at it from that elemental perspective, it’s like, good, we’re in the fire of transformation and yet we want the fire of transformation to be guided in a way that’s not entirely destructive, right?

Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So makes sense to me.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
Yeah, <laugh>

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yeah. Makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
So, um, but then we also see people, um, diving into more KAA behaviors, which is just like checking out, right? Or, um, or numbing with alcohol or substance, other substances or, you know, binge watching Netflix or whatever it is. It’s just like, I can’t deal with reality. So like all the covers over the head. What I wanna say though is that all of the doshas have something to bring to the table. I’ve kind of spoken to the negative aspects of them, but vada in its healthy and, um, more abundant form is sattvik, which is the, the energy of balance of clarity. You think of clear air that you can see clearly, and that there’s creativity. Vada brings a lot of creativity, spontaneity, and, um, ability to think outside the box. So that energy is very welcome right now, right? Pitta, as I mentioned, brings the energy of structure of, um, of being able to problem solve of leadership and transformation.

(25:26)
So those are positive. And Kafa brings the energy of groundedness, of recognizing connection to the whole, of being compassionate and loving and caring about what’s beyond our immediate focus right now. So each dosha has its own ability to bring amazing assets to the table right now. Wow. And I, in my practices, it’s really about focusing on, on those parts versus the like, whoa, everything’s spinning off into chaos and <laugh>, it’s hopeless and challenging and um, and destructive. And it’s a both and we can’t just deny what’s happening, but I believe if we focus on cultivating the positive aspects of the energies in play, that’s what, right. Where attention goes, energy flows, right? Sure. We know this from trying to fall asleep, right? If you’re laying there being like, all the worries, all the worries, all the worries, yeah. But if you think about like, oh, a peaceful sunset or being at the ocean, right? That, that energy is what is cultivated in the body by the attention. So our attention is powerful.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
It is, uh, so, so thank for sharing all that. And it’s, it’s really, it makes a lot of sense and hopefully people are starting to get a sense of how this system, this life manual, you know, can, can be very app applicable to, to them, to where they are and what they’re dealing with and what they’re struggling with. So in your, in your practice and working with people, I guess the first step for somebody is really understanding, well, what dosha am I right? And then from there, I guess it’s really then understanding, okay, well where is this dosha? How am I using this dosha to, to fuel positive growth and expansion in my life? And then what are some of the, I forget what you called it, but what are some of the things that are keeping me from, you know,

Speaker 2 (27:26):
Or Vic Tea.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
Vic Tea, there you go. The Vic Tea. Um, is that Sanskrit by

Speaker 2 (27:31):
The way? Yes. Sanskrit. Got it. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 (27:33):
<affirmative>. Okay. So what, and then, and then kind of, so fueling the expansion and, and the aspects of, of this, this dosha and then like balancing out the vic of, is that pretty much how like 30,000 foot view of what it is that you do when you work with a client? Is that how it looks?

Speaker 2 (27:52):
Yeah. There are some things that can just be generally helpful regardless of your constitution. Like we were saying before, just like recognizing that we’re, we live in alignment with nature, with the natural rhythms and that affects everybody regardless of your constitution, but in kind of different ways and to different degrees. But in general, yes, what you said is, is absolutely correct. If people are wanting to dive deeper into exploring a u Veda, it’s very helpful to know your constitution and to learn about living in rhythm with nature. So, um, I’m just gonna put a little plug in here too that I teach yoga daily on Facebook, on a Facebook Live. And within that group that’s totally free for people to join open to anybody. I do these, um, Ayurveda super habit challenges once a season. So I’m about to launch into my summer one July 13th.

(28:48)
It’s July 13th through the 21st. And this is a chance for you to explore a little bit about Ayurveda. You’ll get a dosha quiz, you’ll get to learn this just a half an hour each day that I teach. And we’re focusing on one habit of Ayurveda that that just starts shifting your, your understanding and how you feel starts moving out the vic and welcoming in more balanced with the property. In general though, I would say there’s three things that really differentiate Ayurveda, and those are timing, personal, um, personalized health, and then listening to the body. Hmm. And so we talked about timing a little bit already in terms of like, when you do what matters, um, and, and same, you know, we, we talked about it in terms of sleep, but same with like eating, you know, eating in is a helpful thing, right? <laugh>, it fuels our, fuels our lives, but when we do it at certain times of the day, it may be more or less beneficial.

(29:51)
Um, so understanding timing is really important within this, this whole paradigm, whole trajectory of living in Ayurvedic life. Personalized health is what we were talking about before too, about understanding individual constitution. So we might have more of a tendency towards certain imbalances. Um, and, and like I said, western medicine or modern science is beginning to really understand that one size doesn’t fit all. We can’t just say, oh, you are having trouble sleeping, just take Ambien. See you later. Right? That, that’s not really helping the bigger picture. No, it’s not <laugh>. And so, right, so what you do and what I do is really about getting at the root cause, right? Yes. Like, why is this happening? So whether it’s sleep or a digestive issue or weight gain, or you know, depression, whatever it is, it’s looking at like what are the things, the steps that have been taken that have gotten you to the place that you’re in and how do you, I I think about it like there’s a path of ease and at some point we take detours off that path and it, and when we can recognize like, oh, I’ve taken a detour and the same path that I took to get here to this place that I don’t wanna be in anymore, I can turn around and come back to the path of ease is my choice.

(31:12)
And it’s really empowering ultimately, right? Your clients are totally empowered by being like, oh wow, I’m not stuck like this, right? Like, right. They can be like, I, I have made choices that I didn’t realize were detrimental. I can make new choices that I realize are helpful. So that personalized health piece is really, really important. And Ayurveda has known this for thousands of years and it’s great to see it gaining momentum in the United States now. And then the last one is listening to the body. So again, it might be that people say like, oh, you know, I do really well when I, you know, go for a walk before bedtime, but then you try that and it’s like it winds you up too much or whatever, like mm-hmm <affirmative> that, that we are individual or we eat certain things and we’re like, but somebody told me, like my example with food is that before I learned Ayurveda, I was like, I’m gonna be really healthy.

(32:07)
And so I ate salad all the time. And because right, like if you wanna be healthy eat salad, of course equal salad, right? <laugh>. But what happened for me, because I’m a pi, I’m vada predominant, which means my body has a tendency towards cold, rough, dry qualities. Anyway, I was putting too much of those qualities in my body that actually needed more warmth and moisture. And I basically created chronic constipation for myself, which led to other health issues down the road. And so Ayurveda helps you see that. Like, everybody’s not the same. If you wanna be healthy, it looks different for each person. Like vegetables, yes, vegetables are helpful. How they’re eaten is is different, right? So listening to your body instead of taking those cues from outside and being like, I have to do these things because that’s what I’m supposed to do. Whether it’s what your parents told you or the doctor or whatever, but to like turn that inward focus and listen with the ear of your heart and really say, what is it that feels really good to me?

(33:19)
Or what do I inherently know? I talk to clients all the time that say, like, when I’m like, oh, you need to do this, and they’re like, you know, I’ve always thought that felt really good to me, but I didn’t know why and other people don’t do it. So I just was like, I, that’s not what I’m supposed to do. So really listening to, yeah, the inner wisdom of your body. Cuz our bodies are talking to us all the time and they’re just trying to be heard, and if we don’t listen, then we progress off that path of ease way quicker.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
Ah, I couldn’t agree with you. Yeah, that’s amazing. Yeah, it’s, it’s so true. I think that self-awareness, that, that understanding, listening, connecting to your inner intuition, yeah, it’s so powerful and important and it’s, it’s like people are so disconnected right now from that because of the bombardment of technology and you know, just this whole system is built to drive more consumerism, you know, always thinking that we need something outside of ourselves to make us happy. I mean, it’s really crazy when you kind of take a step back and you really look at it. Um, and what I hear you saying so, so, so, so clearly is that, you know, at UTA is this is a system that can help you really understand yourself and how you can, how you can live in alignment with what’s gonna help you live the best life as far as from a mental standpoint, a spiritual standpoint, a health standpoint, and, and really enjoy the experience of being alive, uh, in, in your life. It’s, that’s what I, it’s, I’m not gonna lie, does there’s a lot to this obviously, and we, we have a short amount of time and you’ve covered a lot. I mean, we know about that. There’s, there’s doshas, we have victories and

Speaker 2 (35:04):
Property,

Speaker 1 (35:05):
Property we have, you know, we have different elements. So there is a lot to the system and obviously over 5,000 years this thing has been developed and, and, and I’m sure refined and it’s a proven tested system. Um, so how do, how do people that are interested in getting some support from you or learning more about their dosha or maybe how this could improve their, their life, where, what would be the starting point? You mentioned you have a Facebook group that you teach yoga every day for free, which is amazing, like what a gift. Yeah. Um, what are some other, where can people find you to get some more information to dive into the elements and the doshas and the Vic and the and

Speaker 2 (35:45):
The Yeah, all that. Yeah, all of it. Yeah. Thanks. Um, well my website is heartfelt wellbeing.com Okay. So my business is called Heartfelt Wellbeing. And um, so from my website, you can find everything else. There’s the Facebook group where I teach yoga every day. You can just go on Facebook. It’s called Yoga and More Day by Day with Hannah Levi. And, um, that group is, um, is very active. So I teach yoga in there every day. You don’t have to do yoga with me every day, but all the yoga classes are, um, kept in units. So there’s now 85 yoga classes there. I started this when Covid hit in March. Um, and so I’ve just been teaching yoga every day on there. Lots of different kinds of yoga practices. You can tune in and see what, what feels good to you if yoga’s not your jam, you still might wanna show up to that group for these Ayurveda workshops that I offer.

(36:43)
Um, these super habit challenges that are really fun and you can learn a lot for free in this group, um, going through these challenges. So as I mentioned, you can find a link to that in my website, but you can also go to the Facebook group Yoga and More and register there. There’s links throughout the page there for the next challenge is June, sorry, July 13th through the 21st. Um, so you can mark that on your calendar. The classes are taught four to 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time each day. If you can’t make them, they’re in Facebook Live, so you can just watch them at your convenience. Um, and there’s prizes and fun and we share and all sorts of things. Um, and this is the summer edition of this challenge. And then if folks are interested in just being in touch with me, you can just message me through Facebook or through my website and happy to, to give you more resources and, um, and see if it would be a good fit.

(37:44)
I do lead this online year long program for women that are interested in really diving into living in alignment with Ayurveda with the season. So it’s a year long so that we journey through each season and it’s all about what we call Dean Na Charo, which is the daily practices of Ayurveda, which just get us in alignment with living our best lives. And it’s amazing. I see people, you know, just transforming in there from losing weight to getting off of meds, to, um, being able to see, um, huge <laugh> like sleep, being able to sleep, having more energy, um, just drastic changes that happen over time, right? It’s not like a 30 day challenge or whatever. You’re like, boom, done. It’s really about that identity evolution that comes with little by little making changes and learning to live in deeper alignment with yourself and with the season. So Vitality Circle Info is also on my website, heartfelt wellbeing.com. Well

Speaker 1 (38:48):
Guys, that that’s, that’s a lot right there. So I’ll, I’ll definitely put a link, I’ll put a link below in this description for you to, to get access and, and check out everything that Hannah’s up to. If this resonated with you and you wanna learn more about yoga or Aveda or how you can use it to not only just improve your sleep, but improve your life, because we can’t connect, we can’t disconnect life and sleep, right? Really, we sleep so that we can live so we can have the energy to be vibrant, to be present, to accomplish things, to feel good in our bodies. And obviously Hannah has a lot to share. And it also sounds like this is, you know, a lot of information too. There’s a lot of intricacies here. So you want to work with an expert that knows you know, how to speak the language and kind of guide you through the process.

(39:31)
Um, and so Hannah, I want to thank you for being on the show today. I hope that the people that are watching this, uh, take action and explore what Aveda and yoga have to offer. I’m a big believer in both systems. Um, I know for me yoga is definitely has been life, life changing. And, um, so it’s, um, you know, so guys, check, check out Hannah’s Facebook group, check her out, uh, online, take advantage of the, of the offerings that she has. And Hannah, is there any last, um, little sleep tips that you think, uh, would be valuable? I, I mean I, obviously it depends on what dosha you are and there’s a lot of these, you know, but is there anything else that you want to just, I, one thing actually the dry brushing. Brushing, right? Yeah, that’s a, I started doing that and um, I don’t know, it feels good, you know, so there, there’s definitely some, some definitely there’s a lot of information there, uh, and strategies and tools. But go ahead. Is there anything that you wanna share with us before we hop off here and end and the podcast?

Speaker 2 (40:37):
Well, I think overall, I just wanna say don’t give up <laugh> that I think a lot of people tend to be like, I’m stuck. Or if they try one thing and it doesn’t work for right away, then they’re like, Ugh, I’m just stuck this way. Yeah. And I think in the work that both of us do it, it can be slow medicine, you know, it’s like you’ve been living with an imbalance or an issue for a really long time. It can take a while to reverse it or to, to shift it. Um, and, and sleep is, is just crucial. And I just wanna <laugh> wanna reiterate that I know that’s what you teach all the time. It’s really like, it is the foundation of everything else working well in terms of digestion, in terms of mental acuity, in terms of our life energy. And so, um, it’s not something to skimp on.

(41:28)
Um, I would say this, the tip that I gave earlier about the oiling the feet is something that I’ve seen help so many people across the board. Just if you’re having trouble sleeping sesame oil, don’t use toasted sesame oil unless you wanna smell like a stir fry <laugh>, but sesame oil <laugh> on your feet and giving yourself a nice little foot massage before you go to sleep and, and taking time away from screens. Those are the things that I’ve seen really benefit people right now. And our anxiety levels are high, our nervous systems are on overdrive. And I think the more we can really be compassionate to ourselves and just kind of like, welcome ourselves into the safety of a sleep space and let everything else drift away for a time, that’s, that’s what we really need. Yoga’s helpful for that. Yoga Ndra listening to yoga Nres are really helpful too. Yoga, it’s yoga, sleep. Um,

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Let’s talk about

Speaker 2 (42:27):
That next. We can find recordings on YouTube. <laugh>, what’s that?

Speaker 1 (42:30):
Yoga Neidra as we’ll have to, we’ll have to chat about that next

Speaker 2 (42:33):
Time. Okay. Next time. Yeah. And I’m gonna have you in my group too, so we’ll, we’ll chat there. I’m

Speaker 1 (42:38):
Looking forward to it. Yeah. So

Speaker 2 (42:39):
Thank you so much, Devin. This was really awesome fun and I hope your folks learned a lot and happy to just connect with you and share the good work in the world. Likewise,

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Likewise you guys. So get on Amazon Prime today, order some of this sesame oil and, and, and try it out. And then let us know in the comments, you know, what happens. I know I’m gonna be trying it. So, Hannah, appreciate you and, uh, look forward to connecting with you soon.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
Great. Thanks so much. You’re welcome. Bye.