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Ayurvedic Gut-Heart-Mind Connection with Dr. Sujatha Kekada - 416

Release Date: 10/30/2025

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, love is everywhere, on our screens, in shop windows, and throughout marketing campaigns. Yet for many of us, this time of year can feel complicated, tender, or even disconnecting. In this episode, Colette explores what Ayurveda really teaches about love, not the fleeting or idealized version we’re often sold, but the steady, nourishing love that begins within. Drawing on Ayurvedic wisdom, this episode reframes love as a state of balance, regulation, and inner union, rather than something we chase or seek outside ourselves. You’ll learn how...

Ayurveda Q+A: Managing Overwhelm, Perfectionism and Consistency - 430

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Ayurveda can feel deeply nourishing and also overwhelming especially when you’ve been learning for a long time and don’t know where to begin, how to stay consistent, or how to soften self-pressure along the way. In this solo Ayurveda Q&A episode, Colette answers thoughtful questions from the Elements of Ayurveda Podcast Community, exploring how to work with overwhelm, perfectionism, and stress through the lens of daily habits, nervous system health, and rhythm rather than rigidity. This episode is an invitation to approach your health with more awareness, curiosity, and compassion, and...

Trauma-Informed Yoga for Nervous System Healing with Sita Severson - 429

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

What does it mean to heal when the nervous system no longer feels safe in the body or the world? In this episode, Colette is joined by Sita Severson, Director of the Soul of Yoga Institute in San Diego, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Vedic counselor. Sita’s work lives at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern trauma science, supporting people through grief, addiction recovery, burnout, and chronic stress with compassion and practicality. Drawing from her own lived experience as well as decades of teaching and clinical work, Sita shares how Ayurveda, yoga, and...

Winter Wellness - An Ayurvedic Perspective with Dr. Sujatha Kekada - 428

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Winter is often misunderstood in modern wellness culture as a season to simply endure, yet Ayurveda recognizes it as a powerful time for nourishment, restoration, and deep tissue building. In this episode, Colette is joined by experienced Ayurvedic physician Dr. Sujatha Kekada for a classical and clinical exploration of winter wellness. Together, they move beyond surface-level seasonal advice to examine how winter influences the doshas, dhatus (tissues), srotas (channels), and ojas. Dr. Sujatha explains why aligning diet, routine, and mindset with this season is essential for long-term health...

Ayurveda and Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) - 427

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

As winter settles in, many of us notice shifts in mood, energy, motivation, and emotional resilience. In this episode, Colette explores Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) through the compassionate lens of Ayurveda, reframing seasonal low mood as a natural response to changes in light, rhythm, digestion, and mental qualities. You’ll learn how winter affects the doshas, digestion, and nervous system, why gut health is central to emotional wellbeing, and how gentle, practical Ayurvedic practices, including a supportive Digestive Reset, can help restore clarity, balance, and resilience during...

Clearing Holiday Season Stagnation With Ayurveda - 426

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

If you’re feeling heavy, foggy, congested, or more run-down than usual as we move into January, this episode is for you. In Ayurveda, post-holiday sluggishness isn’t just about overindulgence, it’s often a sign that the lymphatic system and rasa dhatu (the body’s primary nourishing fluid) need support. In this episode, we explore why sickness is so common at this time of year and how to gently restore flow, vitality, immunity, and emotional clarity without harsh detoxing. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: How Ayurveda understands the lymphatic system through rasa dhatu Why winter...

Ayurvedic Cleansing for the New Year: Resetting Digestion, Energy and Intention - 425

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

As we step into a new year, many of us focus on resolutions, but what if a more powerful question is: How do I actually want to feel? In this episode, Colette explores Ayurvedic cleansing not as a quick detox or rigid reset, but as a gentle ritual, a way to digest the past, build resilience, and step into the year ahead with clarity, steadiness, and intention. Rather than pushing or restricting, this conversation invites you to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with digestion as the foundation of physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. If you’re craving a nourishing fresh start...

Yoga, Meditation and Mental Health with Dr. Ishan Shivanand - 424

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

Colette is joined by Dr. Ishan Shivanand, mental health researcher, professor, bestselling author, and founder of Yoga of Immortals (YOI). Raised in Indian monasteries within a 21-generation yogic lineage, Dr. Shivanand brings a rare integration of ancient wisdom and modern science. His groundbreaking double-blind RCTs show up to 82% improvement in insomnia, anxiety, depression, and overall quality of life in as little as 4–8 weeks. Together, they explore how meditation, breathwork, Yoga and Ayurveda can transform mental health and how these ancient sciences understood the mind long before...

Ayurvedic Guide to Nourishing Winter Skin - 423

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

As we move fully into early winter, many of us begin to notice changes in our skin, tightness, dryness, rough patches, or increased sensitivity. In Ayurveda, these seasonal shifts are meaningful clues about what’s happening internally. Winter, especially early winter, increases Vata dosha with its cold, dry, and mobile qualities, which can intensify skin imbalance if we don’t adjust our routines and nourishment. In this episode, we dive into Ayurveda’s full guide to winter skin care. You’ll learn what happens to the skin during early winter, how to identify signs of imbalance for your...

Ayurvedic Wisdom for Blood Sugar Stability - 422

Elements of Ayurveda Podcast

In this episode, we explore how to support steady blood sugar during the holiday season using Ayurvedic wisdom. With more sugar, irregular meals, travel, and stress during the holidays, it’s easy for the body’s metabolic fire (agni) to become overwhelmed. Ayurveda offers practical, gentle tools to keep digestion strong, cravings balanced, and energy steady. We take a deeper look at the pancreas as a home of agni and how its function relates to three key subdoshas: Pachaka Pitta, Kledaka Kapha, and Samana Vayu. You’ll learn how these forces work together to regulate metabolism, mood,...

More Episodes

Ayurveda teaches that the heart (Hridaya) is not just a physical pump for blood, it is central to our physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. Together, we explore how chronic stress, unresolved grief, and emotional trauma can affect both the heart and mind, and how Ayurvedic wisdom can guide us toward healing from the inside out.

We also dive deep into the subdoshas, exploring the subtle energies of Prana Vayu, Sadhaka Pitta, and Tarpaka Kapha, that regulate how we “digest life” and how they link the gut, heart, and mind.

In this episode, we cover:

Dr. Sujatha's perspective of the Hridya (heart) beyond its mechanical function
How the gut–heart–mind connection operates through the subtle doshas and channels (srotas)
The impact of chronic stress, grief, and trauma on Prana Vayu, Sadhaka Pitta, and Tarpaka Kapha
Early signs that your heart–mind connection is under strain
Dr. Sujatha’s favourite Ayurvedic approaches for healing the heart through diet, herbs, therapies, and lifestyle

Resources & Links:

Learn more about Dr. Sujatha and her offerings: AmrtaSiddhi Ayurvedic Clinic
Episode 411 - The Gut–Emotion connection
Episode 274 - Prana Vaha Srotas
Episode 302 - Ayurvedic Herbs for the Mind & Nervous System
Episode 103 - Subdoshas of Vata
Episode 105 - Subdoshas of Pitta
Episode 107 - Subdoshas of Kapha

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