Ep 107: Start the Year with Resilience: Ayurvedic Wisdom for Tough Times with Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh

Welcome to this episode of the Mother’s Quest Podcast—the first of 2025 and the final episode of Season Nine before I take a winter break and prepare to launch Season Ten in the spring.

As I sat down for this conversation with Dr. Avanti Kumar Singh just before the holiday break, I had no idea of the enormity of the challenges we would face as we began this new year. The toxins we’re navigating—from the CA wildfires to the impact of this new presidential term —are overwhelming. 

This makes Avanti’s wisdom feel especially vital right now.

In this episode, Avanti shares intentional practices for protection and healing especially in the midst of adversity, and she invites us to honor this month as a season for slowing down and resting, rather than leaping into the pressure of a “new year, new you” mindset.

My own desire to take a pause this winter led me to invite Avanti back to the podcast. If you didn’t catch our first conversation, I encourage you to go back and listen—it’s an incredible exploration of her journey from ER doctor to an Ayurveda wellness expert, bridging Eastern and Western medicine to help people live healthier, more intentional lives. She’s the host of The Healing Catalyst podcast, the author of The Health Catalyst, and her latest book, The Longevity Formula: Ayurvedic Principles to Reduce Inflammation, Increase Cellular Repair, and Live with Vitality was just released. Through all these vehicles, she translates ancient healing principles into accessible practices for modern living.

During our conversation, you’ll hear how, while writing Longevity Formula, Avanti was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She was confronted with the humbling truth that even as a healer dedicated to healthy living, she couldn’t prevent this diagnosis—or the aggressive treatments it required. Yet, through her journey, she found that Ayurveda, while not a cure-all, provided powerful tools to support her body’s healing, resilience, and ability to navigate such adversity. By sharing her story along the way through her treatment, she became a beacon of hope for others.

This episode left me with a renewed commitment to start this year with a slower, more reflective pace. It reminded me to follow nature’s rhythms and embrace this season as a time for pause and reconnection. This isn’t about resolutions or quick fixes to the challenges—it’s about giving ourselves the space to breathe and protective practices that will build our resilience for whatever lies ahead.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Dr. Avanti Kumar Singh’s journey to writing The Longevity Formula.

• Avanti’s quest to help people tap into their inner wisdom for healing. 

• How Ayurveda principles align with modern science.

• The transformative power of reflection during milestone moments.

• The humbling lesson Avanti learned through her breast cancer journey. 

• Practical longevity practices: fasting, morning light exposure, and meditation.

• How Ayurveda protects and prepares us for life’s unexpected challenges.

• The health benefits of connection and combating loneliness.

• The idea of shared moments of awe as a source of healing.

• Redefining New Year’s resolutions by aligning with nature’s cycles.

• The role of ancient wisdom in navigating modern challenges.

• Slowing down and prioritizing health during the holiday season and new year.

 

About Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh

Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh, is an Ayurveda Wellness Expert on a mission to show how Ayurveda is a health catalyst to achieve optimal wellness in modern life.

After receiving her Bachelor's in Art History from the University of Chicago, she went on to receive her medical degree from Rush University Medical College. While working as an ER physician, she experienced first-hand the limitations of Western medicine. To learn more, Avanti began a 10-year wellness journey during which she studied energy healing and yoga therapy and became a practitioner of the 5,000-year-old ancient healing tradition known as Ayurveda. 

Today, Dr. Kumar-Singh bridges the gap between Western and Eastern medicine, helping patients, students, and holistic practitioners discover the healing wisdom within. Dr. Kumar-Singh is also a sought-after speaker and the host of The Healing Catalyst podcast. Over the last 20 years of her training, study and research, Avanti has shared her expertise with Fortune 500 companies, elite undergraduate and graduate institutions, and at prestigious industry and medical conferences. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, Thrive Global and Mind Body Green and served as the co-lead facilitator of the Faculty Scholars Program in Integrative Healthcare at the OSHER Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Medicine. She is also a certified plant-based professional and a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT, October 2020). Dr. Kumar-Singh currently resides in Chicago with her husband Kanwar, her son Zayn and her daughter Isha. The Health Catalyst is her first book.

 

Connect with Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh

• Website | www.avantikumarsingh.com

• Instagram | @avantikumarsingh

• LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/avanti-kumar-singh-md

This Episode’s Challenge:

Dr. Avanti invites us to go against the grain of the “New Year, New You” mentality. Instead of diving into resolutions in January, she encourages us to follow nature’s lead. Take time to rest, reflect, and reconnect with yourself and your loved ones. Save goal-setting and big changes for February, when the world begins to thaw, and new possibilities emerge.

Dr. Avanti Kumar-Singh’s Books:

• The Longevity Formula: Ayurvedic Principles to Reduce Inflammation, Increase Cellular Repair, and Live with Vitality 

• The Health Catalyst: How To Harness the Power of Ayurveda To Self-Heal and Achieve Optimal Wellness

Related Episodes and Resources To Explore Next: 

• Ep 59: The Healer Lies Within through Ayurveda with Avanti Kumar Singh

• Ep 102: Milestone Hike Revisited: A Mother Son Neurodiversity Journey

• Ep 104: Calm, Compassion, Clarity: Election 2024

• Ep 106: The Secret to Impacting Our Democracy with States Project’s Melissa Walker

 

This Episode is Dedicated by Alexia Vernon

Dubbed a "Moxie Maven" by the White House Office of Public Engagement for her renowned approach to communication and leadership development, Alexia Vernon is the CEO of Step into Your Moxie and the award-winning author of Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice, Visibility, and Influence in the World. Alexia delivers keynotes, coaching, and training for coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 500 companies like Google, Amazon, and Zappos and healthcare organizations such as St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Dignity Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Leaders. The creator of the first-of-its-kind Step into Your Moxie® vocal empowerment certification program, Alexia is committed to helping her clients speak up for themselves and their big ideas, and call people to take action. She also works with clients to increase their visibility and stand out as trusted thought leaders through speaking engagements and TED-style talks, media interviews, and experiential corporate training programs. You can learn more about Alexia Vernon and Step into Your Moxie at StepIntoYourMoxie.com.

 

My DCIS and patient advocacy journey- https://stepintoyourmoxie.com/dcis-patient-advocacy-story/

 

Connect with Alexia

• Facebook | www.facebook.com/alexia.vernon

• Instagram | @alexiavernon

• LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/alexiavernon/

 

Join us for our Upcoming Virtual Milestone Hike

Over the years, I have learned that January never begins the year the way I hope it will.  So, as an annual tradition, I facilitate an opportunity for a fresh start in February with a live Virtual Milestone Hike on Zoom that allows us to use the metaphor of an ascent and descent (no actual hiking required!) to close a chapter and begin again.  If you’ll be ready for a do-over and want reflective space to make meaning of the year that ended and set intentions for what’s ahead, join us! Visit https://mothersquest.com/milestone-hike/ to register.

Mother’s Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.

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