159. Heather Grzych on If Ashwagandha Were a Person You Knew
Release Date: 01/17/2025
Your Body Is Already Preparing For The Person You’re Becoming (Ep.189)
Wisdom of the Body
Part 2 of the series “Why Part of You Wants Change But Another Part of You Is Afraid,” this episode of Wisdom of the Body explores how your nervous system and body begin adapting to personal transformation before your external life changes. Author and wellness leader Heather Grzych explains nervous system change, predictive processing, and identity shifts, alongside Ayurvedic insights into how attention and energy shape the body. You’ll learn to recognize subtle signs of transformation – like changes in sleep, posture, focus, and energy – and understand why your body may be preparing...
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188. Why Part Of You Wants Change But Another Part Of You Is Afraid
Wisdom of the Body
Author and wellness leader Heather Grzych explores why part of us feels ready for change while another part resists, and how our bodies often know before our minds — or sometimes the mind races ahead of the body. Drawing on neuroscience, Ayurveda, and real-life client experiences, she guides listeners to notice the subtle signals of excitement, tension, and readiness in the body. Stories from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Wild illustrate how courage, growth, and transformation often emerge step by step. This episode is especially helpful for those navigating major life transitions,...
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187. When Leaders Disappoint - How to Stay Grounded in a Time of Scandal
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych explores what happens inside us when leaders, teachers, or institutions disappoint us. Rather than focusing on scandal or personalities, she examines the nervous system response — the tight chest, the bracing, the fatigue — that arises when authority feels unstable. Using the cultural moment and the paradigm shift illustrated in the 2023 Barbie film as a backdrop, she invites listeners to reclaim internal authority instead of outsourcing certainty to charismatic figures. This episode offers a grounded, embodied framework for discernment,...
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186. What's My Purpose? Part 3 of 3
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych explores why the question “What is my purpose?” so often feels impossible to answer, and why trying to figure out your life purpose by thinking harder can actually make you feel more stuck, anxious, and disconnected. This episode examines the physical and emotional signs people experience when their life no longer fits, including burnout, fatigue, lack of motivation, and low-grade anxiety. Heather explains how purpose is not a mental decision or career choice, but something that reveals itself when you stop forcing answers and start...
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185. Why You Can’t Figure Out Your Purpose by Thinking About It - Part 2 of 3
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych explores why so many people feel stuck asking “What’s my purpose in life?” – and why thinking harder rarely brings clarity. Drawing on embodied wisdom, Ayurveda, and cultural storytelling, Heather explains how purpose isn’t a mental decision but a bodily signal that emerges when we stop forcing answers. Using contrasting film characters like Billy Elliot and Black Swan, she shows how listening to physical cues like energy, ease, and aliveness leads to meaningful direction, while ignoring the body leads to burnout and confusion. This...
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184. What’s My Purpose in Life? Why Nothing Feels Right Anymore - Part 1 of 3
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych explores the question so many people are quietly asking: What’s my purpose in life? Rather than offering a quick answer or career advice, this episode looks at why purpose feels so elusive right now, why so many people feel disconnected even when life looks “right” on paper, and how purpose actually emerges through small, embodied signals rather than logic or pressure. Drawing on cultural trends, a powerful statistic about meaning and direction, and the film Amélie as a metaphor, Heather explains why ignoring subtle inner cues leads to...
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183. Truth About Ayurveda and Spirituality with Dr. JV Hebbar
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych speaks with Dr. J.V. Hebbar, founder of EasyAyurveda.com and Easy Ayurveda Hospital in India, about the truth behind Ayurveda and spirituality, and what it actually means for busy, modern people. Together they explore what spirituality truly is (and isn’t), whether Ayurveda itself is a spiritual practice, and the role clarity can play in healing without drifting into extremism. Dr. Hebbar offers grounded perspectives on fasting, restrictive diets, money and healing, celebrity culture, psychedelic therapies, and the misconception of Ayurvedic...
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182. Being Ready for the Unexpected
Wisdom of the Body
Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych explores how intuition, synchronicity, and those unexpected life changes often show up without warning, and how your body can sense new opportunities long before your mind does. If you’re facing a transition, feeling stuck, or craving a breakthrough, this episode reveals why the biggest manifestations, life pivots, and moments of clarity can arise in ordinary moments. Learn how to listen to your inner guidance, stay open to possibility, and recognize when the universe is lining up something amazing for you. Your next transformation might...
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181. Sam Sussman on Parents and Family History
Wisdom of the Body
Ayurvedic practitioner and author Heather Grzych talks with novelist Sam Sussman, author of the bestselling novel Boy from the North Country, in a candid conversation about parents, family history, and the stories we inherit without choosing. Together they explore how personal loss becomes fiction, how caregiving rewires the body, and what it means to grow up in the long shadow of myth, especially when people can’t help but wonder if you might be Bob Dylan’s son. Sam reflects on transforming intimate family truths into narrative, while Heather brings her embodied lens to the ways lineage...
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180. Heather Grzych on the Tragic History of the Swastika
Wisdom of the Body
Author and Ayurvedic practitioner Heather Grzych explores the tragic and complex history of the swastika — a sacred symbol of well-being and auspiciousness in Indian traditions that was later twisted by the Nazis into one of the most feared emblems of hatred in modern history. Heather traces how the symbol’s meaning shifted as it crossed cultural and historical boundaries, reflecting on how words and images can be deliberately or unconsciously transformed over time. Drawing from her background in Ayurveda, as a writer, and her personal experience as an American mother of child from a...
info_outlineWellness expert and author Heather Grzych gets creative by imagining what ashwagandha would be like if it were a person. With a grounding and powerful presence, ashwagandha would exude warmth and strength without being flashy—like someone who helps you build resilience, both physically and emotionally. Heather explores how this ancient herb, known for its stress-relieving and balancing properties, would guide you toward regeneration, improved energy, and hormonal harmony. Through this fun, imaginative exercise, Heather helps us see ashwagandha not just as a supplement, but as a wise, healing companion—offering gentle encouragement to slow down, trust the body, and find balance in times of stress.
Heather Grzych, AD is an American author and expert in Ayurvedic medicine who was formerly the head of product development for a multi-billion-dollar health insurance company. She currently serves as the president of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association and is part of the faculty at Mount Madonna Institute College of Ayurveda. Heather’s first book, The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility, has sold thousands of copies worldwide, and her writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Yoga Journal, and the Sunday Independent. Her podcast, Wisdom of the Body, holds an average rating of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and is in the top 3% of podcasts globally.
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Read the first six pages of The Ayurvedic Guide to Fertility for FREE:
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