Episode 92: Ayurveda with Eva Peterson

We’re all on a journey of healing, whether from burnout, drinking, or not having enough boundaries. And in today’s episode of Euphoric The Podcast, Karolina has the pleasure of talking with Eva Peterson about the ancient healing practice of Ayurveda. After healing her emotional soul and body through ancient Ayurvedic techniques after leaving a high-stress, corporate job in New York, Eva is now a certified Ayurvedic Health Coach. Listen in for some lovely healing tips, learn how to discover your dosha, and hear Eva’s inspiring story of leaving behind what no longer served her to grow and live a reawakened and transformed life.

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From baby steps to brave moves

Making a bold, soul-shifting change in your life can be scary and uncomfortable. Staying in a familiar situation, even when it’s unhealthy, may feel easier, right? Unfortunately this often results in defaulting to unhealthy coping or numbing behaviors.

If you want to try something new but it seems overwhelming, I invite you to be gentle with yourself, beautiful. Change can start with baby steps. Intentional, micro steps in a new direction will still lead you to a new place.

Today’s guest, Eva Peterson, spent much of her life moving at full speed, through college, graduate school and then headfirst into full-time work. For six years she lived among the bustling atmosphere of New York City as a corporate architect. Navigating various health struggles, Western medicine never seemed to provide true healing.

Coming to a head, Eva found herself frequently experiencing anxiety attacks, migraines, and an overall sense of lifelessness. She knew something desperately needed to change. It took about two years of saving money, working with a coach, and talking with family before she was ready for an even bigger shift.

Eva made her next brave step, leaving her highly successful career in the city and traveling around the world.

What is your next baby step? What are you waiting for?

Ayurvedic tips to cultivate awareness and grounding

While jetsetting to so many unique destinations, Eva found herself in Nepal hiking to the Mount Everest Base Camp. Every day she spent seven to nine hours walking. Her time in Nepal was also filled with a 10-day silent meditation retreat.

Submerged in a culture that practices Ayurveda as a lifestyle, she began to learn about the beauty of connecting with your body, nature, and natural cycles. Eva finally found space and time to think, process, and heal. The result was a deep sense of self-love and self-compassion.

Ayurveda is the science of optimal life and longevity, and it starts with the individual first. With a holistic approach to healing mind, body, and spirit, it looks at health, environment, age, family history, job, nutrition, geography, and more.

Although healing is individual and everyone has a different journey, there are some universal approaches to Ayurveda. It starts first with awareness. Check in with yourself, your body, and your feelings.

Eva so generously shared some of her favorite tips to help you tune into yourself and cultivate grounding:

Eating with the Sun: When the sun is at its highest, our body is in a prime state to digest food. Eating your largest meal midday gives you energy for the rest of your day and allows your system to rest and heal overnight.

Water Saturation: Adding lemon or lime and a pinch of salt to your water supports your body in absorbing water while nourishing it with important minerals.

Earthing and Sunshine: There are two simple ways to ground your body and energy. First is Earthing, which means standing barefoot on the ground outside. The second is soaking up some sunshine everyday.

These small shifts will support your wellbeing. Try them out and see how you feel integrating them into your daily routine.

Discovering your dosha and finding balance

Another important component of Ayurveda is the five elements: Earth, Air, Ether, Fire, Water. Everyone has a unique balance of these elements in their body, informing who you are and what healing looks like for you.

These elements are broken into three categories, known in Ayurveda as doshas.

Vata: Air and Ether

Pitta: Fire and Water

Kapha: Water and Earth

Each person has a primary dosha, but it can be hard to know which one yours is if you are imbalanced.

When working with her clients, Eva starts with an in-depth assessment getting to know the person. She studies not only their physical attributes, but also their lifestyle and where they tend to struggle or excel.

By understanding what your dosha is, you are then able to see where you might have an imbalance. Maybe you have low energy and lethargy, and feel unmotivated. This could be a Kapha imbalance. If you are spacey, anxious, and unable to focus you may have a Vata imbalance.

From understanding your dosha to grounding practices, an Ayurvedic approach and lifestyle creates a beautiful opportunity to experience mind, body, and spirit healing.

“It made so much sense to me that through that connection to nature, kind of getting back to our roots, we would be able to optimize our health and our bodies and mind.” Eva Peterson