One of the best ways to make our living environment comfortable is to bring nature into the mix as much as possible.  When we bring the outdoors in, we feel more balanced, and more in harmony with the elements.  Large windows let in sunlight and blue sky, and when opened they allow in fresh air.  Plants freshen the atmosphere and lend life to any space.  We can honor the element of fire with candles, and the element of water with fountains and flower arrangements.  Wood and stone represent earth, and are very grounding.  Pay attention to how you feel in any given space, and make sure each of the elements is represented in some way.

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

There are many different types of meditation.  We can be guided by someone’s voice and the words they use to send us on an inner journey.  We can relax to music.  We can soothe our physiology with singing crystal bowls.  But one of the most powerful tools that we can use in meditation is silence.  All the wisdom of the universe is in the silence.  When we can just still ourselves long enough to listen, and merge into that silence, much learning, and much healing, can take place.

More info about meditation: http://www.psmeditation.com

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

According to Ayurveda, depression is generally a Kapha imbalance.  Too much Kapha in our systems causes us to feel sluggish and slow.  We lack motivation and that get-up-and-go feeling.  Springtime is Kapha season, so we are all a little more prone to excess Kapha at this time of year.  Kapha also brings with it more congestion, and environmental sensitivity like allergies.  To help balance Kapha, exercise more vigorously.  Avoid oily, heavy foods, dairy, nuts and sweets.  Add more spices to your diet and favor foods that have the taste of bitter, pungent or astringent.  Balance Ayurvedic makes an herbal formula called AyurRenew which is helpful in relieving depression.

Ayur Renew – Balance Ayurvedic

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

The mantra OM is significant in Vedic culture in many ways.  It is the most sacred symbol there is, representing the Universal, the All, the One.  The sound OM, or Aum, contains all of the vowel sounds.  Om is pronounced as if it rhymes with “home.” In Sanskrit, OM is written with 3 strokes, one semi-circle and a dot.  The 3 curved strokes represent the waking state, the sleeping state and the dreaming state.  The dot represents the Absolute, or the Truth, which illuminates the other three states.  The semi-circle separates the dot from the other three curves, it represents Maya, or illusion.  It is illusion that keeps us from seeing the Truth.  The semi-circle is open on the top, illustrating that the Truth is not affected by illusion.  If you’d like to see the OM symbol written out in Sanskrit, check out the drawing we have up in The Sanskrit Store.

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

Newday magazine ran an article in their October issue that stated that Soccer Moms are passe, and Yoga Mamas are hot!  What does this mean?  A new trend is forming.  This trend shows that people are becoming more interested in all things spiritual.  We’re not only taking care of ourselves, we’re taking care of each other.  Ayurveda is a huge part of this.  Yoga, Ayurveda and meditation are all sister sciences.  In India you wouldn’t think of practicing one without the other.  The growing interest in yoga has helped us to see other ways that we can learn and grow and experience more of ourselves.  Wonderful!  To celebrate this trend I’ve come up with Yoga Mama gift items in the Dosha Yoga Store.  Check it out for yourself, or the Yoga Mama in your life!

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

Meditation is very important in the Ayurvedic lifestyle. Ayurveda is all about balance, and meditation helps us to balance silence with activity. The chakras, the discovery of which dates back to the origins of Ayurveda, are energy centers in our spiritual body. The seven main chakras are located approximately from the base of our spine to the top of our head. Each center corresponds with different energies that influence our organs and emotions. There are Sanskrit names for each of the seven chakras, and I have illustrated these both in the “What’s Your Dosha, Baby?” book and on my psmeditation.com site. On the website you’ll find a chakra meditation – it’s really nice because you can see the location of the chakras, the colors associated with each, and the Sanskrit names of each. I encourage you to try this meditation. It’s relaxing, and it’s healing at the same time.

Interactive Chakra meditation at: http://www.psmeditation.com

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

I love Indian artwork, and they have some beautiful pieces at The Chopra Center at La Costa.  Deepak knows an amazing artist named Romio Shrestha, and some of his paintings are hanging at the Center.  I fell in love with Romio’s work the minute I saw it.  His paintings are mesmerizing, so filled with detail and meaning.  Each one tells a story, and I can just look at them for hours taking it all in.  I went to one of Romio’s exhibits in Los Angeles recently and it felt great to be surrounded by all of the deities that he had painted.  It is very expensive to purchase one of the original paintings, but Romio has a collection of some of his work, in book form, for sale at a reasonable price.  Deepak Chopra wrote the foreword to the book, and Robert Thurman, another collector, wrote the afterword.  The book, called “Celestial Gallery” is oversized, so the pictures in size are large, too, though not nearly as large as the original paintings!  I got the book and framed one of the pages that is now hanging in my living room.  Romio’s mandalas, painted in the ancient Tibetan tradition, are meant to inspire heightened states of intention and clarity.  When I look at this book I can see why.

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Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

I see ads on TV every day for all kinds of over the counter medications for hyperacidity and indigestion.  This has to be a big problem for Americans, and given the typical American diet, I’m not surprised.  It’s not just what we eat, but the way we eat it.  Ayurveda explains that we all have an internal digestive fire, agni, and when that is in balance then we can digest, assimilate, and eliminate our food with ease.  When agni is out of balance, the result can be heartburn, reflux, indigestion, hyperacidity, or even ulcers.  Besides eating healthy meals, and following the recommendations for eating the ayurvedic way (take time to eat, largest meal at lunch, etc), there are ayurvedic herbs which call help relieve stomach problems.  Ayur-Relief, from Balance Ayurvedic, is a dietary supplement that acts as a kind of herbal antacid.  It reduces inflammation of the stomach’s mucous membrane, and relieves the pain of indigestion.

Ayur Relief – Balance Ayurvedic

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

Tantra means “instrument of the body”, and also “technique.”  Tantra sounds exotic, but it is actually very simple, and the basic principles of Tantra help us to see the beauty in all aspects of life.  Tantra is about optimizing the energy that is created when the masculine and the feminine come together.  It teaches us about using our bodies to become conscious of pleasure.  And it is about evolving and finding more joy and ecstasy in our lives by being present to reality.  Tantra teaches us to use all five of our senses consciously.  There is a section in “What’s Your Dosha, Baby?,” that goes into detail about ways to engage each of the five senses.  If you’ve got the book, Valentine’s Day is a great time to use some of these ideas with your partner!

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)

Ayurveda, which is a Sanskrit word meaning “Science of Life,” was originally written in Sanskrit, so our studies we come upon Sanskrit terms quite often. In yoga class, we hear the asanas, or poses, called by their original Sanskrit names. Probably the most commonly used Sanskrit word is not really a word at all, but a mantra, “om” which represents the all, the universal. If you want to see what “om” looks like written in Sanskrit, I have some items up in our “Sanskrit Store.” (http://www.cafepress.com/coffey_talk/427097) One of the designs says “Om shanti” which means “Om peace.” At the beginning of this newsletter the greeting is “Namaste” which is Sanskrit for “The divine in me honors the divine in you.” In India this greeting is used when you first meet someone, and again when you depart, palms together, with a bow of the head. Sanskrit is such a beautiful language, with many layers of meaning.

Lissa Coffey’s online newsletters and article content may be reprinted provided the following credit line is included:

Lissa Coffey is an author, media personality, and the founder of CoffeyTalk.com (Reprinted with permission Copyright © Bamboo Entertainment, Inc.)