WILL WILLIAMS
"The meditation we teach - it’s the cornerstone of sustainable change. I don’t think I could have embraced progressive changes in my life without it, I was too self destructive. With that plugged in, then exercise, Ayurveda and other virtuous influences became easy to weave in because I stopped sabotaging my efforts."
Will Williams is one of Europe’s leading Vedic meditation experts and founding teacher at Beeja Meditation, a meditation centre situated in Soho, London, committed to spread the word that Vedic Meditation is easy, enjoyable and immediately beneficial. It helps the mind to switch off and the body to get deep rest. Helping us to release stress and stay healthy.
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"AYURVEDA HAS BECOME A PART OF MY EVERYDAY LIFE. WHY FLY CATTLE WHEN YOU CAN FLY FIRST CLASS!"
What does Ayurveda mean to you?
Ayurveda is a powerful means of achieving balance, intuition, and understanding. You begin to understand yourself and others, and once you understand the essence of the doshas, rather than fixating on your body types, you’re halfway home. With understanding, you can then achieve balance, by implementing simple tricks for providing counter balance to any imbalances that are preventing themselves. And with practise, and in combination with the meditation we teach, you become so in touch with yourself, and your intuition begins to guide you so well that you spontaneously find yourself living in a state of effortless harmony.
When did you discover it?
I had insomnia, chronic stress and chronic fatigue. Vedic Meditation sorted the stress and the insomnia, and alleviated the chronic fatigue by half, but I needed to heal in full, so I did a cheeky five day panchakarma in April 2010 and it blew me away. Eight months later we met the Raju family in India and have never looked back!
What drew you to Ayurveda?
Desperation to heal myself, and a lack of effective alternatives. Once I discovered how brilliant it was, it was the sheer comprehensiveness of the knowledge base, and the uber sophisticated understanding of combination, and of the practicalities of daily life, that really blew me away and has kept me fascinated ever since.
How long have you been practising it?
Seven and a half years
Anything major it’s helped with?
Everything! Balancing emotions, hormones, thyroid dysfunction, and enhancing digestion, strength and connection to my deep inner self.
Top 3 Ayurveda tips that have worked for you:
Use a nasal oil to keep you nostrils lubricated through the dry winter months and on board aircraft.
Use honey and turmeric to heal burns
Put ghee on the soles of your feet before going to sleep and wake up feeling raring to go - it’s what soldiers used to do in Vedic times to make them strong and it’s absolutely genius!
What surprised you most about Ayurveda?
The depths to which the knowledge base goes. Some of the things the Vedic masters can help you with is extraordinary.
Did you integrate it gradually or overnight for any particular reason?
Gradually. Overnight would be too much!
Do your children/family eat like this?
Bit by bit I am winning them over, and they always love it when they try it, but generally speaking they love some fairly questionable foods (or food like substances as Michael Pollan calls them), and that seems to gratify them.
Favourite Ayurvedic recipe or go to ingredient?
There are too many to name. I love 'ayurvedising' western dishes, I feel it improves their taste as well as delivering exquisite health benefits. If I had to name one, it would be ksheer (rice pudding), with raw milk, basmati rice, Medjool dates, ghee, saffron, cardamom, ginger and lashings of maple syrup!
Day to day routines?
Sun salutations whenever possible, morning abyanga, and then the meditation technique we teach on retreats called ‘rounding’.
How does Ayurveda support your lifestyle?
It allows me to teach and share knowledge with greater resilience and it means I can help people with solutions when they have temporary symptoms that would benefit from being alleviated.
Do people around you/in your circle of friends know about it?
Advanced students yes. Certain friends and family who host dinner parties yes. Everyone else - not a scooby! Whats the one thing you would encourage everyone to try/do you think would benefit the majority of people’s health for the better?