AMRITA MA DEVI
“What drew me to Ayurveda was that I deeply cared about living a more conscious life, creating an environment that was calming and harmonious. I wanted to have more experiences that were wholesome and that brought alignment. Once you bring Ayurveda into your life and start removing dullness, disorder and heaviness, it just continues to expand into more and more areas of living.”
Ayurvedic yoga therapist Amrita Ma Devi is an avid meditator with many years of experience as founder of Flowing Wakefulness Ayurveda and a plant-based chef in her own right. She is the wife of a tantric master, and a mother of three. She has been studying Ayurveda and yoga for over a decade with an emphasis on understanding imbalances through diet and lifestyle. Through 1-2-1 coaching and group programs online, she inspires others to follow the path to wellbeing, herbs, yoga and psychological harmony through greater self-care. She makes Ayurveda accessible to each person as they set out to face a unique set of challenges on the journey to wholeness.
Follow Amrita:
Website: Flowing Wakefulness Ayurveda
YouTube: Amrita Ma’s Kitchen Devi
Instagram: @flowingwakefulnessayurveda
Facebook: Flowing Wakefulness Ayurveda
“Ayurveda has given me the wisdom to know what is healthy for my body, mind, and soul.”
What does Ayurveda mean to you?
Ayurveda is a journey into an unfathomable way of the interconnectedness of all Life. It is a science of timeless wisdom, ever more relevant in our day and age. It is perhaps the oldest holistic health and wellbeing system on Earth. For me, it is a way of life and a way to continue with my yoga practice and own wellbeing to create harmony and balance above all else. It is the path of greater intelligence enlivened within the cells of the body, and how to remain in sync with nature. It’s also the lens to view and understand the world around me and within me. It's a great teaching from the Vedic culture, which puts us in touch with every aspect of our inner wisdom at every stage of our life. Before, I found myself lost in my senses for a certain food craving or a way of pleasing myself, and never really felt satisfied with the outcome. Ayurveda has given me the wisdom to know what is healthy for my body, mind, and soul.
When did you discover it? How long have you been practising it?
I would say Ayurveda came into my life in my twenties whilst at an Ashram in India. They had a hospital, and I was able to visit and make rounds with the doctor. The whole experience of being in India, which my father consciously took me on, changed my path in life. Then again, at my art college in Hampstead London, a brother and sister team came in to teach us the importance of natural remedies. I was blown away by how simple homemade medicines taste like ones you can buy. I think these experiences planted the seeds which sprouted in my first pregnancy. Both my husband and I are passionate about health, yoga, and Ayurveda. Yet before meeting my life partner, I had a totally different perspective on what health is, and my approach was very Western. One of the biggest beliefs I had was that you need to exhaust the muscles with gym workouts. But honestly, inside I was craving to understand the concept of harmony within and to know what a balanced hormonal system could be. All that I learned later on from Ayurveda and integrating it more into my life for over a decade.
What drew you to Ayurveda?
I had always questioned the concept of balance: what does that look like in my life? I never had the markers or guides until I delved deeper into Ayurveda. It was needed because I was burnt out and showing signs of illness for which the medical doctors could not give me answers. That's when my journey truly began. I needed to find answers for myself. Meditation and yoga were another doorway which led to Ayurveda. My husband is Advaitia tantra teacher Igor Kufayev, who taught me a great deal about yoga and Ayurveda in our daily life. What drew me to Ayurveda was that I deeply cared about living a more conscious life, creating an environment that was calming and harmonious. I wanted to have more experiences that were wholesome and that brought alignment. Once you bring Ayurveda into your life and start removing dullness, disorder and heaviness, it just continues to expand into more and more areas of living.
At the beginning of 2012 I wrote an Ayurvedic food blog called Dining With the Divine. Food and cooking at retreats for 30-40 people was a calling that left me wanting to know more. With years of confidence in the kitchen, I created a course to reach out to more reawakened healers. The course allowed healers to learn how to heal with their digestion, to discover what true health looks like and how to use Ayurvedic superfoods and spices for their benefit and their families’.
A healer taking the course recently messaged me about the incredible impact the course has had on her. By passing on learnt knowledge, her sister and mother benefited too. This healing modality ripples out to others and creates better relationships and greater healing for these micro-communities... that’s really beautiful.
Has it helped you with anything major?
Before coming across Ayurveda, if you had asked me what a healthy person was, I would have said someone who is physically active, works out 3-5 days a week, and eats organic food. Since finding Ayurveda, I now know that true health means connecting with love to your food, eating in a peaceful environment in a calm manner with those you love, and honing all life as a sacred celebration. Many of us walk around disconnected, unhappy and unclear because we don’t feel connected or know why we are not satisfied. We try to please others in fear of the repercussions that we will not be loved or seen. We feel unconnected to ourselves because we don’t know how to deeply listen to that cellular intelligence. Our teeth chatter and our stomachs clog up as we tuck into the latest freezing cold smoothie bowls at the time of the day when we have low digestive power. We seriously have lost touch with how to care for our internal needs.
My goitre and thyroid issues for example, resulted from years of not taking care of myself, which started a long time before manifesting as an illness, but I was too busy to notice. I was that typical person who didn’t listen to my own body's needs and suffered greatly pursuing a life that truly wasn’t my own. Most doctors cannot help but suppress their patient's symptoms because they are too subtle. So, I decided to become my own healer, using herbs, diet and lifestyle, which all work. I am more energetic now, clear-minded and happy from within than ever. Yes, I am very driven, but I balance out stress with yoga, pranayama, and meditation daily. I eat the right foods for me, and I have an awareness based on realising joy, gratitude and celebration are important parts of life. I cultivate that feeling more and more in the rituals of my daily routine.
There is an understanding in Ayurveda that misuse, under-use and overuse of time, intellect and sense objects are the causes of mental and physical disorders. This means we have to learn how to use the senses insightfully to balance rest, activity and rejuvenation.
Is Ayurveda part of your everyday life or just for your medicine cabinet or fall-back routine?
Ayurveda is a sustainable lifestyle choice which is available every day in every season. When you decide to move away from being on a hamster wheel, you want to grow and glow rather than strive to survive; you find that quality of life is essential. For our family, that meant travelling. We moved to the blue zone, Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica. We travelled to Central America for three years with two small children. Waking up to green lush jungle vistas and howler monkeys washed away the years of living in London's Concrete Jungle. Not only was the fresh tropical food detoxing, but it was also here that I read and practised natural medicine and conscious cooking on a whole food, plant-based diet. I read great authors on the subject such as Vasant Lad and Gabriel Cousens and made everything from scratch that I could source. Even when the kids got sick, I would be in my books working out how to heal them, rather than running off to the doctor.
Whilst we were on the road at retreat centres and spiritual conferences in California, Italy, Canada, and Germany, it was important to set up space which suited our lifestyle. I was always curious about preparing local herbs and plants for their medicinal use. We found it important to be close to farmers markets where we could buy local fresh produce to stay healthy. We found that prevention of illness is always better than trying to treat the symptoms. So, eating the right foods for our nature became an indispensable way of life.
What are your top 3 Ayurvedic tips that have worked for you?
1. Tongue scraping every morning and evening as part of oral care. Once you taste your food better and notice what forms in the mouth, you would not want to skip this either.
2. Twice a year cleanse: purging your body from toxins in a ten-day gentle cleanse. It is not aggressive on the body like a juice cleanse, but rather something you can complete by eating three tasty meals a day and that gives your liver a chance to rid itself of toxic build-up. I cannot tell you how much this has affected my wellbeing in all areas from improving memory to breast milk quality.
3. Eating for my Dosha. When we eat the foods, which are best for us, we feel great. Our skin is glowing and our mind is clear and bright. We become invincible to the bumps in the road of the world and people around us. When we take notice of our digestive power and care for it, we feel the difference. After finding the joy in food for so long, I find my body reacts when I don’t eat the right foods. Gas, bloating and sluggish energy levels occur, which are all related to digestion. Healing my own digestive issues is a constant primary concern, as many root causes of illness stem from digestive health.
What surprised you most about Ayurveda?
I find Ayurveda very simple to grasp, once you ascertain this knowledge is part of your intelligence. You may think “how can my body be intelligent if it got sick?” or “why do I keep reaching for those biscuits?” But each cell in our body is intelligent... somehow when we ignore that intelligence by making the wrong choices, we make our bodies less than their potential. So, what we learn in my Eat for Your Nature online program is how we can nourish, connect and align with our bodies, in nature, again.
What surprises us is how simple and essential making changes in your seasonal diet is to improve immunity and digestion. Once we understand the pillars of health according to Ayurveda we understand the science of dynamically living in greater alignment with nature. Our inner nature and external nature both need to be connected for us to feel our most optimal. Sounds very grand, but really Ayurveda leads us into a narrow pathway which helps us to simplify.
Did you integrate it gradually or overnight for any particular reason?
Ayurveda is something I took at my own pace. The more I understood, the more I integrated. I gradually merged some practices but found these habits didn’t always stick. As part of the daily cleansing ritual, which includes the cleansing of all sensory organs every morning, the cleansing of skin (with massage oil), nose, and mouth (with sharp or bitter substances), the eyes (with Ayurvedic black kohl) and ears (with sesame oil) is recommended. It’s not that these are not beneficial, but even one can get lost in the attachment of making all these practices.
The tongue scraping was something I continued within my life, along with Abhyanga during Vata season. I use these self-message practices daily to stay balanced. Drinking hot water to assist digestion instead of cold water was literally like a light bulb going off in my head. There are many Ayurvedic habits which are common sense. It is hard to ignore them or not implement them.
Do your children/family eat an Ayurvedic diet? And if they do, do they know it’s Ayurveda or do they think of it as home cooking?
All three of our children have been eating this way since utero, so they are used to this way of eating.
What is your favourite Ayurvedic recipe or go-to ingredient?
Mung mash, which is featured in my cleanse programme, is one of our firm favourites at home as well my paneer recipe. Our go-to ingredient is ghee — rub it in the teething baby's gums, dab it in the nostrils whilst travelling to keep pathogens at bay. I use ghee to keep Vata pacified, feel more lubricated and nourished, improve GI, nourish my nerves, increase immunity and enkindle digestion.
How does Ayurveda fit into your day-to-day routines?
I am always trying to regulate my daily routines around mealtimes. Dinacharya (daily routines) as outlined in Ayurveda is a real help to someone who is naturally a Vata Prakriti. When you are a Vata, you tend to naturally forget about regularity, which takes you further away from balance and wellbeing.
What do you wish was easier in our society to make an Ayurvedic lifestyle more accessible?
Ayurveda would be more accessible if we had a better understanding that we are conscious beings. That means our mind is connected to the body and the soul. If we all were taught in schools to find out our purpose rather than how to fit in. Have you seen that film by Disney Pixar called Soul? I think we slowly understand that life should light us up from the inside out, not the outside in.
Do people around you/in your circle of friends know about Ayurveda?
Yes. I often do Facebook and Instagram Lives with friends who are experts to share topics of interest. For example, some of the discussions have been about yoga and Ayurveda to support your child, Ayurveda to help with recovery from surgery and how Ayurveda helps you to cleanse.
What’s the one thing you would encourage everyone to try, or you think would benefit the majority of people’s health for the better?
We should learn how to eat seasonally rather than buying whatever is in the supermarket. Notice what is grown in your region and avoid eating foods (often) transported from another continent. Maybe one of the reasons we live in Spain and love travelling so much is that food tastes better when it's fresh, local and grown by people that love the plant.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
If you want to start your Ayurveda journey, you can always start it with what you have. If you can’t get food that is locally produced or organic, you can say a little grace to be thankful for the nourishment and wish the grower and the seller good health. Be thankful for the sun and the rain that grew your food, and you will neutralise all the negative impact of your food.