KARA AUBIN
“If convenience is your #1 measurement, then you end up making some pretty poor food and lifestyle choices. I think Ayurveda asks us to do things that aren’t necessarily convenient — get conscious, reclaim time, redirect our awareness, engage whole foods, look at the root cause of behaviour — but those things are really the only way to get to foundational healing and wellness.”
Kara Aubin is an Ayurvedic practitioner, yoga and meditation educator, and herbologist, passionate about the capacity for healing inherent in the sciences of yoga and Ayurveda. She is the founder of the Ayurvedic Wellness Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she runs a clinical Ayurvedic practice, apothecary, and educational hub.
With 20 years of experience and training with master teachers in the sciences of yoga and Ayurveda, Kara’s mission is to guide students toward their bright inherent potential, as well as their right to radical wellness and balance. She finds the practices of yoga and Ayurveda harness our capacity for self-healing, empower us to do our dharmic work in the world, and help us experience the beauty and bliss that is essential in each of our lives.
Kara completed her Ayurvedic practitioner certification, with over 1,500 hours of training, under Dr. Vasant Lad at the renowned Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. She travels to Pune, India annually as faculty at the Ayurvedic Institute’s Pune campus. She is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level with Yoga Alliance, a NAMA certified Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist, and certified Level I ParaYoga teacher.
Follow Kara:
Website: Ayurvedic Wellness Center
Instagram: @karaaubin.yoga.ayurveda
Facebook: Kara Aubin yoga + ayurveda
“Ayurveda is a science that wants to be lived, not just understood theoretically.”
What does Ayurveda mean to you?
Ayurveda means the wisdom to live life aligned with a natural order, to step into our nature, instead of away from it. It is, most elegantly, the science of life.
When did you discover it? How long have you been practising it?
I was first introduced to Ayurveda in 2006 or so, and began my formal study in 2010.
What drew you to Ayurveda?
I recall very clearly seeing my first Ayurvedic practitioner around 2006. I brought what I thought were my unique health quirks — I always got sick a particular way at a particular time of year, I ran cold, my digestion was of a particular type — and instead of seeing those symptoms as “quirks,” this science saw them as a cohesive part of a larger picture. It was as though someone was saying to me, “You… all the parts of you, make sense.” I felt very seen in that moment, and I haven’t looked back since on this Ayurvedic journey.
Has it helped you with anything major?
Well, if you consider being happier and healthier something major — yes. I no longer experience seasonal illnesses. I rarely get cold sores any more. My menstrual cycles have improved. It really closed the chapter on disordered eating for me, and it’s given me a methodology for healing myself and the macrocosm, as well as my life passion. So yes, it’s helped me with some major things.
Is Ayurveda part of your everyday life or just for your medicine cabinet or fall-back routine?
From my wake/sleep alignment with the Ayurvedic clock, to what I’ll choose to eat today, my morning practices and everything in between — Ayurveda is there. I’m clear Ayurveda is a science that wants to be lived, not just understood theoretically. And I do my best on any given day to do that.
What are your top 3 Ayurvedic tips that have worked for you?
The Ayurvedic clock. You are a circadian being, and bio-rhythms don’t lie.
Ayurvedic food practices by Dosha. Small food tweaks have HUGE impact.
Oil in, on, and near everything.
What surprised you most about Ayurveda?
How simple shifts yield such profound results.
Did you integrate it gradually or overnight for any particular reason?
I’m continually integrating. I do a lot now because it is my way of living, and that has taken a decade or more to build. I think those new to Ayurveda often try to take on too much newness at once, and it’s not sustainable. Slow and steady win the race here.
Do your children/family eat an Ayurvedic diet? And if they do, do they know it’s Ayurveda or do they just think of it as home cooking?
My husband and I eat Ayurvedically, and it’s very explicit. In fact, he’s the Ayurvedic chef at our house.
What is your favourite Ayurvedic recipe or go-to ingredient?
I am a chai fanatic. We blend an amazing Ayurvedic chai at my apothecary that’s chock-full of my favourite Ayurvedic herbs — ashwagandha, tulsi, cardamom, etc.
How does Ayurveda fit into your day-to-day routines?
At this point Ayurveda IS my day-to-day routine. When that’s not possible for some reason, like during travel or teaching, I have a toolbox full of methodologies to help me course-correct.
What do you wish was easier in our society to make an Ayurvedic lifestyle more accessible?
It’s an interesting question, because I think our orientation to “easy” is what gets in the way. If convenience is your #1 measurement, then you end up making some pretty poor food and lifestyle choices. I think Ayurveda asks us to do things that aren’t necessarily convenient — get conscious, reclaim time, redirect our awareness, engage whole foods, look at the root cause of behaviour — but those things are really the only way to get to foundational healing and wellness.
Of course, I do wish that our culture made time for sleep, cooking, eating real food, and making time in nature more accessible. I think we all have to reclaim those things in big and small ways — for ourselves.
Do people around you/in your circle of friends know about Ayurveda?
If I have anything to say about it, yes!
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?
I think wellness through the Ayurvedic lens is incredibly individualised, so there’s no one magic bullet for everyone. Finding the right door to walk through for a client is where the art and science of Ayurveda meet (thank you, Dr. Claudia Welch!). A good practitioner will help you find practices and protocols that get to the root cause of an imbalance and meet the client where they are. And that looks different for everyone.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I think it’s important to acknowledge the South Asian roots of this practice. I’m honoured and inspired by my teachers (and my teacher’s teachers) for making these practices accessible so that we may all benefit. It’s my hope that in my sharing I do their teaching justice.