NATALIE EVE ROPER
Natalie is an Ayurvedic Therapist regularly celebrated as one of the UK's Best Spiritual Practitioners (Tatler, The Telegraph, Forbes, Condé Nast). She trained across London, India and Japan and combines Ancient Ayurvedic Massage Rituals with Reiki Energy Healing and Crystal therapy. She's also currently developing her sacred studies in Angelic Shamanic Practitioner training. She's passionate about supporting women to live their most empowered, balanced and spiritually conscious lives and offers one:one massage sessions as well a 6 month wellbeing course - The Self Liberation Healing Program - guiding others to heal and thrive. She combines her love of writing and wellness as a contributing writer for Black Ballad reporting on spirituality, race and wellbeing.
Follow Natalie:
Instagram: @ropeyphotography
Book a massage here
Contact to join The Self Liberation Programme: NatalieEveLondon@gmail.com
“THE MORE YOU LEARN ABOUT AYURVEDA AND THE MORE YOU PRACTISE IT, THE MORE IT BLOWS YOUR MIND. what we see in modern wellbeing trends today links back to ancient ayurvedic wisdom and medicine. It’s everywhere - just disguised'”
WHAT DOES AYURVEDA MEAN TO YOU?
It’s self-empowerment in the highest form: Ayurveda gifts us with a beautiful life science that guides us to live the greatest love story of our lives - between ourselves, nature and the cosmos. When we’re able to embody and cultivate this love and understanding, we appreciate the expansiveness of who we are and what we’re capable of - as a collective and individually. And everything becomes limitless.
WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER IT? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTISING IT?
I literally discovered it on Google 11 years ago. I’d reached a crossroads in my life and was looking for a big change. I googled something like “How can I find more balance in my life” and Ayurveda came up. The philosophy instantly resonated and I wanted to know more. I was then constantly fed signs from the universe to keep moving in the direction of Ayurveda and eventually did all my training across India and London. I left my career in news and media, and I’ve held a professional practice for 7 and a half years.
WHAT DREW YOU TO AYURVEDA?
I loved the idea of taking responsibility to recognise imbalances we have, where they come from and using the tools of Ayurveda to find our way back to our most empowered, grounded and balanced state. It’s a lot about self-realisation and learning about the healing and nourishment required to stay healthy - mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. This holistic approach makes so much sense to me. I believe the philosophy and practices of Ayurveda are essential for all humans to thrive in their best condition. It’s an epic blindspot that so much of modern medicine and big pharma misses the whole holistic needs of human beings.
HAS IT HELPED YOU WITH ANYTHING MAJOR?
It helps with all major transitions in my life! It’s also present in my day-to-day practices and rituals too. I appreciate how Ayurveda helps me remember to stay accountable but compassionate about where I’m at in life - especially in the more emotionally or physically challenging times. The spirituality of Ayurveda has really supported me with self-realisation and keeps me ever curious about the healing and growth I’m able to do in order to flourish from the very core of my being.
IS AYURVEDA PART OF YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE OR JUST FOR YOUR MEDICINE CABINET OR FALL-BACK ROUTINE?
It’s definitely part of my everyday life and different elements of it get dialled up or down depending on where I’m at within myself emotionally and physically and what’s going on seasonally within nature.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 AYURVEDIC TIPS THAT HAVE WORKED FOR YOU?
Medicine: Shatavari - this is such a beautiful herb for women and womb nourishment. You can take it in a powder form, as a capsule supplement or in tea. I use it in my massage oils for client treatments too.
Mantra: Yat Pinde Tat Brahmande - I first heard this at Vaidyagrama, an incredible Ayurvedic healing village in Tamil Nadu, India when I was living and learning Ayurveda in more depth. It means “we are a microcosm of the macrocosm, what exists within nature exists within us, we are part of something so much bigger”. This truth is my Soul’s medicine.
Massage: Kansa Wand - I love using these on myself and clients, it’s brilliant for relieving tension in the head, bringing clarity and activating marma points - supporting the shifting of stagnant energy. I use mine all over my head and face and get an incredible glow and natural face lift from using it too! Couldn’t live without this!
WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT AYURVEDA?
It still surprises me every day that it actually works!! It’s the most incredible holistic science. I read my client’s pulses to determine their dosha imbalances before every treatment and they are always so surprised by how accurate the reading is. The more you learn about Ayurveda and the more you practise it, the more it blows your mind. It also surprises me how so much of what we see in modern wellbeing trends today links back to ancient Ayurvedic wisdom and medicine. It’s everywhere - just disguised.
DID YOU INTEGRATE IT GRADUALLY OR OVERNIGHT FOR ANY PARTICULAR REASON?
For me, it’s been gradual. Ayurveda has grown with me patiently as I’ve been ready to grow with it. It’s important to just engage with whatever resonates with you at the time, and not be too overwhelmed by the depth of the science. You can flex the tools up or down and go deep or shallow with it and it will still work its magic. You’ll naturally want to know more when you feel the benefits.
DO YOUR CHILDREN/FAMILY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET? DO THEY KNOW IT’S AYURVEDA OR DO THEY JUST THINK OF IT AS HOME COOKING?
Yes we pretty much eat an Ayurvedic diet 70% of the time. My partner and 5 year old daughter love Kitchari (which we eat once or twice a week). We eat mostly homemade plant based meals, minimise sugar, are 90% dairy and meat free and are always cooking with herbs and Ayurvedic spices - it’s more a way of life for us, so they see it as our standard go-to home cooking which they appreciate very much as we all feel nourished from it with clean guts and decent immune systems.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE AYURVEDIC RECIPE OR GO-TO INGREDIENT?
Oh there’s too many! But I can’t really get my day started without my homemade fresh ginger root and lemon tea. Chyawanprash is also a staple in our home - we drink it mainly as a hot tea or add to porridge as a jam. We get more militant about drinking it at times in the year when we’re wanting to boost our immune system. Oh and my homemade cacao date, coconut & cardamom nutty bliss balls are a real winner to keep any sugar cravings at bay.
HOW DOES AYURVEDA FIT INTO YOUR DAY-TO DAY ROUTINES?
I start most mornings the same - with tongue scraping, ginger lemon tea and time in nature to catch some of the sunrise - this is usually a gentle jog for 30 mins in the park and maybe a meditation in the sun with a tree hugging session! (I’m usually aiming to revitalise/energise Kapha). Occasionally I might wake up needing to pacify Vata energy instead, so I’ll swap my run for a meditative slow flow yoga practice at home to soothing tunes. My skincare products are all Ayurvedic morning and night (I love Mauli Rituals). Throughout the week days, and with seasons in mind, I’ll aim to eat strictly plant based sattvic foods that align to my dosha imbalance (on weekends, I tend to eat a bit of everything). I love the benefits of Ayurvedic fasting and it works well with my Kapha/Pitta constitution, so I do it regularly. I try to meditate most days - (morning or night or both) and will practice Nadi Shodhana breathwork. When I don’t meditate, I really notice it! Journaling and self reflective healing is super important to me and I see other therapists for body work / spiritual growth / wellbeing retreats regularly. I love giving myself a regular self-abhyanga (full body massage) with my favourite dosha body oils and I’m always reading some type of Ayurvedic book to further my studies.
WHAT DO YOU WISH WAS EASIER IN OUR SOCIETY TO MAKE AN AYURVEDIC LIFESTYLE MORE ACCESSIBLE?
I think the culture of Westernised Yoga could do more in introducing the masses to Ayurveda. Yoga is huge and one of the fastest growing wellbeing trends globally yet many Yogi teachers have done 300hrs of training and barely know a thing about Ayurveda and aren’t incorporating it into their teaching or personal lives. Ayurveda and Yoga are sister sciences and one doesn’t really work fully without the other, but in some cases cultural appropriation has really missed a point in how people fully connect with and understand the depth and potential of Yoga and Ayurveda.
DO PEOPLE AROUND YOU/IN YOUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS KNOW ABOUT AYURVEDA?
My friends mostly know about it because of me, but I’m noticing more people getting curious about it / are hearing more about it beyond me which is exciting.
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?
Learn to tune into your intuitive body wisdom. It is always trying to communicate with you and it knows what you need better than anyone else, but we have a habit in this society to get lost in our minds and other external distractions like TV and phones. When we listen to what our body wisdom is asking of us and we trust in the guidance of our intuition, we can become profoundly nourished with ease.
WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS?
I hold space for women to explore themselves and experience the healing rituals and tools of Ayurveda in a 6-month wellbeing course called The Self Liberation Healing Program. It’s a life changing journey on many levels supporting women to access depths of themselves that they haven’t before - in a fully embodied, cellular and energetic way. If anyone is curious, feel free to contact me for a chat :)