Laetitia 0:00
But it’s really about reconnecting within so that you can know what’s happening within you. Because if you look at the dosha from an external perspective, at some point, you know, you may think, Oh, I’m Kapha or oh I’m Pitta, but actually, it’s probably the time of the season, or the moment of the day where it as mostly Kapha, Vitta or Vata energy, rather than who you are.
Jackie 3:44
Laetitia, thank you so much for chatting with me today. I’m looking forward to this conversation because we get to dive into Ayurveda, which I. It’s one of those things I kind of know, like the surface of what it means. But there’s so much more to it, the philosophies and everything behind it, and how you know how we can apply it to ourselves to really get the best out of our health and vitality. So I’m looking forward to looking forward to it. Before we dive into that, though, I would love to know how you found Ayurveda and how it has helped you.
Laetitia 4:24
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me today. I love talking about Ayurveda. So the way I found out about Ayurveda was over 16 years ago now. I went to India, don’t ask me why I felt really cool to go to India and I just followed that lead. And I was 21 at the time and I just landed. It was the first time I was taking the plane and funny story I got a panic attack on the plane and what’s happening? What is this? And then I landed in India and I was living with my roommate. We’re all Indian. And they were talking a lot about, you know, the principle of Ayurveda. And it was not the set of rules, it was a more guiding principle, which is very important to see Ayurveda as a guiding principle rather than rules. It’s not a diet, it’s not you need to eat this, or you shouldn’t eat that. It’s more about guidelines, and how do you tune into your body and what you feel called to eat, and then knowing and understanding why you feel called to eat this kind of food, and so on and so forth. So they were talking a lot about this. And I was like, this is very foreign to me. I don’t really understand all the words that you’re using, but I feel really curious. And I have this curious mind. So after a while, I went to an ashram, and this is where I got my first Ayurveda massage. And my first session with a practitioner, and I discovered so much about myself, not only in terms of, you know, the health and the food and, and everything around the wellbeing, but more importantly, as well around everything, the way I work, the way I focus or not the way I embrace some season, or I don’t like some season, and all of that is linked to your blueprint in Ayurveda. So for me, it was kind of mind-blowing. And I started training and learning about Ayurveda back in India to be accredited in that ashram. I would have had to stay for seven years. I was like, thank you. Now, wow. So I went back to France, and I carried on applying the principle and so on. And it’s really after seven years working strategy consulting, and when I burn out that, I really dived back into that traditional knowledge and practice and philosophy and lifestyle. And yeah, since then, I’ve been, you know, accredited as a practitioner, and really working and using it with my clients.
Jackie 6:57
So it took burning out to get back into it?
Laetitia 7:01
Yes.
Jackie 7:02
Wow.
Laetitia 7:02
It’s sad right. How sometimes when you.
Jackie 7:05
Unfortunately, yeah, this, wait for that. Yeah, that thing, that awful thing to happen, and we take action? Let’s not wait for that. Well, tell us, what is Ayurveda?
Laetitia 7:18
Hmm. I love this question. So the definition of Ayurveda, which is a Sanskrit word, is the science of life. So it’s really the science of embracing your wholeness. And when I say wholeness, it’s a connection with your senses, with the elements within you. And around you. It’s really a holistic practice. And this is what I love about it. And it’s, it’s not a principle of this is, you know, how you need to breathe and how you need to eat and how you need to exercise and how you need to, you know, consume content, and so on. It’s everything. And yeah, as a science of life. And it’s very ancient, of course, and I love bringing this ancient wisdom back into our modern life and respecting, of course, a culture that brought it together. And the way I approach Ayurveda is by really making it simple for our Western mind to understand because we tend to complexify everything when actually it’s really connecting back to our sensation.
Jackie 8:30
I love what you said before. And correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s kind of like discovering our own blueprint.
Laetitia 8:39
Yes, yes,
Jackie 8:41
That gives us a chance to be really self-aware, and I guess make better choices as well. So the one thing that I am aware of in Ayurveda because I’m not sure if this is the thing that gets talked about the most, but it’s the doshas,
Laetitia 8:59
So very often, very often people will approach Ayurveda with the doshas because it’s kind of our Western mind wants to understand, okay, what am I a pitta am I a vata. And this is really the way we approach Ayurveda with our Western mind, the way I was taught about Ayurveda. And this is when I love to add one layer before speaking about the dosha. If you allow me to do that layer before is really the ritualistic practice in your day-to-day life, because this is how you bring awareness. It’s really hard to assess your dosha or to be assessed with your dosha if you are in flight and fight mode. You know, you’re very exhausted and you don’t realize you’re exhausted. And then, of course, you may add a Vata imbalance coming up because you’re running full steam ahead and really into you know, the air in the ether if we speak about dosha in particular, but going back into ritual, I think ritualistic practice and daily practices where you can check-in. It can be, you know, a few breaths, it can be going in and connecting with the earth barefoot, you know, the earthing, it’s proven to be very beneficial. And it’s also a practice of Ayurveda connecting with the earth and the Kapha energy of the earth. But it’s really about reconnecting within so that you can know what’s happening within you. Because if you look at the dosha from an external perspective, at some point, you know, you may think, Oh, I’m Kapha, or I’m Pita, but actually, it’s probably the time of the season, or the moment of the day where it’s as mostly kapha pitta, or vata energy, rather than who you are. Does that make sense?
Jackie 10:52
Can you expand on that a little bit more?
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