Quantum Heart Life

I once asked a Taoist monk, how do you make an impact in a world / a family / a community / a company that is disconnected and unconscious. He replied “just show up in every moment from a place of love and light, and trust that from that simple way of being, your loving presence, words or actions will have a positive ripple effect on those around you”.

And with that thought I leave you with this … a wonderful postcard received this weekend from my favourite US pen pal 💫✨

A reminder that we all have the potential to be a walking love letter 💛

QHL 💫💛✨

“Who are we to make ourselves small in order to help others feel less insecure around us … it does not serve anyone … we were each born as beautiful unique beings … here to share our gifts in our own magical way … it’s time … to step into our light … to step into our true potential … and in doing so to give others permission to do the same … that’s how we help make this world a better place” 💫

A magical day with Marianne Williamson. Thank you for the reminders.

QHL 💛💫✨

What can you do today that gives ‘your human’ the best possible day? How can you best take care of it today? What can you do that’s loving for it today? What does it need? More sleep? Healthier food choices? A walk in your lunch hour? Being around more loving people? And how can we learn to be that way everyday?

A little lesson in self love, by Matthew Hussey.

Love your human today.

Link to Matthew’s post on all of the above, included in the comments below the photo.

QHL 💛💫✨

‘Buy yourself a beach basket, and fill it with a blanket and a book, then leave it by the front door to remind yourself to regularly take mini beach retreats now that you live by the sea’ she said … ‘OMG’ I thought ‘how lovely would that be’ … such wise words but I’m always too busy … and yet here I am on my mini beach retreat 1 (probably only for an hour)… which never would have happened if it wasn’t for the ‘ready to go’ beach basket strategically positioned by my front door … such a game changer … may this become my new summer habit!☀️

What mini retreat can you create for yourself as a new summer habit? Maybe pop a strategically positioned ‘ready to go’ bundle by you door to make it easy for you to action whenever you feel the need.

QHL 💛💫✨

I have been amazed how my body feels totally transformed since my Ayurvedic retreat. Through a programme that focused on rebalancing my ‘Doshas’ my stomach feels so much better (apparently my Vata Dosha was out of whack 😉)

So what are ‘Doshas’?

One of the central concepts in Ayurveda is that there are three ‘Doshas’ that govern all aspects of our physical and mental health. The three Doshas are a blend of the five elements that make up the universe (and the building blocks of our body). The five elements are ether, air, water, fire, earth. They come together to form the Doshas as follows:

- Vata - a combination of air and ether elements.

- Pitta - a combination of fire and water elements.

- Kapha - a combination of earth and water elements.

Vata controls movement, Pitta regulates metabolism, and Kapha maintains structure. Together they maintain the optimal function for the human body - mentally and physically. It’s therefore important to keep them in balance where possivle for optimal health and wellbeing.

Below I include two resources for you to find out more.

Firstly, from the lovely Saraswati, a really quick and easy quiz for you to take to see where you might be out of balance currently with your Doshas.

Secondly, an easy to read article on the Kerala Academy website (the school behind the Ayurvedgram retreats).

Enjoy your Dosha discovery.

QHL 💛💫✨

(photo courtesy of nutrixia.in)

Although my first introduction to Ayurveda was some time ago, I recently reconnected with it during my yoga teacher training course with Yoga Shala in Reykjavik in 2022. In one of the modules I learned the next level of Ayurveda that I had been craving. My teacher for this was the beautiful Saraswati Om, one of my favourite souls, who has also agreed to be a collaborator for QHL and will be sharing her magical wisdom in future posts. In the meantime, Saraswati has shared a couple of amazing resources for those of you curious to learn more about Ayurveda, which I’ve included in the comments below. She runs her own online Ayurveda programmes from time to time, and has an Ayurveda 101 introductory course on her website that I will also share in the comments below. Saraswati also does online 1:1 Ayurvedic Consultations for those that want a deeper dive or support with a specific issue.

(In addition to teaching yoga and being an Ayurvedic practitioner, Saraswati is one of the best sound healers I have met, running magical sound healing journeys in Reykjavik and the USA, at venues that include the Blue Lagoon. She also does 1:1 Sound Healing sessions - more on all of that soon).

QHL 💛💫✨

How does ‘Ayurveda’ link to our QHL vision for living our life from our heart? A book that I am reading at the moment sums it up perfectly. It says how science has now confirmed that the old adage of ‘we are what we eat’ is so true. Our food not only impacts our body weight but also how we feel, our ability to connect to our body, and our experience of everyday life.

Too many carbohydrates and our capability for higher level reasoning and complex ways of thinking are impacted. Too much glucose and our body experiences lower levels of awareness and higher levels of stress (physically and emotionally). And a poor microbiome in the gut can result in an imbalance of hormones (oxytocin and dopamine) which, beyond the initial burst of happy hormones, can in turn lead to feelings of distrust and detachment, compulsive behaviour and addiction.

In other words, an out of balance diet can result in an out of balance gut-heart-brain connection … which impacts our ability to connect to our heart, and to have the awareness to feel what is the next best step or choice for us.

Ayurvedic principles attempt to fix that through food … to rebalance our system … and our connection with ourselves … increasing our self awareness, our ability to listen to our body, and to live life as the best version of ourselves, full of vitality and life force.

You can no doubt get the same effect through a healthy diet and lifestyle. Ayurveda is just one of many ways. But the point is that healthy eating is an important factor in optimising your ability to connect in with your body (and your heart) and to really be able to hear its calling.

And that’s why I’m sharing a few posts on Ayurveda - for those that are interested in learning how to optimise your ability to connect in with your hearts. Not to become strict Ayurvedic followers, but to see if there are one or two things from this ancient system that you can weave into your way of living, to help you feel more vibrant, more mindful and connected with your heart.

QHL 💛💫✨

One of my first introductions to Ayurvedic food was on a retreat in Fuerteventura a few years ago. It was my first ever yoga retreat and I was dreading a week of vegan food, but it was so delicious. There are many Ayurvedic cooking books available online, but this one from that first retreat has been in my kitchen for a while. Thought I would share for those that are interested.

Truly Healthy, Truly Delicious e-Cookbook - Azulfit Experience the delicious, healthy and inspirational recipes from Azulfit in your own home with Chef Jo Dombernowsky's 4th edition e-book: 'Truly Healthy, Truly Delicious'. Now available in electronic form, this cookbook includes 100 delicious recipes, mouth watering photos, life changing nutritio....

As a follow up to my recent retreat I just wanted to add a couple more posts about Ayurveda. Starting with ‘What is Ayurveda?’

The explanation below is from the John Hopkins Medical site, and is nice and easy to understand. But in short, like yoga, it’s a system that comes with over 5,000 years of application and research. It is often referred to as ‘the science of life’. Yoga and Ayurveda are in fact, two branches of the same tree of Vedic knowledge that encompasses all human life (and the wider universe) (Vedic knowledge probably warranting a separate post). It is thought that over 80% of the population in India practise elements of Ayurveda, either as their primary healthcare, or as part of a holistic approach to wellness alongside western medicine.

From John Hopkins site … (but there are many amazing resources online if you want to know more).

“Ayurveda is a whole-body (holistic) system of medicine that began in India more than 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda means the study of life. It takes a natural approach to all aspects of health and well-being.

Ayurveda is based on the idea that each person has certain life forces (doshas) and everything in the universe is connected. An imbalance in 1 dosha can affect another. When the imbalance is not fixed, disease and illness can occur. Ayurveda mostly uses nutrition, lifestyle changes, and natural treatments. These are used to support balance and a return to health. Ayurveda is very focused on overall health. But it may use specific treatments for some diseases.

The focus of Ayurveda treatment is to:

- Support the body in removing toxins and impurities

- Reduce symptoms

- Increase disease resistance

- Reduce stress

- Create more harmony and balance in life

Herbs and other plants are often used. These include oils and common spices.

Every person is unique, so as such, Ayurvedic treatments are tailored to each person, and typically include 1 or more of the following:

- Internal cleansing (purification)

- A special diet, including a wide variety of spices

- Herbal and plant medicines (Ayurvedic supplements)

- Massage therapy with different types of oils

- Yoga (asanas and pranayama (breath work))

- Meditation”

My Ayurvedic retreat at Ayurvedagram Bali last week included all of the above with my own allocated doctor on arrival. I came out the other side feeling wonderful - like I’d had a full body service and MOT. Something I desperately needed. I’m not sure I could follow a strict Ayurvedic lifestyle, but there are definitely elements from my retreat that I could easily replicate at home, and I will try to keep going once I’m back in the UK.

It’s about picking the things (even just one or two) that feel like an easy fit for your lifestyle and having fun trying something new.

More posts soon.

QHL 💛💫✨