Page 43 - Reader's House magazine

be your guide to taking the first—or next—steps in your own journey to health and self-transformation. bed). The daily oil application called abhyanga keeps the skin supple and blocks environmental toxins. What initially drew you to Ayurveda, and How did your experience with Panchakarma how has it transformed your personal and influence your approach to wellness and professional life? self-care? When I was 41 years old, in 2004, I opened a PK cleanses you inside and out, requires you to new-age bookstore in Baltimore, Maryland called rest and allow yourself to be taken care of. In India, Breathe Books. I had a small Ayurvedic section, but I went to Vaidyagrama, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, for I didn’t know much about it beyond what I had read a three-week PK. I took time to journal, meditate, a decade earlier in Deepak Chopra’s book Ageless do some chanting, and listen to nourishing music Body, Timeless Mind. I was drawn to this 5000-year- and podcasts. My husband and I did this together, old Indian science of health and wellbeing because and it brought us even closer. I try to carry on some I wanted to lose weight. It turns out, it wasn’t about techniques at home. weight, it was about finding balance in my mind, body and spirit. What challenges did you face while writing your books, and how did you overcome I discovered there are three doshas – Vata which is them? air and space, and Pitta, which is fire and water, and Kapha, water and earth. At 230 pounds (16.5 stone), I love writing. I’ve been writing since I was a I had excess Kapha. I began studying how to reduce kid, and I was a journalist in Israel for many years. I Kapha through food, lifestyle, and more, which led didn’t set out to write books, but I was contacted by me to the Chopra Center in California for a 10-day a publisher and decided to go for it. The challenge program called Panchakarma (PK). The protocol was that I couldn’t see the big picture and would get includes oil massages, herbal treatments, and classes stuck trying to figure out the structure, the flow, and in Ayurveda, yoga, and meditation and eating a diet the end game. I learned from my editors that I didn’t to balance your dosha. need to know everything from the get-go. A table of contents could help guide me, and my natural voice I rapidly dropped 60 pounds (4.2 stone) – never was key. to be seen again, and totally embraced the lifestyle, so much so that I became a certified practitioner At first, I thought I should be more clinical, just through The Chopra Center. I also studied with The the facts kind of thing. However, an editor at Simon Ayurvedic Institute in the US and India for clinical & Schuster told me that the text “sang” when I knowledge and with Amadea Morningstar for included personal stories and asked me for more cooking. From 2019-2023, I was on the board of the of that. People can relate to my experiences, see themselves, and connect. I love that. That led to studying creative writing. Currently, I’m working on Susan Weis-Bohlen is a gifted a memoir, and I lead workshops and trips where we healer, storyteller, and teacher incorporate writing. whose warmth, authenticity, and expertise make holistic wellness accessible to all. National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA). After running my bookstore for 10 years (and adding an Ayurvedic café), I decided to close shop and become a full-time practitioner, teacher, speaker, and author. D R A F T Ayurveda Beginner’s Guide by Susan Weis-Bohlen is an approachable introduction to Ayurveda, offering clear explanations of doshas, practical lifestyle tips, and a gentle three- week plan. Perfect for beginners, it provides recipes, yoga, and meditation guidance. While introductory in scope, it’s a valuable resource for starting a balanced, Ayurvedic journey. so clear, and our lives are so rich because of it. Our entire lifestyle is Ayurvedic, which can be flexible and forgiving. Do we take pharmaceuticals from time to time? Yes, when necessary. Do we eat ice cream in I also learned – and this is super important – to winter sometimes? Yes – I call it vitamin H – Vitamin read your work out loud. When you hear how it Happy. And as I’ve gone through menopause, I could sounds, it begins to make much more sense, and not mitigate some of my symptoms Ayurvedically corrections are evident. You can read it to a person, (although some people are able to) and I began using to your dogs, or into a voice recorder and listen estrogen and progesterone and I’m cool with that. back – but you MUST include this step in the writing My writing practice is truly Ayurvedic. I wish process. I was one of those people who write at 5 in the And revise, revise, revise. First, I just have to morning, when the world is still and the house quiet, get the story out onto the page. Then, I let it sit and but as a true Kapha, I’m asleep at 5 and you literally marinate, return to it a few days or weeks later, and couldn’t pay me to write then! I discovered that my begin the layering process. Who was I then? Who am best work happens between 2 pm and 6 pm, which is I now? What did I learn? Am I using all my senses to Vata time day. Vata dosha is highly creative, so there tell the story? What did I see? What did it smell like, ya go! Creativity flows for me in the afternoon, so the colors, foods, weather, etc. I steep myself in the that’s my process. My writing space and the direction Can you share some simple Ayurvedic home story and try to bring it to life, moment by moment, my desk faces are based on Vastu Shastra, which is remedies that beginners can incorporate into so that the reader can experience it too. Vedic Feng Shui. Our entire house is Vastu’ed which their daily routines? helps to keep us balanced and healthy. Eat three meals a day, each meal consisting of What was the most surprising discovery you about two handfuls of food. Avoid snacks. Have a made during your studies of Ayurveda? What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write about holistic light dinner, at least three hours before bed. Get to It’s a rare thing for someone to lose as much bed around 10 pm so that your body can go through health and wellness? weight as I did and never gain it back, but I learned the metabolic process that happens between 10 pm from Ayurveda that I wasn’t fat just because I ate too You must be authentic and, ideally, have healed and 2 am (waste is separated from nutrients). This much. I was fat because it was in my natural doshic yourself through the practice you are writing about. ensures that your body eliminates toxins, rebuilds makeup to hold on - emotional baggage, people, Come from a place of vulnerability, not victimhood. tissue, cleanses blood and clears the mind. One things, routines. As I became more balanced, phys- Show your weaknesses and how they became your should wake up around 6 or 7 (depending on the ically and emotionally, the weight fell off. I didn’t strengths. Give credit to your teachers. Be open and season, your dosha, state of health) feeling rested and need it anymore. My new book will go into this in honest, warm and encouraging. And read. You must ready to go. detail, but it was fascinating. be a reader to be a writer. Notice how the books you Boost your immune system when needed with love are structured. Go to events or retreats with your How do you balance your writing, teaching, herbs such as the adaptogen ashwagadha (one or two favorite teachers and listen closely to them. Be dis- and personal life while staying true to your tablets in the morning for energy OR at night for cerning. And be original. We all have a story to tell. relaxation.) Keep your colon toned and bowel move- Ayurvedic practices? ments regular with triphala (one or two tablets before After nearly 20 years of practice, the benefits are Reader’s House II 43