Episode Overview
Episode Topic
In this episode of Holistic Health Habits, host Suriani Fernando dives into the world of holistic health through the lens of Ayurveda with special guest Divya Alter. The discussion focuses on the innovative practices and historical evolution of Ayurveda, highlighting its influence on modern holistic health. As the co-owner of Divya‘s Kitchen, a renowned Ayurvedic restaurant in New York City, Divya shares her journey and expertise in holistic nutrition and health. Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of Ayurveda’s foundational principles and how these ancient practices can be seamlessly integrated into contemporary lifestyles to promote overall well-being.
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Lessons You’ll Learn
Listeners will learn about the unique principles that set Ayurveda apart from other health practices. Key lessons include the importance of treating the person rather than the disease, the personalized nature of Ayurvedic treatments, and the integration of local herbs and foods for optimal health. Divya emphasizes the significance of understanding one’s body type and condition to tailor a suitable diet and lifestyle. Additionally, the episode delves into the role of spices in digestion and overall health, the importance of fresh, home-style cooking, and the holistic approach to achieving mental, emotional, and physical balance.
About Our Guest
Divya Alter is a prominent figure in the holistic health community, renowned for her expertise in Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking. She is the co-owner of Divya’s Kitchen, an esteemed Ayurvedic restaurant in Manhattan, New York City. Divya’s journey into Ayurveda began over 15 years ago when she sought natural remedies for her autoimmune disease. Her extensive studies under Ayurveda master Vaidya Ramakant Mishra transformed her health and ignited her passion for Ayurvedic cooking. Originally from Bulgaria, Divya has also lived in India, where she deepened her understanding of Ayurvedic practices. She is dedicated to making Ayurveda accessible and beneficial for all.
Topics Covered
The podcast covers a broad range of topics related to Ayurveda and holistic health. It begins with the historical evolution of Ayurveda and its impact on other traditional medicines like Chinese and Greek. Divya explains foundational Ayurvedic principles, such as the personalized approach to health and the use of local herbs and foods. The conversation also explores the innovative practices at Divya’s Kitchen, including the use of spices for digestion, creating balanced meals with six tastes, and maintaining a peaceful dining environment. Additionally, the episode touches on Divya’s personal health journey, her product line, and the importance of fresh, home-cooked meals in promoting health and well-being.
Our Guest: Divya Alter, an expert Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking.
Divya Alter stands out as a distinguished expert in the field of Ayurvedic nutrition and holistic health. Her remarkable journey began over fifteen years ago when she sought alternative remedies to manage her autoimmune disease. This quest led her to study under the esteemed Ayurveda master, Vaidya Ramakant Mishra, whose teachings profoundly transformed her health and ignited a deep passion for Ayurvedic practices. Originally from Bulgaria, Divya’s path to Ayurveda was not linear; it included extensive travels and studies in India, where she immersed herself in the rich traditions and comprehensive knowledge of this ancient science. Today, she is widely recognized for her dedication to making Ayurveda accessible and practical for a modern audience.
As the co-owner of Divya’s Kitchen, a renowned Ayurvedic restaurant in Manhattan, New York City, Divya Alter brings her expertise to the forefront of the culinary world. Her restaurant is not just a place to eat but a sanctuary where food is prepared and served with mindfulness, reflecting the principles of Ayurveda. Each dish at Divya’s Kitchen is crafted to balance the six tastes and promote digestion, embodying the essence of holistic health. Through her restaurant, Divya educates the public on the importance of fresh, home-style cooking and the role of diet in maintaining overall well-being. Her work extends beyond the restaurant as she regularly conducts workshops and classes to share her knowledge of Ayurvedic nutrition and cooking.
Divya is also a celebrated author, with her book “What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen” serving as a comprehensive guide for those looking to integrate Ayurvedic principles into their daily lives. The book reflects her deep understanding of the interconnectedness of diet, health, and emotions, offering practical advice and recipes that are both healing and delicious. Divya’s contributions to the field of Ayurveda are vast, including her product line of Ayurvedic foods and remedies. Her commitment to holistic health is further demonstrated through her active engagement with the community, where she tirelessly advocates for the benefits of Ayurveda, helping individuals achieve balance and wellness in their lives.
Episode Transcript
Surani: Welcome to another episode of Holistic Health Habits, the podcast where we explore various practices and insights to enhance our well-being through holistic approaches. I’m your host, Surani Fernando. Today we have a very special guest, Divya Alta, the co-owner of Divya’s Kitchen, a premier Ayurvedic restaurant in New York City. Divya is a renowned expert in holistic health and nutrition, and she’s here to share her valuable insights with all of us. Welcome to the podcast, Divya.
Divya: Thank you so Much for having me, Surani. It’s a pleasure to be here with you.
Surani: Really excited to dive into this discussion. So let’s just start off by delving into the innovations and advancements in holistic health, particularly focusing on Ayurveda, which is central to your work at Divya’s Kitchen and your business in general. Firstly, can you just tell us a bit about the historical evolution of Ayurveda and how it has influenced modern holistic health practices?
Divya: , I mean, it’s so interesting because it’s becoming a leading trend in holistic health. Nowadays, every year it becomes more and more popular. But what’s so interesting about it is that it originated thousands of years ago. Some people say 5000 years. I think it’s much older than that. But it’s interesting how a holistic system of health has survived through thousands of years and through thousands, through all kinds of political and geographical changes. And. So, and still and now it’s coming to the forefront of holistic medicine again. So I’m very encouraged by that It started a very long time ago. The original source of the oldest Sanskrit texts dates more than 5000 years ago. Ayurveda in the past has influenced both traditional Chinese medicine and also Greek medicine. So there are mentions by Hippocrates and by other ancient Chinese doctors about how they traveled to India to learn this holistic medicine. So it’s very interesting that it’s the kind of medicine that has originated and developed and evolved over centuries, and it’s still very relevant to us.
Surani: Yep. And like what? For people who aren’t really aware of it, what is, the foundation of Ayurveda, like what makes it so different to, some of the other things that we might be more familiar with Western, holistic, whole Western health care practices.
Divya: The foundation is that it treats the person, not the disease. That’s one of the foundational principles. It’s a very personalized approach to health. So it’s not like, oh, I have a headache. Take a pill. It’s always about finding the physical, mental, emotional, even sometimes karmic like divine causes of the problem and then addressing it on all these levels. It’s a very integrated medicine to help the person heal on all levels. And I think that’s one of the and also another principle is incorporating local herbs and local practices to support health. So everybody is always localized, even though they originated in India, you can practice it anywhere in the world. And one of the main principles is using local herbs and also local foods. Every food is local. It’s not Indian.
Surani: it’s zero kilometers. Right.
Divya: Well Nowadays it is really hard and not yet a global economy. But it’s all about incorporating what grows around you to support your health. And another principle I love is and this is more of a more on the spiritual level of healing is that healing always starts within we live in a culture that we always blame the external circumstances for our problems. but actually it always starts healing from within, from the changes, the change of heart, if you will. So it’s a very deep and very fulfilling practice, not just for the sick but also another aspect. Is preventative medicine. So a big part of Ayurveda teaches us how to maintain good health. And then if you get sick, there are, remedies and all kinds of treatments for that. It’s very fluid. It’s not black and white. It’s not it’s it’s really the side literally the science of life, how to live in the flow of life. And that’s what I love about it.
Surani: , definitely. And how is Divya’s kitchen your business? I know you have a lot of products. the marketplace there. How are those things integrating some of those innovative approaches, with, Ayurvedic principles and also, staying at the forefront of, modern practices of are you there as well?
Divya: Yes. This kitchen is in the heart of Manhattan and near, and we’re surrounded by polluted air and lots of sirens. I don’t know if that would be in New York. I lived there, I lived there for four years.
Surani: So I’ve really got a. When did your restaurant open?
Divya: We opened in 2016.
Surani: Okay. Well , that’s when I. That’s when I moved. I was there from 2016 to 2020 and I’m gutted that I didn’t didn’t visit your restaurant.
Divya: It’s wild. I mean New York City’s wild as wild as it has its charms. But it also can drain your health. So one of the ways is that Devi’s kitchen is not just about the food. It’s also about the environment in which we house guests and serve our food. And we designed it in a way that ‘s very calming and balancing. So you come from the busy hustle, bustle and noisy, smelly street. You come inside and all of a sudden you’re like, ah, I can relax here. That’s nice. And that’s really important because it’s not just what you eat, it’s also how you eat it that affects health. So that’s the first experience. We want our guests to come. As soon as they step into this kitchen, they would have this sense of peace and relaxation, which is the foundation for healing. We cannot heal when we’re stressed and tense. And it always starts with relaxing. Accepting.
Surani: I’m kind of curious do you get a lot of customers, clients coming to your restaurant because they’re sick or, it’s flu season and everyone wants to come to preventative stuff?
Divya: Well, people who have the flu, they usually stay at home. Well, I mean they should. Yes. they would usually order in. But we get all kinds of people. A lot of our neighbors, they just come because this is their home away from home. Food. Our food is always fresh. And that’s one Ayurvedic principle we always follow. It’s local as much as possible, freshly prepared. We don’t serve leftovers, but we also serve home style food. And many people tell us, I feel here like home away from home, and it’s one of the biggest compliments I can get because when we cook at home, there is this sense of comfort and nourishment and relaxation and and that’s when we when we hear that people feel that way, our guests feel that way. We’re very happy. So what we innovated is all about, one of the goals of Ayurveda is to lead us on the path of enlightenment, to understand who we are, what we meant to do in this world. And we try to follow enlightened hospitality at our restaurant, which is to always put people ahead of profits. Mhm. , because for us service, this service and really relationships is very, very important. So that’s another aspect of Ayurvedic hospitality that we try to follow. And then on a very practical level we don’t serve only Indian food. So that’s one, one innovation.
Surani: Like a fusion.
Divya: Or something like that. It’s not a fusion. It’s not an Indian restaurant. We don’t advertise it as an Ayurvedic restaurant, which means that we offer very balanced goods in terms of the six days of foods, there’s sweetness, sourness, saltiness, pungency, bitterness, astringency and all these tastes also create mental balance as well. They offer satisfaction. But again, we try to show, because New York is such an international city and you can find food and ingredients from all over the world, we try to show how to apply the principles of Ayurvedic cooking to any kind of cuisine. So we have Italian lasagna and risotto. We have. Though we have Asian style stir fry, we have European style or Mexican style avocado dip. We have European style pancakes. So it’s like we try to show that we can use local ingredients to create a variety of tastes, while applying the timeless principles of Ayurveda and digestion to every dish.
Surani: Hey and just going deeper into that diverse menu, can you share some examples of how those ancient principles of Ayurveda applied to your kitchen and some of those healing and nourishing meals, like what would the what would some key ingredients be that you add to those to I guess make them an Ayurvedic nourishing meal?
Divya: Well, the first one is spices. We cook with a lot of spices. And we also have wonderful, delicious spice blends. Many of them I share in my cookbooks. We grind our spices fresh, though we don’t buy ground spices. We make our own freshly ground spices and we use spices not just for flavor. We also use them for digestion. Spices also help to transport nutrients to where they’re supposed to go, and they also help to lift the fogginess like sometimes when your digestion is not so strong, you eat and you feel very tired afterwards. So using spices helps with that. But our food is not spicy, like we use a lot of spices, but when you eat it, it has very balanced flavors, so nothing is too pungent. Like we don’t put chili in everything. , nothing is too sour, nothing is too salty. And that’s the Ayurvedic idea of providing balanced taste. Of course we are also there to please our customers. So if somebody really likes spicy, spicy, pungent, like a lot of heat, we offer marinated chilies or hot sauce. And these are just different condiments that people can add more heat to their food. But in general the Ayurvedic food is there is nothing there that is not too spicy, too salty. It’s very balanced in terms of taste. And when you eat it, you feel very nourished and satisfied, but you don’t like it after your meal.
Surani: Well, I think that’s what everyone tries to accomplish after a meal. So that’s great. And, , I’m curious to know a little bit about your background as well and what got you into this. Is this something you’ve been involved in for many years, or was there a turning point in your life where you decided to focus on are you Vedic cuisine
Divya: So I really got into Ayurvedic cooking when I was very sick. This was, say 15 years ago. I had autoimmune disease with all kinds of allergies and digestive issues, and modern medicine just couldn’t help me to. It helped me to kind of mask the symptoms, but it never went away. I had all these skin issues and I was so miserable because I was always tired and I could hardly eat anything. My digestion was really bad. So, and a lot of pain, inflammation. And this is when I’ve known about Ayurveda before, because I lived in India for five years before that. But when I met my Ayurveda teacher Vaidya Ramakant Mishra, he was amazing because he really understood he was very innovative at that. He really was a master Ayurveda doctor, but he also lived in the States and he understood how people’s lifestyle and diet causes people’s issues. In the United States, it’s different from India in most parts of India. So he really understood how to apply the principles of Ayurveda to our time, place and circumstances. And he was very successful. He helped me and I don’t have any of these illnesses anymore. And my health is so much better now than before and I have so much more energy and everything is so much better in my health now than 15 years ago. Wow. But that’s what got me started with Ayurvedic cooking. And I studied with him for many years until he passed away. Before that I was born in Bulgaria. So I’m from Bulgaria, okay. I learned how to cook in a yoga ashram in Bulgaria. And, I’ve always loved how to cook. And then my interest in using food as medicine started when I lived in India. Okay.
Surani: That’s so interesting. You hear so many stories of people having these illnesses and, , they try lots of different things, lots of different medicines. And in the end, it has something to do with the diet and changing the diet. And, it’s just amazing. A lot of these modern illnesses are caused by what we’re putting into our body. And it doesn’t have to reverse what you’re sort of doing when you’re trying to fix that problem.
Divya: I agree that whenever you have a problem, a health issue always starts with the diet. And usually an expert Ayurvedic doctor when you go to see them, they will evaluate everything about you. And usually one visit to an Ayurvedic doctor takes at least an hour because they will not just take your medical history, they will ask you what do you eat? When do you eat it? How do you eat it? All about your sleep patterns, about your appetite? I mean, there’s so many personal questions they will ask you because all of this affects health and leads to disease. If we don’t do that properly. So, but what’s also interesting when you mention that there’s so many stories, so many books, so many diets started from somebody being sick and trying another diet, and then they write a book about it, and there’s a whole movement following that diet. The ideal approach is different, though. The adiabatic approach is you have to find what works for you and nobody else. So their general principles of Ayurveda and food, but what foods particularly serve as medicine for you? That’s something to be determined, especially with the help of an Ayurvedic practitioner and doctor, and something that may be medicine for you. It could be poison for you two years later because something else is going on for you, and this food is not serving you anymore. So it’s again, it’s about fluidity and it’s not one that fits all. It’s about understanding, first of all, your unique body type and unique conditioning of what’s happening in your body and mind. Because everybody says that a lot of the physical illnesses come from negative beliefs and blockages in the mind. So understanding for your first who you are. And then and then customizing your treatment protocol, your healing protocol, your lifestyle, what exercise is best for you? It’s not just about diet, even down to which direction is best to sleep in, like down to these things. It’s very personal.
Surani: , I actually didn’t think about it that way actually. That is that it it’s, it’s kind of like personalized medicine in the natural. The natural form. Would you have any favorite products that you have? I mean I saw that you’ve got an A broth, you’ve got a few sort of different things that look really good. Is there anything that’s been super popular in your product range in terms of healing something very healing?
Divya: So one of my missions in life is to make Ayurveda, and especially Ayurvedic food and cooking, more accessible to people, to really help them understand how it works and incorporate it in their life, because it only benefits people. So during covet, we started our product line because we had to close the restaurant and people were like, I miss you, food. So we started a packaged food product and they’ve been doing so well. We’re about to expand into retail stores this year and also international distribution. But we have ketchup packets. So Kitri is a one pot meal of lentils and grains. It’s like a complete protein dish that’s delicious. And we have different flavors and slightly different combinations of ingredients based on body type and season. We also have lentil soups. , we have two sauces and the broths we released earlier this year. And they’re so popular because they’re multifunctional. You can use them in many different ways. So there are no added preservatives or anything like this to our products. And we wash and soak and dehydrate the lentils and the grains in our products.
Divya: So you don’t have to do that. And it’s just ready to go and boil in boiling water. And you have a fresh, hot, protein rich meal in 20 minutes. So I just love reading reviews. People would email me and there’s this recently, , a new mother who just gave birth, and she’s like, these are life savers. I don’t have time to cook. I had the babies taken home that soon, which rightly so. and and she would be like, I just feel so nourished. I’m so grateful we get all these, like, people recovering from illness, from surgery. But it’s not just for sick people. It’s for anybody who likes to. Have fun, especially when you don’t have much time to cook. Our products come very handy and the thing is that you have to cook them, but it’s very easy to do. If how to boil water, you can make them, but at least you have a fresh meal because leftovers lead to a lot of digestive issues. , so I want to help people more and more incorporate more, more freshly cooked foods.
Surani: Okay. And you mentioned, there’s no added preservatives or anything like that. Was it hard or how was it to get, what you’re making in the restaurant or the concepts that you have in the restaurant into a package where usually there has to be things added, added or, stabilizers or whatever to to keep things in a packet. But can you explain a little bit about how you’re able to maintain that purity?
Divya: So we work with Cornell University and they test our products in their labs and they advise us on shelf life. And , they test, we test for humidity every batch all the time. But they just test our products regularly to make sure everything is up to code. And we just choose to make products that don’t require preservatives. , we don’t and also no artificial ingredients, no fillers. What we’re using is just grains, lentils, spices, herbs. And that’s basically it for our core products. Everything is dehydrated. So it’s all in a dry form. And the lentils and that’s the Ayurvedic pieces. We recommend soaking lentils because they become easier to digest. We also wash them so there’s less starch in them, the grains and the lentils. And so that’s also part of our innovation. It’s one extra step because there are many other Kashi products on the market, but nobody really takes the pain to wash them. So , we hydrated them again. But for us that’s important because when you eat it, you don’t feel heavy. , all these starches, it’s much less starch for you to feel heavy. so. I would. I have this philosophy in my life. It’s. I would never serve something that I wouldn’t eat myself. and my other philosophy is I would not charge more than I’m willing to pay myself.
Surani: Those are two good philosophies, I think, if you want to attract customers. So we choose only the.
Divya: Foods that work. sometimes people come with these crazy product ideas and I’m like, can we do this? Can we do this? No, no, no. And I’m like, okay, no. Then we’re not doing it. Even if it gives us a lot of profit. It’s not. It’s not what I want to serve people, because the market is already saturated with ultra processed foods and chemically processed and genetically modified and refined foods and all these foods that are making us sick. So I want to be part of the food revolution. I want to offer foods that help reverse and contribute to the solution of the food malnutrition and health epidemic we face.
Surani: And and just, , talking about those biases, are there any particular species that are at the top of the list in terms of when you always see them making it into the food to like, have that heal those healing properties? I’m sort of curious to know, do I have them in my cupboard or. Well, I’m sure.
Divya: You have turmeric, yes.
Surani: I do, I love it.
Divya: Turmeric. Yes, turmeric is the king of spices, but we use organic, very high curcumin turmeric. So our turmeric is a very dark orange color. When you see it it’s like wow. When you smell it, it’s really that we only use organic spices. And most of our ingredients we use at the restaurant are organic. So we are as organic as possible. But turmeric is really powerful. Many people take it the wrong way. They just take turmeric capsules or curcumin capsule capsules with an elevator. Once again against this practice, because turmeric is meant to. It has a lot of heat. It produces heat in the body and it also increases dryness in the body. So to counteract these two properties, we recommend cooking it like you use moisture in water when you cook and also adding some fat. So when you cook with the turmeric, it becomes a lot more bioavailable. And that’s what we do at the restaurant. Then we use a lot of coriander and fennel. These two spices have a cooling effect. So a lot of people nowadays experience acidity, hyper acidity, carbon and coriander and fennel helps to alleviate that. And we use fresh curry leaves. Got all of this stuff.
Surani: So I’m happy about that.
Divya: They’re so aromatic and they’re so great for you. Liver and pancreas and and, I mean, we use so many spices. We use more than 20 spices alone and about ten different spice blends. So and and you will see the food is very flavorful. It’s not bland. But it’s not overly spicy. Like sometimes you go to an Indian restaurant and everything has chili and you can’t, you can’t taste anything else. Because the chili overpowers everything and.
Surani: You’re crying and your nose is running. Nose is running.
Divya: ,
Surani: No, that’s good to know. With the turmeric though, I, I heard that, To cook with it. But put black pepper on it. Is that something like activating its property?
Divya: Yes. Um it, it kind of creates a synergy to support absorption. And it’s usually like 1/16 part of pepper, one part turmeric, 1/16 part of pepper. So you need a tiny pinch. You don’t need a lot. You can put more if you want. But it’s not only pepper turmeric and humans that support absorption. There are other combinations. But again the method of preparation is to see are you ready. So old. But it’s so advanced at the same time because it doesn’t just speak about the properties of the raw ingredients, like the way you tested it in the lab. It speaks about it, takes it a step further. so, okay, you consider the nutrition facts, but then how it interacts with your digestive system, how it interacts with your body type, how it supports you and how it how it how your body reacts to it in different seasons And also I read it’s not just nutrition but also the absorption part of it as well. Because when you absorb then you truly nourish. And all the Ayurvedic principles and all these so-called rules, they’re all around digesting your food properly so that you can absorb the nutrients and nourish every part of your body. So it’s not just about the nutrients because modern nutrition is just stuck on nutrients. But what happens after they enter your body? Ayurveda takes it a step further. Okay.
Surani: And just looking, into the future of the practice of holistic health and Ayurveda. Are you seeing any particular technological advancements influence the practice and accessibility of Ayurveda and holistic health, and how do you see it evolving in the coming years? this is, I guess taking ancient practice, but putting it into modern society and maybe improving it, or maybe it will be something negative, I don’t know.
Divya: Well, I would be honest with you, sir. I know because I see going in two different directions and they both can or they can both live at the same time. So, are you ready? Definitely. Ayurvedic practitioners, doctors. They’re amazing at Ayurvedic hospitals in India and other parts of the world. They definitely use modern technologies, technologies of communication, of assessment. I’ve seen Ayurvedic devices that like bioresonance devices that can it’s like pulse reading times 1000. they read the frequency of every organ in your body and give very detailed information. So all these diagnostic tools can be very helpful for sure when they are used properly. Ayurveda is also very much about intuition. And I rather practice is also very much about slowing down and really presenting ourselves. Being present in nature in a natural setting with trees and grass and streams and , the sun and the. And then fresh air. So I see also that more and more practitioners, myself included, we’re moving more toward the natural setting for our own, for our own sanity, because there’s only so much I can survive in New York City, but also to provide an alternative model of living in nature, because we are part of nature, and usually our health issues begin when we disconnect ourselves from it, and we just spend all the time in front of a screen and don’t move much. So I see that the modern technologies are there to support doctors and practitioners and maybe to attract people who are used to modern technology. But I also see all of this leading to ultimately coming back to living in a natural, sustainable living, regenerative farming, like the way the sages lived years ago, even hundreds of years ago. It was not until 100 years ago. People lived a lot more natural lives than we do today. , definitely.
Surani: Okay. And just moving on to some practical advice , best practices for some of our listeners keen to implement some of these principles into their holistic health journeys, what are some common issues people face when trying to integrate some of these IU Vedic principles into their diets, and how can they overcome them?
Divya: Well, I will speak for myself also. Well, the time. The time is definitely a factor because we live, we come. We, especially in the West now speak for everybody, but especially in big cities, we sometimes live on autopilot. , you get up, you, kind of you. We live without awareness. And very often when I meet people who I happen to be the first person to introduce them to Ayurveda, usually their feedback is like, oh, I’m starting to notice so many things within myself, around me. And for that we have to slow down. We have to slow down the mind. We have to slow down our pace of life. And this is usually a challenge in the beginning because you incorporate Ayurveda in your lives, you have to kind of realign your priorities. What’s the most important thing for you? And I really it’s not just about personal health. It’s also about healthy relationships, healthy community, healthy environment. So again, what are your priorities? And when what I find challenging is, , we get so busy with our careers and maybe family and all that that we kind of miss all the fun. We. , we forget how to live fully. We just like, in this auto autopilot, a mindless kind of living. So switching to a more mindful, slow pace, awareness of life can be challenging in the beginning, but then it starts to give you so much joy. And it’s like, I feel like a human again.
Surani: Another robot is being reinvigorated.
Divya: Yes. And another challenge I people really face, and that’s where I come in to help, is cooking fresh meals at home. Many people come from families that the parents never really cook. They had all these frozen packaged meals or had a lot of takeout. They never learned how to cook. They don’t feel familiar in the kitchen, but they want to eat fresh. But it’s just, , so helping bring the home cooking back into the family. It’s a passion of mine. And it’s not just for health. It’s also for strengthening family values.
Surani: Okay. And for those listeners that might be tuning in, curious about are you there? , never tried it before or, , don’t really know where to start. What tips do you have for them , an easy entry into incorporating these principles into everyday routines? well.
Divya: I would recommend having a guide just to learn a little bit about it, because it’s not just a practice, it’s also why we do it. So it’s important to understand, like when I tell people , okay, we brush our teeth every day. Do you scrape your tongue every day after you brush your teeth? People like, oh no, what’s that? So scraping a tongue is a simple practice of hygiene in the morning. But if you don’t understand why to do it, what are the benefits? The year and how it’s done properly, you’ll probably not do it. So the same applies to any other principle of Ayurveda. So I always recommend starting with a little bit of education. It could be self-education like we’re doing right now. We’re learning a little bit about Ayurveda. It could be a structured course or a book or there’s so many videos and lectures now that I mean, again, there’s so much information. So I always recommend, if you really want to learn something, find a teacher because otherwise you’ll be just, oh, there’s so many lectures on YouTube and there’s so much information and this and that. And there are a couple of really good documentaries also available about Ayurveda. So kind of kind of learning a little bit about it and then seeing what works for your life because I what is there to support life. It’s not to stress you out.
Surani: definitely. And it’s really so interesting when you say, if you don’t know the significance you won’t do it. I mean, I, I sometimes think about the people in, in some of the regions that naturally are practicing either because it’s, it’s more cultural. My family is from Sri Lanka and I remember growing up, I grew up in Australia. But , my mom, every time there was something, there would be a solution a natural remedy. One that I remember is drinking something called Quarter Mali every time we were sick, which is like boiled coriander seeds, garlic, ginger, some other sticks and stones. I used to call it the sticks and stones. I never used to, used to, used to like drinking it. And I always used to it was almost like rolling your eyes? No, we need drugs or Western, these sorts of Western medicines, lozenges or whatever. And it’s so amazing doing a whole 180 now, because I’d have all my go to’s, like, spices. Okay, I have this garlic soup. I need this with the turmeric and the and the coriander. So, so And and it is , educating yourself, understanding it does make you feel better and knowing how you feel when at the, at the sign of some symptom and knowing how your body reacts and then educating yourself a little bit more about why.
Divya: But see what you also something important you mentioned also is that you may be practicing and I’m sure many people are actually practicing principles of Ayurveda without labeling them. So knowing unknowingly. And that’s great. For example, my mother, my mom in, in, in Bulgaria, she lives in a little village and she gets up at 5:00 before the sunrise every morning, and she has her land and she grows her food, and she goes to bed early. She’s very active physically, even though she’s over 75 years old. And so it’s like she’s practicing so much Ayurveda without knowing anything about it. Because again, Ayurveda is about aligning with the rhythms of nature, the nature that you’re in, the nature around you. So when you are in Australia, you had those remedies, now you have some somewhere else, and there are other local remedies that are there to help you as well. So, that’s like again, that’s part of the fluidity about learning how to live a meaningful life, sustainable life in harmony with nature. That’s great.
Surani: Well that brings us to the end of this extremely enlightening episode. Divya, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your wealth of knowledge about holistic health. And, Iveta, to our listeners, be sure to check out Divya’s Kitchen at aws.com for more information on their products and Divya’s cooking classes, and to explore their delicious Ayurvedic cuisine. Definitely on my list when I come back to New York. also use the promo code Holistic Health 15 to get 15% off everything on Tbs.com, including the masterclasses. And if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with others who might benefit from our discussions. Until next time, I’m Sarah Fernando. Stay healthy and stay holistic.
Divya: Thank you.
Surani: Okay thank you Divya. Well, I mean it when I’m in New York, I definitely. Well, I don’t know when I plan to visit again, but, maybe in the next couple of years, but definitely we’ll check out yours. The restaurant sounds amazing. just walking in and feeling at peace and then being nourished. Oh.
Divya: Where are you now? Where are you based now? I’m actually.
Surani: In Spain. Oh, ?
Divya:
Surani: So during the pandemic, that’s when I moved to, I just decided to. I’ve had enough of New York now, a few things happened in, that court that drove me to make that decision, and. Then I was like, I’m going to take a sabbatical and, and learn Spanish and do some freelance work. And three years later, I’m still here. So it’s been nice.
Divya: Very lucky. Well, thanks so much for having me. It was great speaking with you. Likewise.
Surani: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.
Divya: And I wish you all success with the podcast. Just let me know when you release it because we want to promote it on our social channels. Yes. And our newsletter also. And, we’d love to share it with the world.
Surani: definitely. It sounds good. All right. Well definitely keep in touch. And we’ll let you know when this comes out.
Divya: Yes. Thank you. Okay.
Surani: Thank you. Bye.