Jessica Drago had been following Cate’s work for a decade, but always felt the timing was off to join Yoga Health Coaching. After becoming a mother, however, she felt the moment had come. She wanted to transition from teaching 18 yoga classes a week to coaching.

As Jessica started working on the curriculum and building her own program, she realized the importance of calendar integrity. Being a huge outdoors person, Jessica knew that in order to achieve success and continue to enjoy life with her family, she needed to use her time in alignment with her vision.

Listen to the episode to learn more about working smarter and not harder, and building a calendar that serves you.

What you’ll get out of tuning in:

• How to go from burnout to ease
• How to ask for help in order to grow
• How to align your time to your vision

Links Mentioned in Episode:

• Watch the free Masterclass
• Find out more about Jessica
• Have a free career conversation

Show Highlights:

• Burnout and dealing with autoimmune issues
• Working less but having a higher impact
• Learning to say no in order to have calendar integrity

Timestamps:

• 1:22 Motherhood and the desire to do more
• 5:58 Productivity and your sense of self-worth
• 17:56 Showing up for yourself as a leader
• 25:03 Having a clear vision when organizing your calendar

Guest Bio:

Jessica’s journey started in 2009 with an attempt to nurture a rock-climbing injury. While taking yoga classes, she experienced an endless adventure towards self-awareness aligned with nature’s rhythms. Having suffered and recovered from various sports injuries, Jessica has an understanding of how to offer what the body needs to recuperate.

In the last decade, she has completed workshops certifying for Physical Therapy Aide, Massage Therapy Aide, Certified Nursing Assistant, Yoga Health Coaching, and over 200 hours of yoga teacher training. Coupling her love of habit evolution and body mechanics, she is passionate about coaching others through Ayurvedic principles towards their unique pursuit of an active and balanced lifestyle.

Outside of coaching, Jessica either spends family time in nature with her loving partner and son, creates wildcrafted art, tends to her plants, or dances.

Now that I’m allergy-free I look back and see the obvious internal imbalance of my allergies in graphic detail – the language my body was communicating to inform me how to avoid the unwanted outcome of allergies. Read on and I’ll get you acquainted with what your allergies are trying to tell you. I’ll give you simple solutions to decode and uproot the internal imbalances that cause your allergies. First, you need to to understand what the heck is going on here with allergies.

Why are you allergic to Nature?

To people with allergies we’re heading into allergy season. For everyone else, we’re simply entering into the season where Nature grows, thrives or decays. (People don’t have allergies in winter because Nature takes a break.)

Ever step outside and have a respiratory attack or mucus-removal fest? While it may appear you are allergic to Nature, chances are you’re out of sync inside your body.  My experience is that out-of-sync bodies become reactive bodies when an internal tipping point is reached. This tipping point is often reached when seasons change.

What kind of allergies you have, and what else is going on inside you tells us how to uproot your allergies. To figure that out, you need to learn the language of allergies.

The language of Allergies 

Ayurveda understands the language of your allergies. Through the language of your allergies, Ayurveda does it’s best to interpret what your body is effectively communicating. Here are a few important statements your body is currently making:

• What an acute attack is like, in juicy detail.
• What your body is experiencing chronically, in juicy detail.
• When they are worst, or best.

See how this plays out with me, Jack and Henry and you’ll get insight into what is happening in you.

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Check out 3 allergy-attacked individuals.

(1)  Cate is sixteen. She’s a strong athletic gal with a sweet tooth. She can gain weight easily and keeps this in check with exercise and eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. She’s suffered constipation since early childhood, but it’s gone undiagnosed. She started having allergies when she hit puberty in the form of itchy eyes and embarrassing amounts of snot, especially after meals.

(2)  Henry is a skinny 8 year old who seems to be allergic to everything. He gets really involved with imaginary play and has to be coerced into eating. His mother and doctor have determined he is allergic to 13 foods, 10 normal household substances, including dust, most animals, and grass. His allergic reactions vary from sneezing, wheezing, coughing, headaches, and random itching.

(3)  Jack is 40, has a high intensity job, a rapidly receding hairline, and a penchant for finding an effective hay fever medication. None of the medications he has tried work without unwanted side effects. However, if he doesn’t take them, his eyes get swollen and itchy to the point of interfering with his ability to work and meet with people. They get worse mid-morning and last until sunset.

From these 3 descriptions, you can see that what we call allergies ranges drastically. How they should be treated ranges drastically as well.

Now many of you, my holistic mavens, see a range of imbalances that are provoking the bodies immune response to the allergen. But, for those who don’t have a clue, I’ll spell it out.

Cate has ama in her system. Ama is undigested food that stores as toxin, first in the g.i. tract, and later wherever convenient in the body, which for her is her sinuses. Her ama built up from incomplete elimination. Her stomach lining is coated with mucus, which is why the attacks come after eating in the form of snot. Top 3 things Sally can do right now:

• Detox to clear the ama
• Take triphala or Downward Flow every night and every morning, up to 1 tsp. of powder in 4 oz. water
• Enjoy crazy amounts of vegetables at lunch and dinner, especially the green variety

What should Hypersensitive Henry’s mom do?

Henry needs some belly fire. His lack of internal combustion power is weakening his immune system, which is reacting on all fronts. He needs:

• A strict routine around eating 3-4 times a day.
• Taking some digestive spices or Fire Starter before meals.  A few pinches of ground fennel and cardamom mixed into a tbsp. of fresh yogurt would work.
• Daily bath with oil massage to built immune integrity.

What should Itchy–Man Jack do?

Jack’s system is packed with a heat toxicity we call pitta ama in Ayurveda. His liver is stressed out from his high-intensity lifestyle and acidic diet. His body is now dumping toxic heat out through his eyes. Not an ideal toxic dumping ground. Top 3 things Jack can do right now:

• Do an anti-inflammatory detox, and stick to an alkaline diet
• Stick to a Pitta reducing lifestyle
• Take Liver Repair in spring, summer and/or fall.

What do these 3 peeps have to do with you? First, ask yourself,

Are you out of sync?

If you have allergies, you’re out of sync. Whenever I have any allergy reoccurance, even subtle allergies, I use that particular information to correct an internal imbalance. How you are out of sync determines what you need to do to uproot your allergy.

What You can do about allergies:

1. Locate any imbalance within your inner environment and uproot it.
2. Detox if strong enough.
3. Strengthen your immune system if not strong enough to detox.
4. Locate any pollutants in our outer environment and remove them.

What we shouldn’t do about allergies as a long term solution:

• Medicate to suppress or mask symptoms of internal imbalance. Otherwise, plan for side effects.
• Focus on removing external pollutants while ignoring internal imbalance.

I created a 2 hour Allergy Relief Workshop , which you can purchase for only $25 and download immediately, if you’re looking for allergy relief for yourself or the peeps you take care of.

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In Ayurveda, there are three types of perimenopause and each type has a different set of symptoms, tendencies and imbalances. But before we dive deep into the individual types, we have to recognize that menopause is a shift from the PItta to the Vata phase of life.

Pitta has a sustaining energy combined with intensity and focus. Vata, being ruled by air and either can bring things in the body and mind into disarray.  Excess Vata can disturb, distress and change things; moving things is its nature. If there is anything stored in the back corners of your body such as undigested food, physical toxins, undigested emotions, emotional toxins, undigested experiences or unfulfilled desires – these undigested things will increase the air element or Vata in your body. Anything undigested in your life will cry out for your attention…relentlessly. However, if you have lived a clean, conscious life and your mental and emotional cupboards are pristine, you will have little to  fear from menopause. In this case, a menopause without symptoms is possible. Get inspired by Lisa Scouba’s uneventful menopause. Lisa had the perfect setup for a dreadful menopause yet she managed through her wisdom, practices and diet & lifestyle changes early on to prep herself in a way that averted almost all symptoms.

Entering the Vata Stage of Life

For all women, there will be this Vata component of change during menopause that we need to pay attention and embrace – remember menopause marks the shift from Pitta to the Vata phase of life. Yet most of us have tendencies and certain place we tend to go out of balance more. This is directed by our constitution at birth and our eating and lifestyle patterns. Typically, whatever our constitution at birth that is where we are most likely to go out of balance. This is where the three types of menopause come in.

If you know anything about Ayurveda, you might guess what the three types are. There is a Vata type, a Pitta type and a Kapha type. If you don’t know Ayurveda there might be a big Hahhhh on your forehead now. Let’s check it out.

Vata Menopause

Vata is the energy of air and either. Women with a Vata type constitution have smaller features, small eyes, nose, slight or irregular built, little muscle mass, rectangular body shape to name a few. Think of your skinny girlfriend who can eat whatever she wants and never gain weight. Vata women have little fat on their bodies and tend towards dryness, irregular or scanty periods, PMS cramps, thin hair and more testy immune systems. At menopause and beyond Vata types have to pay attention the most. With their more delicate constitution and with the Vata energy of age coming in their bodies may show up with most symptoms. The Vata energy of age combined with constitutional vata plus potentially an imbalance in Vata is just a bit too much Vata for anyone to deal with.

Symptoms of Vata nature center around dryness and coldness. This may show up with hot flashes followed by feeling cold, weakening of bones, scanty, irregular or missed periods, vaginal dryness, painful sex, losing weight (yep there is such a thing!!!), insomnia, anxiety, heart palpitations, urinary incontinence, constipation and osteoporosis. Puh, that was some list. On an emotional level Vata’s deal with anxiety and overwhelm the most.

Weight gain may also happen for this type which in the Vata’s case is a protective mechanism by the body. Too much depletion puts the body in alert mode. Extra weight is the body’s way to ground you.

Pitta Menopause

The second type is Pitta. Pitta is the energy of fire and a little water. Often Pitta type ladies live  an intense life (it’s the fire) that they burn up the little water they have available as part of their constitution. They love with intensity, obsession and perfection. Pitta bodies are medium in build, rather athletic, have meditum features and well developed muscles. Ms. Pitta tends to overdo things, but might not even notice that she does. She has so much energy, she thinks she can keep going but ultimately burns herself out.

At menopause the airy Vata energy fans the fire of Pitta making things blazingly hot. Pittas are the ladies who have the most severe hot flashes, bringing all the stored heat out from the back of the closet. Inflammation is one of the biggest issues with this type. Think vaginitis, cystitis, diarrhea and burning indigestion. Also anger, frustration and intense bleeding may show up.

Kapha Menopause

The third and last type of menopause is the Kapha type. Kapha is the energy of earth and water. Kapha ladies are the least fazed by menopause, as the air of Vata has a hard time moving the heavy earth and water elements. Kapha women have the most resilience and strength as they get older. If a woman has has been living her life in a Kapha aggravating way she will struggle with excess weight, lethargy and sadness or other heavy emotions during menopause.

After talking about all these unpleasant possibilities of menopause, things may look gloomy and the initial question of whether menopause without symptoms is possible may seem out of reach.  But, not all hope is lost. In fact, far from it. We certainly have tons of power to create an easeful menopause. In fact, by knowing our Ayurvedic constitution and our personal tendencies, we have the power to counteract them with the formula “like increases like and opposites balance each other.” I want to make sure you understand you constitution and how you can balance each one to decrease the symptoms of menopause:

Vata

Vata is dry, light and cold. If those qualities are present, you need to bring in the opposite qualities of moist, heavy and warm. During menopause, Vata’s need to put attention on nourishing themselves.

Pitta

Pitta is hot, light and dry. If you notice menopausal symptoms mentioned above under Pitta, you need to bring in the opposite qualities of cool, heavy and moist. For Pitta menopause, focus on chilling out and cooling your agitated mind.

Kapha

Kapha is heavy, moist and cool. If you notice Kapha related symptoms in your body you need to bring in light, dry and warm. Kapha’s biggest mantra during menopause should be: Get moving.

Three Tips for All Women During Menopause

All three types (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) enter the Vata stage of life during menopause. For this reason, there a couple of tips all three doshas should follow:  

1. Strengthen and stabilize agni (digestive fire). When Vata arrives our agni tends to greatly diminish. Digestion becomes variable and unstable with age. Have you ever noticed that your metabolism isn’t quite as strong? A simple digestive formula can help:

– For Vata: Mix 1 part each fennel, cumin, coriander, ajwan powder.

– For Pitta:  Mix 1 part each fennel, cumin and coriander powder.

– For Kapha: Mix 1 part each fennel, cumin, coriander, dry ginger and black pepper powder. 

Take ½ tsp of these blends in 2-4 oz lukewarm water with your meal. This will ensure a strong digestive fire.

2. Clean house. By house, I mean your body. Get rid of gunk. Getting rid of toxins both physically, mentally and emotionally will set you up well for the 2nd half of life. If you have never done a detox or cleanse, now is the time. For a simple start, do this: leave a space of at least 4 hours between meals and at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. No snacking! Bam. You are helping your body to burn toxins and it strengthens your agni too. Drink only hot water (yes, drink it as hot as possible). If you want to go all out leave 16 hours between breakfast and dinner. This is called intermittent fasting. A sure fire way to burn up gunk you no longer need.

3. Strengthen the mind. Vata energy is closely linked to the nervous system and the mind. Both go hand in hand. If the mind is out of the balance, the nervous system follows very quickly. Having a daily meditation practice is of utmost importance as you enter menopause. Start with two min a day. Be consistent. Work yourself up to five minutes. Then meditate for 10 minutes a day. Consistency is more important than length. The easiest way to to start is to sit down, get quiet and observe your breath. That’s it.

Now, coming back to the original question, “is a menopause without symptoms possible?” Absolutely.

Why? Because you have control. Absolutely possible.

How? With your lifestyle and diet choices. Start with the three things above. If that’s not enough listen to my free webinar on “The 5 Secrets to a better menopause” for more insights.

As you look back in your life, do you notice a pattern of your body weight?  Do you forget to eat or do you reach out for food when you are upset?  Do you know someone who eats exactly like you but doesn’t gain an ounce while you struggle to keep the weight off?  Where do you feel discomfort when you have digestion issue?  Is it your stomach, intestine or colon?   

Your Ayurvedic Constitution

According to Ayurveda, there are three body types (doshas or constitution) that correspond to our physical and personality traits: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Understanding your dosha is the first step in gaining tremendous insight in your body as you learn the right diet, exercise routine and lifestyle that are optimal for your health. You may find an Ayurvedic practitioner to accurately determine your dosha or you may take the online dosha quiz to get an idea. Most people are a combination of two doshas, but one typically predominates.

Don’t get too hung up on the detailed analysis of your dosha quiz as you might find different results each time you take the quiz.  You want to know your dominant dosha so that you start paying attention to how you body reacts to different foods at different time and you become more connected with the food that you eat.  As time goes by and you get to know yourself better, the quiz result will become closer and closer to your true self.  For example, when I was younger and less self-aware, I thought I was Pitta-Kapha, but having looked back at how I reacted to eating in my younger years, I realized I am actually Pitta-Vata.

Let’s look at your diet based on your body type:

Vata

Vata is made up of ether and air.  It is light and dispersing. Those with predominantly Vata are naturally thin and difficult to gain weight.  Foods containing a lot of ether and air which are raw, dry and cold should be avoided.  

Vatas favour sweet, salty and sour tastes. They should eat moist, warm, oil and heavy (grounded) foods.  When Vatas are out of balance, their poor digestion will cause bloating and constipation.  They tend to forget to eat when they are overwhelmed or upset.  Looking back at my own life, I realized that my Vata imbalance that had caused me to not feel hunger when I broke up with my boyfriend during my final exam in university many years ago.

Check out Overweight Vata Podcast.

Pitta

Pitta is made up of fire and water.  It is intense and radiating.  Those with predominantly Pitta are medium build, can gain and lose weight fairly easily.  Their digestive fire is strong and sometimes they think they can eat anything.  I am very Pitta (more than 50%) and I had had very huge appetite during my younger adulthood.  This is a very common problem for most Pittas because we think we have been eating this much of food in the past without putting on the extra weight and we should be able to still do the same. The reality is our body becomes more efficient as we get older and it requires less food.  So if we don’t adjust how we eat, we can still gain weight easily.  This is exactly what happened to me when I was in my 30’s and I started to pile up a couple of pounds every year, going from size 0 to size 6.  Not until this spring when I started intermittent fasting (meal spacing that cycles between at least 13 hours of fasting and eating) that I finally regained control of my healthy weight.

Pittas favour sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes. They should eat sweet juicy fruits, cooling vegetables like cucumber, kale and lettuce while avoiding hot and spicy foods, alcohol and caffeine.  When Pittas are out of balance, they suffer from acid reflux or heartburn.

Check out Overweight Pitta Podcast.

Kapha

Kapha is made up of water and earth.  It’s heavy and dense. Those with predominantly Kapha are heavy build and find it harder to lose weight. I have a Kapha girlfriend who loves to have healthy snack frequently in small quantity, and she likes her sweets too. You can see the snacking (or meal stacking) and sweets are aggravating Kapha. It will be very difficult for her to maintain a healthy weight unless she starts to intermittent fast and obey her dosha-favoured diet.

The Kaphas favour pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes. They should eat a lot of vegetables and high fiber foods like legumes while minimizing dairy, oily foods and sweets. When Kaphas are out of balance, their slow digestion may lead to weight gain.

Check out Overweight Kapha Podcast.

Meal Stacking May Cause Disease

Regardless of your body type, if you are constantly eating (i.e. snacking or meal stacking), you will have food at different digestion stages along your gastrointestinal tract —  an apple from an hour ago in your stomach, a cookie from 3 hours ago in your intestine and your lunch from 4 hours ago in your colon. This constant buildup of food depletes our energy to actually do a proper job in digestion, absorption and elimination. When food builds up like this, we start to accumulate ama (toxins from undigested food and usually caused by weak digestion). If you have more Vata in your constitution, ama will accumulate in colon, Pitta in small intestine and Kapha in stomach.

You want to pay close attention to ama because it is the first stage of disease according to Ayurveda’s six stages of disease.  

So how can you prevent ama from building up?  

Have your largest meal between 10 am and 2 pm  – when your digestive fire is the strongest. Eat when you are truly hungry (not emotional hunger) and space your meals for proper digestion, absorption and elimination.  According to Ayurveda, Vata should eat 3 to 4 times a day, Pitta 3 times and Kapha 2 to 3 times, and no snacking in between meals. This is also called intermittent fasting. This concept is foreign to some people who have been told to constantly graze to boost metabolism.

Besides meal stacking, dosha imbalance may also happen when you violate your daily habits like eating late heavy dinner when the digestive fire is weak, going to bed late with full stomach obstructing digestion and proper body cleansing, eating junk food or not eating mindfully.

What is your take?

Should you care how you eat for your body type?  Intermittent fasting or meal stacking? Experiment it for yourself, connect and listen to your body, and notice how you feel. Check in with your body when you crave certain food.  Is it the pure craving or is it dosha imbalance? Our body is very intelligent, if you attune your diet and lifestyle to your body constitution and the natural rhythm of life, you will start to find your healthy weight and have a radiant longevity.

What you’ll get out of tuning in

• How to age as a pitta person
• How meditation can help you lose weight
• How pittas can get more out of less as they age

Links

• How to be a Pitta Tipsheet from Cate
• Thrive for each constitition
• Take a constitution test
• Overweight Vata
• For info Q+A on the Next Yogidetox

Show Highlights

• 3:09 Cate describes Pitta minds tend to be sharp and focused, but they can also change with new information.
• 5:33 Cate talks about identity evolution, what it is, and how it can help us tune into our body’s needs as we age.
• 11:15 Cate discusses the type of meditation that will best benefit pittas — nonfocused, easeful meditation.

Favorite Quotes

• 4:10 — “The name of the game of pitta is transformation” — Cate Stillman
• 17:17 — “A balanced pitta becomes so much less attached to food” — Cate Stillman