Landy Peek (00:34)
Hello and welcome. I'm Landi Peek and if you've been doing all the right things and still feel stretched thin, this conversation will feel like a chair pulled out at your kitchen table. I'm chatting with Lynn Hanger, an Ayurvedic life mastery coach,
we're talking about how Ayurveda can be simple and livable. Think, create space before you add strategy. Notice your patterns, your season, your cycle. So your energy stops yo-yoing. No perfectionism here. Just doable shifts that actually stick.
So I am so excited for this conversation and I wanna welcome Lynn Hanger to the Landy Peak podcast. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (01:23)
I want to welcome Lynn Hanger to the Landy Peak podcast. I am so thrilled to dive into this discussion today. Lynn, can you share a little bit about yourself so the listeners can get to know you?
Speaker 1 (01:35)
Sure, thank you so much for having me. I am an Ayurvedic Life Mastery Coach. So some people are aware of life coaching, where that's where someone will walk you through trying to pretty much bring wholeness to your life, help you figure out where the gaps are and what you need to do. Ayurveda brings a deeper perspective because we look at everything. So we look at the physical health of your body, your emotions, your mindset.
the relationship you have with your work, the relationships you have with the people in your environment. So as an Arya Vedic Life Mastery Coach, I help people to one, understand what's going on. We get so much information nowadays with the internet, with all the different ways that information's coming to us. So helping people understand for them, in their unique situation, what's going on and then what to do. So often in the health coaching world, it's like, we know we need to work out, we know we need to eat the veggies, but there's that...
I guess the habit evolution piece of learning how to change our behavior. So with our you beta, we look at what's the big picture of where we want to go and we just start breaking it down step by step because it's taught making big changes, even if they're good things can ⁓ disrupt us. And then that's where we go through those peaks and valleys. We make a lot of action and then we drip down and then we get into those states of despair. Like, I guess I can't do the thing. So as an Ayurvedic life master coach, we help people understand
the big picture and normalize. It's hard to make change during different seasons. It might be harder to do different things. So helping to align what the person wants with what's going on in their internal world. And then how do we find that alignment with what's going on in our external world? Because it's not a vacuum, right? Everything isn't influencing everything else.
Speaker 2 (03:18)
Absolutely. I love the big picture and then breaking it down into a small bite size. We can do these steps because you're right. That's where a lot of people get lost in. And I know I'm one that's like, I love this. Let's jump in full force. And then something happens, you know, stress or sickness or vacation or kids or life. And it derails that pattern that you started. And then it's like,
I lost it again, I couldn't do it and it's hard to get back on. So when we're creating a manageable path, I'm guessing we have a lot more success.
Speaker 1 (03:56)
Yes, and I think the big piece, what I've seen even, you I work with, you know, average everyday people, but I also work at a school training and working with people training to learn how to do this as a profession. And the one thing I see over and over, I work mostly with women. So that does skew, cause we have a lot of, you know, plates in action where we're always trying to take care of things. But it's like people think if they don't do it perfectly, they should just stop.
And so people will start with the plan and they'll be so excited in the beginning and come with all this success and a kid gets sick or our cycle comes like something derails them. And then it's like, because I didn't do it perfect, I can't do it. And so part of it is one, make it manageable and then just understand there's a reason why we do what we do. And we're not here to shame people. not here to make you feel bad about wanting the ice cream every night. It's just trying to understand what is it that's
making you want to make that choice and let's understand it in entirety because it's like, like they say, it's peeling the onion. So you do one thing and you're like, I mastered it. And then another phase of your life, another season comes in and we kind of go back to the same pattern. So just helping people to understand you do have a pattern. You may think whatever you think, but you do have a pattern. So understanding what's that pattern and what causes you to make that choice that when that time comes up again, we can make a healthier choice. can.
bounce back after you've made a choice that you didn't want to make. And so just kind of normalizing this human experience, knowing there's a lot to do when you're changing. There's a lot to do when you're getting healthy. And as a woman, in my experience, most women either have kids, fur babies, a career, something that is pulling their attention away from this internal state, which all of healing is like, what's going on in here? Like, does everything in here have what it needs? Cause then you can do everything out there. So it's
kind of getting that alignment internally so that there's more flow in the extra.
Speaker 2 (05:52)
Absolutely. That's incredible. So for the listeners that have never heard of Ayurveda, can you share kind of what the principles are, what this is, so we can better understand as we flow through our conversation? Sure.
Speaker 1 (06:08)
So most people have heard of yoga and when we say yoga most people think of the physical posture So just to clarify it's like yoga the physical postures is like one limb of like a grander science there Arya veda is a whole science that's considered the sister science of yoga So yoga is when we're moving our body in those positions. It's getting the flow of prana, which is this life force ⁓ Chi mana, there's lots of different languages that say this this
force that animates our life. So when we do yoga, we're moving that force through the body to target, you know, chest openings, closing it down when we do forward bends. And Aryaveda comes in and says, that flow, prana, we want to make sure it's channeled in the right place. So the science of Aryaveda breaks down, it means the science of life. So it looks at all aspects of life. So physical, mental, spiritual, emotional.
and it categorizes it so we can make sense. So we have something called the doshas. People often hear the doshas. So you have a type. So we break it down to the elements. And everything in life would have these basic elements. And the combination of the elements would create brown eyes in someone versus red eyes versus, or not red eyes, red hair, sorry. But it gives us these unique qualities and it is taught, we all have all of the same.
elements, just the different combinations. So it's a whole science of trying to figure out who you are and then what you need. And so it's taught, we're trying to manage the flow of the energy in the body, so prana. So we manage that by getting the most prana from our food. So how we eat our foods, how we prepare them during the different seasons. So when we're in summer season, there's different practices to cool the excess heat.
In the fall, there's different practices to kind of combat when the system gets dry, when the moisture is leaving the atmosphere. So we look at how we balance those elements internally with what's going on externally. And then we also look at the health of everything in the body. So the organs, the state of the organs working together, we look at the state of the tissues. So it's really, it's a complex science, but when it comes down to it, it's very simple. Water is wet.
Fire is hot, air can be drying. And when you get some of these, kind of like the keystone concepts of the elements, then it makes sense. In summer, we wouldn't suggest doing a heated yoga class, because it's hot outside. If you already have a fire type, you might already be hot. And then you go do like a hot yoga class, even though it's something good yoga in the wrong season for the wrong person, it could create heat stroke. It could create nausea. It could create.
a breakout. So helping people to understand a lot of people think they're being healthy and they say, I mean healthy and then you hear what they're eating. There's poor food combining times a day they're eating. so really it's the science of helping you to understand kind of on the biological level, how the chemistry of how everything interacts with everything. And then the goal would be you align yourself and there's a sense of flow when we're not in that alignment. That's when
congestion builds up, headaches, with our ⁓ pain with our cycle, those kinds of things are just signs of imbalance. So we look at it of what is your body telling us? And then how can we use that information to then help you feel better?
Speaker 2 (09:35)
That's a lot. And I love how you can bring it down to the simplicity of, know, water is wet. But if somebody's listening and they're like, that sounds amazing. And it feels overwhelming. Because right now I'm in this stuck, sticky spot where I'm feeling overwhelmed in life and I'm not quite sure how to shift, move, do anything to get myself out of it. I don't have time. I'm eating on the run.
I'm eating my lunch late as my kid's soccer game. How do we support someone who really is attracted to, want that, and I have no idea how to bridge the gap?
Speaker 1 (10:20)
Yes, I love that question. And there's a concept in Aryaveda with each of the different elements. We have space element, which is the space in which everything happens, air. So those are both very subtle. We don't always see them. We have fire. So we know fire. It's physical, but it's kind of subtle. And then we have water and earth. So they said in everything in life.
All of those elements have to be addressed. And the first element we always want to address is that space and air because what we call bata dosha, because it's everywhere. It permeates everything. And so before we even start to take in action, there has to be space created. You have to have space to get on a call with someone to see, is this even right for me? You have to have space to listen to a podcast or to try a new diet, right? So
A lot of people want to fill their mind with the thing to do, but they don't create that space. And so one of the things everybody, no matter what their unique body type is, we always start with, you have to create that space. And it's things that are very simple that we know, but it just, we need that encouragement. So slowing down. Sometimes when someone is stressed out, they feel stuck, they're overwhelmed, they're burnt out. There's this perception we don't have enough time. It's how we're using it. So you're probably rushing to get.
your stuff done, rushing for the kids, rushing to the car. So even the act of just slowing down, slowing down when you brush your teeth, slowing your speech down, slowing the breath down. Sometimes we move so fast, we're missing the cues. You're in pain, you have a low grade headache and you don't notice till something crashes down and now you're really pissed. And it's like, ⁓ I've been feeling this headache all day, but whatever in the external world took your attention. when we slow down,
It just gives you a sense to check in. Cause the goal of our evada is your body's always speaking. The answer is always there, but we're not always picking up on it or we're not understanding it's like languages. We speak English and I just start speaking German. Hey, you're not ready for that. You could pull out GP or you could pull out something to translate, but it would take yourself time. Your body's the same way. So it will adapt. might take some time, but if we can slow down enough to hear what's going on,
Sometimes that gives you the space to actually make a clear choice. Do I need to go get a massage or do I need to get a chiropractor adjustment? Do I need to go get blood work or do I just need a vacation, right? So there's a lot going on and when there's a lot going on, even the little things feel like too much. And so just slowing down and trying to pay attention to your body needs. So do you need to go to the bathroom? Do you need to sleep? Do you need to eat? It sounds so basic.
90 % of the people that I work with, it's like you didn't eat today. You didn't really sleep last night. ⁓ You don't have any internal space to even take a deep breath. And so just really basic things hydrate yourself. It's like little things we're not doing, which is causing these bigger reactions. So really just the small basic things you know you should be doing to give yourself a little more space to then have a little more mindset to decide what would be the next best step from here.
Speaker 2 (13:36)
Yeah, the idea of space. And I think it's such a powerful and yet simple idea, but it is the first step in anything. I love how you broke that down. It is the first step in anything that we want to do. It's creating that space and that space sometimes feels so hard. And one of the things I have found is really being intentional with what I'm doing. So it is, as you talk about slowing down to eat,
slowing down in your, ⁓ you know, brushing your teeth, all of those daily habits. I'm practicing what you're preaching. It's just, I hadn't connected the dots till now. But when I'm like started focusing on dinner, I can cook dinner in a rush, yelling at my kids, grumpies, know, banging things, rushing it through. And I get dinner done in about the same amount of time as
if I'm rushing it and doing multitasking and chaos, as if I'm intentionally enjoying it, where I'm playing, I like playing. I mean, it is more play, but I'm enjoying the colors that I'm doing. I am enjoying tasting the food that I'm creating. I enjoy the cutting up of vegetables and really creating a meal. I can have the same recipe, produce the same food, but the energy I'm doing in it,
either fills my cup or leaves me drained. And when I find I then sit down at the table with my family, when I am sitting down and I have intentionally cooked and created, the energy of everyone at the table is different and the meal is consumed differently than if I am rushing and trying to do things and trying to check emails as I'm doing it and...
it comes to the table chaos. And then everybody at the table is chaos and there's a lot more contention and my kids don't want to eat it. And if I've taken that time, they eat it better.
Speaker 1 (15:44)
And this is where people who I don't know they dislike the woo just because it's subtle and unseen But it's like what you just said is like you manage that space element in the ether element ether break it down to I don't know how deep the rabbit holes you want to get but it's like quantum physics has proven everything down to like a very zero point zero zero zero is space and if we don't acknowledge that it's like your energy is creating
vibration in your atmosphere. And so that's the goal of when you get healthy. One of the first things we say is clean your physical space. How are you going to get get healthy food if your kitchen is a mess? How we use the kitchen, we use the bathroom and then some sort of area to do whatever body based practice. But it's like if you can't, if you cringe every time you go in your bathroom, you're not going to want to go in there and do your oil massage, you're not going to want to go soak in a bath. So creating, like you said, these intentional moments, you have to think
ahead enough to create that space for there to be that flow. And I think that's one thing we want the, we want the thing, we want the result, but it's the process that gets us there. Cause you can get the thing. know many women who have lost 20 pounds to put it right back on even quicker. So we create these yo-yo states by not taking this first step, which nobody wants to take. Cause we feel so overwhelmed. Even the thought of thinking about doing this too much, but then if we can do that,
You create the mental space, you create a plan, and then there's more flow. We can break it down to the subtle energies and name them out, but it's what you just described. It's you were intentional and everybody else feels that. It doesn't matter if mom's off, everybody's off. Sometimes even the dog, because we're all energetic beings, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.
Speaker 2 (17:31)
Yes. And just the intentionality and I find when I am feeling that rush, then it's like, go, go. I then focus on my footsteps. It's not that I have stopped. It's not that I have paused. I'm still going to pick up my kids, but it's the intentionality of I am feeling my feet. I am conscious of the steps that I'm taking towards my car. And that shifts my whole energy. And then I'm
in the car and I'm no longer like anxiety, panic, rush. It's like, I can still move. I can still do what I have personally found is I can get more accomplished and have more space and time for me when I'm intentional versus when I'm chaotic because the chaotic space is when I start a project, start something else. And then I'm bouncing. I forgot to do the laundry because I got sidetracked on this and I forgot this and sidetracked.
nothing got done. I still at the end of the day, I'm like, my gosh, I got nothing done and there's chaos versus I am doing laundry and then I'm going to shift and then I'm going to shift and actually get things completed. And that gives me that serotonin dopamine hit of like, I feel good, check, I got it done versus the chaos of bouncing. But it took the intentionality of me going, okay, this is how I'm rearranging how I'm doing things.
because I was living in chaos and I wasn't feeling good doing it. And now I do feel better throughout my days. And I agree about the environment. One of the things I did in kind of my journey was really go through my house and create spaces that felt good. Painted walls, and it's big projects, but painted walls cleared the clutter. That is one of my triggers of like, I'm going to get triggered into anxiety if there is clutter everywhere. So
keeping on top of the clutter is just huge for my mental health. So I'm so excited that you brought that up because you're right, the space that we're creating inside and outside is really dictating how we feel through life.
Speaker 1 (19:41)
Right. There's this concept in Aryaveda, like attracts like. So if we break down like the different body types, there's the bata types just to simplify as that person who's go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, moving, moving, task, task, task, maybe relationship, relationship, relationship, job, job, job, my mouth is moving, moving, moving, moving. So if you're that type, you're drawn to movement. So it's good. It's fine to move.
fine to be active, too much of something, then it turns into almost ⁓ like an internal tornado. It's like, so many thoughts, so much movement, I can't get a clear thought. Then we kind of have that fire type where they're already, they're hot. Physically, they could present as like hot. Think about Hollywood. It's like, ooh, they're hot, they're chiseled. They may be the leaders of the world. They have a luminous to them. So it's like those people, that fire could attract more fire. So they might get...
in those positions where there is a lot of pressure on their leaders, their lawyers, their doctors, and they like that because they like the challenge, but too much is would then burn them out. Right. And then there's those who are more the coffee type would could be more water earth element. Very loving. So you could be loving. They'll give you the shirt off their back. But in the wrong situation, then you get to where you're in an abusive situation because you're giving, giving, giving. And that person's a taker taker. So knowing what your type is,
helps you to just know and it's like even the physical environment, if you're chaos in here, chaos starts to show up out here and it's like the more chaos out here, the more chaos in here and it just kind of feeds itself into a cycle. And so we just teach, start just knowing your patterns and then you start to see it. Me, knowing, I know all the things. Every month around my menstrual cycle, if I'm not really aware of my patterns, I can fall right into the same traps. And so knowing,
you're never going to be perfect. It's just recognizing and knowing life is always changing. You may have it together, but your kids may need more support or your husband or your job. So knowing there are all those factors, just knowing where everything goes when it needs to go there. And it's a process. it's a living science. So they say what was true thousands of years ago still may have some validity, but what's going on right now in our current state.
what's going on now the book is open because we need to learn to adapt so it's about adaptability but you have to know your patterns or you know the chaos in the the clutter is going to pull me down so then it's like okay if i'm in chaos and i know that's my pattern i just organize my desk just do the dishes just clear the sink and make it very one small thing i need to do that will eventually lead me towards my goal but when we're when we're in that low state
everything could feel unmanageable, but it's like, could you do one dish? Okay, could do one dish. Could you do one drawer? Can we just get all the clothes off the floor? You don't even need to wash them. Just get them in a basket. So making it know that it's your pattern, but then know sometimes it's hard. just what's one little thing you could do and then just keep trying to do a little.
Speaker 2 (22:50)
Absolutely. And I want to go into how we find our patterns because I think that is so important as I know, as you brought up your cycle in my cycle, one, the day before I'm going to have my period is a really low day for me. I know I have really low energy. I'm more down on myself. And so in that space, I'm very conscious of what I schedule on that day, because that's not the day I'm going to do a podcast interview. That's not the day I'm going to have a bunch of social engagements.
That's the day that I turn in and really give myself what I need. But until I had recognized that pattern, I was setting myself up for failure and I would hit and be super emotional. I mean, it would be the worst day. And then I started really watching my cycle and finding that pattern. It's like, Oh, this worst day every single month at the same time. And then it's just giving yourself that space.
And it shifted. So now it's a real caretaking day and I don't have the really big lows, still low energy, but not the really big lows that I was having in the big crashes and emotions because I give myself space and buffer around. This isn't the day that I'm going to go big. And so how do we tell our type? How do we find our patterns?
Speaker 1 (24:11)
So one, we have, if you were to work with an Ayurvedic practitioner, there's quizzes online, there's all sorts of things, when you know your body type. So there's an idea of we have an innate constitution we come in with, which is we're getting some from our mom, some from our dad. They even go as like our soul's karma. So we're getting a combination when we come in. Then over life, the seasons can change it, the foods we eat, stress, trauma, illness.
can change it. excuse me, the whole goal of Aryaveda is to get as close as we can to our original type and the balance of those elements. So that's the simplicity of it is like, find your type and abide by your type. That's what we're doing with yoga. That's what we're doing with Aryaveda, just different tools. So then once you know your actual body constitution for women, and I know the average person is gonna hear this and be like this.
That's not the felt experience, but our menstrual cycle is a huge blessing to help understand what's going on internally. I always tell my students that I'm working with and the women I work with, your cycle is like your life pop quiz. Everything you do throughout the month is gonna show up in that process. So, our evader believes the week before your cycle, especially those first few days right before you start the bleed, our system pressurizes.
Our body is going through a huge internal change to then one with the fluids, the hormones changing, the gut changes, the liver. So there's all these different processes. So any imbalance you have is going to get amplified. So these ideas of PMS in an ideal balance system, you wouldn't feel cramps. You wouldn't get emotional. You wouldn't cry. You wouldn't be in pain. ⁓ you might have a little less energy, but not that type of low energy where like you can't get out of bed. You can't do your functions.
That's kind of normalized in our societies. Like that's just your cycle. Aryaveda would say those are signals of imbalance. And based on the specific symptoms would tell us about the elements. So if someone is like physically having pain, cramping, headaches, their joint, physical pain anywhere, that would be a sign of a vata imbalance. So somewhere in their system, space and air is out of whack. You might have too much in a certain area.
You might, because of that, be dried out in a certain area. So nutrients aren't coming in, aren't coming out. Other people might experience more skin disorders, more anger, more irritability. Those are signs of a fire imbalance in the system. So we would say, okay, based on your symptoms, fires out. Most of the time we always work with the liver, because here in America, our food source is just so tampered with that all of our livers, even if you're trying to eat good and organic, we all have to work on our livers, but.
you would look at the symptoms and that would tell us what elements out of balance. And then we would look on your constitution. So say like the water and earth, people might be depressed. They might be so apathetic, they can't get up and get out of bed. So we find a way to decide what is the symptom, what's their innate constitution. So whatever you have, you'll probably have more of it. So if you're already a water type during your cycle, I mean,
people who have more water might be a little more emotional. So I really love when I love and I really hurt when I hurt. But when you're on your cycle, it's turned up. So, ⁓ every breakup I ever had, I'm gonna read, go through and everything that's wrong. That might be their type. The anger, the fire type, they might already be a little bit irritable. So on their cycle, they're really gonna rage out. They're really gonna tell you what you think. Set the really hard boundaries, right? So.
It's you, it's always you. It's just, you in your balanced expression or imbalanced expression? And the whole goal of it is to figure out based on your patterns, right? And you identifying one for women, it's our cycle, but then our innate tendencies, there's the creatives of the world. There's those who want to be social. There's the ones who want to be more reserved. Ones who want to do the work, ones who want to think of the work. So once you identify some of those things and then we plug it into all of our quizzes and diagnostic, and then we know, here's your type.
You're always going to have these patterns. So watch it, watch it during these seasons, watch it with these types of foods. And, ⁓ and then we learn, right? It's like, here's my pattern. And then I go do my thing because I like my thing. And then I have this result and then I can decide, do I want this result? Well, then no, I can take a different choice and not do the chocolate or not do the ice cream or not do the alcohol because it had a certain.
impact on my elements and now I can feel it and be aware of like, okay, like you said, I was, I was creating that pattern because I chose to do it at a certain time. So it's not like you can't do your podcast and you can't do it as women. just when do I do the thing? When and how do I do the thing so it doesn't create imbalance?
Speaker 2 (29:06)
that balance versus imbalance. Because we get so much into good and bad, good and bad foods, good and bad things, you know, how we're living our life. And I love how you're looking at there's time, there's time to eat times you're talking about seasons, and I'm not hearing hearing a lot of no's, these can't be done, but choices and looking at how those choices are then impacting our lives.
and saying, do we want that outcome? And if we want that outcome, great. If we don't want that outcome, let's make a different choice. There's a lot of power in looking at our lives of like, okay, I'm feeling out of balance. So what can I do to shift so I feel better in balance?
Speaker 1 (29:52)
And it's kind of to the point you said before, it's like when you feel like there's so much going on, a lot of people come in at that point because they've tried the doctors, they've tried different things and they're still seeking, they're still seeking. So by the time they get to a new practitioner, it's like, here's the list of all these things that didn't work. And here's what they said I had to do. And I'm not changing this. And they, come in already with this pre mindset of you're going to make me stop the alcohol or you're going to make me stop the cookies. And then
There's already that resistance where Arya Veda says, we're a probiotic system, meaning we're for life. So sometimes you do need the cookies. Sometimes maybe it would be okay to go take a drink. Maybe it would be, but in certain situations we teach everything has the potential to be a medicine, a poison or nutrition. We have to learn when to use the thing. So alcohol.
Typically very poisonous to us our livers are already overburden with all the chemicals we're taking in but in medicine It's a very potent medicine that penetrates deep into your tissue So we could pair it with the medicine that we want to go to your nervous system. So it gets deep into your nervous system It's at the right time to use it, right? But if someone already has an overheated liver Putting that in their system would then cause more of a problem and it would negate the medicine. So
whether it's a food that you're eating, a lifestyle choice. Some people just get in the mindset, like you said, good or bad, and they've already pre-decided or someone's told them what I'm doing is bad, but we build an identity around our behaviors. And so part of the work that we do is, like you said, shifting that mindset of what would be the best choice at this time? Cause it's like, I went through our Aveda school and I was like, I'm gonna be perfect. So I'm gonna do everything they say.
I'm a single mother working multiple jobs and trying to run a business. It is not healthy for me to cook every single meal fresh. It uses so much of my prana. I'm not getting that back from fresh food. So the rule is fresh food every meal. That's impossible for me to get and me trying to get that standard caused more burnout. And so for me and my situation,
I do do some pre-made meals and I'll make it the night before so we have lunch and then I do do dinner fresh every night. So there's ways I found to work with the rules for my unique situation because you can't always be the gold standard. And especially what's going on in the world today, there's so much going on. And I think our minds are so easily in the fear, easily in the negative, the no, the resistance.
We're just trying to find something that works. And Ayurveda gives so many different viewpoints that it's like a lot of people, they come and they don't want to change what they eat. So I say, it's okay, eat what you eat. Let's work at the time that you're going to eat it, how you're combining it. So maybe you can have meat and cheese, not at the same meal. that one, so you can still have your meat, you can still have your cheese, just don't eat them together. You can still have this, but just don't pair it with this.
You can still have your ice cream, but eat at the middle part of the day, not at 10 o'clock at night when your digestion's already turned off for the day. So trying to educate people to know what's going on internally. And then we're humans, you're never going to be perfect. And we kind of need, we need that uncertainty. We need that irregularity. Cause when we're so rigid on something, we need that new experience. So it's like teaching people what are the rules, how we can break the rules. And then
Right now, when you first start a journey, you can't imagine getting to the top of the mountain. You're just trying to like get to the mountain. So it's like someone on their journey, knowing I have to make all these changes, it discourages them from taking any action. So it's like, start with the basic things. Get hydrated, move your body, get any kind of real food in there. Simple, but some people can't even do that. So it's like on your lunch break, just take one walk around your building, stand up in between calls little things.
But once you start getting that ball moving, then you start to feel better. And it's like, ⁓ I could get up and do another block around. I could maybe try the apple instead of the candy bar at this time. So it's just getting enough of a win to get that momentum going so you can start feeling better. And it takes these little steps consistently, which in the beginning, it's just get anything that sticks and just keep trying to do that till we can get more momentum to add to it.
Speaker 2 (34:25)
I am so glad that you talked about momentum because momentum is such a huge thing that we don't give enough credit to that it's starting small and then you start to feel better and then you want to do more and it's easier to add more. So it's that continual role that goes on instead of thinking,
my gosh, I have to do it all. I have to get up and do the hour long workout. No, if I can just go and walk around the building that starts, okay, walking around the building every day for a week. That's feeling good. Maybe I'm to add a little bit more. Maybe I'm going to add a little more. And I love that you are opening up to how we, when we know the rules, we know how to break the rules because we are human and we're not living to that gold standard. And I think more people need to hear that.
that we don't have to do things perfectly, that we can really understand the rules and then know how we want to break them so it fits our lives better.
Speaker 1 (35:25)
There's it said that Arya Veda is a science and an R. You know all the rules. I could know everything perfect to do, but how can I do that with my limitations, with my circumstance? So the R is how do you do the thing? It could be walking around the block for 10 minutes a day. Something very simple. We could all agree that's very simple. But do it every day for 30 days. Can you do it? It's not willpower.
It's not, you smart enough? Are you good enough? All the things we think it's momentum, it's habit evolution, it's we are habitual creatures. And so sometimes I'll work with someone for a year and they might do one thing the whole time we work together. And we literally work the whole time, but that one thing will stick with them their whole life. They have changed this one specific thing and that will last. And they might not have been ready to do all the other things.
but then the next time they're ready to add something, they have the oil. They might not have done it yet, but it's ready for them. Or they know, okay, here's the recipe when I'm ready to make the food. And so just knowing it's a process. And if we can kind of befriend ourself in this process of we're living, you know, they say like when you're a parent, there's no manual. There's no manual that teaches us life, but Arya Veda says, this is the manual. It's literally the science of life. So in the winter,
Don't do this in the summer. Don't do this. And here humans like I'm to do what I want. It's like, okay, especially Americans. They want to do what they want. Okay. So here's, here's what we're saying. Here's going to be the result. And like you said, it's your choice. What do you want to do? But then knowing there is ease, it's not black, it's not white. It's not a straight line. We're on a spectrum. So some days you might be on fire, get a lot done. Other days you might need those inwards and the Western mindset, at least my interpretation is
You got to be on all the time, which is a very masculine way of looking at it. Women are cyclical. We have to abide by our cycle or you get sick. You physically get sick. I'm working with women now either at the end of end of their cycle, going through the transition and how many problems they have because they didn't honor themselves when they were menstruating.
And now there's women, it's very scary who are in their twenties are not having their menstrual cycle because of birth control, because of whatever the Western doctors are doing. And they're already having really bad problems. And so us not honoring our natural cycles is the root of why our Aveda says all disease happens. You not honoring your needs is like 80 % of why we get sick. But part of it is we're not educated on it. knowing
It's a continual process as we learn, as we grow, we know more, we do better, hopefully. it's, and like you said, you can know the thing, but it's like, that's where working with a coach, working with accountability buddies, working in a group, there's momentum that gets built with, okay, I'm not doing my thing, but Susie's out there doing her exercise every day. And if she can do it, maybe I can get up my butt now and I can go do a lap. So just.
whether it's our own internal motivation or from our friends or now we have online to where there's podcasts, there's audio books, there's all the motivational speakers out there. It's surrounding yourself in the environment of what you want to help you when you do fall off because with all the best intentions, we are human, especially as women, we do have those cycles. So knowing when you're low, it's okay, go rest, don't go push yourself, but when you're strong, go push yourself, because that would be the most beneficial thing to do.
Speaker 2 (39:04)
Right, absolutely. And we do, especially as women and research backs that women do better in community with support. And I love how you're really calling out all of the ways that we can support ourselves. That we, yes, can go hire someone who's very knowledgeable and go work with them. But if that's not our first step, then listening to podcasts, listening to books.
getting that knowledge in and then finding groups and friends and knowing where we can get that support. So when we do, because we are human, when we do fall off of where our path was going, we're not alone and we're not turning on ourselves of, ⁓ my gosh, I did this again. But we can be held up and really have that support to say, okay, that's a human behavior. Let's get back on track of where you want to go.
Speaker 1 (40:00)
There's this concept we talk about of know when you're starting any journey It's like I'm gonna lose the weight or I'm gonna get a good relationship or going back to school I'm gonna go this job. We have almost this uninformed optimism where it's like I'm gonna do it So we start walking on our path and it might get hard Then we start to get some kind of what they call like informed pessimism I see how hard it is to start a business or to raise a kid or to
go back and get my master. So then we kind of fall into what they call like the valley of despair. I've taken all the action I can take and then we get into that phase of that gap between where I am and where I want to be. And most often if we don't have the knowledge of this is normal, I'm a woman and every month at this time I might feel these feelings and that's okay. You're not crazy. You're not, it's just the biological thing. When we go through that valley of despair, we often walk back out and go and we don't keep going towards what we want. So in that valley, whether it's
a podcast you're listening to, a mentor, a friend, a loved one, even your pet, something has to get you through that lump to say, hey, you're a woman, you're on your cycle, just get hydrated, go get, some protein, right? So you have people to support you to kind of push you up and then you start building confidence as you take action. You start feeling better when you lose a little bit of weight, you start moving your body and hey, the aches and pains start going away. So then as you start crawling up to where your goal is,
It's not uninformed optimism. It's like true optimism. I know it's hard and I can still do it. I might not be perfect and I may misspeak or I may forget this or that, but I'm going towards my goal. And it's like that little valley of despair. We're all human. If you don't have someone in that valley, you're going back out and you're not going to go finish your degree. You're not going to go for that healthy relationship. It's, we need that support. So Ayurveda is, I think it's like one of my greatest blessings is like,
It's another level of support of knowing, hey, in the dead of winter, life is kind of constricted because your body's just trying to survive. It's an evolutionary thing. Even though you're in a heated house, your body's still doing what it has done for millennia. knowing, maybe I wait till spring to launch this thing. So it just helps us better align because life is always changing. We're always having to adapt.
Having those people to support us or that knowledge during that time is the difference of I'm gonna go even though it's uncomfortable. I gotta take that leap of faith. I gotta try the new thing. But most often times if you don't have someone in your corner or knowledge or a book, we just go back to our limitations. So it's like knowing it's normal. Everybody, no matter how perfect they are or think they are, anytime you do something new, the body has a reaction because it's new stimulation and it could be perceived as stress.
or excitement based on how we condition ourselves. So if you're around fear-based mindsets, it's gonna probably be fear versus an environment of a growth mindset. It's like, okay, this is uncomfortable and I'm ready and I can do hard things, but that takes time to develop. And if you're not in that environment, then we fall back to our negative patterns, right?
Speaker 2 (43:13)
Yes, and I love the highlight of We Do Come Back because that's a great visual of we, you know, have all this optimism. We come into the valley of despair, but then we go back where we came. And like the visual of that is like, my gosh, we do. And then you might have to really like, OK, still want this. We're going to gear up. We hit that valley of despair. How many times do we go that pattern where we're going to ⁓ hit the valley to spare, go back to where we came from and surrounding ourselves by
And I think so much of where we go in life is dependent on who we surround ourselves with. Because if we have those people who are also supportive, who are looking at, this is just a blip, this is normal, this is human, and rest, and then keep going, we are gonna get farther towards where we wanna go. Then if we are surrounded by people who really come down of,
this is your pattern, you did this again, or, you know, have fears around things, talk about the fears and there's that balance. And it comes back to that balance again of really supporting and surrounding yourself so that you can create the life you want instead of that imbalance where you're feeling yucky and go back to that same pattern of hitting the despair and going back to where you start and hitting the despair.
You've talked a lot about seasons. Can you share a little bit about what we should be thinking about in the different seasons?
Speaker 1 (44:46)
Sure. So again, with this idea of the flow of prana. So it's this life force, it's all around us, it's within us during the different seasons based on, and this would be based on your location. So right now where we're at is different. Like I have some students in South America, it's opposite of what it is. So based on your current location, what's going on seasonally there. Spring is considered the time, that's what we would consider the new year.
when things come back to life. So when it's the spring, we have more of the kaffa, so more water and earth element. It's a great time for those who tend to have more of a vata imbalance, so those who might have, I don't want to say weakness, because not all vatas have a weakness, just that they're really deeply imbalanced, but that's the season where we're the strongest. So that's where we have the most stamina. When we have the most kaffa, we have the most stamina. So that's when start your new projects,
go for your thing that's in terms of the year, that's like our morning time. So the fresh part of the day is like we have the most energy, spring is like the fresh part of the season. Then as we go towards summer, that's when the heat builds up. So similar to in the day, in the peak of the sun is 12 noon, that's considered like summer. So seasonally, it's kind of like the days in the season. So during the summer, our channels are open.
There's a lot of heat in us and the external environment. So the channels are open, so things are flowing. So we wanna be mindful to not have too many heating things, cause there's already a lot of heat in the system. And similar when we're in spring, because there's a lot of water and earth element, that's when we wanna add more fire, move. You have to move to open up the channels because all winter they were closed. So spring things are coming back to life. Summer things are kind of like growing and blooming.
And then we have that fall season where it's like middle of the afternoon going towards evening where things are closing in the environment around the trees are losing their leaves. The colors are changing. All of the world is saying now it's time to draw our energy inwards spring and summer energy out. It feels good. So I would say when the flip-flop weather is our social season, we can wear tank tops and flip-flops. It feels okay to be outside, but when it doesn't feel okay to be outside and tank tops and flip-flops,
your channels are closing. So as fall hits and the weather gets colder, the body physically dries out. So just like the external environment is drying out, internal environment is drying out. So at this time, Arya Veda would say, this is when we start to go inward. Don't do as many running around. Don't go outside as much when it's cold. Cover your body up, stay warm, keep the channels open. Our culture in the West is that's one of the busiest times of the year. And so
This is where an Ayurveda just knowing naturally we're being called by nature to go inward. So just monitoring our interactions, right? That's a time a lot of people can go in balance because all the foods we eating out of our habits, because we're doing parties, we're going on vacations. But then we go from the fall where we're kind of closing in to then winter, the channels are closed. When it's cold outside, when there's snow,
That's the time of year we should be gathering all of our energy to rebuild our energy for when spring comes. So similar to how indigenous cultures would live, similar to how animals were out and about, we're gathering food, we're living life, we're doing our projects when it's warm, but as it starts to get colder, Ayurveda would teach us stay warm, cover up, keep your physical body covered. So wind in our system can cause imbalance.
when we're exposed to the cold for too long and same thing with heat. So it's all about the equilibrium. So knowing each season, we kind of teach different keystones of, you know, when it's hot outside, that's when you could maybe have more cold things. But typically we'd say no cold, no cold drinks, no cold foods, but during summer it's hot. So we might, that's when we would have cold foods. A popsicle in summer is a different effect on the body than a popsicle in winter.
when your body's already cold, your system is already challenged because it's the physical channels closed. So it's one of those things that it's, can never, know, with a kid, she always wants to have cold stuff. I'm like, okay, summer is our time. But when it comes fall, we know no more ice cream after this time, cause then it can breed congestion. And so it's working with whatever's going on with the weather outside, but then also our digestion. So the times a day we eat like the summer,
when the sun is high, our digestion is high. So we would say just eat to your digestion, eat to what's going on with the seasonal. And then for each person, depending on their imbalance, we might have deviations from that. But it would be kind of when we look seasonally, some things kind of are more intuitive. During summer, you're probably not eating a lot of stews and soups, right? We're drawn more towards lighter foods, fruits.
salads, barbecues, right, so you need good protein during that time to kind of feed the fire. In winter and fall, we are drawn to more soups, more fats, more sweets, which biologically your body needs more fat, your body needs more liquid at that time. And so we've kind of have a little imprint of that where it's just, Ayurveda is the invitation to.
What does your body want at this time? I don't think your body really wants ice cream when it's cold outside, but if we've been in balance, like attracts like, so if we've been in balance, you might want that, but we're going to try to find out you need maybe out of the ice cream, you need the cream, which is a very nourishing thing for the body. So maybe let's get you a good, healthy fat and a cream in a different way that feeds your body instead of causing more mucus and imbalance. So there's a reason why you're drawn towards that. Let's give you that in a way.
that will best suit it no matter what season you're
Speaker 2 (50:51)
That's really interesting. And taking very common knowledge around the seasons and how there are so many patterns that we're just naturally doing. And then Arya Veda just brings the light so that we can make more choices to increase that balance. For the listener at home who is like, okay, I'm in, I want to do this. What is the first step in this journey?
Speaker 1 (51:17)
type
we always do is the body type. So for me when I work with people ⁓ I primarily work you know with Ayurveda we can work with anything. So one whoever you are it's like knowing what it is you want to work on because a lot of people will come in and say I want to do this and then end up doing all this other stuff so be clear on what you want and then when you work with an Ayurveda practitioner we'll do the body quiz so we'll know what exactly you are.
I have modified the traditional body quiz to a burnout type since I work mostly with women who are burnt out. So helping people to understand, like we're talking about your patterns. If you're depending on your constitution, Vata, Pitta or Kapha, you're gonna have patterns. So we help you identify what's your pattern. So for me, I would do your quiz and then I offer free reading. So then you take your quiz, we interpret the quiz results. So you start to understand, if you're a...
more of like an air type like a Vata, you really need to harbor in on certain keystone habits versus if you're a fire type or more kaffa and more earth type. So understanding your type and then getting clear on where it is you want to go. Cause with Arya Veda, I use the example, it's like an auto walk at the airport. Life is a journey. So you have your bag, you have a destination, you can get on that auto walk and it takes you there. But if you don't know where you're going,
You're just going to go fast in the wrong direction. So it's like that intentionality on all levels. And sometimes at the beginning, people don't know where they want to go. They just know, I don't want to feel bad anymore. So then we just start with the basic things. Start eating to what's going on with your digestion. Let's start getting balanced there. Cause we believe it all starts in the gut. Start bringing ease to the nervous system. Cause our nerves are so fried. And if you're on social media, if you're watching the news, if you have any pulse on what's going on in the world,
your nerves are impacted. So we calm the nervous system. And then we try to just get that information to start making the best choices to increase that prana for you. So is it a dietary choice? Do you need more body based things? But it really is an individualized science, but there are certain keystones. We should all start the morning with warm water. We should all try to go to the bathroom before, you know, first thing in the morning. So there are general things that we try to get people on, but for each person,
There are those people who do the most. then their homework is nothing. 30 minutes of literally do nothing. So we all need a clean gut. We all need our nerves to calm and we all need a clean liver. But then outside of that, based on you, it really is determined what's going on in your life, what's going on in your health and personalizing it based on.
Speaker 2 (53:57)
I know there are so many listeners that are resonating as we come to a close, is there anything else that you would love listeners?
to really hear from this conversation or take away or something that we haven't even connected with.
Speaker 1 (54:11)
I love that question. I really feel like my deeper message with Arya Veda.
It's already in you and you can't access what's in you like we said at beginning if you don't have that space. And so it's like creating that space for what is it that you really want? Cause people think I need to lose the weight to get the relationship when it's like, no, you can get a relationship and have someone love you for your body type or you need this degree to feel like you're smart enough or so whatever it is we think you really want. It's like.
It's already in you. And then part of what Arya Veda is, is just inviting you to soften in who you are. And you're okay just as you are. But because we're chasing all these rabbit tells of trying to be this constitution, this constitution, the biggest gift I've gotten from Arya Veda is just honor me. Cause I already had it. I just was acting out of my constitution, trying to be everything. But when I could abide in my nature, it's here. I don't have to be everything to everyone, but I have to be at least
to me and to my family. just encouraging the listeners. One of the biggest things with Ayurveda and it's like 80 % of all disease comes from bata imbalance, which is when we move too fast, when we're taking action without really ⁓ reflecting and integrating the process. So slowing down and listening to your body's needs. That was the one thing that is like still a shocker to me is like when you work a nine to five job, you're not going to the bathroom when you need to go to the bathroom. You're not eating when you need to eat.
You're not resting when you need to rest. And those keystone things that don't happen year after year, decade after decade, that's why you're sick. Cause you haven't gone to the bathroom. That's why you're sick. Cause you can't sleep through the night or so all the different pieces. just reminding people to slow down and honor their body needs. And then really the goal of Arya Veda is to listen to your inner voice. The guides are here just to help redirect you back to the truth that's already there. just.
know that it's there and sometimes it's so weird people I've done it people pay me to do it's like we'll pay a coach but then you just do what you want to do anyway so it's like do what you want to do anyway you don't need permission from a coach you don't need permission from anybody to go for what you really want sometimes we think we need that validation but it's like you know so trying to hone in and if you feel like you don't know then giving yourself that space to have those inner dialogues because the are you beta says
The body's always speaking. Your intuition is always speaking. Our whole goal with all of these practices is to create that communication to say, my body needs fluids. Okay, I'm going to get you fluids. My body needs movement or my body needs rest and I can adapt and be able to do that. So just encouraging the listeners, you have it within you. And sometimes it's a lot more simple than you think. It's just consistently showing up, consistently show up even when you don't feel like your meditation, even when you don't feel like
cooking the healthy food. It's those little acts of love we give ourselves that we will show up better tomorrow if we give ourselves a little more today.
Speaker 2 (57:15)
incredibly powerful and simplistic as it's already inside. Thank you so much. This has been an incredible conversation. Lynn, I know there are people that are resonating so deeply with what you were saying and want to continue the conversation with you. How can they connect with you?
Speaker 1 (57:35)
So I'm online. I'm on Instagram and Facebook, Holistic Life Remedy. I also offer the burnout type quiz. So it's a free quiz where we assess where are your energy leaks? So assessing where are you out? Like what are your patterns? And then I have that free 30 minute reading so we can discuss it so that you can really understand. There was something with Aria Veda that you wanted to continue working. I have coaching programs where I have a full program.
or work one-on-one sessions depending on if they're ready to do the full GUSSA or they just need that kind of one-to-one care till they're ready to do that.
Speaker 2 (58:12)
Beautiful.
And I will have the link to the quiz down in the show notes so that I know I want to take it. If anybody else wants to take it, then they can access it really easily. Lynn, I really appreciate your time. You are such an incredible resource. And I so thank you for this conversation.
Speaker 1 (58:30)
Thank you so much for having me and hosting.
Landy Peek (58:34)
I have to tell you this conversation was exactly what I needed in this moment. So I invite you to take a breath. notice your shoulders. Let them drop if they need to, because this isn't about doing more. It's about making space and then choosing the next kind thing for your body, for your mind, for your soul right now.
So the thing that resonates with me most is the space that Lynn talked about, that we need space before we do anything. And that is the hardest thing for me to create because it's really easy to fill space.
But as I listen to her, allowing myself space to bring in something new, to really get curious about what I need next. Because sometimes I'm wanting something so desperately, but I'm never giving it the opportunity and the space to come into my life.
if this episode really resonated with you and you know someone who's been caring at all, I invite you to share this episode with them so that you can build momentum together.
would love it if you would follow the Landy Peak podcast, if you would share a quick review, because your words do matter. And your words can help someone else create the momentum and space that they need.
You are one decision away from a different life. And so get curious about what that decision could be and then take one tiny step of action. I want to share how important you are to me for showing up, for listening. I am so grateful that you are here.
You are incredible and you are changing the world by just being in it. Your energy, your presence, those are more important than I think anything else that you bring to this world. And I want to thank you for being part of mine. I love you and I like you and I wish you all the happiness that today can bring.
Landy Peek (1:01:05)
Hey, before you go, just a little bit of legal. This podcast is designed for educational purposes only. It is not to replace
any expert advice from your doctors, therapists, coaches, or any other professional that you would work with. It's just a chat with a friend, me, where we get curious about ideas, thoughts, and things that are going on in our lives. And as we're talking about friends, if you know someone who would benefit from the conversation today, please share because I think the more that we open up these conversations, the more benefit we all get. So until next time, give yourself a big hug from me and stay curious.
Because that's the fun in this world.
