John Gallagher:
Oh gosh, I'm feeling a little confused.
Tara Ruth:
Oh, what are you feeling confused about, John?
John Gallagher:
Herbs? Which one to choose? When I have a situation. This book I have, I open it up to the page on this sleep issue that I'm having, and I'm like, "It has a list of 30 herbs and I'm not sure which one."
Tara Ruth:
I hear you.
John Gallagher:
Yeah.
Tara Ruth:
It can be really confusing when you don't have a framework and you're just, maybe you're having trouble sleeping. You're like, "Okay, what herb's going to help me sleep?" And you open this herb book and there are 30 different recommendations. It's like, "Do I just close my eyes and point to one?"
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Or just see like, "I think I have this one in the bottom of the medicine cabinet."
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. "Is that going to work?"
John Gallagher:
I'll just take this one.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, it's so confusing when you don't have a framework that you're really grounding your decision making to figure out what herbs to work with, how to really support your body from a holistic standpoint. And that's one of the reasons why I'm so excited to talk with Tesia love today.
John Gallagher:
Tesia is an Ayurvedic herbalist and practitioner from North Carolina, and I think a lot of your questions, folks, are going to be answered to help you find that framework so you can choose the right herb.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, she's giving us some really key foundational tools that will just set us all up for success when we're working with herbs. Should we dive on in, John?
John Gallagher:
Let's get started. You are listening to Herb Mentor Radio by learningherbs.com. I'm John Gallagher.
Tara Ruth:
And I'm Tara Ruth. Today we're chatting with Tesia Love. Tesia is a board-certified Ayurvedic practitioner, clinical herbalist, yoga and meditation instructor, licensed massage and bodywork therapist, and integrative health coach based in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can learn more about her work at tesialove.com.
John Gallagher:
That's T-E-S-I-A Love dot com. And welcome, Tesia.
Tesia Love:
Thank you. Hello, how are you two?
John Gallagher:
Oh, doing great.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, it's raining here where I am in California, which I'm so grateful for, and I'm all cozy with my Rooibos and Hawthorn tea and happy to be here with y'all. Well, Tesia, thank you so much for being here with us. And to start, I'd love to know more about your path as specifically an Ayurvedic practitioner. Can you share with us a little bit about what Ayurveda is and how you became interested in this really powerful framework and modality and tradition?
Tesia Love:
Right, sure, absolutely. Yes, it's been quite the journey as I've often shared with people. But Ayurveda, for those who might not be familiar, Ayurveda is India's traditional healing system. And it's a modality that is all about living in harmony with nature, your own unique nature, meaning your unique mind-body type, and the nature around you. So the seasons, the time of day, the of life. It's similar to a lot of people know about traditional Chinese medicine, and I often mention that in ways it's similar to traditional Chinese medicine in that they're both two of the world's oldest, longest, and continuously practice health care modalities, and some say 5,000 plus years old. But it's still practiced today and it's still, I would say, even though it has a rich heritage, of course, it also is still evolving even in a way of making it modern and practical.
But I got into Ayurveda, I've always been interested in health, wellness, natural healing, and about 20, 21 years ago or so now, I have an aunt who we're kindred spirits and she was living in New York at the time, and someone told her about an Ayurveda center up there. And when I went to visit, I went, and that was my first introduction. I had a consultation, a body treatment, and just from the very beginning that I found out about Ayurveda, it resonated with me because of Ayurveda's one view of the individual. So all treatments and approaches to healing in Ayurveda are targeted specifically to the individual, that understanding, the unique mind-body type of a person. And then also because Ayurveda has a way of explaining how disease or imbalance starts. And so that captured me because I always wanted to know what's the root cause of whatever that I might've been experiencing.
And I had experience where a doctor couldn't necessarily tell me that. I always had this cough where I had some phlegm in my throat after I would eat. And I asked a doctor like, "Why was that?" I couldn't get an answer. So Ayurveda having an explanation of understanding imbalance before it actually becomes a identifiable disease, that's one of the things that attracted me to Ayurveda. So from that moment that I first found out about it for probably about the first 10 years or so, I just always went back to it, applying it in my life, reading about it. I did a yoga teacher training, and so it came up again in that training.
And it's really a calling for me because then around 2011, that's when I started, I was still doing things within the holistic health realm, including dance, belly dance in particular, as a healing art. Again, like I mentioned, yoga teacher training, but in still doing my own readings, cooking, food, gardening. And when I started to think about owning my own business and just being what I wanted to do next, Ayurveda, and something within the realm of Ayurveda is what came up. And so in 2011, I decided to formally study, and I attended the California College of Ayurveda starting in 2011, and did there several layers of their training. And so now I'm what's called a clinical Ayurvedic specialist.
And so, yeah, that's kind of it in a nutshell. But it is the ongoing study, it continues to be an ongoing study because it's so rich, so deep. And I've been practicing clinically since 2013, so that's about 12 years. And I've had an office in Charlotte where I see clients doing consultation work and Ayurvedic body therapies. I've been doing that now for about eight years in Charlotte in an actual physical office space.
John Gallagher:
I see. What I'm wondering, Tesia, is a lot of people when they first get into herbs, myself, decades ago when somebody told me, "Oh, I take Echinacea if I have a cold." So we grow up in this culture thinking we're going to use herbs like we might use a medication. Our brains are trained that way. So if I am going to approach Ayurveda, what is the way I'm looking at helping either heal something or to stay healthy versus, "You take this for this"? Because that's something we try in learning herbs to help people out of, to help people to see things differently. I'm sure that's part of your work when you're working with people, to help them see how they're using herbs and foods differently?
Tesia Love:
Absolutely, absolutely. And you're so correct what you just said. A lot of people do have the notion of, "Oh, I have X, Y, Z problem, what herb fits that problem?" But the actual way of practicing, or that I've been trained to practice is it goes back to that understanding the unique mind-body type of a person. And so just really quickly, in Ayurveda, the theory is that there are five elements, and it's their qualities that are considered the building blocks of life. So ether, which is empty space, air, fire, water, and earth. And we all have all of those qualities within us. The five elements of our form, the three doshas, vata, pitta, and kapha dosha. And those doshas, again, they're words that are used to describe the combination of qualities that an individual might have. So you might have a vata-dominant person, a pitta-dominant person, a kapha-dominant person.
And so the first step is understanding your constitution, what's your unique mind-body type. That gives you a clue as to what type of herbs could be helpful for you. And again, just really quickly, for example, vata is cold, dry, light. And so if I have too much vata, that might express as something like constipation or dry skin or anxiousness, nervousness. Taking in more qualities of warm, moisture, heavy will balance vata. And so for herbs that kind of have that quality, I think of things like ashwagandha, I think of foods like oats, which also herbs like milky oats or milky oat seed. That's just an example. So that's how I'm looking at the herbs from a qualitative or what's known as energetic perspective versus take this particular herb for this condition. Makes sense?
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, it sounds like there's this balancing logic to it.
Tesia Love:
Right, absolutely.
Tara Ruth:
Something is more hot, you're bringing in more cool, or bringing balance and harmony.
Tesia Love:
Exactly.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. How is this framework for you, as you were starting to get to know your own body? You talked about having this cough after you ate. Were there any ailments or things you noticed for yourself that started to shift as you started to deepen into your Ayurvedic studies? Or did it change how you approached yourself? Whether it was, "Oh, my mindset or how I approach my daily routines"?
Tesia Love:
Right. It definitely changed and informed how I live my life, and it continues to be an ongoing practice. And what I mean, because remember earlier I mentioned that Ayurveda is all about living in harmony with nature. And so that's paying attention to things like the seasons or the time of day. And so let's say for instance with lunch, that's why really it's ideally to eat lunch around somewhere in that window of noon, one o'clock, because that's when pitta, which is fire energy, the sun is at its highest, and so therefore your fire, your digestive fire is the strongest. And that understanding of how the qualities are operating in our day-to-day life in the seasons, for example, fall is vata season because it's cold and it's dry. Understanding those things definitely informed me in how I live my life.
And the thing, and what I also try to express to my clients in what I apply is just simply that awareness, the paying attention. And that's the first thing that Ayurveda gave me is a way of articulating and understanding nature and seeing it at work, because even though I've thrown out these terms, vata, pitta, kapha, things like that, it always go back to what are the qualities when you're trying to understand it? What's hot, what's cold, what's dry, what's moist? And that's what really informs. And so the only way to be informed by that is to notice it, is to be aware and pay attention. And I would say that's the biggest thing that has given me is that attentiveness, that awareness. And I would say that's also one of the biggest takeaways that I share with my clients or that I want them to take away from my work together, is that awareness.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, just having that mindset shift is so powerful because it brings you into deeper relationship with the seasons, with the time of day, with all the different inputs that you're interacting with.
Tesia Love:
Right.
John Gallagher:
But are there things that you will say to all of the clients that you work with that these are things to add in or alter your lifestyle, or is it different for every person? I'm just for a listener here that's, "Okay, I hear these terms. I'm not sure how they're spelled and there's these things." And how might they access Ayurveda?
Tesia Love:
Good question. The first way I would say is going back to that awareness. So the first part of your question when you said, "Are there some basic things that pretty much applies to everyone?" I would say yes. Even though things can always be fine-tuned and tweaked for the individual, there are some basic things, because again, we're all living in harmony with nature. And so things like waking up somewhere around the time of sunrise is the ideal time to wake up, to eat lunch somewhere around high noon in that region where your digestifier is at its highest. Going to bed, ideally around 10:00 P.M. So 10:00 P.M. to 10:00 to 2:00 is pitta time. So whether we're talking about the midday, which is why I said ideally eat lunch around noon, that's pitta time, fire energy, your digestive fire is at its highest, but at night, 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M., it's also pitta time.
But instead of digesting food, you want your body to restoring itself using pitta energy in that kind of transformative way. And so if you're up, that energy is being used to do whatever you're doing while you're up instead of restoring your body. Or if you eat late, you may be up. And Pitta energy is focused on that digestion instead of restoring your body and being asleep. So, ideally, sleep by 10:00. That still applies to everyone for the most part.
John Gallagher:
Tara, Ayurveda can seem pretty complicated.
Tara Ruth:
It sure can.
John Gallagher:
Vata, pitta, kapha. You went through Ayurveda programs. What did you find out about yourself? Are you willing to share that?
Tara Ruth:
Oh yeah, I'm willing to disclose.
John Gallagher:
Okay, because you don't want to always diagnose over a podcast.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. I'm very vata, vata-dominant, pitta secondary. And you, John, I would say are very vata-dominant as well. And we both happen to be air signs, we're both very windy people.
John Gallagher:
Yeah, yeah. And in Chinese medicine, I've got water. So much nature. No, but energetics and all can take a little while to get the hang of it.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah.
John Gallagher:
So at Herb Mentor, we put together a few different mini courses, podcast-style courses, to help people sort of bring our data into their lives without having to use those terms. And two herbalists that we brought into Herb Mentor to teach classes on there are KP Khalsa and Todd Caldecott. Now, Todd Caldecott's from BC, he teaches food as medicine on there. And then we have Culinary Herbalism by KP Khalsa. Well, how would you describe those courses?
Tara Ruth:
How would I describe them? They're both giving you foundational tools for just approaching nutrition and approaching your plate, approaching what kinds of foods will help my body be in balance and what kinds of things are really going to nourish me from this holistic standpoint. And they also offer simple recipes and just easy culinary tips to really get you started with food as medicine.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Well, because once you get that foundation, then it's a little easier as you go along and say, "I want to learn a little more about Ayurveda. Maybe I'll learn more from Tesia, or KP, or Todd." There's always more to learn and great teachers out there.
Tara Ruth:
Exactly.
John Gallagher:
But Herb Mentor has these great places to start, these great audio and videos to watch. If you want help, we have our community.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, we sure do. We have our lovely forum where you can ask questions from awesome herbalists like us, and then other members too who have so much herbal knowledge to share.
John Gallagher:
Exactly. Whether it's your only herbal program or you are part of another school or taking a course, it's a nice add-on, a little plugin for your studying. And as Herb Mentor Radio listeners, we have a little special offer for you.
Tara Ruth:
We sure do.
John Gallagher:
And what might that be?
Tara Ruth:
Well, you can go to herbmentorradio.com to find out and get a great discount on Herb Mentor.
John Gallagher:
Yes, please do that. Check it out. And I think the first week's a dollar, so you can learn, just spend a week, learn a little from Todd and KP. What do you think?
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. Also, nothing is a dollar these days.
John Gallagher:
Yeah, right?
Tara Ruth:
That's cheaper than a piece of candy. It's amazing.
John Gallagher:
Or a stick of gum. Organic gum.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah.
John Gallagher:
All right, let's get back to Tesia. This is an awesome conversation.
Tara Ruth:
I love having these general frameworks of what we can start to build off of as a foundation of different habits and things to think about. And I'm curious, especially for someone who is totally new to Ayurveda, I think it might be helpful to have either a case study or some kind of specific example of an ailment and how you would approach it. Maybe you mentioned earlier, vata has this correspondence maybe to constipation. How would you approach something like constipation from an Ayurvedic standpoint?
Tesia Love:
So, yes, so let's take something like constipation. That constipation where the person is showing up in that it's dry stool, hard to pass, and just irregular. So anytime you see variability, irregularity, that's a sign that vata dosha is involved, because vata, and this is putting it very simply, but think of vata as the wind or the air, think of pitta as fire, and think of kapha as clay or mud because it's the combination of water and earth. And so with vata dosha, it has the qualities of excess movements and/or dryness and coldness. And so when it comes to something like constipation, of course things are stuck so the movement is disturbed. So it's not too much movement, it's a lack of movement. But often what's preventing proper movement is the dryness and the coldness, which is why stools may show up as dry and hard to pass.
And so what will help balance that is more moisture and more warmth. And so moisture can come in the forms of things like one simply drinking more water. That's the first one is the person getting enough of their fluids. And then not just water you drink, but also how else are you getting moisture from your food? So I would recommend things like eating more soups and stews, warm, moist cooked foods instead of dry foods or cold foods such as raw salads or crackers, chips, things like that. Dry, cold, light things will aggravate vata dosha and therefore aggravate constipation. So you want moist things, and that applies to foods, and it also applies to herbs.
And so the types of herbs that can support healthy elimination and help alleviate constipation are going to be your demulcent type of herbs, your mucilaginous types of herbs. So things like psyllium seed husk, things like oats and oat seed, things like liquorice root. So whether that's in a tea form or it's added to a formula. And then one of the classical formulas in Ayurveda that's often used for proper elimination is a formula called Triphala, which is three fruits, a combination of Amla Berry or Amlaki, Haritaki, and Bibhitaki. So that's just an example, again, of what the Ayurvedic approach is about, understanding the person.
So a vata-type person, meaning someone who already has a lot of qualities of dryness, coldness, lightness in their body naturally is often going to be more prone to experience something like constipation. So they may, in the fall, winter, they may find that they experience constipation more because now in the season we have more dryness and lightness. So that's what I mean by living in harmony with nature. So when it's a dry season, cold season, you want to bring in more of those opposite qualities, warmth, moisture.
And vice versa. When you have, let's say pitta season, which is about summertime, you have more heat, then you take in more of those things that help to cool the body, which are actually the things that are naturally in season anyway. So your green vegetables, your cooling, fresh fruits. Those are the types of things that help.
John Gallagher:
So let me see if I got this right. So if I look at an herb book and looked up constipation or looked up some digestive issue, I might see a list of herbs under it. And I would look at that and be like, "Well, just pick this one," which seems more scattershot. But what you're doing is using for diagnosis, a traditional system that's looking at a person's constitution to pinpoint how to find the correct herb for a situation?
Tesia Love:
Exactly. Absolutely, absolutely, yes. And that's what makes this system as well as other systems that are focused on energetics. So whether it's Western energetics, Chinese medicine, that's the difference, and why and how herbs are used in a way that's not pharmaceuticals.
John Gallagher:
And that's probably the challenging part for a client is that the energetics, like to you, to Tara, and myself, we have been studying energetics for a long time and we get it, but I remember when I was first learning about herbs, it was the most confusing thing. So it is tough, and it's that mindset that you sort of have to work on, to sort of see things in nature differently around you and combining that. So do you give some of those guidance to your clients and students just be able to think outside the box and start to see what things like moist and hot really are?
Tesia Love:
Absolutely. And that's really why, even though I usually will recommend certain herbs in the beginning of working with a client, one of the key things that we work on is through food because it's something easy, it's an easy way for a person to start to pay attention to those qualities because of course, we all eat and we eat every day and several times a day. And so you can start just by, again, going back to that paying attention. When you eat something, take a moment to be present and notice what are you experiencing? Are you experiencing a feeling of dryness as you eat? What are you experiencing right after you've eaten something? So you'll notice, are you feeling heavy? Are you feeling light? And so just sharing that with the client to start whatever they take in, whether it be food, whether it be an activity, to notice how you're feeling in your body. And it starts to increase that awareness, and then that applies too to herbs.
And, again, many people who come to me, they've discovered Ayurveda in some way. Either they've listened to a podcast about it or they've read an article about it, and they're curious. Just how I was curious in the very beginning, there's something definitely magical, I think, about Ayurveda that pulls people in. And I think it's that innate connection that we all desire, even if some might not be aware of it. We are nature, we're a part of nature, so I think there's something within us that craves that. And so when you come across a lesson or a teaching, a system like Ayurveda, when people are drawn to it it's that thing that's pulling them, they might not be able to articulate. And so when they come to me, they're already interested in diving a little deeper, and so it's easy for me to tell them to just start paying attention, and they're already curious. And so most of them comply with that with no problem.
Tara Ruth:
There's something so powerful with a system like Ayurveda where it's so complex as you keep building in all the layers, but when you boil it down to looking at different patterns of how the elements show up in ourselves and nature and the plants we work with and our food, it can also become this really beautiful intuitive process of being like, "Oh, okay, it's summertime. Wow, I'm noticing that I'm feeling a little more hot-headed, my face is flushed." Like, "Oh. And, also, this is the time of year where there's just more fire in general. Oh. And when I eat that spicy food, I feel a little more inflamed." It becomes this beautiful way of just feeling really connected to nature and to all of the elements.
Tesia Love:
Exactly. Absolutely, absolutely.
Tara Ruth:
I'm curious, with your relationship with herbalism, did that start before you dove into Ayurveda or did Ayurveda get you more into herbs? How did the herbs become part of your path?
Tesia Love:
Right. No, that's a great question. And I reflect back on it a lot, actually. And, really, Ayurveda definitely brought me closer to herbalism, but then once I got into it, I then discovered, "Oh, I actually have a lineage with that within my family." So I always knew for me, like I said, I've always been interested in natural health, all these different modalities. So I always had an interest in herbs, but I also didn't feel equipped or didn't know what to do. So I wasn't one to just, "Oh, let me try this, let me try that." I was never that. And so once I went to school for Ayurveda and Ayurvedic herbalism was a part of my training, that's where I started to dive deeper, learned more to where I then felt confident applying it in my own life.
So, for sure, my Ayurvedic training is what drove me more into plants. But when I reflect back, I've always loved nature, I've always loved outdoors. And my family, my parents are from a town called York, South Carolina. It's about 40 minutes south of Charlotte, North Carolina. And my dad actually grew up on a working farm until he was 12 years old, my great-grandfather had many acres of land and was a farmer. And so I later learned that my great-grandfather, he had all kind of herbal remedies and knew about the plants. And when I was younger, I went with my grandfather, my dad, my uncles, to sell produce at the farmer's market. That was something that they did on a regular basis. My grandmother loved flowers, several of my aunts love flowers, plants. And so I realized that I have a heritage and a lineage as well with plants and with the land. And so really, my interest in Ayurveda wellness food it's like it's brought me back or it may piqued interest for me to then ask questions to family.
I now realize in hindsight, "Oh, this is right in alignment with my family heritage." It's just that for me, the language and the framework of Ayurveda, the other thing that drew me to it is how it pieced together for me all the different aspects of wellness and natural health. So because it's using food, it's using herbs, it's using body work, breath work, yoga, all the different modalities, it brings together into a format for me to understand. And so, yeah, even though it's a system, it's India's traditional healing system, it spoke to me as it speaks to many others, it's also a window just for that universal knowledge of how nature operates.
John Gallagher:
Because I heard you talk about and mention Western herbs, like you're talking about oats, and you talk about that before in the context of Ayurveda, so has this led you to explore some of the plants that might've been in your kitchen growing up or grow around you and have those questions to figure out, "How do I use this in a sense of an Ayurveda situation?" And yeah, I'm curious about that and maybe something that you found out like an aha or something.
Tesia Love:
Right. No, absolutely. Western herbalism is definitely a part of my work as well, because my teacher, so at the California College of Ayurveda, we looked at Western herbs through the Ayurvedic lens. So even common things like peppermint, and ginger, and cinnamon, calendula, just all different kinds of things, plants. And then also within my continuing education that I do, whether it be going to yoga conferences or studying with teachers like KP Khalsa, who's a long-time herbalist and looks at herbs from an Ayurvedic as well as Western and Chinese medicine perspective.
John Gallagher:
A good friend of learning herbs too.
Tesia Love:
Yeah. So KP has been a teacher of mine, Todd Caldecott in Canada, he's been a teacher of mine. So both of those are teachers who work with western herbs and Ayurvedic Indian herbs. And so yes, and so that's the lineage that I learned from. And so I'm always looking at any herb no matter where it's from in the world through the lens of those qualities, what's hot, what's cold, what's light, what's dry, and heavy, and so forth. And then I'm also a big-time gardener, which since I moved back to Charlotte, I lived in the D.C. Area for about 12 years. I moved back to Charlotte about 10 years ago, and since I moved back and had access to land-
John Gallagher:
Yeah.
Tesia Love:
Right.
John Gallagher:
It's a busy place, D.C. I lived in that area for a while.
Tesia Love:
Yeah. And so I've been gardening pretty heavily these past, I would say five, six years or so. And even if I don't necessarily use the herbs all the time, I just like to grow them just to be with them because I learn things just from looking at them. But so things I often grow are basil, holy basil or tulsi, skullcap. Definitely different... Marigolds, I just fell in love with marigolds this past season. Growing up I always thought, "Oh, marigolds, they're nice, but they're a little, I don't know, plain." That's how I felt or thought about marigolds as a flower and was actually a herb as well. But when I grew marigolds this past season, I'm not sure exactly what variety I had, but the ones I had, they grew tall, they had big, beautiful blooms, and they had this wonderful fragrance. And so now I'm wanting to dive more and work more with marigolds. So just the act of growing them, it's another way of deepening your relationship with a plant. And so that's been a really beautiful thing that I've enjoyed.
John Gallagher:
I love that they just give you permission to just grow plants, you don't have to make remedies. Just established relationships first.
Tesia Love:
Right. Yeah, it really is true because, again, that's where you just feel some kind of energy that's coming from a plant, and then you learn other little things about it, again, like what kind of fragrance it might have, how it blooms, when it puts out seeds. So, yes, like I said, even if I don't always use what I grow, I feel like I do get a deeper appreciation just simply from growing.
Tara Ruth:
And the medicine of experiencing just the beauty of marigolds and bloom.
Tesia Love:
Absolutely.
Tara Ruth:
So lovely. You mentioned that you were growing holy basil and skullcap, and you've also talked a little bit about oats and ashwagandha, and I think about all these herbs as herbs that help support the nervous system, and I know that's one of the areas that you focus on with clients who come to you. And I'd love to hear more about your general approach to nervous system support. I know it's going to be different for each person depending on their constitution, but yeah, I'd love to hear more about that process for you.
Tesia Love:
Yes, the nervous system is definitely one of the big things that I work on clients with because, one of the reasons I should say is that the nervous system basically closely corresponds with vata dosha, and I keep going back to vata dosha. Vata dosha, even though any of the doshas can get out of balance, vata is often the one that can get out of balance the most, and it's the one that can be the most destructive. So Ayurveda pretty much is usually always paying attention to Vata dosha. Also, we live in a vata-aggravating society. So all of the busyness that we have in our society, the overstimulation that we have from electronics, and all of that, aggravates vata dosha.
Tara Ruth:
Very windy. Yeah.
Tesia Love:
Exactly. So many people, the majority of people I would say that come that I've worked with have a vata dosha aggravation of some kind, so that means that we're typically working with the nervous system. And the nervous system, again, remember, vata is responsible for movement in the body and the nerve impulses, that's movement. And, again, that close relationship with vata and the nervous system. And so when people are dealing with sleep challenges, again with digestive issues, with emotional, mental things like anxiety or chronic stress, typically vata is always involved and oftentimes the main issue, like the main culprit.
And so with herbs, it's food, herbs, and a person's approach to their life or their schedule are the key ways of balancing vata and calming the nervous system. And so often herbal support that I go to some of those things that you didn't mention, definitely ashwagandha is one. Again, the lemon balm is a western herb that I'll use, the holy basil, the skullcap for oftentimes people, if they have a pitta constitution or some pitta aggravation, usually I'll see vata and pitta together causing issues. And so skullcap, passion flower, those are working on the nervous system, but also working on quelling the heat with the heat in the body. And so those are herbs that I might use.
Things like licorice roots, whether it's again in a tea or a churna, a powder formula, that's often one that I use. Licorice root is also a herb that is both good for vata and for pitta dosha, because it's cooling and you have the moisture of the licorice root, so your other demulcents like slippery elm bark or marshmallow root, those are often ones that I use. And then some other Ayurvedic herbs for the nervous system, there's one called shankhpushpi, which is one that I use a lot for when people are dealing with sleep issues that might be in a formula, as well as sometimes other things like valerian roots. So just all those herbs that you know of or that you can think of that, like you mentioned, that are either working on the nervous system and/or bringing moisture into the grounding heaviness into the body.
John Gallagher:
Sometimes it's a moment like this when I was speaking to herbalists, and often people will hear all the possibilities of the herbs. You said lemon balm, and valerian, and skullcap, and all, and you don't have to take all those at once, right?
Tesia Love:
Right.
John Gallagher:
We're talking about finding the right formula that matches you the most, and that could just be one single herb and one tincture or one kind of infusion, right?
Tesia Love:
Right.
John Gallagher:
So what's an example? Nervous system, I'm having trouble sleeping, you're working with a client, and what's an example of an herbal or diet regimen you might suggest to them?
Tesia Love:
For one, if let's say I wanted to recommend something to them that's a simple one herb, as long as they don't have, let's say high blood pressure, it very well would be a licorice root tea, because in that they drink warm, because just the warmth of it gives you a feeling of coziness, feeling grounded. And so having a cup of that every evening, say around 6:00 P.M. or so, that's an example. But as far as a whole protocol, what we would look at, the first thing to help pacify vata dosha is regular routine. So that's not even dealing with something that you take in from food, but from just your schedule. Many people when they're having these challenges, like difficulty sleeping, overactive mind, they're doing things like eating at variable times. So maybe lunch one day is 11:00 A.M., the next day it's one, the next day it's three, the next day they skip it. So, regular-
John Gallagher:
That's not me at all.
Tesia Love:
Right. And it's a practice, like I said, life, so it's a practice. But, yeah, so regular routine. So eating meals about the same time each day calms the nervous system, going to bed and waking up about the same time each day calms the nervous system. And then with your meals, eating warm, moist-cooked foods versus, again, that dry, light, cold, warm, moist, cooked foods calms the nervous system. And another big one that's lifestyle-related is that eating with awareness and presence, eating at a calm environment. So eating at the table with the place setting versus at your desk working, eating calmly calms the nervous system. And it can help you feel calm in that moment, but it also impacts how you feel throughout the rest of your day. So those are big pieces in addition to the herbal support.
Tara Ruth:
I'm chuckling to myself as you're sharing all these things because I'm very vata-dominant. Oh, man, I can't remember the last time I ate breakfast at the same time, like two days in a row.
John Gallagher:
Is that me too, Tara? Do you know? You know me a little while now. I don't know.
Tara Ruth:
I'd say so.
Tesia Love:
That brings me back, again, to that idea of the awareness because just being aware, you can catch yourself. So like when you notice, "Oh, I'm feeling more anxious lately. Okay, let me see what have I been doing that may be contributing to that." That awareness or just pausing to pay attention again to nature and how you're feeling can be a reminder to go back to what you know supports you.
Tara Ruth:
I also loved what you were sharing too about all these just little subtle things that might be easy to overlook like when you make the licorice tea, drink it warm or drink it hot, because that will bring this feeling of warmth and grounding and nourishment, and that could be something so easy to overlook. Exactly how you prepare this formula really changes its energetics and helps tailor it to the unique constitution.
Tesia Love:
Exactly.
Tara Ruth:
I think that's such a helpful, just incredible part of the Ayurvedic framework, and I love that you're calling our attention to that level of detail too.
Tesia Love:
Thank you. Yes, exactly. And that's a good reminder for folks too that, because I know tinctures, tinctures are great. They definitely have their benefit. When I use tinctures, I like the idea that they help with getting fast action, getting a quick result. But at the same time, sometimes even though a tincture can be easy and convenient to use, again, like an herbal infusion, that tea, that warmth, it's another part of a ritual, so to speak, that can help with the healing property of taking in a herb.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, I remember when I was in herbalism school at first being really attached to tinctures, I learned how to do this ratio method. I thought I was so cool, I can make these really powerful tinctures.
John Gallagher:
You were so cool, Tara.
Tara Ruth:
I was. But really soon after that I started to realize, "Oh, I actually am very vata, and this alcohol feels kind of intense in my body actually, and it feels really nourishing to drink a tea and actually to add herbs into my foods and eat soups, etc." And while I really appreciate tinctures, like you're saying, for their fast-acting nature and they can be so great in acute situations, it's fun to think outside of the tincture.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. And water has been the main menstruum for extracting herbs for longer than any other [inaudible 00:41:53].
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. Would you say that when you're working with folks, I guess it depends on the person, but in terms of herbs, are you mainly recommending teas or powdered herbs, or are you incorporating them into people's foods?
Tesia Love:
Right, right. What I do the most, and again, this is based on how I was trained, is I use a combination. Often Ayurveda, they're called churnas, which is basically they're whole herbs, but they're powdered and it's used like a tea. So I made digest the powder along with the water extract or is strained out. But the churna, think of it as, it's basically like what would go into your capsules, but instead of in the capsules, it's just the loose powder. And I might use say, a quarter teaspoon or a half teaspoon of the powder. So churnas are often what I use, even though with churnas, you have to be mindful of the taste and if the client is going to be able to follow through and take the herb.
So sometimes capsules or tablets, I'll recommend. If the client, I ask them if they think that they'll be able to take it, or if one's not... Like let's say I recommend to start off with the churna, but then they say, "Oh, I just can't deal with the taste." Then I might say, "Okay, let's try it in tablet or capsule form." So usually it's churnas or tablets/capsules or herbal infusion of a tea with flowers or petals or that kind of thing. And then on occasion, I might recommend tinctures, but tinctures aren't my go-to for client recommendations. Ayurveda does have a tradition of an alcohol extract type of way of administering herbs, but it's not one that I use so much in my practice. And definitely, of course, herbs and food for sure, especially your pungents, your spices.
John Gallagher:
Well, speaking of your practice, love your website, tesialove.com.
Tesia Love:
Thank you.
John Gallagher:
And I noticed that you have consultations and coaching. And in our world, people are always asking, "I have this situation," or, "I want to learn to be healthier. I love what you're saying and how do I go about that?" And you just happen to have consultations and coaching. So you could tell us a little bit about what you offer on tesialove.com and the work that you're doing?
Tesia Love:
Right, absolutely. Yes. So with consultations, I can work with people either in-person if you're local to the Charlotte area, North Carolina area, but I also work with people virtually, so I have worked with people all over the country. And my consultations, I do in a three-session package where the first session is I do a really in-depth intake, which it lasts anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, where we're looking at your whole health history to take a look at your health history, current habits and tendencies, past habits and tendencies, looking at those things, talking through it, because that's all the information that will inform recommendations that I put together.
And so the second session is a week later, the report of findings, where we go over, I usually do some education in that session, giving more background information about the Ayurvedic approach and then going through what your constitution is, as well as what's called, what's your vikriti, which is the current state of the doshas or what's out of balance. And then starting to go over the approach and recommendations for bringing about balance, those diet and lifestyle and herbal measures.
And then I have at least one, the third session is a follow-up. Sometimes more follow-ups are needed, sometimes not, it just depends on the person. But in that follow-up session, we're talking a little bit more about the recommendations. I try to avoid giving all the recommendations all at once because it can tend to be very overwhelming and depending on the person that might make them want to give up and just forget it all together, so the purpose of the follow-ups are for just easing into the protocols a little bit at a time for providing education and for helping my client, helping us to troubleshoot anything that's getting in the way and changing anything that needs to be changed. That example I gave about going from a churna, if that's not working because the person doesn't want to take it due to taste, okay, then what other format can we use? Or if it's hard to let's say, eat lunch around noon, let's talk about what's getting in the way of that and what might be an alternative.
John Gallagher:
Put it in chai. I just put everything in chai.
Tesia Love:
Yeah, something tasty like that absolutely helps for sure.
John Gallagher:
Tesia, I just want to really appreciate how you have this passion for this, what can seem complex and strange to people in our country and turning it into something very approachable, and you're translating this for us and making it approachable, and I just thought, what a great worked in the world that you do? It sounds fulfilling.
Tesia Love:
Thank you. It is fulfilling, it's certainly a passion of mine. Like I mentioned, I definitely feel like it's a calling for me, and I learn a lot from all the people who I've worked with, and I'm just always looking to refine my skills so that I can be of service.
Tara Ruth:
Well, thank you so much, Tesia. It was so great to meet you, and I'm really excited for our listeners to get to learn about your work.
Tesia Love:
Yes. Thank you so much again for having me. I really appreciate it.
John Gallagher:
And everyone stick around for an herb note.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. Welcome to Herb Notes. I'm Tara Ruth. With their heart-shaped leaves and beautiful flowers, violets, viola odorata, are a delight for the heart and soul. Beyond their charming looks, violets also offer many healing gifts.
Let's dive into three benefits of violets. One, violet for skin irritations. Violet leaves and flowers are demulcent. This means they're moistening for our tissues. Violet pairs this moistening quality with its anti-inflammatory properties to soothe and nourish dry skin conditions. To support dry skin, you can infuse violet leaves into a carrier oil or make a wash with violet tea. Two, violet for dry coughs. Just as violet's demulcent quality makes it a fantastic ally for dry skin, this same quality also makes violet a great remedy for a dry cough. A cough syrup with violet flowers or a violet flower tea can help soothe irritated respiratory tissues.
Three, violet for joy. It doesn't take a professional herbalist to tell you that violets spark joy. These beautiful blooms announce the arrival of spring and gladden the heart with their vibrant colors and delicate petals. Violet flowers have traditionally been worked with to tend the emotional and physical heart. And just a note of caution when working with violets, some violet species are high in a constituent called saponins. If eaten in excess, the violet leaves and flowers in these species can cause nausea and loose stools.
Want to learn more about the benefits of other common herbs? Visit herbnotes.cards to grab a deck of our top 12 herb notes. You'll learn all about herbs like elderberry, chamomile, and more. This has been Herb Notes with me, Tara Ruth, catch you next time.
John Gallagher:
Herb Mentor Radio and Herb Notes are 100% sustainably well-crafted podcasts written, performed, and produced by Tara Ruth and me, John Gallagher. Can you do us a quick favor? Look up Herb Mentor Radio on your favorite podcast app like Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and rate and review us. We'd really appreciate it. Also, visit herbmentorradio.com to find out how you can be part of Herb Mentor, which is a site you must see to believe. Herb Mentor Radio is a production of LearningHerbs.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Thank you very, very, very much for listening.
