My Journey to Healing through Ayurveda.

When I graduated from college in 2006 I was diagnosed with a chronic digestive disease called Ulcerative Colitis. The doctors told me there was nothing I could do to heal from the disease and the best I could hope for was to go into remission for short stints of time. At my lowest point, I was taking 18 prescription pills and my symptoms were still extremely debilitating, not to mention embarrassing.


 In 2008 I started researching alternative forms of medicine, and even flew solo to Bali to meet Wayan, the healer from the book, "Eat, Pray, Love". Although it was lovely to meet Wayan, unfortunately having one session with her was not going to heal me. I was looking for a quick fix, and eventually realized that with my disease there was no quick fix. 


About a year later I moved back home with my parents, depressed, sick, and feeling hopeless. I would often attend these free lectures at a local book shop near my parents house. One night, a beautiful Indian woman named Shunya Pratichi Mathur gave a lecture about the ancient indian healing practice called, Ayurveda. From the moment she started speaking, I was completely captivated. She spoke about how humans are a microcosm of the macrocosm of the universe. She explained how the 5 elements, earth, water, fire, air and space exist in our bodies and how imbalances of these elements can cause disease. She also spoke about the mind, and the spirit, and how true healing can only be achieved when we look at the person as a whole being. It was the first time I had even considered the possibility that my disease was not just bad luck or poor genetics, rather an imbalance that was curable once the root causes were removed.


 I signed up for an Ayurvedic retreat with Shunya Ji the following weekend, and ended up carpooling with 2 Ayurvedic doctors who would change the course of my life forever. As we drove through the golden hills down the 101 on the way back from the retreat hey listened with warm eyes and compassionate hearts as I shared my story with them. I had tried so many different diets and supplements and tinctures and traveled halfway around the world and was still not cured. Tears streaming down my face, one of the doctors looked into my eyes and told me with confidence that I would heal from this disease. He told me to get out a pen and a piece of paper and write down everything he said. The doctors collaborated giving me a list of foods to avoid and new recipes to cook. They also gave me instructions on what time to wake up in the morning and how to do a simple meditation every morning to help me connect to my deeper self and heal my mind and spirit as well. After a few months of following their instructions, my condition had improved dramatically. I became fascinated with Ayurveda and signed up for a one year self healing course with Shunya Ji at Vedika Global, a small Ayurvedic college in Emeryville, Ca. After submersing myself in Ayurveda for a year, changing my diet and lifestyle, meditating, doing yoga, and learning how to cook foods that were balancing for my body... I healed. Not only did I heal from ulcerative colitis, but everything in my life improved. I slowly weened myself off all prescription mediation, my skin cleared up and I even developed a glow. I would get tonsillitis four times a year before I started following an Ayurvedic lifestyle, after that one year course, I have not had tonsillitis once. 

I was so impressed by my own recovery, and deeply intrigued by this 5,000 year old science that I studied for two more years and became an Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Wellness Counselor so I would be able to share this knowledge with others. In 2012 I founded Daily Ayurveda. My goal is to share the deeply rooted solid science of healing in a simple and digestible manner so that others may benefit from all of the gifts Ayurveda has to offer.



From the heart,
Brittany

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