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Ayurveda is an ancient healing system from India. It's their holistic medicine, according to Kristy Lanier, owner of the Dirt Bean Ohana Cafe. Lanier has been practicing Ayurveda for about four years now, and offers her services in Marlinton.

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ﾓOne way of looking at it is kind of 'you are what you eat',ﾔ Lanier said. ﾓIt's all about how your body processes food and toxins and releases them. It's believed that Ayurveda predates Chinese medicine. It's one of the oldest, holistic medicine systems in the world. ﾠﾔ

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Lanier said Ayurveda focuses mostly on diet and digestion but also incorporates exercise and meditation.

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ﾓEverything comes into play, the spiritual aspect,ﾔ Lanier explained. ﾓYoga is part of the whole thing too. All these things together; diet, exercise, yoga, spiritual practices, astrology. Diet to coincide with the mind-body make-up you're born with. Prakriti is the term for your mind-body make-up.ﾔ

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When a client visits Lanier initially, they first answer a series of questions that determines their ﾓdosha.ﾔ

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ﾓYou have three doshas; vata, pitta, and kapha. Most people are a combination of a couple. These are like the characteristics that you're born with. Looks, mental make-up, emotional state, that sort of thing.ﾔ

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Lanier described her dosha as an example.

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ﾓI'm vata, kapha. When I found that out, it explained a whole lot. Typically vata people are kind of anxious. Physically they're skinny, not well defined musculature, usually bony or veiny people. Nervous types. Things that aggravate vatas are cold, dry weather. They tend to be highly creative people, and they get really fired up about things, but they burn out quickly.ﾔ

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Once the dosha is determined, a client is given dietary and exercise information that best fits their make-up.

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ﾓYou have different foods for different people. Like since vata people are dry, cold, irritable types, they do better on warm, moist foods. Oatmeal for example. Sweets are good for vatas, they soothe their irritable nature,ﾔ laughed Lanier.

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Lanier first learned about Ayurvedic medicine while studying nutrition.

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ﾓI stumbled upon it about four years ago,ﾔ she said. ﾓIn a roundabout way, it was sort of an 'aha' moment for me. I started racing bikes professionally, and diet became very important to me. I started studying nutrition a lot on my own. My biggest downfall in racing was not having a very good diet. I started paying a lot more attention to what I ate. I started reading a book based on Ayurveda. When I realized what it was about, I was hooked. It all rang so true for me when I started looking back at my life. It all just made sense.ﾔ

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Lanier visited The National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine in Brewster, New York, where she met with Dr. Scott Gerson, both a licensed medical doctor and Ayurvedic practitioner.

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Lanier said the institute has a correspondence program she participates in, and she is excited about learning some new techniques this summer.

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ﾓIn Ayurveda they have a way of feeling your pulse. It's one thing I'm really excited about learning,ﾔ Lanier said. "You can tell people's Prakriti by feeling and listening to their heart rate. When you're vata, pitta or kapha your pulse will have a different rate and pitch to it.ﾔ

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To learn more about Ayurveda or to make an appointment, contact Kristy at 304 799 4038

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