Namaste, I’m Vaidya Jayarajan Kodikannath, Academy Director of Kerala Ayurveda USA and an Ayurvedic physician with a degree in Ayurvedic Medicine from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. With years of clinical practice and academic leadership, I’ve witnessed firsthand how ancient wisdom transforms modern lives. In our fast-paced world, we often find ourselves disconnected from nature’s rhythms, leading to imbalance and disease. Integrating Ayurveda into daily life isn’t just beneficial — it’s essential for maintaining harmony between body, mind, and spirit. Through simple, intentional practices aligned with the seasons, we can prevent illness, enhance vitality, and cultivate lasting wellness from within.
Ayurveda for the Winter Months
As we transition into the colder months, Ayurveda teaches us that winter is dominated by Vata dosha—bringing qualities of cold, dry, mobile, and subtle energy. This seasonal shift calls for specific practices to ground, warm, and nourish ourselves while maintaining balance and protecting our immune system. Here are three essential daily Ayurvedic rituals to embrace this winter:
Abhyanga (Self-Massage with Warm Oil)
Winter’s cold, dry air aggravates Vata dosha, leaving our skin parched and our nervous system frazzled. Daily abhyanga — self-massage with warm, herb-infused oil — is perhaps the most nurturing practice you can gift yourself during these months. This ancient ritual not only moisturizes and protects the skin but also calms the mind, improves circulation, and supports the lymphatic system’s natural detoxification process.
I recommend practicing abhyanga each morning before bathing, using our Calming Body Oil (Ksheerabala Thailam). This traditional formula features toasted sesame seed oil, valued for centuries for its natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, which penetrates deeply to counteract winter’s drying effects while grounding scattered Vata energy. Its warming quality helps ease deep aches, rehydrate dry skin, and lull the body into a state of rest and restoration.
Warming Foods and Digestive Support
Our digestive fire, or Agni, naturally strengthens during winter as the body’s internal heat increases to counterbalance the external cold. This is an ideal time to support and optimize our digestive capacity. Proper digestion remains the cornerstone of health in Ayurveda, and winter’s robust Agni allows us to metabolize heartier, more nourishing foods such as root vegetables and heavier grains.
To support this natural digestive strength, favor nourishing stews and soups featuring grounding ingredients like sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, and parsnips. These substantial foods provide the stability that Vata craves during the mobile, erratic winter season. Enhance your meals with warming spices like ginger, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and turmeric, which kindle Agni while pacifying Vata’s cold, dry qualities. Starting your day with warm spiced water or ginger tea and choosing freshly cooked, warm meals throughout the day ensures your body can properly assimilate nutrients and maintain steady energy levels despite the season’s demands.
Nasya (Nasal Oil Application)
The nasal passages are our gateway to the head, mind, and consciousness. Winter’s dry air and indoor heating create the perfect environment for respiratory vulnerability. Nasya, the practice of applying medicated oil to the nasal passages, creates a protective barrier, lubricates delicate tissues, and supports clear breathing and mental clarity.
Our Nasya Oil (Anu Thailam) is a steroid-free, herbal formula crafted to gently flush and lubricate the nasal passages for healthy respiratory function. Applied each morning, this traditional blend helps relax tension, pressure, and stuffiness while moistening dry, scratchy noses. The tridoshic adaptogens and botanicals work to balance your dosha and open your flow of Prana for greater mental and sensory clarity. This simple two-minute practice during winter months can significantly reduce susceptibility to seasonal colds and congestion.
What I’ll Be Teaching at Sedona Yoga Festival
I’m thrilled to return to Sedona Yoga Festival this year to offer two transformative workshops inspired by this year’s theme, “Unrolling the Scroll.” The first explores Sleep and EMF (Electromagnetic Frequencies). Expect to be guided to examine how electromagnetic exposure from our devices and constant connectivity impacts the mind and subtle body, and consequently, our sleep quality. As we question our relationship with endless scrolling and screen time, understanding this connection becomes essential for protecting our well-being and cultivating restorative rest.
The second session focuses on Self-Care Practices for Optimal Health, where we’ll explore the daily practices (Dinacharya) passed down through ancient Ayurvedic texts — literally unrolling the wisdom of the scrolls. I’ll share key rituals including abhyanga and other oil-based therapies, along with practical guidance on how to integrate these time-tested practices into your modern lifestyle. Whether you’re new to Ayurveda or a seasoned practitioner, you’ll leave both sessions with practical tools and personalized protocols you can begin applying immediately. Sedona’s unique energy and the Festival’s inclusive, consciousness-focused community create the perfect environment for exploring these teachings. The commitment to holistic wellness and the integration of ancient wisdom with modern life aligns beautifully with Kerala Ayurveda’s mission. I’m honored to return and share these practices with fellow seekers who understand that true health encompasses body, mind, and spirit. I look forward to connecting with you in this sacred space.
But If You Can’t Wait—Join Us for a Virtual Event in February!
For those who want to begin their Ayurvedic journey sooner, I’m hosting a virtual webinar on February 18, 2026 5pm-6pm Pacific exploring “Ayurveda & Yoga: A Unified Path to Balance and Vitality.” In this one hour online gathering, we’ll discover how these sister sciences work together to create holistic wellness, from understanding the gunas of the mind, and the doshas of the body, to align your Yoga practice with your unique constitution, and cultivate the vital energies of Agni, Prana, and Ojas.
This intimate virtual format offers a wonderful opportunity to explore foundational Ayurvedic principles before we gather in Sedona to dive into more specific practices like sleep optimization and daily self-care rituals. I hope you’ll join me so we can begin this journey together. Whether you’re a Yoga practitioner curious about Ayurveda or seeking to deepen your existing practice, you’ll leave with practical tools to integrate both disciplines into your daily life. Registration opens soon. Let’s make this winter your healthiest season yet!
Often when I teach about how collaboration supports accessibility, I’m usually referring to a collaboration between teacher and student, which can be incredibly powerful. But there is also the collaboration that happens within a group of students. They can support and encourage each other in essential ways. So it’s important to reflect on how you can help to build a positive yoga community that is supportive, welcoming, and safe for all your students.
When I spoke to Michelle Cassandra Johnson, she explained how community building is an outcome of humility because it shifts power from the individual teacher to the group. It’s an acknowledgment of the healing power of the community. I love the idea that a yoga community is more than its lead teacher or teachers. It is the community itself that is key. It reminds me of Thich Nhat Hanh’s famous saying, “The next Buddha will be a sangha.”
Personally, I find group classes to be a very different experience from my home practice. The group offers support and encouragement and a sense of camaraderie that inspires and motivates me. Cultivating a healthy community is one of the truly special opportunities of teaching yoga.
The stereotype of a lone yogi sitting in meditation in a cave is more mythology than reality. Community is itself a yoga practice because it’s about learning to see yourself in others—which can be hard to do. This idea of transcending our individualism is a thread woven throughout the history of yoga. You can even see it in the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita:
As your mind becomes harmonized through yoga practices, you begin to see the Atman in all beings and all beings in your Self; you see the same Self everywhere and in everything.
Ironically, to facilitate the inward journey of the yoga path, we need outer support. Support in the form of a loving community. Sangha, spiritual community, is helpful in inspiring practice as well as keeping us on the path when we’re struggling. This can be a lot simpler than it sounds. It can simply be a group of students who become yoga friends, bound together by a welcoming teacher.
While we all benefit from community, Accessible Yoga classes may include students who are particularly isolated. Isolation can be unhealthy mentally and physically, so creating opportunities for community-building is not only a nice idea, but a very effective technique for supporting students in general. As a teacher, consider ways to support connection and community. This could include:
Having students introduce themselves at the beginning of class or doing a quick icebreaker.
Learning your regular students’ names.
Creating space before or after class for conversation.
Encouraging students to support each other. They can connect and form friendships outside of class in a way that may not be appropriate for you as the teacher.
Thinking of activities for the students to do together, such as form a book group, or create a fundraiser for a cause they are interested in supporting.
From local kava lounges to retail stores nationwide, botanical supplements are making their way into the mainstream. Not all plant-based products are created equal, though. Botanic Tonics, with manufacturing in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is setting high standards in the botanical supplement space with their commitment to quality sourcing and responsible production.
What Makes Botanic Tonics Different?
Botanic Tonics has vertically integrated their supply chain by purchasing a kava farm in Vanuatu, while continuing to support small, individual farmers who grow and harvest kava the same way they’ve done for centuries. The company’s products are manufactured in an FDA-registered, cGMP-certified production plant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where every batch undergoes rigorous testing for quality and consistency.
What Does feel free CLASSIC Offer?
feel free CLASSIC is thoughtfully crafted to provide mood lift, energy, and focus. The experience varies from person to person, which is why Botanic Tonics emphasizes education and responsible consumption.
What’s Inside?
Botanic Tonics offers two main product lines, both available in tonic (2 oz bottles) and capsule form. Both formulations are designed to provide benefits within 15–30 minutes of consumption, with effects typically lasting 2–4 hours.
feel free CLASSIC: Contains kava root and leaf kratom. Each bottle provides two servings, with clear instructions to consume only one serving (half a bottle) at a time and no more than two servings in a 24-hour period.
Important: feel free CLASSIC is only for adults 21+. This product contains leaf kratom which, like caffeine and alcohol, can become habit-forming if consumed irresponsibly. Consider avoiding potentially habit-forming substances if you have a history of substance abuse.
feel free: Contains kava root, naturally-caffeinated kola nut (100mg per serving), lion’s mane, and rhodiola. This formula does not contain kratom.
Commitment to Quality
Botanic Tonics takes product safety seriously. Their facility has high quality standards, which includes testing for pesticides, aflatoxins, and heavy metals. A certified third-party lab, along with their in-house laboratory, conduct tests on every batch to ensure product integrity.For those interested in learning more about the ingredients, their effects, and how to consume them responsibly, Botanic Tonics provides comprehensive educational resources on their website at botanictonics.com.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Be sure to visit Botanic Tonics at the their booth at SYF2025, May 1–4! Passes, including 1- and 2-Day passes are still available. Register here.
Imagine the sound of singing bowls washing over your body, held by the sacred red rock beneath you. Vibrations travel through ancient stone and resonate throughout your being as golden sunlight bathes your skin. Or imagine, in Warrior 2, your breath synchronizing with the gentle breeze whispering through juniper trees — you are surrounded by the healing reds, greens, and blues of Sedona’s energetic landscape. In the distance, Cathedral Rock stands sentinel as you find yourself completely present. Eyes are closed, heart is open, mind is still. Even in the calm of practice you know that this is so much more than a yoga class; it’s a transformational journey facilitated by the energetic vortexes of the land that both amplify and deepen your connection to self, and the Earth.
The Power of Mindfulness on the Red Rocks
Practicing yoga and mindfulness on Sedona’s red rocks creates an experience unlike anywhere else on earth. These ancient formations are not merely a stunning backdrop — they’re active participants in your journey. The land’s unique electromagnetic properties create energy vortexes that practitioners have sought for generations. Iron-rich composition provides grounding energy while the vast open spaces overhead invite expansion of consciousness and perspective.
Scientific studies show that when we spend time in nature, we dramatically reduce stress hormones and boost immune function and creativity. As a yogi, you know that mindful movement and meditation has a similar effect; there’s no doubt that the healing benefits of yoga and mindfulness are multiplied when practicing in this sacred land.
Aumbase Sedona: Your Gateway to Spiritual Exploration
Aumbase Sedona stands as the premier center for authentic spiritual and wellness experiences in the heart of red rock country. Founded by practitioners dedicated to honoring both ancient wisdom traditions and modern wellness approaches, we specialize in creating sacred connections between people and this remarkable landscape. Our experienced guides are not only certified yoga instructors but also deeply knowledgeable about Sedona’s geology, indigenous history, and energetic properties. We offer daily classes, workshops, retreats, and private experiences designed to meet you wherever you are on your path—whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or taking your first steps.
This year, we’re honored to partner with the Sedona Yoga Festival for exclusive On the Land Journeys. These curated experiences combine the festival’s world-class instruction with Aumbase’s unparalleled expertise in Sedona’s sacred geography. Participants will enjoy sound healing ceremonies where crystal bowls harmonize with the natural acoustics of hidden canyons, gentle yoga flows on smooth red rock platforms with 360-degree views, and guided meditations at powerful vortex sites. Each journey includes transportation from the festival grounds, expert guidance, and specially selected locations that showcase the breathtaking diversity of Sedona’s landscape while supporting your inner exploration.
Join Us for a Transformative Experience
It’s not too late to join us for these extraordinary land journeys during the 2025 Sedona Yoga Festival, May 1–4, 2025! Limited spaces remain for these intimate experiences — past attendees have called Land Journeys the absolute highlight of their festival experience. Don’t miss your chance to experience them.
Use code AUMBASE10 for 10% off all Passes, and stop by the Aumbase booth at the Conscious Expo to learn more about how to make the most of your spiritual journey in sacred Sedona. The red rocks are calling — answer with your presence, your breath, and your open heart.
Before I was DJing at yoga festivals around the world, I was working in the corporate world — feeling disconnected from my deeper purpose. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I wasn’t feeling lit up in my world. So I took the leap. Through travel, sound, and spiritual practice, I slowly began to align with what truly made me shine: creating music that helps people awaken.
I’ve since produced dozens of albums and performed at major festivals like Wanderlust, Telluride Yoga Festival, Sedona Yoga Festival, and others — all with the mission of using music as medicine for the soul. I am absolutely psyched to be returning to SYF this May, offering not only my music for classes and a dance party, but two workshops that I’m honored to get to share with you.
Music has the ability to bypass the mind and go straight to the heart. In a yoga class, the right playlist can guide breath, movement, and emotional release. It creates a container—a rhythm—for transformation. Whether it’s a deep bass drop in a power flow or soft ambient tones in savasana, music invites us deeper into the present moment. As a DJ in wellness spaces, I see music as a co-teacher, helping guide people to their own inner wisdom. I know that a majority of people who participate in SYF are yoga instructors or facilitators in the wellness world. One workshop I’m offering is for YOU, that distills my decade of creating music for transformational events into “The Art of Yoga Music: Crafting Playlists That Inspire & Elevate.”
(Not coming to SYF? You can also access the entire “My Best Playlist” workshop collection with a membership to my Royalty-Free Music Library. The Royalty-Free Music Library provides teachers and brands access to high-quality, conscious music they can legally use in classes, online videos, and social media — without worry of copyright infringement or platform removal!)
I’m also facilitating my classic “Soul Groove: A Sound Journey for Inner Awakening” workshop, developed nearly a decade ago. This sound journey combines a mesmerizing blend of singing bowls, didgeridoos, overtone singing, Native American flutes, percussion, guitar, and atmospheric soundscapes — all curated to open the four directions and harmonize your energy. Because music, when used intentionally, really does give your soul a chance to find its groove.
That’s why over the past year, I launched the Soul Groove Wellness App — a unique wellness app where movement meets music, and where teachers can access curated playlists, guided journeys, and more. Each class or workshop has intentionally-curated soundscapes by me, so you can bring the experience of SYF right into your living room.
Whether you’re a student flowing on your mat or a teacher crafting a transformative space, I invite you to explore the power of music as part of your journey. Let’s co-create rhythm, presence, and purpose—one beat at a time.
In The Islands of Tahiti, we are welcoming Matari’ i Ni’a, our season of abundance, of renewal. In ancient times, our ancestors, or tupuna, guided by their supreme knowledge and understanding of Nature, had determined two main seasons: Matari’i i Ni’a, the season of abundance, from November to May, and Matari’ i Raro, the season of scarcity, from May to November.
Marari’i i Ni’a was marked by the arrival of the Pleaides in the night sky. It also coincided with the turtles coming to lay their eggs on the shores, and seasonal flowers blooming after a time of dormancy. All these natural occurrences indicated a great shift, and the dawn of a new year, or Matahiti. Sacred rituals, incantations, dances and offerings were performed by the local communities to celebrate the natural rhythms of Life, honor all the gifts and thank the ancestors and gods.
There was no religion in that time. These meaningful ceremonies were their way to nurture the profound connection to the visible and invisible worlds, from Te P? (the dark night, or the world below) to Te Papa (the layered rock, or foundation) to Te Ra’i (the sky and the heavens). Oral traditions tell us that the Pleaides represented the original home of the gods and the ancestors. Our lineages are woven into the fabric of the stars, unfolding like a song from the infinite expanse of the celestial realms to our earthly existence.
Our lineages are woven into the fabric of the stars.
Significance in Other Wisdom Traditions
In many ancient civilizations, the Pleiades held a vital role in the dynamics of life and death. In the Vedic tradition, they are portrayed as the wives of the Sapta Rishis, the seven sages and earliest disciples of Lord Shiva. The six visible sisters of the Pleiades symbolize the five senses and the mind, while the mysterious seventh sister represents pure consciousness. Associated with Krittika Nakshatra, the Pleiades are considered the womb of Agni, the fire god, embodying the power to create, birth, and manifest.
In Greek mythology, one version reveals that the Pleiades were the seven nymph-daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione. Pleione, protectress of sailing, gave the name Pleaides. Titan Atlas was condemned to hold up the sky for eternity, leaving him powerless to protect his daughters. To shield the sisters from the hunter Orion’s advances, Zeus transformed them into stars. However, legend says that one sister fell in love with a mortal and went into hiding, which is why only six stars are visible.
The Australian Aboriginal’s tales often depicts seven sisters being chased by the morning star, Jukurra-Jukurra. The pursuit continues across the deserts of Australia, and the sisters take refuge in the sky. The Orion constellation is often depicted as chasing the sisters across the night sky.
For the people of the Native American Navajo nation, the Diné, the Pleaides are the most highly ordered constellation, with its form and shape representing the harmony of the heavens. They refer to it as Dilyéhé, a term loosely translated as “Sparkling Figure” or “Sparkling Particles.” It is said to be associated to the Black God, responsible for magnifying the dark skies. In Japan, the Pleaides are called subaru, meaning “to unite” or “to gather,” symbolizing unity and connection; and in Egypt, the Pleaides were the manifestation of the goddess — the divine mother, the light of love.
Divine Bounty
In the end, these stories all carry a similar message, reminding us that everything is connected and that we all are part of this divine theatre of Life. From the depths of darkness, light emerges, much like the Pleiades shining in the night sky. Over time, they fade from view, symbolizing a period of rest and dormancy, known as Matari’i i Raro in Polynesian tradition. Conversely, Matari’i i Ni’a celebrates Nature’s magnetic radiance, her nourishing vitality and bountiful gifts.
During Matari’i i Ni’a, fruits reach their juiciest ripeness, flowers burst into a mesmerizing display of vibrant colors, and the lagoon and ocean overflow with abundance. Nature is at her peak, and we bask in her luminous embrace, making this time deeply connected to strong feminine energy and heightened creativity.
Reflect the Light to Make Space for Rejuvenation
Here in the northern hemisphere as I write this, it is in the light of autumn that I am basking. I love seeing the leaves changing colors, witnessing the trees gracefully transition. Just as they shed their leaves, this season invites us to let go and allow the leaves of the past to drift away; to journey within our inner universe and reconnect with our land of wisdom and the melody of our heart, and to celebrate our inner Thanksgiving. This is a time to let the golden cloak of autumn wrap us, with the gentleness of a mother: “You are loved. You are love. You are light,” she whispers softly.
November is one of my favorite months here, with the celebration of Thanksgiving, the delicious and comforting scent of pumpkin spice lingering in the air, and the Christmas songs playing on the radio. There is some kind of softness and peace, that gently nudges us to slow down, recharge and prepare for rejuvenation. As we reflect on the past months, we contemplate what we have accomplished, learnt and created. And just as the leaves of the past gently fall to the earth, forming a soft mantle over her, we too are called to release what is no longer part of who we are.
And no matter where we are, the shift in seasons invites us to reflect on our inner landscape. What do we need to let go of? What do we need to make room for? How can we mirror the magic and beauty of nature’s delicate balance? How can we align ourselves with the natural rhythms of life rather than a disrupted connection which leads to stress, disease and suffering?
Living our humanity and spirituality is a journey. In a world where we tend to rush everything, this one is not one we want to run through. We want to savour every bite. Is it perfect? Absolutely not! Is it easy? Not always. Is it worth it? Yes, and a million times yes.
There is comfort in the synchronicity that as my home Islands of Tahiti celebrate the new dawn and the new year, in the Northern Hemisphere, we honor autumn and our harvest. Wherever we are, we turn to our inner lands and give thanks for the breath of life that sustains and moves us, for every gift and lesson that make us stronger and wiser, for the guidance always available to us when we create silence and make space to receive.
From the Pleaides to the constellation within, may we embrace the light that we are. May we celebrate our journey and that of our ancestors and may we serve in ways that recognize the majestic theatre of life we are all part of. As above so below, as within so without.
Yoga is Union. Like the Pleiades creating a harmonious order in the night sky, we come together to foster a deeper sense of community, cultivate self-care and self-love and tend to our inner peace and healing. It is a journey and we don’t have to walk it alone. And if you find yourself at a crossroads, if you find that it is time to give your journey a new direction and a fresh impulse, join us in Sedona next year for the Sedona Yoga Festival! Passes are on sale… OR, drum roll please, maybe Tahiti is calling? Mark your calendars for October 3 to 6, 2025, when we will gather in Tahiti for Tahiti Yoga Fest, a sister event to the Sedona Yoga Festival. Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
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