My Return to Ancestral Healing

Throughout my life, Ayurveda has always been part of my upbringing. I am from an Indian, Punjabi household and Ayurvedic medicine wasn’t new or trending. It was woven into the everyday, distantly healing in the background of my life. My mother would reach for turmeric, neem and tulsi before painkillers, massage warm mustard oil into our scalps and prepare meals not just for taste, but to heal. 

I never really realised the power of this sacred medicine. As we grow through life many of us explore different cultures. Modern life can pull you away from your roots. My life became unbalanced, convenience over consciousness. I ignored my body’s whispers and numbed emotional stress with distractions until I was deeply unwell, exhausted, and disconnected.

This is when I realised how far away from myself I had become. Over 10 years I have tried many different holistic practices; each gifted me with wisdom, but I still felt unfulfilled. Once I started my return to my roots and practised the same way my mother had infused in me all those years ago, it felt real, natural and healing.

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is ancient traditional healing from India and the ancient Vedic culture. Known as “The Mother of All Healing.” This sacred wisdom has been practised for over 5,000 years and is part of everyday life in India. Ayurveda translates to “The Science of Life” This wisdom acknowledges the root causes of illness. Ayurvedic philosophy is based on whole body healing and promotes a healthy mind, body and soul. Ayurvedic medicine brings healing and health by using food, herbs and spices, sacred rituals, movement and lifestyle principles that bring health and balance. It invites you to make conscious choices towards your 

lifestyle.

Ayurvedic Living 

There are many ways to live an Ayurvedic lifestyle. Here are some of the most profound and simple choices we can make to align with the wisdom of Ayurveda.

1. Dinacharya – Daily Rituals

Start your day with intention and creativity. Wellness and self-care practices that align with the daily rhythm of am and pm, are necessary to bring positive change. 

2. Ritucharya – Seasonal Alignment

Adapting your lifestyle, food and rituals towards the seasonal change. Living in flow with nature’s cycle helps to maintain balance and health throughout the year.

3. Ahara – Food as Medicine

Food is sacred nourishment, not just for the body, but for the soul. Eating sattvic foods that are suited to your dosha. Time in the kitchen becomes meditative and eating becomes mindful.

4. Agni – Strengthening Digestive Fire

Transformative energy is responsible for digestion and metabolism in the mind and body, allowing us to process food and thoughts. By looking after this inner fire we promote vitality and clarity.

5. Shodhana & Shamana – Cleansing & Balancing 

Shodhanan is a detoxification and purification therapy that cleanses the body on a deeper level. Shamana therapies are more gentle methods of balance including diet and nutrition, herbal remedies and lifestyle changes.

6. Sattva – Balance, harmony and goodness 

Creating space for simplicity and honouring your inner wisdom. When you have clarity in the mind you can achieve emotional balance. True health includes peace of mind. 

7. Adhyatma – Spiritual growth 

Prayer, rituals and spiritual practices for the soul and self. Connection to the Divine through yoga, meditation and pranayama.

8. Saundarya – Divine Beauty & Radiance

Beauty is an expression of inner balance and health. It will radiate from a healing body, peaceful mind, and conscious spirit. This sacred self-care includes nourishing the skin with herbal oils, flowers and herbs. Using natural beauty rituals rooted in nature.

An Ayurvedic lifestyle can be simple and easy. Turning your everyday life into intentional living. This ancient wisdom has helped me heal parts of myself I neglected and invited me to see myself as a whole being, this healing is not only mind and spirit but also the vessel we live in; our home and the sacred temple are deeply connected to how you heal. My most profound change was my relationship with food. Emotional healing unfolded alongside the physical. I acknowledged that my self-abandonment had manifested so deeply in my body that some days, I couldn’t recognise myself. The more I slowed down, the more I began to feel.

Ayurveda has allowed me to realign and care for myself with compassion. I now trust my body’s intelligence and the wisdom of the natural world. When our lives can pull us outwards, Ayurveda guides us inwards, back to the centre. It’s a journey of healing that isn’t found in a quick fix or wellness trend. It’s returning home.

Today, my life isn’t perfect, but it is conscious and for the first time, I opened myself fully to Ayurveda, my heritage and culture. This has been the most beautiful part of this journey. As a Indian woman reclaiming Ayurvedic wisdom, I felt like I was picking up threads that have been frayed by distance and time. There is something deeply empowering about turning to practices my ancestors had used for centuries. My return isn’t something new, it’s sacred and beautifully familiar.

Ayurveda didn’t just help me feel better. It helped me remember who I am. An Ayurvedic lifestyle is not routine, its rituals that are love notes to yourself.