About
About your practitioner, Anna
I was guided toward the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda around 20 years ago while travelling the world in search of my life’s real purpose. Through discovering the teachings of yoga, I was then led to Ayurveda, and the foundations of a deep connection with these two sister sciences were laid. During my travels I spent some time living in the Amazon jungle with members of the Secoyan tribe. Living with this beautiful community of people deep within the jungle transformed my life perspective in many ways. One thing that resonated with me from this experience was a fundamental principle of Ayurveda, that nature can teach us how to heal.
During my first few years of study in Ayurveda, I worked as a therapist for various Ayurvedic Doctors in Melbourne, Australia. I witnessed people going through profound healing from chronic diseases and this further deepened my faith in this amazing ancient science. For the past 10 years I have run my own Ayurveda clinic in Melbourne and Adelaide, whilst also teaching yoga and meditation to the community. My family and I have recently relocated to Mackay, in Queensland where I currently practice Ayurveda from my home-based clinic in Mount Pleasant.
I hold Yoga and Ayurveda close to my heart and continue to be humbled by the ocean of wisdom of these sacred teachings. I am indebted to my spiritual teachers for their love and care and for being a guiding light through all of life’s challenges.
Qualifications
- Advanced Diploma in Ayurveda, Australian Institute of Ayurvedic Studies
- Certificate IV in Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultancy, Australian Institute of Ayurvedic Studies
- Level 1 Yoga Teacher Training, Veda Yoga Teacher Training
- Bachelor of Business, Queensland University of Technology
Memberships
- International Council of Ayurvedic Medicine (Australia)
- Yoga Australia
About Ayurveda
“Life (ayu) is the combination (samyoga) of body, senses, mind and reincarnating soul. Ayurveda is the most sacred science of life, beneficial to humans both in this world and the world beyond.”
Charaka Samhita Sutrasthana, 1.42-34
Ayurveda is the oldest system of medicine in the world and was first recorded in India more than 5000 years ago. It revolves around the theory of the five elements and the doshas. Our material body is made up of the five elements (earth, fire, water, air and ether) and so is the material environment outside our body. We are constantly influenced by changes going on and our body is constantly trying to adjust. If we can keep in good health with our body’s intelligence functioning optimally, then we can carry out these adjustments with ease and we stay balanced. If not then dis-ease results.
The 3 Doshas
The doshas are 3 types of bio-energies or functional principles that are present in everyone and everything in the material world. They relate to the basic biology of the body and each are made up of two of the five elements and many different qualities.
Vata is the subtle energy associated with movement composed of space and air. Vata governs the nervous system and all movement in the body. It includes nerve conduction and things like breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement and pulsation of the heart. In also includes movement of thoughts. In balance is promotes creativity & flexibility. Out of balance it promotes fear and anxiety.
Pitta expresses as the body’s metabolic system and is made up of fire and water. Pitta governs digestion, absorption, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism and body temperature. In balance it promotes understanding and intelligence. Out of balance it brings anger, hatred and jealousy.
Kapha is the energy that forms the body’s structure and is formed from earth and water. It is closely linked to the lymph system and is also the ‘glue’ that holds the cells together including the bones, muscles, tendons and organs. Kapha supplies lubrication for all bodily parts and systems such as the joints. It moisturizes the skin and maintains immunity. In balance kapha is expressed as love, calmness and forgiveness. Out of balance can lead to attachment, greed and envy.
We need all 3 doshas to function, but we are born with a blue-print or a certain level of each. This combination is called your prakruti or body-type. Once you know your body-type you can start to discern what types of qualities to bring in to your life to stay balanced. This may be through food, through lifestyle practices and anything you bring in through the senses eg. things you hear, see, taste, touch or smell.
In Ayurveda like increases like, so if one dosha is aggravated we need to bring in the opposite qualities to balance it out. Eg. one quality of Pitta is heat, so we can balance that by bringing the opposite quality of cool. One quality of Vata is dry so we could balance that by bringing oiliness. We are affected by everything we are exposed too, so the key to staying in balance is to be aware of what we need and use these helpful tools to understanding how we are ‘wired’ from birth.
Through dosha analysis, you can determine tendancies of your personality, physical, and mental state and determine what diet and lifestyle factors are most suited to you.
Ayurveda is a sister science to Yoga and recognises that each of us is an individual spirit soul, a small spark of the Supreme Soul. We are each temporarily housed within the body that we have on. In order to take care of this most precious form of human life, we have been given the most amazing healing science of Ayurveda.
The science of Ayurveda recognises the unique interconnectedness of all the cells and subtle energies of our mind and body and how each of us, in our own unique way, are continually making an exchange with the external environment as we move through life. By making the right choices each day with how we engage with the world, we can increase the harmony in our life.
