Balancing a happy and fulfilled life between my role as an Interior Designer and a blogger is something I desperately seek in my life. I’m passionate about more than just design, which is why I started this creative outlet for myself and to try and inspire others! What’s most inspiring however, are individuals who seek this same balance between their career and something else they’re truly passionate about.
This message speaks true to my dear friend back in my hometown of Toronto, Linda Suliman, founder of Breathe Baba. Along with her career in the Sales and Interior Design industry, she’s cultivated a Ayurvedic lifestyle and is also a certified yoga instructor, Ayurvedic counselor, and Reiki Stage 3. Her mission is to guide individuals through a holistic lifestyle that is specifically tailored to the individual. As a person who certainly tries to incorporate holistic characteristics to my lifestyle, I was very fascinated about the services Linda offers and wanted to learn more!
I had the chance to ask Linda some of my burning questions to truly understand the Ayurvedic world, how she decided to lead this type of lifestyle, and, most importantly, how you can incorporate this holistic lifestyle into your everyday life! Read on for our Ayurveda 101 session with Linda Suliman.
Ayurveda 101 with Linda Suliman
BM: What made you want to become a part of the Ayurveda World?
LS: The funny thing is that everyone in Ayurveda knows that we do not choose this lifestyle, it chooses us. Sounds weird, I know, but anyone in the field of Ayurveda would understand what I mean. I have been into health almost all my life. Growing up with a middle eastern Mom who really valued natural middle eastern home remedies, this was a big inspiration to me and is what led me to my interest in the health and fitness field. I began studying Reiki for about 2 years but, my heart yearned for something more than just the physical aspect of wellness. From there, I fell into Yoga and got my teacher instructor license in 2016. I then heard about Ayurveda and the rest was history.
BM: What does Ayurveda mean to you?
LS: This is such a tough question to answer as Ayurveda is such a vast subject. If I were to sum it up without writing out 20 pages of a description, I would say it means to be awakened, a life where your body, mind and senses are fully awakened and at their fullest potential.
BM: What are some ways people can incorporate Ayurveda practices into their everyday lives?
LS: There are many ways an individual can incorporate Ayurveda practices into their live. The best approach would be to focus on some of the main Pillars of Ayurveda: Sleep, Digestion, Elimination, Purification, and Exercise. These four elements may seem very basic and unrelated to disease or health challenges, but they are essential to maintaining good health. If everyone was able to balance all four of these pillars, it would be very difficult for disease to arise within us. Alternatively, when we are not balanced in these four basic pillars, it is very easy for many things to fall out of place, causing us to be more susceptible to disease.
The four basic pillars can be described as follows:
Sleep: We live in a very fast-paced world that does not encourage or value rest. This makes it very difficult for us to make time for ourselves to simply rest. But, rest is essential. Especially restful sleep. Ayurveda believes at least eight hours of good quality, uninterrupted sleep is so important if we would like to be able to function properly in our day-to-day lives. Without healthy sleep, we can find ourselves battling a long list of health issues such as fatigue, anxiety, and poor digestion.
Digestion: Often when we think of digestion, we think about what goes in to, well you know, the toilet or being able to eliminate properly, but digestion is actually what happens before we eliminate. Proper digestion results from fully absorbing all of the nutrients from our food and to be able to source energy from what we absorb. Lacking good digestion can result in very low energy, low appetite, and food sensitivities such as gluten and lactose intolerance. Poor digestion can be improved by making sure that the food we eat, especially our food combinations (what does on our plates) are easy to digest. Additionally, making sure that we are eating our meals in a settled environment, and incorporating spices such as fennel, cumin, and coriander in our daily diets is key.
Elimination: Since eliminating is a private action, you don’t always find people being open to discuss it. Not discussing such topics however, makes it difficult for us in Ayurveda to know what is and is not normal. Through studying Ayurveda, I learned that not eliminating every single day is actually unhealthy and considered constipation. Suffering from constipation can be avoided by avoiding dry foods that would only add more dryness to our physiology. Movement, through walking or yoga, is another great habit that can support healthy elimination.
Purification: Purification is naturally built into the female physiology and happens when a woman is menstruating. For men, and for women past menopause, detoxing needs to take place regularly in order to purify. Health issues may arise in women who are in their menstrual years but are having difficulty with their cycles. Suffering from issues such as irregular periods, spotting, and PMS can be signs that a woman’s purification process is being interrupted. The number one cause for menstrual issues leads us back to our first pillar, sleep. Without restful sleep, our bodies do not have the energy to go through the purification process which leads to issues with our cycles.
Exercise: Just pure movement of any kind, whether it be yoga, soccer, cycling, etc whatever it may be as long as it is not sitting down for long periods of time. This movement allows our bodies organs, internal channels and tissues to work properly.
BM: How would you best explain the 3 doshas?
LS: The doshas are biological energies found throughout the human body and mind. They govern all and exist in the physical and mental realms with every individual having their own unique blueprint for health and fulfilment. The doshas come from the Five Elements – Vata is composed of Space and Air, Pitta of Fire and Water, and Kapha of Earth and Water. Each dosha comes with its own characteristics and personality that make it different than the other dosha’s.
These specific doshas can constantly change depending on our actions, thoughts, emotions, the foods we eat, the seasons, and any other sensory inputs that feed our mind and body. Everyone has all three doshas in them, but you will be more predominant in one or two of the doshas at all times. Life experiences can alter your original state of what you were as a child through life events such as heart breaks, different careers, or emotional trauma just to name a few. What Ayurveda tries to do is bring your dosha’s back to what they were when you were younger to get you back to your true self and your true natural balance.
BM: What would a typical Ayurvedic diet involve?
LS: Ayurveda is very individual to each person’s unique body and mind type, but to name a few guidelines, an Ayurvedic diet consists of six essential tastes – sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. Each one is essential to a healthy, balanced diet. Modern diets get plenty of sweet and salty properties which is not a balanced diet. Eating locally, seasonally, use of spices, limiting animal products (not avoiding altogether, just limiting excessive amounts), and eating based on your dominant dosha are key. There are certain foods to avoid or favor depending on which dosha type you are.
BM: How does yoga play a role in a Ayurvedic lifestyle?
LS: Ayurveda is actually a sister science of Yoga. Yoga is a spiritual science and Ayurveda is a system of medicine and healing, with clinical aspects to it. Yoga and Ayurveda share some similar aspects such as the purification of the physical body and movement of the life force (Prana), for health and spiritual growth. Yoga emphasizes complete unity and oneness with your physical and spiritual self and the world around you, this is similar to Ayurveda in the sense that Ayurveda wants to bring one back to natural balance with oneself and the world around us. These two sciences are complementary and can be used together to get you to a higher wellbeing.
BM: What is your ultimate mission through leading an Ayurvedic lifestyle?
LS: I want to bring awareness to alternative healthcare therapies and alleviate the pressures that typically accompany western medicine, hospitals, and care facilities. I believe that western medicine is very responsive which, is needed in some situations, but it is not always the solution. On the other hand, alternative medicine is preventative which is very much needed as preventative measures. Integration of alternative health can help prevent someone from getting to an unhealthy state which in turn can relieve the pressures on western medicine, hospitals etc. Preventative health care is what we need more of. Ultimately, my mission is to spread the practical knowledge of Ayurveda and inspire others to lead a healthy, awakened life where you are at your fullest potential.
BM: How do you balance your role in the Interior Design industry with your practice?
LS: I feel as though Ayurveda is a way of life, so it comes as second nature to me. At the same time, it can be a bit of a juggling act when having my own Ayurveda Practice along with full-time work in Sales and Interior Design. Both are very different career paths but, because I am passionate about both, that is what keeps me going and in a weird way provides me balance and fulfillment in my life.
To learn more about Linda Suliman and her Ayurvedic services, be sure to visit her website at breathebaba.com
