August 3, 2025 • 46 mins
What if the secret to transforming your health isn't found in the latest supplement or workout trend, but in the ancient wisdom that our ancestors knew all along? Join us as we dive deep with Hannah Levin, who discovered that our bodies and minds possess an infinite capacity to heal—when given the right conditions and support.
We explore how personal healing creates ripple effects that extend far beyond ourselves. Hannah Levin shares her transformative journey from struggling with her own health challenges to becoming a guide for women seeking vibrant wellness through the integration of ancient practices and modern science.
- Learn why Hannah believes that with the right conditions and support, our bodies and minds can heal from virtually anything—and how to create those optimal conditions in your own life.
- Discover how traditional practices like Ayurveda and yoga can be enhanced with contemporary habit formation techniques for lasting transformation.
- Understand how your personal healing journey doesn't just transform your life—it creates a cascade of wellness that impacts your family, community, and ultimately our planet.
- Learn practical strategies for overcoming the belief that you're "stuck" in your current health situation and how to shift into a mindset of infinite possibility.
This Episode Is For
- Women seeking a holistic approach to health and wellness
- Anyone struggling with chronic health issues looking for hope and practical solutions
- Practitioners interested in integrating ancient wisdom with modern techniques
- People curious about Ayurveda, yoga, and mindset transformation
Hannah Levin is the founder of Heartfelt Wellbeing LLC. She is an Ayurveda Practitioner, yoga teacher. Her mission is to alleviate unnecessary suffering in the world. Hannah expertly guides women to regain their optimal health and wellbeing through her online coaching programs and retreats.
Connect with Hannah heartfeltwellbeing.com
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Rose Wippich bridges ancient wisdom and modern life, teaching people how to tap into their natural healing abilities. Through her work as a Qigong and Yoga instructor, Reiki Master Teacher, and Energy Alchemist, she guides others toward vibrant health and authentic self-discovery. She's passionate about helping women rewrite society's limiting narratives around aging and step into their sovereign power.
Connect with Rose!
Rose's Website
IG: Rose Wippich
Youtube Channel: Rose Wippich Wellness
Email: rose@rosewippich.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hannah combines ancient wisdomwith modern habit evolution
techniques to help women breakfree from the belief that they
are stuck in their currenthealth situations.
Her message is clear With theright conditions and support,
our bodies and minds have aninfinite capacity to heal, ready
to unlock your most vibrant,authentic self.
(00:22):
Your journey to radiantwellness starts now.
Welcome to Chat Off the Mat.
I'm your host, rose Whippich,and I'm here to guide you on an
extraordinary journey offeminine healing, energy work
and total wellbeing.
Get ready to be inspired byauthentic conversations with
leading women practitioners,wellness experts and holistic
(00:44):
healers who understand yourunique journey.
Subscribe to Chat Off the Matwherever you get your podcasts
and let's create magic together.
Hannah (00:55):
Welcome, Hannah.
Thank you, Rose.
I'm so excited to be here.
Rose (01:00):
I'm excited that you're here, so we're going to start
off by asking you to tell usabout yourself and your journey,
to how you came to helpingothers on your path.
Hannah (01:11):
Yeah, well, I think, like many people who end up in
the healing profession, we haveto go through some dark nights
in our own evolution.
So I feel really luckyevolution.
So I feel really lucky.
I grew up in a family wherefood and herbs were seen as
medicine, and so that seed gotplanted very early on in my life
(01:33):
.
However, I had chronic sinusinfections all through high
school and I turns out like myroom in the house that I grew up
in was kind of moldy and likethere were kind of just all
these predisposing things Fastforward, like gut dysbiosis that
came in from all thoseantibiotics, and then the things
(01:56):
that happen like you know,inflammation and insomnia and
weight gain, and you knowhorrible PMS and, um, joint pain
, I mean kind of all the thingsand, um, yeah, and then I became
a yoga teacher, um in two.
(02:17):
I started teaching yoga in 2004and I was, um, you know, kind
of seen as somebody in thecommunity that was really
healthy, but I felt like a frauda lot because I was like
dealing with my own health stuff.
And so, in 2015, I went toAyurveda school and I went part,
(02:40):
like in big part, to be able tohelp other people.
But what I didn't realize ishow much I would heal.
But the big shift for me was in2013, I was diagnosed with high
grade cervical dysplasia, whichis a pretty common diagnosis for
women and there's a lot of, Iknow.
You get the whole likeenergetic and spiritual,
(03:03):
emotional components ofeverything.
So, as we are women living in apatriarchal society and
navigating how to be powerful inwhatever way that looks like
that's acceptable, a lot of uswill have imbalances in our
reproductive organs, and theWestern medicine route is to cut
(03:25):
it out, which doesn't actuallysolve anything.
And so that diagnosis in 2013really put me on my path to be
like I'm not going to just havesurgery to remove 70% of my
cervix, I want to investigate,like why this happened, like go
upstream, and so that led me toAyurveda School in 2015.
(03:48):
So I've been practicing foralmost 10 years now and
specializing in women's healthspecifically.
Rose (03:56):
What a journey, and you know, I think oftentimes, in
many who I've spoken with on thepodcast, they've had to go
through their own challenges toget where we are today.
And as you're describing yourstory too, I mean, I'm also a
yoga instructor and became oneafter having my own personal
struggles and realizing how muchyoga has helped me and
(04:21):
transformed my life as well.
Hannah (04:23):
Well, let me just say that all of the things that I
mentioned prior that I wasstruggling with I no longer
struggle with and I've had someyou know health roller coasters
since then.
I mean, as we live and you know, now I'm in perimenopause and
like that's its own adventure,and so I'm constantly learning
(04:44):
from my own experience.
What I found from studyingAyurveda is that all of us have
this blueprint of who we areuniquely.
That's based in a five elementsystem.
Should I do kind of like abrief?
Rose (04:59):
Sure, yeah, I think that would be great.
I mean, I yeah, I think thatwould be great to educate our
audience, because I know that,according to Ayurveda,
everybody's different.
Hannah (05:08):
Right, yeah, and yet there's some things that we can
all align with.
Yes and so, yeah, so Ayurvedaoriginated in India over 5,000
years ago, so what I like topoint out is that things that
don't work don't stick around.
So the fact that it has stuckaround for over 5,000 years is
pretty incredible.
(05:29):
It's a five-element systemsimilar to Chinese medicine and
Tibetan medicine, which actuallygrew out of Ayurveda as it
traveled across Asia.
So the five elements inAyurveda are space, air, fire,
water and earth.
Five elements in Ayurveda arespace, air, fire, water and
earth, and everything can bebrought back to its elemental
(05:49):
components, from food to weatherpatterns, to mental states, to
things that are happening in ourbodies, to life stages, to
everything.
And Ayurveda further simplifiesus working with these elements
by putting them into what wecall doshas or energies.
And dosha can also betranslated as faults, kind of
like the fault in the earth,like where things shift, and so
(06:14):
the doshas and I'll come back tothis shifting idea in a moment
but the doshas are made up oftwo elements each.
So vada is the dosha that'smade up of air and space Sorry,
air and space, so it's verylight and ungrounded and dry and
(06:36):
mobile.
Pitta is made up of fire andwater, so it's very like hot and
sharp and spreading.
And kapha is made up of earthand water, so it's heavy, dull,
cool, static, and so all of ushave all three of these doshas,
but in differing amounts, andthat's where we become our own
(06:58):
unique universe.
So we have what's called aprakriti, which is our base
constitution, which isestablished when we're conceived
, and then we have vikritis,which are ways in which we get
out of balance as we live ourlives.
Those vikritis can come in veryearly in our lives so we can
think they are innately who weare.
But when we begin to travel thisAyurvedic journey initially,
(07:22):
you don't really need to knowyour specific constitution
Initially.
Just living in alignment withthe rhythms of nature will help
tremendously.
So knowing how to live inalignment with the different
seasons and if we're living in aplace where there are actually
four different seasons, then wehave these elemental qualities
(07:46):
that we're balancing as we'renavigating.
If you just align with eatingseasonally to balance the doshas
that are predominant, so, likein the springtime, we have these
heavy elements of earth andwater.
We want to eat lighter foods tobalance that.
Balancing with the wisdom ofopposites is really what we're
(08:06):
always focusing on.
So navigating with the seasonsis a great place to start, and I
think a lot of people getreally hung up on what's my
constitution and then they'relike oh, this Ayurveda thing is
too complicated, I'm not goingto bother.
When we do add in the layer ofpersonal constitution, that's
where we can see our tendenciesand our patterns and we start to
(08:29):
click like, oh yeah, everyspring I get really mucusy and
like feel really heavy all thetime, or like I tend to get
headaches at 4 pm in, you know,in the winter, or things like
that that were like, oh, aha,it's a lot of noticing.
And then we can see thesepatterns.
(08:50):
But the individual constitutionreally helps us understand that
we're not so strange.
We will have these tendencies,like I had a tendency to.
I'm vada pitta, so I'm vada,predominant secondary pitta, and
then I don't have much kapha atall, but I was getting these
(09:13):
chronic sinus infections andlots of mucus where the
imbalance that I was dealingwith was kapha, this heavy, sick
, mucusy experience, but thenother experiences like chronic
constipation and insomnia andanxiety.
Those are all vata imbalances.
So my primary constitution isthat fault.
(09:36):
It's like where we tend to goout of balance.
So we will tend to go out ofbalance most in our predominant
dosha.
Rose (09:44):
I like the way you explained it, even if we don't
know our own constitution, whichcan be very daunting if you
don't have it explained to youwell, or the proper guidance.
If you live with the seasons,then you're on the right path
there and understanding okay.
Well, I'm not feeling so good.
Why am I not feeling well?
I'm constipated, my skin is dry.
(10:04):
There's, you know, seasonalreasons why this is occurring.
That could be a clue as towhere your imbalances might lie.
Absolutely yeah, and I mean,I've been learning or following
Ayurveda for a long time andthere's always something new and
I'm always reminded of my ownimbalances and, you know,
(10:26):
reminding myself what I need todo at certain times of the year.
So it's, this is wonderful,it's a great roadmap really.
Hannah (10:33):
It is.
And another thing I'd like tojust add in there is like none
of us in Western culture learnthis stuff.
You know, I specialize inwomen's health and the main
program that I run is a yearlong, so that we travel through
each of the seasons andeverybody gets to experience,
like, what does balancing inthis season look like?
Because we're constantlychanging and we need to be in
(10:56):
conversation with nature, always, always.
Well, we don't learn thatgrowing up in the United States,
we are told, like you can havedaylight whenever you want, just
turn on a light or you can, youknow, eat whatever you want
Anytime of the year.
We import foods from all overthe world.
Who knew what seasonal eatingwas right?
(11:16):
So any of these really basicthings come back to us living in
rhythm with nature.
Back to us living in rhythmwith nature, and what I have
found, and why I built a groupprogram and a community, is that
we you know, behavioral scienceshows us that our habits are
not our own, that we areactually expressing the habits
(11:36):
of the five people we interactwith the most.
So if we're living in anarrhythmic culture and
interacting with otherarrhythmic people, it's going to
be really hard for us to makethese changes, even if it's just
, you know, going to bed alittle earlier, eating dinner
before the sun down or eating.
You know, like that, thatthere's these things that if we
(12:01):
start doing them, we feel orseem or are labeled as weird and
strange.
But if you join a community ofother people that are having
these conversations and you knowimplementing these things in
their lives too, then there's alot more ease with making those
transitions, which thenultimately benefit you for the
(12:21):
rest of your life.
Rose (12:24):
I love this conversation because I think women especially
tend to put their needs last.
So if they want to eat early orif they want to eat something
that is different than whateveryone else in their family
wants to eat, because they'reconscious of their diet or
Ayurvedic rhythm, right, theywon't honor that.
(12:47):
And I struggle with that aswell, even with just my husband
home.
I mean, he was working late andthen it's eight o'clock or 7.30
.
I'm like I don't want to eatthis late, but I can't find
myself to just sit down and eatwhen I want to, and I need to do
that.
But it's really important tolisten to what we want to do.
Hannah (13:07):
It is yeah, and as women , we're trained to make sure
everybody else is okay Notnecessarily us, right?
So like, oh, I'm not sleepingwell or, you know, I'm having
digestive issues, whatever, aslong as everybody else is okay,
but yeah.
So being in community withother women who are learning how
to pay attention to their own Icall them the check engine
(13:31):
lights, right, like the littlesignals that we get can we
listen with the ear of ourhearts, instead of the judge or
the you know punitive voice?
That's like stop, you know,stop feeling bad, or stop, you
know, complaining, or stop, youknow be.
Like can I just listen and belike, oh, wow, there's that
sensation again.
Or like I didn't sleep wellagain.
(13:53):
What?
What can I do to to reallynourish and nurture this being,
body, mind and spirit?
You know it's not all physicaland a lot of people think
Ayurveda just has to do withfood.
It's not a diet.
You know there's not one way toeat in Ayurveda.
It's kind of seasonal alignmentlayered with your personal
(14:17):
constitutional needs andimbalances that you're healing,
and so everybody's on their ownjourney.
But while we live in thisreally individualist society,
it's like everybody for theirown.
We're really hesitant to do likewhat you were just talking
about.
Like what if you sat down byyourself and set a nice table
(14:38):
for yourself and you know, atfive, 30, and just had like a
really lovely evening meal, andthen when your husband comes
home at eight you're like here'syour dinner and I'll sit and
talk with you and I'll have acup of tea.
But I feel better if I'm noteating at 8 pm.
Great, you know, and we're nothere to force it on anybody else
.
But we in my program, theVitalia Circle, we call it
(15:00):
trickle down Ayurveda because,as we are practicing, and you
know the people in ourhouseholds and I have two
teenagers who are very resistantto all this stuff but then
they'll start noticing, you know, they'll be like oh yeah, I ate
all that ice cream at 10 pm.
And then I woke up this nextmorning just feeling really
(15:22):
groggy and sluggish and had abig coating on my tongue and I'm
like, there you go you'renoticing, digestion is really,
really important to observe inAyurveda.
Rose (15:34):
Can you talk about that?
Hannah (15:35):
And then the gut microbiome, because this is good
stuff, yes, and what I loveabout this conversation is that
Western medicine is justdiscovering how important that
gut microbiome is and healthydigestion to our overall health.
But Ayurveda has known this forover 5,000 years.
So, yeah, digestion is seen asthe seat of health in Ayurveda
(15:55):
and so all of us have acombination of all three doshas,
as I mentioned before.
But there are tendencies foreach doshic pattern with the so
VADA folks will tend to havemore dry issues, so gas bloating
(16:16):
, so burping, farting, feelinglike you're pregnant after you
eat a meal, like really bloatingup, and also feel erratic
hunger, so not really clear,authentic hunger, like eat a
meal.
So Vata folks will tend to kindof pick at food or snack
(16:37):
throughout the day, which isactually further increasing the
imbalance, instead of eatingjust three regular meals on a
schedule.
And then, elimination-wise,vata folks will tend to be um,
constipated, so we'll not have afull bowel movement at least
once a day.
Often it's dry pebbles, feelslike there's not a full
(17:01):
elimination, um, and can have atendency towards things like
hemorrhoids, um and so and.
And use of laxatives ends upoften being what people turn to
there, and a lot of people areon laxatives that don't need to
be right um, and you know thosecan be helpful in short,
(17:21):
short-term uh needs.
But pitta digestion will tendto be hot.
So dealing with things likeacid reflux, gerd, and we'll
maybe even have like a burningsensation in the stomach.
And then, elimination wise,we'll be dealing with loose
(17:42):
stool.
So the people that like have torun to the bathroom or even
going to the bathroom after eachtime they meet sorry, eat are
going to have more of that pittafiery imbalance.
And then kapha, the sluggishnessis like if you eat and then you
feel like there's just a rockin your stomach, like things are
(18:03):
not moving or like it's takingforever to digest something, and
then constipation is also anoutcome of that for the
elimination, but it's more of asluggishness, not not from it
being hard and dry, but from itjust being slow, like it feels
like it takes days for, you know, a meal to move, move through
(18:28):
your move through your system.
There can also be mucus in thestool there and so the gut
microbiome is is really kind ofthe modern day term for for what
we're looking at in Ayurveda,which is what we call Agni,
which is spelled A-G-N-I, whichis spelled A-G-N-I, which is the
(18:54):
digestive fire, and so wereally look at the digestive
fire as the seed of health.
So we want to have if you thinkabout, like you know, having a
campfire that you're going tocook food over while you're
camping you don't want a raginginferno.
You couldn't cook anything onthat, you'd have to stand back
40 feet right.
And you also don't want just ateeny little twig fire because
that won't be enough to, youknow, heat anything or cook
(19:18):
anything.
So we want a really healthy,balanced fire that has, like
some good coals, you knowthey're like established for
ongoing radiant heat and alittle bit of flame.
And so often when I startworking with women, we're
looking at specifically what'sgoing on with their digestion
(19:40):
and most people have compromisedagni, and I would say more so
on the and I would say more soon the lack of strength side
than being overactive.
(20:02):
So the agni really often needssupport through both rebuilding
the microbiome.
So in our kind of modern dayconversation about this, people
are really focused on probioticsand prebiotics and us wanting
to have the, the gut bugs thatare really beneficial, and then,
you know, taking out the gutbugs that are not as great.
(20:22):
Like you know, candida isprobably one of the you know,
like yeast kind of overgrowth isprobably one of the most common
known.
But what I think that modernday conversation is missing is
the support of the digestivefire that through what we're
eating, like using digestivespices and making sure food is
(20:46):
warm and cooked when the agni islow, we're not eating raw, cold
or dry foods that weresupporting that, that fire,
without bombarding it with.
You know, probiotics and evenyou know probiotic foods have
become really popular, like welland kombucha was something that
(21:10):
really took off as this is aprobiotic food but if you're
having kombucha you need like anounce of it a day, like
drinking a whole bottle ofkombucha is very overtaxing for
oh yeah, I know firsthand.
Rose (21:23):
I tried it and I was.
I was in agony, I didn't knowwhat was happening I think we
try too, I think we try to do somuch, and even with the
probiotics, I mean, it all comesdown to having a balance.
Hannah (21:38):
Right, right.
And so having some probioticfoods I encourage folks to make
homemade sauerkraut andsometimes kimchi, depending on
how well they handle spice.
But again, those are things todo like in spring and fall, not
so much in summer and winter.
And so knowing the seasonalityof it is really helpful when
we're at these joints in theseason, giving our body a little
(22:02):
bit of a boost.
But even just using culinaryspices you know, cumin,
coriander, cinnamon, cardamomand ginger especially fresh
ginger is so beneficial for yourdigestion that you know what
we're eating looks reallydifferent when we start looking
(22:25):
at it from a place of tending toour inner well-being, of that
biome but also the fire there.
And we can really do a lot ofgood work just by including
certain spices and certain foodsin our diet.
(22:46):
And you know, food in our modernculture is very much equated to
fuel, like put fuel in the gastank, and there's a lot more to
that and I would say that'sactually not a very helpful
analogy.
Most of the time we do needfuel to continue, you know, to
(23:08):
have energy.
And yet the whole conversationof like calories, I'm like let's
, let's get rid of that Likecalorie.
You know.
You know however many hundredcalories of Cheetos and a
hundred calories of broccoli aregoing to do very, very
different things in your body.
Yeah, so, anyway, I digress,but that's a bit of the
(23:31):
microbiome Agni picture.
Rose (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, and it's really difficult for someone to
understand what's going on inthe microbiome unless you get it
tested.
I recently had mine tested andfound that I have leaky gut.
So my doctor is giving meprotocol all natural supplements
, including probiotics, that I'mfollowing and I have to say I
(23:57):
had distention and gas and allthose things.
I know it's TMI, but I'mtelling you because now I feel
way better.
I don't feel that I feel likemy digestion is normal.
I have off days, but I knowit's because maybe I had.
You know, I was also told don'teat gluten and dairy for three
months because I was havingjoint pain and also affected my
(24:18):
gut.
I noticed a difference there.
So being guided by someone likean expert, a doctor or someone
in Ayurvedic field like yourselfis really important, because
you don't want to go ahead andstart doing something and, you
know, eating a pound of ginger aday because you may wake up and
be like, oh my God, you have togo to the hospital or something
(24:38):
like that.
You don't want that.
Hannah (24:44):
Right, yeah, I love that .
You've experienced thatfirsthand too.
And in Ayurveda we have thesethree questions that we always
ask.
And they are for who?
Who are we talking about?
Because everybody has their ownindividual universe.
When, when are they doing this?
And you know what time of year,what stage of their life, what
(25:04):
time of day right when are theydoing?
And then how much?
Right, so how much of this foodor herb or exercise or whatever
?
And in our Western mentality, wetend to think if a little is
good, more is better, and thatis not actually the case.
So, yeah, it is about, it'sabout balance, it's about
(25:25):
understanding everybody'suniqueness.
And how many of us too, I mean,before I found Ayurveda, I'd be
like, oh, this diet or whateverwas is working for my friend,
I'll, I'll try that.
And then be like, oh, that thatfeels awful or so, and so can
eat that piece of chocolate cakeand feel, fine, I can too.
Or you know, they like to drinkwine or whatever.
And we're taking those cuesexternally by just looking at
(25:48):
the world around us, like, howcan I be?
Okay.
And then, alternatively, we'lllike, in your case, you might
have had a point in time whereyou're just like, well, I'm just
getting older, so my joints aregoing to ache, and we kind of
write it off instead of askingthe question like, how good
could I feel right now?
(26:08):
And wow, I'm not feeling thatgreat.
Let me check into what I coulddo about it.
A lot of folks and I thinkespecially women, because we're
caretakers and we're not used topaying attention to ourselves
we we write it off and we say,well, it's, it's okay, it's okay
that I've gained 20 pounds inthe last five years.
(26:28):
I'm middle aged anyway.
I'll you know everybody else,my age looks like this or
whatever it is whatever yeah.
Yeah.
So I do detoxes twice a year,in the spring and the fall.
So these are the shifts in theseasons from when it's hot to
cold or cold to hot, and we needto reset that digestive fire
(26:49):
and I think it's important torecognize that.
You know, we can get lots oftesting done and we like to know
specifically what's happeningin our gut, but we can also just
do routine resets of lead.
So during these D, I mean Icall them detoxes, but they're
really digestive resets.
(27:09):
I tried to sell them as adigestive reset and nobody
signed up.
But when I sell it as a detox,it's like all these people sign
up.
So it's kind of funny.
But the the point is that we'rewe're really dialing down what
we're asking of the digestivefire, rekindling the digestive
fire, re-inoculating with somegood seasonal probiotic and
(27:33):
prebiotic foods, and then thatlets you have some awareness,
Like it's.
It's a time when you can belike oh yeah, I don't feel very
good when I eat gluten or dairyor um, or if you have leaky gut
and it needs to heal, like thatthat will do it, the detox will
do it.
So I'm just pointing out thatif we're living rhythmically in
(27:58):
an Ayurvedic lifestyle thatthese resets are keeping us in
good stead, as long as we're not, like, exposed to some big
toxic load.
Rose (28:10):
Right, right, I actually have done some of those and they
really, you know it's acommitment you have to follow
along, but that's what you'redoing and I felt, oh, oh, my god
, amazing afterwards and I justlove the rituals of the, of it
and certain things, and evenstarted to incorporate some of
the things I learned during the,the reset, into my every day.
Hannah (28:32):
So yes, and that's the hope, is that there's little
pieces, that you can continue,and then yeah, I have a love of
cardamom now.
Rose (28:43):
I love cardamom on my oatmeal and it's just amazing.
The spice, and that's anotherthing.
You're exploring so many new,different tastes and flavors and
those that are appropriate foryou for the season.
It's all natural stuff, right,you know, it's not all this
artificial stuff that's outthere in the world.
This is like the real stuffthat we're working with.
Hannah (29:02):
And it's really the grandmother wisdom.
Like it doesn't really matterwhat culture we're from.
If any of us go back, you knowin our lineage a few generations
.
The grandmothers were healingwith food and herbs, and that's
what, in essence, ayurveda isLike.
Yes, it originated from India,but it doesn't mean you have to
(29:24):
eat Indian food.
It means that you areacknowledging what supports
health.
That is simply in your dailyflow.
Rose (29:33):
I'd like to take some time also to talk about some more of
the common issues that women gothrough, especially during
menopause.
Can you reflect on what some ofthose more common struggles are
, how Ayurveda or how you havehelped women transition through
(29:54):
some of these struggles?
Hannah (29:55):
Yeah, it's interesting, and through some of these
struggles, yeah, it'sinteresting, like I started
practicing 10 years ago and Iwas in my 30s and a lot of the
women that have been drawn towork with me are older than me,
and so I've learned a lot aboutperimenopause and postmenopause
and I'll you know, now I'malmost 47 and I'm in the throes
(30:19):
of perimenopause myself now andI'm like, oh, this is, this is
what the experience is, and I'mso grateful for living the way
that I do, because I feel likeI'm getting off pretty easy with
this, with this experience too.
But, yeah, so I mean I thinkthere's all the shifts that
we're familiar with with themenopausal transition and, just
(30:42):
to frame the way I'm using theseterms, perimenopause is really
the 10 years prior to menopause,which is really one day, which
is the day that you are finishedwith a year of not having any
menstrual action and then yoursconsidered to be postmenopausal,
(31:04):
so then you're no longer inreproductive years of your life.
So perimenopause andpostmenopause are these very
distinct transitions, and I liketo think about perimenopause
basically being like your secondpuberty.
So you're going through a lotof hormonal shifts.
(31:26):
From an Ayurvedic perspective,you're shifting.
So when you initially gothrough puberty.
When you're younger, you'removing from kapha stage of life,
which is this like grounded,like as babies we're kind of you
know we're growing and babies,children, you know, adolescents
we're physically growing a lotthat earth and water element and
(31:49):
hopefully we have a goodfoundation and we feel like very
supported and have good bedrockfor us to build our lives on.
A lot of us get some traumas inthere too that can throw us off
, but that shift is moving usfrom kapha stage of life into
pitta stage of life.
So that's really our likereproductive years and adulthood
(32:09):
.
And so pitta stage is like whenwe're building everything.
We're on fire, we're creating acareer, our new community, a
family away from you know, justthe family that we grew up in,
and sexual activity.
Yes, yeah, we're passionate,we're on fire, but there's also
often some burnout in there.
(32:30):
We crash and burn, either inrelationships or, you know,
finance or business, or ourbodies.
Our bodies are like oh, I can'ttake this anymore.
Here's an autoimmune disease.
So there's these shifts thathappen there.
And then we go intoperimenopause, which is the
shift from Pitta stage of lifeinto Vata stage of life and,
(32:52):
depending on your constitution,this can be shocking, like women
will just say I don't knowmyself, like why is my body
acting like this?
Or like I've slept fine mywhole life and all of a sudden I
have insomnia?
Or what hot flashes like wheredid this come from?
You know?
Brain fog, all sorts of things,and it's really like that.
(33:16):
Ayurveda teaches that how welive out the decade from 30 to
40 will really determine how wego through menopause.
So if we're burning the candleat both ends, we've got the kids
, we've got the career, we'vegot the, you know, volunteer
positions in the community andwe're, you know, doing the side
(33:37):
hustle.
We're burning, burning, burning, burning, and that burning will
come out when you're in thatperimenopausal time.
There's your hot flashes, right?
And so the transition is reallyone of honoring, right, we kind
of honor, in some ways, thetransition in puberty of like,
(34:00):
now you're a woman, you can goout in the world and you can
have a family and you can have acareer and you can do all these
things.
Well, the transition that'shappening through menopause is
this transition into being anelder or a crone, somebody who's
wise and does not need tocontinue to be so attached to
(34:21):
the material world.
And yet in our culture, again,we say stay young, dye your hair
and, you know, get Botox andcontinue to pretend that you are
not aging.
We poo-poo the aging processand yet it is one of the
greatest honors.
Like what?
(34:43):
What's the alternative?
Right, If we get to be in ourfifties, sixties, seventies,
eighties, nineties, maybe beyond, wow, what, what wisdom we've
gained, what amazing lifeexperiences we've had, and can
we step into that era of ourlives, honoring that it is
(35:05):
different from where we werewhen we were 30 and 40, right,
and this is a big part of whatthe community that I lead is
focusing on, is what we callgraceful aging, where we
celebrate it, that we listen toeach other's wisdom and
experiences and we don't say, oh, just go get some Botox, Get on
(35:28):
a different diet or you know,really like honoring.
Rose (35:31):
Yeah, yeah, because and it doesn't mean that we cannot
reinvent ourselves and try newthings and embrace new things,
it's just honoring that passageinto this time and embracing it
Because really, when you look atit, society doesn't really look
fondly upon that age group orthat.
You know we're like you said.
(35:52):
You know, pretend to be someonewho you're not, when we really
should use that wisdom and helpothers, other women who are
there before us, transitiontowards this phase as well.
Hannah (36:05):
That's beautiful and I love that you just said reinvent
yourself.
It is a time to reinventyourself.
It is a time to say is whatI've been doing, what I want to
continue to do, how?
And it's a time to give back.
You know, women who are movinginto their 60s and 70s and you
know are are looking at like howdo I give back in in the world?
(36:30):
And unfortunately there's not awhole lot of encouragement for
that, just in our mainstreamculture.
I think, you know, in smallercommunities that can be really
great to have connections acrossages.
Rose (36:42):
I think that's going to change.
Yes, I think so too.
Yes, I don't have proof, I justhave a gut feeling.
Yes, trust your gut, I trust mygut.
I'm actually writing a bookabout that.
So about embracing those yearsand rebranding it, and so I'm
excited about that.
(37:03):
Yeah, so I'm all about thatbecause you know, I know I have
a lot more things to do and I'vedone a majority of the well.
Besides having my children atthe age of 41, I went on to
become a yoga teacher at a laterage and then a podcaster and
just embracing so many thingsbecause I just don't want to
stop.
But not just that, because Ijust feel I have so much more to
(37:26):
give and give back.
Hannah (37:28):
Great and there's I have , a bunch of questions for you
from what you just said.
But there's a subtlety thatcomes in with that time, like
when we're in more pitta stageof life.
It's just like get the stuffdone, check the boxes.
It's very linear and materialbased.
It's like this life, this right, and as you move into vata
(37:50):
stage of life, you're, you'remore tuned into spirit, more
tuned into the subtle.
What are you noticing with yoursenses and how do you cultivate
a life that is honoring of that?
Now, a lot of people push thataway, but if you're tuned into
that, that's part of that vadastage of life.
When we lose our menstruation,we lose this apana vayu, that
(38:15):
downward moving energy, and theshishunanadi opens up and here's
our connection to spirit.
Right, we can embody and holdthat in a way that we can't when
we're in our bleeding years.
Rose (38:29):
Right, that's a really beautiful thing and and needs to
be honored um, yeah, so I Ithink it's a a wonderful message
that we're saying what we'retalking about here for women and
you know, to learn new ways.
You know, don't be afraid totry something new and if you
(38:59):
don't feel good, okay, I'm notsaying don't go to the doctor,
I'm going to my physical todaybut go and explore new things
natural ways.
I think it's fun.
Hannah (39:10):
Yeah, yeah I always tell my clients go, go, get the
information and then let's talk.
You know, like get your labsdone, get you know, get the
information and then know thatwhat your doctor will present
you with is one option.
Maybe that option sounds goodto you?
Great, go with it.
I'm not anti-Western medicine.
(39:32):
I'm all for choice, right, andintegrating yes, integrating,
and knowing that they alwayshave other options.
You know, if they're just told,oh, the only thing we can do
for you is put you on amedication, and they're like
yeah, I don't.
Most medication, or mostmedications are gut disruptors.
(39:53):
And so you know.
Back to the leaky gutconversation.
We need to really think twicebefore going on medications, and
most adults over the age of 50are on a good handful of
medications.
Well, that's setting you up forgut dysbiosis, leaky gut how
poor Agni, however you want tophrase it and that's going to
(40:14):
impact your health for the restof your life in a way that's not
necessarily going to overridethe benefit you might be getting
from those drugs.
So I just tell people like youhave choices and you can weigh.
You know you might decide onemedication is worth taking, but
you're going to nurture your gutin these other ways.
It works out, okay, great, butlet's not just pile on lots and
(40:38):
lots and lots of pills and notunderstand the long-term
repercussion.
Rose (40:43):
Yes, yes, you do have choices.
You're so right.
I love that.
Can you talk about something?
So you talk, you work withpeople.
Obviously you have a community.
Talk a little bit more aboutthat, how you work with people
and or what your offerings are,how they can find you all that
good stuff.
Hannah (41:00):
Yeah, well, thank you for the opportunity to share
that.
Yeah, my business is calledHeartfelt Wellbeing and so my
website is justheartfeltwellbeingcom, and you
can find everything there.
My main program is called theVitality Circle and it's a year
long program for women and wejourney through four seasons and
(41:21):
within each of those seasons wefocus on 10 daily habits.
So they're the same habitsevery season, but we deepen our
connection with them and theirseasonal alignment.
So, as I mentioned before, it'slike we're learning how to live
through each season of the yearin constant conversation with
nature.
So we do that as a group andthen, additionally, every member
(41:44):
of the Vitality Circle isworking one-on-one with me to
balance whatever their currentimbalances are.
So, whether it's an autoimmunedisease or high blood pressure
or, you know, some sort of gutissue, constipation, whatever,
we're working with it.
And we also do a lot of workwith mindset and thought
(42:07):
processes, and so a lot ofpeople think Ayurveda is just
about food.
It's not, and so, yeah, weincorporate, you know, breath,
body practices and meditationand the ways in which our
changing thoughts and habitsaffect our relationships.
So it's really a large, whole,whole life picture, and so I
(42:33):
often describe it as likewomen's circle meets concierge
medicine.
I love that, like you've got mein your pocket with the, with
the Ayurveda, and then we'realso have this incredible
community, so that opens up fourtimes a year at the beginning
of each season.
And then, additionally, I havethe detoxes that I mentioned,
(42:54):
that anybody can sign up for.
Men too can sign up for thedetoxes.
Those are in the spring and thefall.
And then I also have a coursethat's just kind of like
self-paced videos, that's forwomen's health from the
perspective of Ayurveda, andthat's called Evolve.
(43:16):
And then I do retreats.
So I do online retreats foreach solstice and equinox, and
then I also lead in-personretreats.
I just got back from leading aweek long retreat in Costa Rica.
Rose (43:29):
Well, I loved having you here talking about everything
Ayurveda, and your energy isamazing and so yeah, so I thank
you for being here today.
It's been wonderful.
Hannah (43:40):
Thanks for the opportunity.
I really appreciate it and Ihope it does turn some people on
to exploring what Ayurveda hasto offer them.
And yeah, and I didn't mentionto you, I lead a Facebook group
and I have a YouTube channel,and both of those are totally
free and there's a lot ofinformation.
There's yoga on there and Iteach yoga from an Ayurveda
(44:00):
inspired perspective, so they'reseasonally aligned yoga
practices and so that can bekind of interesting for people
that are interested in yoga too.
But there's also a bunch oftalks.
They're called Tuesday Talkswith Hannah and they're about a
half an hour each, and sothere's lots of kind of seasonal
things, intro to Ayurveda,conversations about different
(44:23):
things, and then there's alsosome cooking videos if you want
to cook along with me and learnsome tips and tricks from
understanding food from anAyurvedic perspective.
Rose (44:32):
So, yeah, check those things out.
Yeah, and I'm sure, if anyonehas questions, please direct
them to Hannah.
She'll be more than happy toanswer them.
And I'm sure you have questions.
Don't be afraid to dip your toeinto that Ayurvedic pool.
Yes, and learn more.
Hannah (44:46):
Yes, wonderful, it's really fun.
Yeah, it's a fun pool, awesome,thank you.
Rose (44:56):
Thank you for joining me on Chat Off The Mat.
If you're ready to transformyour energy and step into your
fullest potential, I'd love towork with you.
As an energy alchemist, I helpwomen release blocked energy and
reclaim their vibrant essence.
Visit rosewipichcom to exploreworking together and discover
free resources for your journey.
Love today's episode, subscribewherever you get your podcasts,
(45:20):
leave a rating and share yourbiggest takeaway with me on
Instagram at Rose Wipich.
Remember wellness warriors yourenergy is precious.
Nurture it wisely.
Hannah combines ancient wisdomwith modern habit evolution
techniques to help women breakfree from the belief that they
are stuck in their currenthealth situations.
Her message is clear With theright conditions and support,
our bodies and minds have aninfinite capacity to heal, ready
to unlock your most vibrant,authentic self.
(00:22):
Your journey to radiantwellness starts now.
Welcome to Chat Off the Mat.
I'm your host, rose Whippich,and I'm here to guide you on an
extraordinary journey offeminine healing, energy work
and total wellbeing.
Get ready to be inspired byauthentic conversations with
leading women practitioners,wellness experts and holistic
(00:44):
healers who understand yourunique journey.
Subscribe to Chat Off the Matwherever you get your podcasts
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Hannah (00:55):
Welcome, Hannah.
Thank you, Rose.
I'm so excited to be here.
Rose (01:00):
I'm excited that you're here, so we're going to start
off by asking you to tell usabout yourself and your journey,
to how you came to helpingothers on your path.
Hannah (01:11):
Yeah, well, I think, like many people who end up in
the healing profession, we haveto go through some dark nights
in our own evolution.
So I feel really luckyevolution.
So I feel really lucky.
I grew up in a family wherefood and herbs were seen as
medicine, and so that seed gotplanted very early on in my life
(01:33):
.
However, I had chronic sinusinfections all through high
school and I turns out like myroom in the house that I grew up
in was kind of moldy and likethere were kind of just all
these predisposing things Fastforward, like gut dysbiosis that
came in from all thoseantibiotics, and then the things
(01:56):
that happen like you know,inflammation and insomnia and
weight gain, and you knowhorrible PMS and, um, joint pain
, I mean kind of all the thingsand, um, yeah, and then I became
a yoga teacher, um in two.
(02:17):
I started teaching yoga in 2004and I was, um, you know, kind
of seen as somebody in thecommunity that was really
healthy, but I felt like a frauda lot because I was like
dealing with my own health stuff.
And so, in 2015, I went toAyurveda school and I went part,
(02:40):
like in big part, to be able tohelp other people.
But what I didn't realize ishow much I would heal.
But the big shift for me was in2013, I was diagnosed with high
grade cervical dysplasia, whichis a pretty common diagnosis for
women and there's a lot of, Iknow.
You get the whole likeenergetic and spiritual,
(03:03):
emotional components ofeverything.
So, as we are women living in apatriarchal society and
navigating how to be powerful inwhatever way that looks like
that's acceptable, a lot of uswill have imbalances in our
reproductive organs, and theWestern medicine route is to cut
(03:25):
it out, which doesn't actuallysolve anything.
And so that diagnosis in 2013really put me on my path to be
like I'm not going to just havesurgery to remove 70% of my
cervix, I want to investigate,like why this happened, like go
upstream, and so that led me toAyurveda School in 2015.
(03:48):
So I've been practicing foralmost 10 years now and
specializing in women's healthspecifically.
Rose (03:56):
What a journey, and you know, I think oftentimes, in
many who I've spoken with on thepodcast, they've had to go
through their own challenges toget where we are today.
And as you're describing yourstory too, I mean, I'm also a
yoga instructor and became oneafter having my own personal
struggles and realizing how muchyoga has helped me and
(04:21):
transformed my life as well.
Hannah (04:23):
Well, let me just say that all of the things that I
mentioned prior that I wasstruggling with I no longer
struggle with and I've had someyou know health roller coasters
since then.
I mean, as we live and you know, now I'm in perimenopause and
like that's its own adventure,and so I'm constantly learning
(04:44):
from my own experience.
What I found from studyingAyurveda is that all of us have
this blueprint of who we areuniquely.
That's based in a five elementsystem.
Should I do kind of like abrief?
Rose (04:59):
Sure, yeah, I think that would be great.
I mean, I yeah, I think thatwould be great to educate our
audience, because I know that,according to Ayurveda,
everybody's different.
Hannah (05:08):
Right, yeah, and yet there's some things that we can
all align with.
Yes and so, yeah, so Ayurvedaoriginated in India over 5,000
years ago, so what I like topoint out is that things that
don't work don't stick around.
So the fact that it has stuckaround for over 5,000 years is
pretty incredible.
(05:29):
It's a five-element systemsimilar to Chinese medicine and
Tibetan medicine, which actuallygrew out of Ayurveda as it
traveled across Asia.
So the five elements inAyurveda are space, air, fire,
water and earth.
Five elements in Ayurveda arespace, air, fire, water and
earth, and everything can bebrought back to its elemental
(05:49):
components, from food to weatherpatterns, to mental states, to
things that are happening in ourbodies, to life stages, to
everything.
And Ayurveda further simplifiesus working with these elements
by putting them into what wecall doshas or energies.
And dosha can also betranslated as faults, kind of
like the fault in the earth,like where things shift, and so
(06:14):
the doshas and I'll come back tothis shifting idea in a moment
but the doshas are made up oftwo elements each.
So vada is the dosha that'smade up of air and space Sorry,
air and space, so it's verylight and ungrounded and dry and
(06:36):
mobile.
Pitta is made up of fire andwater, so it's very like hot and
sharp and spreading.
And kapha is made up of earthand water, so it's heavy, dull,
cool, static, and so all of ushave all three of these doshas,
but in differing amounts, andthat's where we become our own
(06:58):
unique universe.
So we have what's called aprakriti, which is our base
constitution, which isestablished when we're conceived
, and then we have vikritis,which are ways in which we get
out of balance as we live ourlives.
Those vikritis can come in veryearly in our lives so we can
think they are innately who weare.
But when we begin to travel thisAyurvedic journey initially,
(07:22):
you don't really need to knowyour specific constitution
Initially.
Just living in alignment withthe rhythms of nature will help
tremendously.
So knowing how to live inalignment with the different
seasons and if we're living in aplace where there are actually
four different seasons, then wehave these elemental qualities
(07:46):
that we're balancing as we'renavigating.
If you just align with eatingseasonally to balance the doshas
that are predominant, so, likein the springtime, we have these
heavy elements of earth andwater.
We want to eat lighter foods tobalance that.
Balancing with the wisdom ofopposites is really what we're
(08:06):
always focusing on.
So navigating with the seasonsis a great place to start, and I
think a lot of people getreally hung up on what's my
constitution and then they'relike oh, this Ayurveda thing is
too complicated, I'm not goingto bother.
When we do add in the layer ofpersonal constitution, that's
where we can see our tendenciesand our patterns and we start to
(08:29):
click like, oh yeah, everyspring I get really mucusy and
like feel really heavy all thetime, or like I tend to get
headaches at 4 pm in, you know,in the winter, or things like
that that were like, oh, aha,it's a lot of noticing.
And then we can see thesepatterns.
(08:50):
But the individual constitutionreally helps us understand that
we're not so strange.
We will have these tendencies,like I had a tendency to.
I'm vada pitta, so I'm vada,predominant secondary pitta, and
then I don't have much kapha atall, but I was getting these
(09:13):
chronic sinus infections andlots of mucus where the
imbalance that I was dealingwith was kapha, this heavy, sick
, mucusy experience, but thenother experiences like chronic
constipation and insomnia andanxiety.
Those are all vata imbalances.
So my primary constitution isthat fault.
(09:36):
It's like where we tend to goout of balance.
So we will tend to go out ofbalance most in our predominant
dosha.
Rose (09:44):
I like the way you explained it, even if we don't
know our own constitution, whichcan be very daunting if you
don't have it explained to youwell, or the proper guidance.
If you live with the seasons,then you're on the right path
there and understanding okay.
Well, I'm not feeling so good.
Why am I not feeling well?
I'm constipated, my skin is dry.
(10:04):
There's, you know, seasonalreasons why this is occurring.
That could be a clue as towhere your imbalances might lie.
Absolutely yeah, and I mean,I've been learning or following
Ayurveda for a long time andthere's always something new and
I'm always reminded of my ownimbalances and, you know,
(10:26):
reminding myself what I need todo at certain times of the year.
So it's, this is wonderful,it's a great roadmap really.
Hannah (10:33):
It is.
And another thing I'd like tojust add in there is like none
of us in Western culture learnthis stuff.
You know, I specialize inwomen's health and the main
program that I run is a yearlong, so that we travel through
each of the seasons andeverybody gets to experience,
like, what does balancing inthis season look like?
Because we're constantlychanging and we need to be in
(10:56):
conversation with nature, always, always.
Well, we don't learn thatgrowing up in the United States,
we are told, like you can havedaylight whenever you want, just
turn on a light or you can, youknow, eat whatever you want
Anytime of the year.
We import foods from all overthe world.
Who knew what seasonal eatingwas right?
(11:16):
So any of these really basicthings come back to us living in
rhythm with nature.
Back to us living in rhythmwith nature, and what I have
found, and why I built a groupprogram and a community, is that
we you know, behavioral scienceshows us that our habits are
not our own, that we areactually expressing the habits
(11:36):
of the five people we interactwith the most.
So if we're living in anarrhythmic culture and
interacting with otherarrhythmic people, it's going to
be really hard for us to makethese changes, even if it's just
, you know, going to bed alittle earlier, eating dinner
before the sun down or eating.
You know, like that, thatthere's these things that if we
(12:01):
start doing them, we feel orseem or are labeled as weird and
strange.
But if you join a community ofother people that are having
these conversations and you knowimplementing these things in
their lives too, then there's alot more ease with making those
transitions, which thenultimately benefit you for the
(12:21):
rest of your life.
Rose (12:24):
I love this conversation because I think women especially
tend to put their needs last.
So if they want to eat early orif they want to eat something
that is different than whateveryone else in their family
wants to eat, because they'reconscious of their diet or
Ayurvedic rhythm, right, theywon't honor that.
(12:47):
And I struggle with that aswell, even with just my husband
home.
I mean, he was working late andthen it's eight o'clock or 7.30
.
I'm like I don't want to eatthis late, but I can't find
myself to just sit down and eatwhen I want to, and I need to do
that.
But it's really important tolisten to what we want to do.
Hannah (13:07):
It is yeah, and as women , we're trained to make sure
everybody else is okay Notnecessarily us, right?
So like, oh, I'm not sleepingwell or, you know, I'm having
digestive issues, whatever, aslong as everybody else is okay,
but yeah.
So being in community withother women who are learning how
to pay attention to their own Icall them the check engine
(13:31):
lights, right, like the littlesignals that we get can we
listen with the ear of ourhearts, instead of the judge or
the you know punitive voice?
That's like stop, you know,stop feeling bad, or stop, you
know, complaining, or stop, youknow be.
Like can I just listen and belike, oh, wow, there's that
sensation again.
Or like I didn't sleep wellagain.
(13:53):
What?
What can I do to to reallynourish and nurture this being,
body, mind and spirit?
You know it's not all physicaland a lot of people think
Ayurveda just has to do withfood.
It's not a diet.
You know there's not one way toeat in Ayurveda.
It's kind of seasonal alignmentlayered with your personal
(14:17):
constitutional needs andimbalances that you're healing,
and so everybody's on their ownjourney.
But while we live in thisreally individualist society,
it's like everybody for theirown.
We're really hesitant to do likewhat you were just talking
about.
Like what if you sat down byyourself and set a nice table
(14:38):
for yourself and you know, atfive, 30, and just had like a
really lovely evening meal, andthen when your husband comes
home at eight you're like here'syour dinner and I'll sit and
talk with you and I'll have acup of tea.
But I feel better if I'm noteating at 8 pm.
Great, you know, and we're nothere to force it on anybody else
.
But we in my program, theVitalia Circle, we call it
(15:00):
trickle down Ayurveda because,as we are practicing, and you
know the people in ourhouseholds and I have two
teenagers who are very resistantto all this stuff but then
they'll start noticing, you know, they'll be like oh yeah, I ate
all that ice cream at 10 pm.
And then I woke up this nextmorning just feeling really
(15:22):
groggy and sluggish and had abig coating on my tongue and I'm
like, there you go you'renoticing, digestion is really,
really important to observe inAyurveda.
Rose (15:34):
Can you talk about that?
Hannah (15:35):
And then the gut microbiome, because this is good
stuff, yes, and what I loveabout this conversation is that
Western medicine is justdiscovering how important that
gut microbiome is and healthydigestion to our overall health.
But Ayurveda has known this forover 5,000 years.
So, yeah, digestion is seen asthe seat of health in Ayurveda
(15:55):
and so all of us have acombination of all three doshas,
as I mentioned before.
But there are tendencies foreach doshic pattern with the so
VADA folks will tend to havemore dry issues, so gas bloating
(16:16):
, so burping, farting, feelinglike you're pregnant after you
eat a meal, like really bloatingup, and also feel erratic
hunger, so not really clear,authentic hunger, like eat a
meal.
So Vata folks will tend to kindof pick at food or snack
(16:37):
throughout the day, which isactually further increasing the
imbalance, instead of eatingjust three regular meals on a
schedule.
And then, elimination-wise,vata folks will tend to be um,
constipated, so we'll not have afull bowel movement at least
once a day.
Often it's dry pebbles, feelslike there's not a full
(17:01):
elimination, um, and can have atendency towards things like
hemorrhoids, um and so and.
And use of laxatives ends upoften being what people turn to
there, and a lot of people areon laxatives that don't need to
be right um, and you know thosecan be helpful in short,
(17:21):
short-term uh needs.
But pitta digestion will tendto be hot.
So dealing with things likeacid reflux, gerd, and we'll
maybe even have like a burningsensation in the stomach.
And then, elimination wise,we'll be dealing with loose
(17:42):
stool.
So the people that like have torun to the bathroom or even
going to the bathroom after eachtime they meet sorry, eat are
going to have more of that pittafiery imbalance.
And then kapha, the sluggishnessis like if you eat and then you
feel like there's just a rockin your stomach, like things are
(18:03):
not moving or like it's takingforever to digest something, and
then constipation is also anoutcome of that for the
elimination, but it's more of asluggishness, not not from it
being hard and dry, but from itjust being slow, like it feels
like it takes days for, you know, a meal to move, move through
(18:28):
your move through your system.
There can also be mucus in thestool there and so the gut
microbiome is is really kind ofthe modern day term for for what
we're looking at in Ayurveda,which is what we call Agni,
which is spelled A-G-N-I, whichis spelled A-G-N-I, which is the
(18:54):
digestive fire, and so wereally look at the digestive
fire as the seed of health.
So we want to have if you thinkabout, like you know, having a
campfire that you're going tocook food over while you're
camping you don't want a raginginferno.
You couldn't cook anything onthat, you'd have to stand back
40 feet right.
And you also don't want just ateeny little twig fire because
that won't be enough to, youknow, heat anything or cook
(19:18):
anything.
So we want a really healthy,balanced fire that has, like
some good coals, you knowthey're like established for
ongoing radiant heat and alittle bit of flame.
And so often when I startworking with women, we're
looking at specifically what'sgoing on with their digestion
(19:40):
and most people have compromisedagni, and I would say more so
on the and I would say more soon the lack of strength side
than being overactive.
(20:02):
So the agni really often needssupport through both rebuilding
the microbiome.
So in our kind of modern dayconversation about this, people
are really focused on probioticsand prebiotics and us wanting
to have the, the gut bugs thatare really beneficial, and then,
you know, taking out the gutbugs that are not as great.
(20:22):
Like you know, candida isprobably one of the you know,
like yeast kind of overgrowth isprobably one of the most common
known.
But what I think that modernday conversation is missing is
the support of the digestivefire that through what we're
eating, like using digestivespices and making sure food is
(20:46):
warm and cooked when the agni islow, we're not eating raw, cold
or dry foods that weresupporting that, that fire,
without bombarding it with.
You know, probiotics and evenyou know probiotic foods have
become really popular, like welland kombucha was something that
(21:10):
really took off as this is aprobiotic food but if you're
having kombucha you need like anounce of it a day, like
drinking a whole bottle ofkombucha is very overtaxing for
oh yeah, I know firsthand.
Rose (21:23):
I tried it and I was.
I was in agony, I didn't knowwhat was happening I think we
try too, I think we try to do somuch, and even with the
probiotics, I mean, it all comesdown to having a balance.
Hannah (21:38):
Right, right.
And so having some probioticfoods I encourage folks to make
homemade sauerkraut andsometimes kimchi, depending on
how well they handle spice.
But again, those are things todo like in spring and fall, not
so much in summer and winter.
And so knowing the seasonalityof it is really helpful when
we're at these joints in theseason, giving our body a little
(22:02):
bit of a boost.
But even just using culinaryspices you know, cumin,
coriander, cinnamon, cardamomand ginger especially fresh
ginger is so beneficial for yourdigestion that you know what
we're eating looks reallydifferent when we start looking
(22:25):
at it from a place of tending toour inner well-being, of that
biome but also the fire there.
And we can really do a lot ofgood work just by including
certain spices and certain foodsin our diet.
(22:46):
And you know, food in our modernculture is very much equated to
fuel, like put fuel in the gastank, and there's a lot more to
that and I would say that'sactually not a very helpful
analogy.
Most of the time we do needfuel to continue, you know, to
(23:08):
have energy.
And yet the whole conversationof like calories, I'm like let's
, let's get rid of that Likecalorie.
You know.
You know however many hundredcalories of Cheetos and a
hundred calories of broccoli aregoing to do very, very
different things in your body.
Yeah, so, anyway, I digress,but that's a bit of the
(23:31):
microbiome Agni picture.
Rose (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, and it's really difficult for someone to
understand what's going on inthe microbiome unless you get it
tested.
I recently had mine tested andfound that I have leaky gut.
So my doctor is giving meprotocol all natural supplements
, including probiotics, that I'mfollowing and I have to say I
(23:57):
had distention and gas and allthose things.
I know it's TMI, but I'mtelling you because now I feel
way better.
I don't feel that I feel likemy digestion is normal.
I have off days, but I knowit's because maybe I had.
You know, I was also told don'teat gluten and dairy for three
months because I was havingjoint pain and also affected my
(24:18):
gut.
I noticed a difference there.
So being guided by someone likean expert, a doctor or someone
in Ayurvedic field like yourselfis really important, because
you don't want to go ahead andstart doing something and, you
know, eating a pound of ginger aday because you may wake up and
be like, oh my God, you have togo to the hospital or something
(24:38):
like that.
You don't want that.
Hannah (24:44):
Right, yeah, I love that .
You've experienced thatfirsthand too.
And in Ayurveda we have thesethree questions that we always
ask.
And they are for who?
Who are we talking about?
Because everybody has their ownindividual universe.
When, when are they doing this?
And you know what time of year,what stage of their life, what
(25:04):
time of day right when are theydoing?
And then how much?
Right, so how much of this foodor herb or exercise or whatever
?
And in our Western mentality, wetend to think if a little is
good, more is better, and thatis not actually the case.
So, yeah, it is about, it'sabout balance, it's about
(25:25):
understanding everybody'suniqueness.
And how many of us too, I mean,before I found Ayurveda, I'd be
like, oh, this diet or whateverwas is working for my friend,
I'll, I'll try that.
And then be like, oh, that thatfeels awful or so, and so can
eat that piece of chocolate cakeand feel, fine, I can too.
Or you know, they like to drinkwine or whatever.
And we're taking those cuesexternally by just looking at
(25:48):
the world around us, like, howcan I be?
Okay.
And then, alternatively, we'lllike, in your case, you might
have had a point in time whereyou're just like, well, I'm just
getting older, so my joints aregoing to ache, and we kind of
write it off instead of askingthe question like, how good
could I feel right now?
(26:08):
And wow, I'm not feeling thatgreat.
Let me check into what I coulddo about it.
A lot of folks and I thinkespecially women, because we're
caretakers and we're not used topaying attention to ourselves
we we write it off and we say,well, it's, it's okay, it's okay
that I've gained 20 pounds inthe last five years.
(26:28):
I'm middle aged anyway.
I'll you know everybody else,my age looks like this or
whatever it is whatever yeah.
Yeah.
So I do detoxes twice a year,in the spring and the fall.
So these are the shifts in theseasons from when it's hot to
cold or cold to hot, and we needto reset that digestive fire
(26:49):
and I think it's important torecognize that.
You know, we can get lots oftesting done and we like to know
specifically what's happeningin our gut, but we can also just
do routine resets of lead.
So during these D, I mean Icall them detoxes, but they're
really digestive resets.
(27:09):
I tried to sell them as adigestive reset and nobody
signed up.
But when I sell it as a detox,it's like all these people sign
up.
So it's kind of funny.
But the the point is that we'rewe're really dialing down what
we're asking of the digestivefire, rekindling the digestive
fire, re-inoculating with somegood seasonal probiotic and
(27:33):
prebiotic foods, and then thatlets you have some awareness,
Like it's.
It's a time when you can belike oh yeah, I don't feel very
good when I eat gluten or dairyor um, or if you have leaky gut
and it needs to heal, like thatthat will do it, the detox will
do it.
So I'm just pointing out thatif we're living rhythmically in
(27:58):
an Ayurvedic lifestyle thatthese resets are keeping us in
good stead, as long as we're not, like, exposed to some big
toxic load.
Rose (28:10):
Right, right, I actually have done some of those and they
really, you know it's acommitment you have to follow
along, but that's what you'redoing and I felt, oh, oh, my god
, amazing afterwards and I justlove the rituals of the, of it
and certain things, and evenstarted to incorporate some of
the things I learned during the,the reset, into my every day.
Hannah (28:32):
So yes, and that's the hope, is that there's little
pieces, that you can continue,and then yeah, I have a love of
cardamom now.
Rose (28:43):
I love cardamom on my oatmeal and it's just amazing.
The spice, and that's anotherthing.
You're exploring so many new,different tastes and flavors and
those that are appropriate foryou for the season.
It's all natural stuff, right,you know, it's not all this
artificial stuff that's outthere in the world.
This is like the real stuffthat we're working with.
Hannah (29:02):
And it's really the grandmother wisdom.
Like it doesn't really matterwhat culture we're from.
If any of us go back, you knowin our lineage a few generations
.
The grandmothers were healingwith food and herbs, and that's
what, in essence, ayurveda isLike.
Yes, it originated from India,but it doesn't mean you have to
(29:24):
eat Indian food.
It means that you areacknowledging what supports
health.
That is simply in your dailyflow.
Rose (29:33):
I'd like to take some time also to talk about some more of
the common issues that women gothrough, especially during
menopause.
Can you reflect on what some ofthose more common struggles are
, how Ayurveda or how you havehelped women transition through
(29:54):
some of these struggles?
Hannah (29:55):
Yeah, it's interesting, and through some of these
struggles, yeah, it'sinteresting, like I started
practicing 10 years ago and Iwas in my 30s and a lot of the
women that have been drawn towork with me are older than me,
and so I've learned a lot aboutperimenopause and postmenopause
and I'll you know, now I'malmost 47 and I'm in the throes
(30:19):
of perimenopause myself now andI'm like, oh, this is, this is
what the experience is, and I'mso grateful for living the way
that I do, because I feel likeI'm getting off pretty easy with
this, with this experience too.
But, yeah, so I mean I thinkthere's all the shifts that
we're familiar with with themenopausal transition and, just
(30:42):
to frame the way I'm using theseterms, perimenopause is really
the 10 years prior to menopause,which is really one day, which
is the day that you are finishedwith a year of not having any
menstrual action and then yoursconsidered to be postmenopausal,
(31:04):
so then you're no longer inreproductive years of your life.
So perimenopause andpostmenopause are these very
distinct transitions, and I liketo think about perimenopause
basically being like your secondpuberty.
So you're going through a lotof hormonal shifts.
(31:26):
From an Ayurvedic perspective,you're shifting.
So when you initially gothrough puberty.
When you're younger, you'removing from kapha stage of life,
which is this like grounded,like as babies we're kind of you
know we're growing and babies,children, you know, adolescents
we're physically growing a lotthat earth and water element and
(31:49):
hopefully we have a goodfoundation and we feel like very
supported and have good bedrockfor us to build our lives on.
A lot of us get some traumas inthere too that can throw us off
, but that shift is moving usfrom kapha stage of life into
pitta stage of life.
So that's really our likereproductive years and adulthood
(32:09):
.
And so pitta stage is like whenwe're building everything.
We're on fire, we're creating acareer, our new community, a
family away from you know, justthe family that we grew up in,
and sexual activity.
Yes, yeah, we're passionate,we're on fire, but there's also
often some burnout in there.
(32:30):
We crash and burn, either inrelationships or, you know,
finance or business, or ourbodies.
Our bodies are like oh, I can'ttake this anymore.
Here's an autoimmune disease.
So there's these shifts thathappen there.
And then we go intoperimenopause, which is the
shift from Pitta stage of lifeinto Vata stage of life and,
(32:52):
depending on your constitution,this can be shocking, like women
will just say I don't knowmyself, like why is my body
acting like this?
Or like I've slept fine mywhole life and all of a sudden I
have insomnia?
Or what hot flashes like wheredid this come from?
You know?
Brain fog, all sorts of things,and it's really like that.
(33:16):
Ayurveda teaches that how welive out the decade from 30 to
40 will really determine how wego through menopause.
So if we're burning the candleat both ends, we've got the kids
, we've got the career, we'vegot the, you know, volunteer
positions in the community andwe're, you know, doing the side
(33:37):
hustle.
We're burning, burning, burning, burning, and that burning will
come out when you're in thatperimenopausal time.
There's your hot flashes, right?
And so the transition is reallyone of honoring, right, we kind
of honor, in some ways, thetransition in puberty of like,
(34:00):
now you're a woman, you can goout in the world and you can
have a family and you can have acareer and you can do all these
things.
Well, the transition that'shappening through menopause is
this transition into being anelder or a crone, somebody who's
wise and does not need tocontinue to be so attached to
(34:21):
the material world.
And yet in our culture, again,we say stay young, dye your hair
and, you know, get Botox andcontinue to pretend that you are
not aging.
We poo-poo the aging processand yet it is one of the
greatest honors.
Like what?
(34:43):
What's the alternative?
Right, If we get to be in ourfifties, sixties, seventies,
eighties, nineties, maybe beyond, wow, what, what wisdom we've
gained, what amazing lifeexperiences we've had, and can
we step into that era of ourlives, honoring that it is
(35:05):
different from where we werewhen we were 30 and 40, right,
and this is a big part of whatthe community that I lead is
focusing on, is what we callgraceful aging, where we
celebrate it, that we listen toeach other's wisdom and
experiences and we don't say, oh, just go get some Botox, Get on
(35:28):
a different diet or you know,really like honoring.
Rose (35:31):
Yeah, yeah, because and it doesn't mean that we cannot
reinvent ourselves and try newthings and embrace new things,
it's just honoring that passageinto this time and embracing it
Because really, when you look atit, society doesn't really look
fondly upon that age group orthat.
You know we're like you said.
(35:52):
You know, pretend to be someonewho you're not, when we really
should use that wisdom and helpothers, other women who are
there before us, transitiontowards this phase as well.
Hannah (36:05):
That's beautiful and I love that you just said reinvent
yourself.
It is a time to reinventyourself.
It is a time to say is whatI've been doing, what I want to
continue to do, how?
And it's a time to give back.
You know, women who are movinginto their 60s and 70s and you
know are are looking at like howdo I give back in in the world?
(36:30):
And unfortunately there's not awhole lot of encouragement for
that, just in our mainstreamculture.
I think, you know, in smallercommunities that can be really
great to have connections acrossages.
Rose (36:42):
I think that's going to change.
Yes, I think so too.
Yes, I don't have proof, I justhave a gut feeling.
Yes, trust your gut, I trust mygut.
I'm actually writing a bookabout that.
So about embracing those yearsand rebranding it, and so I'm
excited about that.
(37:03):
Yeah, so I'm all about thatbecause you know, I know I have
a lot more things to do and I'vedone a majority of the well.
Besides having my children atthe age of 41, I went on to
become a yoga teacher at a laterage and then a podcaster and
just embracing so many thingsbecause I just don't want to
stop.
But not just that, because Ijust feel I have so much more to
(37:26):
give and give back.
Hannah (37:28):
Great and there's I have , a bunch of questions for you
from what you just said.
But there's a subtlety thatcomes in with that time, like
when we're in more pitta stageof life.
It's just like get the stuffdone, check the boxes.
It's very linear and materialbased.
It's like this life, this right, and as you move into vata
(37:50):
stage of life, you're, you'remore tuned into spirit, more
tuned into the subtle.
What are you noticing with yoursenses and how do you cultivate
a life that is honoring of that?
Now, a lot of people push thataway, but if you're tuned into
that, that's part of that vadastage of life.
When we lose our menstruation,we lose this apana vayu, that
(38:15):
downward moving energy, and theshishunanadi opens up and here's
our connection to spirit.
Right, we can embody and holdthat in a way that we can't when
we're in our bleeding years.
Rose (38:29):
Right, that's a really beautiful thing and and needs to
be honored um, yeah, so I Ithink it's a a wonderful message
that we're saying what we'retalking about here for women and
you know, to learn new ways.
You know, don't be afraid totry something new and if you
(38:59):
don't feel good, okay, I'm notsaying don't go to the doctor,
I'm going to my physical todaybut go and explore new things
natural ways.
I think it's fun.
Hannah (39:10):
Yeah, yeah I always tell my clients go, go, get the
information and then let's talk.
You know, like get your labsdone, get you know, get the
information and then know thatwhat your doctor will present
you with is one option.
Maybe that option sounds goodto you?
Great, go with it.
I'm not anti-Western medicine.
(39:32):
I'm all for choice, right, andintegrating yes, integrating,
and knowing that they alwayshave other options.
You know, if they're just told,oh, the only thing we can do
for you is put you on amedication, and they're like
yeah, I don't.
Most medication, or mostmedications are gut disruptors.
(39:53):
And so you know.
Back to the leaky gutconversation.
We need to really think twicebefore going on medications, and
most adults over the age of 50are on a good handful of
medications.
Well, that's setting you up forgut dysbiosis, leaky gut how
poor Agni, however you want tophrase it and that's going to
(40:14):
impact your health for the restof your life in a way that's not
necessarily going to overridethe benefit you might be getting
from those drugs.
So I just tell people like youhave choices and you can weigh.
You know you might decide onemedication is worth taking, but
you're going to nurture your gutin these other ways.
It works out, okay, great, butlet's not just pile on lots and
(40:38):
lots and lots of pills and notunderstand the long-term
repercussion.
Rose (40:43):
Yes, yes, you do have choices.
You're so right.
I love that.
Can you talk about something?
So you talk, you work withpeople.
Obviously you have a community.
Talk a little bit more aboutthat, how you work with people
and or what your offerings are,how they can find you all that
good stuff.
Hannah (41:00):
Yeah, well, thank you for the opportunity to share
that.
Yeah, my business is calledHeartfelt Wellbeing and so my
website is justheartfeltwellbeingcom, and you
can find everything there.
My main program is called theVitality Circle and it's a year
long program for women and wejourney through four seasons and
(41:21):
within each of those seasons wefocus on 10 daily habits.
So they're the same habitsevery season, but we deepen our
connection with them and theirseasonal alignment.
So, as I mentioned before, it'slike we're learning how to live
through each season of the yearin constant conversation with
nature.
So we do that as a group andthen, additionally, every member
(41:44):
of the Vitality Circle isworking one-on-one with me to
balance whatever their currentimbalances are.
So, whether it's an autoimmunedisease or high blood pressure
or, you know, some sort of gutissue, constipation, whatever,
we're working with it.
And we also do a lot of workwith mindset and thought
(42:07):
processes, and so a lot ofpeople think Ayurveda is just
about food.
It's not, and so, yeah, weincorporate, you know, breath,
body practices and meditationand the ways in which our
changing thoughts and habitsaffect our relationships.
So it's really a large, whole,whole life picture, and so I
(42:33):
often describe it as likewomen's circle meets concierge
medicine.
I love that, like you've got mein your pocket with the, with
the Ayurveda, and then we'realso have this incredible
community, so that opens up fourtimes a year at the beginning
of each season.
And then, additionally, I havethe detoxes that I mentioned,
(42:54):
that anybody can sign up for.
Men too can sign up for thedetoxes.
Those are in the spring and thefall.
And then I also have a coursethat's just kind of like
self-paced videos, that's forwomen's health from the
perspective of Ayurveda, andthat's called Evolve.
(43:16):
And then I do retreats.
So I do online retreats foreach solstice and equinox, and
then I also lead in-personretreats.
I just got back from leading aweek long retreat in Costa Rica.
Rose (43:29):
Well, I loved having you here talking about everything
Ayurveda, and your energy isamazing and so yeah, so I thank
you for being here today.
It's been wonderful.
Hannah (43:40):
Thanks for the opportunity.
I really appreciate it and Ihope it does turn some people on
to exploring what Ayurveda hasto offer them.
And yeah, and I didn't mentionto you, I lead a Facebook group
and I have a YouTube channel,and both of those are totally
free and there's a lot ofinformation.
There's yoga on there and Iteach yoga from an Ayurveda
(44:00):
inspired perspective, so they'reseasonally aligned yoga
practices and so that can bekind of interesting for people
that are interested in yoga too.
But there's also a bunch oftalks.
They're called Tuesday Talkswith Hannah and they're about a
half an hour each, and sothere's lots of kind of seasonal
things, intro to Ayurveda,conversations about different
(44:23):
things, and then there's alsosome cooking videos if you want
to cook along with me and learnsome tips and tricks from
understanding food from anAyurvedic perspective.
Rose (44:32):
So, yeah, check those things out.
Yeah, and I'm sure, if anyonehas questions, please direct
them to Hannah.
She'll be more than happy toanswer them.
And I'm sure you have questions.
Don't be afraid to dip your toeinto that Ayurvedic pool.
Yes, and learn more.
Hannah (44:46):
Yes, wonderful, it's really fun.
Yeah, it's a fun pool, awesome,thank you.
Rose (44:56):
Thank you for joining me on Chat Off The Mat.
If you're ready to transformyour energy and step into your
fullest potential, I'd love towork with you.
As an energy alchemist, I helpwomen release blocked energy and
reclaim their vibrant essence.
Visit rosewipichcom to exploreworking together and discover
free resources for your journey.
Love today's episode, subscribewherever you get your podcasts,
(45:20):
leave a rating and share yourbiggest takeaway with me on
Instagram at Rose Wipich.
Remember wellness warriors yourenergy is precious.
Nurture it wisely.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!