“Wellness is the promotion of body harmony for the individual. It is things that are within our environment. It’s how we experience our lives through all five of our senses.” — Kendra Irvine   Ayurveda is an ancient wellness system that has been around for thousands of years. When you take the Sanskrit word, it translates to life science, meaning it takes into account the natural laws. We, as humans, come from nature and in nature, there are five elements such as air, space, fire, water and earth. Thus, as humans coming from nature, our bodies are also composed of these five elements. Once we understand what qualities are associated with certain elements (fire = hot, sharp and mobile), we can now recognize when our bodies become out of balance or in the form of a disease. For instance, inflammation, its element is fire which means that it has qualities of hot, sharp and mobile. With that, it can be treated with its opposite qualities such as cold, dull and stagnant. Inflammation is a fire that falls into the Pitta type. Once the imbalance is figured out, a treatment program is curated specifically to nourish the imbalance or known as the Dosha. Imbalances can be treated through a dietary/food approach or through your lifestyle/mind.   “There's plenty of time for it to start to evolve and really work in someone's favour to keep their bodies in harmony and in wellness instead of battling illness all the time.” — Kendra Irvine   Understanding Dosha;  Someone who is VATA has air and space as their dominant elements. They are the creative types and can change their mind often. Physically, they are skinny with long fingers, smaller eyes and nose, thin lips, and scanty hair. When they are out of balance, they easily get overwhelmed, scattered, or fearful. They are brought back into balance with the heavier earth and water elements and would benefit from heavier foods and warm sesame oil self-massage. Someone who is PITTA has fire and a bit of water as their dominant elements. They are the born leaders and they ensure they get stuff done. Physically, they have more muscle, medium fingers with square palms, medium and deep-set eyes, moderate lip size, and thin but lots of hair. When they are out of balance, they get critical, intense, and get annoyed easily. They get heated! They are brought back into balance with cooling and heavy foods as well as a cooling coconut oil self-massage.  Someone who is KAPHA has earth and water as their dominant elements. They are stable, compassionate, and give the best hugs! Physically, they are full-figured and have soft features, dewy skin, thick hair, lips and gorgeous eyes that draw you in. When they are out of balance, they get lethargic, clingy, and unmotivated. They are brought back into balance with light and warming qualities such as salads and spicier foods as well as deep tissue massage to break up stagnation.    Wellness Nuggets: ●       Take the elements and their qualities, find out their opposites, and treat them with the opposite. ●       In nature, there are 10 pairs of qualities known as the Gunas. These are the following: hot, sharp, cloudy, clear, mobile, stagnant, etc. ●       Three types: Vata, Pitta and Kapha ●       Rose essential oils, Aloe veras and coconut oils are recommended to treat inflammation. It can also be a form of giving yourself an actual rose. ●       Bring into the environment through all five senses to nourish it through opposite qualities. (This may come in the form of food, colour, etc.) ●       Our bodies’ natural constitutions differ through the seasons so treatment plans change accordingly.   We invite you to ignite the Wellness Warrior in YOU! About the Guest: Kendra Irvine is an Ayurvedic Health Counsellor, Certified Wellness Coach, Professional Kinesiologist, and Speaker. She has been in the wellness...