Everyday Ayurveda with Kate

In this solo episode, Kate addresses one of the most frequently asked questions: should you eat breakfast or not? Drawing from Ayurvedic wisdom, she explores why the answer depends on your individual constitution, life stage, exercise routine, and digestive capacity.

Kate shares her personal journey from decades of yoga practice on an empty stomach to discovering she needed breakfast when she started weightlifting. She breaks down ...

This week, Kate talks with Micah Mortali, author of Rewilding and founding director of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership. Together they explore what it means to reconnect with nature in a culture shaped by screens, artificial light, and constant productivity.

Micah shares simple, realistic practices to reintroduce natural rhythms into daily life, especially during winter. The conversation covers candle rituals, light...

How is it that stress seems to run the show in our lives? In this solo episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, Kate O’Donnell takes us beyond the usual “stress management” advice and introduces a more empowering approach: stress shifting.

Instead of treating stress like an unchangeable force that we just have to “handle,” Kate breaks it down into clear categories, reveals how much of it is actually self-generated, and explains why ...

In this warm and practical conversation, Kate sits down with her longtime friend and colleague Emilie Reid, co-owner of the beloved Ayurvedic lifestyle brand Farmtrue. Emilie shares the full-circle story of discovering Ayurveda through cracked knuckles and toasted sesame oil, building a thriving yoga studio, navigating its closing during COVID, and ultimately finding her dharma in reviving Farmtrue with her husband.

Emilie walks li...

Kate is a self-described holiday dork who loves parties, cookies, cocktails and a good stuffing situation. She also remembers what it felt like to stagger out of Thanksgiving week bloated, gassy, constipated and anxious for days. In this solo episode, she downloads her personal Holiday Health Guide, honed over two decades of living Ayurveda, healing her gut from parasites, and still saying yes to celebration.

You will learn the one...

Kate sits down with Ashley Turner to explore midlife as a true rite of passage. Yes, hormones matter. But Ashley makes a compelling case that what many of us feel in our 40s and 50s is also a psychospiritual reorganization. We cover what’s actually happening with progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone; why anger and irritability spike; how Ayurveda explains the energy shift after menstruation; and where tools like sisterhood, sle...

In this solo episode, Kate shares the low-lift routines that keep her nourished all week: the exact groceries she buys, what she soaks at night, her quick morning setup, how she uses an Instant Pot without babysitting the stove, and why cooked water can be a total game-changer for hydration and digestion. Expect straightforward practices—soaked legumes, a pot of greens, a weekly chutney, and a simple condiment strategy—so you’re ne...

Cookbook author and Ayurvedic educator Claire Ragozzino joins Kate to talk about real Ayurvedic eating—beyond dogma and into daily life. They explore how routine and relaxation transform digestion, why many of us actually need more nourishment (not less), and how an omnivorous approach can be deeply aligned with Ayurvedic principles. Claire shares how she meal-preps on Kauaʻi, why porridges and stews are her anchors, and how sourci...

Dry skin showing up already? In this solo, Kate shares Ayurveda’s whole-body approach to dryness—how to exfoliate without stripping, why oiling before a hot shower matters, which fall oils absorb best, and how to hydrate at the cellular level with hot water, soups, and a simple evening milk tonic. Plus, the once-a-week mung bean body scrub (with a cleanup hack) that makes a big difference when you’re feeling “lizardy.”

What You’ll ...

Author and teacher Kate O’Donnell sits down with Mysore-based cook and educator Sahana Murthy to explore seasonal eating, real hydration, and the quiet genius of traditional South Indian cooking. You’ll learn why soupy meals hydrate better than constant water chugging, when to lean on salted buttermilk (and when not to), how to make coriander “coffee” to cool excess pitta, and why food combining matters for digestion. Sahana shares...

Feeling hungry, unprepared, and tempted by the snack cabinet? In this solo episode, Kate shares her real-life Ayurvedic plan for those “what do I eat?” moments—especially in fall. You’ll learn easy, grounding meals that come together quickly: 15-minute dals and greens, creamy porridges, tortillas with eggs or beans, “eggs + greens” anytime meals, and the evening hot-milk ritual for deep sleep. You’ll also hear Kate’s minimal prep h...

In this episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, Kate O’Donnell sits down with Ayurvedic doctor and podcast host Sasha Bershadsky for an eye-opening look at how Ayurveda is taught, practiced, and evolving in the United States.

Many listeners ask:

• What’s the difference between an Ayurvedic health counselor, practitioner, and doctor?
• How do you know who to see—and for what...

As the season cools and dries, your body changes too. Kate shares exactly how to pivot your meals toward warm, moist, grounding foods, plus easy spice pairings and a gentle two-week transition mindset that protects digestion at the seasonal “joint” (the ṛtu sandhi). Expect soups and stews, cooked fruit, warm water rituals, and smart use of fat and seeds. If you’re feeling the first signs of dryness—skin, eyes, stools—this episode g...

Everywhere you look, there’s another shop selling cannabis products. But how do you separate hype from helpful? Kate welcomes Stefanie Reiser of Acknowledge Farms back to demystify hemp, CBD, THC, and the often-mentioned but rarely explained CBDV. They trace hemp’s history in the U.S., unpack how research and regulation shape today’s products, and explain why regenerative, organic farming can influence how you feel a tincture or gu...

In this solo teaching, Kate gets real about finishing creative work—and whether your idea truly needs to become a book. She walks through practical next steps for authors and educators (hello, market comps and outlines), and widens the lens: podcasts, audio, YouTube, and Substack might serve your message—and your audience—better right now. If publishing is your path, you’ll hear where to start, how to think like a marketer (not jus...

In this episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, Kate O’Donnell is joined by longtime friend and colleague Nea Ferrier, a Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher, international retreat leader, and founder of Nilaya House in Dubai. Together, they explore the interplay of yoga, Ayurveda, and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on how women can align with life stages and menstrual seasons to live more integrated, balanced, and j...

Back-to-school season isn’t just about school supplies and new schedules—it’s also a time of significant change for body and mind. In this episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, host Kate O’Donnell explores how both seasonal shifts and cultural transitions (like returning to school or work routines) can stir up anxiety, digestive upset, and sleep disturbances. Drawing from Ayurveda’s timeless wisdom, Kate offers practical strategi...

Kate O’Donnell welcomes Dr. John Douillard, DC, CAP, a pioneer in Ayurveda and modern health integration. Together, they explore some of the most confusing and most-asked questions in wellness today: Which cooking oils are truly healthy? How do we eat seasonally in a modern world? And how can breathwork provide nourishment as powerful as food itself?

Dr. John shares his personal journey from competitive triathlete to living in Indi...

Hair loss, thinning, and lackluster strands are often blamed on products, genetics, or age — but Ayurveda sees the story differently. In this episode, Kate O’Donnell takes you beyond shampoos and serums into the deep connection between your bones, digestion, stress, and hair health. You’ll learn how hair is considered an upadhatu (secondary tissue) of the bones, why fats and proteins are essential, and how stress, grief, and poor d...