Western herbs and Ayurveda with Sophia Avramides

Western herbs and Ayurveda with Sophia Avramides
Sophia: It's that intuitive thing of understanding that Vata is the cold dosha that is rough and dry and really airy. You're going to understand that that's winter. if you understand that Kapha is this muddy sort of really earthy energy, think about where earth really takes hold and that's in the spring, it starts growing. And then once again, the fire of Pitta, you understand that that's the heat of summer. And in understanding those three basic things, you can then understand what do I hold the most of? And then look back at what you're taking into your body and adjust as needed, and then maybe find herbs that have the opposite effects of what you mean. And that's kind of how I think all of it works.
Lana: You're listening to Plant Love Radio episode, number 71.
Introduction
Hi, everyone. I hope you're having a good week. Last year, I met a delightful young herbalist and health consultant Sophia Avramides. One of her passions is looking at the local plants and local herbalism through the prism of Ayurvedic medicine. And I can't wait to introduce you to each other!
Sophia is first and foremost a student of the cosmos. She incorporates a broad spectrum of knowledge into her offerings of consultations, workshops, classes, and a full apothecary line optimizing hemp based cannabinoids and herbal medicines.
Sophia strives to bring together this ancient philosophy with a modern day world in a way that is insightful and organic. Her company AvraAveda is based in Southcoast, Massachusetts.
And this episode has a raffle of Sophia's own Envision elixir. I am salivating just reading the ingredients of this potion. Cacao nibs, ashwagandha root, fresh Tulsi, Rose, chaga, and much more. To enter this raffle, please head over to https://ko-fi.com/plantloveradio, and share your thoughts on today's episode.
And today we'll be talking about characteristics that help you to understand your own constitution. How different seasons and their energies connect with plants and help you to understand which ones keep you healthy and in balance. And why Ayurvedic medicine helps you to process the language of local plants better.
To get all the links mentioned in today's episode, head over to the show notes at https://plantloveradio.com/71. Enjoy!
Interview
Good morning Sophia so great to see you. How are you doing?
Sophia: I am doing so well Lana. Thank you for having me here.
Lana: Thank you for being here. I'm going to share with our listeners that the first time I met you, we were at a herbal conference here locally in Boston. We were talking and I mentioned that I worked for my university and you are one of the alums. It was wonderful to see someone who started with psychology and [00:04:00] ended up in healing arts. So let's start this conversation by talking a little bit about how you got interested in plants and herbal medicine.
Sophia's story
Sophia: Sure. So, yes, I love that connection that we share. It's really wonderful. And I love that you are bringing plant medicine to such a beautiful institution of knowledge.
So how I got into plant loving, I guess it started as a teenager where I didn't even really realize what was happening. I started reaching out to using different herbal allies in treatment of a very, very chronic case of psoriasis. So it was starting to use different types of teas, to kind of help clear out my liver.
I started looking into all of these different things as a young teenager and then It really skyrocketed once I discovered cannabis and discovered how cannabis made me feel and that it helped me cope with anxiety that I didn't even realize I had. From a young age, it's pretty funny because I find that my relationship with that plant started in a very medicinal route rather than recreational, it really kind of showed me, Hey, like really look at your mind, look at what you're eating, look at how you're treating yourself as that plant kind of does.
So it started with that realm of treating psoriasis and managing anxiety, because I had a lot of topical corticosteroids and things that worked, but they only worked short term and it kind of opened me up to understanding, maybe on a longterm and maybe on a more in depth level you have to start healing yourself.
Lana: That's great. But at some point you went a little bit further and you discovered Ayurveda. So tell us a little bit about that.
Discovering Ayurveda
Sophia: Sure. So I actually discovered Ayuveda at Mass College of Pharmacy. It was my senior year. I was taking medical anthropology and I decided I wanted to write a paper on Eastern medicine comparing Traditional Chinese medicine with Ayurvedic medicine.
So I wrote this extensive 40 page paper, dove really in deep and in the process discovered Dr. Vassant Lad. And I discovered all of these Ayurvedic texts and I just kind of fell in love with the entire system. so meanwhile, I'm working at the justice resource Institute JRI center in Brookline founded by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk who's done a lot of really great research on like trauma-sensitive yoga. I believe he has done some work on different plants allies as well and helping with trauma and stress. So I was working there and my mentor there who hired me I came into my internship one day and she had printed out the application for the Kripalu school of Ayurveda and left it on my desk. And she was like, Hey, your task today is to fill this out. I was pointed in the right direction.
She could feel that I was really passionate about this and I was a little bit lost and I didn't know what I was going to do post college. I wasn't ready to go to graduate school and I filled out the application and applied. And then the following fall, I was enrolled in Kripalu and their Ayurvedic health counselor program.
Lana: That's wonderful. So what appeals to you about Ayurveda? Why do you think that this is an exciting way of learning about the world around you?
Sophia: So I feel like with Ayurveda, for me, the word itself is really beautiful. I love the sound of Sanskrit, even that is just enticing on first learning, but when you really dive into Ayurveda, what I really love about it is it's a really cool foundation. it's a great understanding of the world. it's very simple, while the word might sound really fancy or scary or foreign, the baseline understanding of Ayurvedic medicine and it's wisdom is incredibly intuitive and it's something that a lot of people do on their own without even realizing that it could be classified as Ayurveda.
I love that it gives you a vocabulary to understand yourself. It gives you a vocabulary to understand the things around you in a very nonjudgmental way, through looking at qualities or elemental composition, tasting something and knowing that, Oh, this is hot and it's bitter and it's pungent, it's strong, you know, and thinking about how does that then affect your body and how does it affect you as an individual? Are you hot? Are you cold? Is it balancing you out or is it aggravating you. And I love the simplicity of that while also being very complex. You can dive so far deep into Ayurveda, but at baseline it's very simple and it's a really, I think, great foundational medicine for anybody who wants to understand how they can work on it and heal themselves.
Lana: That's awesome. And I also find that it's very, very intuitive to most of us because we understand so quickly and so easily the idea of cold and hot and dry and damp and all that. So I completely agree with you. So, we slightly introduced, I guess, the ideas of constitution. Can we talk a little bit about like, how many are there and how do they differ? And then we'll talk a little bit about strategies for them.
Learning the constitutions
Sophia: Sure. Sure. So, in Ayurveda, there are three main doshas, or energies are organized bioenergies and they're all characterized by different qualities. And within those three different doshas, you could have a combination of the three. So there's so many different combinations, right. You could be primarily one and then have the other two backlashing. So that was a weird way to say it. So the three are, they're called Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
Vata
And, Vata is made up of wind and space. So it's a very creative, very thought oriented. Very quick to move, quick to talk quick to live, basically, energy. If we think about when wind and space come together, it could be this really light breeze or it could be a hurricane. So the type of person who has a lot of Vata in them could be very erratic and they could be prone to things like ADHD or anxiety or sleep issues. But when it's in balance, they can be incredibly creative, always full of ideas, very energetic people. So that's one type of person and that, you know, one type of constitution.
Pitta
And then the Pitta is somebody who's really fiery. It's made up of fire and water. So it's kind of like this lavaesque substance is how I picture Pitta. So somebody with a lot of this fire energy could be very alpha and they're very direct and clear, concise humans. They're the leaders, in my experience. They're the people who want to take command and kind of be in charge. When out of whack, Pitta personality can be very critical and judgmental and, prone to a lot of inflammation. If you think about a lot of fire, right? Like what does a lot of fire look like in the body?
And with all three of these constitutions, they all have their own digestive profile as well. So Vata with being very windy could be prone to like a more constipated, being dried out because the wind dried you out and Pitta very fiery is very spicy. So it could be very loose type digestion.
Kapha
And the last one is Kapha or Kappa, and Kappa is the very slow sort of earthy energy it's made up of earth and water. I think of the earth and water combining and forming mud and from the mud a lot can grow. So Kapha is a very heart-centered individual usually really, really laid back, chill. That's how I once again, imagine a very stereotypic Kapha person - really lush, dewy skin and big eyes, like a princess in a sense.
When out of balance, however this muddiness can be sticky. So the earth and water too much earth, too much water can cause lethargy and stubbornness and can put somebody into a state of depression. It's too much stagnancy. And so when they're in balance, they're very slow and steady, they can get things done, but it might take them a little bit longer to start. They're slower to start. It's basically the complete opposite of Vata, while Vata is very quick moving and fast and you can't really pin Vata down. Kapha is the earth component of it.
So we have wind, we have fire and we have earth in those three constitutional types of characters. And the idea is you might have a little bit of each one in you and you probably do . And they're all very important and very necessary.
So yeah, that's the constitution. And the idea is that they easily go out of balance in our bodies. So our responsibility in learning about these doshas or these bioenergies is to learn how to put them back into balance through our diet and our lifestyle and whatever plants we take into our body.
Lana: And, that's my next question for you. So how do you put them back into balance?
Putting doshas into balance
Sophia: The idea in Ayurveda is that like increases like an opposite decreases. So what that means is say you have an individual who's very Pitta, right? So they're very fiery person. The like increasing like means that if this person who's very fiery and maybe a little bit aggravated and is kind of lashing out at their loved ones all the time, and having this crazy skin rash that's happening, that they just can't at a way. If they keep including like qualities into their diet and lifestyle, that fire it's going to continue burning.
So, for instance, somebody who's very Pitta who drinks a lot of coffee during the day, eats spicy burrito bowls or say pizza which is very inflammatory. And then leaves work at the end of the day and has three glasses of wine with a coworker after work.
That's all more fire that they're adding. They're adding fire through the caffeine and the coffee. they're adding fire through the spice of their burrito bowl, and then they're adding fire through the alcohol consumption. They're all very fiery, inflammatory things. Or, you know, maybe they're not taking in more fire through substances, but they are going and playing really competitive basketball after work.
So it's super high stakes game and they're just continuing that fire flow in their body. That could increase their Pitta. It's not going to balance them out. It's going to keep them in this elevated state. Another example for a very Pitta enhancing situation could be something as simple as somebody who's really pissed off and they turn the music on in their car and it's just really loud, angry rap music. Super violent, aggressive lyrics. and I'm a huge fan of hip hop and rap or say like death metal, right? Like really angry music. That's going to just keep increasing the Pitta in their body when the reality is to bring it back into balance you want to use more cooling and subtle practices. So maybe, opting for a cup of lavender Rose tea instead of the third cup of coffee, or instead of playing the really competitive game after a long day at work going and volunteering some service as a team doing some community service or going on a really chill walk with a loved one and getting that energy out that way.
So it's basically, taking in the opposite of what you're feeling is how you balance out Ayurveda and it's through diet and lifestyle. And once again, herbs can really, really help if you can use them properly. They can really help balance you back out and make you feel more calm.
Lana: Okay, that's great. And so that's my next question for you. So, everything that I have learned about Ayurveda was revolving around Ayurvedic herbs. Whether it is ashwagandha or turmeric or ginger or various other ones, but, when we met last June, you taught a really fascinating workshop where you discussed a lot of Western herbal strategies and herbal medicine. I want to ask you to talk a little bit about this. How did you begin exploring this area and talk to us a little bit about some of the examples of how you can use these Western plants.
Western plants used in Ayurvedic medicine
Sophia: Sure. So, I am really inspired by where I live. I live in South coast, Massachusetts, so I'm about an hour and a halfish South of Boston. And I am in a region where I basically live on the coast. So there's a lot of really cool plants that grow around me. It's absolutely beautiful. New England is so lush and full of amazing plants. We're really lucky.
So basically when I was studying, Ayurveda, I was also learning about the ashwagandha and the tumeric and the ginger and the, amalaki and all these herbs that are super potent and medicinal, but not necessarily attainable in new England. Though, I must say you can actually grow ashwagandha and tumeric and ginger in our climate, which is really wonderful.
And, having homegrown ashwagandha is probably one of the best gifts that I've had for myself in the last two years. I use it all the time and it's super spicy growing in New England for whatever reason. So basically I wanted to start understanding the plants that grow around me, with this backdrop of herbalism that I learned.
I didn't study traditional Western herbalism though I do have a pretty good understanding of it through my own studies. I really learned about understanding herbs through the Ayurvedic lens, which is looking at tastes of the herb, looking at the energetic effect of it, and looking at the effect that it has on your body once you've digested it.
So basically taking that information and I started wondering like, okay, what about all these herbs that are growing around me, especially in the spring and summertime? There is obviously use for them. Everybody is using them in some way. And how can I apply this lens?
That's how it started I looked at the taste effects, for instance, in the spring, you have a lot of really bitter herbs popping up like dandelion, a huge one in the spring time. And I'm thinking about it in terms of what it's doing to the constitution, what is it doing to Vata Pitta Kapha, what is it doing to our organs? What are those organs associated with when it comes to Ayurveda? And that's kind of how it started, I guess.
And there's definitely research out there. So I had aid from the literature that's already available to kind of make sure I was on track, but a lot of it's kind of just experimenting by like chewing a plant and seeing what it tastes like. Does it make your mouth feel astringent and numb, and dried out, or does it bring a nice sweetness out? It really spicy. And once again, Ayurveda is so simple that you can really just listen to what your body is saying. Like, wow, this is so bitter. You know, this is really bitter. And, and then think in context of Ayurveda, what is bitter good for? Bitter is great for Pitta and Kapha. It's a great taste for cleansing out the system. So, in that knowledge you can kind of apply basically any herb or any plant to Ayurveda.
Lana: So can you give us a couple of examples?
Winter plants and energies
Sophia: Sure. So right now I can give you some great examples of what's currently kind of brewing in my cauldron if I may, because it's the winter. And so obviously, we're limited in our plants in the winter time, because we live in New England, but I've been working a lot with evergreens, and those are so readily accessible. They're everywhere, so it's not something you need to cultivate. It's something that you can be really mindful about when harvesting, but you can use needles of these evergreens and you can make really great infused oils or teas or decoctions, or syrups and utilize them in your medicine, bath salts even.
So a great example, I'll give you a few, cause they all have similar energetic profiles. White pine is one. You picture white pine and it's kind of the long, really thin pine needles. Cedar is another one and Juniper, and they're all incredibly aromatic actually.
I have a little piece of Cedar here with me. And I'll light it and use it as a form of smudge as well. It smells really good if you burn it and it cleanses the air. so energetically, if you think about it, these are plants that are evergreens. They last through the entire year, so naturally if they're the only plants available to us in the winter time, For thinking about, like increases like an opposites, decrease nature knows how to balance and harmonize, it has it kind of all figured out.
So if you think about what plants are growing in the winter time, they're going to be a natural antidote to the winter time and what we kind of deal with. So the qualities of these herbs are going to be heating, right. It's going to be a heating herb. It's going to have some heat to it. So if we opt too make an infused oil of pine and put it on our skin, it's going to warm us up rather than make us feel really cold.
So the energetics of these Evergreens are more heating in our bodies and the taste is pungent and I sometimes use the word pungency as being spicy, but it's not really the best synonym. it can be, all spices are pungent, but it's more so it leaves like a full taste in your mouth. it's basically like there's a spice profile to it. It has a lot of like terpines or there's a lot of tastes there. So with pine and Cedar and Juniper, they all have this pungency to them. Cedar is a little more sweet I feel. It has a little bit of a sweetness to it, but knowing those tastes are also a way to think. Okay. You know, this balances out Vata and Kapha, because they could use a little bit of that pungent fire, and because Vata is this airy dosha that needs to be grounded down and is prone to being cold and Kapha is this really earthy, muddy sort of dosha that needs a little bit of fire to spark it back up.
So it's really helpful because right now in the season, going back to nature having an antidote, we're actually in the Vata season. If you think about how I described Vata earlier as being this really airy sort of creative individual that also applies to the season, and right now it's very cold and windy and dry outside. And you know, there isn't much fire and there isn't much earth being represented. The earth is pretty desolate right now. So we're kind of deep in Vata season right now. So anything that balances Vata out is really helpful to understanding. Yeah. So those are three that I'm using a lot right now.
Short break
Lana: Just a quick break here to remind you that today's episode comes with Sophia's own AvraVeda Envision elixir filled with incredible health restorative ingredients, like a cacao, ashwagandha, Tulsi, Rose, chaga, and more. To enter this raffle, please head over to https://ko-fi.com/plantloveradio.
The winner of our last episode's raffle from Goldthread Tonics is Bridget. Bridget, please reach out to me at lana@lanacamiel.com with your address. Congratulations!
Spring plants and energies
So you're talking about seasons and I want to take you a little bit around the circle. So we talked about the winter. Can we talk a little bit more about the spring and summer? So, perhaps from their energies and maybe some of the plants that you're going to see a lot more of.
Sophia: Sure. So, absolutely. So moving through the spring we're going to see this kind of surge of different little green plants. I mentioned dandelion earlier. That's a big one. Cleavers and chickweed, plantain is another one that starts popping up in the spring time. and those are all really good for Kapha dosha and Kapha is once again, this earth and water sort of a muddy constitution, muddy dosha, and that's the spring time.
Lana: Right. And so when we're thinking about all the water and all the earth that is waking up, that when you're thinking about Kapha. So all these greens, they are what? They're stimulating or is it the taste? Or how do you look at them?
Sophia: So they're very bitter. they're bitter herbs. They might have a little bit of like a sweetness to them, but they're very bitter. So the idea is with this bitterness, you're cleansing out this excess. They have this scraping action in the body and they help move any congestion, anything that's been stuck all winter through your body and helping you digest and process and purge your liver out. It's a really good time of year to do some deep detoxing and they're very detoxifying herbs.
Lana: Right. And we're not talking about detox as a weight loss or anything like this. We're talking more about the fact that during the winter, you're eating your potatoes and starches and meat, whatever else that you might be consuming. And it's very heavy. And so we really crave all those greens when the spring comes. And so that helps us to cleanse everything out. So what happens when the summer comes around?
Summer plants and energies
Sophia: So these a lot of those herbs will stay present. And, then we'll also have this surge of other wonderful flowers and Rose is I think, of Rosa rugosa beach roses, and they're like the ultimate in my opinion, tail of summer. They really tell you summers here and we move into Pitta season. Right?
It's this fiery hot dosha. And that's exactly what we're activating in that time of year. So we're really looking at using herbs like chamomile, and I think of Violets as well. And once again, the roses and those are so cooling and sweets and they have this post digestive effect that is also very sweet on the body.
It really nourishes all that extra fire that's happening, through the sun being so hot and being in a lot of daylight and a lot of sunlight. You want more of those like nourishing yin, feminine herbs to take it and to kind of cool you and calm you back down.
Lana: So we talked about the winter, we talked about the spring. We talked about the summer. Now let's talk a little bit about the fall. So what happens? What are the energies and what are some of the herbs that you would see someone using to balance the energies?
Sophia: So when you mentioned, how we kind of got into this when we started with the Pines and the evergreens. We talked about being in Vata season and Vata actually starts mid fall. So the fall is an interesting period because it's moving from a lot of heat into cold. So it's not like casually warming up. It's going from hot to cold pretty quickly, a lot of the time. And you want to be mindful of using herbs that are going to help you manage your heat, but also not takeaway your heat. You know what I mean? We're flowing from Pitta into Vata, Vata is from mid fall to through winter. And then, you know, we go into Kapha again for the spring.
So to balance out Vata, we really want those heavier herbs, we want roots. So I do think of ashwagandha a lot as a really great tool to help manage Vata because once again, if somebody has a lot of Vata in their system or their body, they could be prone to a lot of anxiety. And I think that that seasonal shift, a lot of people do feel anxiety. We're overstimulated. We have a lot going on in that time of year in this society, it's when a lot of things start picking up and we need herbs that are going to ground us down and make us feel stable and warm and taken care of.
So some of my personal favorite allies in that switch from hot to cold is using ashwagandha intermittently. If it's still kind of warm out, ashwagandha could be overly heating for that remaining Pitta that might be in your body.
A really beautiful one is Tulsi or Holy Basil. Tulsi is one of those herbs that is good for Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It does have a slightly heating effects. So too much for Pitta could be a little bit too much, but in that seasonal shift, I find that Tulsi is an awesome herbs to use. Another one is something like using clove, or cardamom is a really nice one as well. So I mix clove cardamom and cinnamon together a lot, and it's sort of like a chai. Cardamom has a more cooling effect. Clove has a more heating effect. So it's alchemy, you can put together these things and say, Hey, I have a little bit hot. I have a little bit cold. I'm in a seasonal junction right now that moves from hot to cold let's balance out, you know?
So pretty much once again, it's that intuitive thing of understanding that Vata is the cold dosha that is rough and dry and really airy. You're going to understand that that's winter. if you understand that Kapha is this muddy sort of really earthy energy, think about where earth really takes hold and that's in the spring, it starts growing. And then once again, the fire of Pitta, you understand that that's the heat of summer. And in understanding those three basic things, you can then understand what do I hold the most of? And then look back at what you're taking into your body and adjust as needed, and then maybe find herbs that have the opposite effects of what you mean And that's kind of how I think all of it works.
Lana: Yeah, fascinating, but something that you mentioned a couple of minutes ago, how the society changes, the holidays and all that . But what I'm also thinking that society in general also has this energies. And so whether it does a fast pace energy that we are associate with our own lives and perhaps a little too much Vata, or if you're going to a different country where the temperaments are a little bit hotter. So you can actually look at different countries and also find the energies present there. That's the beauty of Ayurveda that it shows up in so many different, fascinating ways.
Sophia: Absolutely 100%. People watching with Ayurveda is one of the most fun things, because you start to see these energies in at play and every human is so different. what you're saying is 100% true environment it's such a cultivator of energy. We can move from one place to another and see things change so much. And then also, noticing that different plants and different foods grow in different climates in different places of the world that are once again, this antidote to the excessive energy that might be there.
Lana: so sometimes when I think about spices and you think, Oh, they're all hard or they're all heating, but that's not always the case. Right. When you're looking at something like cayenne pepper even though it's hot, it helps you to cool down. And so that also fascinates me. Once again all about energy.
So I want to ask you if someone wants to dive deeper into using Western herbs as primary means of medicine, what would they do?
Diving deeper into using plants as a primary medicine
Sophia: I would really look at what's growing around you, grab an ID book, take a little sample of the plants that you're interested in and bring it home and do some research and see what it is. you could start with that. A lot of the plants that would interest you are usually edible, but you definitely want to make sure that it's edible. And if it is, then you can take a little bit to it up, taste it. See what you feel, what you experience.
So my first realm of saying this is how you can explore Western herbs is by experiencing it firsthand, otherwise just do research and see what's around you. There's a lot of really great herbalists in the area.
There's great resources and understanding local plants of New England or local plants of the East coast. I think that that's probably my best way of saying it. My personal experience is just by going outside and seeing what's out there and yeah, the curiosity. So it's really carving that time out and saying, I do have this time to go really look at what's growing. It's that childlike curiosity that gets to come right back out of you.
Lana: That's perfect. But so you mentioned herbalists, you mentioned resources. Do you have any favorites, whether on Western herbs or Ayurveda, something that our listeners can go and look into a little bit further.
Helpful resources
Sophia: Sure. With Western herbs, a great resource is Mary Blue - Farmacy Herbs she's located in Providence. She's awesome. and I know a lot of people who have studied with her. so she has great programs.
Cambridge naturals also has really great herbalists and they have bulk herbs there where you can source some local herbs and find things that are helpful for you.
And then with the Ayurvedic mentality, I've used a lot of Dr. Lad's books. my best resources are usually doing the research as needed and kind of finding what I feel really called to. So it really varies a lot.
Lana: Okay. Fabulous. Thank you. So let's switch gears a little bit and talk about AvraVeda. What is it where the name comes from? Tell us a little bit about your offerings and your business in general.
Avraveda's offerings
Sophia: Sure. So AvraVeda started as an apothecary and that still holds very strong. So the name itself, comes from my last name Avramides, which I found out actually the word average in Greek is actually the goddess of the cool winds.
Lana: Okay.
Sophia: Very Ayurvedic in a lot of ways and also very appropriate because I definitely have a lot of Vata in me which tends to be why go into these like fractally loops of conversation. So Avra comes and my last name, and then of course, Veda comes from Ayurveda and in studying and the word Veda itself means science or truth, or study. So basically it's like the study of myself, the study of existence. that's kind of how the name came to be in it more and more sense as time passes by.
So I offer the apothecary and that's kind of reflected in my symbol, it's a bow and arrow. And it has a Lotus flower and a cannabis leaf because all of my products are infused with full spectrum hemp oil or locally grown hemp flowers. So I do work a lot with different cannabinoids and in using these cannabinoids to synergize in the body with other herbs. I find that really interesting, learning how to blend hemp with other plants and see what happens. So my apothecary offerings vary from tinctures to sublingual oils, to topicals like body butters and salves and in bombs. And a lot of them are made with Western local plants, plants that grow native to here. And the apothecary was part of the reason why I was so inspired to go outside and start learning about the plants that grow around me because once again I could source Ayurvedic herbs from India. But what good are those really going to do people who live here? They might help people to some degree, but I really truly believe that the herbs that really help us the most are the herbs. That
Lana: Around us.
Sophia: exactly they're, they're what grow around us. So, yeah. I focus a lot on that in my apothecary for Avraveda. And then outside of the apothecary, I offer one-on-one Ayurvedic health consultations with people. We'll sit together, talk about what's going on in your life and through talking it out and also using fun Ayurvedic techniques, like looking at your tongue and doing tongue diagnosis or pulse diagnosis, We look at where your imbalances are and then how to bring them back into balance with very carefully cultivated diet, lifestyle, and herbalism that you can apply to your life. So those are really fun. Those consultations are usually around an hour and a half each they're really in depth and I love doing them.
And then I love teaching. I have so much fun teaching and sharing workshops. I have a blast with holding a class and really being able to share information with people. I feel as if my brain is a sponge for information, but when I don't get to get it out, I really start feeling crazy. So it's also a therapeutic tool for me, is to share and teach.
So those are the kind of the three main limbs of my business, having the physical apothecary products that are made with a lot of love, offering the consultations and teaching workshops and classes.
Lana: That's fabulous. So speaking of teaching, how can our listeners learn more about you and from you? Tell us where we can find you.
Connecting with Sophia
Sophia: So I am a pretty social user of the Instagram app I find, but it's a great platform. I love to share information on there. So on Instagram or on Facebook, my handle is at avraveda, and then my website is www.avraveda.com. So it's super easy to get ahold of me. And I'm pretty good at responding to questions. So if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
Lana: Fabulous. I will definitely include all those in the show notes. So our listeners can easily find you. So, as we are saying goodbye to each other, I wanted to ask you one last question. Do you have any parting thoughts for our listeners?
Parting thoughts
I feel if you're listening to this podcast, you obviously have interest in deepening your understanding of plants. I think that gauging a baseline understanding of Ayurveda is a really helpful way to understand yourself and understand the world around you. So definitely look into it, definitely study it, know that the Sanskrit words are absolutely beautiful and a part of it, but they're not a hundred percent necessary. So don't be overwhelmed by the language shifts and. Get outside and see what's growing in your backyard because oftentimes that's exactly what you need to use and utilize. So have fun making teas and oils and play. Definitely my last thought is go play.
Wonderful. Sophia. Thank you so, so very much.
Sophia: Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you for listening!
Lana: Thank you so much for joining us today for this delightful interview with Sophia Avramides. To get access to the resources mentioned in today's episode, please head over to the show notes at https://plantloveradio.com/71.
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The music you hear in the introduction was written by a neighbor of mine, David Scholl and it's called Something about Cat - my deepest gratitude to Bill Gilligan for this opportunity to play it.
Thanks again for being here today. I really appreciate you. Till the next time, thank you for loving plants and planting love!