Author: Kim Luyckx

Yoga and Ayurvedic Wellness educator in Northern Arizona. My husband and I enjoy hiking, gardening and exploring the southwest in our new RV.

Living More Youthfully

On By Kim LuyckxIn Lifestyle & HabitsLeave a comment
woman wearing brown overall

How do we generate and maintain our zest for life? It comes from practicing techniques for rejuvenation, reawakening and renewal.

In Ayurveda, this is the practice of Rasayana and it includes our physical, mental and spiritual states of being. Ultimately, Rasayana helps us to achieve and maintain our passion, our enthusiasm and our appetite for life. Rasayana promotes cognitive and physical strength, immunity, enthusiasm and energetic zest for the remainder of our lives. Through Rasayana we can keep living younger longer.

And, it’s not just for old agers… it’s for anyone who may be unbalanced right now. Or for anyone who wishes to move into old age more youthfully.

If you would like to listen to this content, please join me On Wellness Way podcast.

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The Beauty of Yoga

On By Kim LuyckxIn Uncategorized1 Comment

What has 8 limbs, is 5,000 years old and generates happiness and peace wherever it goes? Well, yoga of course! 

Yes, yoga does have eight limbs. One limb for each aspect in the yogic system. These eight different appendages are called: yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana & samadhi. 

I am going to, briefly, identify each limb one by one so that you can get a better understanding of the full system of yoga.

If you’d like to listen to the information presented here in more detail, tune into my podcast On Wellness Way.

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Reasons for a Spring Cleanse

On By Kim LuyckxIn Healthy Food & DrinkLeave a comment
woman and child washing hands on raindrops

It’s April and spring is in full swing here in Northern Arizona. It’s a great time for an uplift and nothing says uplift more than a spring cleanse. Now I know what you are thinking, a cleanse…isn’t that where you drink lemon juice all day? But no! Ayurveda has a wonderful plan for a spring cleanse that purifies and clarifies by removing all the heavy buildup of the prior months without starvation and sacrifice. A spring cleanse will refresh and boost your physical being and your spirit so that you can feel invigorated, more cheerful and inspired as you move into this new season.

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Spice Up Your Life!

On By Kim LuyckxIn Healthy Food & DrinkLeave a comment
aroma aromatic assortment bottles

Ayurveda says that spice enhances an individual’s health. Yet, most of us just use salt or pepper to spice our food. And, while the use of salt can enhance the flavor of foods and black pepper has a lot of healing properties, there are so many more spices to incorporate into our diets. Just think of the old saying, “Variety is the spice of life.”

In general, adding spice to your food can enhance its flavor. But, a pinch of seasoning can add wonders to your life. In my last blog, I spoke of the reason for incorporating all of the six tastes into your meals. Choosing particular spices to cook with is one way to get all of those tastes included in your diet.

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Do You Have Taste?

On By Kim LuyckxIn Healthy Food & DrinkLeave a comment
family sitting at table

According to Ayurveda, taste is more than a flavor or sensation on the tongue. There are six tastes, called the sad (six) rasa (tastes): sweet, salty, sour, pungent, astringent and bitter.

Each rasa or taste is connected to a combination of particular elements: space, air, water, fire or earth. Each taste can also have a specific effect on a dosha (Vata, Pitta & Kapha) by either aggravating or pacifying these energies.

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Are You Eating Quality Food?

On By Kim LuyckxIn Healthy Food & DrinkLeave a comment
man filling his plate with food from buffet table

According to Ayurveda, choosing the right food to eat is personal. Although there are many examples of healthy foods out there, Ayurveda believes that foods should be selected based on their natural qualities, compatibilities, modes of processing, quantities and timing.

Let’s take a deep dive into the quality of foods…

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May the (Life) Force Be with You

On By Kim LuyckxIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
young woman exhaling steam on freezing cold weather

Breathing is an essential aspect of yoga and ayurveda that takes into account the body as well as the mind and spirit. As we learn to deepen and slow down our breathing habits, our lung capacity extends, oxygen levels increase and all of our systems benefit. Through the breath, we take in what we need and release what no longer serves us.  But this nourishment doesn’t just exist on a physical level. The unseen energy of the breath flows into, out of and within the body and is transmitted to every molecule to align and balance us physically, mentally and spiritually. 

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