Where does your ashwagandha really come from? Tyler Wauters, VP of Herbal Affairs at Banyan Botanicals and Director of Banyan Farm, shares the truth about ethical herb sourcing, sustainable farming, and what happens when wellness trends commodify plants. Learn what organic, fair trade, and regenerative certifications actually mean, discover bioregional Ayurveda and analog herbs, and get practical steps for becoming a conscious consumer who knows the story of what's in their medicine cabinet.

[00:00] - Introduction: The problem with trending herbs

[04:00] - Tyler's journey from fish farmer to wildcrafter to Banyan

[09:00] - What is bioregional Ayurveda?

[12:00] - Analog herbs and criteria for substitution

[18:00] - Chemical ecology: How plants change based on environment

[23:00] - Banyan Farm as research facility

[27:00] - 30 years of relationships with Indian suppliers

[32:00] - Organic vs. Regenerative Organic vs. Fair Trade

[38:00] - What happens when ashwagandha trends

[43:00] - How to be a conscious consumer

[49:00] - Action steps: research, relationships, local + global

[54:00] - The Living Ayurveda internship

[56:00] - Rapid fire questions

Tyler is the VP of Herbal Affairs at Banyan Botanicals, Director at Banyan Farm, a place-based herbalist, Ayurvedic practitioner, and founder of Hawthorn Institute.

He grew up amongst the weeping willows and cattails. A lifelong naturalist and plant enthusiast, Tyler has dedicated his life to the practices of bioregional Ayurveda and place-based herbalism. Tyler began teaching in 2008 and brings his passion and knowledge into everything he shares. His intention is to ignite deeper connections to place, people, and plants through the lens of stewardship and reciprocity.Tyler has studied with Vasant Lad, MASc, Dr. Claudia Welch, Sonia Masocco, Isla Burgess, 7song, and Frank Cook. He thanks all of his mentors for sharing life's wisdom.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

Did you notice how many people got sick over the holidays this year? In this solo episode, Kate breaks down the Ayurvedic perspective on immunity—and it might surprise you.

Instead of focusing on antibodies and white blood cell counts, Ayurveda teaches us about Ojas—the "nutrient cream of the body" that creates resilience and protects tissues against pathogens. Kate explains why moisture is the foundation of immunity, especially in dry winter months, and why conventional approaches like green juices and cold smoothies might actually be working against you during this season.

This episode is packed with practical, actionable tools you can implement immediately: from nasal oiling and warm milk tonics to turmeric honey and skin massage protocols. Kate walks you through exactly how to create a protective barrier—both internally and externally—that keeps you robust, refreshed, and resilient all winter long.

If you're tired of getting sick every season, or if you're looking for a deeper understanding of what true immunity means, this episode offers ancient wisdom with modern application.

Ojas: The "nutrient cream of the body"—a milky, protective substance that results from properly digested food and creates resilience against pathogens. It's what keeps living beings refreshed, robust, and resistant to disease.

Resilience vs. Immunity: Ayurveda focuses on making the patient stronger than the disease, rather than just fighting specific pathogens. It's about building overall robustness.

The Moisture Principle: Moisture anywhere is moisture everywhere. Keeping the body moist—especially nasal passages, lungs, skin, and digestive tract—is essential for maintaining the protective barriers that prevent illness.

Ojas Milk:

Turmeric Milk:

Turmeric Honey:

If this episode helped you understand immunity from a new perspective, please subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and share it with someone who keeps getting sick. For more Ayurvedic wisdom and support, visit healwithkate.org.

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

This week, Kate sits down with Mel Cunningham, founder of Yogi Fuel and the Integrative Ayurveda Practitioner Certification, for a groundbreaking conversation about nervous system regulation through the lens of Ayurveda.

Mel shares her remarkable journey from professional rugby player who sustained over 10 concussions to becoming a leading expert in nervous system health. Her personal experience with anxiety, panic attacks, and dysregulation led her on a healing journey that ultimately brought her to Ayurveda—the system that finally connected all the dots.

This episode demystifies nervous system regulation, moving beyond the buzzwords to offer practical, accessible tools rooted in ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience. Mel explains why so many of us yo-yo between anxious, overwhelmed states and complete shutdown, and how understanding the doshas can help us recognize our unique patterns of dysregulation.

The conversation covers everything from the surprising connection between blood sugar and false anxiety, to why protein at breakfast matters (or doesn't), to the simple act of wiggling your fingers as a powerful mobilization tool. This is Ayurveda at its most practical and accessible.

Mel Cunningham is the founder of Yogi Fuel and creator of the Integrative Ayurveda Practitioner Certification. A former rugby player who sustained over 10 concussions, Mel's personal journey with nervous system dysregulation led her to specialize in the intersection of Ayurveda, polyvagal theory, and neuroscience.

Mel holds a background in kinesiology and exercise physiology, and studied at Goddard College. She combines her understanding of Western nervous system science with traditional Ayurvedic wisdom to help people regulate their nervous systems and restore balance. Originally from Canada, Mel now lives in Goa, India, where she moved in 2020 and has built a thriving online practice.

Her approach emphasizes practical, accessible tools that meet people where they are, recognizing that regulation is multidimensional and deeply individual.

Website: www.yogifuel.com

Instagram: @yogifuel

Podcast: Yogi Fuel Podcast

If this episode helped you understand your own nervous system patterns, please subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and share it with someone who needs to hear this message. For deeper support with nervous system regulation and Ayurvedic living, visit healwithkate.org.

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

This week, Kate delivers a solo episode packed with practical Ayurvedic tools to help you reset after the holiday season—without the restrictive yo-yo dieting that disrupts your system. She breaks down why extreme cleanses don't work in winter, shares simple warming practices that actually support digestion, and offers a compassionate approach to turning the ship around in the new year.

Kate covers warm herbal waters, the magic of kanji and kitchari, how to work with cravings instead of against them, why cold juices don't belong in winter resets, the role of ghee and licorice for winter dryness, and daily oiling as a nervous system reset.

This is a grounding, realistic episode for anyone who wants to feel better without punishing themselves in January.

What We Cover

Kate O'Donnell is an Ayurvedic practitioner, teacher, and author of four bestselling books on bringing Ayurvedic practices into modern life. She has been living and teaching Ayurveda for over 25 years and studied extensively in India. Kate is known for translating complex Ayurvedic principles into accessible, practical tools that work for real people in real kitchens.

She hosts the Everyday Ayurveda with Kate podcast and teaches online programs through healwithkate.org. Kate lives in New England and brings a grounded, honest approach to wellness that balances tradition with modern life.

Website: https://www.healwithkate.org

If this episode helped you rethink your New Year reset, subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and share it with someone who needs a kinder approach to January. For personalized Ayurvedic support and seasonal programs, visit healwithkate.org.

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

What if the key to meaningful New Year's intentions isn't more goal-setting, but preparing your body as sacred ground?

Kate walks listeners through her annual practice of a mono diet—eating simple, nourishing foods like kitchari, congee, or oatmeal for 1-3 days around the New Year. This isn't about deprivation or typical "cleansing." It's about creating sacred relationship with food, transforming meals into offerings, and preparing the soil before planting seeds.

In this special replay episode, Kate O'Donnell joins Harmony Slater on the Finding Harmony Podcast to share her personal approach to New Year's rituals—one that honors the body as the vessel through which all transformation happens. Rather than jumping straight to resolutions, Kate explains how Ayurveda teaches us to strengthen and purify the physical form first, creating the ideal conditions for intentions to take root.

SPECIAL NOTE: This episode features a segment originally from the Finding Harmony Podcast, repurposed for the Everyday Ayurveda audience. Both podcasts are part of the Awkward Sage Media network.

This episode is perfect for anyone tired of resolutions that fizzle out, anyone drawn to ritual and ceremony, or anyone seeking a more embodied approach to personal transformation. Kate's wisdom offers a refreshing alternative to typical New Year's advice—one rooted in thousands of years of Ayurvedic wisdom and surprisingly practical for modern life.

Basic Kitchari Recipe:

Congee (Rice Porridge):

Simple Oatmeal:

Oil Hierarchy for Cooking:

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone who's feeling overwhelmed by typical New Year's pressure. Subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and help us reach more people seeking embodied, ritual-based approaches to transformation.

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet or wellness routine, especially if you have existing health conditions.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

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 the relationship between cortisol, hormones, protein needs, and morning routines, while introducing the crucial concept of prana as an alternative source of life energy beyond food.

This episode offers practical guidance on reading your body's signals, understanding Kapha time, managing morning cortisol spikes through breathwork, and finding the breakfast routine that actually serves your unique needs.

If this episode helped you understand your breakfast needs better, subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and share it with someone who's been confused about morning routines. To dive deeper into personalized Ayurvedic guidance, visit healwithkate.org.

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

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 hygiene, the physiology of rest, the lost rhythm of second sleep, nesting, outdoor rituals, seasonal awareness, and the restorative impact of what Micah calls the green mirror.

This is a deeply grounding conversation for anyone feeling scattered, overstimulated, or out of sync with seasonal changes.

What We Cover 

Micah Mortali is an author, public speaker, and leader in the fields of mindfulness, rewilding, traditional archery, and nature connection. He is the author of Rewilding: Meditations, Practices, and Skills for Awakening in Nature, a guide that blends yoga, contemplative practice, ancestral skills, and earth based wisdom.

Micah is the founding director of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, where he designed one of the first training programs to certify mindful outdoor guides. His teaching centers on restoring human relationships with the natural world through presence, awareness, and direct experience.

He is also the creator of the online School of Rewilding, an ongoing community for people looking to live more nature centered lives. Micah holds a Masters degree in Health Arts and Sciences from Goddard College and lives in the Berkshires with his family.

Website: https://www.micahmortali.com

Instagram: @micah_rewilding

Take Home Practices

Relevant Links

If this episode leaves you craving more rhythm and rest, subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate and share it with someone who has been feeling winter fatigue. To explore deeper support for seasonal routines, visit healwithkate.org.

Health Disclaimer

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

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 so many of us are living in a constant stress reflex. From an Ayurvedic perspective, she connects this to Vata imbalance, nervous system agitation, and the feeling that “everything is not okay” even when nothing is actively wrong.

Kate shares practical ways to reconnect with nature’s rhythms, anchor the mind in something larger than the to-do list, and use simple daily routines to change your internal relationship with stress. You’ll learn how to stop overscheduling, how to say yes less, why morning and afternoon “sense breaks” matter, and why rest is not a luxury but the direct antidote to stress.

If you’ve ever felt like stress is calling the shots in your digestion, sleep, mood, or hormones, this episode will help you see it more clearly, soften its grip, and choose a different way of living inside your life.

What You’ll Learn

In this episode, Kate explores:

For more on daily routines, lunar rhythms, and women’s health, explore Kate’s books and resources at healwithkate.org.

If this conversation helped you see your stress patterns in a new light:

Ready to shift your relationship with stress, rather than just survive it? Join Kate and the community at healwithkate.org for more Ayurvedic tools, courses, and seasonal support.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

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 listeners through the process of making thousands of pounds of ghee each year, the subtle differences in butter quality, why Farmtrue’s ghee is casein-free, and why ghee behaves differently than other fats inside the body and on the skin. She also breaks down the skincare line, the philosophy behind their dosha-specific body oils, why ghee makes an effective nasal oil, and how slow medicine has reshaped her life and routines.

If you love ghee, natural skincare, seasonal routines, or small-business stories rooted in purpose, this episode will be a favorite.

Episode Breakdown

Guest Bio: Emilie Reid

Emilie is co-owner of Farmtrue, a modern ayurvedic lifestyle brand. Together with her husband, she handcrafts face care, body care, teas and spices using ayurvedic herbs and ghee. Emilie is also Faculty at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Ma. She leads workshops, retreats and yoga classes online and in-person. Emilie’s superpower is sharing meditation, Ayurveda and Yoga in a way that is practical, useful and fun.

Emilie leads retreats, teaches Ayurveda, creates handcrafted herbal products, and brings her love of slow medicine into every batch she makes.

Kate's Cardamom limeade Fix Stick: https://shopfarmtrue.com/products/fix-stick-ghee-based-balm-cardamom-limeade

Skin mask Recipe from Emilie:

1 tsp Triphala powder

1 tsp Neem powder

1 tsp peppermint powder*

1 tsp coconut oil

Mix into a paste with a spoon or your fingers. 

Massage all over your face, avoiding the eyes. Then let sit for 5 minutes. 

Wash thoroughly with warm water and pat skin dry.

Relevant Links

Farmtrue Products

If this conversation inspired you to rethink how you use ghee in your kitchen or your skincare routine, explore the full Farmtrue line at farmtrue.com.

For more Ayurvedic wisdom, seasonal routines, and practical tools, follow Kate at @kateodonnell.yoga and visit healwithkate.org for programs, books, retreats, and resources.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter

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 shift that made the biggest difference in her digestion during feast season, how she navigates appetizers, cocktails and desserts without deprivation, and the simple kitchen and travel tools she never shows up to a party without. From meal spacing and spritzers, to CCFT in a thermos and fennel seeds in a mint tin, this is a realistic Ayurvedic survival guide for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays.

If you want to enjoy the cheese board and the pumpkin pie and still feel like yourself the next day, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Key topics and practices Kate covers

Kate explains why heavier, fattier, sweeter foods make sense in colder seasons from an Ayurvedic lens. Root vegetables, meats, fats and harvest feasts can be supportive when digestion is strong and timing is thoughtful.

The main problem is not necessarily eating “too much” but eating too often. Constant grazing on treats, candies and cookies between meals means the previous meal never fully digests, building ama and weakening agni.

Kate’s simple focus:

Appetizers used to be a major trigger. Now she:

Kate shares her go to supportive blend: equal parts cumin, coriander and fennel seeds simmered in water, then strained into a thermos.

She uses it to:

She also chews fennel seeds after meals to calm indigestion, gas and heaviness, often carrying them in a small mint tin.

Kate still enjoys a party and usually has around two drinks across an event. She:

A big part of her success is presence. She closes her eyes for a sip, or quietly steps aside to savor a favorite cheese or dessert so her senses register the pleasure. That presence helps her feel satisfied with less.

One of the biggest shifts Kate names is learning to savor. When there is a lot of stimulation, conversation and family dynamics, it is easy to eat and drink on autopilot. She now:

To kindle agni before a big meal or when she feels heavy, Kate uses:

She eats this about 20 minutes before a meal to wake up digestive fire or first thing the next morning if she feels sluggish.

Important nuance: she avoids this ginger shot right before alcohol on an empty stomach because that much fire plus alcohol can create acidity. In that case, she may switch to a gentler ginger tea or skip the ginger altogether.

Kate’s Ayurvedic doctor once told her to “run about” after sweets to help her body metabolize sugar. She now:

Rather than hoping a holiday table magically matches her digestion, Kate brings what she wants to eat and share, such as:

This lets her fully participate in the feast while lowering the burden of poor quality ingredients.

Instead of letting holiday cookies creep into a multi week sugar marathon, Kate:

When feast days are done, she balances heavy, sweet and salty foods with:

About Kate O’Donnell

Kate O’Donnell is a nationally certified Ayurvedic practitioner, longtime yoga teacher and the founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institute. She is the bestselling author of the Everyday Ayurveda series, including The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, Everyday Ayurveda Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind, The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self Care and Everyday Ayurveda for Women’s Health. 

Through her books, online courses and live teachings, Kate is known for translating traditional Ayurvedic wisdom into simple, doable practices for modern life. 

If this episode helped you rethink your holiday habits, share it with a friend or family member who wants to feel better this season too.

Subscribe to Everyday Ayurveda with Kate in your favorite podcast app so you never miss a new episode. To go deeper with these practices, explore Kate’s books and online courses, or join the Ayurvedic Living Membership community for ongoing seasonal support.

Health disclaimer

Health Disclaimer:

The information shared on Everyday Ayurveda with Kate is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or wellness routine.

Connect with Kate: https://www.healwithkate.org

Ayurvedic Living Institute Membership: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/membership

Cleanse Leader Training: https://ayurvedicliving.institute/cleanse-leader-training

Deep Winter Self-Care Workshop: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/self-care-workshop-deep-winter