Phillipa Vafadari

I am an integrative psychotherapist, working for a charitable clinic and in private practice. I have been teaching yoga for the past 30 years and more recently trained as an Ayurvedic consultant. Yoga asanas are used in Ayurveda as part of the ‘prescription’ to aid in the process of bringing the body, mind and spirit back into equilibrium. I spend a great deal of time in nature managing a small woodland as well as on my allotment. I am looking forward to sharing how the sister sciences of yoga and ayurveda are interlinked. www.psychotherapybrighton.org

Phillipa, tell us..........

1. How do you like to start your day?

Ayurveda is big on dinacharya - a daily routine - to bring you into balance. I start the day with lemon, grated ginger and honey. 20 minutes of meditation and a hour’s practice. If I’m off to the clinic, the practice might have to wait until later in the day. These three things stimulate my digestive fire, ground me and shake up the kapha dosha that’s prevalent in the morning.

2. Top tip on including self care into your day?

I do loads of self care. It helps me to work at my optimum. You can’t control a lot of life’s external stressors, but you can deal with and minimise the ones within you through self care. Self massage with sesame oil before exercise and showering is a great way to self care. In Ayurveda it’s called Abhyanga which translates as self love.

3. Who is one of your key inspirations and why?

Diane Keaton: ‘Don’t grow older, grow bolder’. She talks about embracing her age, maturity and wisdom and not worrying about growing old: just appreciate the beauty around you and do more of the things you love to do.

4. Name a yoga pose that you love and why?I love sirsasana. I feel calmed and grounded with the top of my head on the floor - in Ayurvedic acupressure (marma therapy) this is the adhipatti point that you can access through doing a uttanasana (standing forward bend) and placing your head on a bolster if you don’t practice sirsasana. It’s great to slow down the mind, but with the added pleasure of having your toes in the air.