Episodes

Kate sits down with her longtime colleague Susan Weis-Bohlen — author of three bestselling books on Ayurveda — for one of the most candid conversations on the show. At 63, Susan offers straight talk on menopause, hormone therapy, and why Ayurveda alone wasn’t enough for her, alongside the unlikely path that took her from journalism in Israel to a new-age bookstore to bestselling author. They also explore how your dosha shapes the way you write and create, and why evolving your work isn’t giving ...

In this solo episode, Kate unpacks the summer sunscreen debate through an Ayurvedic lens. Her surprising first principle: use less sunscreen. She shares the daily skin-oiling practice that bolsters the body before sun exposure, why she now covers up with sun shirts and a big hat (and what Ayurveda says about keeping the head cool), and the difference between chemical and mineral sunscreens — including why she swore off chemical formulas two years ago. You'll learn what to look for on a label: re...

In this solo episode, Kate unpacks the summer sunscreen debate through an Ayurvedic lens. Her surprising first principle: use less sunscreen. She shares the daily skin-oiling practice that bolsters the body before sun exposure, why she now covers up with sun shirts and a big hat (and what Ayurveda says about keeping the head cool), and the difference between chemical and mineral sunscreens — including why she swore off chemical formulas two years ago. You'll learn what to look for on a label: re...

We spend a lot of time thinking about wellness — what we eat, how we sleep, how we manage stress — but one part of the picture often gets left out: the mouth. In this conversation, Kate welcomes naturopathic doctor Dr. Michael Murray, who has spent more than four decades studying natural approaches to health and healing and authored over 30 books, including The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and The Magic of Food. Dr. Murray opens with the heart of naturopathic medicine: the healing power of ...

We spend a lot of time thinking about wellness — what we eat, how we sleep, how we manage stress — but one part of the picture often gets left out: the mouth. In this conversation, Kate welcomes naturopathic doctor Dr. Michael Murray, who has spent more than four decades studying natural approaches to health and healing and authored over 30 books, including The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine and The Magic of Food. Dr. Murray opens with the heart of naturopathic medicine: the healing power of ...

Ever stare at the kitchen in the dog days of July and go completely blank? Kate O'Donnell has. And in this solo episode, she opens up her real summer kitchen — not the aspirational one, but the actual one — full of quick meals, prepped-ahead staples, and cooling drinks she's been making for decades. Summer is Pitta season in Ayurveda, which means the digestive fire is strong but easily overwhelmed by heat, heaviness, and poor food choices. The solution isn't complicated. It's about working with...

Ever stare at the kitchen in the dog days of July and go completely blank? Kate O'Donnell has. And in this solo episode, she opens up her real summer kitchen — not the aspirational one, but the actual one — full of quick meals, prepped-ahead staples, and cooling drinks she's been making for decades. Summer is Pitta season in Ayurveda, which means the digestive fire is strong but easily overwhelmed by heat, heaviness, and poor food choices. The solution isn't complicated. It's about working with...

Summer isn't just a season — it's a whole shift in how your body functions, digests, and eliminates. In this solo episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, host Kate O'Donnell offers a thorough and practical Ayurvedic guide to navigating the summer months with intention. Drawing on the classical concept of Ritucharya (seasonal routines), Kate explains why summer is actually the time of year when the body is weaker and digestive fire (agni) is more diffuse — and what that means for how you eat, mo...

Summer isn't just a season — it's a whole shift in how your body functions, digests, and eliminates. In this solo episode of Everyday Ayurveda with Kate, host Kate O'Donnell offers a thorough and practical Ayurvedic guide to navigating the summer months with intention. Drawing on the classical concept of Ritucharya (seasonal routines), Kate explains why summer is actually the time of year when the body is weaker and digestive fire (agni) is more diffuse — and what that means for how you eat, mo...

Antibiotics are sometimes necessary — Kate shares her own experience with a 2019 sinus infection that required treatment, and how she tracked the recovery process closely. What she learned from that experience forms the backbone of this episode. What We Cover: Why antibiotics kill agni (digestive fire) and what that means for your health The two-week protocol: what to do while taking antibiotics AND the critical week after Why the post-antibiotic period is more dangerous than the treatment i...

Antibiotics are sometimes necessary — Kate shares her own experience with a 2019 sinus infection that required treatment, and how she tracked the recovery process closely. What she learned from that experience forms the backbone of this episode. What We Cover: Why antibiotics kill agni (digestive fire) and what that means for your health The two-week protocol: what to do while taking antibiotics AND the critical week after Why the post-antibiotic period is more dangerous than the treatment i...

Pregnancy loss touches one in four pregnancies — yet it remains one of the least discussed experiences in women’s health. Kate O’Donnell sits down with Jenny June Arnold, certified Ayurvedic practitioner, postpartum doula, and Reiki master, to have the conversation that too many women have never been able to have. Jenny June is also the author of Held, a new e-book on healing after pregnancy loss, and shares her own deeply personal story of two ectopic pregnancies, emergency surgeries, the loss...

You asked. Kate answered — honestly. In this solo episode, Kate O'Donnell goes deep on one of the most-requested topics from her community: alcohol. Drawing on the Charaka Samhita, seven years of personal observation, and her clinical work with women in perimenopause, she unpacks the Ayurvedic properties of alcohol, why it complicates midlife health, and how to build a more self-aware — and shame-free — relationship with this very common substance. What We Cover How Ayurveda classifies alcoho...

You've been asking, and Kate is answering. The trend of eating 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking — popularized in part by exercise physiologist Dr. Stacy Sims — has taken the women's wellness world by storm. In this solo episode, Kate O'Donnell brings her 25-plus years of Ayurvedic practice and teaching to bear on this contemporary nutritional conversation, offering a response that is neither dismissive nor uncritical. The result is a deeply useful framework for approaching morning...

What if your home is either supporting your health or quietly working against it — and you haven't noticed yet? In this episode, Kate sits down with France Brunel, holistic interior designer and RISD graduate working between Brooklyn and Paris. France combines sensory psychology, Ayurveda, and design expertise to help people transform their homes into active wellbeing tools — not just pretty spaces. They explore France's three-step method — clear the stress, align with your space, design the s...

In this episode, Kate O'Donnell sits down with Jiaming Ju — a second-generation Chinese medicine practitioner, former health economist, and founder of the online clinic Kun Health — for a rich, cross-cultural exploration of how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda view the body, health, and healing. Jiaming brings a uniquely layered perspective: she spent a decade running health economics research across New York, India, Jordan, and Singapore before training for four years to become ...

Have you ever wondered why you crash at 3pm, crave food late at night, or can't seem to fall asleep before midnight? Ayurveda has a 5,000-year-old answer — and it's called Dinacharya, or the Ayurvedic daily flow. In this solo episode, Kate walks you through the complete Ayurvedic 24-hour clock — explaining what elements are active in your body at each time of day, and how to align your eating, sleeping, exercising, and resting with those natural rhythms. Whether you're new to Ayurveda or have ...

After decades of traveling to India for her own Panchakarma practice — a tradition she kept almost entirely private — Kate O'Donnell finally brought a group. Twelve people. Twenty-one days. An Ayurvedic healing village nestled in the countryside near the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border, surrounded by coconut palms, temple chanting, and the gentle rhythm of cows heading out to pasture each morning. In this episode, Kate offers a day-in-the-life travel log of the experience, walking listeners through th...

Spring has its own hunger. In this solo episode, Kate shares what's actually stocked in her kitchen this time of year and how Ayurveda shapes the way she cooks and eats when the season shifts. No complicated recipes, no pressure to be perfect — just practical, seasonal ideas for when you open the fridge and feel completely lost. Kate covers spring pantry staples including sprouted mung beans, white beans, chickpeas, asparagus, celery, kale, goat cheese, rye crackers, and corn tortillas. She wal...

The bloodwork conversation is everywhere right now — but are you getting the right tests, and do you know what to do with the results? Kate sits down with two functional medicine practitioners: Tracey O’Shea, medical director at the California Center for Functional Medicine and program director at the Kresser Institute, and Danielle Dellaquila, functional nutritionist and founder of Eagle Vision Nutrition. Together they demystify the comprehensive blood panel from both a clinical and nutritiona...

If spring feels heavier than it should — slow digestion, morning congestion, low appetite, a persistent heaviness you can’t quite name — Ayurveda has a precise and practical explanation for what’s happening. In Episode 77, Kate O’Donnell goes deep on Kapha season: the Ayurvedic name for the late-winter-into-spring transition when excess moisture in the body starts moving, filling the cavities of the stomach, throat, lungs, and sinuses. This is not a malfunction. It’s biology. And once you under...

This week, Kate welcomes Vedic astrologer Kaya Mindlin for a one-of-a-kind episode: a full tour of the Vedic solar year, month by month, through the lens of health and Ayurveda. Kaya has spent 25 years studying the Vedic wisdom traditions — Jyotisha (the “eye of the Vedas”), yoga therapy, Vedic scripture, and Ayurveda — and brings a rare combination of depth and practical accessibility to everything she teaches. In Jyotisha, the sun rules health and vitality. As it moves through the 12 signs of...

One of the most common questions Kate hears no matter where she’s teaching in the world: How much food should I eat? Her answer is deeply Ayurvedic — it depends on your body, your season, your activity, and the density of what’s on your plate. In this solo episode, Kate delivers a practical, body-based framework grounded in ancient Ayurvedic nutrition principles. What You’ll Learn: The cupped-hands (anjali) portion guide from the ancient texts How body type, season, and daily activity affect ...

What happens when yoga becomes more than postures? In this conversation, Kate O'Donnell is joined by Amy Landry, Australian yoga teacher, classical Odissi dancer, Ayurveda practitioner, and author of the forthcoming book The Ocean of Yoga. Together they explore what it means to walk yoga as a full spiritual path rather than a fitness practice. Amy shares her rare journey through India's sacred arts, studying Odissi classical dance in Orissa, deepening in Ayurveda, and eventually channeling year...