Bonus Episodes: Guest Speakers

Ovella LIVE Bonus Episodes feature guest speakers from outside our practice — voices whose perspectives complement the evidence-based hormone and preventive care we provide. These conversations are shared for education and to broaden the discussion. They reflect the perspective and traditional practice of each guest and are not medical advice or a substitute for care from your physician.

Ayurveda and Metabolic Health — with Kyla Schell, CAP

In this session, NAMA board-certified Ayurvedic Practitioner Kyla Schell of Mother Waters Ayurveda introduces Ayurveda — “the science of life” — as a lens for understanding health by looking for the root cause of an imbalance rather than only treating symptoms.

Kyla centers the conversation on agni, or “digestive fire” — the body’s capacity to digest, absorb, and assimilate not only food but also experience. She explains the difference between balanced and imbalanced digestion, and how signs like bloating, fatigue after meals, brain fog, or irregular bowel movements can point to where things are off.

She then walks through the four types of digestion in Ayurvedic tradition — Airy (Vishama), Fiery (Tikshna), Earthy (Manda), and Balanced (Sama) — and offers a simple self-reflection to help you recognize your own pattern by asking: Are you hungry at mealtimes? How do you feel while eating? How do you feel afterward? And what are your bowel movements like?

Practical takeaways

Guided by the Ayurvedic principles “like increases like” and “opposites balance,” Kyla shares food-based tips for supporting each digestion type, plus general habits anyone can try:

• Eat more whole foods and limit ultra-processed foods
• Slow down and eat mindfully, engaging all your senses
• Start the day with warm water and tongue scraping
• Take a short walk after meals
• Make lunch your largest meal of the day
• Try her go-to CCF (cumin-coriander-fennel) tea

She closes with an invitation to “read your own book” — favoring nourishment over restriction.

About the speaker

Kyla Schell, CAP, is a NAMA board-certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and founder of Mother Waters Ayurveda in Idaho. Learn more at motherwatersayurveda.com.