Root Causes
Rachel de Simone Rachel de Simone

Root Causes

The classical Ayurvedic texts explain that health is a state of balance. My treatment style aims to be both preventative and responsive to current imbalances, and to treat the root causes, not just the symptoms. I take a three-pronged approach to wholeness and wellness:

PREVENTION, EARLY INTERVENTION, AND TREATMENT.

I use an integrative, holistic process for evaluation and treatment, looking at the state of all of the tissues, the digestive fire, and the nervous system to bring your whole system into balance and facilitate optimum conditions for healing.

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everything is connected
Rachel de Simone Rachel de Simone

everything is connected

The most powerful medicine is often the simplest. Ayurveda looks at the context and asks, "What in the environment is creating the conditions for this imbalance to thrive?" For me, the answer is in the question. When I ask myself what sharks are in my waters, the answer is anything in my environment that disconnects me from my inner wisdom and from the wisdom of the natural world. When I think about solving every problem, it feels overwhelming. But when I think about connecting to the rhythm of my heart and the rhythm of nature, it seems quite simple.

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the birthday of the world
Rachel de Simone Rachel de Simone

the birthday of the world

I recently listened to an On Being episode featuring Rachel Naomi Remen in which she tells the Hebrew story of “the birthday of the world.” I'd like to share her story with you, and I encourage you to listen to the full episode:

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Small Changes over time
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

Small Changes over time

Yoga Sutra 1.14: Practice that is done for a long time without a break, and with sincere devotion, becomes a firmly rooted, stable, and solid foundation.

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Basic goodness
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

Basic goodness

One of the foundational principles of Buddhism is that we all have an inherent, basic goodness. Our truest self is loving, joyful, and open-hearted. Our practice can help us learn to trust this basic goodness, and to keep our hearts open, even in the face of challenge. The Buddha compared this goodness to the sun. No matter what kind of weather there is in the sky, the sun is always shining behind the clouds, just as our foundational goodness is always present. 

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the play of opposites
Wellness Rachel de Simone Wellness Rachel de Simone

the play of opposites

Darkness is not the absence of light. Fear is not the absence of love. They are both contained within each other. Like the Chinese yin/yang symbol, there is darkness in the light, and there is light in the darkness. Our mission is not to abolish the darkness, but rather to balance it, for it is through darkness that we appreciate the brilliance of the light.

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daily practice
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

daily practice

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

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the art of meditation
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

the art of meditation

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

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The mud & the lotus
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

The mud & the lotus

In Buddhism, there is a story about the lotus and the mud. The lotus must rise up out of the muck of the mud to blossom in the light of the day. The mud is equivalent to the parts of ourselves that are "sticky." We all have habits of thought and behavior that don't serve our higher purpose. We all have parts of ourselves that we try to hide. Our practice can help us to rise up out of our contracted, suffering selves, stuck in the illusion of separateness and unworthiness, and to connect to our basic goodness.

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like facilitates like
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

like facilitates like

Change can be hard, and transformation isn't always comfortable. Change can often generate tapas, which is sometimes translated as heat, but is really the friction that occurs when an old habit rubs up against a new habit. If you have ever tried to make changes in your life, you might have experienced this friction, and possibly some resistance! Some of that resistance comes from inertia, or tamas. We may feel comfortable maintaining the status quo, but often what we need is the opposite of what we feel. When we are in a balanced state, our instincts are accurate, and we should listen to them. But when we are in an imbalanced state, our instincts will continue to pull us out of balance. Like facilitates like.

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revolutionary love
Recipe Rachel de Simone Recipe Rachel de Simone

revolutionary love

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

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