Today we’d like to introduce you to Debby Andersen.
Hi Debby, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first learned about Yoga and Ayurveda when I visited India in my early 20s. After graduating with a degree in Dance from the University of Iowa, I spent a year backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Asia. By the time I arrived in India, I had already been traveling for about six months and I was feeling extremely run down. Looking back, I now know that my Vata was aggravated, which essentially means that all of the mobile qualities of dance, travel, an erratic schedule, and a lack of routine had aggravated my nervous system to the point where I was exhausted and depleted.
So, I went to an ashram in India and began living an Ayurvedic lifestyle while practicing yoga daily. Within days, I felt so much better. I didn’t understand what was happening or why it was working, but I could feel the difference in my body and mind, and knew I needed to learn more.
When I returned to the US a few months later, I was excited to explore yoga classes in my local community. But what I found was nothing like the yoga I had been practicing in India. Every class I tried was an intense, workout-based yoga, and I didn’t enjoy it or find it very helpful. I decided to go back to India the following year to complete my first yoga certification and Ayurvedic intensive course.
After this, I began teaching yoga, and did my best to apply Ayurveda to my own life for several years. Finally in 2012, I decided to go deeper into my Ayurvedic studies. I moved to New Mexico to attend the Ayurvedic Institute. I studied there for two years.
I’ve now been helping clients with this Ayurvedic perspective for over 10 years.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has taken many unexpected twists and turns. At the time I most needed it, the work of David Elliott found me, helping me heal a lot of old emotional wounds in my relationships, mainly through healing my relationship to myself. In 2012 I was accepted into the program at the Ayurvedic Institute. I had the honor of studying with Dr. Vasant Lad and his incredible staff for two years, and became an Ayurvedic Practitioner while experiencing another deep level of healing.
About 6 months after finishing my Ayurvedic program in New Mexico, I experienced the worst loss of my life when my long-term boyfriend Matt died suddenly of an aortic dissection. I had just spent two years studying the “science of life,” but here I was facing this huge lesson in death, loss, and grieving. It took me a long time to heal and to feel like myself again. For about the first year, I hardly felt like I was in my body. I had a really hard time practicing yoga. I lost my joy for cooking. What I found to be most helpful was spending time in nature taking long solo walks. My daily walks slowly started to bring me back to myself.
This experience has given me more compassion, and taught me a lot about this essential part of life–inevitable loss–we tend to want to ignore or suppress. As much as I wish Matt was still here, I’m also grateful in ways to have had to endure his loss because I think it’s perhaps made me a wiser person and certainly has made me a better healer.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Debby Andersen Ayurveda & Yoga?
I practice Ayurveda, which is an ancient system of holistic medicine originating from India. Ayurveda is a complete mind-body-spirit medicine, based on the principles of nature. Through it, we can optimize our diet, lifestyle, and circadian rhythms, and revitalize our connection to who we really are, as nature intended.
I work mainly with women who are struggling with hormone-related symptoms, digestive and metabolic issues, fertility challenges, and menopausal symptoms. I offer individual consultations and Ayurvedic body therapies, as well as seasonal Ayurvedic cleanses, online and in-person classes, and retreats.
I help women tap into the root cause of their pain so that they can finally find relief. All too often, our Western healthcare system leaves women feeling disempowered, confused, broken, and hopeless. Ayurveda is a holistic approach to healing that helps you understand the root causes of your symptoms, listen to your body, and work with it to heal.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
For as much as I like to travel, I’m actually a total homebody!
During COVID, after my studio closed, I moved my office to my home, and in many ways it’s been the best thing that could have happened. Between clients I get to sneak cuddles with my three rescue animals: Francis our drooly cat, and two dogs–Nacho (a bucket of joy), and Luna (a clever escape artist).
I landscaped the exterior of my home with tons of native plants and gardens that host a series of outside rooms. I spend quite a bit of time outside, watching the fauna and enjoying the humming birds and bees.
I love growing food in my gardens, and having the time to cook most of my meals. It really helps me to live in a way that is in harmony with the earth, and aligned with what I teach. I’ll always love traveling, but I am now–more than ever–happy to be home.
Pricing:
- New Client Consultations – $275
- Breathwork/Body Therapies – from $150
- Seasonal Ayurvedic Cleanse – $240
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.debbyandersen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbyandersen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebbyAndersenYoga
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbyandersen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyAndersen108
