I'm going to India for the month of January, to study Ayurveda with Dr. Liladhar Gupta. He is a fourth generation Ayurvedic doctor and directs an Ayurvedic Hospital (Dhanvantari Dham). He helped set up the California College of Ayurveda where I studied in the US. Dr. Gutpa is considered an Ayurvedic fundamentalist so it will be back to basics. He has a garden out back with 350 medicinal plants. As this is one of my main areas of interest, I am really looking forward to being with the healing plants of Ayurveda.

He is located about three hours drive south of New Delhi in the town of Vrindaban, which is the birth place of Krishna. It is a small spiritual town that still has a dirt street as the main road. I'll be staying at the MVT- Guesthouse. The compound of the guesthouse has a restaurant that has great vegetarian food, from what some friends of mine have told me. The MVT-Guesthouse is where western Krishna devotees stay when they come to town. Needless to say this will be a spiritual as well as educational adventure, but truly every trip to India tends to be enlightening.

Try this delicious vata balancing decaf chai tea. It is a great addition of any holiday party and will fill you home with the most wonderful fragrance.

Boil in 6 cups water, for 15 minutes:

• 2 teaspoons cardamon seeds (or 10 cardamon pods- cracked open)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon chips (or 2 cinnamon stick- broken)
• 15 whole cloves
• 15 whole black peppercorns
• ½ inch ginger root-chopped or grated

Add 1 cup whole organic milk and bring back to boil. Turn off heat and add 1 tablespoon decaf black tea and steep for 3 minutes. Stain and serve. Add to taste honey (for vata or kapha) or maple syrup (for pitta). Yum!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, a magical time of parties, feasts and generous gifts. So why do so many people feel stressed when the holidays roll around?

The mental pressure of spending too much money, making too many decisions, and having too much to do causes Prana Vata to go out of balance. Prana Vata is the subdosha of Vata that is concerned with mental functioning. Aggravated Prana Vata can cause excessive worry, anxiety and insomnia -thus making it difficult to remain calm and make healthy decisions. It becomes a snowball effect, with the person becoming more and more stressed and enjoying the holidays less and less.