profile

Hi! I'm Marisa

Check out the resources I offer below and sign up for my newsletter! AYURVEDA for folks who want to get off Western pharmaceuticals and build healthy lifestyle practices using diet, herbs, oils, meditation, yoga, mantra, and more. Online Consultations and Membership.

Featured Post

A California kind of spring

Hi Reader, I hope this note finds you well.I wanted to share a few reflections from this week, and if you’re curious for more, you can read the full blog, California Ayurveda: Seasonal Rest and a Famous Yogi’s Legacy, here. This past weekend I was at the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine conference in Milpitas, and I kept thinking about California. We were right in the middle of Silicon Valley, surrounded by so much Indian culture—the food, the language, the women in saris—and it...

the Ayurvedic practice of warm oil self-massage, during spring seasonal transition.

Hi Reader, Weekly Musings: Oil, Light and the Turning of the Seasons The light has been changing this week. Here in Northern California, the mornings are warmer and brighter, the evenings stretch a little longer, and the air carries that unmistakable feeling that something is shifting. My orange tree has only a few oranges left hanging, and my apple and fig trees are beginning to push out their first green shoots. You can read the full post here. Nature is starting to bloom again as the days...

Elimination with Ayurveda

Hi Reader, I said something in a recent Ayurveda talk that made the room go very quiet:In Ayurveda, we consider someone constipated if they aren’t having a bowel movement every morning — without strain, at roughly the same time, and without a coffee or other stimulant. Ouch, right? Most of us were never taught what healthy elimination really looks like. I certainly wasn’t—until I dove deep into Ayurveda toward the end of the pandemic. In this week’s Weekly Musings, I share approachable...

Meditation in Art, Asana, and Yoga Nidra

Hi Reader, I flew to Boulder for four days this week. My daughter is a freshman there, and it was Moms Weekend. I took the airporter from Marin through San Francisco and down to SFO. It was one of those bright February days that makes the city feel almost hyper-real. The air was crisp and clean. The sky an impossible blue. The water reflecting it back like polished glass. Everything looked staged. The International Orange of the Golden Gate Bridge stood bold and unapologetic against it all —...

8.5 oz package of our CCF Tea

Hi Reader, If you’ve ever felt bloated, gassy, or just… sluggish after meals, you’re not alone. One of Ayurveda’s simplest remedies is CCF Tea—a warming, gentle blend of cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds that helps soothe the gut, support digestion, and keep your metabolism humming. I just wrote a new blog post all about it—how it works, when to sip it, and why it’s such a favorite in Ayurveda. Read the full blog post → And for those days when measuring seeds and simmering isn’t happening,...

Forest Yogi's practicing asana 1700's India

Hi Reader, Enjoying Presidents’ Day in the quiet of my little home in Marin County. The neighborhood feels almost empty — ski week has carried most of my neighbors toward snow and mountains. Yesterday I taught a three-hour session on the History of Yoga for a 200-hour teacher training. It had been a while since I sat inside that timeline — really traced it, era by era — and then stood up and spoke about it out loud. Public speaking is something I genuinely enjoy. There’s something alive about...

CCF Tea Bag. Makes 50+ cups of tea

Hi Reader, I’ve been making a new bulk batch of CCF tea this week—but this time, I added something extra. Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I mixed in beautiful, edible rose petals alongside the classic coriander, cumin, and fennel. Fancy, but not too fancy.The kind of thing that feels special without trying too hard. Perfect to give to someone you love—whether that’s you, a family member, your best girly, or your main squeeze. New CCF Tea Package. $12/$16 I’ve also been...

What a pot of marmalade can teach us about digestion, seasonal eating, and not overthinking our food.

Hi Reader, Right now, my kitchen smells like oranges and sugar and winter slowly turning toward spring. I’ve been spending pockets of time this week making marmalade from the orange tree at our home here in Northern California. The fruit is beautiful—and very tart. Not the kind you snack on casually, but exactly the kind that wants to become marmalade. There are rows of jars cooling on the counter (I’ll share a photo below), and as usual, something very ordinary has turned into a small...

Mother holding newborn baby's hand with ring

Hi Reader, I currently have space for 2–3 new patients through my Ayurvedic clinical practice, within the supervised framework of the California College of Ayurveda. Sessions are online and include Ayurvedic assessment, lifestyle & daily rhythm guidance, nervous system support, and custom herbal formulations tailored to your constitution and health needs. Limited openings for online Ayurvedic care This work is especially supportive for those navigating ongoing or complex health concerns,...

how to eat for your dosha

Hi Reader, Hi everyone, As we move into a new season and a new year, I’m often reminded that food is one of the most powerful tools we have to support our health — not in a rigid or extreme way, but through simple, steady alignment with our own nature. In Ayurveda, we look at three primary constitutions, or doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Most of us are a blend, but we usually recognize one (or two) more clearly. Here’s a brief snapshot to help you tune in: VATA~If you tend to feel anxious,...