Nourishing the Season: An Ayurveda Q+A with Jo-Jo
Meet Jo-Jo — yoga teacher, clinical yoga therapist, and Ayurvedic wellness counselor — whose work is grounded in compassion, curiosity, and the transformative power of practice. With more than a decade of teaching experience, a Master’s degree in Yoga Therapy, and extensive training across Ayurveda, HeartMath™, Tantra, and Nada Yoga, Jo-Jo brings a truly holistic lens to healing and self-inquiry. Her approach blends philosophical depth with embodied wisdom, meeting students exactly where they are and supporting their journey toward clarity, steadiness, and inner connection.
Alongside her role on Hola’s YTT faculty, Jo-Jo serves as a clinical yoga therapist at JourneyPure, an in-patient rehabilitation facility, where she champions the therapeutic impact of yoga and meditation on mental health. Her work — both in studio and in clinical care — reflects her belief in yoga and Ayurveda as powerful tools for coming home to ourselves.
In this seasonal Q+A, Jo-Jo shares her grounding winter practices, the Ayurvedic rituals she turns to most, and the personal insights that have shaped her path. Settle in with something warm — you’re going to love this one.
Hola: Can you share a little about yourself and your background?
Jo-Jo: I've been practicing yoga for 15 years and started teaching in 2014 after completing my first 200-hr YTT. Since then I've graduated with a Master's degree in yoga therapy, completed two 300-hr YTTs, an Ayurvedic wellness counselor program, a Rocket Yoga certification, a HeartMath certification and numerous other continuing education programs, plus continued studies in Nada yoga and Kashmir Shaivism.
These days I work as a clinical yoga therapist at a drug and alcohol in-patient rehab and I'm part of the teaching faculty for Hola's YTT program. I also love leading sound meditation, and co-facilitate the quarterly restorative yoga & sound bath event with Cacey Lewis.
Hola: The holiday season can feel overwhelming. What are some grounding practices you recommend for this time of year?
Jo-Jo: Yes the holiday season can be very ungrounding and vata-aggravating. Make sure to stay cozy and warm when there's a sense of chill in the air. Avoid cold, iced or frozen beverages and instead sip on warm beverages like ginger & lemon tea, cumin, coriander & fennel tea or even a savory broth throughout the day. Avoid too much raw or cold foods and nourish yourself with hot meals, hearty stews, delicious soups. And, of course, be diligent to get enough rest and exercise. The nights get long during the holidays so keep your spirit bright by lighting an oil lamp during those long nights or decorating your house with twinkling holiday lights. If you have to travel during the holidays massage your body daily with raw sesame oil and practice calming pranayama like bhramari "bee humming" breath to ease your nervous system.
Hola: What first sparked your interest in Ayurveda?
Jo-Jo: I was introduced to Ayurveda during my first yoga teacher training, but really got curious about it after my mom passed in March 2017. Grief is a whole mind-body experience and I wanted to learn naturopathic practices to support my healing. There was a traveling yogi & Ayurvedic practitioner from California who was offering some workshops here in Nashville the summer of 2017 so I attended, and after that I knew I wanted to learn more about this "sister science."
Hola: Ayurveda emphasizes living in harmony with the seasons. From your perspective, what does eating seasonally during the winter months look like?
Jo-Jo: From an Ayurvedic perspective winter time is a interesting season that is connected to both vata & kapha doshas so it can get a little tricky to eat seasonally in a way that supports these doshas, but what is still growing and seasonally available at least in TN is winter greens like kale, collard greens, mustard greens, spinach or arugula; then we have access to root veggies like turnips, radishes, rutabaga, white potatoes & sweet potatoes; and also have winter squashes like butternuts, hubbards, kabochas & pumpkins. If you eat animal-based proteins then eggs, meats & cheeses are available. In addition if you are a homesteading type, the winter is the perfect tint to crack open jars of homemade jams & jellies, preserved veggies, vinegar pickles or lacto-fermented pickles.
Hola: Could you share a favorite seasonal recipe from an Ayurvedic lens?
Jo-Jo: I love making pumpkin spice steel-cut oats in the crockpot during the cold months! I am a yearly member of a CSA and get locally grown pie pumpkins from the farm that I roast and puree. I add the fresh pumpkin puree, steel-cut oats water and coconut milk; aromatic pungent & astringent spices like fresh & dried ginger, allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, & nutmeg; a blend of pure maple syrup and jaggery, vanilla bean paste, walnuts and chia seeds all in the crock pot and set it overnight for 6 hours. Nothing beats waking up to the cozy and delicious smell of pumpkin spice filling your home. I like to top it with raisins and cacao nibs. Oats & pumpkin are vata & pitta balancing but can be kapha aggravating. However, steel-cut oats are the better choice for folks with kapha in their constitution. Plus, all those aromatic spices help balance this as a kapha friendly meal. If kapha gets aggravated for you easily skip the maple syrup and jaggery from the recipe, and prepare the oats so they aren't too wet & sticky. You can always add a little raw local honey to your individual bowl if you'd like.
I also love a winter kitchari! Since my Ayurvedic constitution is a pitta-kapha type, late winter particularly can get a little bit kapha aggravating for me, so I do tend to keep my winter kitchari light & bright with plenty of bitter winter greens like kale or mustard, a little winter squash and whole sprouted mung beans. If you have vata in your constitution you can make your kitchari more on the hearty side by adding in sweet potatoes, reducing the amount of winter greens to just spinach, and use a heavier grain like barley in place of white basmati rice.
Hola: For students who are new to Ayurveda, where do you recommend they begin?
Jo-Jo: Reading an introductory book or attending an introductory workshop are both good options to get some background on what it is. A couple good beginner-friendly books are "Ayurveda, Nature's Medicine" by Dr.s David Frawley and Subhash Ranade or "Ayurveda, The Science of Self-healing: A Practical Guide" by Dr. Vasant Lad.
I'd also recommend booking an Ayurvedic wellness consultation with an Ayurvedic specialist to have a personalized routine customized for you to follow
Hola: Beyond food, what Ayurvedic rituals or practices are meaningful in your own life?
Jo-Jo: These days as a new mom with a nearly 7-month-old infant it is a challenge to keep up all the nourishing daily wellness rituals I had before having a baby. That being said I still keep up daily tongue scrapping, spend time outside in nature everyday (whether just in my backyard, or going to a park) and I do a quick oil self-massage with raw sesame oil a few times weekly. I also only drink room temperature water, and eat primarily a vegetarian diet.
Hola: Are there any personal stories or insights from your own journey with Ayurveda and yoga therapy that you’d like to share with our community?
Jo-Jo: I think for me learning about Ayurveda and incorporating the principles and practices of this science into my life has allowed my yoga practice to flourish on and off my mat. It's said that Ayurveda is the Yogi's wellness toolbox, and I would agree. My Ayurveda teacher, who is also a devoted yoga student & practitioner, would teach that yoga is really a practice for the mind, and Ayurveda is a practice for the body, and together the two practices repair the mind-body fracturing that's so common in our modern westernized lifestyles so that a person can come back to a sense of essential wholeness again.
Hola: If someone wants to dive deeper into Ayurveda, what’s one small practice they could start with today or one book you would recommend they turn to for insight
Jo-Jo: since I already suggested a couple books, an easy practice that is good for all the dosha types is to start waking up maybe 30 minutes earlier then usual and engage in a gratitude practice. What are you happy about in life? What brings you a sense of joy? Who or what are you thankful for? Try coming up with 7 things every morning and reflect on why you are grateful for these things. Do this for 45 days then observe any changes in your overall mood or felt sense in your body. If you like what your observe, please do keep it up!