Jasmine Hemsley on How Ayurveda Changed Her Life

Jasmine Hemsley is a London-based wellness and nutrition expert, co-founder of Hemsley+Hemsley, TV presenter, best-selling author, creator of East by West and champion of Ayurveda.  After founding Hemsley + Hemsley with her sister, London-based nutrition and wellness expert Jasmine Hemsley, has branched out on her own. With a passion for home-cooked food and natural remedies, she released her first solo book 'East by West', last year. In it she presents her own version of Ayurvedic cuisine and wisdom inspired by her travels in India and Sri Lanka. It has since become an an Amazon best-seller and winner of Women's Health Wellbeing Book of the Year award. 

Jasmine hosted her first East by West Retreat earlier this year in the Algarve. It was so successful that she will be hosting another one in November but this time closer to home in the stunning Broughton Hall in Yorkshire. There will be a consultation with an Ayurvedic Practitioner, sound baths by Jasmine herself, yoga, massage and meditation, and of course delicious cuisine from Jasmine’s book ‘East by West.’ 

Here she tells us how Ayurveda changed her life.

What inspired you to learn about and lead an Ayurvedic Lifestyle? 

Right about the time when I first started hearing about Ayurveda, in the early 2000s, the “health” culture was very much about low fat diets and punitive workouts, none of which considered our holistic health. It was the opposite of a nurturing lifestyle and it seemed so unnatural to me — I knew there had to be a better way to live. Enter Ayurveda, with its consideration of each person as an individual, its emphasis on preventing illness rather than just treating the symptoms, and its view of digestion as the key to good health… I was hooked from the very first book I picked up on Ayurveda, and I’ve been learning something new about it every day since. 

What are your top 3 recommendations would you give for leading a happier and healthier lifestyle? 

1. Go to sleep and wake up with the sun, following the circadian rhythm of the Earth and our natural rhythm, rather than fighting against it with artificial lighting and other overstimulating factors. 

2. Eat your biggest meal at lunchtime, when your digestion is at its strongest and a lighter supper at 2-3 hours before bed. 

3. Whatever you do, practise being present — being more mindful has helped me achieve a more consistent state of calm and a kinder approach to myself and others. It’s a practice worth practising!