Larissa Hall Carlson

Larissa Hall Carlson M.A. Mindfulness Studies, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Yoga Teacher, Yoga Teacher, and End-of-Life Doula. Founder and Director of Vermont Vedic Arts LLC.

Larissa Hall Carlson, M.A. in Mindfulness Studies, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, E-RYT 500, and End-of-Life Doula. As Senior Faculty at Kripalu Center for 20 years, she's spent the past 18 years teaching 200-hr and 300-hr yoga teacher trainings--specializing in pranayama, advanced asana, philosophy, and the Ayurvedic approach to yoga. Larissa has been with the School of Ayurveda (KSA) for 17 years (as student, intern, assistant dean, dean, and current faculty). She is the former KSA Dean, and currently teaches clinicals, pulse assessment, mentoring, dosha-balancing yoga, history, and philosophy. Larissa is passionate about empowering and encouraging people to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature through the time-honored teachings of yoga, Ayurveda, and Mindfulness. She has been featured in Yoga Journal, MindBodyGreen, Shape, Men’s Journal, InStyle, More, Elephant Journal, Spirituality & Health, Origins, NY Yoga + Life Magazine, Mantra Yoga + Health, Yoganonymous, The Kitchn, and Dr. Oz: The Good Life. For over a decade, Larissa taught yoga to elite musicians, performers, and students across the country, including those at the Tanglewood Music Center, Boston Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Emma Willard, Nashville Ballet, Juilliard School, Harvard, and Princeton. As Founder and Director of Vermont Vedic Arts LLC, Larissa guides retreats, directs trainings, and provides Ayurvedic consultations across the country. She is the creator of numerous yoga, mindfulness, and Ayurveda programs. Find her on Insight Timer. Instagram:

Variety is medicine during Kapha season. 🌷🌿Spring (a.k.a. mud season here in New England!) carries Kapha’s natural quali...
03/29/2026

Variety is medicine during Kapha season. 🌷🌿

Spring (a.k.a. mud season here in New England!) carries Kapha’s natural qualities—heavy, slow, thick, sticky, and a little cloudy. Beautiful for stability and nourishment… but if it builds up too much, we can start to feel sluggish, dull, or stuck.

One of Ayurveda’s favorite ways to harmonize Kapha?
✨ Variety. Variety. Variety.

This is the time of year to mindfully, safely, and appropriately switch things up and shake things up in your:

• diet
• lifestyle
• self-care
• exercise
• entertainment

My playful Kurmasana (Tortoise Pose) variation today is a little reminder that spring is the perfect time to bring in lighter, brighter, more uplifting energy.

Here are a few simple ways to add variety this season:

🌷 Move in new ways
Experiment with fun yoga poses that open the upper torso and strengthen the arms (great for Kapha muscles). Or try something totally different—go dancing 💃 or explore aerial yoga.

🌼 Brighten your colors
Reach for yellow, gold, pinks… even a splash of neon if you’re feeling bold. ☀️🌸✨

🌻 Play with uplifting aromas
Lemon 🍋
Eucalyptus 🌿
Grapefruit 🍊

🌺 Shake up your routine
Walk a different route.
Try a new recipe.
Turn on music and dance in the kitchen.

Kapha season is always best with a little novelty and variety.
It keeps the body energized, the mind clear, and the spirit feeling light.

✨ Journaling Prompt
Where in your life would a little more variety bring fresh energy this spring? 🌱

🌴 FLORIDA FRIENDS 🌴I'LL BE IN TAMPA APRIL 24-26 🌷"Ayurveda for Yoga Practitioners: Thriving Wellness On & Off the Mat" a...
03/26/2026

🌴 FLORIDA FRIENDS 🌴
I'LL BE IN TAMPA APRIL 24-26 🌷
"Ayurveda for Yoga Practitioners: Thriving Wellness On & Off the Mat" at Lotus Pond Center for Yoga and Health
https://www.lotuspondyoga.com/events--workshops.html

Friday, April 24: 6:30-8:30pm
Saturday, April 25: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, April 26: 9:00am-5:00pm

🧘‍♀️ Course Description:
Nourish yourself. Boost your energy. Thrive from the inside out.
This nourishing weekend invites you to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with what helps you feel your best. Through yoga, lifestyle, diet, and self-care practices rooted in Ayurveda, you’ll learn how to support your energy, digestion, and overall well-being—so your life supports long-term vitality and ease.
You’ll leave feeling grounded, energized, and more connected to what your body truly needs.

🍋 What Is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is yoga’s sister science—a holistic system of health that helps us understand how we’re wired and how to live in greater balance with nature.
At its core are the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha—which influence how we move, digest, think, rest, and respond to stress. During the weekend, you’ll discover your unique Ayurvedic constitution and learn how to work with it to support strong immunity, better digestion, and greater resilience.

🌷 What You’ll Experience:
- Ayurvedic Yoga Practices
Experience dosha-balancing yoga classes designed to support your energy, nervous system, and seasonal needs—helping you feel relaxed, vibrant, and refreshed.
-Ayurvedic Nutrition & Nourishment
Explore healthful, simple, and sustainable approaches to eating that support balanced digestion and vitality, with guidance tailored to different constitutions and seasons. If you have digestive woes, this information can be life changing!
- Ayurvedic Self-Care & Daily Rhythms
Learn soothing lifestyle and self-care practices that support balance, boost good sleep, prevent burnout, and help you feel more at home in your body. Discover the radiant benefits of dry brushing, neti, nasya, tongue scraping, oil pulling, rose water, and much more!
- Includes guided abhyanga (self-massage with organic oil); please bring a towel on Saturday.

You’ll Leave With:
*A clear understanding of your Ayurvedic constitution (vata, pitta, or kapha)
*Yoga practices that better support your energy and nervous system
*Reliable food and lifestyle tools you can use right away
*A renewed sense of balance, vitality, and ease

🌷 This Weekend Is For You If…
- You’re a yoga practitioner who wants to feel healthier on and off the mat
- You’re a YTT student or yoga teacher seeking sustainable self-care (+ Cont. Ed credits!)
- You’re curious about Ayurveda and want practical, approachable guidance for radiant health
- You’re ready to support your well-being in a way that feels realistic and nourishing

Lotus Pond Center for Yoga and Health

🌴 FLORIDA FRIENDS 🌴I'LL BE IN TAMPA APRIL 24-26 🌷"Ayurveda for Yoga Practitioners: Thriving Wellness On & Off the Mat" a...
03/20/2026

🌴 FLORIDA FRIENDS 🌴
I'LL BE IN TAMPA APRIL 24-26 🌷
"Ayurveda for Yoga Practitioners: Thriving Wellness On & Off the Mat" at Lotus Pond Center for Yoga and Health

https://www.lotuspondyoga.com/events--workshops.html

Friday, April 24: 6:30-8:30pm
Saturday, April 25: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, April 26: 9:00am-5:00pm

🧘‍♀️ Course Description:

Nourish yourself. Boost your energy. Thrive from the inside out.

This nourishing weekend invites you to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with what helps you feel your best. Through yoga, lifestyle, diet, and self-care practices rooted in Ayurveda, you’ll learn how to support your energy, digestion, and overall well-being—so your life supports long-term vitality and ease.

You’ll leave feeling grounded, energized, and more connected to what your body truly needs.

🍋 What Is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is yoga’s sister science—a holistic system of health that helps us understand how we’re wired and how to live in greater balance with nature.

At its core are the three doshas—vata, pitta, and kapha—which influence how we move, digest, think, rest, and respond to stress. During the weekend, you’ll discover your unique Ayurvedic constitution and learn how to work with it to support strong immunity, better digestion, and greater resilience.

🌷 What You’ll Experience:

- Ayurvedic Yoga Practices
Experience dosha-balancing yoga classes designed to support your energy, nervous system, and seasonal needs—helping you feel relaxed, vibrant, and refreshed.

-Ayurvedic Nutrition & Nourishment
Explore healthful, simple, and sustainable approaches to eating that support balanced digestion and vitality, with guidance tailored to different constitutions and seasons. If you have digestive woes, this information can be life changing!

- Ayurvedic Self-Care & Daily Rhythms
Learn soothing lifestyle and self-care practices that support balance, boost good sleep, prevent burnout, and help you feel more at home in your body. Discover the radiant benefits of dry brushing, neti, nasya, tongue scraping, oil pulling, rose water, and much more!

- Includes guided abhyanga (self-massage with organic oil); please bring a towel on Saturday.

You’ll Leave With:
*A clear understanding of your Ayurvedic constitution (vata, pitta, or kapha)
*Yoga practices that better support your energy and nervous system
*Reliable food and lifestyle tools you can use right away
*A renewed sense of balance, vitality, and ease

🌷 This Weekend Is For You If…
- You’re a yoga practitioner who wants to feel healthier on and off the mat
- You’re a YTT student or yoga teacher seeking sustainable self-care (+ Cont. Ed credits!)
- You’re curious about Ayurveda and want practical, approachable guidance for radiant health
- You’re ready to support your well-being in a way that feels realistic and nourishing

Lotus Pond Center for Yoga and Health

Start your day with fresh breath 🌿In Ayurveda, the early morning (kapha time of day) is ideal for clearing heaviness and...
03/19/2026

Start your day with fresh breath 🌿

In Ayurveda, the early morning (kapha time of day) is ideal for clearing heaviness and buildup—making tongue scraping especially powerful right when you wake.

Overnight, a sticky white coating often forms on the tongue. Gently removing this toxicity (ama) helps refresh breath, awaken the senses, and support digestion before anything else enters the body. 🌱

I find this ritual especially supportive during both kapha season and the early morning kapha hours, when the body is more prone to sluggishness.

How to practice:

🌿 Scrape first thing
Before eating or drinking, glide gently from back to front 5–10 times.

🌿 Use light pressure
Gentle, steady strokes are enough.

🌿 Rinse as you go
Keep the scraper clean between passes.

🌿 Clean daily
Wash with warm water + natural soap, then dry.

I use a stainless steel tongue scraper from Banyan Botanicals.

✨ Save 20% with code WINTERWITHLARISSA20 (thru 3/31)
✨ NEW spring code: SPRINGWITHLARISSA (20% off, one-time use through June 30)

Pair with oil pulling for added support:

🌿 Benefits:
• Supports healthy gums
• Helps reduce dry mouth
• Freshens breath
• Can support TMJ discomfort
• Traditionally used for tinnitus support

🌿 How to:
After tongue scraping and tooth brushing, swish 1 Tbsp oil for 2–20 minutes (as long as you comfortably can), spit into compost (not in sink), rinse mouth with water.

I love Banyan Botanicals Daily Swish Oil Pulling Rinse (mint or cinnamon).
Or use:
• Sesame oil → great for receding gums + sensitivity
• Coconut oil → cooling for pitta-type heat

Both available from 🌱

Small daily rituals → a lighter, fresher start to your day.

Do you practice tongue scraping or oil pulling? Questions?

Feeling sluggish? Puffy? Bogged down?Time for your radiance to return!Gentle Ayurveda Spring Cleanse 🍋🫖🧘‍♀️Zoom via Bet...
03/17/2026

Feeling sluggish? Puffy? Bogged down?

Time for your radiance to return!
Gentle Ayurveda Spring Cleanse 🍋🫖🧘‍♀️
Zoom via Better Yoga
April 12-17

Traditional Ayurvedic mono-diet of kitchari, daily dosha-balancing detox yoga, rejuvenating aromatherapy for spring, group calls, soothing sense-care, and more!

Hurry—Early bird savings end on Friday.
https://betteryogastudio.net/pages/spring-cleanse?utm_source=uscreen&utm_medium=landing_page&utm_campaign=events&utm_content=link&utm_term=Gentle+Ayurveda+Spring+CleanseApril+12-17%2C+2026

Spring is quietly stirring beneath the surface—longer days, brighter light, and that gentle invitation to move, awaken, ...
03/17/2026

Spring is quietly stirring beneath the surface—longer days, brighter light, and that gentle invitation to move, awaken, and build strength again. 💙🌱

This season, I’m teaching a 6-week Ayurvedic Yoga series for Spring Strength & Stability with Better Yoga—designed to help you feel strong, steady, and energized during kapha season.

Ayurvedic Yoga for Spring Strength & Stability
🗓 March 18, 25 & April 1, 8, 15, 22
🕘 9–10am ET on Zoom

Each week we’ll explore:
•Core-focused yoga for stability and confident movement
•Kapha-balancing asana to build muscular strength and vitality
•Gentle strength training with light weights for tone and resilience
•Purifying breathwork + heart-opening restorative poses for integration and ease

This is an intermediate-level series—perfect if you’re ready to feel grounded, empowered, and a little more radiant this spring. 🤍

Join here: https://betteryogastudio.net/checkout/new?o=224500

May this season be a gentle return to strength, steadiness, and embodied vitality. 🧘‍♀️

03/16/2026

5,185 Followers, 1,785 Following, 1,376 Posts

Clear the path for easy breathing 🌿We’re in kapha season—the time of year in Ayurveda associated with moisture, heavines...
03/14/2026

Clear the path for easy breathing 🌿

We’re in kapha season—the time of year in Ayurveda associated with moisture, heaviness, and increased mucus in the body. As winter melts into spring, many people notice more congestion, allergies, and sluggish sinuses.

One of my favorite Ayurvedic daily practices during this season is jala neti, the gentle rinsing of the nasal passages with warm saline water using a neti pot. It’s a simple ritual that helps flush away excess mucus, dust, pollen, and environmental irritants so your sinuses can stay clear and comfortable.

I personally find neti most helpful during kapha season, when the body naturally produces more mucus.

Best practices for safe and effective neti:

🌿 Use the right water
Always use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water that has cooled to comfortably warm.

🌿 Add proper neti salt
Use salt specifically formulated for neti pots so the solution is balanced and gentle for the nasal passages.

🌿 Keep your neti pot clean
Wash thoroughly after each use and allow it to dry completely. Give it a deeper clean regularly to keep things sanitary.

🌿 Follow with nasya oil
Neti rinses away mucus, dust, and microbes—but it can also leave the nasal passages a little dry. I like to wait about 30 minutes and then apply a few drops of nourishing nasya oil to hydrate and protect the tissues.

My go-to is Banyan Botanicals Super Nasya Oil from 🌱 It’s wonderfully soothing after neti, and I also use it on its own when I’m in very dry environments—especially long flights or heated buildings in winter.

✨ Save 20% with code WINTERWITHLARISSA20

When to skip neti:

• Active sinus infection
• Bloody nose
• Significant septum deviation
• Severe nasal irritation

When practiced mindfully, this ancient Ayurvedic cleansing ritual can help keep your breath clear, your senses bright, and your head feeling light through the heavy kapha months.

Do you use a neti pot as part of your seasonal self-care routine?


📸

03/13/2026

Love classical music? Love yoga & mindfulness? You’re going to love this unique summer retreat.

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