061: Enhancing Your Mood with Ayurvedic Herbs: Interview with Gunny of Youveda

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. I just got in the layout for my upcoming book, Eat, Feel Fresh, which I am so excited to share with you guys. It is a contemporary plant based Ayurvedic cookbook and comprises of all of the ingredients that I created to help heal myself when dealing with digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, chronic fatigue, all of these issues which I later found out were just a massive vata imbalance. And these are the recipes that I used incorporating Ayurvedic guidelines with modern ingredients. So we've got avocados and chia seeds and all of these really yummy and nutritionally packed ingredients that just weren't available in ancient India. But that doesn't mean that we can't eat them and still use them in Ayurvedic ways. So I really kind of combine the east and the west, the ancient and modern, in a fun and beautifully presented way. All of the photography is shot in India when I was just there in December. And I'm so excited to share this project with you guys. So stay tuned. We're already taking pre orders on Amazon and we're going to have a lot of pre order bonuses for you guys. So stay, stay tuned. Now I'm so excited to share with you guys this episode. It really adds onto the episode I just did two episodes ago on adrenal fatigue. So I mentioned how I had adrenal fatigue, which is basically when your cortisol levels have been high for a very long time, meaning you had a lot of stress that you were constantly dealing with and eventually they plummet. And it looks like you're tired during the day and then really awake at night. You may be gaining weight in your midsection, you may be tired but not able to fall asleep. So I definitely recommend checking out that episode on healing adrenal fatigue. And in that episode I talk about a product that was really helpful for me in healing my adrenal fatigue. And that was Uveda's mood formula. So Uvada is a modern Ayurvedic brand which, you know, I'm all about. And they take ancient Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha and different adaptogens like Bacopa, as well as saffron and other medicinal ingredients, pairing it with vitamins and minerals that we need for healthy the brain balance. So the mood formula is really good for just having a good mood stress response. So many you know, things that we deal with on a daily basis that cause anxiety and stress and even depression over time can actually be treated and prevented with food and herbs. So that's what this episode is all about. So in this episode, I interview the founder of Uveda. His name is Gunny. He is such an amazing guy and he shares with us how he found Yuv. And it came from a part of his life where he dealt with a huge, huge, huge loss, which he'll share with us in this episode. And because of that huge loss, he became very depressed, very anxious, had a lot of his own mental issues that anyone would be dealing with if they were in his position. And his father was an ayurvedic doctor from India and told him, listen, we want to change your diet, we want to change your lifestyle. We're going to get you to take these herbs. And within one month, he noticed that his depression anxiety had severely decreased. So he set out to create a formula that everyone can have, as simple as just taking a packet of supplements a day that can help heal them. And he also paired it along with this amazing app, the uvada app, which is free for everyone who is part of uvada who gets the subscription. And in this app it has educational videos. I will be doing some educational videos. It has all sorts of information about the herbs and just ayurvedic guidelines and education. And it really combines both that like product as well as the education that supports it, which, you know, I absolutely love. So I'm so excited that they have become our Highest Self podcast sponsors. And to share more of the backstory, because I believe it's so important to know where everything you purchase comes from, who are the people behind it. And for me, knowing that uvada was a family owned business, that this was Gunny's story motivated to start, it had nothing to do with just money or Ayurveda being trendy. It truly had to do with him wanting to help people and making his message. I thought he was the perfect Highest Self podcast guest. So I'm so excited to share this episode with you guys. And as a special offer for Highest Self podcast listeners, we're offering 35% off your first order. So you can go on uvada.com y o u v E D A and you can order. I recommend the mood formula. That's what we talk about today. But they also have formulas for digestion, for immunity, for joints. You can combine, take two at the same time. It's totally fine. So if you order with the code Sahara, lowercase S A H A R a. You'll get 35% off and you can order either a one time trial or on subscription. He talks to us about how he recommends taking it, what's in this formula, all of the questions that I had. You know, I have so many questions about these things I asked him for you guys to hear the answers to. So I hope you enjoy this episode. It means so much to me to see people really, really following their dharma and helping others along the way. And I'm so excited to share Gunny from Uvda with you. Welcome, Gunny, to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you here.

Thank you so much, Sahara. It's my honor. And I'm just so happy to be on a podcast that's so in alignment with kind of, you know, our mission for the world as well. Thank you so much.

Well, it's so exciting and you've really made a splash in my community ever since I talked about your products. And so many people feel really aligned with what you're doing. Share a little bit more with us what UVADA is and how you came to have founded it.

Yeah. So I think we should start maybe, perhaps before you Veda was born. I'd like to talk a little bit about kind of my personal journey. So I grew up in a household that was surrounded by, you know, natural medicine and ayurvedic medicine. My dad is an ayurvedic and naturopathic physician who practices in Bellevue, Washington. And from a very early age we were a exposed to natural foods and natural ways of living life. Meditation was not something that I Learned in my 20s or 30s. It was something that I was exposed to when I was 10 years old. Yoga, eating right. It's funny, I mean, in middle school when my other friends would have packed lunches, be opening up Doritos and everything, I'd be taking home cooked meals. And sometimes I felt jealous because I wanted to indulge in the other stuff. But then I really appreciated that those values and that was kind of shown to us. And it wasn't just that, hey, eat this, it's good for you. My dad took the time to explain what it actually does to the body, why it's important and you know, what happens. So fast forward a few years and in my 20s I had a very traumatic and real experience which I've kind of, you know, shared with others as well along this journey. And I have to share it because I feel that really the foundational, you know, kind of belief in ayurveda I mean, I knew my dad was an extreme, you know, passion about it, and I know I've seen it work in his clinic and what he does, but in 2006, my brother passed away, younger brother, in a car accident. And of course, you know, it was something that hit the whole community, not just my family, but of course, you know, losing a member like that, there is not a single thing that I think anybody can say, do, or even be ready for this. I mean, it's. There's just nothing that can prepare you for what happened. And that's when, I mean, first of all, you go into a shock when you hear it. And second of all, it's the fight or flight response kicks in. You just don't know what is going on. One minute I'm on the phone with him talking about, hey, how was your day, what's going on, you know, and the next minute you get a call from one of his best friends telling you that he's been in a car accident. And then the next moment you're at his funeral, and then the next moment you're doing the cremation. And basically I was walking around kind of like a dead mute. I had no idea what to do. And I had received the advice from a majority of people, be strong. Be strong for your parents. Be strong for your parents. I took that advice to mean that being strong meant hold your emotions. I cannot cry in front of my parents. I cannot cry in front of anybody. I cannot show, like, when this is being mentioned, you gotta be strong. I gotta put on a straight face and do it. And I'll tell you, Sahara, that blew up in my face so quickly. Six months later, when I wanted to move on, I was diagnosed with a deep, deep, deep ptsd like my dad. Luckily, you know, I have him in my life. Of course he saw it all over my face. He saw it in my symptoms. And what happened after that was just from the time I got diagnosed from my father till the time I got better, it was hell. I was in deep depression, and I kid you not, all the stuff that comes with it, the suicidal kind of thoughts, I mean, it's kind of scary for me to even say it, but I gotta be transparent that that was what manifested and just full blown on anxiety. And so my dad kind of blessed him because I had him in his life. And my mom were supportive as well. I mean, they had their own way of dealing with it. But, you know, my mom, she was a mess, but she cried and cried and got it out of Her. Well, not completely. I mean, I'm not sure if you can ever get it out of her, but, you know, she was in a place where she could provide emotional support. But for me, I was really a mess. And my dad came up to me and said, look, you know, I've never really written more than five prescriptions for antidepressant and anti anxiety medicines in my 30 years of clinical practice. And I certainly don't want to have the sixth one be my son. So this is what we can do. I want you to start doing meditation. I want you to start doing more yoga. We need to change your diet. You need to start reflecting and it's okay to cry. And put you on some herbal supplements as well. And I kid you not, Sahara, within 30 to 45 days, wow, my body had completely responded from me being kind of feeling miserable to like, you know, not looking forward to waking up to, you know, being engaged with living life, you know, and finishing college, strongly enjoying my friends again, enjoying life. And from from that moment on, I was like, wow, this stuff is real. It has a validity. And that's when I really connected. I said, look, the body is so intelligent. When it was telling me to cry and remorse, I was fighting it. And now it's telling me, look, there is this energy, trapped energy in your body. You can release it one of two ways, and you can release it the natural way or you can release it the other way. And I chose the natural way. And I mean, I'm here in front of you, like on this podcast, telling you that the body's amazing. And I thank my dad, of course, but I also thank kind of this experience because it really allowed me to become a believer and know this works. I'm proof.

Wow, what an incredible story. I mean, I just got chills listening to it and just how you just positively changed it around and, you know, really are like a walking example that these practices work. And a question I have is, what were the dietary changes, changes that you made to help yourself overcome this?

Yeah, so I found that I was not drinking enough water. Of course I was. I mean, Sahara back right when that happened, I was eating a lot of processed junk food. It was emotional eating. I cut that out completely. I started eating a more vegetarian diet. I did incorporate fish and some meats into it, but I really started watching and eating clean food. My dad explained to me that you want to eat food. It's funny, he has a little analogy. He says, if food's on the ground and ants and other bugs are not eating It, I don't want that food either. Basically, he said that if it's from mother Earth and it's prepared in a way that you know what's going in it, ideally home cooked or cooked in front of you, that's the kind of food we want. And eating that food, you know, as you know, Sahara, it strengthened my digestion. Once my digestion was back intact, my immunity was good. And then once that was good, my mood started changing. And of course, you know, I'm not going to say okay, I changed my diet and boom, my mood. I think the mood changes really came, came when I started accepting what happened, when I started doing hobbies and I started getting back involved. So my attention diverted from how I felt and got diverted to something that I actually enjoyed doing. And it's basically taking the attention away from the remorse and putting it towards something else. And that's when I started. And I just want your listeners to really understand that that doesn't mean that I was not remorsing. It was just that I wasn't having kind of just being stuck in the emotion of depression. It was much more accepting it and realizing what happened and acknowledging and knowing how to move on.

Beautiful. I love that so much. And I'd love to know, especially for other people who've dealt with trauma, death, loss, how did you deal with the emotions? Feeling that sadness, crying without becoming overcome by it?

Oh, wow. I mean, I'll be honest, when I had misinterpreted be strong, there was four or five moments when I just go in my closet or maybe in my room or lock myself in the bathroom and just start crying. And I would make sure nobody else was home or I was away, that I could hysterically cry. I just felt like a release happening, you know, when that was there. I mean, aside from that, really, once I started implementing the things, the crying naturally started coming. You know, I felt a release, I felt the energy releasing and I felt kind of the depression going. And what I did was instead of resisting and it was honestly, Sahara, it's an internal shift. Instead of resisting, I became a little bit more welcoming and open to the emotions. And I mean, to this day we celebrate my brother's. We don't even call it really a death anniversary. You know, we celebrate his Life now every January 25th when he passed. Instead of, you know, getting down on ourselves or recalling the moments, I'll go and volunteer or celebrate, you know, we'll celebrate his life. And even today, you know, I'll be lying to you if I Said, I don't choke up at times, but. But what I do is when I choke up, I also remember what he stood for. And I try to balance both the hemispheres and say, okay, yeah, it's sad. Of course I miss him every single day, but how did he live life and how did he celebrate? And, you know, I'm not sure if I really answered your question or not, but it's just kind of. That's how I dealt with it.

That's beautiful. And you totally answered it. And I think it's such a well balanced approach of both letting yourself hysterically cry and celebrating at the same time. And I think it's really important that we allow ourselves to have two emotions at the same time or more. I think we have to decide. I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm angry, and you can be all of those things at once.

Yep, exactly. And I mean, sometimes it is very overwhelming, you know, when you just. I was literally in a roller coaster and believe me, the first day, I still remember it, Zahara. The first day I had a grasp on my emotions and I felt good. I cannot thank God or be grateful more than when I was like, wow, I just feel normal. You know, as funny as it sounds, when you've been through hell, you know, when your emotions have been so out of whack, when your anxiety was just at a level 10, and when you experience that calm and you've experienced that honestly, there's just nothing more that you just say, thank you so much, I appreciate it. And you know, then a part of you is also like, wow, what can I do to help other people not properly experience this and not have to go through the length of time that I did.

Beautiful. I can totally relate to when you go through something traumatic and you start to feel like yourself again. You're like, is this real? Is this going to last? And you almost are like questioning yourself, like, no, no, no, that bad feeling is going to come back. And then just like, trusting yourself of, like, I can bounce back, right?

And I will tell your listeners, guys, take it from somebody, you know, who I can describe to you each and every visual of the scene of his accident. From the time, you know, we were moving his casket to there was. Your body and your mind are amazing. You know, if you are feeling really low and you feel hopeless and helpless, please let me tell you, you can get through it. The human body and the human mind are, you know, it's an amazing. Not only a machine, but an intuitive, you know, being that as long as you provide it the right structure, you can, can heal from almost anything.

Thank you for sharing that. I'd love to know how did you kind of transform into taking this personal healing and turning it into eventually your life's work?

Yeah. So as soon as I would say like after my brother passed and then I was able to kind of bring myself back into it, I started, I joined the family business. And the family business was also involved in Ayurvedic supplements. But they mostly catered to doctors. And then I also attended my MBA after my undergraduate and I was just in, my MBA was much more in entrepreneurship. So you know, naturally I'm just very excited and the MBA professors and you know, other people are also starting stuff. So I said, look, there is a divide in the market. I feel consumers are really missing out on amazing products. But then I feel that it's not just about giving consumers supplements. It's much more about providing consumers a good roadmap as much as we can, you know, without a one on one coaching to let them know that, look, along with these supplements, food is important, yoga is important, meditation is important. And that whole combination of body, mind, soul is what gives you that true healing and that is what will create that homeostasis. And I think you can probably help me out. I'm losing track of the word. What's the word for bliss in Hindi or Sanskrit? Sahara.

Ananda.

Yes, ananda. And that's, and believe me, sahar, I mean that's. It's true, true. I'd be lying to you guys if I said okay, yeah, taking supplements alone, they'll help for sure, but you also have to do other things as well. You know, it's all a balance. That's what Ayurveda is about. You gotta balance your mind, body and soul. Definitely the supplements help, but then also imagine if on top of that you do a, just partake in a little bit of meditation. Not even, you know, you start with five minutes a day, you do some yoga and you build up to that and then you eat. Right, Right. That's what pushed me, you know, really to kind of create a system that's easy to consume and people will enjoy.

I love that. So you realize it's so much more than the herbs. It's a lifestyle and you wanted it to go to consumers rather than just to doctors.

Correct.

So then what did that step of like leaving your family's business and starting your own thing. And I'm sure you know, that came with, you know, its own issues, especially in an Indian Family. So can you walk us through that journey?

Yeah. Let's just say this part of my life did not have as much of the remorse or anything. So this was much more. Look, at the end of the day, I feel extremely grateful and extremely blessed to not only be around an environment of literally people achieving the American dream, they're immigrants. That came that cliche story. I came with $20 in my pocket or something. Well, to be honest, I think it's true. My dad literally has told people that he came with just $40 in his pocket. He had his degree as an ayurvedic doctor in India. And when you this country, everyone's like, what the heck is that? Like, what are you doing? So he had to go. They landed in Seattle, Washington, because we had family here. So he had to go to Bastyr University. And for people that are in Washington and on the West Coast, Bastyr is one of the leading schools for naturopathic medicine. And so he got his ND Naturopathic license, and he's able to practice in Seattle, Washington. And he realized that was the only way. Ayurveda is still not a licensed father, you know, and it's unfortunate, but I do feel certain credentials, certain criteria, which, by the way, the family business is working on through universities, I think they will be able to achieve it. But I felt blessed. I'd learned so much about how to run a business besides just doing things right. So when I went to my dad, he completely understood where I was coming from. And I think, Sahara, I'm lucky and grateful. Where I think my mom and dad really did encourage these things. Look, we were able to accomplish not just him. The family business is also the other brother. So I gotta mention, it's not just my dad, it's also his brothers. And they were all very, very supportive, encouraging of it. And I think they understood and they said, look, we were able to establish ourselves here and we completely understand if you want to make a name for yourself or you want to go out there and do it your way and do it in a way that you feel comfortable and that maybe you have a different vision. And they were really supportive. I mean, of course it was tough for me because I'd been there eight years. But to be honest with you, I mean, everyone was very supportive. You know, I mean, of course it's hard because you're saying, hey, you know, Uncle, I'm about to take this path. And although you, you're so involved. But, you know, overall, they were very supportive. I gotta be honest, that's beautiful.

Now how did you get the idea to kind of base the formulas around issues people have? Mood joints, immunity, digestion.

Right. And so before I answer that, I have to also include a piece of detail that I cannot for. My wife was also very supportive in this decision. She realized that it was gonna be very tough, but she also supported and she also, she's very instrumental. She helped me build what we have so far. I mean, I would say the efforts are equal. And she gives me. She's a full time student at Jacksonville University, orthodontist resident, so she gives me time on the weekends. Any other time she has, she was extremely supportive. And she said, don't worry, I can see the passion that you have and then that we can really make a difference in people's lives and we positively impact people. And she said, what you're giving or we are able to give the gift of health. And what greater gift than that? She said, you know, if your ROI is that you're able to make people feel great, she said, that's nothing better than that. So that really helped and pushed me as well. To answer your question, these were some of the patterns that I had seen working at the family business. What are some of the things that the doctors kept ordering or kept asking about? What are the questions that people kept having? And of course it's kind of a little bit of a selfish desire for me too. You know, I wanted toi. Wanted to make something that was really extremely great for mood as well, so. And then also, you know, for digestion. These are some of the issues that I hear on a consistent basis. My dad also from his clinical experience and the over half a million patients he's seen in his lifetime, these are common issues. The digestion, the immunity, the mood, the overall, you know, let's say people just want to take, start some supplements, the overall body care and then of course the joints. You know, there, there's plenty of people that have anti inflammatory issues, people that just want to strengthen their muscle and joints. So it was kind of based on research, but then also borrowed off of some of his clinical experience as well.

That's so beautiful. And I also just want to like, just acknowledge how beautiful it is that it's like you and your wife together and just how it's a family run business and how much you guys truly care about helping people. It's something that you really don't see these days, especially with, you know, even like in a lot of health related companies, you meet the people behind them and health is actually not the thing that they care about. It's profits. And it's just really such a breath of fresh air to see how truly you care. It's a family run business. It's like you're just like us, following your dreams of helping people and it can like just your business story alone is so inspiring.

Well, thank you. I mean, I think we still have a big mission to do, but thank you so much. That means a lot. Just a little story I'll tell you. Is my banker here locally when I go there and do some wires or need some help with some special banking. So her 80 year old mother, she said, hey, she's been having issues sleeping. What can you do? And I said, well, if you're open to it. Greysa, try my healthy mood and see how it impacts her. And it'll not only help her mood, but it also helps you calm down. It has different herbs that are synergistically working together. It has ashwagandha that's an adaptogen. And, and I saw her three weeks later, Sahara. And I kid you not, she came up to me and she gave me a hug and she said, I have never seen my mom happier. And that moment resonated for me for why we do what we do. I mean, there's no greater joy. Can you imagine? You know, I see it in how people are impacted by your podcast and what you do. It's a Steve Jobs quote is when the vision is strong, you're naturally pulled it and that is it. I mean, to be honest, one of your podcasts that I really enjoyed was, you know, when you said, okay, what's the reality? Like it's not just, you know, Ru ra and we're doing amazing every single day. I mean, there's reality, there's some times when there's things that I really don't want to do and to run the business or there's tasks that I'm like, oh my gosh, are you serious? I got to do it. But the vision or helping people at the end, hearing comments and feedback like that is what makes you get up, what makes you want to do it. Because at the end you're like, you know what if I can impact 10 more people like that today? That's amazing. You know, Totally.

I couldn't have said it better myself. And it's those moments that really kind of like give you that strength and that fuel you need to power through the filing your taxes and all of the other type of things that aren't.

So, aren't so Reviewing the privacy policy on your website.

Yes, totally. So I'd love to know more about how did you decide what to put specifically in the mood blend, what's in there and how did you choose?

So honestly that was a combination of I had a small percentage of feedback but a lot of that was comprised by my father who, you know, with 35 years of experience and one of his residents that they've worked with. So what made him a really great combination was my dad brings all of his ayurvedic knowledge and Ayurvedic experience and research and obviously the clinical experience. So he sees. The funny thing is, you know, it's, you've met Deepak and you've met Suhas and I think you've also, you may have heard of Dr. Vasant Laud as well, right?

Yes, of course.

If you know Vasant Laud, he's always kind of, you know, trying out different things and he's messing around with herbs. Well, that's my dad as well. He'll ask for some raw ingredients to come and he'll test it out on himself and he'll kind of create stuff. So, so he had a very clear vision of what are the right ayurvedic ingredients to put. And we'll talk specifically about mood and combine it with minerals and vitamins. And then the good thing about his resident is his resident then kind of brings the modern day idea. So my dad brings the Ayurvedic philosophies and he brings the modern day idea plus the research. And they both were the ones really the brainchilds behind really creating, you know, great formulations. To me for my dad, what's really important in any mood supporting blend or really anything that you're trying to, you know, create a kind of a balance is Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is in here as well. Ashwagandha is one of the greatest adaptogens there is. What an adaptogen is is it works with your body to really create a balance and it's really in alignment with your cortisol. And ashwagandha exercise is intelligent enough where if your cortisol is too high it helps bring it down. But again if your cortisol is too low it helps increase it as well. And which is why I've heard on one of your podcasts, you know that like after 10pm your cortisol jumps up again. It's a good idea to kind of try to get to bed by 10pm as well. So not only did he have Ashwagandha in it. Also bacopa. Bacopa is one of the kind of sacred herbs in India. Bacopa is really good for memory retention, focus, and it's really, you know, beautifully mixed with ashwagandha as well. It creates that overall balance. But then he also wanted to add fish oil as well into it with adding the fish oil. Fish oil provides brain health. It also supports inflammation as well, healthy inflammatory response, which, you know, everything works together. And then he wanted to have no compromise on the multivitamin. We picked some of the best ingredients, there are the best combinations. And then he also wanted to increase the absorption by putting shilajit in it and having his own blend, little bit of Ayurvedic twist to the Maltese as well. So everything kind of working synergistically together. I have heard people say, oh, wow, there's five or six capsules. Yes. But if you think about it, that is kind ofif you're taking the best mood supplements on the market. Now imagine you have to buy them individually. We kind of give them to you all, all together in the doctor formulated dosages. And it's a combination of not only a great multivitamin, it's a combination of an amazing fish oil as well. And then the herbs that are just great, synergistically balanced to create overall mood, health, elevate mood, and really support a positive outlook on life.

Beautiful. And I think it's really important to note that sometimes we, we take herbs because we hear they're good for us. We don't really know how much to take or, you know, what it's synergistic with. And because of that, we're not really getting the full benefits of them. So I think it's really amazing that it's kind of measured out and it works with the other needed, not just herbs, but also vitamins and minerals that are not per se like Ayurvedic herbs, because sometimes we also need those minerals to help us. So I really like how it's a blend of Eastern and Western.

Right. That's what I was saying earlier. I think what complements my father and his residence so well, dad is able to bring in really of the Ayurvedic principles and he knows the Ayurvedic herbs. I mean, this man wrote a book of his experience with Ayurvedic philosophies and Ayurvedic. He's literally A to Z Ayurvedic herbs that he's used in his clinical practice. The outcomes and how he used them so he has a lot of experience. So building off that experience, then. Plus his resident kind mixes the modern. You know, the resident helped us pick out the perfect strain of probiotics. How many should there be? Is this a good strain? Does this help gut health? Does it help for healthy inflammation? So it was a process of about six to seven months, Sahara, just finalizing the ingredients. Because we have really a set goal here when we create any product in uvada, which is why you'll see that we don't have too many products created. And that's on purpose. Because our simple rule and our philosophy with the doctors, including my father and the resident, and even the people that help us source the supplements and manufacture is we're gonna put out the best product on the market or we're simply not gonna do it. And the best product means, and let me clarify, not only from the ingredients that we have, they have to have certain amount of research that qualifies from the doctor side that, hey, there's enough research here to, yes, that this is gonna work together with this. And then, of course, their own intu experience, but then also the best product in sourcing. How is it sourced? Is it sourced in the season that this herb is growing? Is it sourced from the best suppliers? Because, you know, there's no way we could source everything on our own. There's not a single company on planet Earth that could do that. There's certain climates that grow curcumin better than others or ashwagandha, or have better multi or probiotics. So there's a whole system in place that really helps. Helps bring a final, finished best product. And that's our simple philosophy. We will not bring anything that is not the best.

Totally, totally. And so important, because sometimes we just, like, get whatever's cheapest. We go on Amazon, we're like, okay, well, I'll just get that one. Because it's cheap and it's not organically grown. It might have pesticides in there. It might not even be, like, it might have tons of fillers. Can you speak to, like, what are you doing, like, common things to, like, look out for in supplements?

Well, I mean, first and foremost, I think it's very. If you are an informed consumer, you should be able to find out or at least ask the question or it should be listed on. How do they source the material? How is the sourcing done? How do they qualify the material? And the most important thing, Sahara, for anybody, because you're going to consume this, is where can they talk about the time testing the product testing from the raw material all the way till the finished product testing. What are the precautions that they take from the raw material? For example, if we're putting Ashwagandha into a product, what are we doing to qualify that? That Ashwagandha is actually Ashwagandha? That Ashwagandha qualifies against certain parameters that are labeled as Ashwagandha by pharmacopoeia. Plus, does it pass the heavy metal test? Is it free of herbicides, pesticide, insecticides? These are all questions that maybe people are thinking, wow, that's a lot. But at the end of the day, if you are a good company and you are doing things right, you do this stuff no matter what, it's an extra cost. But I look at it as an investment because I'm going to consume this stuff as well and I want it to be the best. And you should be very cautious about products that are very cheap, honestly, because you have to think maybe it is mass produced, but quality ingredients are never cheap. I'm not saying it needs to be crazy expensive either. But quality ingredients are never cheap because they're produced in a certain way or they're produced in X amount of volume. And there's a lot of testing that goes behind it. One of our people that helps us source the raw materials, he has said to me point blank, he said there is certain amount of yield for a certain herb that you can only get this much yield because, because he said, that's all Mother Nature is going to yield to you. Anything above and beyond that is not going to give you the best material. And having that kind of understanding really makes you respect the supply and demand cycle, but also makes you respect that, hey, you know, if you are growing things maybe out of season or you're picking things out of season, a herb or a plant is intelligent. You know, you cannot take a palm tree and expect it to flourish and minister soda. It's just how things work. And so having that intelligence, really, if you're interested in a product, feel free to email them or call them and ask them these questions. And if you want, you know, a lot of times companies should be able to share their product testing reports with you. I have no problem. If you want to see our product testing report on our finished product for Mood, I'm happy to send that to you. We'll help you understand what it means, but the transparency should be there.

Mm, totally. And yeah, I think a lot of us, I mean, we don't even know what to look out for. So we're like, even if we got these like test results, we're like not even sure how to read them. So when taking like herbs or supplements, do you recommend taking them in the morning, night? Does it matter? Do you take it all at once?

As long as you take it with food? Sahara, it really does not matter. Now, I do have a certain preference for the mood One I personally take it in the morning. Morning I'll take it after, you know, with food digestion. One I'll take in the evening with my dinner. That way, you know, you wake up in the morning and you've had a healthy, hopefully you had a healthy bowel movement and that's kind of how it works. So besides that, the joints or the immunity one or the body one, it' syou can take it as long as you take it with food. That's okay. My preference is I like to take mood in the morning and of course digestion in the evening.

Got it. And you just prefer to, or are there any like, reasons why, like, it might be better absorbed in the morning or evening?

I feel the mood one because of the adaptogens that are there. If you can kick it into gear with kind of, you know, getting the day started in the morning and with the natural sunlight, if you get sunlight or if you're not regardless, any light that is there, it really helps, you know, sunlight hitting it, it starts that natural vitamin D process. Your cortisol is the highest and I think it'll help you kick into ge, help you focus for the mood and in the evening. The digestive aid is my preference just because, you know, there is certain bowel regulating herbs in there that as soon as you kind of get that started, I mean, unless you mind going to the bathroom, I just like it. I've had a habit of having that there with the food. That way, you know, you have a healthy bowel movement the next day.

Mm, okay. Yeah, that sounds great. And can you take more than one kind of packet at a time?

Yes, I have certainly done that.

Okay, and how long normally does it take to like actually see a decrease in your anxiety or stress response?

That's pretty specific to each individual, but I would honestly say that you should expect to see a, notice a difference. Personally, I've seen it within a few days. I've seen other people that have noticed it in a week, but for sure, within a couple of weeks you should notice decrease in anxiety, a little more brighter mood and a more positive outlook. For sure, in a month you should be noticing the benefits.

Okay, got it. And do people have to take it forever? Is it like you take it and that kind of brings your brain into balance and you can stop? What do you recommend for that?

We always recommend, and the doctors have as well, kind of advised is, you know, give it a shot for 90 days. We at least advise you try it for three months. And to answer your question, no, you don't have to take it forever, unless, of course, you want to, because what's going to happen is, is most likely when you feel better, you're naturally going to start doing things for your body that are better. You may start eating better, you're going to start being more active, you're going to start drinking more water, you're going to watch what you eat. So what I do sometimes for the mood is, I mean, I sometimes take it depending on how stressful my week is and not stressful. So I'll take it. Maybe if it's a really stressful week, I'll take it every day because I know I need it to focus. But if it's not such a stressful week, or maybe I'm on vacation, which doesn't happen too much anymore, but I will take maybe once or two times a week. It can also be kind of your, you know, your occasional thing. But the one that I will advise that you can probably take for the rest of your life if you'd like to, is the digestion one. And as you know, digestion is super helpful. Having a healthy digestion impacts your immunity, which then impacts your mood. And I think that's one that you can consistently take on an everyday basis again if you choose.

Okay, got it. So now that you had been taking it for a while, you're just kind of taking it on more stressful days and other days you don't really need it.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it all comes down to, again, listening to your body, you know, and I'm not a proponent of saying, okay, no, no, no, you need to be on this for this long or forever. But what we do say, try it at least for 90 days. Give your body 90 days and then make the decision. Be intuitive. Listen to what your body's saying. If your stress is back down to controllable level, level, and you know in certain situations, your stress is going to go up. Yeah, take it. But, you know, if by all means you're going on vacation or you're going somewhere fun, you're like, you know what? I'm feeling good. It's okay. You can skip a few days.

Totally love that. So what is next for you, Veda. What new products do you guys have coming up?

So we're super excited to. And of course, with, you know, with a little help from you and your inspiration, we're super excited to be building dosha balancing products. So for Kapha. Yeah, so I know, right? So for Kapha, Vata and Pitta, and again, the mad scientists, that is, my father and his resident are preparing the blends right now. They're in the R and D phase. We are then going to the sourcing. But I will tell you that these are going to be specific to the doshas. I know that your audience has been asking, and you have also been asking. So these will be a combination of Ayurvedic ingredients, of course, but then also we're putting a little twist to it with essential oils to really help the specific constitutions. You know, each constitution comes with its own challenges, and each constitution can be balanced with a certain way, with certain ingredients. And as we said, and as I said earlier, we are only going to bring the best product out into the market. So it is taking a little longer than it needs to. But that's because we want to make sure we have at least checked the formulations seven or eight times against what we already have to make sure. Yes, it's final. The dosages make sense. Is it? Right now we're at the sourcing part, so I'm hoping that these come out very soon. I think within the next three months. Hopefully we can launch it. But again, I'll keep you updated and you can let your listeners know as well. But I'm very excited for these as well. It'll be a combination of softgels and the capsules that people are used to, but the softgels will feature essential. So I'm super excited. I have never put essential oils in softgel, so it's a new process for me, too. But, you know, there's whole people and professionals behind this process that have been explaining to me how it works. And it's really cool.

I love that. I am so excited. And yeah, it's the question that I would always get, like, what are the best herbs and supplements to take for my dosha? So that's why I was like, you guys need to do this. And I'm so excited that you are, and it's going to help people. And, you know, sometimes it's like we don't realize that a lot of the issues we have are interconnected. Like if we're vata, we're probably gonna have the dry Skin, bloating, digestion, gassiness, anxiety, it's all vata related. If we're pitta, we're gonna have the acidity, the stress, the anger, the rosacea, acne. For kapha, we're gonna have all of the tiredness, sluggishness, depression, mucus, sinus infections. So we don't see that they're connected, but they are. So by balancing that dosha, all of those issues dissipate.

Absolutely, absolutely. And all of that was taken into consideration. We first said what is kind of the archetype of a vata vita or kapha. And so yeah, addressing it from that point of view. Absolutely. And we're super excited for this. I mean, I'm telling you, like I just had a conversation this morning with the guys that are helping us with the softgel and the formulations and they're in process. You know, they're helping us get the ball.

Love it. Well, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us, for shining your light, sharing your story and where can people find you and connect with you? Veda.

Yeah. So we're on Instagram. You can just search for us. Uveda. Y O U V E D A. We're also on Facebook, just type in Uveda again Y O U V E D A. And then you can also visit us on our website www.uvaida and for the people that are also interested in checking out the supplements, we are on Amazon as well, so check us out over there. And you know, for people that love the prime two day shipping and all that, you can take advantage, full advantage of that. And you can read about our story on our website and follow us on Instagram for really cool content about, you know, healthy tips and learn about Ayurveda and just, you know, share our stories as well. So. And of course you know, you can learn more about it from Sahara as well.

So excited. And we're also offering listeners a 35% off discount which is super exciting. So you can have no excuse to just get started right away. So you can use the code Sahara, all lowercase letters, S A H A R A. And you'll get 35% off your first order which is just the best thing ever. And they have an amazing app too, which he just mentioned, which has so much just educational content and resources. And I'll be adding some videos on there too. So I'm really excited for like all of the highest self podcast gang to like be on you beta and we're have the best moods ever.

Right, let's make sure we elevate everybody on there. And in regards to the app, everybody that is in the community, we will be doing an update that's going to be released by mid April. So it'll be a completely new version of the app. And of course there's no extra charge to that. You'll just be notified of an update, you'll be able to download it and all of the content, like Sahara is saying, you know, will be there in a much more better, intuitive, better UI UX experience. And also to mention that our products can also ship now to Austria, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Finland. We'll be adding additional countries as soon as we are for sure that we can ship to those countries. As you guys know or may not know, dietary supplements in some countries are classified as food, as they are in the United States and other countries, but in other countries they're not. So we just want to make sure before we open up that you as the customers and consumers can get it without frustration. Because believe me, it is not easy to deal with the customs when the package is sitting there and nobody's picking up the phone. So we want to make sure we resolve that headache for you guys so you guys get a seamless and nice experience when you order.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for all the work that you do and for really making your mess your message and turning this really difficult chapter into your life into a product that heals and transforms the world. We really acknowledge you.

Thank you so much. Zahra. Thank you so much for having me on there. Thank you for all the knowledge and wisdom that you spread. I love listening to your podcast. Like I said, I really resonated with the one about keeping it real and the one about that you said you had a calling in 2012 and it's so interesting. That's actually when I started going deeper into my spiritual journey too. So thank you for keep on creating amazing content for lifting this community and just really grateful to have people like you out there that are spreading Ayurveda.

Oh, that means so much. Namaste.

Namaste Sahara. Thank you so much dear.

Wow. How amazing was that interview? I am feeling so inspired. So do you want to try Yuvada for free? Well, we are doing a giveaway. Three lucky people are going to receive a one month supply of the Uveda Mood formula. All you have to do is head over to my Instagram amsaharose. You'll see the instructions. You're gonna just follow me. Follow you Veda and then write a review for this instagram on the iTunes store. Send a screenshot over to me@saharaetfeelfresh.com and three lucky winners are going to receive one month supplies of the UVADA Mood formula. And if you love it, you can always use code Sahara for 35% off. Can't wait to see you guys on the gram. Namaste.

Sam.