SEEMA DATTA
“I think Ayurveda is inbuilt within me, and I believe it is in every human being. We simply need to (re)develop that habit of consciously listening to our subconscious. We have instincts every time for what is and isn't good — which most of the time we conveniently ignore!”
With over 25 years of experience and a passion for helping women with Ayurveda and holistic health modalities, Vaidya Seema Datta runs a busy clinic in central London. She trained as an Ayurvedic practitioner in Nagpur, India. After a few years of practising and helping over 1,000 women in India, she and her husband moved to the UK, where they had their two children. Vaidya Seema is also a qualified Gentle Birth Method practitioner and doula. She spent several years working with Dr. Gowri Motha deepening her understanding of how to best support women in the process of becoming a mother until she founded Keyajee in 2008.
Follow Vaidya Seema:
Website: Keyajee
Instagram: @keyajee_
Facebook: Keyajee Ayurvedic Clinic
“I believe because I grew up with Ayurveda, my mind managed to see and make something positive out of the worst situation.”
What does Ayurveda mean to you?
Ayurveda is a manual of life for me. It shows me the way to live to my fullest capacity. I can recognise early signs of imbalance, react and treat if any problems arrive. It works not only for the physical but also for the psychological or spiritual aspects of my life.
When did you discover it? How long have you been practising it?
I was born into a family of Ayurvedic pharmacists, so Ayurveda has always been part of my life. However, life had to redirect me a bit. I decided to learn and practise Ayurveda as a profession after I went through a major life crisis. I lost my husband at age 22 — after just one year of marriage. For me, it was the end of life as I knew it. Surprisingly, I accepted it straight away, took the challenge thrown at me by nature and the universe and decided to create my own identity rather than living a dependent life. I believe because I grew up with Ayurveda, my mind managed to see and make something positive out of the worst situation. I also was lucky to have the support of the whole family.
I started practising in the second year of my BAMS degree as an assistant to a gynaecologist and attending births in her hospital. By the end of my degree, I had already attended more than 1,000 births. With my vast experience in supporting women’s health, I was ready to open my clinic in my home town in 1997, where I supported women from small villages who wouldn’t have found help otherwise. I was happy in my new role, but life wanted something different: I met my current husband and got married again in 2000.
We moved to the UK together and I was able to practise Ayurveda from the start. However, I quickly realised that I needed more skills to better communicate the Ayurvedic principles to women who had grown up in the West. I was lucky to find Dr. Gowri Motha in 2008. I worked with her for eight years and learned how I could convey Ayurveda to women in the West in the best possible way. I wanted Ayurveda more deeply, which allowed me to come out of my shell and start a clinic at Harley Street in 2014, which I am still running today.
What drew you to Ayurveda?
I think Ayurveda is inbuilt within me, and I believe it is in every human being. We simply need to (re)develop that habit of consciously listening to our subconscious. We have instincts every time for what is and isn't good — which most of the time we conveniently ignore!
Has it helped you with anything major?
As I said, Ayurveda is inbuilt and I am lucky to feel so connected. It always helped me: whether it was standing up for myself (against bullying for my crooked neck) and asking my father to get an operation done at the age of 4, or deciding to get back to university the next day after losing my husband while life was falling apart. It kept me going even after failing some of my exams several times during my education. Ayurveda helped me to digest my thoughts and emotions, keep my focus and find joy in whatever I do. Ayurveda helped me grow as a better human being — a better listener, compassionate and ready to serve others, which are qualities of a good Vaidya (Ayurvedic Doctor).
Is Ayurveda part of your everyday life or just for your medicine cabinet or fall-back routine?
Of course, Ayurveda is part of my everyday life. I try to follow everything I would suggest to my clients/patients.
What are your top 3 Ayurvedic tips that have worked for you?
Here is what works for me:
Early rise and early to bed.
Morning and evening routine according to the season: walks in winter and meditation and yoga in summer. :)
I eat only when hungry and take time to enjoy freshly made food.
What surprised you most about Ayurveda?
What surprises me about Ayurveda is that it fits in every situation, with all weathers, all geographic locations, and all types of living beings, equally for prevention and treatment. Ayurveda is for individual and for community health. The same herb can help with various problems in different ways depending on when, how, or in what form it is used. Equally, the same symptom/disease needs to be tackled in different ways depending on the root cause, the person’s constitution, the season or weather, or the path of manifestation of the disease.
I love Ayurveda for its uniqueness, simplicity within complexity, easy approach to health and wellbeing, and how it awakens the rhythm of the universe within us.
Do your children/family eat an Ayurvedic diet? And if they do, do they know it’s Ayurveda or do they just think of it as home cooking?
Ayurveda is incorporated into Indian culture as part of a normal lifestyle. I don't call our diet Ayurvedic, but now they realise that Ayurveda gives importance to certain rules like eating fresh and only when hungry. They sometimes remind me of it when I ask them to eat, and they are busy watching their programmes.
What is your favourite Ayurvedic recipe or go-to ingredient?
My favourite go-to recipe is kitchari — and I can have it any time and any day.
Ginger is the ingredient — I use it in all seasons, in all conditions, in all recipes: ginger pickle if I am not hungry, ginger tea if I am bloated after eating, dry ginger for spicing up sweet, ginger for cough and cold, ginger for pain… and the list goes on with mixing more herbs if needed.
How does Ayurveda fit into your day-to-day routines?
When you live Ayurveda, you do not need to fit it in separately!
I believe I live Ayurveda — I try to follow all the rules possible physically, psychologically and spiritually. I try to keep my digestive fire to the optimum for digesting food, thoughts and emotions at their best.
What do you wish was easier in our society to make an Ayurvedic lifestyle more accessible?
I am not sure how to yet, but it is my dream to guide all pregnant women to follow the Ayurvedic way during the gestation period. And if we believe that the foetus can taste, listen and learn in the womb, we would be creating a whole new generation with an inbuilt understanding of Ayurveda. This next generation would then be healthy — not only physically, but psychologically, and socially too.
Do people around you/in your circle of friends know about Ayurveda?
Times are changing. People are now looking for more natural and sustainable ways of being healthy. There is more focus on wellbeing, which allows people to explore different aspects, and I am glad that I am coming across more and more people who know Ayurveda.
What’s the one thing you would encourage everyone to try or you think would benefit the majority of people’s health for the better?
Wake up at the time when you naturally break the sleep and start your day — even if it is 4am or 5am. It is your body’s natural instinct to get up at this time. If you need to, you can take a break or nap after lunch and go to bed by 10 pm.
Take a break for one minute every hour to check in with yourself. The regular check-ins allow you to stay connected to yourself. You can relax your shoulders if stressed, smile and be ready to go ahead… one minute an hour is simple and makes a huge difference if you are consistent.