Molly McConnell, CAP, ERYT

Education and Experience

In addition to being a NAMA-certified Ayurvedic practitioner, Molly holds a bachelor's degree in Women's & Gender Studies with a minor in Leadership & Public Service.

Upon completing her degree at the University of Missouri, Molly quickly surrendered to India and slowly surrendered to herself. Somewhere along the way, she accidentally became a traveler, discovering the power and patience of watching the Universe unfold.

It was during this discovery that she stumbled upon the vastness of Ayurveda and began to immerse herself in its wonders. With more than 2,000 hours of Ayurvedic study and clinical experience at Alandi Gurukula in Boulder, Colorado, and intersectional feminist background, Molly is a lover of both learning and unlearning.

In addition to teaching and practicing Ayurveda, Molly has been guiding holistic yoga experiences for more than ten years—in the California Sequoias and at The Esalen Institute, in the Japanese countryside, in the Southwestern coast of India, in the mountains of Colorado, and throughout the Midwest.

Molly sees both yoga and Ayurveda as important tools for reconnecting with the rhythms of nature. Her aim is to rejuvenate the spirit of community by offering practices that inspire a deeper connection to self and a greater appreciation for others.

In 2018, Molly co-founded Cultivate Balance with her dear friend and fellow practitioner Sierra Brashear. The two have been working together for many years to create an Ayurvedic practice that embodies intentional and intersectional Ayurveda.

Through their work with Cultivate Balance, Molly and Sierra have come to understand that internal alignment manifests external radiance, and that balancing oneself is the foundation for balancing one's family, community, and the planet.

Events and Programs

If you're curious about cultivating resilience with Molly, one of the following offerings may resonate with you.

• The Reset for Resilience is a seasonal Ayurvedic Cleanse for Body and Mind, centered around a five day detox, designed to improve digestion, enhance immunity and promote clarity. (Begins April 4, 2022)
• The Art of Work Life Balance is an in-depth program that invites you to foster a more strategic approach to living a meaningful life that enables personal and collective wellness—using the wisdom of Ayurveda.
• The Art of Ayurveda is a three-part course where you'll learn easy-to-implement nutrition, daily routine and self care practices that will shift how you experience your body and enable you to lay the foundation for a lifetime of vitality.

To start small, explore the Cultivate Balance virtual workshop library, or email Molly to learn more about setting up your personal Ayurvedic consultation.

 

Molly's Point of View

How were you introduced to Ayurveda?

I found Ayurveda as a means to finding myself while journeying through India in my early twenties. It was the discovery of this all-encompassing philosophy that enabled me to connect more deeply with myself and with others—to honor and appreciate the fine line between human resilience and fragility.

My early exploration of the Ayurvedic doshas gave me a structure to hold space for the spectrum of what it means to be human. As a product of the patriarchy, I had struggled with body image my whole life. Understanding my Ayurvedic constitution liberated me from the constant questioning of my enoughness. It was the first modality that I'd come across that made sense and encouraged me to work with myself exactly as I am, rather than how I should be.
 

When are you most likely to go out of balance and how do you bring yourself back in balance using Ayurveda?

I am most likely to go out of balance when I don't feel grounded into my home space. As a kapha, I love to be at home, to feel settled, to have a space to host others, and to be in an unwavering routine. When I'm traveling frequently and not taking the time to ground back into my kapha nature, I start to feel less like myself.

This type of imbalance can show up if I'm on a road trip, staying with friends, or in a new environment for several days—and when it does, I do my very best to maintain my core Ayurvedic routine practices to bring myself back into balance. These practices include...

• Warm water with lemon and honey in the morning—always helps me feel my best
• Connection to nature—especially hikes
• Eating well cooked and spiced foods—mostly vegetables for me!
• Walks after meals—even if I only have 10 minutes
• Designated time for mindfulness—journaling, reading, or meditating
• A simple, but luxurious evening skincare routine—I always travel with body oil and serums :)

It's not always possible to maintain all of my rituals, but when I do these simple things, I feel my very best—even in the midst of the change movement and uncertainty. Getting back to these practices always helps me return to a state of resilience relatively quickly.
 

What does the future of Ayurveda look like to you?

I believe that a more compassionate world is possible, and that we have an opportunity to co-create alternative solutions together. But first, we must know ourselves—we must re-cultivate the ability to listen to our bodies, to understand our needs, and to believe that we are worthy of our own love. Ayurveda is a means to this way of being.

Ayurveda gives us practical tools to seamlessly (and enjoyably!) implement radical self-care into daily life. From here, our ability to care for others expands with authentic compassion and a deeper commitment to foster the well-being of all. This is collective wellness.

The future of Ayurveda is one that promotes a culture of community care, in which more people feel able and inspired to show up for their purpose in the world. The future of Ayurveda is also accessible, inclusive, embodied, and integrated into collective daily life as a foundation for a solutions-oriented way of living that creates space for all beings to thrive.

Now, more than ever, we are being called to return home to ourselves and the Earth. Reconnecting to the earth-aligned wisdom of Ayurveda is an emergent strategy for co-creating a more compassionate world.
 

What's one Ayurvedic practice anyone can implement to spur change in their life, right here, right now?

Eating more cooked vegetables! I feel like so many people are still into raw salads as a perceived “healthy” choice, but what they don't realize is how hard this can be on digestion. Too much cold, raw food is often the culprit behind regular gas and bloating that is actually totally preventable.

When in doubt, well-cooked vegetables with spices and healthy fats is the way to go! I love to encourage my clients to eat vegetables for breakfast. :)