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Replacing Rules with Rituals and Learning To Truly Care for Myself

By Greer Christos

I remember the first time I heard Katie say, "In Ayurveda, HOW we eat, is as, if not more important to what we eat.”

BOOM!

My entire body dropped knee length into the mud.

Held, supported... feeling like no matter how much I leaned to one side, mama earth’s wet, warm body had me. I would no longer be pushed over by external forces.

Of course, I wasn’t literally standing in a muddy pond, but I may as well have been.

I thought of alllllll of the times over all of the decades (3 in total!) I had been “battling” with what I should / shouldn’t eat, and “why” I should / shouldn’t be eating what I was.

I reflected on the synchronicities that had played out in the month prior to me going from “Ayur-whaaa?” to signing up to Shakti School Level 1 (& subsequently Level 2) & how the ease of what I was now receiving and truly ‘inner-standing’ (as opposed to ‘understanding) was one of those moments in time where everything shifts.

Despite thousands of hours of self-inquiry, talk-therapy, plant medicine, western-based psychology approaches, new-age/quantum activations, shamanic healings, (insert every healing modality you have heard of), I was still - STILL - struggling with letting go of the eternal-internal narrative of “why” am I STILL over eating and struggling with food addiction?

And whilst the above modalities & experiences had definitely helped with my chronic use of alcohol, drugs and general disassociation from my deeper needs & truth: the “food” thing still had me. And so, when Katie spoke those words in that sweet Southern accent of hers, it l a n d e d.

Yes in my mind, but more so in my body: and even more, in my Sacred heart.

It’s as if the burden of resisting food/bingeing (that I had become so used to carrying around and struggling to keep up above my head so I could continue searching for a way to be able to put it down), simply jumped out of my hands, arms & shoulders and vanished.

And so, for the next few months, I paid particular attention to HOW I was eating.
I stared to notice how I could rush my eating…
How I could hide…

How I could gobble & swallow almost whole…
How I would unconsciously tense my hands under the table when I was wanting a second serve but afraid of being judged…
How I would kid & shame myself about what I had eaten...
And on, and on, and on.

I also dived deeper back in to Geneen Roth’s work which was also really supportive, but what made it HEALING was the synergy of this increased awareness with my gradual, yet consistent and expanding devotion to practicing Dinacharya.

Up until being introduced to dinacharya, I had definitely gone through regular (but not necessarily consistent) waves of, what I had thought of was “self-care” but was actually a regime of exercise, meditation or other physical/mental/energetic practices. These periods had been helpful, activating, inspiring ~ for sure ~ but none of them lasting.

Yet something happened over the following two years, and I started to notice how as I cared for myself in this new way, I started to slow down, drop in, & gain a sense of ‘me’ on a day to day basis.

I would notice the days my skin was dryer, my tongue had more ama, my neti wouldn’t flow, and I would want to head straight to a cacao instead of my lemon-ginger water first thing.

I’d also notice the days I felt luscious, my tongue clear, my neti streamed effortlessly, and I’d embrace a full liter of warm fluids before anything else...

The practices were really great. They really were – and yet, after a while, I started to notice that even though these self-care practices were very nurturing, over time, they started to feel like “have-to’s”.

On the mornings I would have the time & space (I.e. when my 3 children would sleep in), it was wonderful. But sometimes they would wake early, or I would sleep in, & I would become subtly stressed that I wouldn’t have time to ‘get it all done’.

And I started to catch myself ‘rushing’ through my dinacharya. What had started as ritual, was gradually becoming a regime that, if I didn’t “tick off” would produce a subtle tension in my body & mind.
What started as an “ahhhhh” (insert relax tone of voice) was gradually becoming an “eeehhhhhhh” (insert rushed tone of voice).

And then it HIT me!!!

Just like food, HOW I practice my dinacharya is AS, if not MORE important than “what I do” for my dinacharya. And THAT, changed everything.

I suddenly realized that I don’t need to do it all. Sure, it’s great when I can. But if I find myself rushing, then I slow. If I find myself going on autopilot, I pause. I drop in to my body, & I open my heart, and ask,

“What is it I really need right this morning? In this moment?”

HOW could I love myself FULLY right, here, now?

Quite often, it’s just one or two practices done mindfully, heartfully.

S l o w l y.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s been since I’ve shifted HOW I self-care, that my relationship with food has truly healed.

Sure, sometimes I catch myself rushing, not fully chewing, etc. etc., but it happens so much less often. And when it does, I catch myself sooner, so there’s less fallout/casualties, and as I start my mornings in this slow & oh-so-yummy tempo,that echoes through my day which slows me down in all areas. And because I’m not rushing, I’ve got clarity of thought. I’m more patient with my kids. I can open more in my love-making.

And life,
Once again,
Becomes Sacred.

About Greer

Greer is a Feminine Embodiment Guide, Conscious Relationship Coach, & Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor. Greer specializes in supporting women rise from depletion & overwhelm to reclaim their juicy, authentic self & cultivate sacred ritual as a way of life.

She currently resides in Tasmania, Australia where she’s raising her young family. She works alongside her husband Aaron in their business Tantra for Parents; offering a range of online & in-person workshops, Ceremonies, mentorships & retreats. You can find more info at her website at www.tantraforparents.com.

2024 Ayurveda School Scholarship Recipients

The Shakti School is inspired and deeply honored to offer scholarships each year. We want to thank each and every student for their soulful and love-filled participation. We deeply appreciate all of the honesty and effort poured into the submissions. Without further ado, below are some of the recipients of this year's 2024 winners and their testimonials!

Marquita (Key) Ochoa | Tucson, Arizona | @key.ocho & www.keyocho.com

"My name is Key. I am a Chicago native living with my husband in Tucson, Arizona. I am a holistic integrative wellness practitioner, spiritual wellness writer (https://keyocho.substack.com/) , meditation teacher, sound healer, and 200-hr yoga teacher. I've been unconsciously practicing Ayurveda for years and have used this ancient medicine to heal myself and wanted to deepen my knowledge with The Shakti School. Upon completing this certification, my goal is to integrate this ancient wisdom into my work and help women of color heal their minds, body, and spirit. I want my community to understand that prioritizing self-care through Ayurveda isn't a luxury; it's a fundamental practice that enhances their daily lives."

Simi Pawa | Vancouver, BC, Canada | @yogawithsimi

"I’m Simi Pawa, currently residing in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and I'm honored to be a first year student at the Shakti School of Ayurveda. Ayurveda's wisdom has always fascinated me, yet I struggled to fully understand its depth solely through online sources. Despite Ayurveda being a part of my lineage, the modern world's noise left me feeling disconnected. However, receiving a scholarship for my first year at Shakti School opened the door to a profound journey of self-discovery through the teachings of Ayurveda, for which I am deeply grateful. As a practicing Yogini, certified Life Coach, Yoga Teacher, and a mother of two, I blend my passions to advocate for holistic healing. My mission is to empower women to embrace their fullest potential and reconnect with their inner selves. I'm committed to preserving Ayurvedic wisdom for our future generations, including my own children, ensuring its enduring legacy."

Kristin Nelson | Aldinga Beach, South Australia | @wholenesswithkristin

"I am Mama to two beautiful girls & am blessed to also have a teenage step daughter. I have always felt sensitive and extra susceptible to going out of balance. Since I was a teenager, I have used yoga as a tool to help me regulate my NS, get unstuck and feel more balanced, free and whole. More connected to my steady essence and less at the mercy of the ups and downs of life. The older I get, the more readily I go out of balance and I started feeling like "there's gotta be more to this health and wellness equation!" Enter: Ayurvedic wisdom finally entering my realm! From the moment it divinely landed in my lap, I felt a deep soul whisper "YES. This. NOW." I am now studying toward my Diploma of Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultation locally here in South Australia, as well as the Level 1 Shakti School Ayurvedic Health Coach Certificate. I am inspired by how profound my experience is of making small changes and feeling big shifts. Just a month in and I feel my pitta imbalance chilling out. This translates to me feeling more grounded and relaxed. More present and patient. More in my loving more of the time. & perhaps the biggest gift of all is how my family is responding to these small, but revolutionary shifts. My wellbeing seems to be directly related to their wellbeing. My goal is to learn how to take impeccable care of myself through the Ayurvedic wisdom, so that my beautiful daughters learn how to do the same. To feel empowered to take charge of our health & wellbeing naturally and start a wellness revolution in our backyard & kitchen!! I'm excited to extend this ripple effect out further and help support other Mama's in my community to do the same."

Neelam Bhella | Burlington, Canada | @thebiophiliclife

"Hello and Sat Sri Akal my sisters. My name is Neelam and I am honoured to share a little bit about my journey to Shakti School.

I was born and raised in England in the 1970’s and 80’s by my immigrant South Asian parents. I had a full and loving family life in a tight knit community of friends and extended family which was very important as we faced a fair amount of discrimination. I am grateful to my parents for lovingly raising us and can recount cooking Indian dishes with my mum in the kitchen surrounded by laughter, music, dance and food! At age 19, I immigrated to Canada with my family. I went to college at age 22 and studied to enter the field of law enforcement.

In March 2020, when the pandemic shut down the world (the same week I turned 50), I was catapulted into my biggest awakening to date. I turned inwards and contemplated on the meaning of life…. my life. Where was I supposed to go, what was I supposed to do in life? The police department had always seemed to be my passion, but there was a longing in my heart for something more. In March 2022, I traveled to India, alone, to be at the spiritual centre (The Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab) of my faith on my 52nd birthday.

The year 2023 came at me like a car crash, with one injury after the next. I had to take some time off work. I began to heal slowly and started questioning what was really meaningful to me. I threw myself into cooking and began to enjoy taking care of myself, using natural remedies. I continued to internally search for how my life would look after 2025 (my retirement year). I then came across the Shakti School and took an online mini-course. I had come home. To me. I felt it in my heart. But with two sons in college, my income would not be enough to cover the course. I learned of the scholarship program through a fellow Canadian student and I was granted a partial scholarship!

My aspiration is to help my female colleagues in the police department. The masculine nature of policing is such that women have been so very disconnected from their true feminine nature. I want to ensure that these women learn to care for their well-being more gently and gracefully, as they take care of our community and their own families.

I am very grateful to Shakti School to have offered me this scholarship so that once I retire, I will again be able to proudly serve my community by offering Ayurvedic Wellness Coaching services to first responders."

Kerry Dyer | Tumwater, WA | juddnaturalhealth.org

"Hi, my name is Kerry. I am grateful for this feminine focused opportunity to enter the world of Ayurveda. After looking at various schools, The Shakti School illuminated my heart which kept whispering to me, "in the world of Ayurveda, this is where you belong." I have been a bodyworker and acupuncturist for almost 20 years now. I love what I do and love learning more about gentler, kinder, natural approaches to health and well-being. I have mostly worked part-time, for almost twenty years, due to my health and family care needs. In the last few years, it was time to grow and to take a chance. I put more of my energy into growing my small business and have now fully transitioned away from employment. My small business continues to grow and I plan on incorporating Ayurveda into my current practice and expanding online when the time is right. As I grow my business, I continue to be the main caregiver for my kids in our multigenerational, animal loving, home while my husband works in social services. Due to the challenges of a neurodivergent family, with some of us on the autism spectrum, I have needed to homeschool our children occasionally and work with them as they become ever more amazing and independent. My prior studies of yoga, massage, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and current study of Ayurveda is what nourishes my being, gives me tools to reintegrate myself and others when life happens and things fall apart, and helps me bring forth space and presence for healing myself and others. My goal is to make my services as accessible as possible, which is why I have chosen to work with various insurance as well as provide other low-cost options for medical care. There is also always room for creative growth and improvement and I am certain The Shakti School will help guide and inspire me along this path."

Hannah Joy | St. Augustine, FL | @meditate.tap.create & meditatetapcreate.com

"Hannah is an EFT Practitioner and meditation guide, inspiring inner evolution in others through self-awareness and creative expression. She supports her clients in listening to the wisdom of the body to release deep emotional blockages and trauma from the root. In a dynamic marriage of forgiveness, radical acceptance, and intuitive guided visualizations, clients rediscover that self-love is their innate superpower. Hannah is honored and humbled to work with those on their healing journey, particularly called to be the space holder and wisdom navigator for people in demanding life transitions: sexuality, pregnancy and postpartum, ceremonial grief work, relationships and more. She plans on weaving the sacred teachings of ayurveda into her own life and family, overflowing into her work during sessions and afterwards as intentional post-care and integration practices."

Royann Cole | Las Vegas, Nevada | @growthwithro

"Hi Everyone, my name is Royann. You can call me Ro 🙂 I am an Artist, Herbalist, Intuitive, and Reiki Level II Practitioner. I currently live in Las Vegas, Nevada. I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and my pup Bentley. I love to be in and with nature. I am passionate about fitness, meditation, herbs, nature, animals, and inner healing. I want to integrate Ayurveda and Tantra, not only into my own healing journey, but also my Reiki healing sessions to help guide others."

Jimena Antelo | Uruguay, South America

"Hello, I'm Jimena, from Solymar, in Uruguay, South America. I work as a Gestalt psychologist, and teacher of Yin Yoga, Akashic records and family constellations. I am a wife and mother as well as an eternal student. Happy to be attending Shakti School and to have this opportunity. My greatest interest at the end of the year is to facilitate workshops for women on sexuality, health and abundance. I am interested in tantric philosophy and energy meditations, I believe they are a great tool and model to help other people raise their level of life and consciousness. Also enrich and complement my yoga practice both personally and professionally. My Sankalpa ( intention from the heart) is to give love and receive love."

Jennie Jordan | Lehigh Valley, PA | @the.coach.jennie & links.thecoachjennie.com/social

"Hello, I'm Jennie Jordan, your go-to Holistic Wellness & Life Strategist, bringing over 20 years of hands-on clinical experience. Beyond my passion for helping others thrive, I'm an adventure seeker who finds pure joy in exploring National Parks, conquering challenging hikes, and embarking on cycling adventures. Lately, I've also immersed myself in the world of yoga, discovering its incredible benefits. But that's not all! I'm on an exciting journey to become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and I can't wait to share the wealth of knowledge I'm gaining with my amazing community.

My life philosophy is all about spreading kindness, maintaining a positive vibe, and actively chasing a life that feels truly fulfilling. Born partially blind, my unique perspective has fueled my resilient mindset, propelling me to achieve everything and more. Join me in this incredible journey, and let's make each day a new adventure!"

Libby White | Virginia | @libbyloveslife & @naturalstatemovement

"My name is Libby White, owner of Natural State Movement, a one woman yoga biz that offers yoga classes to my community located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. I’m beyond honored to not only be in the 2024 Shakti School Cohort, but to be a scholarship recipient at that! Many of my yoga classes are based around the elements and nature, and we try to follow the seasons with our movement. I’ve known since I first learned about it, that Ayurveda was going to play a big hand in my life and eventually my business. But I knew that there was more I needed to learn first. So here I am! My hope is to take all that I’m learning in Shakti School, digest it, and share these teachings with other women, those around me who need to hear it most, but haven’t been able to. I don’t know what it will look like just yet, but I do know that after each class I am more excited about Ayurveda than I was the class before. I am blown away each and every time. So very thankful for this experience and Shakti School as a whole."

Julia Clair | @simpaticosoul & SimpaticoSoulGift

"My name is Julia and I'm a grateful recipient of the Shakti School 2024 scholarship:) I'm originally from Scotland, and now live half the time in California and half in Nicaragua. I studied Psychology at University and have continued to try and learn as much about health and the mind-body connection as I can, including Somatic Therapy, Yoga, Mindfulness, and now Ayurveda. I'm a mama and stepmama of 4 kids and recently launched a business called Simpatico Soul. After going through a traumatic experience a few years ago, I was inspired to create self-care sets, that are affordable and helpful for all different seasons of life such as pregnancy, postnatal, chakra healing, mindfulness, and many more. The Simpatico Soul sets are designed to create a sense of peace, calm and relaxation at home, with simple techniques and tools to incorporate into your daily life. I have been very inspired by Ayurveda and included in my sets are dry brushes for the practice of garshana, meditations and organic oils for abhyanga. I aspire to incorporate more of the teachings from Ayurveda into my self-care business and add Ayurveda Wellness Coaching to the Simpatico Lifestyle. My goal is to help women create moments of self-care and wellness in their daily lives, with my mantra being - "Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. It is necessary for balance, health, and self-preservation.”. Ayurveda fits perfectly into this mantra and lifestyle I want to continue to grow and create, learning more about diet, health, and wellness and being able to share this knowledge with others is the ultimate goal. Thank you for choosing me to be a part of your program, Im so excited to continue learning with all of you."

Candace Haluska | San Clemente, California | @soul_sauntering_mama

"Hello beautiful Shakti Sisters. I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of a scholarship for Shakti School 2024. This opportunity could not have come at a better time in my life. For many years I have been in constant transition. My husband is Active Duty military and we have moved almost every year for the past 18 years. The one constant I had during these times were the women whom I would meet at each duty station. My connection to Katie's teachings back at Floyd Yoga Jam in 2014 and 2019, as well as my connection to the capable, strong, uplifting, supportive women around me, led me to Shakti School.

In all honesty, my first priority is to heal myself and family, allowing that to trickle down(in hopes) through many generations to come.

In the future I would be honored to spread the gift of Ayurveda along with Yoga and plant seeds among our Military Community, working as an Ayurveda Health Coach among this specific population. I see myself sharing with great love and an open heart, the knowledge we are learning in Shakti School to all who are open and interested."

Danielle Morgan | Ireland | @free2byogi

"My name is Danielle Morgan I’m from a wee village in Ireland called omeath.

I started out a few years ago teaching in my community, I teach kids and adults, I run women’s circles, soundbaths and beautiful yin yoga class to help women come together and hit the reset button.

I had a hard time in the past, my boyfriend at 15 killed himself and I blamed myself for his death, so from there on in I went from bad relationship to bad relationship to keep punishing myself, I ended up in a very abusive relationship where I was physically beaten every day, mentally and emotionally abused, broken bones you name it, I had a baby with this man and only for her I believe I would probably be in heaven now, she is my best friend, we grew up together, she was the one who pushed me to become a yoga teacher and become the person I am today.

So I now help women overcome abuse, alcohol problems or just to find themselves again.

I love what I do, it fills me up, I know that this is my Dharma, I found shakti school in instagram and was so intrigued by how beautifully feminine it was, it’s all me and more.

Thank you for this scholarship and this chance to help more and more souls, I have 4 kids in total and 2 dogs, I’ve finally found my soul mate and we got married 7 years ago, fairytales do come true after all. I’m so excited for this year together and I’m loving the course so far."

Rachel Hermsen | Nebraska

"I am Rachel Hermsen from Nebraska, USA. This education of Ayurveda will allow me to share with others the invaluable gifts that I have gotten from Ayurveda! With each bit of growth I long for others to find this light within them and learn that they too aren't broken. I am savoring all of the wisdom from these wonderful teachers so that I can pass along the knowledge of balance, nature and connection to inner-self with those in my community and beyond. I cannot wait."

Daria Riazantseva | Belgium | @neverending_daria

"My name is Dasha Riazantseva, I am originally from Ukraine, currently living in Belgium. The first classes of Shakti School were nothing short but healing and magical - and I would be honoured to transfer the things I learn to the community of Ukrainian women who so need light, nourishment and healing right now."

Barbara Reynolds Mayo | Oregon

"I grew up in the capital city of Mississippi at a time a lot different from today. I was a city girl so eating from the garden only happened during the summer when I stayed with cousins in the country. I knew then there was a difference in how food tasted. Generally, I ate a normal Southern diet. I moved to Oregon when I was 29 and became interested in health and wellness, representing companies supporting these lifeways, as well as becoming a certified health coach. I am also an Oregon Master Naturalist, continuing to devote time throughout the year for our natural world.

I have been interested in Ayurveda for a long time and finally the time was right and the perfect school came my way. I’m beyond grateful to belong to such a powerful and loving group of women striving to change the world we live in. I live in and travel the rural areas of eastern Oregon. My hope is to take my knowledge to these areas helping women who now find themselves alone and who have no clue what to do with or how to take care of themselves. The generosity of Skatki School is making this possible and I am forever grateful that, at my age, I can look forward to helping people in THE most loving way. Blessings to each and every one of us. Namaste."

Samantha McMonigal | Northwest Ohio | @energetictemple & theenergetictemple.com

"Namaste beautiful souls! My name is Samantha McMonigal (Sami Jean) and I am a mystic at heart with a passion that focuses on healing trauma that holds us back personally and collectively.

After spending 20 years in social work, I grew wary of programs that shuffled people through short term programs that did nothing for our client's future and did even less for how they felt inside. Yes, helping a person’s immediate needs is important, but after seeing thousands of people in despair, I wanted to figure out how to help people thrive and not just survive! So many people are held back by trauma, poverty, and stress- and I was one of them myself.

I realized then that I needed to help myself so I could help others heal more deeply as well, but I didn’t know how to even begin. So I did the next best thing. I kept asking “How? How can I do this?”

Life started changing after asking these questions. Sadly, my sister walked to her car on her lunch break and died from a brain aneurysm after living with much stress. Three months later, my mother passed away after a two-year battle with brain cancer. The emotions of my grieving process taught me that we don’t heal by suppressing; we heal by releasing. Because of this, I realized the information I had learned about unresolved trauma guiding our lives was not only real- it was a warning. Once I made these connections, I decided to honor the lives of my sister and mother through healing years of unprocessed trauma so I can help others who face the same struggles as well.

Once this decision was made, the most profound synchronistic events have been guiding me along the way. In addition, after learning to meditate and experiencing the most beautiful moments while doing so, I left my high stress career so I could study as much as possible while embracing this lifestyle. As a part of this journey, I am now a yoga teacher and a Reiki master.

Studying the science of how trauma unconsciously guides our behavior (while pretending to be a dormant beast) has led me to the doorstep of Ayurveda as a crucial part of the healing process. As the sister science to yoga, Ayurveda will become the foundational stone that will support all the other modalities of assistance I will guide myself and my clients through; namely restorative yoga, regenerative breath work, yoga nidra, and Reiki.

I am grateful for being gifted this scholarship so that I can join those who are bringing more light to the world- both within and without!"

Julia Alvarez | Neptune, New Jersey | @julia.yogadoula & www.juliayogadoula.com

"I first discovered ayurveda through my yoga studies but I didn't really dive deep until I started preparing for pregnancy. I took over a year to dedicate to my preconception phase and followed many ayurvedic practices that helped me become the healthiest, most vibrant version of myself. I healed many of my imbalances and truly never felt better. During this time I also started sharing ayurveda with my prenatal and postpartum doula clients and saw the difference these practices made in their lives, too. I am now expecting my first baby and attribute my easeful conception and pregnancy to ayurveda and all the wellness protocols I followed. I want to share ayurveda with even more women, especially with mothers and mothers to be. Motherhood is a wild transformation and ayurveda can be such a lifeline for those embarking on this journey. I am so excited to be a part of shakti school where I am learning so much and can't wait to be an ayurvedic wellness coach!"

Gaelle Pettifer | Mansfield, Victoria, Australia | @the.peace.lounge

"Hello! My name is Gaelle Pettifer and I have a place in the Level One Ayurveda School by the grace of receiving a partial scholarship. I unraveled in the past few of years after a very long time of coping on my own, raising a child and holding a business space for yoga. I got to the stage where I had nothing left to give in any moment and my mental health was in crisis. I found drawing myself towards general health almost undoable, I had lost so much of my life to have any resource for renewal, but I had an opportunity to try kitchari and it began a turn around. Somehow, when I felt I had had nothing for so long, a spark returned and with some gentle movement and mantra practices in combination with the kitchari, I found the space for the self understanding I needed. My intention at this stage is to continue into the level 2 course. I really desire to offer a platform to confidently support women to become comfortable with themselves. I do believe that when women empower themselves through health and wellbeing, everything and everybody benefits from their clarity. I've definitely experienced a deeper calm through Ayurvedic, yoga and meditation practices and I'm only just beginning, the future looks very encouraging!"

Nicole Burgoyne | Littleton, Colorado | @a_colorado_yogi_life

"My name is Nicole Burgoyne and I live in Littleton, Colorado with my family. I am a mountain goddess and enjoy the beautiful changing seasons in my state by exploring all things outdoors in all weather. I currently teach yoga and have been a teacher in a variety of settings; mother to four, a breastfeeding and childbirth educator and doula, elementary school teacher, and currently love exploring and sharing yoga, Ayurveda and Jyotish. Passionate and heart centered, I seek to build a strong community of support with resources, education, and connection through the philosophy and tools of Ayurveda and yoga and working to build a more formal and established business. Shakti School is already gifting me so much to make this possible.

Yoga has been a part of my life for many years but truly found me on my knees when I needed it most. In 2019, after a series of neurological issues I lost the ability to see, walk and access words. I found myself terrified and looking for answers. I can’t really say it came out of nowhere because I had noticed a shift in my mind and health for a couple years that gradually increased until it swan dived into a full blown loss of life as I had known it. For years I could not find the balance I so desperately was seeking. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognize myself. My eyes were clouded, my face swollen and I had gained weight. Even worse, my usual positive and upbeat outlook was fading. My emotions were all over the place and I felt ill at ease in my body, mind, and soul. I was lost and my soul was crying out for help. My body literally burned out and I collapsed in surrender. This tower moment was the destruction of a life that was no longer serving but the beginning of something beautiful. Eventually I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and over time I saw it as an amazing lesson, a gift that taught me to build a deep relationship with myself. With this, I’ve found my way back to a path rich with gratefulness, experience, accountability, and compassion. I started to learn more about Ayurveda and with a new lens, vocabulary, and understanding that made sense, my life evolved with new purpose and vision. It put things into a perspective that felt connected, relevant, and aligned. I know this is exactly where I am meant to be and all is for a greater purpose outside of what I ever realized was possible. I'm pumped and feel a fire I thought was gone forever. I am so blessed and excited to be a part of this community and opportunity with Shakti School."

Karen Viola | Los Osos, California

"I have been in the healing/light worker career for over 25 years. I have learned many different modalities to help people and recently animals. I have always known the greatest gift is to LOVE. All of the help I have given others comes from my heart and from that love and the universal love.
I feel so very blessed to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity for my scholarship to the Shakti school. I plan to use all of the life changing knowledge to love, heal and discover my true self as possible, and then to share it and help as many people as possible. I know in doing this it will bring so much light to the planet, and I feel that is what my purpose is and always has been."

Sharea Holcomb | Washington state | @lakotayogini & nourishwithsharea.squarespace.com

"My name is Sharea Holcomb, I currently reside on a small farm in the Methow Valley of Washington state. I am not only a passionate chef, but a bright spirit who lives closely with the land. Being North American Indigenous, Assiniboine Nakoda and Hunkpapa Lakota, as well as European indigenous, I humbly weave ceremony and ritual into the spaces I share in and the food I create. I love connecting people back to themselves and the earth, through creating healing spaces, and sharing nourishing food. I am a 200-hour registered yoga teacher, with certifications as a 100-hour Ayurveda yoga therapist, a 100-hour Sound Healing and Ceremony Facilitator as well as holding a 200-hour Historical Trauma recovery certificate. I plan to weave the wisdom gained from Shakti school into my offerings as a chef and in the one on one and group spaces I share in. I dream of hosting retreats where I offer tools to connect women back to themselves via ancestral remembrance, their voices and sound as healing tools, food as medicine, ayurveda for wellness and more!"

Discover Our Ayurveda School Graduates Part 2

Our graduates are up to some really amazing things post-Ayurveda School, and we want to share them with you! Whether you're interested in becoming an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach, or just want to learn the masters of Ayurvedic wisdom, there are endless ways to use your certification. Read below to gain some inspiration and see what some of our fellow grads are up to. You can even reach out to them directly for more information on their unique offerings!

Tara Stoutenborough

"I didn’t dream when a sudden inspiration two weeks after my 80^th birthday led me to enroll in Shakti Ayurveda School how much it would enliven and enrich my life. A long-time meditator and Yoga practitioner, I’d been feeling like I’d lost my source of inspiration and enrichment but hadn’t found a place to turn. The words “Divine Feminine” Ayurveda studies lit me up and that light has just increased month after month. Studying with Katie Silcox and the teachers she’s so carefully selected has been challenging in all the best ways. I feel like I’m expanding in every direction and I’m excited to move into my second year of study.

I’ve always been a person who loves to start new enterprises, launching a technology marketing business at 49 and becoming a romance writer at 68. I still work happily in those businesses, but my love of yoga, self-care and integrative health has always been a driving force in my life. Having the inrush of new thoughts and practices from Shakti School has prompted me to launch a new enterprise – a website/blog I call How to Become Young based on a favorite quote of mine from Pablo Picasso – “It takes a long time to become young”. I feel like I have some experience in that realm to share, and with the inspiration of Katie and all the teachers and fellow students at Shakti Ayurveda School, I’ve launched the website/blog packed with tips and techniques from all the teachers and mentors who have blessed my life over all these years. I hope How to Become Young will just grow and serve others throughout the coming years. Check it out at www.howtobecomeyoung.com"

Website/blog: howtobecomeyoung.com
Facebook: How to become young
Instagram: howtobecomeyoung
Pinterest: howtobecomeyoung

Jennifer Bullen

"Jen is the founder and creator of Rising Strong Wellness.

When the body can be given a voice to express the stories that it holds, healing comes rushing in! Jen knows and believes that by creating intentional opportunities to invite the body into healing, you will witness powerful results of walking into your most natural rhythms. Jen approaches working with the body through a trauma-informed lens and finds deep joy as others reclaim their power!

Jen is a Somatic Healing and Ayurvedic Wellness Coach that works with those who are surviving and overcoming trauma to move into deeper healing. Her deepest commitment is to empower, inspire and allow you a brave space for healing.

As a recent graduate of The Shakti School Jen has been able to add support to the experience of our bodies through health coaching. This training has provided me with resources beyond belief to bring back to my clients and to help them create a life that is not only more aware but more connected."

Website: risingstrongwellness.com
Instagram: jen.risingstrongwellness

Brandy Gilbreth

"Ayurveda School inspired me to become an author. While attending Shakti School I wrote and published a guided journal. ‘Rooted - A Guided Journal to Self Discovery’ can be found on Amazon. Through my Ayurveda Health Coaching business, I have come across many women in desperate need of the root cause. They’re gliding through life sick and overwhelmed. They’re missing precious moments because they’re too busy doing, to just be. Enter, ‘Rooted’. I wrote this journal to help women find the root causes holding them back from living their most peaceful, purposeful, and present life.

At Shakti School, I learned how to listen to my intuition. For the first time, I started to understand the modalities it was using to speak to me. And then I learned how to take action on the things that inspire me."

Instagram: brandygilbreth
The Rooted Journal: https://a.co/d/b0OXZ1S

Amber Richards

"Over the past decade, I have devoted myself to self-development in the areas of health and wellness. It has changed who I am at the cellular level. I have intentionally listened and learned. It is through this ongoing journey of learning that I receive the tools to create the teachings which I am called to share with you today.

Shakti School has been a big part of my journey. I found Katie’s community at the perfect time in my life. Western medicine was not serving me and I was seeking a way to just feel good in my body and soul. The wisdom and knowledge that I acquired along with the tools and the magic of this very beautiful community, have saved my life. I discovered the path to my truest nature and deepest truth. From this place, I began to find healing and a new beginning. My experience has been so profound that I wanted to share this wisdom with others. I've always known this to be my calling but was not quite equipped to share it with the world….until Shakti School!

My company, Tillie Rose, community is a place for you to explore the ancient teachings of Ayurveda and Tantra, helping you gain greater access to pleasure, healing, clarity, and purpose. What's unique about my offerings here at Tillie Rose is the incorporation of my Akashic Guidance to dig into ancestral and past life blocks, and inner child turbulence to complement my Ayurvedic teachings. It's true alchemy. My intention is to guide you with love and grow alongside you as we create a safe haven for our collective evolution.

As I journey with my community this will be a place to generate ritual, become present and light the way for love. I offer holistic-inspired offerings, cleanses, programs, and 1:1 sessions.

I am so grateful for the wisdom and teachings passed down. The threads of this wisdom are woven into my entire being. My work comes from a place of remembering and coming home to myself. From this place, I offer you guidance, from this place I hold the torch and light the way for love."

Website: tillierose.com

Katarzyna Bialek

"My name is Katarzyna (Kasia) Bialek. Ayurveda and the teachings of Shakti School had a profound influence on my life. I was attracted to these teachings because Katie's message was authentic and I was already looking for some modality that would help me to understand myself better as I quit my academic career and didn't really know who I was anymore....

I started Shakti School on 13.01.2021, the day my daughter Laura was born. This is my second kid, I already have an older son. Little did I know, however, how hard the postpartum will be for me and how long it will take me to regain back my strength and vitality. My Agni was weak, I was weak and I didn't have a community around me as we had just moved to a new place within Switzerland. Our weekly classes were so inspiring for me and I was so much looking forward to them to feel connected to other women. I slowly started incorporating Ayurvedic wisdom into my life. Like baby steps, I changed my diet and started to use Ayurvedic self-care tools.

My Agni very slowly started improving but 10 months postpartum, while still breastfeeding I had sciatica. I thought that I was reversing everything that I had learned. I stopped breastfeeding, my daughter started to sleep better, and slowly I started to recover using all my Ayurvedic knowledge and self-care practices. It took me two years postpartum to regain my health and feel good in my body and mind. What a journey that was, but I'm feeling stronger and more peaceful than I've ever had. My relationship with my husband is also going through a huge transformation as we're evolving into a new, more connected, trusting, and giving ourselves more space in the partnership than we ever had before. We've been together 23 years and it feels like I'm just getting to really know my husband through my new Ayurvedic lenses! 🙂

The picture that I included shows me holding my husband's hand as we're walking inside a medieval castle. We went on a journey to the medieval Château de Chillon where we spent a wonderful afternoon together. We got lost many times, wandering through the narrow and winding passages in the castle. We did it, however, always staying together and trying different ways until we had finally visited everything that we wanted. For me, this picture represents my life (especially my relationship with my husband and my professional life) as I got lost so many times not knowing who I am and where I am. From this perspective, I see now that the Universe was guiding me all the time through narrow passages so I could see the full spectrum of possibilities.

I'm working now on starting an Ayurvedic business that will be aligned with my essence qualities. I would like to help other mothers find who they truly are and support their families to thrive."

Instagram: shaktimamas

Brittany Nelson

"Brittany is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, yoga teacher and holistic educator. For the past decade, she's dove head-first into the natural world of healing, from working with master plant medicine teachers to embodying gentle movement and yoga to mixing tinctures in her kitchen. Brittany dedicates her life to learning about and devoting herself to nature, as well as bridging the gap between our stressed-out modern culture and nature's secret wisdom.

Currently, she's offering 1-1 Ayurveda Health Counseling sessions and will be launching group programs soon."

You can read her recent article, Why I Became an Ayurveda Health Counselor: an Ever-Evolving Journey to Live My Purpose & Heal My Symptoms, on Medium!

Instagram: earth__intuitive

Uliana Blackwell

"I am an Ayurvedic Health Counselor. I support those, who like myself might be experiencing burn-out and overwhelm from juggling the multitude of hats we wear in the modern world. I weave the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, embodied nervous system regulation and aromatherapy to support my clients' wellbeing journey of understanding their individual constitution and how to best support it through every season and time of life. My approach is very personal and focused on you and your rhythms.

My transformation through Shakti school was SO profound, yet gradual. She just kept evolving, sometimes subtly, and some days heart cracked open. Yet, looking back at the woman I was in January 2021, I feel like my whole mindset and, hopefully, heart have expanded and opened up that much more. For me, this journey has been about reconnecting with the power of sisterhood, remembering the innate healer that's present in each of us, and growing stronger through our vulnerability. All of these were championed so beautifully by Katie, all the teachers and the Shakti Team.

A life's journey that will luckily never be done.

If you are wondering if Shakti School is for you. Take the leap! Trust me, your future self will thank you. "

Rio and Sonya Bates

"Hi! We are Rio and Sonya, a mother/daughter team!

Rio started studying at Shakti School and her love of learning Ayurveda with Katie inspired her to bring her mother Sonya along. As we studied and practiced together, we became aware of how our current world has contributed to a disconnect for us, our bodies, and who we are as mother, daughter, and women on this earth. Working with Katie and Shakti School has been not only transformative in our individual lives, but it has launched us on a lifelong journey of healing and understanding for each other and our mother/daughter relationship together. After finishing our studies at Shakti School, we were inspired to create our company, Generation Peace.

Our goal is to share the beautiful connection and wisdom that Ayurveda brings to us, as mothers and daughters.

The practice of Abhyanga has been one of the most powerful and needed rituals for us both. Based on this, we have designed a beautiful line of products that bring this nurturing, loving, and compassionate self-care practice, into your Dinacharya. We created our 'Everything Abhyanga Box’ based on our need to have a more simplified Abhyanga practice. Included in this box is a: Tri-doshic Body Oil, Oil Warming Jar, Sugar Shower Scrub, an all cotton Body Wrap/Sarong with a matching Scrunchie, and an instructional card. We have found that having all of this accessible to us has made it easier to reap the benefits of oil and love into our bodies."

Kayla Johnson

"My name is Kayla Johnson and The Shakti School has been a best friend, a nursing mother, a paved pathway towards the elements I have been desiring to bring to life for a long time. It alivened the pieces inside of me that needed to share and didn't know how. The pieces that always heard the call towards entrepreneurship. The Shakti School opened me wide to the consciousness and the wholeness that could exist in entrepreneurship, a new face, a feminine face.

Now I have the tools to run my business from a feminine perspective. To honor myself first, to keep my cup full, and to always always leave space for fluctuation and flow as I realize business doesn't have to mean hard or strict or boring. Since beginning Ayurveda School my business has transformed from a part-time Panchakarma Therapist, honestly hiding my magic behind the silence of a massage table to a multi-dimensional Online Coach, International Retreat Holder, Yoga Teacher, and Ayurvedic Consultant. I market myself, I put my passions into offerings, I share my heart through my writing and The Shakti School has held me and guided me and kept me full the whole time.

My business Sweet Honey Wellness is still and likely always will be growing and expanding."

Website: sweethoneywellness.com
Instagram: sweethoney.wellness

Paulina Świerczek

"Hi there! I'm Paulina, an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach dedicated to helping women achieve radiance, confidence, and optimal health through the power of Ayurveda. My personal transformative journey began a few years ago, but it was only when I discovered The Shakti School that the real changes started to happen. The Shakti School provided me with inspiration and the opportunity to attend truly incredible teachings. Now, I'm further expanding my knowledge and expertise through Ayurvedic Health Counsellor training.

My approach revolves around personalized Ayurvedic consultations and coaching programs designed to nurture and support my clients on their unique paths. Together, we embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery during the Ayurvedic Consultation. By assessing their individual constitution and current imbalances, I craft a personalized treatment plan infused with the wisdom of Ayurveda. Alongside this, I offer tailored education on Ayurvedic practices that align with their specific needs. For those seeking deeper support, my coaching programs provide ongoing guidance, education, and accountability over one, three, or six months. These programs focus on areas such as general health, stress relief, or hormone balancing, empowering my clients to unlock their full health potential.

If you're ready to embrace true balance and your inner radiance, let's connect!"

Paula Pister

"Hi, I’m Paula. As a yoga teacher since 1999, it wasn’t until 2017 that I discovered Ayurveda. At that point, I had moved to LA from NYC and had two small kids. When my amazing father passed suddenly in 2014, I was devastated. That was the transformational point in my life. I’d been working (and often not working) as an actress for years, had 20+ years of costume styling under my belt, and was teaching yoga and feeling overwhelmed. I knew there was more. That’s when I became certified as a Yoga Health Coach with Yoga Healer. Desiring to tap more into my intuition and femininity and go deeper with Ayurveda is when I found Katie and Shakti School- it felt right.

Over the years, I’ve led group coaching programs, created digital courses, and worked privately with clients. Doors to my online/group coaching program, “Glow with Soul - Inner Wisdom & Outer Radiance,” opens again this fall. My goal is to create a space for busy, ambitious modern moms and women to find accountability, community, and support while learning HOW to prioritize themselves through implementing simple daily and seasonal routines and habits that align them with nature’s rhythms.

I feel deeply grateful to share this beautiful science of feminine form Ayurveda as a simplified, practical, healthy lifestyle with women that are struggling to prioritize their health, are too busy (but think that “one day”…they’ll have more time, $, energy) and are moving into a time in their life where they may be experiencing the cumulative effects of not prioritizing themselves, i.e., a diagnosis, menopausal symptoms, divorce, empty nest or just feeling overwhelmed, burned out or uninspired. My goal is to ignite their passion for this ancient wisdom and natural path to health and wellness so that they can live their dynamic lives.

Thank you, Katie Silcox and your entire team, for being in my life. I wish I had known you sooner."

Michele Knox

"Shakti School really helped me get clear on my career and life goals. I always felt like a ‘black sheep’ as a nurse and lived with major incongruence in my life for DECADES! Unreal what the body and mind can tolerate when we think we are doing the ‘right thing’.

I have launched my health empowerment and wellness education company, dusty rose lifestyle since graduation. I focus on empowering and educating people on how the body actually works, and how to watch for symptom patterns the way a nurse or doctor would. Combining anatomy and physiology with an Ayurveda lens, fostering body intuition, and honoring the unique nature of each person are at the core of my 1:1 coaching sessions and the on-demand courses I have created/am creating.

I truly believe with every cell in my body that education and health services should be a universal human right, unfortunately from my 20ish years as a nurse, I know that this is not always the case. This is why I offer sliding scale payment options and also a “prana exchange” for people struggling financially. In this situation I request prana as payment; postcards, homemade pickles/sourdough bread, pictures a clients child drew for me and mailed to me (showing their mom smiling and happy “for the first time”) and promotion to their family and friends are a few examples of the Prana payments I have received. And man does that feel great, instead of the western medical model I had grown so accustomed to!

dusty rose lifestyle is a company that honors the unique needs of individuals from all backgrounds. Services are aimed at providing the 'health class you wish you had in high school.' Practical courses and 1:1 sessions are designed to educate individuals on how the body actually works, and how to get unstuck from symptom management cycles through observation and fostering body intuition. Health empowerment is at the heart of all offerings, when we take radical control of our health amazing outcomes are possible. Understanding and honoring our uniqueness is the key to balanced health and happiness, at dusty rose lifestyle living an authentic life is the ultimate goal."

Lauren Shihadeh

"Working in the field of healthcare for over 14 years, Lauren witnessed the impact stress and disconnection from self can have on overall health. Through her own story of personal growth, going through a divorce and becoming a single mother of two, Lauren embarked on a journey of self-discovery. Her longing to live a more joyous and fulfilled life led her to Ayurveda.

“I always had a strong desire to learn, apply and share ways of natural living to bring in more peace and balance,” says Lauren. Following her heart, Lauren enrolled in The Shakti School. The Shakti School teachings provided a wealth of knowledge, tools and practices that led her to achieve a deeper level of self-awareness, self-love and health. This time of personal transformation revealed Ayurveda is part of her higher calling.

Upon graduating from Shakti School in 2022, Lauren created Monarch Ayurveda, an Ayurvedic Wellness Coaching business. Lauren is leading workshops and wellness retreats all over Northeast Ohio focusing on "Seasonal Living: Recipes, Remedies and Rituals", "Discovering Your Dosha: Your Personalized Roadmap" and providing one on one Ayurvedic Wellness Coaching."

Kristy Gungler

"When someone asks me what I do or inquires about the vision and mission I hold for my business, Earth Bird Wholebeing; I first respond with, "I am in the business of guiding and supporting women who are seeking to deepen their connection with the Earth and in doing so, deepen their connection and understanding with the spirit of their true nature. Earth Bird Wholebeing incorporates nature at the core of my multifaceted offerings. These offerings include Ayurvedic health & lifestyle counseling, guided forest therapy walks and plant medicines; I distill hydrosols and hand make incense. The vision and mission for Earth Bird Wholebeing is to be a guide and space-holder. Guiding women as they find their back to their innate, instinctive and intuitive self; reconnecting with their unique inner guru. I gather and guide others amongst the trees for forest bathing walks, circle weekly in a program I created, called 'the NEST', and am cultivating a community of women to simply come together and connect over our love and awe of nature.

Shortly after graduating level 2 of Shakti School in April 2022, I felt called to add forest therapy to my offerings and become a certified forest therapy guide. This practice of "bathing in the forest atmosphere" is simple yet potent, just like Ayurveda. It also helps my clients see themselves as nature beings, as a microcosm in the macrocosm.

Learning, practicing, embodying and sharing Ayurveda, especially feminine form Ayurveda as we learned in Shakti School, ignited something in me that had been dormant for some time. I have always held a deep reverence to mama Earth and all of her nature beings. It was through my journey in Shakti School that all of the pieces came together. My passion for nature and ways in which I could share holistic wellbeing modalities with others became more clear and so did my confidence in honoring my dharma. It is a true honor to share Ayurvedic wisdom and nature-connection practices in a slow, steady and supported way. I believe when we heal, the Earth heals and when the Earth heals, we heal. This knowledge is what calls me to do this work. "

Websites: earthbirdwholebeing.com, earthbirdcollective.com
Instagram: earthbird_wholebeing
Email: [email protected]

Amanda Byrd

"My name is Amanda Byrd I am a level 1 Ayurveda School graduate, class of 2020.

Where have I have been since graduating? I have been implementing the wisdom of feminine form medicine and the foundations of woman’s health in my own life. Ayurveda has been apart of my personal practice. The wisdom in this course has helped guide me through motherhood through a different lens as I transitioned to a mother of 3 in the fall of 2022.

As I continue to shift and grow through the seasons of life while connecting with Mother Nature in Midwest Ohio, I am offering classes in my community. You can find me @yoga.amanda.byrd to find out more about me and the classes I teach."

Greer Ashley

"Greer synergises ayurvedic wisdom with her 12+ years as a holistic life coach & NLMM (somatic healing) practitioner to offer a deeply nourishing approach to healing & wholeness.

Mumma of 3 and married to her Divine Love, Greer draws on her own experience of how to live & self-care in a way that honours our external commitments as well as deeper needs and highest longing.

Heart consciousness permeates all of Greer's services which include 6-month 1:1 mentorship, 12-week group programs, 28-day 1:1 somatic journeys, monthly women's circles, seasonal cacao ceremonies & conscious couples retreats which she co-hosts with her husband in Tasmania (Australia)."

Courtney Lasker

"I am a former corporate communications maven (worked for Disney, Tech startups and institutions) turned healer. I specialize in rewilding women: reconnecting us to our spirit, passion, power, and laughter! I host women’s circles and retreats that put us in touch with the sensations of life through our five senses. My specific passion is working with moms who are looking for a sense of identity, support, sleep, space, and fun! My clients return to who they are with newfound wisdom and fortitude in wild womanhood, most of all employing simple practices and perspective shifts that are a relief to their schedule. This is integrative work, so I always give homework and progress tracking!

I am a certified Shamanic Reiki Master Teacher and a fun-loving, wild, modern mama. I’m all about practical advice and blend modern science with ancient wisdom leveraging shamanic and reiki healing, Ayurveda, movement, my love of tea, and of course, laughter."

Stephanie Peers

"I'm an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach, Kundalini Yoga Teacher, and Divine Feminine Christ Leader, offering Coaching Services, Yoga Classes, and Sophia Circle Journeys to mothers wishing to step fully into their sovereignty and divine purpose. After having three children and losing myself almost completely in the chaos, I can comfortably say that Ayurveda and Yoga saved my life.

Kundalini Yoga allowed me to connect back with my heart and actually feel it - and my body, again. Ayurveda brings it deeper and taught me how to fully control my mind, body, and soul. With the right tools and information to transform my health from the inside out - my entire life and relationships - especially with my children - changed for the better.

One thing was missing, though - my tribe. I walked this path of self-discovery alone but noticed I was missing community. Women used to support each other in sacred communities and celebrations, and the elder soul within me was deeply missing this part of my ancient roots.

My business is Divine Mother Yoga & Ayurveda. Here, I help you embody your divine feminine qualities through ancient healings you already know, but might not remember...yet.

Divine Mother Yoga & Ayurveda offers a holistic approach to healing and wellness through the practice of Kundalini Yoga, Tantra, Spiritual Development, and Ayurvedic Principles. Services encompass a wide range of offerings, including personalized Postpartum Care and Pregnancy preparation for mothers and mothers-to-be. With a deep focus on nurturing the mind, body, and spirit, I provide a transformative experience that promotes balance, vitality, and self-discovery. Whether you are seeking to enhance your spiritual journey, deepen your yoga practice, find relief from physical ailments, or prepare for the arrival of your little one and recover feeling whole, I will guide you on your path to optimum well-being. "

Website: empoweredmamma.biz
Email: [email protected]

Jessika Ellis

"I’m Jessika Ellis, creator of Ayurveda Playbook.

The Ayurveda Playbook, affiliated retreats, and day events focus on the TLC of our Dhatus (7 body tissue layers) to expand as women in vitality + joy!

Ayurveda Playbook will be facilitating stylish spaces and vibrant seasonal experiences for movement, breath, and rhythm. Featuring Ayurveda in a modern, fashionable and approachable way. Creating containers for boundless expression, joyful healing and playful community have always been paramount cornerstones in my life. Shakti School has empowered me with the tools to fully ignite into deeper passion and purpose!

As a fashion design major, makeup artist, yoga teacher- and now ( Ayurvedic Counselor!!)- fostering confidence in women, is definitely my “red thread”, as Katie spoke about in the video I watched on Instagram back in 2019 🙂

Previously, I relied on my creative and artistic modalities to “reach women”, to "connect", to “heal.” I’d treasure vulnerable moments when women would wipe off all their makeup, spill out their hearts and guts to me in that MAC director chair, and allow me to mirror the beauty I saw in them- with a few swipes of color surrounding their bright eyes and the perfect hue of lipstick to showcase their beaming smiles. Witnessing the face they made when they picked up their hand mirror- when they realized how beautiful they were (and are), well that’s what lead me here.

See, as a makeup artist and fashion designer, I’ve touched and seen so many women. I mean really, SEEN them. I began to identify as a healer- because I saw what being seen did for a woman. It healed them.

But I felt I needed a toolkit, and since I was in high school, (reading Absolute Beauty), Ayurveda has always nudged at me. So when I found Katie’s video about Shakti School, I knew it was time! And damn what a beautiful time I have had diving into this pool of freedom and knowledge.

So, my "red thread" continues as I dig deeper into the beauty. As I get to peel away the layers with women, while we nurture the physical layers that embrace our tender souls.

I’m eternally grateful for the confidence and boundless wisdom I have gleaned from Shakti School. I have softened, as I became more powerful. I have broken, as I became more healed. I have loved myself, more unapologetically than I was ever shown. I feel completely full and infinitely inspired from my three years at Shakti School. Thank you Katie,I keep your laugh, smile and stories in my heart, you have changed me. Thank you to all the immensely wise teachers, and thank you to my fellow classmates that were able to be live and share your stories and experiences. I love you all so very much!"

Website (coming soon): ayurvedaplaybook.com
Instagram: ayurveda_playbook
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: +1 (720) 431-7941

Leah Lopez

"My name is Leah Lopez and I'm the woman behind Illuminate Healing, a local business dedicated to holistic health and well-being. My offerings empower and support connection back to self, by exploring your energetic states and freeing your natural flow. I help you to create everyday simple solutions specific to your needs that you can easily incorporate into your daily life to support you on your journey towards health and well-being.

I am in my second year of Shakti School, working towards my certification as an Ayurvedic Health Counselor. I am certified in energy work as an Usui Reiki Master and am also presently pursuing my Karuna Ki Reiki Master level. I am also a breathwork practitioner with both Clarity and Pranayama training. All these offerings enable me to support you on physical, mental, emotional and psychospiritual levels.

I love meeting you where you're at, empowering you to connect to self, determining your individual needs and collaborating to develop holistic habits and rituals specific to you. This journey of empowered health and well-being is one of my greatest joys in this lifetime. ⁣

Shakti School not only inspires me daily by instilling new teachings that broaden my knowledge of Ayurveda, but it has also deepened my own personal experience around my health and well-being. It's thanks to the teachings and the experience that I feel I have such a great gift to share with the world. Shakti School, combined with my other certifications in energy and breathwork, have blessed me with a fulsome set of offerings that I am so excited and grateful to be able to share with you!"

Instagram: illuminate.healing9
Facebook: Illuminate
Email: [email protected]

Maria Gabriela Guevara

"Shakti school taught me how to come into deeper relationship with my mind, body and spirit. I learned I am not separate from nature, and my true essence is divine. I'm a clinical pharmacist, and I went to pharmacy school because I was passionate about helping people with their health. I was burned out on what allopathic (“Western”) medicine alone could provide people. Ayurveda school reignited my passion for helping people with their health, and as a result, I founded Intuitive Ayurveda. I provide holistic health coaching to women to help them prepare for, celebrate, and manage the transition into menopause. The feminine form approach taught to me in Shakti school is the backbone of what I do.

Essentially, I’m of service to women who: are in their 30s suffering from hormonal imbalances, or simply want to learn to take care of themselves now so they can sail through menopause later; are 35 to 45ish— in peri-menopause and seeing changes happening in their bodies and want to treat themselves through lifestyle and diet so that as the hormone fluctuations progress, they know how to care for themselves and minimize or eliminate symptoms holistically; and are 45/50s and beyond- in active perimenopause and possibly in the menopause year, potentially with more severe symptoms and who want to learn to take care of the root cause."

Chandra Tracy

"First I want to say how grateful I am to have found Shakti school, Katie and you all. Last year was one of the most transformational years of my life in so many ways, and that says a lot! I have completed many trainings, Yoga teacher trainings, Psychology trainings, and Shakti school has been so much more than a training. It has been life changing. I have been working as a Somatic Psychotherapist for many years, and came to Ayurveda both out of a natural progression as a Yogi/Scholar/Tantrik, but also because of my affinity for working with women who have health issues. I wanted to be able to offer them mind-body medicine from multiple perspectives and while psychology is one huge part of it, diet, lifestyle and living in harmony with the natural world needed to be addressed in order for them to heal. I have been a student of Ayurveda for the last 2 decades but never formally, and finding this Feminine form group of heart-minded souls immediately turned me on.

The other reason I came to the program, for my own healing, has had to do with years of hormone imbalance. I had been healing with every variety of medicine I have found- from the Western approach, to TCM, Yoga, Somatic work and Ayurveda. The teachings on hormones were both validating for what I had already been doing for myself and empowering for my work with others. What I did not know coming into the Shakti school program, is that there was a huge inspiration coming, literally during one of our meditations with Katie. In April of last year ,I was inspired to write my first book!!! Having crystalized the healing process for myself, I was thinking about how to share it with the world- a course, a retreat…? And what came from that query is my book! The processes we went through in the level one program got me out of my current paradigm and opened to a whole new version of how I wish to interact with the world. You never know what Shakti will bring, as long as you are ready to follow the natural flow and see where it leads.

Currently, I am taking more time away from my one on one therapy clients ( I also run a group Somatic psychotherapy practice teaching interns who need supervision to work Somatically with their clients), to bringing my book baby into existence! It is titled “Yoga for your Hormones” and I am very excited with its progress. I am in the (hopefully) final stages, and about to start the publishing process. I am wondering if Katie would (I know she is extremely busy but I am asking anyway)- would like to read it (it is a fairly quick and short book to read)- and either endorse it with a short quote on it, or (and I totally get it if she is not into it)- to write a short foreword. I have to at least ask:)

And when I am ready to bring in more clients, it will be to do the holistic healing work blending Somatic Psychotherapy, with Yoga , Ayurveda and Tantra and there will be a new incarnation of the Innerlight."

Group Practice Website: innerlight-therapy.com
Personal Website: innerlighttherapy.org
Instagram: chandrainnerlight, yogaforyourhormones

Maja Michalewska

"Maja is a Visionary Leader, Transformational Leadership Coach, and Wellness Expert on a mission to support changemakers and sustainability leaders in building a strong foundation of wellness and growth so they can bring about positive change in the world without sacrificing their own well-being.

Maja’s unique blend of expertise in sustainability, leadership, and deep passion for time-tested wisdom, Ayurveda and yogic sciences, has made her a sought-after speaker and educator in the emerging field of inner sustainability. Maja is committed to transforming the approach to sustainability by empowering leaders to step into their full potential through self-leadership.

Her current offerings include powerful 1:1 Programs in Transformational Wellness and Leadership Coaching for awakening women. Maja partnered up with an amazing soul sister to write and launch her first book on Elevated Leadership, where she presents an innovative leadership framework to elevate sustainability leadership and transform the way we change the world. In the spirit of Shakti School teachings, this book is going to be practical, transformational and authentic."

Destiny Robeson - RYT

"Destiny is a professional tarot reader, trauma informed Yoga Teacher and Ayurvedic Wellness Coach. She currently accepts 1:1 clients for spiritual mentorship and readings with plans for developing a monthly woman's moon circle and other offerings. In the future, she aspires to open up her own Wellness clinic. She focuses heavily on empowerment, self-love/self-compassion and somatic-based movement with her clients and works primarily with people of marginalized communities including BIPOC, LGBTQI+ and survivors of complex trauma. She has received extensive training through Shakti School, Transformation Academy, Yoga and Ayurveda Center and the Center for Healing. She published her first book of poetry in early 2023 and is working on additional projects.

I originally found shakti school through Instagram and fell in love immediately! Everything about Shakti School felt like home. I am incredibly blessed to be part of such a loving, warm and compassionate community of women. The teachers are incredibly kind, caring and knowledgeable. I can't recommend shakti school enough and I look forward to level two of the program! Thank you, Katie (and everyone else!) for offering me a scholarship to attend. It has truly changed the trajectory of my life."

Instagram: Bruja_bhaddie
TikTok: Sungoddess268
Email: [email protected]

Samantha Boersma

"Samantha Boersma is a visionary, intuitive, and creatress moved by the magic available to us in every moment. She speaks the language of the flowers, acting as a bridge from spirit to physical to remind you how connected, supported, and nourished you really are. Her work intends to inspire a sense of belonging with all things and awaken you to the remembrance that all the wisdom you seek lives within you.

The work she does through The Spiral Path has been informed by the Divine Feminine teachings, embodying receptivity, deep listening, and the access we all have to the deep well of intuitive wisdom within. She works with the principles of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Tantra in collaboration with plant spirits to restore balance in the aura and encourage the mind, body, and spirit towards integrated healing."

Ginevra Are Cappiello

"Ginevra Are, M.A., is an Integrative Holistic Counselor, an Ayurveda Women's Wellness Lifestyle Coach, an Herbalist, a Yoga Teacher, and more.

She is passionate about bridging modern mental health and wellness tools with traditional practices, including from her beloved home country, Italy. Ginevra fell in love with Ayurveda when she realized that it held many secrets to teaching women the self-love and self-care practices she yearned for herself after struggling with years of anxiety and mental health issues.

Upon graduating from Shakti School in 2022, Ginevra launched Urth Herbals, a herbal line handcrafted with love and care, in small batches, from her home apothecary. All herbs used in her products are either organically grown or locally and sustainably wildcrafted from beautiful nature spots in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California where she lives.

Her signature products are 3 seasonal Abhyanga oils for whole body self-massage and to pacify the Doshas. Urth Herbal's Abhyanga oils are made with the traditional double-infused Ayurvedic method. Each small batch of herbs is first made into a strong decoction, and then transferred into the oil of choice. The mixture is left to slowly simmer on the stove on low heat for up to 48 hours, getting stronger and stronger in the process. We use both water and oil because each liquid extracts different properties from the plants so that you are sure to get the most benefits out of each herb (including minerals that your skin will love!). What is left is a potent, formulated and concentrated oil.

Ginevra created Urth Herbals to make sure her clients had access to the highest quality herbal-infused massage oils, skincare products, and other herbal blends, and also as her personal labor of love to the planet."

Website: journeytobelonging.life/about
Urth Herbals on Etsy: etsy.com/shop/UrthHerbals

Lily Russo

"I’m Lily Russo, a 500-hour ERYT Yoga Teacher and leader of Prana Vinyasa Teacher Trainings. I’ve been studying Ayurveda for the past 15 years. I became fascinated with Ayurveda when it was a part of my first yoga teacher training and love how it has transformed my relationships: with myself, with my loved ones, with food, with nature.

In 2020 I completed a 300-hour Ayurvedic Wellness Coaching training through Shakti School. I’m also in my 6th and final semester of a Master’s Degree in Maharishi Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine at Maharishi International University and set to graduate in December. My passion and purpose is sharing this healing knowledge with a world that desperately needs it. Ayurveda has helped me manage anxiety, digestive problems, and sleep struggles. It has allowed me to help many others with issues ranging from ulcers and constipation to depression, hair loss, metabolism issues, and acne.

Join me to learn more about Ayurveda in an 8-week live online course, the Ayurveda Deep Dive. The next one starts on September 5th. Find out more on my website."

Website: lilyrussoyoga.com/ayurvedadeepdive
Instagram: yoga.art.lilyrusso

Lisa Gunshore

"Lisa M. Gunshore is a tantric yogini, certified quantum coach, and functional Ayurveda wellness coach with initiations by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Her work is rooted in advocating for non-violence and compassion, with a focus on creating vitality in the body, understanding ancestry and personal genome, and purifying to raise frequency. Lisa is also a medium and shaman, supporting the healing of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies through genetic transformation and ancestral healing.

Lisa's practice addresses issues such as MTHFR, Mold exposure, Candida Overgrowth, Parasites, and shifting supplementation to natural foods. She also specializes in ancestral healing, understanding codependency, and guiding individuals in moving from a victim to a sacred creator mindset. She produces conscious content on the Buddhist Biohacker YouTube channel, her greatest passion and mission vehicle, empowering others, and promoting healing.

Lisa is also a certified yoga instructor, utilizing a compassion-centered approach that focuses on self-care and loving kindness to oneself. She emphasizes the fundamentals and basics of alignment. Additionally, Lisa is a Certified YogaSHRED instructor and Certified Block Therapy Instructor™, utilizing the Block Buddy to release adhesions and improve posture and alignment.

Lisa's dedication to empowering others and promoting healing aligns with her vows and commitment to non-violence and compassion. With her guidance, clients around the globe have found insight and transformation on their healing journeys. Her mission is to help others find balance, harmony, and freedom from suffering in their lives, embodying her teachings in her own life and empowering others on their transformational journeys."

Website: www.lisamgunshore.com

Emma Cust

"I’m Emma Cust. Since starting Ayurveda School last year I have:

- Run two successful Workshops
- Run two successful Group Cleanses
- Had over 15 clients
- Have started a podcast: Living Holistically, Realistically & Spiritually with Emma Cust
- Have started a six week online coaching program working intensively with clients to reconnect with their true self and find their dharma
- I’m about to trial a 4 week group coaching in a similar format

I currently blend my holistic experiences of: life, remedial massage, yoga, Ayurveda, general knowledge and motherhood!

I’m definitely a pitta! Haha. I’m also currently doing a social media and a sales/marketing course to help roll out my online business and set up the structure. I'm currently using Instagram as my base."

Instagram: emmacustcoaching

Discover Our Ayurveda School Graduates Part 1

Jordana Shay

"Since graduating from Shakti school, I have created my first 3 dream offers, and I am so thrilled to share them with you and my Shakti family!

DHARMA READING + STORY CLARITY INTENSIVE (Half Day)

I help guide women who are on their spiritual path, but feel burnt out, back into the story they were born to live. To find their highest calling at this moment in time. If you know you were born for something great, but don't understand how to bridge the gap between your lived story and your purpose, this is for you. Finding our purpose can be easier than we think - like a puzzle, we just need to know how to fit the pieces of our story, original essence and dharma together. We always have the answers within and with the right questions, frameworks and prompts, I'm able to help women remember who they truly are.

And, because finding our purpose can feel so hard, I make my intensives super fun and engaging - with spiritual games, dances, practices and jigsaw puzzles galore!

GAME OF GODDESSES (Half Day)

For all women who have a deep desire to step into the woman you were born to be - whether that’s to rewrite your story, share your unique medicine, or create that entrepreneurial vision. But feel stuck and resistant to moving forward in your life story.

Game of Goddesses is a women’s power reclamation journey into the story you were born to live.

Combining both the masculine outward journey towards transformation through the lense of the hero's journey, with the feminine embodied path to transformation, we deep dive into a journey of embodiment practices and rituals designed to embrace the exquisiteness of your full aliveness as a woman, the human experience and the experience of stepping into your most confident and courageous self. Practices include identifying your unspoken desires, improv identity, embodiment shadow work like dancing your shadows and connecting with how they serve and protect you, ritualizing the crossing of the threshold into the unknown and more. My goal is for you to get so comfortable and intimate with ALL of yourself, you can finally move through the fear and resistance into taking action. So you can get what you deeply want in life.

AYURVEDA INSPIRED CHILDRENS' BOOK

3 Breathes to the Sky, my very first children's book, (in audio form), an Ayurveda inspired bedtime story for kids, empowers parents and children to become the fullest version of themselves.

On this wild ride your kids will take 3 deep breaths and go on a journey all the way up to the sky where they will meet the Sun, their north Star, the Moon and Rainbow who will help them celebrate their day, show them how to connect with their ancestors for extra safety and love, and how to activate their highest creativity and fullest expression. As well as teach them about the connection between sleeping and healing. Through this book, my children have learned that being who they truly are is the greatest gift to our planet. And that is the message I would love to share with your children too."

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: thatstorychick

Abby Ampuja

"In true 'Gemini style', I have been keeping busy with many adventures since finishing Shakti School Level 1 (and starting Level 2!) I continue to run my own business, "Empowered Coaching", where I offer resiliency coaching, reiki healing, with some sweet Ayurvedic tools and wisdom peppered in (https://ampujaabby.wixsite.com/spot-of-serenity). I am planning to offer a workshop this fall for my community entitled "Ayurveda 101", and I've already gotten some keen interest when I mention it to friends and clients. I worked as a professor of Special Education at Meredith College this past year, where I offered resiliency and self-care workshops for both pre-service and in-service teachers--the 'waterfall down the back' is always a big hit! The other branch of my business ("The Empowered Learner") involves working with kids who have exceptional needs; I primarily focus on SEL (social emotional learning), resiliency, and nervous system regulation (http://empoweredcoachinggroup.com/). In a nutshell, the work I've done at Shakti School has seeped into all aspects of my life--both personally and professionally--and I couldn't be more thrilled! Grateful for this community and all that it continues to offer and teach me on my journey of evolution. Many thanks! Namaste."

A Spot of Serenity Website: ampujaabby.wixsite.com/spot-of-serenity
Empowered Coaching Website: empoweredcoachinggroup.com

Eva Peterson

"Hi, I’m Eva, a Level 2 Shakti School graduate. With over 3 years of experience as a Life Coach and Ayurvedic Health Counselor, I guide leaders and changemakers to reconnect to their intuition, their body, and the cycles of nature so that they can heal burnout, master life balance, and ultimately create the change that they want to see in the world while truly enjoying life. I'm also the host of the Happy Me Happy Earth podcast where I share self-development tools and seasonal Ayurvedic self-care practices to help you reconnect to the cycles of nature and your true self.

I strive to embody the love-based, judgment-free, feminine form of Ayurveda that I learned at the Shakti School each day. I have integrated these teachings into my unique coaching business, and continue to revisit the lectures years later as I deepen my understanding of Ayurveda. The wisdom passed on to me through the Shakti School has not only enabled me to heal myself but has also empowered me to help others reconnect to their inner healer. I’m incredibly grateful and honored to be a link in the chain of Ayurvedic healer women. It’s a powerful lineage that extends thousands of years into the past, through the Shakti School into me and my fellow Shakti sisters, and into the future for thousands of years to come!"

Website: theevapeterson.com
Podcast: Happy Me Happy Earth
Linked In: Eva Peterson
Biz Email: [email protected]

Megha Choksi

"Megha is an intuitive Energy Healer and an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach. She relocated to Abu Dhabi from Singapore where she began her journey as an Usui Reiki Practitioner. She combines her knowledge of Ayurveda along with Chakra Healing to help you release stress, find balance and gain inner clarity. Through Ayurveda Wellness Coaching, Megha will help you tap into your own body’s inner wisdom to live a life more in alignment with nature and its biological rhythms. Prior to this, she has worked in corporate for over 12 years across different geographies. Her passion and purpose in life is to support people on their self healing journey.

The Shakti School’s teachings helped to deepen my knowledge of Ayurveda and allowed me to better understand myself and my connection to nature. It taught me to be an observer without any judgment and witness how the dance of the different doshas impacts our emotions, actions and our bodies. It has helped me to manage my stress and anxiety and allowed me to live a life in alignment with nature and it’s seasons. I am grateful to Katie Silcox, who is an amazing teacher, mentor and a spirit woman. Her lectures and resources have inspired me to find my purpose in life as a healer and motivated me to share the wisdom of Ayurveda with my clients and friends and family."

Instagram: Purple Healing

Mindy Schlechter, MSW, RPYT

"Mindy Schlechter is an Ayurvedic psycho-spiritual wellness + life coach, hypnotherapist, prenatal yoga instructor, long-time labor and delivery social worker, and mama of 2. She teaches women how to hold the same nourishing space for themselves that they hold for others, and her coaching programs focus on restoring self-trust and intuition for healing. She is the owner + founder of Effloresce Coaching where she serves women who are seeking conscious conception, fertility & pregnancy health, postpartum balance, and support during early mothering years. Mindy is also deeply committed to the power of sisterhood and witnessing women along their quest for root-cause healing, as they move away from trauma and stigmatizing diagnoses and embrace their intrinsic wholeness. Mindy’s approach aims to help usher humanity into their next evolution, a consciously created “new earth” of light beings which starts by healing the women who will bear this new generation (and the lineages that will come after them!). Specific service offerings include 1:1 session work (in-person & remote) utilizing cognitive techniques like NLP and hypnosis, somatic techniques through movement/yoga, mindfulness based practices, and Ayurvedic counseling for holistic health. Effloresce also offers group coaching, prenatal yoga classes, women’s circle facilitation, and specialty workshops.

Graduating from Shakti School in 2021 allowed Mindy to finally fit all the pieces of her training together into one cohesive offering that serves mamas on all 4 levels; physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual! She is now enrolled in Level 2 and plans to deepen her offerings and scope of practice upon completion."

Claudi Sult

"Claudi is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor (600 hrs), mama, enthusiastic traveller, conscious creator and (com)passionate foodie. With her new project “Moonlit Mamas” she opened a holistic healing haven for Mamas in all stages of motherhood. Weaving together the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, Tantra & other feminine form medicine, she helps women to cultivate peace & balance, abundant energy & radical self love. Reconnecting with the woman beyond the mother & allowing her to make herself a priority! Claudi holds space through empowering workshops, 1:1 consultations and women’s circles & ceremonies, both online and offline in Portugal’s wavy Southwest coast.

Initially, I signed up to Shakti School for my personal healing. But only a few weeks in, the healer woman in me started to awaken - which has been in my lineage a long time ago, yet dormant through for many generations. The last 2 years transformed me to the depths of my tissues. I learnt to come back home into my body, heal my nervous system, open my heart, let go of my little demons, surrender and fully trust in the ever-present love and support of Mother Nature, the elements, the universe. On top of that, I found a "home" full of inspiring, light-spirited Shakti women, who continue to guide and hold me beyond our studies. Bowing to Katie & the team for gifting this to the world."

Website: moonlitmamas.com
Instagram: moonlitmamas
Email: [email protected]

Kellie Hoffman

"Shakti School did inspire me to open my own business. During level 2, I also took Brooke Sullivan’s Sage Roots 200 hour level yoga training. I like doing the combination of yoga and Ayurveda because I feel they belong together. I love bringing these teachings to my community. My business is Be Centered Health Coaching & Yoga."

Instagram: becenteredwv
Website: becenteredcoaching.com

Caterina Boutagy

"Since completing my first year of ayurveda school, I have been building an online platform called Studio Ojas. It's a space where I share ayurvedic recipes, PDF guides, and lots of yoga and body yantra (meditation) practices. Alongside Studio Ojas, I also have a yoga retreat business called Rasa Lila. I just finished up a retreat in Bali where I offered my first ayurvedic herbal wisdom workshops, and my clients absolutely loved it. I am so grateful to all that I have learned in Shakti School, and how I have been able to weave the teachings alongside my work as a yoga teacher."

Studio Ojas Website: ojas.love
Studio Ojas Instagram: studio__ojas
Rasa Lila Website: rasalilayogaretreats.com
Rasa Lila Instagram: rasa.lila.yoga.retreats

Jackie DeConti

"As a lover of many things, I am the host of Elixir Podcast, founder of Madre & The Muse, an Ayurvedic wellness company, and co-founder of Terra Sol Sanctuary, a yoga studio in Wilmington, NC.

Having graduated from Shakti School Level 2 in 2022, as an Ayurvedic lifestyle guide, I work within the realms of feminine-form Ayurveda to inspire and empower women - infusing ancient wisdom with rituals and practices accessible to the modern world. With a multifaceted background in education, yoga, art, and music, I offer one-on-one Ayurvedic wellness consultations, private and public workshops, weekly live music yoga sessions, and yoga teacher trainings. My offerings weave in mindfulness and playfulness through a variety of experiential modalities. I am so grateful to the teachings that I learned from the incredible teachers in Shakti School and the community of fellow graduates that I still am connected with today."

Website: madreandthemuse.com
Instagram: jackie_deconti

Veronica Burgess Loomis

"My passion is in helping mothers with teenage daughters shift from feeling shame, disconnection and overwhelm to feeling empowered, connected and supported to strengthen their mother-daughter bond. As a mother of two daughters, I wanted to create an offering for mothers who may have spent many years disconnected from this part of themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually. I also wanted to create a space for mothers to come together and feel supported as they are in the cycle of their daughters moving from childhood to womanhood. We need community and connection and I learned that from being in Shakti School. I have experienced firsthand how the teachings of Ayurveda and Tantra have had an impact in my own life and how I approach mothering. By integrating the feminine-form teachings from Shakti School, I was able to reconnect to my body and reclaim my story and all my parts and pieces. I found the most benefit in attuning to cyclical living and implementing womb care into my life. This allowed me the deeper connection to my own intuition and to mother from within. The more aware we are of our own cycles the more we can share this with our daughters to support them in their transitions. The teachings and the sacred container of Shakti School is something so invaluable and I can't seem to sum up in words. I deepened my understanding of myself, tapped into my heart in ways I never had before and made so many lasting connections. And I am still feeling the ripples of my time at Shakti School through my life in such a beautiful way."

Website: veronicaloomis.com
Instagram: sacredfemininecycles

Tara McKinney

"I’ve made a career out of serving others, though not in a way that always honored my needs. Ayurveda and The Shakti School helped me change that. They gave me so much more than teachings and practices. They gave me more access to the deeper layers of my being. I learned how to prioritize filling my cup and serve others from there. For that, I bow to all my teachers, including my Shakti sisters.

I recently launched two businesses. Soul in Service Consulting focuses on enhancing nonprofits’ sustainability and impact via program design and personnel development. I help nonprofits align the way staff work with the rhythms of Mama Nature in order for staff to think more clearly and creatively, feel better in their bodies, and experience a higher quality of life overall. As staff receive more aligned support, it uplevels the support they offer those they serve.

Also dear to me is accompanying women out of patterns of depletion and into ones of nourishment. Soul in Service offers Catholic women a Christian approach to wellness that helps them shift from faith as self-sacrificing service into faith as self-nourishing service. I integrate Catholic pastoral theology from my Master of Divinity (the professional degree of Catholic priests) with the teachings and practices of Ayurveda and yoga. Presently, I offer three ways to work with me: a three month group program; individual accompaniment via spiritual direction, coaching, or mindful movement; retreats and immersions."

For Soul in Service consulting, please visit soulinserviceconsulting.com or email [email protected]
For Soul in Service, please visit soulinservice.co or email [email protected]

Hadlee Garrison

"Hi I'm Hadlee, and I'm an Ayurveda Health & Life Coach, and founder of Happy Healthy with Hadlee. I help ambitious women stop the all-or-nothing cycle when it comes to their health so they can stop obsessing about their bodies and start really thriving in body, mind, and spirit. My health coaching program, Happy Healthy Habits, combines the foundational habits & routines of Ayurveda, food & body psychology, and nervous system regulation & emotional processing to help members experience greater health, energy, confidence, capacity, and joy in their everyday life.

I had coached people utilizing the wisdom of Ayurveda for 3.5 years before starting Shakti School. But Shakti School helped me bring all of these concepts so much deeper – both in my personal embodiment, and in making me a more effective coach. I especially appreciated the focus on emotional processing and nervous system support that is woven throughout Shakti School, which I haven't found in any other training. I'm so grateful to Shakti School – I have found that I'm so much more confident and compassionate with myself and others, and my clients' results have become even more profound than they were before! Thank you Katie and all the other amazing teachers in Shakti School!"

Website: happyhealthyhadlee.com
Instagram: happyhealthyhadlee
Youtube: Happy Healthy Hadlee
Podcast: Holistic Inner Balance: Natural Mental Health Balance
Offerings: Happy Healthy Habits coaching program, Ayurveda mini-course, Habit Change Master Class

Claudia Batschari

"I have started my own business already during Level 2. It is called 'Ayurveda with Claudia’ and it is all about bringing everything I have learned about Ayurveda, wellness, and the feminine etc. in the last 2 years, into my community. My interest is to empower people and to give them tools to come closer to themselves again, trust themselves, get more embodied and remember their gifts, strength and inner voice.

I have- and had already quite a few 'one on one' clients, I first started with family and friends and now the circle is growing wider and wider. I have run 2 retreats (so far with friends), done 1 workshop and 1 very successful online cleanse. I have loved it all and I am learning constantly and my head is brimming with all the ideas I have and I love immersing myself further and further into this realm which I love.

Through my time in Shakti School I have gained so much strength and trust in myself that even if a critical voice comes in, when I feel into myself even deeper, I am vey clear about what my path is- and that it will go well! I feel at home in myself and with myself and it's been the best thing I could imagine. Before I started with Shakti School I have been running my own business called zanzibar-retreats, a website for beautiful handpicked accommodation in Zanzibar, for over 15 years and it is still running strong but I have taken myself more and more out. One of my visions is to eventually run an Ayurvedic retreat in Zanzibar and thus merge these two businesses…!!!

Our little European Shakti Sister Study group is still going strong and we meet once a month online. Watching each other spreading our wings is pure magic.

I am German based in Cape Town (I am currently for a 2 months sabbatical in Berlin) and would love to also extend my offerings to Germany and globally through online options."

Sheridan Ruth

"As a somatic trauma therapist specializing in nervous system regulation for anxiety free relationships with love and money, Ayurveda school has been infused into my work and given me new ways to support my client’s nervous system’s through the deep healing process. It has also supported me as I’ve expanded into more 1:1 work and even opened up Body Based Business coaching."

Website: sheridanruth.com

Amore St Ives

"Amore has the roots of the Pacific Northwest and the spirit of the Southern Coast. She spent many of her formative years exploring the healing powers of nature in Portland Oregon that initiated her love of untethered travel and learning. She went to school at The University California - San Diego, The Art Institute, Ashford University and Shakti School of Ayurveda to follow her passion for people, movement, art and wellness. Currently she holds degrees in psychology, interior design, theatre dance and a Masters in management. She is also a certified personal trainer and wellness coach. In 2001 she served in the Peace Corps, Ghana Africa as a health and sanitation teacher to local villages. Upon returning from Africa Amore was diagnosed with two auto-immune diseases; ankylosing spondylitis and ulcerative colitis. This has only activated a deeper yearning to learn and share her experience and knowledge as a collective community of healing.

She continues to tap into her exploratory nature through her world travels, continuing education opportunities and yoga practice. She is E-RYT 500-hour yoga certified, 600-hour Ayurvedic practitioner and plans to complete her doctorate in Ayurvedic medicine and philosophy. Over the past 10 years she has facilitated countless trainings, workshops, retreats and community events integrated in yoga, nutrition and whole life wellness. Currently she is the CEO of Modrn Medicin, a wellness center including yoga, Ayurvedic café and treatment room in San Diego, CA.

Modrn Medicin: Modrn Medicin uses a whole system approach to wellness through the inclusion of nutrition, movement and community. Our storefront location in San Diego, California offers health enhancing foods and drinks that are infused with medicinal plants. We include the benefits of these healing remedies as part of the MM experience as well as offer educational workshops. Our menu evolves seasonally to enhance the restorative effects of plant based medicine. MM also offers movement classes, sound healing, community acupuncture and special events. Our community can also work with a private Ayurvedic counselor for customized health plans.

Shakti school has been instrumental in solidifying the root foundation of Ayurvedic healing for my own wellness journey, the services I offer my private Ayurvedic clients and the core values of my Ayurvedic company, Modrn Medicin. It also empowered me with the confidence to open the first physical Ayurvedic cafe in San Diego, California. I am so thankful for the community that Shakti school created for us and the endless opportunities to share the wonders of this ancient healing. It will be a part of me and my dharmic service always."

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: modrnmedicin

Crystal Hoshaw

"I've been studying and embodying Ayurveda in my life since my teens, but Shakti School finally gave me a way to synthesize my learnings and become certified so I can help others. Through my business, Simple Wild Free, I offer group and 1:1 coaching for women to make peace with their bodies and their plates through embodied eating. Using the wisdom of Ayurveda, intuitive eating, somatic practices, and mindful self-compassion, I teach the techniques and the mindset shifts necessary for receiving deep nourishment from food—on the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. Shakti School has been a huge catalyst in my work, as the community itself has the depth and self-awareness to reflect on how we apply Ayurveda to our own lives. Through the wisdom of the SS teachers, I saw that even Ayurveda isn't immune to the ills of wellness culture, and that a compassionate, feminine, and embodied approach is the key for myself and thousands of women out there to find true healing and self-acceptance."

Instagram: simple.wild.free

Emily Iannuzzelli

"Seasons IV was founded by two sisters who struggled to find seasonally appropriate skin care. Inspired by Ayurveda, each formulation is designed to provide your skin exactly what it needs in the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. We source the highest quality ingredients so you can glow year-round! Emily Iannuzzelli is a graduate of Shakti School and was inspired by Meredith's Klines skincare module. Recognizing how much work it takes to learn Ayurveda, Emily wanted to translate the wisdom of Ayurveda for clients who may not have the time or resources to dedicate to studying. Emily has also translated the wisdom of Shakti School into several offerings at her improv theater in Baltimore including "Improv and the Nervous System," "Meditation for Improv," and "Improv as a Mindfulness Practice.

Emily Iannuzzelli is a graduate of Shakti School and was inspired by Meredith's Klines skincare module. Recognizing how much work it takes to learn Ayurveda, Emily wanted to translate the wisdom of Ayurveda for clients who may not have the time or resources to dedicate to studying. Emily has also translated the wisdom of Shakti School into several offerings at her improv theater in Baltimore including "Improv and the Nervous System," "Meditation for Improv," and "Improv as a Mindfulness Practice."

DaLisa Fritts

"I’m DaLisa, a Certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor, RYT-200 Yoga Instructor, fur mama and people person. A few of my favorite things are sun dresses, being barefoot in the grass, and a fully stocked kitchen.

My wellness journey started in my 20’s, but really I had struggled all my life with my health. My journey actually began when I became aware that even though all my issues were “normal” they didn’t have to be my reality.

I wanted more for myself, my future, and my family. I wanted to feel like the best version of myself everyday, and to bring that feeling of wholeness out in other women. To be a source of education, empowerment and support - the stuff we didn’t learn or have access to growing up.

DaLisa Fritts is a certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor specializing in women’s health from the Shakti School of Ayurveda. She is the founder of Blooming Luna Wellness where her mission is to educate, empower & support women on their life-long wellness journey. Specializing in stress management, nervous system work and loving awareness, DaLisa uses Ayurvedic practices, yoga, self-care and breathwork to help clients tune into their body’s wisdom & restore healthy balance in their life. By reconnecting to our natural rhythms through seasonal foods, herbs, spices, daily practices, movement & self care we can tap into the body’s inner wisdom and restore balance in our digestion, sleep, and mental health.

DaLisa works in-person & virtually one-on-one as well as hosts workshops & retreats with women of all ages and life-stages to help them feel their best, bring awareness to their unique needs, and take control of their health."

Diana Damian

"Peristeam Hydrotherapist and Ayurvedic Wellness Coach since 2020, born and raised in Romania, living in Berlin since 2009. Pelvic Steaming with a plan is my jam. I combine my knowledge of Ayurveda and Pelvic Steaming to balance out the reproductive system. Since my training I have supported women in getting pregnant naturally, managing endometriosis and fibroids, dissolving cysts and trauma, balancing out painful periods and cycles as well as vaginal infections, during labor preparation and postpartum recovery, as well as in welcoming the menopause with ease. My next project is to approach teens and the menarche, to "start them young" and have an impact on the long run. On my website you can find podcasts, testimonials and blog articles.

I work as a steam guide, with constant support via chat or email over a span of 1, 2 or 4 months - depending on what timeline suits the client best. Having someone on your side during the changes which come with pelvic steaming is an important part of the healing journey. After filling out the (menstrual analysis) intake form I create a tailored steam plan including Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle guidelines according to your symptoms. Depending on the root causes, steaming might not be enough. In the end it all comes down to your digestion, both physically and mentally. Ayurvedic guidelines support you in increasing your digestion on all levels which impacts directly the reproductive system."

Website: steamylicious.com
Youtube: steamylicious
Instagram: steamylicious
Facebook: steamylicious

Zeynep Kesmis

"As a mother of two, it has been a challenge to remember to take care of myself and Shakti School just provided me the gentlest space to do that. The whole year was a journey to myself. This endless journey is one that I could not go alone. I feel so grateful for having joined this community and having learnt so much. All the teachers and Katie have affected my life in many ways and whenever I practice Ayurveda, I remember all the lovely teachers we had, the authentic ways they each told us their approaches. There really is something so magical about this school that is hard to put into words for me! I simply cherished the wisdom and compassion conveyed.

After receiving so much love and light, it was inevitable for me to share what I experienced. To fulfill that, I had the courage – putting myself out there is usually the least I like to do - to establish a personal website where I could connect and provide hopefully similar support that I received in my own journey.

I just feel that this positivity has a big ripple effect and we are all connected much more than we realize. This website is practically me practicing to follow my heart!"

Website: mysankalpa.org
Instagram: mysankalpa_ayurvedicwellness

What It Means to Get ‘Juicy’ and Why You Should Try It

By Crystal Hoshaw

A few things might come to mind when you hear the word juicy, but I’m not talking about couture or the Notorious B.I.G.

Getting juicy doesn’t have anything to do with squeezing into a velour tracksuit or sporting curves like the Kardashians.

It’s an inside-out affair that has to do with every layer of the self, from the subtle to the most physical. In fact, being juicy is one of the telltale signs of radiant, whole-person health.

So what does it really mean? In simplified terms, being juicy refers to lubrication.

So much of the body depends on lubrication for optimum health, from the joints to the mouth to the eyes to the sexual organs.

On a more microscopic level, the skin relies on lubrication in the form of collagen—a protein—and ceramides, a fat necessary to protect the skin from the elements as well as pathogens.

Plus, there’s even an emotional element to lubrication, if metaphorical. Think bouncing back from difficult emotions, resilience in hard times, or letting things roll off you like a big rubber raincoat.

The best way to think about the type of lubrication I’m talking about is to picture a big, juicy grape. Then compare it to a raisin. The raisin is dried up and shriveled, and doesn’t contain nearly the same amount of water as the grape.

When it comes to wellness, we’re going for the grape.

Giving juiciness a name: Ojas

While there’s no equivalent for this type of all-encompassing lubrication in Western medicine, there is a name for it in Ayurveda: ojas.

Sometimes translated as “vital fluids,” ojas is the juicy quality that makes life feel abundant, insulates us from the cold, and acts as a pathway for pleasure.

Without it, life is dull, dry, brittle, and tight. It not only lacks hydration—it lacks flexibility, adaptability, and that je ne sais quoi, in-the-flow vibe that brings about joy.

The lubrication that ojas provides is also responsible for immunity, as ojas feeds the mucous membranes and ceramides layer that are integral in keeping out infection.

Physical effects of low ojas

When it comes to the physical body, there are several physical symptoms that may point to a lack of ojas:

dry skin and lips
brittle hair and nails
scanty sweating
dry mucous membranes
premature wrinkles
reduced immunity
vaginal dryness

An extreme lack of ojas can actually affect the nervous system and the cerebrospinal fluid, which provides nutrients to and protects the brain and spine.

The nerves themselves are wrapped in a layer of myelin, a plasma membrane that helps protect them and contains the electrical impulses they carry.

Without myelin, the nerves can become like livewires, which can be the beginning of a number of neurodegenerative disorders.

Psychological effects of low ojas

Since ojas impacts the nerves, brain, and spine, it may not come as a surprise that the juiciness of ojas—or lack thereof—can affect the emotions as well.

Psychological effects of low ojas can include:

insecurity
anxiety
paranoia
feeling ungrounded
feeling unsafe, or like you don’t belong
fatigue and tiredness
brain fog and poor memory

Needless to say, ojas is a must on both a physical and psycho-emotional level.

When it comes down to it, ojas could be considered the closest physiological correlate to self-love. As such, it’s the core as well as the byproduct of a healthy wellness routine that’s focused on deep well-being.

In other words, ojas is the refined essence of life that makes us feel like we’re wrapped in a big, warm, protective hug.

How to get juicy from the inside out

Now you know how essential ojas is for feeling your best, inside and out. Here’s how to dive into juiciness in every aspect of life.

Focus on the sweet

While diet culture so often tells us to shun sweet things, ojas relies on sweetness to grow and flourish.

However, sweetness doesn’t just come from sugary foods like cookies and cake. There are a whole host of things that can bring sweetness into your life, like:

a tender hug from a loved one
giving yourself a slow, sensual massage
a heart-to-heart chat with a dear friend
a cozy cuddle-up with a warm blanket, a tea, and a good book
listening to uplifting, inspiring music
surrounding yourself with colors that energize you
placing fresh plants or flowers throughout your space
eating your favorite comfort foods (especially when cooked with love!)

When you reframe sweet to encompass more than just the tub of ice cream in the freezer, you can start to meet your craving for sweet from other places.

It doesn’t mean you have to skip the sweet foods—it’s just a way to expand where you get your sweetness from.

The bottom line is that when you crave sweet, it’s often a deeper craving than the desire for sugar. It often speaks to a more subconscious desire for:

rest
calm
love
affection
tenderness
softness
a sense that you’re safe, held, and belong

By regularly and intentionally giving yourself the sweetness you crave in a variety of ways, you can reduce your dependence on any single source.

This can do wonders for the quality of your diet just as much as it can for the quality of your relationships!

Take hydration to the next level

If getting juicy is the opposite of feeling dried out, then hydration can help you get there.

Hydration can happen on so many levels, from getting enough water to using your favorite moisturizer.

Here are some quick tips for getting deeply hydrated:

Drink plenty of water.
Add sea salt or trace minerals to your water.
Eat healthy fats like ghee and avocado oil.
Keep your skin barrier happy and protected with oils and moisturizers.

How much water is “plenty?” About half to one ounce per pound of body weight, according to Penn Medicine.

Salt and trace minerals can help add back important macro and micro minerals to the body. These are important for a number of reasons, including:

cardiovascular health
bone and skeletal tissue health
cell metabolism
maintaining pH balance
regulating nerve and muscle function

They also contain important electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium that support healthy hydration by affecting the amount of water your body retains.

Make fat your friend

As mentioned above, healthy fat is one way to moisturize the body from the inside out. Adding healthy fats to your diet ensures your tissues are getting enough lubrication (read: juiciness).

According to a 2021 review, omega−3 fatty acids can protect against metabolic disorders and chronic disease by increasing α-linolenic acid (ALA) in the diet.

There are a number of great dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, including:

walnuts
edamame
beans
chia seeds
hemp seeds
flax seeds
tofu
seaweed
fish like salmon, mackerel, and anchovies
MCT oil

Of course, you can always add an omega-3 supplement to your diet too.

According to Ayurveda, ghee, or clarified butter, is considered an ideal healthy fat that’s used in cooking as well as body care.

Along with being high in omega-3’s, ghee is a great source of butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that may help reduce inflammation and support digestive health. It’s also high in antioxidants and fat soluble vitamins.

Healthy fats are incredibly beneficial for the health of a number of body systems, but it’s still important to maintain balance in your fat intake.

Moisturizing 3.0

You may know that moisturizing is essential for skin health, but there’s so much more to moisturizing than just applying lotion or serum.

Ayurveda recommends self-massage with oil, also known as Abhyanga, on the daily.

This practice is incredibly soothing and relaxing when done with patience, presence, and care. It also often involves medicated oils or ghees that are deeply nourishing to the skin.

These oils may also include herbal blends for encouraging specific health outcomes, and can be warmed to help open the pores for increased absorption.

Applying warm oil to the entire body from head to toe each day is a wonderful way to send a signal to your body that it’s loved, nourished, and cared for.

It’s also a sure-fire way to up your juiciness.

The takeaway

Getting juicy goes beyond the surface level. It’s about bringing on the ooey-gooey love into every aspect of your health, from your emotions to your diet to your skin.

With a few simple lifestyle habits, you can be dripping with juiciness—in other words, glowing with self-love from the inside out.

Sources:

Ahmad R. (2015). How Much Water Do You Need Each Day?. https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2015/may/how-much-water-do-you-need-each-day

Bali S, et al. (2019). Ghee: the much maligned cooking medium, now slowly reclaiming its

therapeutic reputation. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharadendu-Bali/publication/356498949_Ghee_-_The_Cooking_Medium_for_Good_Health/links/631d8079071ea12e3624b02a/Ghee-The-Cooking-Medium-for-Good-Health.pdf

Borycka-Kiciak K, et al. (2017). Butyric acid – a well-known molecule revisited. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497138/

Chycki J, et al. (2017). The effect of mineral-based alkaline water on hydration status and the metabolic response to short-term anaerobic exercise. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5676322/

Gaffney-Stomberg E. (2018). The Impact of Trace Minerals on Bone Metabolism. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-018-1583-8

Han F, et al. (2019). Neuroinflammation and Myelin Status in Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Normal Aging Brains: A Small Sample Study. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/pd/2019/7975407/

Kumar Saini K, et al. (2021). Omega−3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs): Emerging Plant and Microbial Sources, Oxidative Stability, Bioavailability, and Health Benefits—A Review. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/10/10/1627

Mohammadifard N, et al. (2017). Trace minerals intake: Risks and benefits for cardiovascular health. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2017.1406332

Morell P, et al. (n.d.). The Myelin Sheath. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK27954/

About Crystal

Crystal Hoshaw has been a student of yoga since 2004 and a student of Ayurveda since 2007. She earned her Ayurvedic Wellness Coach certification from The Shakti School after years of on-site study in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Thailand. She marries her knowledge of Ayurveda, mindfulness, and yogic philosophy through coaching and courses at www.simplewildfree.com. You can also find her on Instagram.

2023 Ayurveda School Scholarship Recipients

We are happy to announce the following 2023 Ayurveda School scholarship winners. Thank you for all your soulful and love-filled participation. We deeply appreciate all of the honesty and effort poured into the submissions. Our team watched every single video sent and felt truly inspired by many! Without further ado, below are some of the recipients of this year's 2023 winners and their testimonials.

Rosa Rodriguez | Austin, Minnesota | @brujabonita_

"Hola! My name is Rosa, born and raised in Texas, but have made Minnesota my home for over 20 years. My roots come from a Mexican decent, both my parents and older siblings were born and raised in Mexico and I couldn’t be more blessed to have that fire running through my veins. I found Ayurveda very interesting because all of the wonderful approaches to healing oneself through natural medicine and not a one size fits all kind of scheme. I grew up where folk medicine is a traditional way of healing and finding remedies through nature is very common (mind, body & soul). I truly believe this knowledge will add so much more to my current lifestyle and most importantly help me, help others, in finding their way of healing for their own bodies (physically, mentally and spiritually). I also plan on finding ways to incorporate both Ayurveda and folk medicine together to help not only continue my healing journey, but guiding others looking for alternative ways to western medicine. Ayurveda adds so much consistency to my ~Bruja Bonita~ creation and leads me to wholeheartedly believe I am on the right path. I am completely over the moon having received this scholarship for Shakti School and my heart is filled with gratitude! Thank you so much for this opportunity! Para siempre agradecida."

Gretchen Clore | Indiana | @gretchenlouiseclore

"Originally, I was led to Ayurveda via my past yoga teacher trainings. I wanted to study Ayurveda more in-depth, but it took me nearly 3 years to find a school/program that felt right for me. I found The Shakti School through Brett Larkin and Nicole Foos. After listening to Katie's Spirit Sessions podcasts, I was hooked! This program is a perfect fit for my lifestyle as I teach yoga part-time, recently remarried, and am a bonus momma for an 11-year old girl who is involved in lots of extracurriculars.

I was worried about "fitting in" because I am 56-1/2. The study of Ayurveda appeals to me more than ever now because it is helping me navigate the menopausal years in a more natural and compassionate way. As a vata dosha type, I have all of the tendencies: anxiety; dry skin, hair, tongue; cold hands/feet, fast walking, love of travel, hatred of being in one place, doing too many things at one time, understanding concepts immediately but then forgetting them just as easily. My natural tendencies impacted my experience of menopause by disturbing my already-fragile sleep. I'm happy to report that I'm finally in a place where I can slow down and really lean into this experience. My tribe is helping me to remember that Love is Strengthening Me, and Self Doubt is Weakening Me. As I inhale, my mantra is "Stay in my heart"; as I exhale, my mantra is "Live less in the mind".

Thank you Shakti School for believing in me and giving me this incredible opportunity to be situated in the truth of who I am."

Julee Davidson | Michigan | @juleestar

"Hi my name is Julee Davidson and I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am to have been chosen for a partial scholarship with The Shakti School. The unconditional love and support that this community of women has given to not only myself but to thousands of women throughout the world is both amazing and awe inspiring!

For years I have suffered with migraines and intestinal issues along with being scattered and unfocused, but thanks to Ayurveda and the Shakti School I am completely healed, not only of physical issues but my life has opened like a beautiful lotus flower to living a spiritual life full of beauty and purpose.

My goal is to transform others' lives like I was through the Shakti School with Katie and all the wonderful teachers we had. This experience continues to hold that sacred space for me! Om Shanti Shanti Shanti"

Taylor Iverson | Canada

"My name is Taylor and I come from a small town in Northwestern Ontario. Like many, it was Yoga that sent me on a journey to travel and search for the deeper roots of this wild reality we call life. I first dabbled in the wisdom of Ayurveda during a yoga course and knew I would one day return to it. Shakti school has been beyond what I could have imagined, making the ancient teachings so accessible to us 21st century women. I'm currently living on the west coast of Canada, a student of creative writing at Vancouver Island University and Yoga Therapeutics at Ajna Yoga Centre. My hopes are to be able to use my voice, both on paper and with clients within my community to help resurface the nature-knowledge that is timeless. It's been just short of a decade since I've first embarked, and the change that's happened in that time, within mainstream health's openness and confidence in these practices, is amazing."

Katricia Kelly | Las Vegas, Nevada | @katriciakellyyoga

"I am a San Francisco native that has made Las Vegas her home for the past 28 years. I love the desert landscape and its scenic views. If I could hike every week I would as the mountains bring me so much peace and calmness. But, when the trail isn't available, then you can catch me hanging out with my cute little dog Tazzy or inside of a yoga studio. Either taking a class or teaching one. I'm also a huge foodie and love supporting my local restaurants. I've been a yoga teacher since 2015 and I can honestly say that achieving this goal has been one of my biggest accomplishments. I feel that combining Ayurveda with yoga will benefit my students even more. They both look at the human being as a whole. They compliment each other and would be beneficial for self healing all around. I would love to incorporate workshops and private sessions for the Las Vegas community. Offering a complete package of love & wellness!"

Leanne Warren | Massachusetts | @lwarren05

"Hi 🙂 My name is Leanne Warren and I am from Littleton, MA! I am truly so grateful to The Shakti School and the scholarship program for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow. Being a part of this Ayurveda community and being introduced to so many people across the world is truly a beautiful thing that is hard to put into words. I have to give a huge shoutout to Nikki Nie, a Level 1 Shakti School graduate who is now enrolled in Level 2, who introduced me to the world of Yoga, Ayurveda, and loving myself first. Finding Nikki and this path has put me on such a divine journey of self-healing, self-love and exploring knowledge.

I knew that 2023 was the year that I would expand my mind and gain knowledge in so many fields that I love. I am here to learn more about the overarching beauty that is Ayurveda, what it means, how to use these practices, and how to balance myself first before I apply that knowledge to others. Maybe this course will bring me to the work of helping and healing others but first I need to help and heal myself. Whether I share this knowledge professionally or personally, these Ayurvedic tools will always be a constant in my life. It really is such an honor to be taught this sacred knowledge and I know The Shakti School will only push me closer to the life I want to live!"

Fanny Akasha | Berlin | @fanny.akasha

"My name is Fanny, I am originally from France, based now in Berlin for many years. I used to work in a marketing company for many years, until I finally found the courage to quit, as I could feel it was not fulfilling me, I was very stressed and at the same time I got diagnosed with endometriosis, and had to do a surgery.

I needed to change some things in my life, and I also refused to take the pills that would suppress my menstruation. So I had to look for alternative ways to heal myself. The practice of yoga has helped me a lot and through yoga I discovered Ayurveda. I discovered Katie two years ago and was dreaming of joining her training as I am a big fan of her teaching. Also, the feminine approach to Ayurveda really resonates with me.

I am teaching yoga in Berlin, but the yoga scene here is very competitive and hard to live only with yoga teaching, i was combining it with working in a restaurant. Then I had an amazing opportunity to volunteer in India in an ashram and improve my yoga teaching.

Now I am back here with the huge luck of being part of Shakti School and I am developing a yoga and ayurveda coaching for women who suffer from endometriosis. I am trusting that it will work. I can already integrate the teaching from the shakti school into my life, my relationship, my works, I am so grateful. Thank you!"

Michelle Taylor | Dorset, UK | @michellemaslintaylor

"I’m a yoga and reiki teacher based in the UK. Ayurveda is something I’ve felt called to study more for some time but all the training and books I came across were really prescriptive and didn’t feel at all flexible or easily applicate to modern life as a busy yoga teacher and mum of three - I felt like I had failed before even getting started. Enter Katie! I just love her approach to Ayurveda, simplifying and taking what you can without guilt over not “doing it all perfectly”. My mission is to support stressed out, burnout yogis for whom yoga alone is just not enough to create the balanced nervous system and healthy body and mind they crave. I see an epidemic of burnt out yoga teachers who are running themselves ragged running from class to class without nurturing themselves. My vision is to see these teachers including Ayurvedic principles and rituals to support them in a way that can work with their schedules and support their own health and wellness while they hold space for others."

Leighton Murphy | Chile | @bellyandsoulwellness & bellyandsoulwellness.com

"Hi, my name is Leighton Murphy. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon. The twists and turns of life have led me to the Chilean Patagonia, which I have called home for the past six years. I dedicate myself to growing my food, tending to our animals, raising a resilient child, and being a Health Coach. My motivation to grow my own food sustainably comes from a love for this marvelous and generous planet and this body I have been blessed with. I am fascinated by learning how to best nurture it in a sustainable way that cycles with the seasons and with us females. My coaching currently focuses on helping women return to the magic of cooking, fermenting, and locally sourcing their food. I plan to continue to Level 2 Ayurveda School after this year and become an Ayurvedic Health Consultant. My true passion within all of this is the sacredness of childbearing. I aspire to one day have a thriving practice as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, focusing on holistically nurturing and supporting Mamas, before, during, and after pregnancy."

Irene Díez| Spain | @irene10yoga

"My first encounter with ayurveda helped with some digestive issues that were bugging me for a long time, it was such a simple yet effective solution that I got hooked and wanted to learn more. Fast forward quite a few years... during my recent pregnancy but most profoundly during postpartum, ayurveda has been a key practice to bring myself back to balance. I've been craving community, ancestral knowledge, and support. I feel that in our western culture this has somehow got lost... It's my deepest desire to bring this wisdom and intuitive approach to mamas and babies, especially during postpartum because let's be real, the fourth trimester it's just not enough! I'm also super lit up to share with my yoga and movement community. Feeling lucky and blessed to be part of this, thank you!!!"

Jasmine Jelsema | West Olive, MI | @jasminejelsema & jasmineapothecary.com

"It feels so amazing that I have already put some of my ayurvedic wisdom into practice. A few of my friends have told me that certain information I have shared just seems to stick. Ayurveda makes sense and as I explore more profoundly, I notice that so much of the ayurvedic teaching is solidifying my own internal wisdom. It is like the universe is confirming my intuition, "you are right". There is so much that I want to do/ can do with my Ayurveda Education. Currently, I am a reiki energy healer, yoga teacher, and artist. I also work as a creative learning associate at an art museum and a writer for a local blog. After studying Alternative Medicine at Evergreen State College. I discovered a deep passion for teaching at an outdoor nature school. Initially, I plan to continue to incorporate ayurveda into my reiki sessions. It has helped me to gain more knowledge and be introduced to vocabulary that is conducive to my healing sessions. In the future, I plan to offer health coaching services and create holistic courses inspired by ayurveda and reiki."

Mahashweta Sengupta | India | @learning_with_missmaha

"Hi there, beautiful people, Namaste! I am Mahasweta Sengupta, a passionate school educator and trainer with over 9 years of experience in the world of education! I am currently living in India! I started off as a French language specialist and slowly took up responsibility and became a lead teacher and now I’m heading the Primary years and looking at promoting wellness and Social emotional learning across the school (need of the hour)!

I grew up in Pondicherry, in a progressive school called Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education where I got interested in wellness as it was a big part of our curriculum! I am a lifelong learner and consider myself grateful to be able to have the freedom to grow and learn every day! My love for ayurveda and the deep wisdom of ancient India drew me to this wonderful course and I am really looking forward to spreading the knowledge of Ayurveda and becoming more aware of myself through this journey! I can’t wait to tap into the magic and wonders of Ayurveda and truly live through this course more deeply!

Through this course I am sure to impact wellness in its truest forms and promote it in a more holistic way back into the classrooms to the young budding changemakers - the students! Did you ever wonder what a powerful impact it would be, if children had access to the magic and wisdom of Ayurveda and learnt to live more in tune with themselves and really understand the science of life?

What if we did not have to wait long to comprehend and incorporate the truths of sustainable and holistic living right from an early age? I bet it would make all the difference!

I can’t wait to demystify the truths of life and take my health into my hands and start my journey by tapping into my being with intention, joy, love and purpose and by spreading the knowledge and magic to the children and my community! I am so thankful and thrilled for this amazing opportunity, so grateful to the entire Shakti school team and of course to Katie Silcox for creating this school! If you are looking for an empowering course on Ayurveda, one that fits into the modern lifestyle and schedule, look no further, you’ve found the right place!"

Mylinda Ogundipe | Ohio | @the_worlds_linda

"My name is Mylinda Ogundipe and I live in Northwest Ohio with my husband and our daughter. I am currently a 200 hour certified yoga teacher, a mindfulness coach, and am in the process of becoming a yoga therapist. My interest in the health and wellness space was sparked by my desire to increase the health of my daughter, who was born with Sickle Cell Disease, an inherited blood disorder that causes organ damage as well as pain in various parts of the body. Our research into holistic support maintained that a healthy diet, yoga, and meditation could help manage this disease, so after a deep dive into yoga, I found Ayurveda. My initial interests in this program was to help my daughter and others living with Sickle Cell Disease. I still want to specialize in assisting those with Sickle Cell Disease, yet after being exposed to all the good that Ayurveda can do, I have expanded my focus to include individuals living with chronic pain in general. As a woman of color, I also believe that Ayurveda can serve as a protective factor against the disparities faced at all points of the motherhood journey, so I would like to expand my focus to help women of color along the path of motherhood. My ultimate goal would be to marry this Ayurvedic knowledge with yoga therapy in order to assist as many people in as many ways as possible. I know this Ayurvedic journey has just begun, and I am so very excited to learn more! Thank you so much for this scholarship opportunity!"

Michelle Murphy | Vancouver, BC, Canada | @puravedaa

"I spend my time homeschooling my 14yo daughter and we currently incorporate Ayurveda as part of our curriculum. I am using Ayurveda to understand my own health challenges and hope to be able to utilize what I learn to address some long standing concerns. If I am able to assist others in a meaningful way, I will happily share this new found knowledge."

Lori | San Francisco, CA

"I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and pretty much have lived in California my whole life. I have over twenty years of a strong business background, and over twenty years of dedicated yoga practice. In 2015 I earned my certified yoga teacher training certificate of which I am very proud!

In 2006 my health and life veered, and in approx 2015, they took a hard left.

My doctor led me to Ayurveda last year, and I purchased Katie’s HHS book and couldn’t put it down. I happened to see the Shakti Ayurveda School was offering scholarships for 2023, and I applied last summer.

Last September I flew out of state for an appointment and left it with very low spirits. I was happily shocked to get back to my hotel room and receive Sarah’s message that I had been awarded a scholarship for Shakti School. I was beside myself. I was so filled with gratitude, and in the midst of everything I’d been through, I felt like I’d gotten my first break. As great as I thought Shakti School was going to be, it’s been so much more.

A few weeks into the curriculum, wondering if I would ever learn the words, I woke up in the very early am hours one day with Ayurvedic doshic language running through my head. It was all there, in the Ayurveda, the Rishis knew what they were talking about.

I’m not exactly sure how my Ayurveda education will manifest itself out there, but I have a feeling it’s going to be much bigger than I’d even imagined. I’m already sharing what I’ve learned with others, and even “diagnosing” them ; ) And for this, I am so grateful again. : )"

LaToya Jones | Richmond, Virginia | @yoga_enchantress & www.rootedandcrowned.com

"Hi, I’m LaToya Maria! I am a therapeutic yoga teacher, feminine embodiment guide and wellbeing educator with an intentional focus on women’s health. I'm the founder of Rooted & Crowned, a collective devoted to creating bespoke holistic wellness experiences for women. Known by many as an energy alchemist, I passionately guide women on a holistic journey into embodiment, liberation, and ease. My devotion to mindbody intimacy led me to yoga as a personal practice in 2015. In 2017 I took a sabbatical from work and traveled to India to study yoga philosophy where I completed my hatha yoga and meditation teacher training in Rishikesh, India. I have over 15 years of energy and movement-centered well-being expertise which contributed to the development of my signature style, Enchanted Flow- aimed at increasing reproductive health, honoring women’s cyclical nature, and expanding innate wisdom to support overall well-being. After spending 10 years living outside of my home country, losing my job in 2020 and grieving my father’s death in 2022, I found myself in deep need of care. I found my way back to Ayurveda through the comfort of food, rest and healing touch. I rediscovered Shakti School last year and felt a spark of light shine within me that said, “this is a practice that not only supports you, but the women and girls you hold space for.” I intend to bring Ayurveda for the female form into my community in an accessible way. I envision myself facilitating workshops and retreats that can transform women across all socioeconomic statuses. Wellness and wellbeing isn’t a luxury, it is our birthright! I am so grateful for this scholarship and to be a part of this community. I intend to move on to Level II next year."

Lisa Chan | Wales, UK | @shakti_lisa & lovelettersfromshaktilisa.wordpress.com

"Hi, my name is Lisa. I am absolutely thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Women's Ayurveda Tantra Course Level 1 on a partial scholarship for the whole of 2023. I am an intuitive creatrix with the ability to feel and sense emotions from others and the collective. I am deeply passionate about personal development especially in the field of women's health on all levels.

I have been on the spiritual path for the last 15 years which started due to major health challenges in dealing with chronic pain, which I was able to heal from but then returned in a different form in my body. It has given me the gift of going deeper into the healing heart space and to learn to trust this journey I'm on.

When I traveled to Kerala in 2017 it sparked my interest in Ayurveda. A year later I started my studies in naturopathic nutrition which I am still loving today. Now feels like the right time to bring Ayurveda into my life. Being part of the Shakti School this year will support me further with my studies knowing I am here to be part of the conversation of bringing back Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Age in the rise of the Divine Feminine and female empowerment. My areas of interest include spirituality, holistic health, nutrition, tantra and many other subjects that support us as women.

In following my path, I want to show other women that despite health challenges, when we learn to love and honour ourselves where we are we can create space and invitation for love, healing and empowerment that ripples out into the world, our lives and the Universe. It gives us the courage to step back into the remembrance of who we are."

Jenny Ebelke | Kansas City, Kansas

"Hi everyone! My name is Jenny Ebelke and I live in Kansas City, Kansas. I am a retired Firefighter Paramedic and recently started teaching Emergency Medicine at a local University to chiropractic students. I also teach students at a local community college the skills and assessments they will need to become First Responders, EMTs, and Paramedics. While I worked in the field, I didn't always take the best care of myself or my mental health. After an injury forced me to retire from the field due to permanent deficits, I began a long journey of self-healing and self-love. I have made leaps and bounds in the last 4.5 years since retiring and will be a life-long learner/practitioner of self-love, yoga, and Ayurveda. One of the things I accomplished that has helped me grow was becoming a Certified Life Coach helping others evaluate their lives based on 7 key areas to figure out where they are currently, and where they want to go. The one category I'm most excited for is the "Fitness" category which includes all things mental and physical in regards to health. I'm completing my yoga instructor certification shortly and I am thoroughly LOVING Shakti School! I have learned so much in these past few months and can't wait to incorporate my Ayurveda knowledge into my coaching career. Thank you so much for this opportunity!!"

Aminah Thomas | New Orleans, Louisiana | @givinglifewellness

"Greetings, my name is Aminah Thomas, and I have been certified as a Holistic Wellness Consultant and Yoga Instructor. In this life, I have the divine pleasure of guiding and raising four beautiful children. I am also blessed to have a magnificent husband to partner with on the amazing journey.

I was introduced to Ayurveda through my yoga teacher training, and it quickly became one of my favorite parts of the course. The more I learned, the more I was called to learn more. How grateful am I that ayurveda has found me? Extremely grateful!!!! Coupled with yoga, meditation and breathwork, ayurveda has changed how I interact with myself and the world.

My life story is filled with several synchronicities that have led me here, to The Shakti School. I am so honored that I have been gifted the opportunity to learn in this beautiful environment of loving and knowledgeable beings of wisdom. It brings me so much joy knowing that I get to integrate the practices of ayurveda for my own healing, and ultimately, I will share what I have embodied with others so that they may create a healing space within themselves. I am here to absorb, embody and share. I see myself sharing Ayurveda with people in this world who look like me, and whose hearing connects with my words."

Cindy Ward Schrick | Minnesota, USA | @cindyward__ & www.cindyward.co

"My name is Cindy Ward Schrick and I live in St. Paul, Minnesota, my hometown. With a background in psychology, art and business I worked mostly abroad in Marketing and left it quite happily as my two boys were born just 17 months apart. After a traumatic end to a toxic marriage I repatriated back home. I first experienced Ayurveda during my divorce through a neighbor who taught at the European Academy of Ayurveda. I did an at home group cleanse with her and couldn’t believe how incredibly nourished I felt at a time when I was completely depleted!

Upon returning home another traumatic event happened- my eldest son wasn’t returned following a visit with his dad in Germany. I supported myself and my youngest son who was with me through the shock and traumatic loss. Mostly for my own healing and growth I did training in Breathwork. Once out on the other side I was fortunate to win several scholarships that enabled me to become a certified Co-active Coach and Relational Trauma Coach. I often work at the intersection of Coaching and trauma and know from my own experience that Ayurveda holds a life wisdom that is needed in our trauma infused world. I’m not sure exactly what it will look like but I know as I integrate Ayurveda in my own life there will be an integration with my coaching and ripple out to others. As I’ve studied Vedic spiritual teachings with Ayurvedic teacher Acharya Shunya, my heart has been tuned in to Katie and Shakti School’s feminine form for years; so of course I was beyond happy dancing when Sarah shared that I had won a partial scholarship!!

With love and gratitude to be here with all of you <3"

Gabriela Beatriz | Brisbane, Australia

"Hi, my name is Gabriela. I am originally from Brazil, currently living in Brisbane, Australia, and loving every second of Shakti School! I’m profoundly touched by these teachings and very grateful for this amazing opportunity.

Growing up I found myself many times longing for guidance, growth, wholeness, and healing from a community led by women. Unfortunately, modern life had made this yearning difficult because most women are disconnected from community and also from their own bodies and important rites of passage.

So, my deep desire is to be able to create a space where women from different backgrounds can access the beautiful wisdom of this feminine form of Ayurveda taught in Shakti School. All women deserve to feel their best selves, safely supported by other women, and engaged in nourishing practices that help bring balance back into their lives.

Part of that desire also includes my fellow women back in South America, mainly in Brazil and Argentina. And, I would love to include other modalities that I am trained in, like Australian Bush Flower Essences, Saraswati Healing and Shakti Yoga. All a perfect complement to Ayurveda!

I’m forever grateful for Shakti School and its wonderful teachers. Ayurveda is about honouring the uniqueness of each individual and the knowledge and empowerment that comes with understanding our bodies and the environment is invaluable."

It’s Never Too Late: Honoring the Unlimited Power of the Wise Older Woman

By Christine Griggs

I will never forget my first day of Shakti School.

I had signed up for Level 1 of the Ayurveda Training just two months before. It had caught my eye -and my soul- over a year ago, but I kept
finding reasons not to sign up.

~I was 58 years old. I already had my midlife crisis when I gave up my
translator career to become a yoga teacher thirteen years ago. Did I
really need to embark on something new? Wasn’t yoga enough?

~Wasn’t it too late to learn Ayurveda, The Science of Life, when over half
of my life was behind me?

~Wasn’t it too late to change my lifestyle with new Ayurveda practices?

~And, as some of my acquaintances felt the need to share: “I could do it
too, but it’s too much of a commitment.”

As I sat in our virtual classroom, seeing fresh young faces pop up in their Zoom boxes, I realized I was one of the oldest participants, and this question popped into my mind: “Do I belong here?”

I sat with the discomfort for a few minutes, I melted into it and let it carry me into our first class. As the class unfolded and Katie did her magic, I realized that YES I belonged here. And the commitment was a joy. Over the next 2 ½ years, those classmates became sisters, some are now dear friends. Age did not matter at all. I felt closer to those young women than I did to most women my age. It was not too late for me to enter this sisterhood. It was exactly the right time!

At 61, I just graduated from Level 2 as an Ayurveda counselor. Not joining Level 2 was not even an option! I couldn’t imagine a better container of love and support to enter my sixties than my family of sisters and this ancient knowledge that sustains me.

The fear of getting older

Most women fear getting older. Our society does everything to drive that fear, bombarding us with images of what the ideal woman supposedly looks like: eternally smooth-skinned and flat-bellied. Once they’ve instilled that fear in us, we’re a captive audience to buy their stuff that will supposedly make us feel and look younger. It’s a billion-dollar industry.

My friend Debbie is 73 and has been letting her gray roots grow out. Her female acquaintances are pestering her with: “You should cover those grays, it ages you.” She started to doubt herself. Believe me, she looks vibrant and beautiful. And I keep reminding her of that. A woman should never submit to society’s pressure of what she should look like or do. What liberates her is what makes her beautiful.

Let’s encourage our sisters to be themselves instead of gnawing at their self-esteem with words that stunt their growth.

“The making of a woman who has continued to grow is a beautiful thing to behold.” –Naomi Wolf

Dare to be yourself

Like most of us, when I was younger, I thought 60 was super old: time to retire and pursue hobbies. But I find myself in my sixties feeling young and vibrant, with a growing business and more projects and ideas than I can handle. I’m pursuing the dreams I didn’t have time for as a householder working and taking care of my family.

My first love is writing and, growing up in France, I dreamed of being the youngest literary prodigy of the century. Well, it took me several decades to write my first book, not as a young prodigy, but as a 57-year-old woman who believed it’s never too late. Remember that your dreams take different shapes.

My friend Dede just launched her own brand at 62, combining her love of dancing and helping others. She tells me she’s never felt so alive: “It’s my time now.”

Carol has been my private yoga student for 10 years. She dared to start yoga at 69, because “some part of me was not whole. I could feel it in every part of my being. I had no idea what was in store for me…” It changed her life.

On the other hand, I know many women of my generation who are paralyzed by the fear of stepping out of the box society built for them. They’re so worried about doing the “right acceptable things” that they’re not doing the right thing for them. This box is comfortable, but it’s not fulfilling. Filling the box with more stuff does not fill their soul.

Sadly, most of the time, we’re the ones setting limitations for ourselves. For example, whenever people hear I’m French, they almost always tell me: “I always wanted to learn French, I dream to go to Paris and speak French with the locals.” My answer always is: “Why don’t you?” And they invariably answer: “Oh, it’s too late now!” And I reply: “No, it’s not too late! You could either start now and you will be ordering pastries in French in a Parisian patisserie next year or not start and be in the exact same place: wishing you were speaking French in Paris.”

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.” –C.S. Lewis.

Wear the Crown of the Crone

Our society has been disparaging old age, especially in women, for too long. The meaning of Crone is not the derogatory term used in our society, that of the withered disheveled ragged old hag. The Crone is a majestic title to wear with pride, it means the One who wears the Crown.

Disrespecting the older woman means dishonoring the Sacred Feminine, a principle seriously lacking in our modern world. Our role as women is to put the Crone back on her throne. As we do this, we reclaim our Goddess status for ourselves and future generations.

I have made it my mission to demystify aging. I want my younger sisters to see passing years as a joy and privilege and something they can actually look forward to.

I also want to encourage my older sisters to see their mature years as an empowering opportunity to learn, grow and dream, and be a role model for younger generations. Not with their material possessions, but with their wealth of experience, wisdom and especially with their example. Young women look up to us to see what “getting older” looks like. They notice how we act and react. They notice if we still have a passion for life and if we care about the world. They notice if we are willing to take risks and go on adventures, learn and grow alongside them. Just as they are our hope, we are their hope for what’s awaiting them. Let’s show them that owning their aging journey is their superpower!

“This time belongs to the Crone. She’s arriving into the greatest time of her life. Creativity is blossoming, even exploding within her. She’s never felt more free and she’s never felt more empowered than now to be all of herself.” –Sukhvinder Sircar

The Wise Older Woman’s Empowerment Journey through her Chakras energy centers

As we become older, we become what the Vedic teachings call The Forest- Dweller. While still playing our part in the world, we’re able to detach ourselves from mundane attachments and spend more time attuning to the deepest parts of our being. We become our own best friend. I have noticed a deeper relationship and dialogue with my energy centers and I’d like to share the lessons they have taught me about becoming a wise older woman.

1. I am Grounded in the Roots of my ancestors and my culture. I honor my heritage, but I do not let my history limit me. I am not stuck in the drama of the past. My roots are my strength, not my burden.

2. The power of my womb is not limited to its physical ability to create human life. It is an unlimited fountain of spiritual and sensual creativity. It is a fertile ground for the awakening and flow of the Goddess energy all around me. I Feel and I Flow.

3. I am Worthy. I am exactly who I want to be and I am becoming who I want to become. I truly don’t care what people say or whisper about me. I do not judge myself or others. I have no time for gossip and limitations. I keep company with souls who uplift and support me. I am Strong and I Can do anything.

4. I give myself the greatest gift of all: Forgiveness. I stop keeping tabs on who didn’t love me enough and who hurt me. I forgive, but I am careful about whom I allow into the sacred space of my heart. I focus on gratitude for the love that I have. I know that I Love and that I Am Loved unconditionally.

5. I speak my spiritual Truth and what I believe in. I surround myself with the voices of teachers and soul companions who inspire me. I use my Voice for good. The world needs to hear my Voice.

6. I Trust my Inner Guidance. I know how to find it in stillness and meditation. The merging of my Intuition with my life experience is a magical formula that guides my decisions and every step I take.

7. I know that I am Connected to Source and never alone. I let go of anything that causes separation and honor my community of Souls who share my journey. Together we are stronger.

Women helping women

One of my greatest teachers was Frau Ursula Redeppening. I was her au pair while studying in Munich. I was 21, she was in her early forties. She
was a formidable woman, divorced mother of two teenagers, the youngest woman ever elected to the Bavarian parliament. She was a prodigy! One evening, as we sat together sipping wine, she gave me one of the greatest lessons one can give to a young woman. She told me that her perfect life was not one she had chosen for herself, she had followed others’ vision of her: her deepest desire was not to be a famous politician, but to help the world and reduce hunger and poverty. And then she said the words that guided my life: “When my children are raised, I will follow my own vision. It’s never too late.”

It is now my turn to pass along the wisdom I was given. Whatever age you are, know that it’s never too late. Write that book, take that course, learn a new language, a new dance, train for a marathon, travel, move to your dream city or country, make brand new friends, have a love affair, start your business, and most importantly, let your Spirit shine. The world needs your Light!

“You playing small doesn’t serve the world… As you let your own light shine, you indirectly give others permission to do the same.” –Marianne
Williamson

About Christine

Growing up in France, Christine always felt a deep longing for the spiritual and the powerful resonance of words and stories, accompanied with a passionate desire to explore the world. After years of globetrotting, this multilingual translator Mama of 3 and her family settled down in Coastal Virginia, where she discovered yoga. She instantly knew she had found the universal language that would help her empower others to find their own voice and share it with the world. She is an ERYT-500 Yoga and Meditation Teacher and Trainer, and an Ayurveda Health Counselor. Yoga helped her reconnect with her love of writing and write her first book: “Yoga with a French Twist: A Journey through the Chakras” as well as create her business: Yin Traveler. Her love of learning, Nature, and Spiritual Activism led her to Shakti School and the integration of Ayurveda into her teachings. Her new projects include a new book and planning spiritual retreats. You can find more info at her website at Yintraveler.com

How I Learned To Embrace the Life-Affirming Nature of Ayurveda

By Crystal Hoshaw

I wasn't a typical little girl in pigtails and Mary Janes. I was an unapologetic tomboy.

I loved all things tough and rough and turned up my nose with disdain at my finger-nail-painting and dress-up-playing contemporaries.

Tagging along behind the boys like Anybodies following the Jets, I was ostracized in much the same way.

No matter what sports I excelled at or Mortal Combat nemesis I defeated, I was forever branded by my unsavory gender, to my great chagrin.

On top of that, I saw myself and my fellow females through the eyes of the boys.

I avoided the “girly girls” like the plague. I strained to avoid displays of emotionality, frivolity, and vulnerability—traits I had come to understand as patently feminine.

It wasn't until much later in my life that I understood this rejection of my own gender as a rejection of myself.

Still, this masculine tone carried into my attitude as a teen. I felt I had to single-handedly prove that women could be just as good as men at anything, and had a duty to my gender to not be conventionally, predictably, vapidly feminine.

I wove in and out of this head trip for much of my life, ranging from a bleach-blonde cheerleader with acrylic nails to an angry feminist who only wore men’s clothes and didn’t shave her legs for several years.

Through it all, I was seeking my authentic self, behind all the conditioning, ideology, and social judgment.

Attempting to stamp out the non-spiritual

My anti-feminine attitude bled into my spiritual outlook as well.

When I joined a 10 month yoga teacher training at seventeen, I was the pitta kid in the front of class competing with myself, obsessed with nailing every asana.

That same training introduced me to Ayurveda, but my approach was no different. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it hard.

That meant vegan, sattvic, salt/garlic/onion-free, and no more than two anjalis—or handfuls of food—on my plate at a time.

I thought of the Buddha's feeble renunciate's body, nourished only by a single handful of rice each day. That’s real spirituality, right?

This strictness gave me the false belief that I had succeeded at controlling my desires and base impulses. In reality, I was repressing them.

Waking down into the body

While reading in the cafe on my college campus one day, I came across a line in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda saying that sex—at least, to the detached, enlightened mind—was just as inconsequential as rubbing two sticks together.

That can’t be right, I thought.

Surely the aim and fruit of enlightenment isn’t to reduce our human experience to something so unfeeling. Surely the point is not to desensitize ourselves to the basic, innate, and ultimately innocent pleasure of being embodied.

Shouldn’t our spiritual path lead us to an experience of life that’s more vivid, more multidimensional, more intimate? Even more sensual and pleasurable?

This was an early tell-tale sign that I needed Tantra in my life.

After enough little insights like this, it eventually dawned on me that my previous spiritual orientation held a subtle desire for self-negation.

Just as I had tried and failed to negate my gender as a young girl, I found myself attempting to negate the qualities that made me human, woman, and allowed me to express my unique and divine personality.

Through a misunderstanding of what it means to lead a spiritual life, I had confused individuality with ego and strove for spiritual homogeneity instead of authenticity.

Letting go of control

This applied to my food choices too.

When I learned the word “orthorexia,” alarm bells went off in my head. First coined by American physician Steve Bratman in 1997, it comes from the Greek word “orthos,” or “right.”

It wasn’t that I was fighting with my weight or my body in the conventional sense. I was fighting with a constant need to be correct. Of course, I was only setting myself up to fail.

When I started to give up the need to make the “right” choice all the time and the pressure that goes along with it, I started to experience an inherent pleasure and satisfaction with life that is the true beginning of the road to spiritual bliss.

No better teacher than the body

When I became pregnant with my son, I experienced a resurgence of my body’s inherent intelligence and natural wisdom that completely overrode any conceptualizations I might have had about ahimsa and veganism.

While pregnant, my regular diet included steak, a hefty pile of dark leafy greens, and over a gallon of whole cow’s milk a day. This rapid shift came at the ardent insistence of my natural urges—urges I didn’t even know I had.

As a result, I felt nourished, juicy, and—to my midwife’s great relief—no longer tested as anemic.

I learned firsthand that depriving the body of what it needs is a form of violence. Somehow, this only became clear to me when I had another body growing inside of me to make the point.

Now I know that my body, on its own, deserves the same gentle compassion and nurturing care.

After all, even the Buddha gave up his meager renunciate’s diet, to the dismay of many of his austere followers.

Ayurveda reimagined

As I sought a way to continue to deepen my relationship with Ayurveda while honoring these newfound insights, I found myself turning away from so much of the messaging I encountered, whether in courses, in books, or on social media.

Like so many fields, many of the voices are men. Like many rich traditions, much of the messaging has been distorted by the legacy of colonialism.

And like so much of wellness culture, there’s often subtle language implying that our bodies, impulses, and desires are threatening—even dangerous, that they should be controlled, subdued, and even snuffed out completely.

Then I found The Shakti School.

Finally, an Ayurvedic community addressing this strange self-negating bent in what is actually a deeply intuitive, life-affirming science.

“Ayurveda is the science of love, intuition, and intellect,” writes Vasant Lad in The Textbook of Ayurveda.

To me, this triad represents the union of intuitive Shakti with intellectual Shiva. The result? The pure, unadulterated love that is our true nature.

Just like an excess of tejas can burn off ojas and disturb prana, an excess of intellectualizing and rule-following reduces Ayurveda to a dogma instead of the living embodiment of natural wisdom that it is.

The chaos of Shakti is necessary for life, and the hosting energy of Shiva provides the stage where chaos can dance. From this perspective, the categories of good and bad, profane and sacred become indistinct, even limiting.

Ayurveda in its most profound expression presents us with the freedom and responsibility of meeting the world each moment without the aid of simplistic dichotomies of right and wrong, requiring an open and hosting attitude toward the polarities of our own experience and of existence itself.

True Ayurveda is the ultimate compassion.

Just as much as Ayurveda asks us to get real with ourselves, to practice discipline, and implement healthy boundaries, it also asks us to do so with a softness, acceptance, and reverence for our human experience and everything that comes along with it—including our cravings for ice cream, our emotional breakdowns, and those times we decide to skip the gym to binge Netflix instead.

For Ayurveda, beauty and pleasure and even coffee and depression can be medicine.

Ayurveda can host all of it, and when we live Ayurveda as a practice, so can we.

This is the gift that The Shakti School provides: a community to marinate in acceptance of ourselves—foibles and all—as a means to deep, connected, embodied health and wellbeing.

About Crystal

Crystal Hoshaw is a mama, writer, and lifelong lover of the sacred. She's the founder of Simple Wild Free, where she leads online group courses for adults and teens to learn deep self-care based on the wisdom of Ayurveda, the power of intuition, and the insight of sacred creativity. Follow her on Instagram and join the community on Vibely.

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How I Learned To Embrace the Life-Affirming Nature of Ayurveda

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