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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.

2022 Ayurveda School Scholarship Recipients

We are happy to announce the following 2022 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 2022 winners and their testimonials.

Christine Hoaglund | Rosemount, MN

"My name is Christine and I live in Rosemount Minnesota. As a disabled veteran, I seek new ways to manage my injuries and help others with theirs. As a result, I decided to learn and live Ayurveda with the Shakti Ayurveda School. About 6 months into the program, I feel refreshed and excited. I'm learning new routines to implement into my life and the connection to Western medicine. After finishing Ayurveda school, I plan to counsel other veterans and those with limited resources."

Jordana Shay | New York | @iam.astory

"Hi, I'm Jordana! Originally from New York, I now live between Tel Aviv, Israel and Koh Phangan, Thailand, with my husband and two little ones. I am so grateful to have received a Shakti School scholarship and feel blessed to be part of such a wonderful empowering community. Ayurveda has helped me dive deep into spirituality from a feminine perspective and it is what anchors me to who I truly am.

My work is at the intersection between storytelling and spirituality. I am a self actualization mentor, story alchemist and soul purpose coach at @Iam.astory. I believe our lives are one epic story and our soul purpose is hidden in the pages of our lives. I help clients become a storyteller of their own life, so they can find their purpose and share their story with the world to change it for the better. This work includes busting through internal stories of shame and judgement we are telling ourselves, reframing them and rewriting them to embody our true story, which is one of love, courage and creativity. I integrate Ayurveda in my work through the mind-body-connection, meditation, and the exploration of the meaning of Svastha, to be stable in who we really are, in the chaos of life. I am also the founder of a new facebook group movement - Koh Phangan Conscious Co-living, to create a conscious co-living community for parents and children to blossom and self-actualize, because it takes a village to raise our children. You can follow me on Facebook here for I am a story... become a storyteller and Koh phangan, conscious co-living."

Natalie Hynd | Victoria, Australia | @wombyogawoman

"What a juicy year! I am thrilled to have been fortunate enough to be a partial scholarship recipient at Shakti School. I am fascinated with all of the ways to honour the body through these beautiful Ayurvedic practices. I am here to create the conditions that allow all life to thrive."

Lisa Tabea | Vienna, Austria | @lisa_tabea and lisatabea.com

"My name is Lisa Tabea Vetter. I live in Vienna (Austria) and I am so glad to be part of the Shakti School Program Level 1. The goal of participating in this program is to support women, especially pregnant women, easing into their new role as a mom. I am an Ayurvedic chef, soon an Ayurveda Coach (certified by Shakti School), as well as an Ayurvedic postpartum doula, and I aim to finish my (birth) doula training within this year. The postpartum phase is a very sensitive one, the next 42 days will determine the health of the mother for the next 42 years. Mama and baby are so interconnected within this 42 day window, that anything that happens to mom, will happen to the child. I want to assist in this "sacred window", with Ayurvedic analysis, and by cooking Ayurvedic meals that help build rakta dhatu (blood tissue), aid their recovery, and rejuvenate them on all levels."

Mariana Peralta | New Jersey | Psychology Today

"I am a bilingual mental health practitioner who utilizes a holistic approach in my therapeutic service offerings, drawing from evidence-based modalities such as CBT, trauma-focused, and mindfulness. My culturally therapeutic strengths and empathetic approach support BIPOC identifying people over the age of 16, who are experiencing high functioning symptoms related to trauma, crisis, adolescent or family challenges, LGBTQ challenges, stress, depression, anxiety, and life transitions. I am a firm believer of continued learning, and most importantly learning with the intention to share the wisdom with my community so that others can be empowered and hence do the same with their loved ones and in their community. Overall, as I continue on this Ayurveda journey, my passion and honor is to integrate this science of life into my practice and share the beauty of Ayurveda with everyone I know who is open and willing to receive support."

Yesenia Perez | New York

"Hello Beautiful woman! My name is Yesenia, I am a latina woman born and raised in NYC. Why was I so drawn to this course? It's because I was intuitively living a lot of Ayurveda's philosophies and didn't even realize. It felt right being in this course, even though it took me a year to make the decision and move towards the goal. It truly feels like home for me. What I wish to do is simple, learn tools to live fully, while giving my soul permission to fly. I truly want "us", including myself here, to be fully in our power with grace and wisdom. If I can do this...this will be my service to others."

Cindy Ramirez | Monroe, New York | @cindyram1

"Hi! My name is Cindy Ramirez. I am very enthusiastic about holistic healing. I am a reiki and crystal therapist and also an Angel guide. I developed an interest for these healing modalities after being diagnosed with Asthma, Gerds and Chronic Sinuses as a result of the 911 terrorist attacks and quickly discovering that I am allergic to most medicines. Even with these practices I always felt like there was something missing. Until I discovered Ayurveda. I started doing some research and came across Shakti School and immediately felt at home, that I have found my tribe.

Ayurveda has helped me tremendously with all of my conditions to the point that I no longer need to take medication for my Gerds or Sinuses. I learnt how to eat better and to really listen to my body. I can proudly say that Ayurveda completely transformed my health and my relationship with my body. I now look forward to being able to share these life changing practices with other people and bring healing to so many people in need of it. It is my deepest dream to reach as many people as possible so they can just like I did, experience true lasting healing and set themselves free to enjoy a more happy and fulfilling life.

I am forever grateful for this amazing opportunity and for the gift of health that I received from Shakti School. It is amazing to belong to such a community and feel all this love and support."

Bhanu Thandavan | Chennai, India

"I am Bhanu Shankar. I am an educator. I live in Chennai , India and have had various brushes with Ayurveda. When you live in India you constantly hear Ayurveda and you will be given Ayurveda medication which might sometimes be so commonly prescribed. I also did a little bit of Ayurveda when I did my yoga certification program.

What has been a super strong pull of Shakti School is the way Ayurveda has been taught. It is very open, very exploratory, no 'one fix fits all' approach. So I just find that parochial attitude in some Indians who may say 'Ayurveda is ours'!

I am also most comfortable with the way it’s being explained. I have met Ayurveda teachers who come with so many beautiful attributes. However, not every Ayurveda practitioner can make a great teacher like Katie is. Also, sometimes, some Ayurveda teachers are not comfortable with English and that can be a barrier to communication for someone like me- urban city dweller who's lived in various parts of India. Also, Ayurveda is life itself, it's wellness and if you make it prescriptive, you take the magic out of Ayurveda.

So to actually understand and practice Ayurveda, one needs to love the practices and feel ever so grateful for being a part of this whole universe. This is what makes me feel ever so grateful to be part of Shakti School. Thank you for putting up with my tardiness, my non-communication, my inability to be in any online classes as I live in a different time zone. This makes the recorded versions the only way to catch up.

I can just say that I feel super grateful. I went through my journey with Breast Cancer in 2017 and I am super grateful to love just every part of myself. I may not have a breast, I have a slightly swollen arm that I talk to constantly, asking the lymph fluids to drain away and honest to God, they seem to listen to me. I just feel so much more powerful and at the same time surrender to the universe when I go through the classes of Shakti School. Thank you all for making this possible for me."

Anu Lukose-Budde | Munich, Germany | @anubudde

"Hi, I’m Anu and I live in Munich, Germany with my husband and our two beautiful boys. When my children were very young, I was always looking for the most holistic way of caring for them. Some of the challenges we had were considered 'normal', but I kept searching for a better way. My research and passion for the “better” way, led me to become a trained Functional Nutritional Therapy practitioner, wherein I learned how our body systems are interconnected and how our food and lifestyle choices affect them.

In the years that followed, I went on to learn how to interpret Hair tissue mineral reports as well as blood chemistry to have objective information about the nutritional status and optimal functioning of the body. Being Indian, I had heard about the doshas and Ayurvedic powders and potions before. But it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I got hooked, when I was introduced to the subtle aspects of Ayurveda and its influence on the body and spirit. This is a piece I look forward to adding to the healing equation – regulating the nervous system to create space for healing to occur.

I'm deeply grateful for this opportunity to study Ayurveda at Shakti School; to use the practices on myself and my family so I can better serve my community. I look forward to organizing and hosting seasonal group cleanses."

Heidi Harrabi | Austin, MN | @sister.moon.temple

"My name is Heidi Harrabi and I live in the small town of Austin in the state of Minnesota. I am a Yogini, Priestess and Shamanic healer who has dreams and visions of creating a Temple - a healing place for women that brings alive all forms of feminine Ancient Wisdom. I've had this dream for as long as I can remember and have been a follower of ancient feminine practices since I was a young girl. I currently have a practice working with women 1:1 and have aspirations to move to group programs. I was beyond blissed out to find a Feminine Form Ayurveda School! Shakti School is one of the BEST things that has happened to me and is helping me to bring this big vision of mine to LIFE!"

Tami Bartels | Livingston, MT | @mahan_shanti_kaur and Knot Perfect Health

"Who I was when 2022 began and who I am after seven months in Shakti School are practically two different persons. Over my nearly 40 years of this incarnation, I have gained degrees in psychology and certifications as a coach, yoga and mindfulness teacher, and nutrition educator. Yet the personification of coming home to myself, the practices of self-care, and the application of genuinely holistic wisdom have come through the teachings of Ayurveda. As I continue to Level 2 of Shakti School, I plan to incorporate Ayurvedic lifestyle practices within my life as daily rhythms, the seasons of nature, and the moon cycle. I want the embodiment of wisdom throughout my spiritual, emotional, and physical being, as well as in my environment, relationships, and pursuit of financial abundance. I will create a coaching practice with supportive and appropriate tools to help others develop their best life now and in the future. I believe each person deserves to feel as good as possible, and Shakti School lessons deliver the “how to” guide to get us there."

Meagan Maxwell | Nevada | @her.light.ayurveda

"I have always loved to learn. I love surrounding myself with books, nature, and the mystical parts of spirituality that reach into a person's heart and say “hello.” When I first started my healing journey, I felt as though I had lost touch with the things that brought me joy. The pieces of me that inspired creativity, sparked curiosity, and soothed my soul dimmed to embers. As I recently stepped into the role of being a first-time Mother, the tugging of my heart needing to connect to my light could no longer be ignored. This longing guided me to Shakti Ayurveda School. The rich, deeply rooted wisdom that Ayurveda contains has been a gift to learn. Shakti Ayurveda School has gracefully given me the opportunity to learn in a way that honors who I am, where I come from, and the experiences that have brought me to where I stand today. I plan to use my education to be a heart-centered Ayurvedic Wellness Coach. I am truly looking forward to offering space for others to learn about Ayurveda, how to bring its teachings into their daily lives, and provide opportunities to cultivate a loving connection to their own inner light of knowing."

Melissa Maxwell | Rockville, MD | @wellbymelissa

"I'm Melissa Maxwell, certified holistic health coach, 500-hour yoga teacher, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, and mama of two. I have been teaching women how to build sustainable habits around daily self care, mindful movement and intuitive eating for over a decade through 1-on-1 coaching, group programs and workshops. I originally enrolled in Shakti School to be able to incorporate Ayurveda wellness into my coaching offerings, expecting a traditional course experience. Little did I know that this experience would change how I approach my own health- very timely as a recently postpartum mama. I am eternally grateful for everything I've already discovered about myself- body and mind- and my new passion for living and teaching others how to design a Healthy, Happy, Sexy life."

What I learned in Shakti School: Radical Responsibility, Remembering the Wisdom of the Body and Launching a New Business

By Becky Nethery

When I signed up for Shakti School, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and how the trajectory of my life would transform.

Back in 2018, a good friend told me about Shakti School and I checked it out online. I had never heard of this southern woman with a beautiful drawl, but her book Happy, Healthy, Sexy, sounded pretty epic. “Ah, ya…I want more of that,” I remember thinking.

I’d read a little bit about Ayurveda, but I didn’t really get it. It seemed pretty confusing and like a lot of rules, which just piqued my inner rebel. I’d been on my own healing journey for many years and I had a lifelong love of all things spiritual, mystical and philosophical. So I signed up and got ready to learn. But little did I know that Shakti School would become a major turning point in my life.

At the time, I was in my 10th year working as a high school teacher in Canada, feeling deeply constrained by the role and wanting the freedom to truly be myself. I felt that what I was teaching teenagers didn’t truly serve them. Instead of teaching iambic pentameter or how to pass a standardized test, I wanted to help them explore their gifts, talents, and how they wanted to contribute to the world. I believed in education and learning but I was losing my faith in the system and feeling deeply frustrated by the constraints on how I could show up. I also had this deep inkling that I wanted more for my life. I was ready for the next adventure. I wanted to keep learning. I wanted true expression and connection. I was sick of hiding as this hollow version of myself. I wanted to be myself, all the time. Maybe you can relate?

From the very first call of Shakti School, I felt the energy of the divine. I can still recall this full- body presence as the group gathered and Katie initiated that year of Shakti School. For the first time in my life, someone was saying the things that I knew deep inside but had never had the words to express. The more I learned about honouring the feminine and respecting the beauty, magic and simplicity of life, the more I started to feel at home in myself. It was a mystical remembering of things that had been buried, but not lost.

Of everything that I learned throughout that year, the concept of radical responsibility took hold the strongest. Realizing that I had the power to create the life I wanted was a double edge sword. It was extremely freeing and yet equally terrifying. Instead of playing victim, I slowly started to realize that I could honour my experience and desires. I knew that I felt deeply unexpressed in my career and confined to showing up as a “robot” version of who I was every day as a teacher. And yet, it wasn’t quite the right time to leave.

As I continued studying, another life-changing concept that I was introduced to through Shakti School was the concept of embodiment. It sounds so obvious now, but it was an entirely new learning for me. I had always valued my intellect, being smart, solving problems and making plans. I thought these were my superpowers (when in fact they were deeply honed survival patterns and trauma responses).

When Katie would pause the intellectual learning in class to do an embodiment practice, I would feel deeply frustrated. I remember thinking “I’m not here to feel, I’m here to learn.” My reactions reflected the deep imbalance that values the thinking mind above all else, as reflected in education and society at large. This imbalance had been internalized. “Thinking will keep you safe, thinking will solve everything. Thinking is what matters the most.”

But through Shakti School, something radical started to happen. For the first time in my life, I started to connect and truly witness the wisdom that was present in my body. It was an entirely new experience and it changed my life forever. It was a portal into something that I knew deep inside but didn’t know how to articulate, let alone the community to express and explore with. The reality that I could access this inner wisdom at any time, just by bringing my simple awareness to my body was deeply transformational.

It was a reconnection to the pieces of me that I had ignored, abandoned and neglected, both consciously and unconsciously. Honouring the divine feminine and moving into my body and out of the realm of the thinking mind helped me to feel deeply grounded and present. I started to feel stronger and more powerful in my ability to trust myself. My body offered me this strength, courage, knowing and presence that I had never been able to access just with this floating brain, disconnected from my body. I felt these “other” parts of me start to come online and they had so much to offer me. I started to feel safe again, safe to be me.

Between these two concepts, radical responsibility and reconnecting with the wisdom of my body, I realized that something needed to change. I longed deeply for true expression and contribution where I could show up with all of my gifts. I wanted to contribute my zone of genius to helping end suffering on the planet and I deeply wanted to honour my creative expression. To put it bluntly, I wanted the freedom to be myself.

And it’s pretty amazing how life conspires to support our desires.

Through various circumstances, that September I bravely decided to take a year-long leave of absence from teaching. I didn’t have it all figured out, but I had the courage and the faith to make the jump.

I decided to take radical responsibility for my life. I opened my own copywriting business and started writing brand stories and website content for local entrepreneurs who were in the healing modalities or who were doing good in the world.

You see, I deeply believe that business can be a powerful conduit for change in the world. Honouring our creative expression and gifts has the power to deeply heal us, as many of us have abandoned our creative expression and gifts in exchange for doing what we think will keep us “safe.” Yet, this so-called safety is slowly killing us. At least that was my experience. Opening your own business can offer healing to yourself and to the collective. It’s the ultimate growth opportunity as you must first honour your gifts, talents and contributions and then bring them forward to help others.

Not everyone can do what you do. There is a creative contribution that wants to flow through you, it’s the thing that lights you up, it’s this creative prana, and it’s when you feel most alive. And the really cool thing is that people are looking for your gifts. And they will pay you for them if you want! (Although I also strongly believe that not all creativity should be commodified.)

The more I learned about business and connected with entrepreneurs, I started to realize that they were deeply engaged with life, they were connected, innovative, and passionate and they were expressing their creative energy and contributing to making the world a better place. They were my kind of people. And despite my imposter syndrome, they wanted to work with me!

Since opening my business, there have been many ups and downs as I continued to learn and grow. All of the areas of personal healing showed up in my business, inviting me to continue releasing what doesn't serve me and coming back to the wisdom of my body, being present in the moment and offering my gifts to the divine and the collective.

Over the past 2.5 years, I’ve helped 100+ heart-centred business owners clarify their brand message so they can make real connections, show up with confidence online and make more impact and money. I absolutely LOVE the clients that I work with. They are badass entrepreneurs who are using their gifts and talents to solve problems for people and help end suffering on the planet. But they often have no idea how to position themselves and tell their story in a way that truly resonates and helps them sell their services or programs.

They are gifted and talented changemakers, but they need help with their messaging as over-thinking, imposter syndrome, comparison and self-doubt often creep in.

It is my honour to witness my clients, truly see them in their greatness, and contribute my writing, gifts and intuition to craft their brand story in a way that sets their business up for success. They feel seen, heard, understood and clear, excited and confident to move forward with their business. I get to show up with all of my talents and I’m no longer operating as a “robot” version of who I once was as a teacher.

Shakti School gave me the foundation to make this leap of faith and take radical responsibility for my life. I can’t say that I would have done it on my own. Through the teachings of Ayurveda and the Shakti School, I continue to ground into and connect with the truth of who I am. Shakti School provides the fundamental health foundation that every woman needs to help nurture her true expression. And this is deeply healing.

I’m so thankful for Katie and the Shakti School staff and this epic community. It has been a safe place to explore who I am and how I can show up as the happiest, healthiest and sexiest version of myself.

I’m studying Level 2 this year and continue to be amazed by the practical teachings that help me regulate my nervous system and connect with the divine through the wisdom of my body. I truly believe that even if you don’t want to be an Ayurvedic Health Coach, studying Ayurveda with Shakti School has the power to transform your life in ways you might not expect. But that is the beauty and joy of this great unfolding called life.

If you need help with copywriting or telling your brand story, I’d love to connect with you. Check me out at beckynethery.com and follow me on Instagram. It would be my absolute pleasure to help you establish your brand, connect with your people and make more money in your business.

I also created a course called The Embodied Marketing Method where I teach entrepreneurs how to write for their business by first being grounded in the body. By combining embodiment techniques and copywriting skills, you can learn how to connect with your message and use your marketing as a form of leadership and service. If this sounds like something that could help your business or you’d like to learn more, check out this FREE GUIDE I created on how embodiment can revolutionize your marketing.

About Becky

Becky Nethery is a Copywriter and Brand Strategist who helps heart-centred business owners clarify their message, so they can show up with confidence, attract their ideal clients and sell with ease.

Writing high converting copy, Becky translates business ideas into clear and powerful brand stories that truly resonate and lead to an increase in profits. She is passionate about using business as a tool for change and loves supporting entrepreneurs who are bravely honouring their creative skills, solving real-world problems and making life better for their clients.

She is also the creator of The Embodied Marketing Method a program that teaches entrepreneurs how to use their marketing as an act of divine service. And she is also the co-host of the Entrepreneurial Inquiries Podcast which explores the intersection of business and being.

Connect with Becky today! Visit beckynethery.com or email [email protected]

Katie’s Healing Journey

I want to share with you a little bit about my healing journey. You see, I created this school, because I needed these teachings.

After years of shmoozing with zany technologists, government agents, Chicago stockbrokers, and a nearly endless bevy of secretly sleepless co-workers, I decided that corporate money-driven life was slowly sucking away my soul. I had a hunger to know myself. I watched as people who had cash, cars, designer clothes, and power slowly drowned their minds in alcohol, prescriptions drugs, and other pain-numbing tactics. It was more than my heart could watch.

I was also experiencing my own host of imbalances—almost unbearable anxiety, crash diets to get rid of late night dinner parties, addiction to caffeine to wake up, alcohol to relax after work, and cigarettes to take the edge off. One day my boss offered me a raise and a promotion—and I went home and cried. I felt like I was on a precipice, where rational choice (duh, take the job) was trumped by a little cry from my heart saying, “Save yourself.”

You see, like you, I wanted to live a purpose-driven life—something that all of the money; beautiful, power-elite friends; and my understanding of the world at that time would never satisfy. I wanted to live a life of fullness—the kind of life that continually allowed my heart to open—whether it was breaking from sadness or bursting with awe. I wanted to live in integrity with my own version of God. I wanted to learn how to listen to my body. I wanted to smell grass and dirt, and learn about plants.

This was my big break.

Out of all my studies into mind-body health, it was yoga, and especially the self-care aspect of yoga called Ayurveda that stuck out. I found these ancient practices for self-healing to be powerful, intuitive, and incredibly nurturing. What my body and soul needed was to be deeply loved—and Ayurveda offered that in spades.

I learned how to work with my emotions, learned a form of self-care that would feed and energize my body, and teach me to become intimate with my sexuality in powerful new ways.

Simply put, I started to feel truly at home in my own skin—a body that I had once criticized and felt disconnected from was now a temple to be honored and cared for. Today, I’m still learning; it’s an ongoing journey. But I am deeply grateful for the answered prayer that is the wisdom of Ayurveda. And I now look forward to aging, I feel better and better as I get older!

So, I built Shakti School because I know in my heart of hearts that these teachings will save and change lives for the good of all. Especially WOMEN. And especially NOW.

If you’re ready to heal ancestral patterns, dive deep into your root mother medicine and commit to more health and love with BIG dharma, join us in Ayurveda School. Heal yourself, and support others with their healing.

We also offer a free mini-course, if you want a glimpse into Ayurveda School. In the mini-course, we dive into the rise of Divine Feminine medicine, the nervous system, the Ayurvedic worldview, and so much more. You can register here. And then write us and let us know what you thought. Did it resonate? Did you have any 'Aha' moments?

Connect with us on Instagram, share your thoughts with the hashtag #ShaktiAyurvedaSchool

With all my love,

Katie

Support India During Covid

Dear Community,

Katie here. I just wanted to forward this list over to all of you. I know you are all probably aware of the situation in India. If you feel called to help, I have gathered this list of resources from a trusted source who has trusted connections there.

With love,
Katie

Oxygen concentrators

Mainly focused on alleviating hunger

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1eiobgyrl8iz-R1Dz7c4R5pzzzkuZLBj99vaC7T_UeVo/mobilebasic

This has just come to our attention and we hear that it has been vetted

https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/mission-oxygen-helping-hospitals-to-save-lives

Here are others

2021 Ayurveda School Scholarship Recipients

We are happy to announce the following 2021 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 2021 winners and their testimonials.

Aleksandra Kasikovic | Vancouver, BC | @through.healing

"Hello there! My name is Aleksandra Kasikovic, an old soul with a childlike love for life. I was born in Canada, raised in New Jersey and have spent my adult years living between the two countries. Raised by immigrants, I’ve had a more open-minded perspective of the world from a young age and a deep connection to my Balkan ancestors. I’m a scientist by trade but a creative at heart often expressing through writing, videos or movement. I’m deeply curious about the inner worlds of others, after spending many hours in self reflection over the years, and hope to support others in their healing journeys. Through my education at The Shakti School, I’d like to blend my scientific background with the ancient teachings of Ayurveda to create sacred circles for women to dance, express, heal and step into their fullest expression. My two words for 2021 are embodiment and expansion and I deeply believe Shakti School is a foundational part of this. I’m grateful to be a scholarship recipient and see how this program will allow me to step into my next chapter more boldly. When not deep in emotional processing, I can be found walking, dancing or laughing at astrology memes."

Amore St Ives | San Diego, CA | @modrnmedicin

"When I was a child my fondest memories included adventures in the magical forests of Portland Oregon. I remember exploring mother nature’s wonders for hours on end, enraptured by her smells, colors, sounds, and textures. I have always felt at home, intrinsically connected and inspired by our divine Pachamama and yearned to know about all her plants, animals and life-giving resources. This love for momma nature and all her gifts has only intensified through my years. She has taught me so much about herself through an understanding of intuition, respect, connection and blessed me with so many life altering experiences. Now after 40ish years I feel overwhelmingly called to share this wisdom with our world. I whole-heartedly know that we have the power within to heal our minds, body and spirit. Ayurveda provides the “how” to do this through loving awareness and awakening our innate knowledge. My service as a wellness luminary is to guide health seekers along their journey by providing a space that inspires, heals and passes down wisdom to help them lead happy, connected and purpose filled lives. This includes the creation of an Ayurvedic Wellness Café and Holistic Movement Studio called Modrn Medicin (MM) opening this year in San Diego, CA. MM uses a whole system approach to wellness through the inclusion of nutrition, movement and community. Shakti’s Ayurvedic program is instrumental in supporting MM’s mission to revolutionize our health paradigm and save our community through the simple yet profound healing system of Ayurveda."

Apoorva Valli Shankar | Chennai, India | @apoorvavshankar

"Hello beautiful souls! I’m Apoorva, and I’m from India. Ayurveda is part of my roots and has always resonated with me. In the last year. I considered studying it formally and, through a synchronistic occurrence, discovered the magic of Shakti school! I’m 29 years old and have worn multiple hats professionally- I’ve studied engineering, worked as a data scientist, done a course in teaching, worked as an educator, studied human development, and now work as a researcher. As a researcher, I’ve been reviewing the global socio-economic imbalances that COVID-19 has exacerbated. I’ve realised now is the perfect time for me to be studying Ayurveda because it is a map to understanding reality and a way for me to process these imbalances and understand my potential to transform lives around me, starting with myself. For me, this journey symbolises learning to digest my experiences, as well as our collective ancestral experiences, tuning into my inner voice and connecting with my true essence – my swastha. As Katie says- “What do I do next?” is one of the most spiritual questions on the planet! My goal is to combine my diverse experience to curate a loving space that unlocks self-expression and reignites our collective compassion through a focus on food, movement, emotional awareness, and spiritual enquiry, based on the holistic health philosophy of Ayurveda – It is my heart’s desire to be a transmitter of this knowledge- this vidhya. I’m so excited for everything ahead and eternally grateful to the powerful Shakti tribe for this life-transforming experience."

Ashley King | Independece, Missouri | @whimsicalmagick

"My name is Ashley King. I am a wife and a mother of two beautiful children. Although I am not currently practicing, I am a licensed massage therapist and a Yoga Teacher. But right now I’m a coordinator for a kid’s club inside of a gym. I’m going with the flow and seeing where that is going to take me. I am happy to be able to bring what I learn from Shakti School to my team and the kids where I work. I believe I will be able to help them ground and guide them in expressing themselves better when maybe at home they don’t have that option. I have a genetic condition called Peutz-Jegher Syndrome. It is a rare condition and polyps can grow anywhere, but mainly show up in my small intestine. I had my first surgery at the age of 7 and I have had 4 major surgeries total. Unfortunately, I passed it on to my daughter. I have been on my healing journey for about 10 years trying to discover ways to live life to the fullest and to be around as long as I can for my kiddos. When I looked into Shakti School, I knew deep in my heart that this was the school for me. To help heal deep wounds within me, assist my daughter in her journey with this condition and to help heal my community. I am so very grateful for this opportunity and super excited to be here."

Babette Weel-Engelgeer | The Netherlands | @BabetteDavinia

"I’m feeling blessed for being part of the Shakti School scholarship program. My name is Babette Davinia Weel-Engelgeer and I live in the low countries, also known as the Netherlands. For the past 1.5 year or so, I’ve been an outdoor mental health coach specializing in stress and burn-out. I’ve gone through a burn-out myself, for it is my tendency to take up too many things at the same time. However, over the past half year I’ve felt drawn more and more towards working with women. Having experienced the power of SHE in women’s circles, (online) workshops, dance, ceremonies, and festivals, I now feel a strong desire to help women heal themselves. This healing starts with me, so here I am! My Sankalpa for this year is this: becoming a holy vessel for the medicine this world needs. I want to uncover the light within me, letting it shine in order to inspire others to uncover theirs. I want to experience and embody the sacred feminine, so I can guide others towards an embodied and intuitive experience of their own divinity. Living, breathing, and becoming Medicine Woman. Practically, this means offering 1-on-1 lifestyle coaching, workshops, and retreats where women of all walks of life are invited to reconnect with themselves, nature, and others. I want to collaborate with other women, so we can create uplifting and empowering programs. In all this, I will forever be the teacher and the student."

Caleigh Hutchins | Wasatch Mountains

"My name is Caleigh and I was part of the first graduating class of Covid-19. I wouldn’t assume that to be impressive, however, as there have been many more to follow myself, but my college education came to a very abrupt halt, all of my teachers decided we were done for the year, and in my case, forever. I grew up in Southern California and I never once felt that I fit in, I cared about the almost complete opposite things that everyone around me did and I enjoyed being outside and away from the masses more than anything. Fast forward from college to the present and I have just started this very physical job living deep in the beautiful Wasatch Mountain Range, and a desire to reconnect with my pre-covid yoga practice. When I was in school, I lived for my late-night hot yoga candlelight sessions that really brought my whole world to a calm center that I felt strong with, and not overwhelmed. I also found myself needing more in the meanings behind why I have felt the ways I have over the quarantine period. I met a wonderful person up here in the mountains that inspired and encouraged me to sign up for this ultimately enriching and bountiful experience for my soul and body."

Daiquiri Rodriguez | Texas | @criaturx

"Hey there, ladies and theys, my name is Daiquiri (pronounced da-ker-ee), I am 27, Latinx, a yogi, and momma bear. I am from, and living in, deep south Texas with my big little family of two moms, our son, three cats, and two dogs. I have done yoga for the past 6 years or so, but it wasn’t until this past year that I began a deeper, meditative healing practice (thank you pandemic!), which led me to jumping into a 200 hour YTT. It was around this time that Shakti School popped up in the ads on my social media feeds, and as I read through what it was all about my excitement blew up! What I felt I was missing my entire life found me! A natural, healthy, and holistic way of living and healing, to be a hippie, a yogi, a healer, a human who is connected to our Mother Earth. With the guidance and wisdom I will learn this year, I want to heal myself first and foremost before I guide those around me who are ready to heal themselves, whether in yoga classes or as a doula. I am ready to put in the work to peel away those layers that no longer serve me to reveal my highest self, to reach my highest potential. I have absolutely fallen in love with this program and am beyond excited to guide others with this ancient wisdom."

Destiny Robeson | Fort Leavenworth, KS | @Westcoastmystics

"I was born to a 3^rd generation American mother with roots in Lebanon, Syria and Israel. I grew up around Los Angeles and I am the oldest of four children and the only one to graduate high school. I grew up surrounded by poverty, gang violence, drug abuse/addiction, incarceration and untreated mental illness. I suffer from a heart condition and several gastrointestinal conditions that interfere with my quality of life. The trauma I have experienced in my life has deeply influenced my inclination towards holistic healing and Eastern philosophies. I believe whole heartedly in the ability to rise from nothing and build yourself up to greatness and the ability to overcome all obstacles that the universe puts before us. I have lived in Alaska, California, New York and Kansas and enjoy traveling around the world. I work with PETA as a volunteer vegan mentor and I’m a certified life coach, RYT-200 and an inter-denominational reverend. I am beyond blessed to have received this scholarship to Shakti School level one! I plan to go back to college and obtain my degree in Psychology and eventually attend med school to become a psychiatrist. I want to integrate Ayurvedic medicine, life coaching techniques, Yoga, Meditation and Western medicine together to form a mind-body-spirit approach to psychiatric medicine and patient care. In the future I would love to be able to attend level two of Shakti School to deepen my understanding of feminine form medicine and to obtain my RYT-500 certification. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you all!"

Edalí Gutierrez | Mexico City | @edaligc

"Ayurveda is hard. Let me explain: if learning a new language is already challenging, immersing yourself in a different worldview requires all of your mind, body, and spirit. But it’s also fascinating. So yes, Ayurveda is hard, but it’s also fresh and nourishing. My name is Edalí, I live in Mexico City, and connecting to my feminine side changed my life. The call of my heart is to create a holistic health project in Mexico that will help the modern, strong, independent woman connect with her sexuality and femininity in a way that can be down to earth and applied to her day-to-day life. I’m convinced that the relationship with our bodies has an impact in our quotidian existence and in our relationship with people and Mother Nature. One of my objectives is to also make it accessible andaffordable for women with low economic resources, so that their income isn’t a limiting factor in their journey to holistic health, which I plan to achieve through partnerships with different non-profits and through “scholarship programs”. My goal is to empower women through the awareness and connection of their bodies to create a change from the inside that will -eventually- resonate in a society that has set aside women’s needs and health. It’s part of the revolution and awakening women are experiencing all over the world and it’s my honour to share it within my own country."

Jazmine Juarez | Georgetown, Ontario, Canada | @jazmine.juarez.wellness

"Hi, I’m Jazmine. I am a social worker and yoga teacher. I have been in the counselling field for 13+ years. In 2013, I began to experience workplace burnout which in turn led me to pursue yoga teacher training and other eastern-based approaches. This was when my healing journey began… not just for the burnout but for a medical condition I had developed in my youth. This shift also altered the way I helped to support my clients; whereby I started to incorporate both eastern and western traditions into my counselling approach. Through this journey to healing, there was an ongoing tendency to try and learn from authority figures how to heal myself. I was going into it with the mentality that I didn’t have the answers and that “experts” had the answers. What drew me to Shakti School was the strong emphasis of attuning to the inner healer - ultimately recognizing that the sacred answers to my own healing lie within. My life journey led me here, to the sacredness of Ayurveda. The teachings of Ayurveda have been the most nourishing and holistic approach to self-healing I’ve had the honour of being gifted with. It is the path to help support my own healing journey, and also a holistic lens that will help me best support my clients. I am deeply honoured to be a Shakti School Scholarship recipient. Much gratitude to the teachings, teachers, Shakti team, and the loving community I am now a part of."

Josefine Anna Evelina | Northern Sweden | Earth Playground Project

"After many years of suffering from IBS, chronic stress, fatigue, eating disorders, emotional overload, spiritual disconnection, sexual traumas and physical pain, I went on a deep quest of finding alternative ways to heal the suffering I was experiencing. I began to realize that the vast recovery was deeper than merely physical or psychological. This woke a burning desire within, where I saw how I could transform my journey into one of service by sharing the teachings of Natural Medicine. Today I live a life that is fully aligned with my heart, soul and spirit. I follow the song of Nature and believe in the universal force of Love. I want to dedicate my whole life to be of service for my global community by offering affordable education in natural healing modalities. I know in the depths of my being that when we come together in circles our innate potential will naturally blossom; we can reclaim our greatness and step fully into the Natural, Soulful Leaders we are. Without the love, guidance and support I have received from the teachers that believed in me and my potential in becoming a leader, I would not stand here today. That gift is what I want to give to all the people around me as well. I want to offer the gift of coming Home. Coming Home to Love, to Self, to the Raw Expression of who you truly are. Because in my arms, you are all welcome."

Justyna Połeć | Poland | @justdeliciousx

"I’m 26 years old yoga teacher and feminine energy mentor from Poland. I finished law school and I was working in a law office, but I realized this is not my purpose. I changed my life completely and went after what my heart was calling… nutrition and yoga. I went to India for yoga teacher training and become interested in Ayurveda as well. It was 3 years ago and since then I’m teaching yoga. Currently I’m living in Thailand and I love to learn more about Ayurveda that’s of course why I very much wanted to join Shakti School! Since 2 and a half years I’m running my own business, which started as fitness and nutrition oriented, I made 4 healthy living ebooks! With time I developed my business as well. I become interested more in women’s health. I’m creator of courses for Polish women about yoga philosophy, spirituality and health, which I’m so blessed to teach! I would love more women to connect to their own natural cycle, feel less stressed, enjoyed life as it is, know how to individually and durably take care of their physical and mental health. I’m so pleased to be able to expand my knowledge in Shakti School and bringing the ancient knowledge into modern hearts, which as I long for connection with nature."

Kelsi Dwyer | Cincinnati | @krae_squared

"I am sure many of you can relate, but 2020 was a rough year for me. My name is Kelsi, and I am a 33 year old mother of two in Cincinnati. I have been a yoga lover for a decade, and I began a mediation practice during quarantine to help manage stress. When my partner and I split in May, I knew that I needed something healthy to focus my energy on. I discovered Shakti School through following Katie on social media, and I found myself being repeatedly drawn to the idea of it. I am a registered nurse and I have always been most passionate about women’s health. Along with the huge responsibility of raising two young women in this modern world, I simply feel like this program is exactly where I need to be. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and integrate Ayurveda into my life and share it with the people around me. "

Kyanne Kerbel | Iowa

"Meet Kyanne, an entrepreneur, beauty & wellness consultant, ayurvedic bodywork practitioner and an unshakeable optimist dedicated to supporting you on your pathway to personal wellness & healing. Kyanne is currently enrolled in Shakti School but plans to use her training and education to develop a Panchakarma Retreat Center in Iowa. "

Lauryn Mumbi | Nairobi, Kenya | @mumbilauryn

"I am Lauryn Mumbi from Nairobi, Kenya. I feel excited, loved, felt, known and the scholarship was a surprise and I say thank you to the higher power and to Shakti School. Sometimes we get to the right path after pain and that is why being fully present makes you notice every detail. My pain story made me aware of guides, the first being my experience. Ayurveda so far has been an eye opener on all aspects of my life, and I want to use it to heal myself and those around me. Nothing about my life is lucky but I have seen a lot of divine guidance. Through the few lessons so far I am getting to understand me better and also hear my inner guides, I am able to make decisions without asking others what they think and I would love this to be the experience of everyone I come across. I used to do yoga just as an exercise but from the sub dosha lesson I learnt the purpose and uses of some inversions and I had a lot of ‘Ahaa’ moments. Someday I will be an Ayurveda doctor this makes me excited."

Lindsey Osborne | Afton, Virginia

"I live in Nelson County, Virginia with my husband and our two young boys. I have had a life-long love for non-allopathic healing modalities and Reiki has introduced me to the incredible healing potential inside of and connecting us all. I've been profoundly moved by what I've learned so far at Shakti School and the healing potential of Ayurveda is seemingly unlimited! I’ve been a veterinary assistant, volunteered with wildlife, managed my own equestrian business, belly danced, and performed as a singer-songwriter. Most recently, I went back to school to start a new professional chapter as an MSN, RN, Clinical Nurse Leader. Throughout my education and time spent working in the hospital it became evident that the care provided was one-dimensional and I quickly found myself disillusioned with Western medicine. Shakti School has been an inspiring new step towards creating a health coach practice that will feel more authentic and soul-nourishing for me and my future clients. While working as a Labor & Delivery RN in a high-risk, busy unit I was having deeply empowering experiences with my two out-of-hospital births. I loved the midwifery holistic approach to care where the body’s intrinsic wisdom is respected. My hope is to establish a holistic practice that utilizes Ayurveda and Reiki in combination with my RN skills to serve all women on their reproductive journey."

Lori Satter | Houston, Texas | @beautifulyou_holistics

"My name is Lori Satter, I am from Houston, Texas and have had the opportunity to live in many locations, but always find myself back in Texas. I found my way to Ayurveda about 12 years ago while immersed in the yoga world, studying all the branches of the Vedic Sciences, Yoga, Astrology and Ayurveda. In 2013, I left my husband and found my digestion suffering, I turned to Ayurveda to help me return to balance and since then I have strived to live in accordance with an Ayurvedic lifestyle. In 2019, I left my job and went back to school to become an Esthetician and knew then I would be an Ayurvedic Esthetician, merging the best of East and West to offer my clients holistic based experience. The skin is the largest organ in the body and what you digest both physically and emotionally or lack of digestion will show up in the skin. My aim upon graduating from Shakti School is to guide women to feel comfortable in their skin, helping them seek balance physically, emotionally, and spiritually, so that their true inner radiance shines."

Maja Michalewska | Denmark | Simple Alive

"My name is Maja, I am originally from Poland but currently living in Denmark. I am deeply thankful to Shakti School for supporting me in pursuing this career and self-healing path thanks to the scholarship. The Ayurveda School has become a second home for me, where I charge batteries, deepen my compassion and discover new paths towards self-healing. All of which supports my deepest heart-desire to share this ancient knowledge with women in my home country and across Europe. I am deeply rooted in the sustainable way of living, including a conscious lifestyle and diet. I have been sharing this knowledge for some months now with wonderful women and men who want to do something good both for our planet and themselves. Additionally to lifestyle coaching, I guide moon meditations and organize online sessions where people from around Europe gather together to go inside and connect to their inner source of power. Ayurveda has given me a deep sense of peace and grounding, which I believe is highly needed nowadays. Nevertheless, this is just the beginning of my healing journey, which has already given me such strength to continue supporting others that I cannot wait to see how it all develops in the coming months!"

Michele Rose | British Colombia | @michelerose555

"Who am I? I am a lot of different things, but mainly I am a small town girl who has big dreams and a big heart! I knew from an early age that I had an ability to help people feel better. I had a very unique childhood growing up in a very small and isolated town surrounded by mother nature. The connection to the land and traditional teachings I received helped to show me that when you live a balanced life, health just comes easier. I started my nursing education right out of high school and have been a registered nurse for 13 years. Although I’ve enjoyed nursing, deep down I have always known I wanted a career that could offer more. Not only to the clients I serve, but to myself as well. Assisting to empower the clients I work with has always been so much more rewarding than the allopathic concepts of medications to treat illness and the ‘hospital’ as the expert. Over the last few years I’ve begun to shift my focus to more holistic areas of healthcare. The addition of the Shakti School has been a blessing in my life, and truly came to me with divine timing. My career goals going forward are to be able to provide healing and growth on an individualized basis outside the walls of a hospital. I am so looking forward to continuing my progress towards my true passion and purpose in life. Thank you so much for this opportunity, I feel so honoured to be given this partial scholarship!"

Mie Ravnholt Lohmann | Denmark | @mie_ravnholt_energiterapi

"Katie and the Shakti School have called for me for years. But life with a husband and three boys have taken up all my time and money. A life filled with depression, anxiety and stress has kept me busy trying to get by. I became a parent early in life and did not have any healthy skills with me from my upbringing to be a parent, so I began a journey of getting to know different perspectives of parenthood and finding my own way. This has been an ongoing learning process and still is, but as my eldest just left the nest, and my two other sons are getting older, I have more time and energy to begin my own journey and to start to take care of myself. Being aware that taking care of myself earlier, would have made my life more pleasant and helped me to be the parent and partner I have set a side myself to be. I have a deep longing to help other women towards this awareness as soon as possible. It feels like a deep intuitive knowledge has been forgotten in women and it is time for us to remember. I long to remember and support other women in doing so too. But my own healing and remembering is the first step towards this. And The Shakti School feels like home and the place to support me on the journey both my own healing and helping others. It brings tears to my eyes of gratitude every time I think of this opportunity I have been given."

Monica Martinez | Palmdale, CA | @Moni_mrtnzz

"My name is Monica Martinez. I live in Palmdale, CA, I’m a Mother of 2 and grandmother of 2. Holistic Healing modalities have been very important to me for a few years now because I’ve used them on my own healing journey and have seen results. I’m now 50 and have had a few female issues throughout the years. Doctors couldn’t find the problem, they kept saying it was nothing yet wanting to give me meds to experiment. My father who passed away last April due to kidney failure, I know could’ve been healed by Ayurveda treatments in India, however I couldn’t afford taking him due to the pandemic. Due to my father’s passing I became more interested in Ayurveda. I want my kids, grandkids, mom and sisters to really benefit from the knowledge I would have in Ayurveda, especially my mom whom all these years they’ve been telling she was dying of liver cancer, but she’s still here. At the moment she is fighting for her life, a wrong dosage of medication was given to her at the hospital caused so many health problems for her. I realized the hospital is not where she is going to find healing. I’m on a mission to learn all I can in this Ayurveda course to especially help my mom heal, my immediate family, myself and as many people as I can in this world."

Nastassia Matsulevich | Abu Dhabi | @nastassia_matsulevich

"My spiritual journey started around 7 years ago, when I first tried yoga. It showed me the deeper meaning of the word “lifestyle", where you are not doing exercise only, but working on establishing your mind-body connection. In 2019 I had a trip to Nepal. Somewhere on the roof of Kathmandu during a yoga class with singing bowls, a revelation came to my mind “I want to do this myself”, to teach, connect & heal others. Fast forward to 2020, I found myself in Rishikesh, India, doing a yoga teacher training, meeting people & gurus, & obviously starting to pay attention to Ayurveda. I decided to slow down & spend time alone. Panchakarma, a well-known Ayurvedic detox program, seemed like an answer to my problems. I felt heavy, my digestion was slow, I had skin issues, constant fatigue & compulsive eating. The results were stunning. I literally felt my body cleansing inside & out. This changed my life, I finally felt the inner peace & harmony regained. Currently I teach a few yoga classes a week. And it became clear to me that modern people are looking for answers. On how to balance their lives, how to eat well, how to recover from stress & better manage their daily activities. My eagle eye vision is to offer that knowledge & advice on improving their lifestyle. Coz Mama Nature has it all for us. We just need to listen."

Palloma Pires | Chicago | @pallomitaomshanti

"My name is Palloma and I currently live in the Windy City-Chicago. First of all, I am humbled and so deeply grateful to be able to return to the teachings of Ayurveda. After dealing with so many detours and different cycles in my journey, I honor my intuition which led me to be here in this present moment connecting with Katie and all the Shakti School sisterhood where I feel loved and very welcomed. I grew up by the ocean in Brazil and since my childhood my connection with nature has always been special… I remember stopping and admiring the diversity and colors of many exotic flowers & plants…I would fall in love with the delicacy and strength of nature portrayed on its flora, over and over again… but it was during my yoga teacher training, after so many springs that I had the opportunity to learn more about the sister science of yoga. That’s when I felt a strong desire to go deeper into this beautiful science of life. My heart intention with my spiritual education is to embrace, understand, respect, live and share the beauties and sacred teachings of Mama Nature through Ayurveda/Yoga/Sacred Feminine focusing on bringing awareness, consciousness, wellness, love and light, especially to sisters in vulnerable situations by assisting them, reasserting their relationship within their wildish nature, allowing these women to overcome the pressure and struggles of today's patriarchal society, by finding the medicine through a path of self-love and self-worth where they can honor themselves in the purest and most truthful form: LOVE! Com muito amor~"

Prishaniee Naidoo | Johannesburg, South Africa | @prishaniee

"Hi there, my name is Prishaniee Naidoo. I am 26 years old from Johannesburg, South Africa. I found Shakti school at a time in my life when I was exploring my spirituality. I was studying to be a yoga teacher and Ayurveda is a word that came up a lot in those spaces. I was so excited when I found Shakti School and did the free introductory course into Ayurveda. It was in doing this course that I was drawn to the work being done at Shakti School and there was no way my soul would not let me peruse this path. I was beyond honoured and so grateful to be a recipient of the Shakti School scholarship. After receiving my Scholarship, I was worried and stressed about my health as I had thought I had come to some sort of resolution with my insulin resistance and PCOS. I had always been using Ayurvedic remedies, I was just not aware that that is what it was called. I am therefore, determined and committed to the work we learn at Shakti school. I hope to use what I learn to help me better understand myself and to share this vast and beautiful knowledge with those around me as well as my community. My aim is to use these teachings to guide and inspire women that I meet to understand their own wisdom and power."

Raven Jones | Midwest, US | @raven.f.jones.3

"Greetings! I’m Raven Jones, located in the Midwest region in the US, and very grateful to be starting this journey this year. I’ve always had a love and interest in holistic healing since I was a teenager, due to some chronic health issues since I was younger, and have been working with herbs personally about 7 or 8 years now. Along my journey I have tried a lot of healing modalities and have resonated with some like breathwork, ecstatic dance, working with cacao, and sound healing. I plan to combine my Shakti School training with other healing modalities that I resonate with to offer something unique and healing to others. I don’t honestly know what that looks like yet but I know my main focuses will be mental health and healing the heart space. I want to be part of offering more safe spaces to others to be their most authentic self and move through this life from a place of healthy love, not fear. My IG handle is raven.f.jones.3, I’m not posting that much currently as I’ve been focusing a lot so far this year on decluttering and releasing all that no longer serves me on this new journey but will be more active in the near future. Blessings"

Rebekah Sarino | Vancouver, BC | @bekah_sarino

"Hello Shakti family! My name is Rebekah Sarino and I currently live in the West Coast of Canada in Vancouver, BC. You can find connect with me on instagram @bekah_sarino. A little about me - I have been on a journey of remembrance of self for what feels like years now and feel in the past year I have really come home to myself. I have a passion for helping others and do so through my work as a Yoga teacher and Reiki healer. I tried many times to do the traditional path of education and every time found myself falling ill or having something pull me out of it. The latest attempt I was in a Behavioural Sciences degree and 2 years into it, after having asked for clarity - slipped on ice and hit my head outside of school. This caused me to completely redirect my vision and turn inward where I began to heal myself along side the help of my team of alternative medicine practitioners. I later found I had been practicing energy healing through my meditations and was called to Reiki and Yoga and nutrition as a form of self-care. I was longing for a program that encompassed and focused on holistic healing - interweaving the wisdom of the mind, body, and soul as a way of finding balance and lasting health. Ayurveda seemed to encompass ALL of that and just like that Shakti School appeared on my radar. This scholarship provides me with the opportunity to dive deep into the ancient practices of Ayurveda and develop the skills and experiences to share and help others to heal and live a life in alignment with their highest most radiant selves!"

Rosie Yadid | London, UK | @rosieyadid

"Ayurveda initially entered in my life during my first Yoga Teacher Training. It felt wonderfully intuitive. A visceral nod, an initial point of contact with my inner knowing. I could feel the stirring of something inside me that was bigger than the space I was currently occupying. After a blissful month in paradise, my transition back to ‘the real world’ was brutal. I became crippled by my own expectation – I had absorbed all this beautiful knowledge, but back in the thick of it, within the reality of my life, I couldn’t muster the love to offer myself these gifts. I felt shame in my newfound awareness and inability to integrate it into my life. Yoga and Ayurveda were added to the list of ways I was failing to live up to my potential. It was a long time before I practiced again. Amidst the collective grief and uncertainty of the pandemic, some of us received the gift of pause. In this space I have begun teaching and learning again. Shakti School is an anchor, gently guiding me towards the wisdom that sits at the heart of me. The embrace of the feminine is softening my edges and encouraging me to investigate my toxic perfectionism. This shift in perspective is vital. I am allowing myself to heal, rather than demanding it. In my life, I usually identify as an artist more than anything else. And what I am coming to understand is that Ayurveda is the art of health. With art there is no right or wrong, only what moves you. There is no ultimate prescription, no finish line. It is simply a process of listening."

Rosie Young | Atlanta, GA | @rosietheteenieyogini

"Hey, I’m Rosie! I’m a yoga teacher and travel writer, and I’ve spent the past 4 years nomading across the globe and building out my small corner of the wellness travel world. 2020 brought the birth of my daughter, Jasmine Paradise, and the pandemic saw to the devastation of many travel/retreat businesses, including my own. Being homebound in Mexico for the Covid-19 pandemic inflamed many abusive aspects of my marriage and seemed unescapable, and at the same time, postpartum depression colored everything in a very existential light. I poured my heart into Yoga and Svadhyaya and used it to explore the full range of the motherhood experience, from extreme love to extreme suffering. It was my way of begging the universe for guidance, you know, that original suffering and initial cry for help that tends to proceed big, earth-shattering spiritual awakenings. My inquiry into what it meant to be happy — or to not be happy — brought me to Shakti School. I felt the call. I felt what I now recognize as ‘hope.' Yoga had always been the light I used to illuminate the shadows, but the tool of ancient Ayurveda and Tantra held out a loving hand and offered to show me the way through. Being a survivor of an abusive marriage, and experiencing the deep, dark throes of new motherhood, have taught me a lot — and it is my ultimate goal to share what I have learned (and will always continue to learn) about Ayurveda and Yoga with other women, so that the collective can uncover bliss and deep love in what often appear to be a dark, lonely world. Isn’t it so fortunate that our experience can truly be anything but?"

Sandhya Menon | Dubai

"I hail from India, the land of Ayurveda. So right from my childhood Ayurveda was part of my life unknowingly. Which is why I never valued it and took it for granted. I ate homecooked food during my growing up years and we rarely ate food from outside. I got married and shifted to Dubai. That is when I actually starting ignoring my health and began eating unhealthy junk food. The stress of work added to it. I had my two kids. Though I managed to give them healthy food, still I could not strictly follow a healthy regime. Although I would always avoid allopathic medications for myself and my kids and treat them with home remedies. It was 5 years back that I had severe knee pain and was diagnosed with RA. That is when I began treatment with an Ayurvedic practitioner. I decided to take my health seriously. However, I was not relieved of the pain completely. In spite of being on medications on an off, the flare ups were unbearable and I would go into depression during such flare ups. My practitioner never explained as to why I was having this pain or ways to reduce my stress or depression. While I was fine on days when there was no pain, on days I had my flare ups I would be shattered and lost. That is when I came upon Shakti School. Call it my intuition or my inner calling, I strongly felt this is my path to healing. Also, I could heal other women like me who could be going through a similar journey. I was honoured to receive the scholarship from Shakti school. Today as I go through the sessions, I become aware and enlightened. I respect and value my body a lot more than I did before. I have already noticed positive changes in my health by applying what I am learning in Shakti school. My wish is to pursue a career in Ayurveda by helping people to follow a path in wellness."

Sara Rollins | Appalachia | @sarasmiles15

"My name is Sara Rollins, and I come from the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. I am truly a teacher at heart, and have a passion for ethical outdoor recreation, and holistic practices that support overall well-being. I am blessed to be studying Ayurveda with the Shakti School this year after waiting for the right time since the very first group. Through this course, I hope to continue to solidify practices in my own life that I love and believe in to keep my own cup full so I can support others in need, especially those in rural areas who really need these practices, but often don’t have access to them. I love the format of slow, one-0n-one work with people, and my goal is to combine my unique set of skills in music, yoga, outdoor recreation, and Ayurveda to support individuals as they work to achieve whatever they want out of life. I live in my van full-time with my love, Burt, and our precious Norwegian Elkhound Lola. He is a musician, and I work on a research team for a podcast in it’s preliminary stage about the Appalachian Trail; my primary work for the podcast is bringing to light the dark history in the United States regarding the treatment of the indigenous natives of this land. I’m also a graduate student through Prescott College working toward my Master’s in Outdoor Education and Leadership. My undergraduate degrees are in Music Performance and Music Education."

Sara Tonini | Cape Town, South Africa

"I am Sara, a soul alchemist, a womb-wisdom keeper and an Earth ambassador. I am the scientist and the shaman, the academic and the witch. The bridge between the structured logic and the fiery creativity. For many years, I have lived in the beautiful land of my Mind, where I was privilege enough to nourish my studies, up to getting a PhD in the social sciences. I followed my passion all the way to Cape Town, my home away from home. To a passionate researcher in the field of social trust, cultural taboo and ethnic diversity, South Africa is simply the place to be. Living in an incredibly interesting, yet very tough reality required me to have a strong balance in my own life. Mens sana in corpore sano, they say. I have thus started to embark on a journey of radical self-love through embodiment practices. Conscious breathing, conscious dancing, herbalism and yoga all brought me a step closer to a fuller version of myself. To feel whole, though, I needed Ayurveda in my life. As I work more and more in the poorest and most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Cape Town, I see Ayurveda as a political practice, one of justice. I joined Shakti School to gain the knowledge and to access its teachers’ wisdom to be able to support and empower women (and their children) in taking deep care of themselves and their communities in a holistic and inexpensive way, in harmony with Nature and its cyclicality."

Sarah Corradino | Peoria, AZ | @modern_hippie.life

"After being diagnosed with Endometriosis in 2018, I knew that I wanted to help women navigate their health through finding the root cause of what they are going through. There is not a lot of information on Endometriosis and the cause, so trying to treat it makes it very difficult. I found through holistic practices and with the help of my medical team, that I have been able to successfully manage my symptoms. During the last year, I was thinking about going back to school to become an ear for those who feel they are not being heard in the medical field. However, I decided that I wanted to be more involved with women and their journeys and creating a process on how to heal not just their bodies but their souls. After completing the Ayurveda Wellness Coach - Level 1 program, I am looking forward to joining level 2 to extend my knowledge and then open a whole Mind, Body and Spirit sanctuary for all women looking to increase their Agni. After learning that Katie teaches the importance of integrating western and eastern practices together, I knew that this is the program I wanted to study. I am not 100% sure where this journey will take me, but I am very excited to be on it."

Sita Rachel | Germany | @in.everydirection

"My name is Sita Rachel, I‘m 22 years old and live in middle Germany. Since about one and a half years I am in contact with Ayurvedic teachings, which is very valuable to me. I am interested in holistic health and have a vision of connecting Ayurvedic knowledge & wisdom with trauma therapy to help humans and communities to heal and nourish themselves and each other on all levels – body, mind, soul and in their social context. Ayurveda, as well as the understanding of trauma, the nervous system and basic knowledge in systems theory are big gamechangers for me, to look at myself and the life around me from a new angle. It makes me realize how much we are the creators of our lives. In the big shifts of these times I ask myself more than ever how I want to live and what is really important in life. In my heart I realized that I just want to serve life and encourage the aliveness & consciousness in myself and my surrounding, support community spirit and be more Here & Now than anywhere else. Besides that I love dancing, moving my body. Also, I just started making music (guitar and synth) again after a long pause, just for joy. I am very grateful to be part of the amazing, empowering Shakti School community! If you resonate with me, I am happy to see you on Instagram: @in.everydirection"

Sophia Parks | UC, Riverside | @sophia.sea.yoga

"My name is Sophia Parks, and for me it’s quite simple why I chose to study Ayurveda. I feel like much of the world has lost the art of true healing and continues to cover up health problems instead of understanding your whole being. I hope to share my knowledge with the BIPOC community and make the balance of health more accessible. I came to a more holistic form of healing because I have struggled with GI issues and skin imbalances and am working to bring my whole body into health so these issues will clear. I am passionate about yoga and Ayurveda and have been teaching yoga since 2019, you can see more about my classes on IG @sophia.sea.yoga. I am from Murrieta, CA and attend graduate school in infectious disease at UC, Riverside. This serves as a constant reminder that we are all struggling with dis-ease in one form or another. I am constantly in a male-dominant and male-thinking environment and have been craving feminine energy. As women we all have the power to be healers and it’s time for the world to recognize us in all our strength and power. My hope is that we rise up together to heal ourselves, each other and the world around us!"

Türkan Demirdöğen | Istanbul, Turkey | @thornn_apple

"As far as I remember I have been feeling wounded inside and outside, throughout my 30 years of life I have suffered from scoliosis and eating disorders. Incessantly tried to fix my bones and my body that I despised; with great effort tried to seek everywhere the reason behind my restless spirit. Luckily, I was passionate enough to expand my inherent love for nature and follow my intuition that I finally realized the precious essence flowing through me was always within me. I could feel it like the delicious fragrance of blossoming flowers, like a wild ocean wave, like the rising of the sun... All inside and outside of me; the loving force of creation pervading all the universe and the miniverse within me. Shakti School has become a nest holding my restless spirit; a magnifying love glass for my senses through which I can look deeper, closer into my bones and my tiny cells yearning for attention. As I slowly and steadily drop the veil before me everything started to feel right. I feel so honored to be a part of this lineage of love that words are not enough to express my gratitude for this opportunity. It breaks my heart to see many women suffer from eating disorders and body hate and the fact that I will have the chance to bring forth the unique medicine growing inside me, fuels my passion in this journey. I would love to utilize these ancient and modern teachings of Ayurveda and Tantra that I am gradually integrating, for the amelioration of the women experiencing this suffering. I aim for weaving the practices with kind compassion so as to remind my beloved sisters of their inherent connection with the radiant essence within their being and help them to rebuild this lost connection with divine spirit."

Vipula | Chennai, India | @vipulapaithankar

"My name is Vipula and I am from Chennai, India. Currently pursuing my master’s degree in Psychology and teaching yoga during my free time, I had always hoped to open a holistic centre for healing but it wasn’t until I came across Shakti School on Instagram that I had thought of Ayurveda as the missing puzzle for my vision. I couldn’t help but be in awe of this school and the community of powerful women who believed in a healing method that was so close to my heart. My journey with Ayurveda started with a quite simple discovery of shared wisdom from my mother about traditional recipes, leading me to start up a small and gorgeous home garden thoroughly inspired by all the resources that nature has to offer us and connecting me to the roots of my existence. The knowledge and possibility Shakti School gave me about healing generational trauma through unlearning and traditional ways came as a surprise, as it would allow me to understand myself and help thousands of women do the same or more. I am happy and excited to have this scholarship that would help me stay curious and thrive with abundance of ancestral wisdom. Thank you Shakti School of Ayurveda for this wonderful journey you have guided me into."

She’s The First

Today I'm super excited to share with you something that's lightening up our hearts.

We are now honored to announce that in addition to our regular scholarship program, Shakti School is collaborating with one of the world's foremost organizations for supporting women in education and gender equality - She’s the First.

It is our hope to advance the cause of educating girls in South Asia specifically, given our love for ancient Indian medicine and our longing to give back to a culture whose rich history has given so much to humanity.

Now, when you invest in your health and your future through signing up for our Ayurveda programs, you're also helping create meaningful change in the world for other women.

She’s the First teams up with grassroots, women-led organizations worldwide to make sure girls are educated, respected, and heard.

Like Shakti School, She's the First believes in a world where every girl has access to education and can choose her own future. She's the First fights gender inequality through education by supporting the following local organizations: Shanti Bhavan in India and Blink Now in Nepal.

See some of their inspiring stories below: