The Shakti School

Feminine Form Sacred Technology

Spring

Ayurvedic Tips For Allergy Season

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Two more of my fave supports for allergy season are quercetin (studies have shown that quercetin can prevent immune cells from releasing histamines which means runny nose, hives and swelling = bye bye 👋🏼) and Green Tea (‘cause it’s high in quercetin 😉). ⁠
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Ayurveda understands that allergies are the result of an outer allergen aggravating a specific dosha. ⁣⁠Seasonal allergies related to spring (and sometimes fall) are usually more kapha-related.⁣⁠
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In order to aid our kapha allergies, we have to heat things up, boost circulation, clear out the channels of the body and support our system’s natural cleansing pathways (think lymph flow, circulation, digestion and elimination!).⁣⁠

Here are some more of my favorite tips for allergy season:

  • Get a Neti Pot and use it daily! Add ¼ tsp salt to warm water and pour through both nostrils.
  • Follow your Neti Pot with Nasya Oil to lubricate your nostrils with herbal oil.
  • Scrape your tongue. Scraping your tongue helps to remove the ama that your body is cleansing through the night.
  • Dry Brush. Dry brushing boosts the lymphatic system–this helps the channels of the body circulate and eliminate toxins.
  • Drink your nettles. Nettles promote healthy circulation and activate the liver and kidneys. 

And if you really want to get ahead of things, start doing some of these practices before allergy season hits to improve your overall immunity. 🌸⁠

P.S. Here’s how I make my nettles infusion: Brew a tea by combining 4 large tablespoons of dried nettles in a mason jar with boiling water - let steep for 1 hour and then strain! Enjoy! 🌿

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Simple Spring Pea Soup

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One of the keys to good digestion in Ayurveda is keeping things SIMPLE. Less complicated meals give our digestive fire a chance to rest and truly metabolize the fuel we’re feeding the fire. ⁠
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Peas are light, astringent and slightly drying—aka they help balance kapha’s natural heaviness and tendency to hold onto all the things (mucus, water, emotional clutter... you name it). Plus, they're packed with protein and fiber without being overly dense.⁠
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On top of that, soup is basically kapha’s best friend. It’s warm, light AND easy to digest. Broth and veggie-based soups are the perfect go-to option for spring dinners that aren’t too heavy! Enjoy! 🌿

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons sunflower or olive oil
  • 4 spring onions, finely minced
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1½ cups fresh peas, shelled
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small saucepan, sauté the spring onions and leek over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the peas and cook until bright green and slightly tender. (This depends on their size, but should only take a few moments.)

Using a blender, purée the soup until very smooth. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil on top or add a dab of yogurt for garnish. Serve warm or chilled.

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Beet & Chickpea Hummus

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To further support you during this kapha season, I want to offer up one of my go-to recipes for one of my favorite grounding veggies: the beet! ⁠
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Beets are loaded with health benefits and when I eat them regularly I feel like I have some sort of super strength. ⁠
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Their rich color is a key indicator of their richness in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects on the body. ⁠
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In Ayurveda, beets can be eaten in abundance by all doshas as long as they are prepared appropriately. Vata & pitta individuals can tolerate cooked beets more so than kapha. If you are prone to have more kapha, try adding a little extra mustard seed and black pepper to your beets. ⁠
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Other benefits of beets include: ⁠
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🫜 Improves circulation ⁠
⁠🫜 Supports healthy skin⁠
⁠🫜 High in iron ⁠
⁠🫜 Good for liver detoxification ⁠
⁠🫜 Cleanses the blood ⁠
⁠🫜 Good for the brain ⁠
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I love making all sorts of dishes with beets. I’ve added beets to chocolate cakes, roasted them for salads, hummus and dressings, and have even added them to smoothies. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the beet! ⁠

Now let's get into the recipe:

Ingredients: 

  • 1-2 beets (already roasted or boiled)
  • 1 can of chickpeas drained (or you can use 1 cup freshly cooked/drained chickpeas)
  • 1 juiced lemon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 3 Tbsp tahini (if you’re looking for an even more kapha-friendly version, you can use sunflower seed butter)
  • ¼ water
  • Olive oil for topping

Directions:

  • Add all the ingredients to a food processor (except for the olive oil). Blend until smooth (you may need to add more water to reach the desired consistency).
  • Top with a drizzle of olive oil, a little parsley or some sesame seeds!⁠

Save this recipe for the next time you need to spice up your dinner rotation or add some color to your plate. 😉🫜🌺🌿

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Rose + Mint Sun Tea

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For this recipe, just let the sun do the steeping. 🌞 Steep dried rose petals and fresh mint in a glass jar under direct sunlight for a few hours. (No need to measure perfectly - just add what you’ve got on hand!) Sip room temperature or slightly chilled throughout the day to stay hydrated and soothe Pitta. What do you get? A cooling, heart-opening, Pitta-pacifying potion that’s as beautiful as it is nourishing.⁠
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Here’s a little bit about how these plant allies help support us during the warmer months of the year…⁠
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🌹 Rose - The ultimate flower of the Divine Feminine:⁠
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• Cools the heat of both the body and our emotions (hi, Pitta spiciness 😅)⁠
• Soothes the heart and uplifts mood with its subtle, floral sweetness⁠
• Some studies have demonstrated that rose also has the potential to support the reproductive and nervous systems, and even impact dopamine levels⁠
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🌿 Mint - The crisp, clarifying herb we all need in summer:⁠
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• Helps to clear excess heat and inflammation from the gut and skin⁠
• Stimulates digestion without aggravating Pitta (exactly what we want!)⁠
• Awakens the mind while calming overactive fire in the head + heart 🔥⁠

Sip this floral elixir all day long to stay hydrated, radiant and keep your Pitta chilled out. Your inner fire goddess will thank you. 🧘🏼‍♀️

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Homemade Coconut Yogurt

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Coconut Yogurt is so delicious and easy to make. It is one of my favorite things to top onto mung daal (if using for savory dishes, exclude the vanilla and maple syrup) or to eat with berries and nuts! Plus, it helps keep the digestive system in check. I especially love it around the early spring/summer months. ⁠
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Add coconut milk, probiotic capsules, vanilla bean and maple syrup to your shopping list—it’s the perfect time to make this cool, sweet recipe! 🥄

Ingredients: 

  • 1 14-ounce can of full fat coconut milk or 1 can of heavy coconut whipping cream
  • 2 capsules of your favorite probiotics
  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean powder
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
  • Dash of sea salt

Instructions:

  • Add the coconut milk to a food processor or blender and blend until it is all one consistency. Pour into a glass jar.
  • Empty your probiotic capsules into the yogurt and stir until smooth.
  • Cover the jar with a cheesecloth and a rubber band to secure.
  • Let the yogurt sit on your countertop for at least 24 hours (up to 48 hours is okay).
  • Once the yogurt has reached a thick consistency, add the remaining ingredients and store in the refrigerator. Yogurt will get thicker while it is in the refrigerator as well.
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How to do a Spring Cleanse

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Spring is the perfect time to do a gentle cleanse.

Ayurveda teaches us to mimic what is happening in the natural world. In Spring, the Earth’s core begins to heat up as fungi, bugs, insects, and bees make their way to the surface pollinating and helping to prepare the soil for the growth to come.

After many months enduring the cold and dampness of winter, it’s likely that some extra Kapha accumulation could be present. This can take the form of excess mucus in the lungs and sinuses, a possible accumulation of weight, or a feeling of lethargy or depression.

Thankfully, with the help of Ayurveda and the willingness to slightly shift up your routine you can be easing into that springtime flow in no time.

So, what does it mean to detox Ayurvedically?

Ayurveda does not suggest some kind of crazy fasting or overly-restrictive cleansing. In fact it’s quite the opposite.

An Ayurvedic cleanse is gentle.

What most of us actually need is something that can allow our body to deeply relax.

In order to “let go” of all the unwanted stuff inside of us, your body needs to know that you have the space to step away from your daily hustle and grind, to step into the parasympathetic nervous system and deeply relax.

This is why, for example, as part of an Ayurvedic cleanse, getting warm, medicated oil rubbed on you was always part of the cleansing protocol.

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For this simple cleanse I’m gonna share with you, it’s not at all about restricting food intake. 

It’s all about giving your body and digestion the space and time to deeply rest.

We have this idea in our culture that cleansing must be about suffering and penance and purification, Ayurvedic cleansing isn’t about any of those things. It’s about sweetness and love and slowing down. And saying to your body “I’m going to let you do what you need to do to come into balance.”

NOT using willpower to force our bodies to further the goals of the mind.

So I put together this little spring Kitchari recipe and simple cleansing protocol that’s a really easeful intro to Ayurvedic cleansing.

Plus there’s some more amazing resources below if you want to take it even deeper.

Get the Guide Here

 

Additional Cleansing Resources:

For Learning More About How to Do an Ayurvedic Cleanse:

Ep. 07 Spirit Sessions Podcast: Detox the Ayurveda Way

For a Guide to Spiritual Spring Cleaning:

Ep. 11 Spirit Sessions Podcast: Holy Shit, How to Become a Tantric House Witch 

For Boosting Your Elimination and Achieving “Poophoria”:

Ep. 46 Spirit Sessions Podcast: Poophoria: Getting Perfect ?!

Happy spring cleansing!

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Katie’s Seasonal Allergies Arsenal

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We are currently being overloaded with pollen over here (if you’re on the East Coast in the US at least 😉) and it’s got me thinking about how we can all navigate allergy season with a little more support…⁣⁠
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Allergies are a typical imbalance associated with Kapha season (aka SPRING) 💐⁣⁠
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Ayurveda understands that allergies are the result of an outer allergen aggravating a specific dosha. ⁣⁠
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So, Ayurveda breaks allergies into Vata, Pitta, and Kapha-type allergies.⁣⁠ (And no, this isn’t based on your constitution, it’s based on the specific allergen that’s irritating your system!)⁣⁠ Seasonal allergies related to spring (and sometimes Fall) are usually more Kapha-related.⁣⁠
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An excess of Kapha dosha brings sluggishness, mucous and water retention (read: allergy symptoms). ⁣⁠
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In order to aid our Kapha seasonal allergies, we have to heat things up, boost circulation, clear out and CLEANSE our bodies’ pathways.⁣⁠
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Allergies don’t have to be your destiny.⁣⁠ Reducing the effects of allergies comes down to boosting agni + reducing ama + supporting immunity. ⁣⁠
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To reduce the uncomfortable symptoms of allergies we have to CLEAR OUT OUR SROTAS! Srotas are the circulation channels of the body–these channels are where ama gets STUCK, resulting in imbalances. ⁣⁠
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See below for my arsenal and reference this for future seasonal allergies attacks!

👃🏽 Nose care: Neti & Nasya! Add ¼ tsp salt to warm water and pour through both nostrils using a neti pot, then lubricate your nostrils with herbal nasya oil!

👅 Scrape your tongue! If you aren’t on the tongue scraping train START ASAP–this helps to remove the toxins that your body is cleansing through the night.

🌀 Dry Brush. Boosts the lymphatic system, helps the channels of the body circulate and eliminate toxins.

🌿 Triphala + Turmeric. Triphala will help boost digestion and reduce ama (the source of allergies) while Turmeric is one of the best anti-inflammatory, anti-ama herbs.

🫖 Nettles. Nettles are your circulation-boosting, ama-clearing, waste-cleansing BFF. Brew a tea by combining 4 large tablespoons of dried nettles in a mason jar with boiling water - let steep for 1 hour and then strain!

🍒 Quercetin! Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant with amazing anti-inflammatory powers. Studies have shown that quercetin can prevent immune cells from releasing histamines which means runny nose, hives, swelling = bye bye 👋🏼

🍵 GREEN TEA. Because it’s super high in quercetin, it helps to reduce the body’s immune response to allergies like pollen!

For more information, check out our podcast on allergies here.

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Ep. 177 The Subtle Energetics of Spring with Lisa Marie Rankin

Podcast Guest - Lisa Marie Rankin

As the spring weather oscillates between cold and warm, wet and dry, it’s no surprise that many of us experience confusion in our lives, relationships, and careers at this time. However, we can find clarity by discerning what to let go of and what to let in! In this episode, Katie chats with author and friend of the Shakti School, Lisa Marie Rankin, about how to navigate the spring season with more ease.

This is the time to rededicate yourself to what matters most to you! Learn how to tap into the lesser-known, subtle qualities of the spring season to prepare for the year ahead!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

~ Why you might feel confused about your life, relationships, or career right now

~ The most important question to ask yourself this spring

~ The subtle energetics of the spring season

~ Spring self-care practices to stay healthy

~ How to tap into creative and birthing energy

~ The key component of Katie’s spiritual self-discipline

~ How the spring season can help you build wisdom and discernment

~ The importance of community and ritual

~ Releasing rigidity around  our spiritual practices

~ Ready to go deeper? Our Level 2 Ayurvedic Health Counselor training program starts on April 9th, 2024!

Other links mentioned in this episode:

~ Lisa’s beautiful book, The Goddess Solution

~ Connect with Lisa Marie on Instagram and her Website

~ Follow the Shakti School on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy: Practices for Awakening Your Inner Light and Loving Yourself as You Are—Broken, Beautiful, and Sacred is available now!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

Ayurveda Certification

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Enjoy the beautiful spring season!

From my heart to your screen,

Katie

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