Summer

How to Do Sitali Pranayama: The Cooling Breath

Sitali Pranayama, “the cooling breath,” is a simple and renewing yogic breathing exercise that’s perfect for late summer when the heat has peaked in the body. It helps lower our body’s temperature, calm nerves, take the edge off hunger pangs, reduce fatigue, fevers and high blood pressure.

How to Do Sitali Pranayama:

Form the lips into an "o", curl your tongue lengthwise
Project the tongue out of the mouth
Inhale deeply through your tongue as if drinking through a straw
Focus your attention on the cool breath across your tongue as you fill up your diaphragm
Bring your tongue into your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose
You can start with 2-5 minutes of Sitali breathing and work your way up to around 10 minutes

Make sure to finish with several minutes of meditation to notice the sensations throughout your body. 🌬️

Ayurveda-Inspired Homemade Sunscreen

Check out our favorite Ayurveda-inspired homemade sunscreen 👇

Put all of the ingredients except the zinc into a large glass mason jar. Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and place that on medium heat. Loosely fit the lid on the jar and place that in the water. ⁠
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Let all those ingredients melt together completely, shaking or stirring to get it all blended.⁠
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Once everything is melted, take it off the heat, add in the zinc, secure the lid, shake it up and stir it well. Then pour it into whatever container you plan on keeping the sunscreen in and let it cool.⁠
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This sunscreen has around 35 to 40 SPF naturally!⁠
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And one more thing - if you still love conventional sunscreen and want to keep using it, just avoid any sunscreen that has oxybenzone. Oxybenzone is found in about 40% of sunscreens and it’s been banned in Japan and parts of Europe because it’s been found to be a major endocrine disruptor related to infertility, hormone imbalance and low birth rates.⁠
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Remember the golden rule in Ayurveda: ⁠We don’t put anything on our skin that we would not use in our kitchen. 🥣⁠
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Enjoy your summer and take care of your skin! ✨⁠

Spring to Summer Transition: Navigating Seasonal Shifts with Ayurveda

Mama nature usually gives us clear indications of her changes if we open our eyes to her subtlety. The more we can align with these rhythms, the easier it is to maintain body/mind health. Just as seasonal shifts transform the weather where we live, they also shake up the internal landscape within our bodies. ⁠
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In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to start gently incorporating pitta-balancing elements into our food and lifestyle. ⁠
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Depending on where you live, it’s generally a good time to lean into pitta-balancing practices when you start to notice:⁠

☀️ Warmer temperatures⁠
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☀️ Longer daylight hours⁠
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☀️ A shift from the lush, wet heaviness of spring to a drier, sharper heat⁠
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☀️ Increased internal heat (like irritability, skin flare-ups or digestive intensity)⁠

Most simply put, once you start feeling more heat and dryness in your body than you do watery heaviness, it’s a green light to start introducing some pitta-balancing practices into your routine. ⁠

Check out these tips below for navigating the spring > summer transition with watery ease:

🌱 Lighten Up, Without Burning Out: Spring is about moving stagnation (Kapha), while summer brings intensity (Pitta). Gradually lighten your diet while avoiding too much heat or fasting.

🥗 Increase Cooling Foods: Introduce cooling, watery foods like cucumber, zucchini and mint, and reduce ferments, chili, and excess sour or salty foods.

☀️ Watch Your Fire: Start winding down intense workouts, avoid overcommitting, and make room for more rest.

🧘‍♀️ Slow, Sweet, and Steady Daily Routine: Early mornings, light breakfast, cooling pranayama like sitali, and gentle, cooling yoga (think moon salutations, forward folds, twists).

Ep. 222 Summer Routines & Rituals to Help You Chill

This is a picture of Katie Silcox. The text reads, "Spirit Sessions: Find your true spiritual home with Katie Silcox."

As the earth turns and the northern hemisphere enters late summer, Katie shares summer routines and practices to help you stay cool during the fiery pitta season!

Tune in for summer self-care rituals that bring balance to your body and spirit. Katie also discusses why she founded The Shakti School as a welcoming, non-judgmental space for seekers of all backgrounds, and how we embody our motto, “SMART + HEART.” Stay tuned to the end to hear a guided meditation designed to help you stay cool, calm and connected all summer long!

It’s the Summer of Love here at The Shakti School, and enrollment is now open for our Divine Feminine Ayurveda School! Click here to learn more and enroll today.

In this episode about summer routines, you’ll hear:

~ An invitation to book a call with one of our Ayurveda School graduates

~ Download your Summer of Love e-book here!

~ A taste of what goes on in The Shakti School

~ Ayurvedic summer routines and rituals

~ The Ayurvedic view of the seasons

~ What is the pitta season?

~ Why Katie started The Shakti School

~ What it means to be “SMART + HEART”

~ The “healing climate”

~ Making space to tap into your intuition

~ What is embodied Ayurveda?

~ Discovering your authentic, divine nature

~ The Ayurvedic concept of Svastha

~ Why health is so much more than the absence of disease

~ Determining your dosha by looking at the palm of your hand

~ Why so many of us burn out in the summer

~ Common signs of imbalance during the summer

~ Summer routines to balance the fire element

~ Balancing the feminine and masculine

~ A guided meditation to help you chill out this summer

~ Developing a connection to your unique energy

~ Sign up for our free Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda mini-course!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

More episodes about summer routines:

~ Ep. 38 Slather Yourself in Roses - A.K.A. Summer Routines

~ Ep. 182 Hot Girl Summer Self-Care

~ Ep. 03 Summer Date Shake! OMG Love!

Other resources related to this episode:

~ Learn more about Ayurveda School

~ 2025 Chakra Yoga Nidra Workshop: Study with Katie and other luminary teachers this fall in the Bahamas!

~ 2026 Chakra Yoga Nidra Retreat: Deep dive into the chakras with Katie as your guide in the beautiful Bahamas in spring 2026!

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy

~ The Shakti School Membership

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

I hope you loved this episode about summer routines and rituals to help you stay cool this summer! This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you love the show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
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From my heart to yours,

Katie

How to Make the Perfect Summer Salad

Summertime is the time for salad—the possibilities are endless. 🌺🌱🍅 In the Virginia summers, greens grow in abundance, fruit starts popping off and there are edible flowers galore! It’s one of my favorite times of the year. ⁠

Of course Ayurveda suggests not over consuming raw food, but there are plenty of ways around this. Salads are appropriate in the hot summer months and if your digestive system is a little sluggish, you can always pair your greens with a cooked element or additional spices to support your specific needs. ⁠
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I love going to the farmer’s market in the summer and seeing what creations I can make with the various colors and shapes of the vegetables. Making food should feel like an art (of course it’s not always going to feel easy), but it is an act of creativity that can really serve you well. ⁠
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When it comes to making salads you can get really creative. Just simply think of what flavors and textures you love most and create a salad from that. For me, I love crunch, I love FAT and I love citrus. I usually end up making a big bowl of greens, some sort of seed sautéed in ghee, avocado, radishes and all of it topped with a lemon vinaigrette. I often will always add some sort of protein source. Grilled chicken, fried tempeh and hard boiled (farm fresh eggs) are all my favorite go-to forms of protein.

Here's How to Make my Perfect Summer Salad:

Salad Ingredients:

½ cup cooked quinoa
1 ½ cups summer greens (mix of your choice-diced)
1 tbsp lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
½ cup summer cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 handful of summer sprouts
Optional protein add ons: ¼ cup cooked chickpeas or grilled chicken

Dressing Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegan mayo
¼ cup fresh mint & parsley mix (diced)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Assemble all of your salad ingredients into a bowl (except the sprouts) organizing however you would like. Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl using a fork (adding more or less apple cider vinegar depending on preference). Generously pour dressing over the salad. Garnish with fresh edible flowers and sprouts!

Enjoy! 🥬🌱🍅🌼

Beet & Chickpea Hummus

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. 😉🫜🌺🌿

Rose + Mint Sun Tea

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. 🧘🏼‍♀️

Homemade Coconut Yogurt

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! 🥄