Summer

Pitta-Friendly Summer Mocktail ft. Heart-Healing ROSE Water

Wondering what to sip this summer that’s not going to dampen your agni but that’s still a little indulgent and fun?

(To my down-under ladies, you can enjoy this too, especially if you have more PITTA aka fire in your constitution!)

This cooling, goddess-worthy bev is perfect for when you wanna sip something cooling but still delicious, enjoy a mocktail, or get a hydrating boost on a hot summer afternoon.

The recipe makes 1 so be sure to double or triple if making it for friends 😉

Ingredients to help soothe inner heat while gently supporting agni:

🥀Rose Water

Rosewater is mildly astringent which gives it a cooling property both topically and internally. It’s great for balancing excess heat, aka pitta dosha in the digestive system, helping to aid digestive discomfort, bloating and heartburn.

Plus there’s nothing more nourishing to the subtle heart center than ingesting rose!

(See below on how to whip up your own rose water at home.)

🍋Lemon

If you’re not-so-new to Ayurveda you’ll know that warm lemon water is a key part of a traditional Ayurvedic morning routine—this is because lemon has a powerful agni boosting effect (meaning, it’s a major digestion helper!). Lemon gives our stomach the signal to start creating digestive juices and tells our liver to produce bile, both of which can help ease indigestion.

🍁Maple Syrup

Maple syrup encompasses the “sweet” quality in Ayurveda (plus, it’s derived from actual SAP - ojas boost, anyone?). The sweet taste soothes Pitta and Vata but can be a little aggravating to Kapha, so feel free to sub in some raw honey if you’re dealing with a Kapha imbalance.

Ingredients (makes one serving):

2 tablespoons of rosewater (see how to make your own below or purchase rosewater already made!)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon good quality maple syrup
1 cup plain seltzer (or sub in hibiscus infusion)
Optional garnish: cucumber, mint, orange, strawberries, etc.!

Directions:

Step 1. Make the rose water: add 1 teaspoon rose powder to a jar or glass measuring cup. Pour 1 cup boiling water over it. Allow to sit for 30 minutes then strain with a fine mesh strainer.

Step 2. Once cooled, add 2 tablespoons of rosewater into your mocktail glass.

Step 3. Add juice from 1/2 lemon.

Step 4. Add 1 tbsp good quality maple syrup. Stir up ingredients to combine.

Step 5. Top with 1 cup plain seltzer (or alternatively a chilled hibiscus infusion if you want to avoid seltzer!)

Garnish with a few cucumber slices, mint leaves, or orange slices!

Sip and stay cool 😎

Ep. 182 Hot Girl Summer Self-Care

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

If you’re feeling hot and bothered this summer you’re not alone! In today’s episode, Kate shares summer self-care practices and Ayurvedic recommendations to keep you cool! In Ayurvedic philosophy, summer is known as the pitta season and is characterized by heat and dryness as the summer wears on. This can lead to excess heat in our bodies and fiery emotions. Tune in to learn Katie’s essential summer self-care practices so you can stay cool and collected this summer!

In this episode, you’ll hear:

~ Katie’s non-negotiable summer self-care practices

~ What is the pitta season?

~ The life-affirming aspects of pitta

~ What does pitta look and feel like when out of balance?

~ Characteristics of people with high pitta dosha

~ Ayurvedic remedies and foods to balance pitta

~ What is the Summer of Love?

~ Using rose in your summer self-care routine

~ Want to learn more about seasonal Ayurvedic living? Click here to learn more about our year-long Ayurveda School. Get $100 off your tuition and a free year of our Spirit Sessions membership and a love-gift from Paavani sent right to your door when you register for Ayurveda School before August 11th with code SummerofLove at registration checkout!

Alternate Square - Summer of Love Bonus Gifts

Other links mentioned in this episode:

~ Ep. 40: To Sunscreen or Not to Sunscreen? How About Natural?

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

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy is available now!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

HELP US SPREAD OUR POD WINGS

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From my heart to your screen,

Katie

Katie’s Ayurveda-Inspired Gatorade

Ingredients:

5 limes
1 tbsp Manuka honey (this one is bangin’)
½ tsp black or Himalayan pink salt
¼ tsp fennel powder
1/4 tsp licorice powder
3 cups water
Ice Cubes (this is an Ayurveda NO-NO, so if you wanna’ be a purist, leave this one out, but I'm gonna’ be honest - in the dead of muggy Virginia summer, this girl breaks the no-ice rules)
Mint leaves
2 Tbs. Hibiscus flowers (dried)

Instructions:

Steep the hibiscus flowers in boiling water for 20 minutes in 2 cups of water. Strain and let cool.
Squeeze the lime juice into a bowl.
In a Mason jar or carafe, add the lime juice, hibiscus tea, honey, salt, licorice, fennel, ice cubes (if you’re naughty) and additional water.
Mix or shake.
Add more honey or spices as per your taste.
Garnish with the mint.

Hot Girl Summer! ☀ Cool & Fun Tips to Stay Balanced this Season

Isn’t summer just the best? Sandy toes👣 and sun-kissed glows☀️. Farmers’ markets and scents of jasmine, rose and honeysuckle wafting through the air. I don’t know about you, but I CRAVE summer – it means road trips, BBQs, outdoor concerts, barefoot walks and quality time with friends and friends.

Full stop.

What I don’t crave is summer’s annoying skin rashes, hot flashes and indigestion, or feeling hangry, impatient and leave-me-alone frustrated. Sound familiar? Yeah, total hogwash!

As fiery pitta 🔥 builds and the earth gets uncomfy, humid and hot, so do we! And, I don’t mean in a cute, “lightly flushed + glowing” way… No, I’m talking full-on hot, angry face. 🥵 So how do we keep pitta at bay and actually enjoy summertime?

Easy! Ayurveda tells us how to cool our jets so we’re not walking around red-faced and moody all season – generally, stay hydrated, eat a summer diet and prioritize SELF-CARE. ((Good news! Ayurveda permits napping during the summer months! So allow yourself to take a conscious rest or siesta when the afternoon slump hits.))

Hey, speaking of self-care, summer is the perfect time to unleash your sensual goddess and get your sexy on, girl – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. More on that later…

To help you beat the heat, stay mellow and enjoy summer’s sun-drenched days, I’m sharing some essential pitta lifestyle tips (SPOILER: yummy DIY recipes + HOT hints on how to rediscover your sensual self.) Get ready to roll with the heat by priming your body and soul for the season! Onward…

Katie’s 10 Favorite Pitta-Pacifying Foods

~foods that cool your body + calm your mood~

A pitta-pacifying diet includes heaps of hydrating, fresh seasonal produce that have cooling energies. During summer, it’s best to favor sweet, bitter and astringent tastes and reduce salty and pungent tastes. Here’s what you can always find in my kitchen during the summer months.

✨ Aloe Vera

✨ blueberries

✨ cucumber

✨ coconut (coconut water with slices of lime - yum!)

✨ leafy greens: radicchio, watercress, arugula, spinach

✨ turmeric

✨ stone fruits: peaches, pears, apricots

✨ melons: cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon

✨ mint, cilantro, basil, coriander

✨ beets

Sexy, Sassy Summer

~celebrate your divine sexual energy~

Balmy nights, bare legs, sun-kissed skin – summer is an oh’ so SEXY season, isn’t it? Connecting to your physical and energetic sexual centers is key to boosting your vitality and should be an area that is nurtured and attended to regularly. This summer (heck, anytime!!), I want you to tap into the HOT sensual goddess that you are and rediscover your feminine magic.

Try a few of these tips to reconnect with your sexual prowess… or have fun with a partner.

💋 Light up your libido with a sensual photoshoot. No, really. Grab your sexy boy shorts, summery lingerie or go a la’ nude. Keep the photos to yourself to gawk at or share with another!

💋 Cultivate self-love. Stand in front of a mirror and note all of the intricate details you love about your body. Say them OUT LOUD, lady! You are special and deserve to hear it.

💋 Let loose your inner Beyoncé! Move your hips through dance to ignite your sexual energy. Your hips, located at your second chakra, are linked to your sexuality and pleasure.

💋 Go skinny dipping and relish the erotic feel and freedom of water on your bare skin.

💋 Write yourself love affirmations: I am desire. I am sexy. I am magnetic. Yes. You. Are!

💋 Try this meditation for building and healing sexual energy.

💋 Share a chilly treat with your bae – chocolate-dipped strawberries, ice cubes, whipped cream, need I say more?

💋 Incorporate intimate acts of deep connection with your partner, such as massage, talking, walking hand-in-hand, long hugs, kind words or simply gazing at one another. Pleasure is a journey, not a destination!

💋 Get busy! Wild and spontaneous or soft and sensual – sex is a magical and beautiful part of life. During summer, the body’s ojas are not up to optimal levels and sexual frequency may be reduced (but hey, you do you).

✨For more deep real-talk on sex, spirit and shakti-infused self-care,✨
subscribe to Katie’s Spirit Sessions podcast.

Skin That’s Good Enough to Eat

~homemade scrub for dewy, glowing skin~

Keep your skin cool, smooth and lickable with a DIY body scrub. Whip up this super-simple scrub using coconut oil (one of Ayurveda’s best pitta-pacifying ingredients), brown sugar and your favorite pitta-balancing essential oil. Ready to get your sexy back?

🥥Sugar Scrub for Sooth, Supple Skin

¼ to 1 cup coconut oil
2 cups brown sugar or any organic sugar
10-15 drops of essential oil
Mix oil & sugar until creamy
Add essential oil while stirring
Add remaining sugar until you reach desired consistency

Katie’s favorite cooling oils to calm fiery pitta: Jasmine, rose, chamomile, geranium

honeysuckle and sandalwood. Choose one or mix and match!

Cooling Blends for Sultry Days

~kick back with a refreshing cuppa~

A scorching summer day = cooling off poolside with a citrusy, refreshing drink in hand, am I right? Before reaching for a margarita, cue da herbs! Our plant companions (like, mint) can help us beat the heat while supporting our constitutional balance. And, it’s yummy! Mix up this delicious, totally guilt-free Ayurvedic-inspired limeade and get outdoors to kick back.

🥒Cooling Cucumber Mint Limeade

1 cucumber
3 limes
1-2 sprigs of mint
Honey or agave to taste (optional)
Peel & cube cucumbers, removing seeds if needed
Put cucumbers, juice of limes, mint, sweetener of your choice & 4 cups water into blender
Blend until smooth & sip away
Drink at room temp to allow the herbs to naturally bring down your agni

✨For more tasty recipes, visit Katie’s blog! ✨

Frayed Nerves? Try Sitali Breath!

~pacify the building heat in your body~

Sitali Pranayama, “the cooling breath,” is my absolute go-to yogic breathing exercise during summer. It helps lower our body’s temp, calm our nerves, take the edge off hunger pangs, and reduces fatigue, fevers and high blood pressure. It’s a super easy practice and will leave you feeling renewed, refreshed and energized. Here’s the deets!

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes
- Form the lips into an “o,” curl your tongue lengthwise and project it 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
- Start with 2-5 minutes of Sitali breath and increase to 10 minutes over time

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Not a tongue curler? 🙋No worries - lots of people aren’t! You can get the same results with Sitkari.

- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes

- Press your lower and upper teeth together, and separate your lips so your teeth are exposed
- As you inhale slowly through your teeth, focus on the sound of the breath and the sensation
of the air on your teeth
- Close your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose

- Repeat Sitkari breath for 2-5 minutes and increase to 10 minutes over time

🙏 Finish with several minutes of meditation to notice the sensations throughout your body. 🙏

I hope that my recommendations assist you on your journey this season. I wish you the most balanced summer in your being.

Love yourself. Enjoy yourself.

Ep. 03 Summer Date Shake! OMG Love!

Here in Virginia, we're in the middle of a heat wave. So in today's mini-episode, Katie shares her favorite date shake recipe to help you stay cool and feel amazing!

In this episode, you'll hear:

~ Katie's current obsession with dates!

~ The importance of milk in Ayurveda

~ The benefits of cardamom

~ Summer Date Shake Recipe (see below)

~ All you need is a blender, milk, dates, and SPICES!

Summer Date Shake Recipe

~ 2 cups milk of your choice

~ 1 or 2 dates with pits removed

~ Cardamom to taste

~ Optimal: crushed rose petals for topping

Put everything in a blender and mix for about 30 seconds. Pour into your favorite glass and sprinkle with crushed rose petals. You can drink the date shake straight away, put it in the fridge to enjoy with your tea or coffee later or heat it up and sip before bed.

Enjoy!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

Help us Spread our Podcast Wings

Did you try this summer date shake recipe? This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you enjoy this 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
Write us a review in iTunes
Share this show with one friend right now!

It’s simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. iTunes’ algorithm uses ratings and reviews to know who to show our show to in their app.