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Winter

Ep. 237 10 Life Lessons I Learned in 2025 & A New Year’s Practice

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

In this special New Year's episode, Kaite shares the most powerful life lessons she learned in 2025. Tune in to learn a simple year-end reflection practice and hear an inspiring invitation to let go of the old, integrate life lessons and call forth your dreams in the new year!

Ayurveda School starts in just TWO weeks on January 14th! Enroll now to immerse yourself in a year of Feminine-Form Ayurvedic study with The Shakti School community. Click here to learn more and enroll today!

In this episode about life lessons from 2025, you’ll hear:

~ An invitation to book a FREE call with us! Click here to book your call.

~ A message of hope!

~ 2025 was the year of the snake

~ 2026 is the year of the horse

~ A simple year-end reflection practice

~ Katie’s most powerful personal life lessons from 2025

~ Do something today to nourish yourself

~ Why things NOT going as planned is the spiritual curriculum

~ An invitation to integrate your life lessons and pursue the dream you’ve been putting off

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Love this episode about life lessons? Check out these episodes:

~ Ep. 121 Starting a Spirit-Infused New Year

~ Ep. 143 Hot Tips on Building Winter Immunity

Episode 237 Transcript:

Happy, happy New Year, baby. What is up, y'all? It's your Ayurveda gal Friday here, Katie Silcox. I'm sitting here with Ojas. Naughty, naughty. Listen, she is looking at me like, you know what, mom? I'm going to bark. I'm going to bark my ass off during your podcast. So, hey, she's here, y'all. If you hear some barking, it's Ojas. As 2025 has come to a close, I want to let you know that there is light, there is hope, there is newness.

It is the year of the horse. We talked about it in the last podcast. If you didn't hear my sweet little podcast on Christmas, please go listen to it. And it's not like, oh, it's so good because I did it and I'm great. I mean, yeah, I am great. But like, go listen to it because it's so sweet. And there's this beautiful meditation at the end.

2025 Was The Year of The Snake

Anyways, the year of 2025 for me was bonkers and beautiful. And I fell in love. And I also fell out of love. And I fell in love again. And I fell in love with this new person in my life called my own heart. And then I fell out of love. And all of that happened, by the way, in one day and every day. And I also did meet someone great.

And a lot of beautiful, beautiful experiences happened for me in 2025, including the experience of unbelievable love and support and resources known and unseen and unknown just come to me. And also, as you all know, my house burned down. And, you know, everything I owned, basically.

I should stop saying my house burned down. It didn't totally burn down, but you all know what I'm saying. Anyway, 2025 was like a really hard, challenging year. And I think for a lot of us, the year of the snake.

A Year-End Reflection

The snake's all about shedding its skin, letting go, burning away everything that's not going to be going forward with us into 2026. And so I really want you to take a moment sometime today, over the next few days, and just really consider 2025.

What was the snake-like shedding for me? What was I invited to look at to let go of? And I know we've all heard that kind of thing a million bajillion times. It's like the astrology joke is like, hey, the astrology is going to present challenges that you must open to and overcome. But really, doing it is a different thing.

And so I just really encourage you to take a moment sometime today, if you can, sometime soon, and really think about what am I shedding? What was I asked to shed in 2025? So you can really see what you want to bring into 2026, and what maybe not so much, right?

2026 is the Year of the Horse

2026 is the year of the horse. Let's effing go energy. Last time in my podcast, I sat on the horse. I'm on it. I want you to visualize yourself on the horse. You're on it. You're squeezing it. It's so powerful. Can you feel its muscles, its capacity to run? Go and get shit done. Okay. But 2025 did not come to play. So we've got to revisit it.

The Life Lessons I Learned in 2025

And I want to tell you the life lessons that this wild year taught me, what the snake shedding skin taught me. And I invite you to do the same for your own life. For me, I think there's this false idea, and I always really, really try to kind of lay it out and bring it to light.

The Spiritual Path Often Isn't Easy

But there's this false idea that, like, if you are on the spiritual path, then you have your life together all the time. And why I love the Shakti School is that you can be launching a school and really, really having a heart for the divine, and still sometimes just really be like, wow, this is a lot, right? Rebuilding a burned-down house, navigating relationships, family, aging parents, tending to illnesses, children, pets, jobs. And yet what I learned in that is that life still comes up and knocks on the door and says, what are you going to make for dinner? And I know that is like a crazy thing that I learned, but I really did learn it, and it's like, do what you can do today to nourish yourself.

No matter what's going on in your life, divorce, illness, heartbreak, loss, grief, all of those things, we still have to cut vegetables, fry up a little oil and spices and nourish our bodies. What's for dinner? And it's honestly been in the moments where life felt the hardest, where I leaned the most into going to the gym and doing my yoga and doing my meditation and just chopping freaking vegetables and making kitchari and eating right. And I know that seems like a weird one, but I really thought that was important to share, because when life gets really hard, the self-care goes out the window, and that's also okay.

There were days, oh my God, during the fire where I was like, you know, eating granola bars on the front porch, right? So, number one. Number two, this wound is the way is more than just an annoying, at this point, internet meme. It's a life path, and it's a life path that I am 1,000% committed to.

Opening to the Messy Reality of Life

The parts of me that I don't like are the way. Opening to it, not wallowing in it, not identifying with it, not making a story about it, but opening to the places I feel so cracked open, broken, that's where the sacred slips back in. That's where it actually can be revealed.

That's where everything gets a lot more soft, like ghee. Number three, the archetypes show up not when we necessarily ask them, but when they are absolutely needed. And when my house stuff happened, I really felt this other thing show up, and it was strength, and it was like Durga energy.

It was like invincible love, right? Like, you've gotta do this. You've gotta do this. They're like cosmic first responders with ancient job descriptions.

Life lesson number four, when the divine wants you to transform, you're gonna be asked to transform, right? It's time. And I do not like it. Not one bit, right? But so often the things that are unexpected and unplanned for are the soul lessons being given.

Aging Parents

Another big thing I realized is that family is really important, and when your parents start to age and show signs of their temporality, we're walking right onto the holy ground. I won't go too deeply into all of it personally, but just looking at my parents this year and seeing the way their bodies are changing and their minds are changing has really been a place of a lot of sweetness and loving them, right, for who they are exactly as they are with what they give and feeling really grateful for them. And I know my mom listens to this podcast, and she's gonna be like, why are you saying my face looks old? My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.

But yeah, just really using this time with our parents, with all their flaws and all their beauty, to just really appreciate them.

Life Lessons from Panchakarma

Ooh, ooh, ooh. Another big one for me was Panchakarma this year.

Really, I got to go twice to my favorite Panchakarma center, and I'm doing a whole podcast on this, so I don't want to spoil it, but Panchakarma remains the only legal psychedelic the Ayurveda world will admit to, at least. And we are going to have a whole podcast on the psychedelics of ghee. Maybe it already came out.

Anyways, psychedelics and ghee. Number seven, things not going as planned is the spiritual curriculum. God's favorite hobby, and I know I'm kind of repeating the same things over and over, but that's intentional.

God's favorite hobby is to gently, and sometimes not gently, dismantle your human agenda. And I think every year we have to go through a recalibration, and it can feel like a downgrade in order to up-level.

Another life lesson that I've realized, eight, oh my gosh, how much I love the Shakti School. I mean, it's every year I care about it more, I value it more, because selfishly of what it gives to me, just how great it is. Our students and our teachers are basically like mystical superheroes that are also like flawed humans. And every year our community gets bigger and stronger and funnier and deeper and wiser, and I love you.

I love you, Shakti School. Thank you for being in my life. And thank you to everybody who makes that happen.

Dreaming Big, Integrate the Life Lessons and Persevere

Another life lesson that I'm learning, and 2025 taught me, is making big plans is not always the best idea, and it's my favorite thing to do. But last year, every single freaking plan that I had, almost to a T, did not occur, at least not in the way I thought it was. And guess what? I'm going to still make big plans, because I think we're meant to.

I think we're meant to dream big, plan big, think big, dream big, and then watch the way that God laughs. So don't stop dreaming big, don't stop planning big, and know that, you know, a lot of it may or may not happen. And being in that kind of juxtaposition of what we want and what actually occurs and being okay with both, but also continuing to dream big is, I think, a really cool, cool way to be.

The last thing is, like, life's not going to slow down and chill out, and that's okay. It's not supposed to. If you're listening out there and you're young, like, you should be dreaming big.

The Stress Sandwich

If you're listening out there and you're in your 40s and 50s, Ayurveda calls this the stress sandwich of pitta, time of life. It's supposed to be intense, and that's okay. And if you're listening out there and you're in your 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 100s, like, it's supposed to be about do what you love.

Get those last remaining desires out of the way. Go on the trip, right? Get a hot boyfriend, Florida lady. Did you guys hear about this? The number one community for STDs is the aging community, and that's hilarious.

I don't want anyone to have STDs, but old people are getting it on, and I think that you should. You should live out those last desires, but then don't stay there, right? The last part of life is about letting go of everything and learning what your true essence is and your true spiritual home, which is your soul, your infinite nature. Life is not going to stop, and neither should you, and so I want you to create the thing that you want to create now.

Write the book now. Join the thing you've been waiting to join, right? Get involved. Do it.

Do the freaking thing. Heal now. Laugh now.

It's so cheesy, but, like, love the person now, and you got to do it all the while feeling like maybe you can't, and that's what I've learned this year just to keep going, and I hope that this inspires you to take some time in the new year to really consider what matters.

Thank You Listeners!

Thank you all for being a part of my experience through the podcast in 2025, and I wish you all the most beautiful new year. A big special thanks to Kevin Carlell of Goodbye Gemini, who wrote this beautiful podcast music, and to DJ Juan Pablo Jimenez in southern Spain for mixing it and making it magic.

Thank you.

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

Did you love today's deep dive into the power of surrender? 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:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
  2. Write us a review
  3. Share this episode with a friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. Podcast app algorithms use ratings and reviews to determine what shows to suggest to others.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 236 Winter Surrender: Finding the Light as the Weary Soul Rejoices

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

Surrender to the sacred mystery of life and discover your true self. Inspired by her favorite Christmas carol, “Oh Holy Night,” Katie shares about self-worth, surrendering to the divine and opening to the darkness of winter.

Deepen your spiritual practice in our year-long Divine Feminine Ayurveda School starting on January 14th. Click here to learn more and enroll today!

In this episode about surrender and letting go, you’ll hear:

~ What if your soul could feel its worth?

~ The power of falling on your knees

~ Feeling inadequate, worthless

~ Surrendering your defences and becoming more yourself

~ Overvaluing the intellect

~ Death and rebirth

~ The sacred spiritual practice of surrender

~ 2026 is the year of the horse

~ An old recording of “Oh Holy Night” by Harry Macdonough

~ Questions about Ayurveda School? Click here to book a FREE call!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Other spirit-infused episodes to keep you company this Christmas:

~ Ep. 228 The Art of Letting Go and Divine Surrender with Brett Larkin

~ Ep. 119 Katie’s Christmas Special: Cosmic Jesus Anointing

Episode 236 Transcript:

It's your girl, your Ayurveda gal, Friday, Katie Silcox, coming to you. I'm twinkling. I'm spiriting. I'm Christmas feeling. I'm just here. I'm here with you. And I want to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas, if you celebrate it. And if you don't, a Happy Holidays. A Happy Hanukkah. A Happy Kwanzaa. A Happy Winter Solstice.

You are alive.

It is the darkest time of the year. And in the darkest time of the year, we have to remember the light, don't we? And last night, I wrote an email about one of my all-time favorite Christmas carols, Oh, Holy Night. And there's a line in that beautiful carol that says, Oh, Holy Night.

Divine Surrender

It talks about surrender and divine, divine surrender. And there's this moment when we finally give it up, you know, and in the carol, it says fall on your knees. And I just, I want you to kind of feel what that feels like in your body. You may even kneel down to pray. And I know for me, there's this moment and it's so beautiful. It's like, it's like the best moments of the, of the week, of the month, of the years for me. And it's like this divine, holy recognition. And there's a quality of falling on the knees because that's all about letting the ego die and letting our heart open to the things about ourselves that we can't see. I mean, that's what a blind spot is, right? And so fall on your knees.

It's such an important moment in our psychology. And I want to read you a few more lines from the hymn, from the carol. And it says the soul felt its worth. The soul felt its worth. Holy moly, madre mia, right? How many of you out there, raise your hand, would think your life would be a little bit different if you walked around the day feeling like your soul could feel its worth. And this is an energy that I've been really interested in lately.

Feeling Your Worthiness

This idea of wealth, worthiness, richness versus, because this is what it feels like. It feels like a dichotomy, a paradox or a setup of opposition. And the opposite feeling is poverty. One of the hardest things for me to feel and really feel like I jump off of it. Like a frog in boiling water is the feeling of being inadequate. The feeling of being worthless, of not being chosen. And that stuff shows up in my life everywhere. And it's sneaky and it's covert. And my psyche, like a lot of you out there, like I would say everyone, creates remarkable strategies for hopping off of that particular feeling.

I really think that everything we see in our lives that is painful and suffering and tragedy, a lot of it, at least on the psychological, emotional, relational realm, comes from this big secret that we all feel like we have. And that is, I don't feel adequate. I don't feel worthy. I don't feel rich in the sense of richness of heart. I don't feel chosen. I don't feel wanted.

The soul felt its worth is that moment when you finally feel like you deserve love like anyone else, like you actually are something of immense value. That is what Oh Holy Night is about. It's about falling to your knees and letting all these old ideas and perspectives and versions of yourselves die in the darkest night of the year to plant the seeds of who you could possibly become.

Becoming More Yourself by Surrendering

Guess what? We want you to become. But the great irony is you all mystics out there know when you become, you realize you're just becoming what you already really were underneath all the shrouds. And the next line I want to share with you is the weary soul rejoices.

There's this great phrase in Buddhism where I don't remember the exact way it was said, but it's something like when you feel completely and utterly weary and exhausted on the level of your soul, it is now the time for rejoicing. It's like, hallelujah, I have finally fallen to my knees. It's like I'm yelling uncle at the gods, right? And it's in that moment where we really are softened by how hard it is to be a human.

The weary soul rejoices when finally I lay down all the weapons, all the defenses, all the strategies. For me, I want to share a big one, and I'm sharing it, it's not super fun, but I'm going to share it with you. Because I know there are so many of you out there that may resonate and that may support you.

Overvaluing the Intellect

And that is the strategy of being very analytical. Raise your hand if you overthink, overanalyze, overevaluate the evaluative mind. And it's not that that's bad.

It's just that so often for me, it's like I go straight to the intellect and I like to talk about it. I like to talk about it with my friends and especially like to talk about it with my boyfriend. It's like, I want to like, you know, I want to talk about us.

Like there's nothing wrong with talking about stuff, right? Talking about us, talking about your needs, talking, talking, talking. But sometimes it's a strategy that keeps me from feeling how, how scary it is to be loved and to be close to someone and how terrifying it is to be alive, to be human, to be in this world where the only thing that's true and forever is that things always are changing. Fall on your knees and hear the angel voices.

This past year of my life was banana sandwich, the year of the snake, the shedding, the burning, the sloughing, the exfoliation of everything that is not essential for me. And I know probably for many of you, 2025 was yet another experience of shedding skin. For me, it's felt like a constant lesson in, in loss, grief and yes, total and utter heartbrokenness.

Falling to Our Knees in Surrender

I wonder if it is in those moments when we finally fall to our knees in the loss, in the dreams that actually don't come true and that we're able to actually feel there's a certain freedom. I was about to say pleasure in being able to let go. We fall on our knees.

We have to. If we ever want to have any hope of standing up strong again of in the Christian tradition of resurrection and this time in this time of our Christian tradition and this idea of birth, right? Of the birth of something sacred. It's all here in that song.

It's when we feel our most small, our tiniest, that little manger in the cold, darkest night and the falling snow, our most befallen, the manger, this place of, of dirt and animals and hay and poverty. We can finally hear the voices of the angels. Something new is being reborn.

Death as a Teacher

There's a child, a knowingness breaks through all of that suffering and inner poverty and brokenness and cold, cold, dark night of the soul. And in that letting go, there is generative life, everlasting life. The Buddha said it too. He said, death is my teacher. I don't want any of you to die today. I don't want to die today. It's going to happen. But Buddha was not talking about his body. He was talking about his mind.

And so I invite us all today and in this season to let ourselves open to that feeling of falling, to that feeling of surrendering, to that feeling of not actually knowing anything. And in that, there is this great, great revelation that's possible. I know this may initially taste a little depressing.

It's like, wait, I want to focus on the light in the season of darkness. But the more we're able to actually open to what's hard, to let go of how we think things are or how they should be, our soul, as that song so beautifully says, can finally feel its worth. And this is a worthiness beyond anything outside.

When we can finally acknowledge by falling on our knees that we're not in control, nothing is forever, we are making offerings to the sacred mystery of life. We are rescued from our suffering. We are blessed by God.

Rebirth and Finding the Light

And then this amazing thing can start to happen again. And that's the birth, right? The juiciness, the excitement, the life, the life everlasting can flow back into our arteries and light can illuminate our darkened veins. This is the mystical holy.

This is the time right now of the divine night, where the Christ within us can be born again and again and again to be born again. With each gesture of surrender, we have this possibility of entering back into the gates of the holy. And I want you to know that no matter where you're from, no matter what you look like, no matter who you vote for, no matter who your mommy is and your daddy is, we want to be a home for you, a spiritual home.

It's a place of spiritual sovereignty, meaning you and the way you experience your own body and your own energy and your own mind and your own path to the divine. It is sacred. Here at Shakti school, we offer this orientation as we gear up right now, less than a month away.

I cannot believe it for our mega event. It starts in a few weeks. It is in this course of level one Ayurveda school where we hold space for you to deepen your life of spirit.

Plus all the great juicy lady Ayurveda lifestyle, nutrition and beyond. So listen up. I definitely cannot promise that 2026 will be a perfect year, but I do know it is the year of the horse galloping forward.

2026 is Big Ashwagandha Energy

Let's go! Let's do it. Strength, stamina, ashwagandha energy. Big ashwagandha energy, baby girl. Are you with me? If you're like, what is ashwagandha? It is an herb. It was a joke for you Ayurveda dorks. Ashwagandha means the strength of a thousand stallions. Baby girl, I'm ready.

Who is ready for 2026 to be the year of a big, strong steed? I feel my legs tingling. I'm on the horse. I'm squeezing onto the horse. Let's go. This is 2026.

So I cannot promise you that the year will be perfect. I can't promise you that our course is going to be a place free from loss or pain. It's just not possible.

An Invitation to Join Ayurveda School

What I can say is that I have seen thousands of women who have gone through our program learn how to live a more surrendered, joyful experience. That's my goal in this life. And if you are intrigued and you're like Katie Silcox, I've been listening to this podcast for days, for months, for years, and I still haven't joined level one.

Girl, now's the time. I want to see your face in Zoom. I can't wait to be with you.

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

Did you love today's deep dive into the power of surrender? 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:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts
  2. Write us a review
  3. Share this episode with a friend right now!

It seems simple, but you’d be AMAZED to know how much it helps my little love project reach more people. Podcast app algorithms use ratings and reviews to determine what shows to suggest to others.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Ep. 205 Winter Magic, Death and Dignity

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

In most nature-based cultures and spiritual traditions, January is a time for deep internal reflection, not New Year's celebrations. Winter magic is about opening our hearts to an important truth that we often avoid, the truth that everything we love, including our own bodies, will one day be lost.

In today’s solocast, Katie shares how to move through your fear of loss, open to winter magic and live your life with dignity.

We invite you, dear listener, to join us for a year of deep inner work. Our Divine Feminine Ayurveda School kicked off this week, but there’s still time to enroll! Click here to learn more and register!

In this episode about winter magic, death and dignity, you’ll hear:

~ Enroll in Ayurveda School today!

~ Why Katie is thinking a lot about death

~ The energetics of winter magic

~ Buddha's invitation to his students

~ How to cultivate dignity

~ Accepting what we can and cannot control

~ Opening to fear and sadness

~ Soul lies and soul truths

~ Consequences of not following our intuition

~ The true source of self-worth and self-esteem

~ Why we often abandon ourselves

~ How to stand in your power in relationships

~ Katie’s favorite poem: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

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

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

~ Email us at [email protected]

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy

Related episodes about winter magic:

~ Ep. 145 Goddess Work & Deep Spiritual Remembrances for Winter

~ Ep. 20 Honoring Our Ancestors This Winter

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

  • Ayurveda Certification
  • The Shakti School Subscription

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

I hope you found today's episode about winter magic, death and dignity helpful and inspiring! This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you love show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
  2. Write us a review in iTunes
  3. Share this show with one friend right now!

It’s seems 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.

Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to yours,

Katie

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Butternut Squash and Roasted Apple Soup

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This has to be one of my all time favorite soups to make around the fall/winter season. It’s an absolutely perfect combination of flavors: savory, sweet, and a tiny bit of spice. And it’s creamy texture makes me feel like I'm being draped in a warm cozy blanket! If this sounds like too much for a soup to live up to, believe me, it’s not. You must try it!

In Ayurveda, we love talking about food flavor combinations. As many of you reading this may know already, Fall and Winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) tend to have a more drying and cooling effect on the body. This can often affect our sleeping patterns, the quality of our skin, and possibly throw our digestion off. This soup will help to target all of your autumnal needs. With the sweetness of the butternut and apple and the spiciness of the ginger and cayenne, you will feel warm and nourished in no time.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 large butternut squash
  • 1 medium sized carrot
  • 1 medium sized turnip
  • 2-4 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 apples (local if possible)
  • 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic cloves (whole)
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 4 cups vegetable stock or bone broth
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary

Directions:

Start by cutting your butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chop the apples, carrot, turnip and the onion (no need to cut them too small) and add them to the baking sheet. Cover everything generously with the spices (except the fresh ginger and rosemary) and the whole garlic cloves.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 420 degrees.

Add all the ingredients and the ginger to a food processor and blend on high until smooth.

For Serving:

Heat a small amount of ghee in a pan with pumpkin seeds, a dash of cinnamon, and rosemary until lightly toasted. Top with your soup and serve with crusty sourdough bread! 🧡🥖

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Curried Quinoa and Chickpeas

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What I love about this meal is that it is not only easy, but it is also so satisfying and nourishing. I usually make it in the morning while I am making breakfast in order for it to be perfectly cooked by lunchtime. It saves really well too.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
  • 1-2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 cup chickpeas (either canned or prepared ahead of time, *see note below)
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1-2 medium sized carrots (chopped)
  • 3/4 cups broccoli florets

*Note on chickpeas: it's best not to get in the habit of using canned legumes, however there are certain brands that carefully soak and prepare their products and I prefer to seek those out. I love Westbrae Organic Garbanzo Beans

Directions:

Get ready for the easiest meal ever. First, rinse your quinoa with water by using a fine mesh strainer.

In any type of rice cooker (see note below if you do not own a rice cooker), add the quinoa and all of the remaining ingredients. Refer to the cooking instructions on whatever brand of quinoa you have chosen for the appropriate liquid amount. For the liquid, I like to use either spring water or vegetable/bone broth. Let cook on the rice setting until it's finished.

So easy, right?

For Preparing:

My favorite way to eat this dish is by topping it with avocado, fresh herbs, juice of a lemon, and a spoonful of tahini. 

*If you do not own a rice cooker, don't worry, this dish is just as easy done in a cooking pot with a lid. Follow the same instructions, except add all ingredients to a pot. Cover with your liquid and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, cover with the lid, and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for an additional 5 minutes.

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Chocolate Truffles

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cup peanut or almond butter
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream (cream only) 
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ashwagandha (optional)

Directions:

In a saute pan, melt the ghee, coconut cream, and nut butter over low heat. Pour into a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Transfer to the refrigerator and let cool for about an hour. After the chocolate has cooled, roll into balls and place on a plate with parchment paper. You can get creative here: roll the balls into coconut flakes, rose powder, or whatever you feel called to! 🍫

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Ep. 198 Family Archetypes: Understanding the Thanksgiving Dinner Table Dynamics

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You’ve done the inner work and matured spiritually, yet as soon as your family gathers for the holidays you feel like a little kid again and revert to the same old, dysfunctional family dynamics! Just in time for Thanksgiving, Katie shares how family archetypes affect our relationships and how you can start creating more healthy family dynamics this holiday season.

Learn how to approach your next family gathering with the mind of a yogini so you can unravel generational karma and have more compassion toward yourself and others.

Want to dive even deeper into family archetypes? You’re invited to join Katie LIVE on Friday, December 13th for our FREE Liberating Yourself from Family Archetypes webinar! Click here to register. Everyone registered will also receive the recording!

This is a dark blue graphic with white text. It has a photo of a woman and child looking out a window. The text describes a free webinar: You’re invited to join Katie LIVE on Friday, December 13th for our FREE Liberating Yourself from Family Archetypes webinar!

In this episode about family archetypes, you’ll hear:

~ Click here to learn more about our Ayurveda School

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

~ What is an archetype?

~ The Ayurvedic and Jungian perspectives of family archetypes

~ How to approach your family like a yogini

~ Family frameworks as coping mechanisms

~ The ego's role in family archetypes

~ How to identify the role you play in your family

~ Common family archetypes including the Caretaker, Whipping Boy, Black Sheep, Hero and Clown

~ Shifting out of the victim mindset

~ Why understanding creates compassion

~ Book a free call with one of our coaches to learn more about Ayurveda School!

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

~ See our viral Maria Carey post here on Instagram

~ Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

~ Read Katie’s latest book, Glow-Worthy!

Related episodes:

~ Ep. 174 Explore Your Inner Child with Nicole Frolick

~ Ep. 160 Courage in Facing the Shadow

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Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

As always, I hope you found this episode about family archetypes helpful as you approach the holiday season! 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:

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

Katie

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Vanilla Coconut Sweet Potato Crumble

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As we move into the season of celebrations, we are excited to share this delicious, grounding, and sugar-free Vanilla, Coconut, Sweet Potato Crumble Recipe with you!

In Ayurveda, sweet potatoes are seen as a nourishing, sattvic food—one that promotes peace, balance, and clarity. They help to pacify vata and pitta doshas, making this dish ideal for the cooler months when we crave warmth and comfort.

This crumble combines the richness of sweet potatoes, creamy coconut, and ghee (or coconut oil), supporting your body’s digestion and immunity while indulging your senses. Topped with pecans and coconut flakes, it's a decadent, yet wholesome option that aligns perfectly with Ayurvedic principles—balancing sweetness with grounding fats and spices like cinnamon and cardamom to boost digestion without overloading on sugar.

Vanilla Coconut Sweet Potato Crumble

Ingredients for the Sweet Potato Filling:

  • 3-4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, chopped (you can peel them if you’d like, but I prefer to keep the skin on for the extra fiber!)
  • ⅓ cup full fat coconut milk
  • 3 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
  • 2 Tbsp coconut butter
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean

Ingredients for the Pecan Topping:

  • 2 cups pecans, chopped (or kept whole for extra decadence)
  • ½-¾ Cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
  • 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp cardamom
  • pinch salt

Directions:

For the sweet potato:

  • Place sweet potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Allow them to boil until they are completely soft (about 15 minutes). Drain and transfer to a food processor. (You can also mash/mix by hand if you do not have a food processor). Add the remaining ingredients (for the mash) to the food processor and blend until it’s smooth or has reached your desired consistency.
  • Pour mash into an 8×8 baking dish. Use a spoon to smooth out the surface.

For the topping:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In the meantime, in a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients. Mix well and spread over the sweet potato mash.
  • Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
  • Remove foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the pecans. If they begin to brown, cover again with the foil.

I hope this recipe nourishes both your body and soul this upcoming holiday season! 🧡

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I love the metaphor of ojas as the body’s natura I love the metaphor of ojas as the body’s natural honey; it is the delicate and refined essence we produce from the plants and other vital essences we take in. Ojas is the force that enables us to sustain that change over time. ⁠
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This shift from early to late winter is a dance between staying deeply warm and beginning to gently circulate what’s been stored. We’re still tending the cold - protecting agni, nourishing tissues and guarding against depletion - but now we also start to stir stagnant kapha with movement, spices and a little more lightness. 

It’s less about extreme detox and more about skillful transition: build warmth, invite lightness and honor gentle movement. 🌀

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🫀In Ayurveda, the lymph is part of Rasa Dhatu, 🫀In Ayurveda, the lymph is part of Rasa Dhatu, the first of the seven tissues and the foundation of nourishment, immunity and emotional resilience.⁠
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