• Skip to main content

The Shakti School

Feminine Form Sacred Technology

  • About
  • Blog
  • Glow-Worthy
  • Ayurveda
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Book a Call
  • Calendar
  •  
Lifestyle

How to Stay Radiant Throughout the Winter

1

At Shakti School we emphasize the importance of educating yourself as much as you can. Knowledge is power. One of the key factors in the evolution towards a more enlightened woman is her wisdom. But, just as the women of Shakti School believe inner beauty to be essential to evolution, we want to radiate on the outside too!

Radiance is achieved through the state of your emotions, it's achieved through your lifestyle habits, what you are putting into your body (the state of your gut), and what you are putting on your body.

The glow of your skin can say a lot about your health.  Our skin is actually one of our best indicators of our overall well being.

We can look at the skin to point to certain imbalances that are happening internally. However, even after the imbalances have been addressed inside the body we can still be confronted with disruptions to the skin through our external environment.

This can become especially challenging during the harsh winter months when the weather is cold, dry, and rough. If we look to the wisdom of Ayurveda we know that it is best to let the seasons be our guide, and if we apply this to how we take care of our skin it becomes a little easier to know what to do.

In the fall and winter when skin is dry and rough, we want to treat it similarly as we would treat the food we eat: nourishing and wet. Cleansing, feeding, and restoring the skin using oils that will help protect, nourish, and deeply moisturize will be the most beneficial.

There are so many beautiful products we love (see list below), but beyond the use of expensive products there is so much you can do yourself to help maintain that healthy glow throughout the dry season.

Here are a few of our favorite skin care tricks that will give you that healthy glow when you’re needing a little extra boost.

Facial & Mouth Exercises

Facial massage has amazing benefits for the skin. It can help to improve sinus drainage, stimulate your lymphatic vessels, and it can also help to prevent wrinkles. We often carry a lot of muscle tension in our face without even realizing it. In addition, a recent study on facial massage showed that it can even help to reduce anxiety and negative mood status.

Did you know that they are approximately fifty muscles in your face?!

Just the same as any other muscle in your body, getting into a regular routine of exercising those muscles will help tone and firm the muscles and additionally will help to tighten any sagging skin.

Ben Greenfield, an expert in the biohacking world, recommends these exercises for the longevity and radiance of your skin. I’ve been incorporating them into my exercise regime and have noticed some amazing benefits:

Forehead and Eye Exercises:

These strengthen the muscles around your forehead and eyes to smooth wrinkles and produce a more awake look:

  1. Put your index fingers about a centimeter above your eyebrows, above the middle of your eyes, and apply gentle pressure. Close your eyes while trying to raise your eyebrows up against your fingers. Repeat 10 times.
  2. Make peace signs using your index and middle fingers and place your middle fingers where your eyebrows start above your nose and your pointer fingers at the end of your brows. Gently push your fingers up and down while flexing your facial muscles to move your brows up and down, simultaneously. Do 3 sets of 10.
  3. Close your eyes and with your eyelids relaxed, lift your brows with your index fingers. Keep your eyes closed while lifting, stretching and strengthening your eyelids, and hold for ten seconds. Repeat 10 times.

Mouth Exercises:

These will strengthen the muscles around your mouth and jaw and give you better control of facial movements.

  1. Smile big and press your fingers against your cheeks to hold it in place. Close your lips halfway and hold for ten seconds, then close lips fully and hold for ten seconds, using your fingers to resist each movement.
  2. Hold your mouth, teeth and lips tightly closed, then separate your teeth as much as you can while keeping lips closed. Slowly move your lower jaw forward as far as you can and hold for five seconds. Return jaw to the original position and repeat five times.
4

Dry Brushing

Dry Brushing is a great way to facilitate the skin’s ability to naturally detox. It sweeps away dead skin cells, improves the appearance of the skin, and encourages lymphatic drainage. I’ve also found that it leaves me feeling more energized.

How to Dry-Brush — It's best to use on dry skin before you take a bath or shower. Start at your feet and work your way upwards. Brush in a circular motion always in the direction of your heart. This will help increase blood flow throughout the body. Try to brush for at least 3 minutes working your way up to 5 minutes. After showering make sure to lather yourself in some kind of amazing moisturizer or use your dry brush right before Abhyanga. (See our favorite products below)

Abhyanga

The practice of Abhyanga has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda. It's an lymphatic massage usually done with infused oils. It improves circulation, gives you softer and more toned skin, helps to strengthen bodily tissues, lubricates your internal organs, joints and bones, and has even shown to improve vision. It also leads to better sleep! For best results try it before a bath at the end of the day.

Choose your favorite oil (warm oil is ideal) and start by massaging your legs and working your way up to the neck and even your scalp if you would like. Massage every part of the body. Use long strokes for your limbs and short circular strokes for your joints and your abdomen. Spend a little extra time on your feet. There are so many nerve points in our feet that are associated with our entire body (including our face).  After you’ve finished do some easy breathing or meditate while the oil soaks in (about 5-10 minutes). Afterward, wash off the excess oil in a bath or hot shower.

Red & Infrared Light Therapy

Red and infrared light is an incredible tool for healing and for anti-aging. It helps to improve the circulation of oxygen-rich blood in the body, helps the body’s collagen to unwind, boosts collagen production, promotes faster healing, and has amazing pain relieving benefits. When you use red and Infrared light therapy it mimics  the heat you feel when you are exposed to the sun, so it’s also a great aid in melatonin production.

Sleep & Managing Stress

Getting proper sleep and managing your stress levels is going to do wonders for your skin. When we aren’t getting an adequate amount of sleep we jeopardize the body’s natural ability to repair itself.

Stay Away from Synthetics

It is truly simple. If you wouldn’t eat it, do not put it on your skin! Make sure to read your labels and look for words like: bpa free, paraben free, free from synthetics, toxins, or fillers, and free from artificial fragrances. It’s also good to get into a habit of checking your own products at home to make sure everything is up to date and not expired.

Create Your Beauty Regimen

Now that you’ve got some helpful practices to start incorporating into you skincare routine let’s get into how you can create the best beauty regime for that lasting life-giving glow.

Cleanse

We like to wash in the morning and the night, but depending on your skin type you may only need an evening Wash. Cleanse your face with warm & your favorite oil cleanser. Oil cleansers are amazing. They help to cleanse the skin without drying the skin out. This is especially good for the longevity of your skin. Cleansing will also help get rid of any sweat, bacteria, or environmental toxins that may have accumulated on your skin’s surface.

Hydrate

Use a misting toner to keep your skin cells plump and hydrated. This will help to protect against dehydration and will also contribute to skin regeneration, smoothness and elasticity.

Nourish/Moisturize 

Our favorite way to moisturize the skin is with oil. A high quality oil will actually help to prevent congestion, moderate inflammation levels, and will also protect the skin from environmental toxins.

Protection

Vitamin D is SO important. We love our sunshine, but it’s also important to protect the skin from overexposure. Using a zinc oxide daily sunscreen will be super helpful in delaying aging and promoting long term happy skin.

5

Banyan Botanicals: (Shakti School insiders get 10% off their order with the promo code SHAKTI10)

  • Beauty Balm 
  • Radiant Skin Bundle  
  • Healthy Skin Tablets 
  • Daily Massage Oil

Paavani Ayurveda Skin Care: (Shakti School insiders get a discount with the promo code GHEESPOT)

  • The Mix and Match Ritual 
  • Tha Vata Skin Care Ritual
  • The Pitta Skin Care Ritual 
  • The Kapha Skin Care Ritual

RMS Beauty:

  • Living Illuminizer
  • Organic Make-up Signature Set
  • Magic Luminizer

Marie Veronique:

  • Replenishing Oil Cleanser 
  • Protective Day Oil
  • Vitamin C, E + Ferulic Acid Serum

Henné Organics:

  • Organic Lip Serum
  • Lip Mask Therapy
  • Lip Exfoliator
  • Organic Lipstick

Plus these two that we love:

  • Dr. Hauschka Facial Toner
  • Kopari Coconut Melt

Footer Hero Widget

theshaktischool

TheShaktiSchool

In the latest episode of Spirit Sessions Podcast, In the latest episode of Spirit Sessions Podcast, Katie is joined by marketing expert, author and philanthropist Mark Young!⁠
⁠
Katie shares her career journey from A.I. to “Ayurveda Intelligence,” while Mark reflects on life lessons as he approaches a milestone birthday. They offer practical marketing advice for Ayurvedic coaches and other heart-centered entrepreneurs, discuss the role of AI in their lives and share how you can build a wildly successful business by cultivating relationships and trusting your unique voice.⁠
⁠
In this episode about marketing and more, you’ll hear:⁠
⁠
~ Shifting gender roles in our modern world⁠
⁠
~ Heart-centered marketing⁠
⁠
~ The importance of scheduling time off and buffer days⁠
⁠
~ Why Katie and Mark aren’t afraid of A.I. taking over⁠
⁠
~ Practical ways Mark and Katie use A.I. in their lives⁠
⁠
~ The importance of relationships over transactions⁠
⁠
~ Being authentic vs. oversharing⁠
⁠
~ Advice for new business owners who don’t have a big following⁠
⁠
~ Trusting your unique voice⁠
⁠
And much more! ⁠
⁠
🎧 Tune into Ep. 218 Marketing, Gender Roles & A.I. with Mark Young now at the link in bio!
There is a strong connection between taking care o There is a strong connection between taking care of our health with food and sleep, and our soul’s ability to thrive and be happy. 🧬⁠
⁠
When our digestion is good, our sleep is deep and our emotions are being channeled properly, we have more energy to engage in our passions and pursuits in life. ⁠
⁠
When our health is good, we can enjoy pleasure, seek success and purpose, strive for material gain and seek out the practices and mentors that will teach us to live a more integrated, enlightened, soulful life. ⁠
⁠
Ayurveda offers us the foundational principles for balancing our health and reclaiming our vitality, so that we can express who we really are in the world. ⁠
⁠
Shakti Ayurveda School is a journey to help you reclaim health, vitality, purpose—and yes, even the pursuit of your material aims—as inseparable components of you living your fullest expression in this one, precious life. 🦋⁠
⁠
P.S. Right now, we’re running a Summer of Love sale and we’re gonna give you a ton of gifts when you sign up for our Ayurvedic Wellness Coach Certification Program before August 11th. ⁠
⁠
Here’s what you’ll receive when you join us:⁠
⁠
💰 $100 off tuition (any payment plan for Level 1 or Level 2 Ayurveda School!)⁠
⁠
💦 A free cooling mini-gift set from Paavani Ayurveda (basically an instant-summer-goddess-kit)⁠
⁠
🌼 1 year FREE in Spirit Sessions Membership, our mentorship membership that includes live monthly workshops, a huge resource library and my full, in-depth Chakras Course ($1000 value)⁠
⁠
🌹 A drool-worthy summer Ayurveda recipe book (cue the Hibiscus-Rose Coolers with Damiana, please!)⁠
⁠
If you’re ready to take a step towards radiant health, greater vitality and soul purpose starting right now, join us in Ayurveda School now with the code SummerofLove at the link in our bio!
The healing era hits different when you stop exili The healing era hits different when you stop exiling parts of yourself and invite them ALL to take up space in your inner world. The inner chaos gremlin? She may not always have the best delivery, but she puts us back in touch with our instincts and our fire. (She just needs to work in close collaboration with our more adult, wise, heart-centered Self to be truly effective 😉🔥.) 

When you stop managing yourself like a math equation and start embracing the mythical essence of all of your inner selves, your true magnetism, radiance and energy is unleashed. 🗝️
Summer makes us want to worship the sun – and it Summer makes us want to worship the sun – and it makes sense. We like feeling warm, golden and satisfied. The sun is literally life-giving! 🌞 In addition to ruling our agni (i.e. our inner fire, also known as our metabolism) the sun gives us ENERGY: ambition, passion, clarity and that unmistakable glow. Of course we want to bask in it!⁠
⁠
The key to basking in summer’s warm glow is to take care so that we don’t end up overheated, fire-engine red and hungover.⁠
⁠
To balancing the fire element in summer, aim to:⁠
⁠
🏋🏽‍♀️ Avoid intense exercise during peak sun (10am-2pm)⁠
⁠
🧘🏼‍♀️ Cool down any hot, fiery intensity with slower-moving exercise and breathing techniques⁠
⁠
😴 Sleep on your right side to cool the nervous system⁠
⁠
🕶️ Slowly acclimate to spending time in the sun and avoid peak UV exposure; get morning or late afternoon sun when instead (sunrise and sunset are ideal times to soak in the light!)⁠
⁠
Are you ready to harmonize your routines, nutrition, herbs and spiritual practices with nature’s rhythms, and support other women in doing the same?⁠
⁠
🌸 The Shakti School’s Summer of LOVE sale is here! 
⁠
Here’s what that means: Sign up for 2026 Shakti Ayurveda School during our Summer of Love Sale (now through August 11) and receive:⁠
⁠
💸 $100 off tuition⁠
⁠
🌺 A free Paavani Pitta Summer Kit (cooling spritzer, body oil and spice blend)⁠
⁠
💎 A full year of access to Spirit Sessions—my monthly membership with meditations, classes, and my full Chakras course ($1000 value) aka, start studying with me now!⁠
⁠
📒 A downloadable Ayurveda for Summer recipe book, straight from my kitchen⁠
⁠
Use the code SummerofLove at checkout to receive all your gifts!⁠
⁠
P.S. The code applies to both 2026 Level 1 & 2026 Level 2! ⁠
⁠
🏖️ Join before August 11 with code SummerofLove at the link in bio to claim your spot.
Goddess - I can’t wait for you to get your hands Goddess - I can’t wait for you to get your hands on my Summer Ayurveda Recipe Mix Tape - where every slurp, sip and spoonful is a devotional act of beauty, pleasure and full-body honoring. 🍓💦 ⁠
⁠
My personal Ayurveda Summer Recipe Mix Tape is a sun-drenched love letter from my witchy kitchen to the depths of your feminine soul.⁠
⁠
Inside its 30+ drool-worthy pages you’ll find smoothies that melt like silk on your tongue, hydrating herbal coolers that will kindle your inner flirt and goddess-approved, belly-loving meals that whisper: ⁠
⁠
“Slow down, lady. You’re allowed to feel this good.”⁠
⁠
Because that’s what Summer of Love is really about.⁠
⁠
👉🏽 Here’s the download. ⁠
⁠
Right now we’re offering the LOWEST price, PLUS the highest-value free gifts, that we’ll be offering for Shakti Ayurveda School all year. Period. ⁠
⁠
And it only lasts until August 11th.⁠
⁠
Sign up for the 2026 Ayurveda School before 8/11 and you’ll get my Ayurveda Summer Recipe Mix Tape e-book FREE, plus:⁠
⁠
🍒 $100 off tuition⁠
⁠
🌴 A Paavani Pitta Summer Kit full of cooling body magic⁠
⁠
🍓 A full year FREE inside our Spirit Sessions platform (with meditations, movement, my CHAKRAS course + monthly workshops with me and my fave wise-women leaders)⁠
⁠
Ready to claim 2026 as your most transformational, soul-honoring, juicy year yet and join us in Shakti Ayurveda School? ⁠
⁠
🌹Use the code SummerofLove at checkout and let the kitchen seduction begin. 😉

Footer

© 2025 Shakti School

  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Advocacy
  • Find a Coach
  • Login
  • Katie's Books
  • Contact and Support

Get the Shakti Letter love, katie