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Spirit Sessions is your one-stop shop for all things emergent in sex, spirituality and self-care. Join me, Katie Silcox, New York Times Best-Selling author and Founder of The Shakti School, your one-stop shop on the best of science, ancient holistic medicine and spiritual up-leveling.

This podcast is full of fun and deep real-talk from your fave Ayurveda gal-Friday on holistic health, femme-form biohacking, mysticism and anything else that makes your life a better place to live.

Mostly, this podcast is personal. It's me speaking my most authentic heart. No holds barred. No fear. Just me, you, rad guests + soulful convo.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts:

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Browse Episodes of Spirit Sessions:

Ep. 75 Tantric Herbalism with Brooke Sullivan

    I'm joined in this episode by Brooke Sullivan, Tantric Yogini and Herbalist and Founder of The Wild Temple. We dive into what it means to be a modern Tantrika and...

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    Ep. 74 Kapha Balancing for Late Winter-Spring

      In this quick and information packed episode you'll learn when Kapha season is and how to stay balanced with food throughout it. A lot of people like doing a spring...

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      Ep. 73 History and HERstory of Ayurveda

        In this episode I discuss the difference between a "masculine" approach to healing, often associated with allopathic medicine, and a "feminine" approach to healing, usually associated with holistic and traditional...

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        Ep. 72 Want Health? Get Wet!

          Hydration is one of the MOST important aspects of health. From cellular metabolism, mitochondrial efficiency and major organ function, water touches every aspect of our being. Yet MOST people are...

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          Ep. 71 Haters Gonna Hate: Working with Critics Mindfully

            In this episode I discuss my journey with trolls and how I approach receiving feedback from both a Brené Brown perspective and a Tantrik perspective. In this episode you’ll hear:...

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            Ep. 70 The Words Before All Else

              The Words Before All Else come from the traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy. In this episode I share a prayer I've been learning. In this episode I discuss: ~A ritual...

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              Ep. 69 The Power of SUBTLE Pleasure

                Healing through pleasure and the importance of subtlety. In this episode I discuss: ~The importance of the five senses from an Ayurvedic/Tantrik perspective ~Addiction vs Pleasure ~The treasure of subtle...

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                Ep. 68 Tantra Talks #5

                  Why Tantra is the philosophical system that holds all spiritual traditions. Tantra is the great weaver on the great loom. In this episode you'll hear: ~Tantra as a weaving technology...

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                  Ep. 67 Want 2020 Magic? Craft Heart-Centered Goals

                    How to craft a holistic and Tantrik resolution. If you're interested in setting smart goals you can manifest in 2020, listen up. In this episode you'll hear: ~The goal is...

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                    Ep. 66 You Can’t Be Yo’Mamas Guru

                      Ever had the experience of telling a family member about a new thing you were doing, or giving them advice about something you'd spent so many hours researching only to...

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                      Ep. 65 Why the Yoga Teacher Model Won’t Support THRIVING

                        I spent years working as a yoga teacher in the San Francisco Bay area. I was teaching upwards of 15 drop-in yoga classes a week but I wasn't thriving. I...

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                        Ep. 64 How to AyurVeda Biohack Your Holiday Travel

                          Traveling soon? Learn Katie's favorite hacks from Ayurveda and holistic health so you can be sure you stay sane and healthy when you're on the go. In this episode you'll...

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                          Ep. 63 Object Permanence—A Sun Practice for Safety and Ease

                            Tune into this special meditation from our private membership the Lineage of Love. This is an immersive episode you'll want to star or save for future use. A short and...

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                            Ep. 62 Don’t Work for Free with Chef Meredith Klein

                              One of our Ayurveda School teachers Meredith Klein shares her experience of being asked to work a big job in LA for free. We discuss being a woman entrepreneur and...

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                              Ep. 61 Pleasure Activism—Do It Now!

                                Make the most of this incarnation, find the love and bliss that’s endogenous to us. Tune into this quick and uplifting note from Katie that you NEED to hear if...

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                                Ep. 60 The Emotional Body: A Portal into Vulnerability & Authenticity

                                  What did the ancients mean by Rasa-our body's sap and essence? Tune into this short but uplifting love note/nudge from Katie. Learn about the Vedic concept of Rasa and how...

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                                  Ep. 59 Happy Hungry Horny: 3 Hot Tips for Fall

                                    The freedom and joy of letting go in the fall. Three things you can do this fall to celebrate and make the most of this magical season. In this episode...

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                                    Ep. 58 Being a Force in the Ayurveda World with Cate Stillman

                                      Join Cate and I as we talk all things modern Ayurveda, being a trailblazer and her new book. In this episode we discuss: ~How we’ve become discounted in the name...

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                                      Ep. 57 Is the Yoga You’re Doing REALLY Ancient?

                                        Is downward dog really ancient? When did modern day yoga start to take form? In this episode I get into a little bit of the research I’ve been doing around...

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                                        Ep. 55 Vitamin B.S. – Sunlight + Forest Baths

                                          Contemplation on nature and sunlight as medicine. In this episode I discuss: ~Yummy Ghee Recipes Use promocode GHEESPOT at checkout for $5 off your Ghee! ~What is Vitamin B.S.? ~Sunlight...

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                                          Ep. 54 Interview with Brodie Welch

                                            In this conversation Brodie and I unfold the effects of contemporary living on women's health, eroticism, connecting to our dharma and Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives on living and loving. In...

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                                            Ep. 53 Our Ancestors Are In The Soil

                                              Some thoughts and insights on a topic that almost every woman I've ever known struggles with: Food. In this episode I discuss: ~The first spiritual practice ~Our relationship with food...

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                                              Ep. 52 Interview with Ragaia Belovarac, Founder of Blue Sage Ayurveda

                                                Ragaia is a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Panchakarma Specialist, and Founder of Blue Sage Ayurveda. In this episode I get to interview one of my favorite teachers and people in the...

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                                                Ep. 51 Intermittent Fasting—Giving the Gut a Break

                                                  What's hype? What's good? Ayurveda's perspective on this trendy topic of fasting. In this episode I discuss: ~ApotheKary's Classics Set ~Why do we need Ayurveda's perspective? ~What is intermittent fasting?...

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                                                  Ayurveda views premenstrual symptoms as the manife Ayurveda views premenstrual symptoms as the manifestation of a doshic imbalance. Menstrual symptoms can reflect imbalance in any of the doshas, but typically, the premenstrual period is linked to vata and pitta dosha—things can get too dry, too heated or too emotional.⁠
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It’s especially important to tend to vata dosha during the luteal phase, the couple of weeks that precede your bleed. Tending to vata during this time means grounding, stabilizing and soothing the nervous system. ⁠
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Here are some Ayurvedic recommendations for your luteal phase:⁠
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🍠 Eating For Your Luteal Phase⁠
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• Root vegetables - Carrots, parsnips, beets and sweet potatoes are deeply nourishing and grounding, helping to counter vata anxiety ⁠
• Ghee and healthy fats - Supports healthy hormones and nutrient absorption⁠
• Steamed greens - Leafy greens offer vital nutrients and their bitterness and astringent qualities counter pitta’s heat⁠
• Warm, cooked grains - Steady nourishment for smooth digestion and steady agni⁠
• Soups and stews - Supports digestion and the nervous system at the same time—also beneficial for kapha types and kapha imbalances⁠
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🌿 Supportive Herbs & Spices⁠
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• Turmeric - Helps support the body’s detoxification pathways, aiding hormone regulation⁠
• Ginger - Kindles agni and steadies digestion⁠
• Ashwagandha - Provides essential nervous system steadiness through emotional waves⁠
• Shatavari - Supports women’s hormonal balance; is cooling and moistening⁠
• Brahmi - An Ayurvedic herb known for supporting mental ease and balance⁠
• Cumin - Digestive aid soothing vata (aka goodbye gassiness!)⁠
• Fennel - Cooling digestive support that helps reduce both vata and pitta ⁠
• Coriander - Pitta-reducing to help mitigate irritability and excess heat⁠
• Sesame Seeds - Contain essential minerals and fatty acids that promote hormonal balance⁠
• Fenugreek - Anti-inflammatory qualities may help ease menstrual discomfort⁠
• Mint - Helps to cool and aid digestion, balancing both pitta and vata⁠
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🥀 Save for your next grocery trip during your luteal phase! And if you’re ready for more, comment WISDOM to access our free Divine Feminine Ayurveda course now.
                                                  Are you ready to embrace another year of healing, Are you ready to embrace another year of healing, spirit and transformation that fits seamlessly into your busy life? ⁠
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We've gotten started with a couple amazing classes, alongside a beautiful community of women, that are waiting for you as soon as you sign up!⁠
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Level 2 is so special because it’s a much smaller group - this means more opportunity to get to know your cohort (aka Ayurveda best-gal-pals) and the teachers. A more intimate group really gives Level 2 a distinct feel that we absolutely love. And of course, the opportunity to take your studies to the next level!⁠
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Our 2026 Level 2 classes are now in session, and you can start immediately! The first couple of classes of the year are in the Shakti classroom now, waiting for you. Don't miss this opportunity to integrate all that you learned in Level 1 and go deeper into your practice.⁠
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The doors will soon close until 2027... if you've been considering deepening your learning, connecting with an incredible community and supporting your own healing, join us today. 🦋🗝️
                                                  Ayurveda doesn’t separate the body into isolated Ayurveda doesn’t separate the body into isolated systems. When you support digestion, you support hormones. When you calm inflammation, you calm the mind. These herbs are working on multiple layers at once, gently guiding the body back into balance.

Here are some foundational herbal helpers to keep in mind for common imbalances:

🫚 For digestion:
• Triphala cleanses, tones the gut and supports elimination
• Trikatu is hot, sharp and activating, cutting through ama
• Hing is pungent and penetrating, breaking up gas and stagnation
• Ginger is warming, helping digestion come online
• Ajwain is a carminative, clearing bloating from the digestive tract

🌿 For inflammation:
• Turmeric moves through the blood, helping clear heat and stagnation
• Guduchi is cooling, restorative and calming
• Amalaki is rejuvenative and cooling, supporting the blood and skin
• Licorice is sweet and soothing, coating irritated tissues and calming the gut and lungs
• Aloe vera is cooling and moistening, pulling heat out of the system

🌀For the nervous system:
• Ashwagandha is grounding, stabilizing and supports the stress response
• Shankhpushpi is calming, clarifying and helps ease anxiety
• Jatamansi helps settle excess vata and support emotional regulation

🧠For mental clarity:
• Brahmi is light and sattvic, clearing mental fog and supporting memory and focus
• Gotu kola supports circulation to the brain, helping create steady, grounded clarity
• Saffron is subtle and uplifting, supporting mood and perception
• Tulsi clears the mind and invigorates the respiratory system, increasing alertness
• Rosemary is aromatic and stimulating, helping wake up the mind and sharpen concentration

🌹 If you’re ready to dive deeper into this work, comment WISDOM for our free Women’s Wisdom and Ayurveda mini-course. 

✨ Calling all Level 1 Graduates - the first classes of our Level 2 Ayurvedic Health Counselor Training are waiting for you inside the virtual classroom and this is the final call to get in the door. Comment “LEVEL2” (one word) to learn more.
                                                  Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, the ones who Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, the ones who long to be mothers, the ones navigating complicated or tender relationships with their mothers, and the ones learning to mother themselves in new ways. 🌺⁠
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Today we’re honoring the mothers of Team Shakti—the women who shaped us, held us, challenged us and loved us. When we asked our team to describe their mothers, these are just a few of the words that surfaced: generous, earth-conscious, devoted, vibrant, kind, thoughtful, adventurous, loving, supportive.⁠
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We’re also honoring the universal, inner threads that are woven through this holiday and offer something that we can each lean into, no matter our personal stories: the archetype of the Divine Mother. The Inner Mother who lives in all of us.⁠
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Reconnecting with this archetype allows us to become better mothers to ourselves, more compassionate in how we show up for others, and to begin healing the ancestral cords we carry from the lineage of women who came before us.⁠
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Today we are honoring all of it. The love, the complexity and the becoming. Happy Mother’s Day from Katie & Team Shakti! 💐💚✨🌸 Spread the love with us - share a photo of your mom or your stories and make sure to tag us so that we can reshare it!
                                                  We are currently being overloaded with pollen over We are currently being overloaded with pollen over here on the East Coast and it’s got me thinking about how we can all navigate allergy season with a little more support…

Allergies are a typical imbalance associated with Kapha season in Ayurveda (late-winter/early spring in the Northern Hemisphere). 💐

Ayurveda understands that allergies are the result of an outer allergen aggravating one of the doshas. Spring seasonal allergies are usually more Kapha-related, since Kapha dominates the environment this time of year. 

An excess of Kapha dosha = sluggishness, mucous and water retention. (Read: classic allergy symptoms). 🤧

🐝 This is the formula for aiding your Kapha seasonal allergies: 
👉🏽 Heat things up + boost circulation + clear and CLEANSE your bodies’ pathways.

Allergies don’t have to be your destiny. Reducing the effects of allergies comes down to boosting agni + reducing ama +  supporting immunity. 

Save this for allergy rescue. And let us know what makes the biggest difference for you this time of year. 🫡🌸

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