The Shakti School

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ayurveda

How to Do Sitali Pranayama: The Cooling Breath

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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:

  1. Form the lips into an "o", curl your tongue lengthwise
  2. Project the tongue out of the mouth
  3. Inhale deeply through your tongue as if drinking through a straw
  4. Focus your attention on the cool breath across your tongue as you fill up your diaphragm
  5. Bring your tongue into your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose
  6. 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. 🌬️

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Ayurveda-Inspired Homemade Sunscreen

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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! ✨⁠

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Ep. 251 The Crystalline Body, Tantra and Ayurveda

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

What is the crystalline body? In today’s episode, Katie explores the parallels between the ancient wisdom of Tantra, modern neuroscience and the crystalline body. She shares how we can expand past our limitations, clear blockages in our energy body and ultimately move from confusion to clarity.

If you want to learn more about the crystalline body and how to regulate your nervous system through Ayurvedic practices, join Katie LIVE for our free Somatic Ayurveda Workshop. Click here to save your spot!

This beautiful talk was originally a Chai with CAAM event hosted by our dear friends at The California Association for Ayurvedic Medicine (CAAM). Learn more about CAAM here!

In this episode about the crystalline body, you’ll hear:

~ Common misconceptions about Tantra

~ The intersection of Tantra, Ayurveda and the crystalline body

~ Expanding past our limitations

~ The root definition of the word Tantra

~ Moving from confusion to clarity

~ What is the crystalline body?

~ Parallels between Tantra and modern Neuroscience

~ The seven gateways of perception

~ How unprocessed past experiences shape our reality

~ A Tantric formula for digesting the past

~ Radical self-honesty

~ The Vedic concepts of Swastha, Prana, Tejas, Ojas

~ Clearing blockages from the crystalline body

~ Effects of the “Information Age” on our minds

~ Cultivating the ability to stay with yourself

~ The Validation Breakthrough by Naomi Feil and Vicki de Klerk-Rubin

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Tune in to these episodes to build more self-trust:

~ Energy Medicine 101 - Episode 154

~ Menopause Made Me Look Like My Mother with Mary Thompson - Episode 186

Connect with Katie and The Shakti School:

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

~ Learn more about Ayurveda School!

~ Follow The Shakti School on Instagram and Facebook

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

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

We hope you loved today's episode about the crystalline body! If you'd like to support the pod, 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. 250 The Art of Self-Trust

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

Self-trust isn’t about having all the answers, feeling completely certain or never doubting yourself. In today’s episode, Katie explores the true meaning of self-trust through the lenses of Tantra, Ayurveda and neuroscience, offering a gentle invitation to cultivate more self-trust and connect more deeply to your inner wisdom.

To hear the full Art of Self-Trust workshop and join us LIVE for part two, click here to join our Spirit Sessions Membership for just $28 per month!

In this episode about self-trust, you’ll hear:

~ What is self-trust, really?

~ The Vedic concept of Sutika

~ How to recognise ways you’re outsourcing your wisdom and authority

~ Balancing sovereignty and surrender

~ Cultivating self-trust

~ Can self-trust and self-doubt co-exist?

~ Common ways that we abandon ourselves

~ Boundaries, validation and self-abandonment

~ Self-trust and nervous system awareness

~ Connecting more deeply to your inner wisdom

~ Becoming your own source of refuge

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Tune in to these episodes to build more self-trust:

~ Ep. 124 From Negative Self-Talk to TRUE Self

~ Ep. 225 Tea with Your Shadow Self: From Self-Sabotage to Self-Compassion with Carly Banks

Connect with Katie and The Shakti School:

~ Learn more about Ayurveda School!

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

~ Follow The Shakti School on Instagram and Facebook

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

Help Us Spread Our Pod Wings!

I hope you got a lot of value from today's episode about self-trust! If you'd like to support the pod, 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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Spring to Summer Transition: Navigating Seasonal Shifts with Ayurveda

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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).

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Eat To Support PMS: An Ayurvedic Guide

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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:⁠

🍠 Eating For Your Luteal Phase

  • ⁠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

🌿 Supportive Herbs & Spices⁠

  • 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

🥀 Save this guide for your next grocery trip during your luteal phase!

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