The Shakti School

Feminine Form Sacred Technology

digestive health

Ep. 29 What I Eat Everyday + Why Diet = Crazy

A sneak peak at what’s going on in my kitchen and why I think dieting is crazy.

In this episode I discuss:

~My story with food

~Our desire for health (Swashthya)

~The Tantric practice of Truth: holding paradoxical qualities all at once

~Book: Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life by Dr Claudia Welch

~Food & Our Emotions

~Our innate intelligence

~Intuitive Eating VS Cravings and Binge Eating

~The importance of food preparation

~Swashthya: Being seated in the heart, “health”

~Getting into the God Body

~Lineage of Love Free Trial!

~I’m in LOVE with Triphala and Shatavari by ApotheKary and their Kits!! They’re an Ayurvedic inspired apothecary that mixes small-batch potions.  Use discount code GHEESPOT10 to get a bottle from ApotheKary.co

 

Further Reading:

Feeding the Hungry Heart by Geneen Roth

Women Food and God by Geneen Roth

Also check out my food psychology book list here: https://shaktischool.wpengine.com/books-we-love/

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Learn more:

Shakti Ayurveda School

Lineage of Love Community

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Katie

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Eat Well

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That you are what you eat may be standard wisdom, but according to Ayurvedic tradition, the state of your mind, emotions, and your environment while you eat also has direct impact on the way you feel. These teachings (as well as modern scientific nutrition studies), show us that eating in the right way can reduce stress and promote calm.

The ancient yogis taught that one of the first and most important of spiritual practices was food sadhana, the art and discipline of what, when, where, why and how we put food into our bodies.

For physical, emotional, and mental health, it may not be enough to just load up on organic fruits, veggies, and grains. Even if we eat super-healthful food, if we consume mindlessly, eat in a rush, or shovel it in while texting or similarly distracted, the body can’t settle into its digestive processes. And if we eat while feeling sad, angry, or under significant stress, the digestive fire gets weakened, and instead of feeling satisfied, the mind will feel disturbed post-digestion.

Here are 10 simple Ayurvedic tips for cultivating calm-body nutritional habits:

Prepare your food with love.  The energy of the cook is always in the food. Avoid eating meals that may have been prepared in anger or resentment. Ayurveda understands that we not only eat the food, but also the emotions of the chef. So, if you are angry or distracted and can’t seem to focus, put down the kitchen knife, pick up the phone, and order some yummy take-out instead.

Awaken to your food.  Begin to bring consciousness to your eating habits. As you are preparing the food, sense that you are offering it up to your divine self. Tune into the smell of freshly baked bread, the color of sunny turmeric, or the texture of jasmine rice in your hands, even before you taste the flavors of the food.

Tune into nature.  When we eat, we are not only consuming the food on our plate but also the stimulus in our environment. According to Ayurveda, the impressions we take in through the senses can disturb the mind and hinder digestion. If you are watching television or reading the newspaper, you are “ingesting through your eyes,” causing prana to move out and not inward where it needs to be for proper digestion. It is highly recommended that you eat in or near to nature. If that’s not practical, even placing houseplants within view of your table will help. Of course, birds and flowing streams are an added bonus.

Savor the chewing. Take time to chew your food slowly, until it becomes an even consistency. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend chewing each bite of food 30-50 times so that you begin to break down the food in the mouth before it travels the rest of the digestive tract. Complete chewing allows complex carbohydrates, sugars, oils, proteins, and other minerals to reach maximum levels of absorption.

Make eating a ritual.  Pause for a moment as you sit down to eat, mindful of what you’re doing and where your food came from. Possibly offer up a prayer of gratitude for all the people, animals, plants, and Universal forces that brought the meal to your plate.

Let it digest. Following your meals, take some time to relax to let your food digest before going on to your next activity. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, it is helpful to take a small pause between your meal and the next activity. One of my Ayurveda teachers in India offers this easy little ditty for remembering a post-digestion ritual:“After lunch, rest a while. After dinner, walk a moon-lit mile.” And allow at least three hours between meals to allow your food to fully digest. If you feel hungry, sip herbal tea.

Stop before you’re full. This is easier to gauge when you eat mindfully and slowly. When you overeat, you weaken agni, or digestive fire. Whatever you don’t digest will turn into accumulated toxins in the gut. This has a dramatic impact on how you feel physically and mentally.

Take a lunch break. Make lunch the largest meal of the day, and take time to eat it. Digestion is strongest around mid-day, when the sun is at its peak. The body’s rhythms mirror the rhythms of nature.

Watch emotional eating. Do you turn to the chocolate or coffee when you feel overwhelmed or exhausted at work? Do you dig into a bag of chips when you feel lonely? If so, try to consciously make a different choice like taking a brief walk or having a cup of herbal tea and see how you feel.

Do table meditation. Before eating, take a moment to close your eyes. Bring your attention to your belly and breathe slowly. Ask yourself, “What do I really need?” Before eating, ask yourself, “Am I hungry, or am I just angry (tired, lonely, exhausted, bored, etc.)?” This is the crucial moment where we have the capacity to move from the unconscious realm of compulsive and dysfunctional behavior, and into the realm of awareness and calm. From this place, we have better access to the inner teacher that knows what we need for nourishment and strength.

This article was originally published in the Yoga Journal Blog on January 26, 2012.

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How to Stay Warm, Wet and Loved Up Like a Tigress This Fall

My new plant-crush is on an herb called Kapikacchu. Its a natural source of levadopa (L-dopa) which is an essential precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine. And um, can you say “in the mood?” Here are some good links and info on my favorite How to Stay Fabulous in Fall Ayurveda products.

Sleep like a sweet baby with jasmine and sesame oil for the scalp and head -an ancient Ayurvedic method for calming the system before sleep.

Feel as strong as a horse with Ashwaghanda tincture – Ashwagandha is one of the most highly regarded and commonly used adaptogens in the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia. Maximizing the body’s ability to resist stress, it enables the body to reserve and sustain vital energy throughout the day while promoting sound, restful sleep at night. It is considered one of the best herbs for calming vata and for revitalizing the male reproductive system. Used by both men and women, it maintains proper nourishment of the tissues, particularly muscle and bone, while supporting proper function of the adrenals. This potent herb is used to promote muscle strength and to support comfortable joint movement.

Have a happy baby belly – Vata Digest’s heating quality enkindles the digestive fire, stimulates a healthy appetite and helps ensure that nutrients are properly absorbed and assimilated. Its grounding quality helps calm the excessive air movement in the system that is characteristic of vata. The oil quality of the herbs supports the natural lubrication of the intestines, assisting in thorough and healthy elimination.

Make love like a tiger with Kapikacchu. This beautiful plant is a nutritive tonic commonly used in Ayurveda as an aphrodisiac and to support proper function of the reproductive system. It increases sexual energy and strengthens and tones the reproductive organs. In men, kapikacchu supports potency, stamina and control. In women it promotes a healthy libido and fertility. The vitality bestowed by kapikacchu nourishes the entire body and calms the nerves making it an excellent rejuvenative for vata. It is also natural source of levadopa (L-dopa) which is an essential precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine.

~Katie

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Ojas: The Power That Sustains Us

Ojas (OH-JUS) is one of the three subtle forces in our body. Think of ojas as the container that holds your abundant energy. It is the ultimate energy reserve of the body and mind. It is the purest essence of Kapha, and physically, it is related to reproductive, hormonal, and cerebrospinal fluids.

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. Think of it as your psychophysical container or shield.

As a society, we don’t respect this energy enough. The more ojas we have, the more impervious we are to illness and the negativity of others. Robust ojas acts as a soft shielding, helping us ward off stress and disease brought on by physical pathogens as well as psychic pathogens (emotional vampires be gone!). The more ojas we have, the more impervious we are to the negativity of others, as our own spirit has a good, strong container. Ojas gives us an overall sense of satisfaction with life. As you might suspect, our modern Western culture is chronically low in ojas.

A person with good ojas is calm and content, and has both strong immunity and endurance. This is the most important element for most of us to cultivate. It is especially true if we are trying to conceive a child, deal with a stressful life event, or overcome an illness.

But increasing our level of ojas is not just a matter of building it up. It is also about  not losing or wasting it.

When you are overstimulated, for example, if you spend hours on the Internet, drinking coffee, and texting friends, you lose energy through the five senses in ways you aren’t even aware of. This leaves us feeling depleted and can brings on depressive or anxious sensations.

The practice of pratyahara, that is, controlling our senses by moderating our speech and sexual energy and getting proper rest, relaxation and sleep, helps us preserve our vital energy. The next time you feel depleted, think of drawing the mind inward instead of reaching outward for comfort. I like to lie down and practice feeling the sensations in my body, turning my focus inward and letting any stagnant emotions rise to the surface.

START NOW: Feel A Connection to Your Ojas

This exercise will help you feel the strength of your energy reserve.

Find a comfortable position and close your eyes.

Take a few deep breaths. Relax for a minute, allowing your breath to deepen and smooth out.

Now slowly start to draw your attention away from your thoughts, emotions or aches, and drop it down into your belly, holding it there until you feel sensation. Then, slowly, bring your awareness into your heart.

Remember a moment in your life when you felt very deep love. Perhaps it was the birth of your child, a merging into the arms of your lover, being hugged by a parent, or the bliss you experience when you help someone in need. Maybe it was a time when you let yourself be totally vulnerable. When you add love to your point of focus, it builds your ojas.

Bring that moment fully to mind and notice where you feel the sensation of love in your body. Allow this sensation to move, to expand and permeate every cell of your being. When you grow the feeling of love inside your body, you boost the power that enables you to remain strong and wise in the face of heartache, disease and change.

Relax into this loving container, watching how, over and over again, you will gain and lose the feeling, and how you can refocus and experience your inherent enduring, sustaining power."

~Katie

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Deep Listening – Balancing Your Weight With Ancient Ayurveda

The single most common complaint I hear from my students and clients? I don’t feel at home in my body. I want to offer you some simple Ayurveda-inspired, no-more-band-aid tips that will help you feel at home in your body again. And these techniques aren’t about imposing hard and fast rules – they are about deep listening.

It starts in your heart.

Many of us turn to the transient comfort of food, overeating in attempt to numb out the pain. We numb out fear, loneliness, dissatisfaction with our careers, sexual frustration, boredom in our marriage, resentment, anger, deep-seated insecurity and sadness. The crazy part is that after we numb-out, we feel depressed and/or anxious, and pick up the next activity to stuff down that emotion. And thus, the endless cycle of foggy vision and misplaced desire begins again.

What can heal us? Ayurveda says that knowing when we begin living unconsciously, dysfunctional behavior is the first step. Bringing loving awareness to these behaviors starts to unravel the pattern at the root.

The following tips will help you begin to balance your weight, while simultaneously addressing the deeper emotional hunger.

  • Be aware. Begin to bring consciousness to the way you eating. Breathe deeply into your belly. Are your standing up? Are you in the car, on the cell-phone? Slow down. Find a calm place to sit and eat lunch. Be with the food.
  • Eat slowly and chew the food well. Stop eating before you feel full, to allow the belly the space and time it needs to digest what you have eaten.
  • Don’t put out your fire. When we overeat, we weaken our digestive fire. Whatever we cannot digest will turn into accumulated pollution and toxins in the gut. This has a dramatic impact on how we feel, and is the primary reason why women who eat healthy food have excess weight. It is also the reason why women who eat lots of healthy food can remain thin, dry and brittle.
  • Observe why you eat. Are you emotional eating? No judgements, just be aware. Become aware of your habits, and what you use to cover up what you’re feeling. Do you pick up the chocolate when you feel overwhelmed or exhausted at work?
  • Give yourself loving attention and give yourself what you need. Before eating, take a moment to close your eyes. Bring your attention to your belly and breathe slowly. Ask yourself, “What do I really need?” Before eating, check in – Am I hungry, or am I just angry (tired, lonely, exhausted, bored, etc.)? This is the crucial moment where we have the capacity to move from the unconscious realm of compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors into the realm of awareness. This is healing.
  • Self massage. This is one of the single best ways to tell your body, “I love you.” Check out this post for a complete overview on how to oil your body machine.
  • Relax. Relaxation has been scientifically proven to help in weight balancing. When we are under stress, our body produces a hormone called cortisol. When we have too much stress, this hormone actually tells our body to store excess fat for some impending doom. Bringing your awareness to your bones is a great way to ease into the parasympathetic nervous system. Notice the space between your right jaw ans right collar bone, and then your left jaw and left collar bone. Map it. And check out the Lineage of Love for more Body Yantra and other tools to find more ease.

~Katie

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Curb Unhealthy Cravings

When I feel the chill of winter near, I start to dream of warm, foamy chocolate; hot toddies; and long, luscious sleep. And this is a good thing. Naturally, the fall and early winter season season beg for more heaviness and warmth in both the foods we eat and in our lifestyle routines. The downside of this season is that it is also a time for overindulgence and strong cravings, especially when we couple the cold weather with the stressors of the holiday rush.

One of my favorite Ayurvedic authors, Dr. Robert Svoboda, says, “If Ayurveda were a religion, Nature would be her god, and overindulgence would be her only sin.” And I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of “sinning.” But the good news is that in the world of Ayurveda, there is no need for guilt and atonement when it comes to working with overindulgence and taming our cravings. In fact, it requires a heavy dose of self-awareness and self-compassion. All of us, to a certain extent, use substances (particularly food) to effect our mood and mind. And according to Ayurveda, when we lack self-awareness, we will actually choose the very foods that will bring us into deeper states of imbalance. Oh my!

So, those of us with more vata will crave energy-boosting sweet tastes for that instant energetic high—and a subsequent energy crash. Similarly, fiery pitta types will typically crave meat and spicy foods that create more heat and intensity in the short-run, but can lead to more internal inflammation over time. Kapha types will lean toward heavy fried foods or sweets—comfort food—that lead to more lethargy and dullness.

So how can we turn our body’s cravings into body wisdom? The first step is awareness. Start to notice the foods that you crave when you feel awesome and balanced. When you feel good, you will probably be choosing foods that make you feel even better! Then, notice the foods you choose when you are sad, angry, exhausted, or just plain stressed out. These are usually the foods that will be more harmful for your constitution. Easy peasy. The foods you crave when  you feel great are the ones that fuel you in a good way. The ones you crave when you feel bad, they’re the harmful ones.

There is a really powerful moment in time when we can move from an old pattern (overindulgence with food, shopping, media, sex—anything!) to a new pattern. Once you have connected with self-awareness, notice what you are craving. Take the time to check in and ask yourself, “What do I really need? Would moving in a different direction than my habitual pattern actually allow me to feel better tomorrow?” When we can shift the pattern, we release ourselves from the pains of addiction, and we free up energy to move toward our life goals and our spiritual journey.

How? Well, you can start small. Give a little of the poison. If your body/mind is used to getting a few glasses of wine or a big bowl of ice cream each night, simply taking it away from yourself can be like ripping a bottle out of a baby’s mouth! Try reducing the amount of what you deem to be an addictive or unhealthy substance by one-third each week.

You can also replace the substance with something else. For example, instead of too much alcohol, try a hot ginger-spiced milk and a long, essential-oil infused bath. Your body/mind may not even notice the ol’ swaperoo! Be compassionate with yourself. No one, especially not you, is served through harsh self-judgement. Sometimes we all indulge our unhealthy cravings. If we can indulge with awareness and moderation, the effects are usually quite benign.

So, practice self-compassion when you overindulge in dark chocolate, Facebook, or pizza. Put your hand on your own heart and say silently or aloud, “Oh, look, my darling, you just overindulged in (fill-in-the-blank). You must be really tired (sad, angry, lonely, etc.).”

I have found that the more I connect to this process, the less I actually use substances to shift my moods and energy levels. I also experience tiny miracles popping up all throughout my daily life as self-awareness turns into self-compassion. And who doesn’t need a big ol’ oversized helping of that?

~Katie

This article was originally published on the Yoga Journal blog on November 7, 2013.

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Recipe for Getting More Core Vitality

Here’s my go-to list for getting more core vitality – essential for being healthier, happier, and a whole lot sexier!

Go organic: Eat foods that are seasonally-aligned, organic and when possible, local.

Cleanse and purify, then rebuild and renew: If you are full of toxic gunk from over-indulging in meat, sugar, drugs, alcohol or processed/fried foods, don’t start eating a ton of ghee and dates. First, take a few days to eat super-simple and clean – mainly whole grains, lentils, vegetables and high-quality fats such as olive oil and avocado.

Stop eating out so much: Ojas lies in the love of home-made meals. By and large, restaurant cooks don’t pour their love into your dish.

Avoid overeating: This depletes the digestive fire.

Get rid of excess stimulation while eating: If you want to build core vitality, no more watching the evening news, or eating lunch in front of your computer at the office.

Sleep “your” hours: You know what your hours are. Some women need seven to feel perky, others thrive on nine.

Oil the body: Use an oil that is appropriate for the season and/or your body constitution. If you have alot of mucous or are extra toxic, start by dry brushing your body for a few days, while eating clean and simple foods. Then, begin to oil up.

Rest: Do deep, restorative yoga, yin yoga and yoga nidra (checkout our workshops page for yoga nidra)

Love the one you’re with – Any form of real love and devotion boosts our vitality and immune health.

~Katie

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A Morning Ayurvedic Routine for Lasting Change

It’s so easy to get excited about a new lifestyle change at the beginning of the year. But once February hits, that bright fire of desire may start to burn out, leaving our new life goals a bit cold.

Ayurveda understands this, and encourages us to work slowly and consistently with our life changes. Its better to throw a little stone into a pond daily than try to heft a huge rock once! With little daily-routine pebbles, waves of consistency will ripple out and create a new set point for your life choices.

This slow, steady path is achieved through daily routine (or dinacharya in Sanskrit), and it is essential for real, lasting change. Here are some of the steps in Ayurveda for a bright awakening, that can help set your day on course. Print this list up. Post it in your bathroom or refrigerator until it becomes second nature.

The night before  Try to be in bed by 10 or 10:30pm (it can be a little later in the summer). The body renews and detoxifies itself between the hours of 10pm and 2am.

Rise and shine!  Generally, waking around sunrise is ideal. People who need a little more sleep are children, pregnant women, folks who feel exhausted or burned out, the elderly, or anyone who is sick. Upon waking, try not get out of bed right away. Try to be aware of your body, your breath, and a connection to gratitude. Ayurveda understands everyday as a diamond opportunity inspiring thanksgiving.

Scrape your tongue  One of my favorite Ayurvedic health tools! Buy a silver tongue scraper and scrape from back to front 10-12 times. The tongue is a mirror of your intestines. If you notice a thick coating, it may mean you may want to eat a more cleansing diet, as toxins may be present. Tongue scraping has been shown to help prevent diseases of the oral cavity, improves our ability to taste, gets rids of old food debris and prevents bad odor in the mouth. Plus, if you dont get rid of that gunk first thing in the morning, it will end up back in the body.

Brush your teeth  Check out an herbal/Ayurvedic toothpaste at your local health food store. Look for ones containing neem, triphala and/or peelu.

Washing the face, mouth, teeth and eyes   Splash some cool water on your face, or cleanse with a nice Ayurvedic soap containing neem or sandalwood. If your eyes feel dry or red, you can splash them with a little rose water. Massage your gums with warm sesame oil. This improves oral hygiene, prevents bad breath, boosts circulation in the gums and helps us maintain strong healthy teeth.

Drink warm lemon water  Squeezing half a fresh lemon into some warm water will help to wash the GI tract, flush out the kidneys and stimulates good bowel health. If your digestion feels slow, add a splash of cayenne or 1/2 tsp. of ginger root powder.

Nature calls   Going to the bathroom upon waking will help clear your digestive system. A healthy “motion” will have a soft brown log quality, little odor, and will be well-formed (like a banana). Undigested food, foul smell, mucous, blood, excessive dryness or “pellet-like” quality, as well as “sinkage” indicates digestive imbalance. Altering diet, lifestyle and using herbs will help better this.

Get oily   Self-massage, or abhyanga, is one of our best allies for radiance. In fact, the old texts say its better to pay the “oil man” today than the doctor tomorrow. Massaging your skin daily nourishes and soothes the nervous system, stimulates lymphatic flow and aids in detoxification. It also improves circulation, boosts your vitality, and makes you feel more balanced emotionally and mentally. Use a high-quality organic oil such as sesame, sunflower, or coconut. Warm the oil in your hands, then rub down, making sure not to skip any parts. Let the oil soak in for at least 20 minutes and then shower.

Meditation, prayer, devotion   I like to meditate after I’m drenched out in my warm oil.

Get your body moving   Do some exercise that suits your mood and the season. When done regularly, exercise grounds us, boosts the digestive fire, and burns up any extra fat and toxicity. Adding yoga to your routine will open and clear your energy channels, as well as your physical body.

Bathe  Use non-toxic, all-natural soaps without chemicals. Look for soaps with sandalwood, neem, and other skin-friendly herbs.

Nourish your belly  Eat a healthy, seasonally appropriate breakfast. The best time? Eating around 8-8:30 in the morning will give your agni (metabolic fire) time to be strong for lunchtime.

~Katie

This article originally appeared on the Yoga Journal Blog on February 1, 2013.

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