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dopamine

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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February is a threshold month in Ayurveda (in the February is a threshold month in Ayurveda (in the Northern Hemisphere). We’re still carrying winter’s cold, heavy and vata-provoking qualities, especially if you’re vata-dominant or living in a colder climate, but the body also starts asking for a little bit of clearing as kapha slowly begins to rise. 

It’s time for bitter + warming foods: cleansing without shocking the system. Think warm, cooked, spiced, and slightly bitter.

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere you’re going to want to follow the “summer” guidelines – check out our blog for tons of resources to support you!

February recommendations:

🌶️ Cayenne: Hot and stimulating; wakes up sluggish digestion and helps mobilize stagnant kapha
🥬 Kale: Bitter and mineral-rich; supports gentle detox, grounding when cooked
🤎 Cumin: Warming and digestive, strengthens digestion and improves nutrient assimilation
🌿 Fenugreek: Warming, bitter and drying - perfect for winter kapha–balancing
💛 Turmeric: Heating, supporting cleansing pathways and immune health
🥣 Buckwheat: Warming and drying; balances kapha while still nourishing in cold weather
🥬 Collard Greens: Bitter, earthy and grounding; excellent for late-winter liver support
🧄 Garlic: Hot, pungent and antimicrobial; clears mucus and boosts circulation
🌾 Rye: Drying and grounding; helpful as winter heaviness begins to lift
🫜 Beets: Sweet and bitter, natural coagulant supporting blood and liver cleansing
🍋 Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon adds the sour taste to heavier foods
🫚 Ginger: Warming and activating; kindles agni and keeps vata steady
🍠 Sweet Potato: Sweet and grounding; stabilizes vata while transitioning seasons
🍫 Dark Chocolate: Bitter and warming in moderation; supports mood and circulation
🥬 Chard: Bitter and mineral-rich; aids gentle detox without excess cold
🫘 Chickpeas: Drying and protein-rich; balances kapha when well-spiced and cooked
🥦 Broccoli: Bitter and light; supports liver and lymphatic cleansing
🍚 Kitchari: Warm, spiced and balancing; ideal for gentle February resets
🫜 Turnips: Light, bitter and warming

🌿 Ready for more? Comment WISDOM to access our free Divine Feminine Ayurveda mini-course now.
Did you know that the California Ayurvedic Medical Did you know that the California Ayurvedic Medical Association is hosting a really rad conference with some incredible luminaries including yours truly March 20-22 near Silicon Valley Bay Area, California. @californiaayurveda for all the details or DM @sandhiyaramaswamy - who is already coming??
Trying to have a healing dialogue with your inner Trying to have a healing dialogue with your inner child for the first time ever. 🫠

Healing isn’t a one-and-done conversation where you say the right thing and suddenly your inner child doesn’t have trust or abandonment issues anymore (wouldn’t that be nice!? 💔🔥)  

Healing is a relationship.

It’s about slowly (sometimes awkwardly 😉) and lovingly, befriending the parts of you that were ignored, rushed, shamed or quietly kicked out of your own heart.

The tender parts of you don’t open because you said something “right.”

They open because you stayed.

Because you didn’t leave when it felt uncomfortable, even though that first conversation may have felt a little cringe ;) Drop me a line below if you know exactly what I’m talking about. 🫀❤️‍🔥🦋💫
Ayurveda is a complex and vast folk medicine syste Ayurveda is a complex and vast folk medicine system that arose out of ancient India as long as 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda offers us tools to not only heal, but thrive, physically, mentally, relationally and spiritually.

Ayurveda teaches that in order to embody true health (of body, mind and spirit) there are three pillars that must be honored. 

🍋 Pillar #1 Food

According to Ayurveda, all disease originates in the digestive system. When we eat the wrong foods for our body, eat too much late at night, emotionally eat, or eat winter foods in the summer, our belly suffers.

Food is the essence of all life. 

What you put into your body gives you the power to make your life’s purpose a reality. In order to be an earth-shaking, present, wise woman, we’ve got to fuel our machine with premium gas. 

☁️ Pillar #2 Sleep

Getting our beauty z’s can do wonders for how we look and feel, inside and out. Sleep allows the body to detoxify itself from the day, revamping us for the day to come. 

Sleep is also when we heal the tissues of the physical body. It’s the time when we do a major subconscious dump of any undigested emotions and life scenarios.

⚡️ Pillar #3 Shakti

This pillar is all about the management of the vital, creative, life-force that runs through each of us. How do we manage our energy? How do we use our attention and our body? If we look at one of the meanings of the word bramacharya, which is what Ayurveda calls this pillar, we gain insight into what the ancients understood.

One interpretation of the word is “to walk with God.” An example of this is checking in with our heart (you can think of this as your conscience, intuition or God) before engaging in decision making. In this way, our choices are more aligned with our highest intentions and the higher good.

🌹 Want to explore this wisdom more deeply?
 
Comment WISDOM to access our free Women’s Wisdom + Ayurveda mini-course.

🌿 And if you’re feeling the deeper pull…

Our Level 1 Feminine-Form Ayurveda Training is already underway, and we’re still welcoming women who feel the call.

Comment AYURVEDASCHOOL to learn more and join us.
At The Shakti School, we are a place of learning a At The Shakti School, we are a place of learning and unlearning. Yes, you’ll receive rich teachings, ancient wisdom, tools, philosophy and so much more Sanskrit than you ever could have imagined. 📚🪔✨⁠
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Just as importantly, you’ll be invited to soften. To remember. To release anything that keeps you from your own inner knowing. From your own Inner Teacher.⁠
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This is feminine-form learning: not just acquiring information, but creating space for remembrance, embodiment and truth that can’t be taught. Only revealed.⁠
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If this way of learning speaks to you, it’s not too late to join us.⁠
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We are in the classroom today at 2pm US Eastern time and we are still welcoming women into this living, breathing, feminine-form approach. 🌿 ⁠
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Comment AYURVEDASCHOOL for more information.

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