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gut health

What Your Gut is Trying to Tell Your Heart

What your gut is trying to tell your heart - Understanding your emotions and what they mean for your health.

Understanding your emotions and what they mean for your health

A gut feeling is an instinctive, intuitive feeling, without any logical rationale. It’s very common to hear people using the saying gut feeling, but on what level do we really understand the connection between the gut and our emotions? How often are you treating your heart’s longings for an issue you may be experiencing in your digestion? With the ongoing amount of research and development on the inner workings of the microbiome, there are hundreds of ways to help to create a healthy gut. Especially when we turn to Ayurveda. Ayurveda is all about healing the digestive system and the practices, dietary guidelines and herbal remedies have been meticulously put together for thousands and thousands of years to do just that, so why doesn’t it always work? 

The digestive system has its own nervous system, called the enteric nervous system. It has over 100 million nerve endings and in many ways, it can control digestion independently without your conscious awareness. The enteric nervous system has been nicknamed our "second brain.” This gut-brain is intimately connected to our "big brain" via a network of nerve pathways and the two nervous systems share many of the same neurotransmitters to facilitate communication. In fact, 95 percent of serotonin is found in the gut! This bidirectional pathway is referred to as the brain-gut axis and involves moment-to-moment communication to control digestion. Loyolamedicine

The gut-brain is intimately connected to our "big brain" via a network of nerve pathways and the two nervous systems share many of the same neurotransmitters to facilitate communication.

The gut-brain communication is so closely linked that when we experience a state of dis-ease, stress, heart ache or any other negative emotion that feeling gets signaled through bidirectional nerve pathways to the gut that then causes an upset or imbalance. In return, if such emotions aren’t addressed the gut can then take on the problem and send its own signal to the brain causing a vicious cycle of imbalance and possibly some unwanted digestive issues. 

So, how do we become more connected to the instinctual and intuitive gut feeling when it comes to the matters of the heart? It starts with getting to your Self and falling in love with your Self. Katie talks a lot about self love (especially in Ayurveda School) and has defined it by how capacious we are at actually liking our funny, quirky, silly little inner child. Self-love happens when we know who she is, how she’s been hurt, and when we are gentle with her through the steps towards healing. 

Self love is also about taking the time to listen and the space to feel. When we don’t give ourselves enough space, solitude, and quiet it’s more difficult to tap into our inner wise woman-- this is the woman who has a healthy gut! Have you ever noticed that when you are relaxed and in a place that makes you happy surrounded by people you feel at ease with (often happens on long vacations) magically your gut issues seem to improve? We are unable to tap into the depths of our wisdom and the place of true self love when we are in a constant state of fight or flight.

Seek out ways to ground yourself. Do the practices that help you feel the most relaxed. Breathe in self love with every breath. Practice daily meditations, affirmations, or prayer. Be in the arms of nature. Do not give up on yourself and stay diligent with monitoring how you speak to your Self. And, consider joining us in Ayurveda School 2022 where we will discuss ALL about the gut, brain, and heart connection and so much more.

Greens for the Gut & Potatoes for the Heart

An Ayurvedic Green Recipe for Gut Health.

For the Greens

1 large bunch of dandelion (finely chopped)

1 cup of finely chopped kale (or any other green of your choice)

1 tbsp fresh ginger (diced)

1 tbsp of olive oil or ghee

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a medium sized saute pan over medium heat, add the oil and spices, and let simmer for a few minutes. Next, add the greens and cover with a lid. Let the greens cook for about 15 minutes while periodically stirring and covering with the lid. If the greens are sticking you can add a little water (this will also help to steam the greens). 

 

For the Potatoes

1 cup of fingerling potatoes (halved)

1 tbsp ghee

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp rosemary (fresh or dried) 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until the potatoes are completely covered with the oil and spices. Next, transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. (Option to do in a saute pan: follow the same directions as for the greens) 

The greens and potatoes are great on their own, but feel free to top with your favorite protein source to make this a complete meal. 

Potato recipe for the hearth.
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The Brain, Gut, and Heart

The Brain, Gut, and Heart

Our Gateways into Resetting for the New Year

Every year around all parts of the globe there are celebrations of a new year. In America, it falls on the first of January with the common expectation to set some sort of a resolution for the new calendar year ahead. As I’ve mentioned in my monthly Shakti Letter every January, I don’t really love the idea of New Year’s resolutions. Instead of setting resolutions, I like to think about setting goals that will support any idea of a resolution. For example, if you don’t want to binge eat ice cream every night, rather than restricting ice cream all together, why not integrate a mindfulness practice to cultivate more presence with your behavioral patterns?

Do you know what you are?
You are a manuscript oƒ a divine letter.
You are a mirror reflecting a noble face.
This universe is not outside of you.
Look inside yourself;
everything that you want,
you are already that.
Rumi

You are your biggest resource when it comes to getting more of what you want. The key is being connected to your higher self, the part of you that intuitively knows what is best for you and your success. One of the best ways to reconnect to your higher self, is to do a full body reset. The reset is intended to stoke your internal fire (your metabolic processes) and the fire of your soul. These tips and practices will activate your spirit while also allowing the body to find more space for restfulness, ease, and clarity. This kind of reset can be done at any time of the year (and multiple times throughout the year).

Reset Your Gut 

This will look differently for each person, but a very simple way to reset the gut and break bad habits around food, is to commit to eating real and whole foods. Ditch the sugar all together and focus on foods that are as closest to their natural form as possible. Cook your own food and eat in a way that works for you. Try for Ayurveda-focused eating: eat with the season, eat for what’s going on in your life, and eat for your body type (not your best friend’s body type, your sister’s or your husbands).

In general, aim to boost Agni (digestive fire). Add digestive spices to all your dishes (fennel, coriander, cumin, and ginger). Eat light. Eating light does not mean fasting. It’s fully possible to eat grounding and nourishing foods while also eating light. Give your digestion a break. Create longer gaps between meals. Consider eating your largest meal earlier in the day and go lighter in the evening (simple soup or broth).

Carrot and Soup

Take Triphala (use code KATIES15 for 15% off). Triphala is the sacred trio in Ayurveda composed of the dried fruits amalaki, bibhitaki, and haritaki, and can be super helpful in getting your digestion in check and the whole body operating more functionally.

Move your body in the morning. Dry brushing, stretching, and oil massage will help to get the lymph circulating and the internal organs stimulated which will help with digestion and energy production.

Reset Your Brain

One of my favorite teachers, Tara Brach, said,

 “In moments of presence is when we reconnect with goodness” 

Goodness is a positive brain state. It’s when we can be in a flow state, when we are productive, and most energetically alive. How can you best find your connection to goodness? You may already know what activities bring you into your own innate goodness (and if you do, do more of those). But, for most people, these are some practices that are bound to help.

Reset Your Brain

Explore meditation. Even just five minutes a day can drastically improve the quality of your day. In life we are in a continuous flow of remembering and forgetting (our higher self). When we take time to slow down we often come back to remembering.

Immerse yourself in nature. Take a long walk, go to a park, or find a mountain and get to the top!

Try a week-long digital detox. This is such a great way to get more centered in your True Self. Unfortunately, as a society we’ve become far too addicted to devices and distraction. It’s essential that you find your own healthy limit with how much energy you invest in mindless scrolling. Exercise for you. Again, stick to what works for you. What makes you feel the most alive and full of energy afterwards when it comes to movement practices? Maybe it’s daily stretching, taking a walk, or maybe you have a lot of Kapha energy and need a morning run. Whatever it is, do some sort of movement that elevates your energy.

Reset Your Heart

Matters of the heart can be difficult to heal. And more often than not it takes a lot of time. By resetting the gut and the brain first, you will have better luck when it comes to healing the heart. If you are experiencing any trauma related emotions, it is best to work with a professional in somatic experience who can help you navigate that space.

Manage your stress levels. This is something you can start doing now. Stress plays a huge role in emotional well being (which also leads to a lot of physiological effects as well). When we are stressed, we are disconnected. Become more familiar with the ways you disconnect so that you can best prepare yourself for when it comes up.

Take time for prayer. Praying doesn’t have to be a religious act. Prayer can be mantra reciting, it can be through repetition of a positive affirmation, or it can look totally different.

Keep a journal and write in it. Getting your thoughts on paper will help you to sort through your emotional hang ups or will simply help to process the day. It is in journaling when I gain some of my best inspiration.

Manage your time + make the time to unwind and relax. In our go, go, go society there can often be pressure associated with non-stop doing. Push against this societal norm and make space for doing nothing. It is in that space where you will be able to find stillness, your body can decompress, and your heart will have the time to heal and make peace. Check out this Inner Bliss Meditation to start finding ease and more aliveness in the heart.

Reset Your Heart

And, Sleep! 

High quality sleep is vital for optimal brain function, heart health, mood, hormones, and the list can go on and on. It’s crucial for resetting your whole nervous system into a state of balance and resiliency. And it’s not just about the amount of sleeping hours you get in a night, but the quality of your sleep too. The largest sleep study ever conducted (on 1.1 million people) showed that it’s quality, not quantity, that matters most. (1) And, at least half of all Americans say they suffer from insomnia, and nearly 9 million are using prescription sleep medication. (2)

To jumpstart your sleep, start by limiting the use of blue light at night. These are my favorite Blue Light Blockers. Turn off the screens three hours before bedtime.

Up your healthy fats. Make sure you are getting enough healthy sources of fat throughout the day: avocado, olive oil, ghee, and fish oils are all great sources.

Ditch the caffeine and alcohol + add in the magnesium. I know this can be hard, but higher amounts of coffee and alcohol really disrupt the quality of sleep. Try it out for a month and see how you feel. Replace your evening nightcap with a warm Ojas Nightly Tonic from Lifespa.

Finding ways to reset your system will be super helpful year round (sometimes even mini resets throughout each day). We are learning to lean into these times of uncertainty and uncertainty can be a really difficult realm to navigate. The key is to be present. When we are present in each moment it’s easier to make decisions in our day to day life. As human beings it is our habit and condition to want life to be different when life isn’t easy. The truth is life will always be uncertain, so it’s all about how you set yourself up for success and respond to it.

By finding ways to focus and connect to presence, love, and your inner spirit you will be guided with much more awareness and acceptance of what’s to come.

 

Resources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010336/

https://aasm.org/cdc-analysis-finds-low-rate-of-prescription...

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db127.pdf

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Ep. 46 Poophoria: Getting Perfect ?!

A short and fun episode on getting the perfect poo (aka elimination and detoxification basics) and identifying imbalance using Ayurvedic tri-doshic theory.

In this episode I discuss:

~The deal on fierce antidoting

~How stools reflect your health

~The relationship between stool and homeostasis

~What does it mean to have perfect stools

~Typical stools per the Dosha

~Typical stool imbalances per Dosha

~~Herbs/products for digestion: Triphala, Castor Oil, Amalaki (use discount code Shakti10 for 10% off at Banyan!)

~Learn more, download my Free Divine Feminine Ayurveda Mini-Course

~ApotheKary products I mentioned: Beginner Essentials Kit!

Or Subscribe on iTunes

We love this lady biz ApotheKary! My friends started an ayurvedic wellness store! Our discount code is GHEESPOT10 for 10% off.

Learn more:

Shakti Ayurveda School

Free Divine Feminine Ayurveda Mini-Course

Lineage of Love Community

HELP US SPREAD OUR POD WINGS

This show is a passion project that I produce for the love of sharing. If you enjoy this show and want a free and easy way to help it grow, the most effective way you can help is to:

  1. Subscribe to the show by clicking “subscribe” in iTunes
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Here’s the link to leave us reviews in iTunes.

From my heart to your screen,

Katie

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theshaktischool

TheShaktiSchool

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. 🍓💦 ⁠
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My personal Ayurveda Summer Recipe Mix Tape is a sun-drenched love letter from my witchy kitchen to the depths of your feminine soul.⁠
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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.”⁠
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Because that’s what Summer of Love is really about.⁠
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👉🏽 Here’s the download. ⁠
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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. ⁠
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And it only lasts until August 11th.⁠
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Sign up for the 2026 Ayurveda School before 8/11 and you’ll get my Ayurveda Summer Recipe Mix Tape e-book FREE, plus:⁠
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🍒 $100 off tuition⁠
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🌴 A Paavani Pitta Summer Kit full of cooling body magic⁠
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🍓 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)⁠
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Ready to claim 2026 as your most transformational, soul-honoring, juicy year yet and join us in Shakti Ayurveda School? ⁠
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🌹Use the code SummerofLove at checkout and let the kitchen seduction begin. 😉
What Vanilla ice has to do with our Ayurveda progr What Vanilla ice has to do with our Ayurveda program. Ice ice baby summer! 🔻🌺🪐😉🌹🙌🏻😝
The Summer of Love Sale is ON, babe. ☀️⁠ ⁠ The Summer of Love Sale is ON, babe. ☀️⁠
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This is your invitation to turn up the pleasure, turn down the heat and say YES to healing, soul purpose + reclaiming your innate feminine wisdom.⁠
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When you join our Ayurvedic Wellness Coach Certification Program now through August 11th, you’ll receive:⁠
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— 💸 $100 off tuition on any payment plan (which is already the lowest earlybird price you’ll see all year)⁠
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— 🌊 A FREE Paavani Pitta Summer Sampler Kit with all the cooling essentials you need to be a true Ayur-Goddess this summer: spritzer, body oil + cooling spice blend⁠
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— 🔥 1-year FREE membership to our Spirit Sessions platform: start studying with me right NOW + access our library of meditations, movement classes, deep-dive workshops + my full Chakras course ($1000 value!)⁠
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— 🍹 A downloadable, 30+ page Ayurveda for Summer Recipe Book chock full of brand new recipes like Creamy Cucumber-Mint Kitchari, Herbed Turkey Patties with Yogurt Mint Sauce and Strawberry-Rose Moon Smoothie (trust me, you’ll be drooling 🤤)⁠
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✨Use the code SummerofLove at checkout to get all the goodies. (Yes, these gifts are YOURS when you join either Level 1 or Level 2 Ayurveda School 2026)⁠
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Make this your year of radiant health, spiritual transformation and embodied feminine power.⁠
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🎁 Gifts only available until August 11th. Grab your spot + your gifts now at the link in bio.
Katie here. The real one.  It is summer in Virgi Katie here. The real one. 

It is summer in Virginia and today it’ll reach 101 degrees. I’m covered in rose oil, drinking coconut water and main-lining some sweet watermelon chunks to power up the morning. 

In other words - it’s HOT.

And I seem to always forget how activating the summertime can be. It comes out of nowhere, right? The intensity. The anger. The insomnia. The hot-flash.

But, there is one thing I come back to time and time again - and that’s The Shakti School Basics. 

Here is what that looks like:

1. Stop. Pause. Lay down or sit down. 
2. Make a commitment to be still for a bit.
3. Feel and open to everything that is arising in this moment.
4. Breathe. Let your awareness drop in and down your body. 
5. Breathe. Let your awareness rise above your body. 
6. Breathe. Let your heart soften and open and receive. 
7. Rest in the opening and stillness and energy that is always there. 
8. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

This is the starting point for everything we do in Level 1 Ayurveda School, which BTW we have just opened for early bird registration! 

And in honor of cooling our collective summer heat - I want to give you SO much cool stuff. Plus, a way to connect and start studying with me RIGHT NOW! 

🌞 Summer of Love is Here, Sister! 

When you sign up for 2026 Ayurveda School during our Summer of Love Sale (now through August 11th only), you’ll get:

💖$100 off tuition 

🌿FREE Paavani Pitta Summer Kit (aka a mini Pitta-reducing spritzer, cooling body oil and soothing spice blend)

🌸A YEAR-LONG FREE MEMBERSHIP to our thriving Spirit Sessions membership platform where you get immediate access to ALL of my Spirit Sessions meditations, classes, workshops and other resources. Plus! Immediate access to my ground-breaking CHAKRAS course (a $1000 value!) and LIVE monthly workshops with yours truly and special guests.

✨A downloadable Ayurveda for Summer recipe book, straight outta’ Katie’s kitchen

Just use the code SummerofLove at registration check out to receive the discount and ALL the gifts (and YES, this applies to 2026 Level 1 & Level 2)!

🍉 Sign up before 8/11 to claim your free gifts.

With sunshine + soul,
Katie + The Shakti School Team
The best food on the planet can’t help you if yo The best food on the planet can’t help you if you don’t have the digestive fire to transform and assimilate what you are putting in your body.⁠
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The ancient texts called this digestive fire AGNI.⁠
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Agni is what transforms and assimilates what we are taking in, whether it’s food, life experiences or thoughts. ⁠
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Ayurveda holds that many of our diseases start with the accumulation of toxins (ama) in the body. This sludge builds up when our metabolic fire is unable to burn what we are putting into the body. ⁠
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When our agni is functioning well, Ayurveda teaches that our body will be healthy, our skin radiant, our mind clear and our energy balanced.⁠
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The good news is this: You can start boosting your agni right now with this little tip. ⁠
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👉🏽 Add Ginger Pickle to your routine! And no - it’s not the kind of pickle you pile high on a sandwich - it’s more of an agni-honoring, pre-meal ritual.⁠
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A small dab (about the size of your thumb tip) is traditionally taken before meals to stimulate the digestive fire and awaken agni.⁠
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🫚Here’s the Ginger Pickle how-to: Slice a few pieces of fresh ginger. Add a pinch of rock salt and a spray of fresh lemon or lime juice. Eat before meals to kick-start your metabolic fire!

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