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How I Learned To Embrace the Life-Affirming Nature of Ayurveda

By Crystal Hoshaw

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I wasn't a typical little girl in pigtails and Mary Janes. I was an unapologetic tomboy. 

I loved all things tough and rough and turned up my nose with disdain at my finger-nail-painting and dress-up-playing contemporaries. 

Tagging along behind the boys like Anybodies following the Jets, I was ostracized in much the same way. 

No matter what sports I excelled at or Mortal Combat nemesis I defeated, I was forever branded by my unsavory gender, to my great chagrin. 

On top of that, I saw myself and my fellow females through the eyes of the boys. 

I avoided the “girly girls” like the plague. I strained to avoid displays of emotionality, frivolity, and vulnerability—traits I had come to understand as patently feminine. 

It wasn't until much later in my life that I understood this rejection of my own gender as a rejection of myself.

Still, this masculine tone carried into my attitude as a teen. I felt I had to single-handedly prove that women could be just as good as men at anything, and had a duty to my gender to not be conventionally, predictably, vapidly feminine. 

I wove in and out of this head trip for much of my life, ranging from a bleach-blonde cheerleader with acrylic nails to an angry feminist who only wore men’s clothes and didn’t shave her legs for several years.

Through it all, I was seeking my authentic self, behind all the conditioning, ideology, and social judgment. 

Attempting to stamp out the non-spiritual

My anti-feminine attitude bled into my spiritual outlook as well. 

When I joined a 10 month yoga teacher training at seventeen, I was the pitta kid in the front of class competing with myself, obsessed with nailing every asana.

That same training introduced me to Ayurveda, but my approach was no different. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it hard. 

That meant vegan, sattvic, salt/garlic/onion-free, and no more than two anjalis—or handfuls of food—on my plate at a time.

I thought of the Buddha's feeble renunciate's body, nourished only by a single handful of rice each day. That’s real spirituality, right? 

This strictness gave me the false belief that I had succeeded at controlling my desires and base impulses. In reality, I was repressing them. 

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Waking down into the body

While reading in the cafe on my college campus one day, I came across a line in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda saying that sex—at least, to the detached, enlightened mind—was just as inconsequential as rubbing two sticks together.

That can’t be right, I thought.

Surely the aim and fruit of enlightenment isn’t to reduce our human experience to something so unfeeling. Surely the point is not to desensitize ourselves to the basic, innate, and ultimately innocent pleasure of being embodied.

Shouldn’t our spiritual path lead us to an experience of life that’s more vivid, more multidimensional, more intimate? Even more sensual and pleasurable?

This was an early tell-tale sign that I needed Tantra in my life.

After enough little insights like this, it eventually dawned on me that my previous spiritual orientation held a subtle desire for self-negation. 

Just as I had tried and failed to negate my gender as a young girl, I found myself attempting to negate the qualities that made me human, woman, and allowed me to express my unique and divine personality. 

Through a misunderstanding of what it means to lead a spiritual life, I had confused individuality with ego and strove for spiritual homogeneity instead of authenticity. 

Letting go of control

This applied to my food choices too. 

When I learned the word “orthorexia,” alarm bells went off in my head. First coined by American physician Steve Bratman in 1997, it comes from the Greek word “orthos,” or “right.” 

It wasn’t that I was fighting with my weight or my body in the conventional sense. I was fighting with a constant need to be correct. Of course, I was only setting myself up to fail. 

When I started to give up the need to make the “right” choice all the time and the pressure that goes along with it, I started to experience an inherent pleasure and satisfaction with life that is the true beginning of the road to spiritual bliss. 

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No better teacher than the body

When I became pregnant with my son, I experienced a resurgence of my body’s inherent intelligence and natural wisdom that completely overrode any conceptualizations I might have had about ahimsa and veganism. 

While pregnant, my regular diet included steak, a hefty pile of dark leafy greens, and over a gallon of whole cow’s milk a day. This rapid shift came at the ardent insistence of my natural urges—urges I didn’t even know I had. 

As a result, I felt nourished, juicy, and—to my midwife’s great relief—no longer tested as anemic. 

I learned firsthand that depriving the body of what it needs is a form of violence. Somehow, this only became clear to me when I had another body growing inside of me to make the point. 

Now I know that my body, on its own, deserves the same gentle compassion and nurturing care. 

After all, even the Buddha gave up his meager renunciate’s diet, to the dismay of many of his austere followers.

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Ayurveda reimagined

As I sought a way to continue to deepen my relationship with Ayurveda while honoring these newfound insights, I found myself turning away from so much of the messaging I encountered, whether in courses, in books, or on social media.

Like so many fields, many of the voices are men. Like many rich traditions, much of the messaging has been distorted by the legacy of colonialism. 

And like so much of wellness culture, there’s often subtle language implying that our bodies, impulses, and desires are threatening—even dangerous, that they should be controlled, subdued, and even snuffed out completely. 

Then I found The Shakti School. 

Finally, an Ayurvedic community addressing this strange self-negating bent in what is actually a deeply intuitive, life-affirming science. 

“Ayurveda is the science of love, intuition, and intellect,” writes Vasant Lad in The Textbook of Ayurveda.

To me, this triad represents the union of intuitive Shakti with intellectual Shiva. The result? The pure, unadulterated love that is our true nature. 

Just like an excess of tejas can burn off ojas and disturb prana, an excess of intellectualizing and rule-following reduces Ayurveda to a dogma instead of the living embodiment of natural wisdom that it is.

The chaos of Shakti is necessary for life, and the hosting energy of Shiva provides the stage where chaos can dance. From this perspective, the categories of good and bad, profane and sacred become indistinct, even limiting. 

Ayurveda in its most profound expression presents us with the freedom and responsibility of meeting the world each moment without the aid of simplistic dichotomies of right and wrong, requiring an open and hosting attitude toward the polarities of our own experience and of existence itself. 

True Ayurveda is the ultimate compassion. 

Just as much as Ayurveda asks us to get real with ourselves, to practice discipline, and implement healthy boundaries, it also asks us to do so with a softness, acceptance, and reverence for our human experience and everything that comes along with it—including our cravings for ice cream, our emotional breakdowns, and those times we decide to skip the gym to binge Netflix instead.

For Ayurveda, beauty and pleasure and even coffee and depression can be medicine. 

Ayurveda can host all of it, and when we live Ayurveda as a practice, so can we. 

This is the gift that The Shakti School provides: a community to marinate in acceptance of ourselves—foibles and all—as a means to deep, connected, embodied health and wellbeing.

About Crystal

Crystal Hoshaw is a mama, writer, and lifelong lover of the sacred. She's the founder of Simple Wild Free, where she leads online group courses for adults and teens to learn deep self-care based on the wisdom of Ayurveda, the power of intuition, and the insight of sacred creativity. Follow her on Instagram and join the community on Vibely.

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What I learned in Shakti School: Radical Responsibility, Remembering the Wisdom of the Body and Launching a New Business

By Becky Nethery

Summer Blog

When I signed up for Shakti School, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and how the trajectory of my life would transform.

Back in 2018, a good friend told me about Shakti School and I checked it out online. I had never heard of this southern woman with a beautiful drawl, but her book Happy, Healthy, Sexy, sounded pretty epic. “Ah, ya…I want more of that,” I remember thinking.

I’d read a little bit about Ayurveda, but I didn’t really get it. It seemed pretty confusing and like a lot of rules, which just piqued my inner rebel. I’d been on my own healing journey for many years and I had a lifelong love of all things spiritual, mystical and philosophical. So I signed up and got ready to learn. But little did I know that Shakti School would become a major turning point in my life.

At the time, I was in my 10th year working as a high school teacher in Canada, feeling deeply constrained by the role and wanting the freedom to truly be myself. I felt that what I was teaching teenagers didn’t truly serve them. Instead of teaching iambic pentameter or how to pass a standardized test, I wanted to help them explore their gifts, talents, and how they wanted to contribute to the world. I believed in education and learning but I was losing my faith in the system and feeling deeply frustrated by the constraints on how I could show up. I also had this deep inkling that I wanted more for my life. I was ready for the next adventure. I wanted to keep learning. I wanted true expression and connection. I was sick of hiding as this hollow version of myself. I wanted to be myself, all the time. Maybe you can relate?

From the very first call of Shakti School, I felt the energy of the divine. I can still recall this full- body presence as the group gathered and Katie initiated that year of Shakti School. For the first time in my life, someone was saying the things that I knew deep inside but had never had the words to express. The more I learned about honouring the feminine and respecting the beauty, magic and simplicity of life, the more I started to feel at home in myself. It was a mystical remembering of things that had been buried, but not lost.

Of everything that I learned throughout that year, the concept of radical responsibility took hold the strongest. Realizing that I had the power to create the life I wanted was a double edge sword. It was extremely freeing and yet equally terrifying. Instead of playing victim, I slowly started to realize that I could honour my experience and desires. I knew that I felt deeply unexpressed in my career and confined to showing up as a “robot” version of who I was every day as a teacher. And yet, it wasn’t quite the right time to leave.

As I continued studying, another life-changing concept that I was introduced to through Shakti School was the concept of embodiment. It sounds so obvious now, but it was an entirely new learning for me. I had always valued my intellect, being smart, solving problems and making plans. I thought these were my superpowers (when in fact they were deeply honed survival patterns and trauma responses).

When Katie would pause the intellectual learning in class to do an embodiment practice, I would feel deeply frustrated. I remember thinking “I’m not here to feel, I’m here to learn.” My reactions reflected the deep imbalance that values the thinking mind above all else, as reflected in education and society at large. This imbalance had been internalized. “Thinking will keep you safe, thinking will solve everything. Thinking is what matters the most.”

But through Shakti School, something radical started to happen. For the first time in my life, I started to connect and truly witness the wisdom that was present in my body. It was an entirely new experience and it changed my life forever. It was a portal into something that I knew deep inside but didn’t know how to articulate, let alone the community to express and explore with. The reality that I could access this inner wisdom at any time, just by bringing my simple awareness to my body was deeply transformational.

It was a reconnection to the pieces of me that I had ignored, abandoned and neglected, both consciously and unconsciously. Honouring the divine feminine and moving into my body and out of the realm of the thinking mind helped me to feel deeply grounded and present. I started to feel stronger and more powerful in my ability to trust myself. My body offered me this strength, courage, knowing and presence that I had never been able to access just with this floating brain, disconnected from my body. I felt these “other” parts of me start to come online and they had so much to offer me. I started to feel safe again, safe to be me.

Between these two concepts, radical responsibility and reconnecting with the wisdom of my body, I realized that something needed to change. I longed deeply for true expression and contribution where I could show up with all of my gifts. I wanted to contribute my zone of genius to helping end suffering on the planet and I deeply wanted to honour my creative expression. To put it bluntly, I wanted the freedom to be myself.

And it’s pretty amazing how life conspires to support our desires.

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Through various circumstances, that September I bravely decided to take a year-long leave of absence from teaching. I didn’t have it all figured out, but I had the courage and the faith to make the jump.

I decided to take radical responsibility for my life. I opened my own copywriting business and started writing brand stories and website content for local entrepreneurs who were in the healing modalities or who were doing good in the world.

You see, I deeply believe that business can be a powerful conduit for change in the world. Honouring our creative expression and gifts has the power to deeply heal us, as many of us have abandoned our creative expression and gifts in exchange for doing what we think will keep us “safe.” Yet, this so-called safety is slowly killing us. At least that was my experience. Opening your own business can offer healing to yourself and to the collective. It’s the ultimate growth opportunity as you must first honour your gifts, talents and contributions and then bring them forward to help others.

Not everyone can do what you do. There is a creative contribution that wants to flow through you, it’s the thing that lights you up, it’s this creative prana, and it’s when you feel most alive. And the really cool thing is that people are looking for your gifts. And they will pay you for them if you want! (Although I also strongly believe that not all creativity should be commodified.)

The more I learned about business and connected with entrepreneurs, I started to realize that they were deeply engaged with life, they were connected, innovative, and passionate and they were expressing their creative energy and contributing to making the world a better place. They were my kind of people. And despite my imposter syndrome, they wanted to work with me!

Since opening my business, there have been many ups and downs as I continued to learn and grow. All of the areas of personal healing showed up in my business, inviting me to continue releasing what doesn't serve me and coming back to the wisdom of my body, being present in the moment and offering my gifts to the divine and the collective.

Over the past 2.5 years, I’ve helped 100+ heart-centred business owners clarify their brand message so they can make real connections, show up with confidence online and make more impact and money. I absolutely LOVE the clients that I work with. They are badass entrepreneurs who are using their gifts and talents to solve problems for people and help end suffering on the planet. But they often have no idea how to position themselves and tell their story in a way that truly resonates and helps them sell their services or programs.

They are gifted and talented changemakers, but they need help with their messaging as over-thinking, imposter syndrome, comparison and self-doubt often creep in.

It is my honour to witness my clients, truly see them in their greatness, and contribute my writing, gifts and intuition to craft their brand story in a way that sets their business up for success. They feel seen, heard, understood and clear, excited and confident to move forward with their business. I get to show up with all of my talents and I’m no longer operating as a “robot” version of who I once was as a teacher.

Shakti School gave me the foundation to make this leap of faith and take radical responsibility for my life. I can’t say that I would have done it on my own. Through the teachings of Ayurveda and the Shakti School, I continue to ground into and connect with the truth of who I am. Shakti School provides the fundamental health foundation that every woman needs to help nurture her true expression. And this is deeply healing.

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I’m so thankful for Katie and the Shakti School staff and this epic community. It has been a safe place to explore who I am and how I can show up as the happiest, healthiest and sexiest version of myself.

I’m studying Level 2 this year and continue to be amazed by the practical teachings that help me regulate my nervous system and connect with the divine through the wisdom of my body. I truly believe that even if you don’t want to be an Ayurvedic Health Coach, studying Ayurveda with Shakti School has the power to transform your life in ways you might not expect. But that is the beauty and joy of this great unfolding called life.

If you need help with copywriting or telling your brand story, I’d love to connect with you. Check me out at beckynethery.com and follow me on Instagram. It would be my absolute pleasure to help you establish your brand, connect with your people and make more money in your business.

I also created a course called The Embodied Marketing Method where I teach entrepreneurs how to write for their business by first being grounded in the body. By combining embodiment techniques and copywriting skills, you can learn how to connect with your message and use your marketing as a form of leadership and service. If this sounds like something that could help your business or you’d like to learn more, check out this FREE GUIDE I created on how embodiment can revolutionize your marketing.

About Becky

Becky Nethery is a Copywriter and Brand Strategist who helps heart-centred business owners clarify their message, so they can show up with confidence, attract their ideal clients and sell with ease.

Writing high converting copy, Becky translates business ideas into clear and powerful brand stories that truly resonate and lead to an increase in profits. She is passionate about using business as a tool for change and loves supporting entrepreneurs who are bravely honouring their creative skills, solving real-world problems and making life better for their clients.

She is also the creator of The Embodied Marketing Method a program that teaches entrepreneurs how to use their marketing as an act of divine service. And she is also the co-host of the Entrepreneurial Inquiries Podcast which explores the intersection of business and being.

Connect with Becky today! Visit beckynethery.com or email [email protected]

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Hot Girl Summer! ☀ Cool & Fun Tips to Stay Balanced this Season

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Isn’t summer just the best? Sandy toes👣 and sun-kissed glows☀️. Farmers’ markets and scents of jasmine, rose and honeysuckle wafting through the air. I don’t know about you, but I CRAVE summer – it means road trips, BBQs, outdoor concerts, barefoot walks and quality time with friends and friends. 

Full stop.

What I don’t crave is summer’s annoying skin rashes, hot flashes and indigestion, or feeling hangry, impatient and leave-me-alone frustrated. Sound familiar? Yeah, total hogwash! 

As fiery pitta 🔥 builds and the earth gets uncomfy, humid and hot, so do we! And, I don’t mean in a cute, “lightly flushed + glowing” way… No, I’m talking full-on hot, angry face. 🥵 So how do we keep pitta at bay and actually enjoy summertime? 

Easy! Ayurveda tells us how to cool our jets so we’re not walking around red-faced and moody all season – generally, stay hydrated, eat a summer diet and prioritize SELF-CARE. ((Good news! Ayurveda permits napping during the summer months! So allow yourself to take a conscious rest or siesta when the afternoon slump hits.))  

Hey, speaking of self-care, summer is the perfect time to unleash your sensual goddess and get your sexy on, girl – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. More on that later…

To help you beat the heat, stay mellow and enjoy summer’s sun-drenched days, I’m sharing some essential pitta lifestyle tips (SPOILER: yummy DIY recipes + HOT hints on how to rediscover your sensual self.) Get ready to roll with the heat by priming your body and soul for the season! Onward…

Katie’s 10 Favorite Pitta-Pacifying Foods

~foods that cool your body + calm your mood~

A pitta-pacifying diet includes heaps of hydrating, fresh seasonal produce that have cooling energies. During summer, it’s best to favor sweet, bitter and astringent tastes and reduce salty and pungent tastes. Here’s what you can always find in my kitchen during the summer months.

✨ Aloe Vera 

✨ blueberries 

✨ cucumber

✨ coconut (coconut water with slices of lime - yum!)

✨ leafy greens: radicchio, watercress, arugula, spinach

✨ turmeric

✨ stone fruits: peaches, pears, apricots

✨ melons: cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon 

✨ mint, cilantro, basil, coriander

✨ beets

Sexy, Sassy Summer

~celebrate your divine sexual energy~

Balmy nights, bare legs, sun-kissed skin – summer is an oh’ so SEXY season, isn’t it? Connecting to your physical and energetic sexual centers is key to boosting your vitality and should be an area that is nurtured and attended to regularly. This summer (heck, anytime!!), I want you to tap into the HOT sensual goddess that you are and rediscover your feminine magic.

Try a few of these tips to reconnect with your sexual prowess… or have fun with a partner.

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💋 Light up your libido with a sensual photoshoot. No, really. Grab your sexy boy shorts, summery lingerie or go a la’ nude. Keep the photos to yourself to gawk at or share with another!

💋 Cultivate self-love. Stand in front of a mirror and note all of the intricate details you love about your body. Say them OUT LOUD, lady! You are special and deserve to hear it.

💋 Let loose your inner Beyoncé! Move your hips through dance to ignite your sexual energy. Your hips, located at your second chakra, are linked to your sexuality and pleasure.

💋 Go skinny dipping and relish the erotic feel and freedom of water on your bare skin.

💋 Write yourself love affirmations: I am desire. I am sexy. I am magnetic. Yes. You. Are!

💋 Try this meditation for building and healing sexual energy.

💋 Share a chilly treat with your bae – chocolate-dipped strawberries, ice cubes, whipped cream, need I say more?

💋 Incorporate intimate acts of deep connection with your partner, such as massage, talking, walking hand-in-hand, long hugs, kind words or simply gazing at one another. Pleasure is a journey, not a destination!

💋 Get busy! Wild and spontaneous or soft and sensual – sex is a magical and beautiful part of life. During summer, the body’s ojas are not up to optimal levels and sexual frequency may be reduced (but hey, you do you).

✨For more deep real-talk on sex, spirit and shakti-infused self-care,✨
subscribe to Katie’s Spirit Sessions podcast.

Skin That’s Good Enough to Eat

~homemade scrub for dewy, glowing skin~

Keep your skin cool, smooth and lickable with a DIY body scrub. Whip up this super-simple scrub using coconut oil (one of Ayurveda’s best pitta-pacifying ingredients), brown sugar and your favorite pitta-balancing essential oil. Ready to get your sexy back?

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🥥Sugar Scrub for Sooth, Supple Skin 

  • ¼ to 1 cup coconut oil 
  • 2 cups brown sugar or any organic sugar
  • 10-15 drops of essential oil
  • Mix oil & sugar until creamy
  • Add essential oil while stirring 
  • Add remaining sugar until you reach desired consistency 

Katie’s favorite cooling oils to calm fiery pitta: Jasmine, rose, chamomile, geranium

honeysuckle and sandalwood. Choose one or mix and match!

Cooling Blends for Sultry Days

~kick back with a refreshing cuppa~

A scorching summer day = cooling off poolside with a citrusy, refreshing drink in hand, am I right? Before reaching for a margarita, cue da herbs! Our plant companions (like, mint) can help us beat the heat while supporting our constitutional balance. And, it’s yummy! Mix up this delicious, totally guilt-free Ayurvedic-inspired limeade and get outdoors to kick back.

🥒Cooling Cucumber Mint Limeade 

  • 1 cucumber
  • 3 limes
  • 1-2 sprigs of mint
  • Honey or agave to taste (optional)
  • Peel & cube cucumbers, removing seeds if needed 
  • Put cucumbers, juice of limes, mint, sweetener of your choice & 4 cups water into blender 
  • Blend until smooth & sip away
  • Drink at room temp to allow the herbs to naturally bring down your agni

✨For more tasty recipes, visit Katie’s blog! ✨

Frayed Nerves? Try Sitali Breath!

~pacify the building heat in your body~

Sitali Pranayama, “the cooling breath,” is my absolute go-to yogic breathing exercise during summer. It helps lower our body’s temp, calm our nerves, take the edge off hunger pangs, and reduces fatigue, fevers and high blood pressure. It’s a super easy practice and will leave you feeling renewed, refreshed and energized. Here’s the deets! 

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes
- Form the lips into an “o,” curl your tongue lengthwise and project it out of the mouth
- Inhale deeply through your tongue as if drinking through a straw
- Focus your attention on the cool breath across your tongue as you fill up your diaphragm
- Bring your tongue into your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose
- Start with 2-5 minutes of Sitali breath and increase to 10 minutes over time

 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Not a tongue curler? 🙋No worries - lots of people aren’t! You can get the same results with Sitkari.

- Sit in a comfortable position with your head, neck and spine in alignment
- Close your eyes, breathe consciously for several minutes

- Press your lower and upper teeth together, and separate your lips so your teeth are exposed
- As you inhale slowly through your teeth, focus on the sound of the breath and the sensation
  of the air on your teeth
- Close your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose 

- Repeat Sitkari breath for 2-5 minutes and increase to 10 minutes over time


🙏 Finish with several minutes of meditation to notice the sensations throughout your body. 🙏

I hope that my recommendations assist you on your journey this season. I wish you the most balanced summer in your being.

Love yourself. Enjoy yourself.

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Parsley Magic, Moon Gazing and Dream Yoga – Yes, Please!

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As the spring equinox arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, we shed the cold, dry, dark of winter to welcome spring’s 🌼 blessings🌷— rejuvenation and rebirth, promising seeds and unfurling leaves, euphoric birdsongs and glorious blue skies. 

I hope this finds you dancin’ into spring with joy in your mind, body and spirit.

Or… maybe spring is kinda kickin’ your booty! 

While the transition of vata to kapha season brings incredible abundance and beauty, this rtu sandhi (seasonal juncture) can carry with it an intensity that’s as challenging as it is euphoric. 

Just as nature is thawing and cleansing the toxins and heaviness accumulated during winter, so are our bodies. And, not every sexy goddess’s body moves gracefully into new phases of the year. Mine included!

You may feel unbalanced, lethargic and blah as your body pushes out of hibernation mode to make room for the lightness of spring. Allergies, congestion and colds are common. And, with the rise in spring’s water element, your emotions (hello, anxiety!) can feel OUT OF CONTROL. 

Sound familiar? Spring can be darn HARD on your body, y’all. 

My dear friend, use this time of dynamic renewal to tune DEEPLY into yourself. Observe the exuberance of spring, and enjoy this sense of thawing and awakening. Set judgment aside to breathe deeply, turn your face to the sun and receive the melody of nature with open arms. 

I’m excited to share our April content to help guide you in seeking harmony and balance with kapha this spring. This month’s newsletter offers some simple Ayurvedic wisdom — like sipping parsley water and meditating by moonlight — to help you get the wellbeing you crave.

P.S. I’m thrilled to announce that my second book, Holy, is set to be released in Fall 2023. Look forward to a spirit-infused, sensual guide on how to connect with and 💗love your body.

Reduce the Springtime Imbalance of Kapha on Your Body

~gentle, time-tested methods for resetting~

Come kapha season, receive the abundance of spring with your fullest self by bringing balance to your internal systems with Ayurveda activities, spring diet and self-care rituals. 

✨ Wake up with the sun 

✨ Get outside for a walk, reconnect with nature as it
    flourishes 

✨ Eat your largest meal at noon when your digestive
    fire🔥 is strongest

✨ Consume less meat and dairy

✨ Eat light, easy-to-digest foods: broth-based soups and
    whole grains like amaranth, millet, buckwheat

✨ Favor foods that are bitter, pungent, and astringent:
    lemon, dark leafy greens, chilis, mung beans, radishes

✨ Use spices and herbs: cayenne, ginger, turmeric,
    black pepper, fennel, parsley, nettle

✨ Protect your immune system with 🌿parsley water🌿
     (yes, parsley offers extraordinary health benefits!!)

✨ Indulge in garshana (dry brushing) 

✨ Cleanse a cluttered mind by journaling

✨ Be playful, dance, invite newness and freshness into
    your daily routine 

Click here for more Shakti School wisdom on how to clear away kapha this spring. 

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Parsley is Spring Magic

~power up your health and immune strength with parsley~

I love 🌿parsley🌿. It’s the perfect spring herb. With several times the vitamin C of citrus and packed with flavonoids, chlorophyll, calcium, vitamins A, K and E, sodium, magnesium, iron, and loads of other minerals, nutrients and antioxidants, parsley is a powerful source of nutrition with incredible medicinal potency.

This potent, bitter wonder herb improves digestion, reduces inflammation, controls blood sugar and helps dry excess mucus. And, parsley’s magical green goodness can improve liver, bladder and kidney health by promoting urination, reducing urinary infections, and treating kidney and bladder stones. Yep, all of that and more!

Plus, come springtime, parsley helps drain excess kapha by flushing out winter’s heaviness and toxins — ‘cause, we all overindulged a little this winter, right?

I’m excited to share a super cleansing parsley water recipe from my friends at Blue Sage Ayurveda. It’s easy to make and crazy affordable… like $2 a day! 

Click here for my simple parsley remedy and to listen to my Spirit Sessions Ep. 102 Parsley is Spring Magic podcast. 


✨For more deep real-talk on sex, spirit and shakti-infused self-care,✨
subscribe to Katie’s Spirit Sessions podcast.

It’s Time To Start Moon Gazing

~add this mind-body practice to your spiritual routine~

Did you know that lifting your gaze to the moon can calm an anxious mind, reduce anger and irritation, and soothe inflammation? I was recently featured in InStyle Magazine, sharing how the timeless practice of moon gazing has been used for healing all over the globe.

Moon gazing is simply soaking in the calming energy and effusive glow of our celestial gift.

The moon’s liquid-like energy is feminine in nature and has long been associated with women’s health, vitality and spiritual wellbeing. Basking in the moonlight cleanses, replenishes and EMPOWERS our Divine Feminine force. And, it activates our sex and bonding hormones, too!

By incorporating moon gazing into your practice, you can add a level of internal peace that transcends what you achieve with your regular meditation routine. With the promise of warmer evenings ahead, why not schedule intentional time with the Earth and cosmos? 

How to meditate while moon gazing: 

✨Go outside and sit or lie down where you can see the moon. Connect to your breath as you softly let your eyes move to the moon’s light and shape.

✨Gaze at the moon as an object of meditation. Become curious about its shape and contours as if you were observing something you really loved.

✨As you breathe and observe, begin to gently pull the cooling qualities of the moonlight into you, filling your body with this healing light. 

Check out the full InStyle article on moon gazing. Then head outside and soak in the silvery energy of this benevolent light source. Let me know how it goes!

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Katie’s Spring Time Ice Cream

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Katie’s Spring Time Ice Cream

“Oh my horror of Ayurveda horrors! Ice cream in the spring is a big no-no Katie Silcox!”

Yes, yes. But you still wanna’ eat it, right?

You, see I don’t believe in dogmatic Ayurveda food rules. (I ditched all fundamentalism a few years ago :-))

But what I DO think is really cool is using the principles of Ayurveda and the seasons to adapt and work with my cravings and desires. Ice cream in the spring included.

So, how do I do that in the spring? In this season there is a domination in the heavy, wet and unctuous qualities. And what’s so weird about imbalances in our system is that when we have imbalance, we will often crave things that are exactly the opposite of what we need. 

Which is why, before I got way healthier, I craved lounging about with an ice cream bowl on my belly exactly in the Kapha season.


End result - mucous, sad-face, lethargy and a lack of getting s%$t done. 

So, my hot little healer-woman, here’s a GREAT spring ice cream replacement that will totally douse your cravings, but also keep Kapha at bay.

It’s fruit-only sugar. A powerful protein and healthy-fat punch. As well as chock full of mind-tonic herbs that will keep you sharp all day. The secret ingredient is that it replaces the dairy of ice cream, which is super heavy and mucus producing with a wonderful Kapha-reducing replacement. Cauliflower! And I don’t even like cauliflower. 

 

Give it to me, Silcox:

2 cups frozen cauliflower

One cup frozen blueberries

One scoop of any good bone broth protein. My favorite is this chocolate kind from Ancient Nutrition.

One scoop Anima Mundi Qi Energy powder

One scoop Anima Mundi Shroom mocha milk

Add in 1/2 tsp ginger, cinnamon cardamom to spice it up and further reduce the kapha

2 cups water- add a bit more if needed

Blend in a blender til’ creamy smooth.

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How to Support Ourselves Through the Delicacy of Fall

Fall Blog (1)

A Guide to Seasonal Transition

In the Ayurvedic tradition, paying close attention during seasonal transitions is an important way that we can connect to and honor the unique relationship we have with our bodies. In the areas north of the equator, we are approaching the Fall Equinox. This transition into Fall is all about the transition from light to dark. At all transitions we can be more vulnerable to an accumulation of ama (toxins) in the body and in the mind, which is why it can be a perfect time for gentle cleansing and emotional release. We also will start to experience shorter hours of sunlight, the mornings and evenings will get cooler, and the air will become more breezy and dry. As mother nature will be letting go (of leaves, of daylight hours, the work of photosynthesis), we too can mimic this behavior by practicing the art of letting go.

It could be time to let go of the high intensity schedule you may have had during the pitta time of year. This is the time to slow down and focus on more fluid and intentional movement. Morning and evening meditations, slow walks in nature (bundled up), and staying inside with a book and a cup of chaga can all be more appropriate activities during this time of the year.

While depletion is on the rise, it’s more important to take time for rest and reflection rather than keeping a busy schedule. You can also take advantage of this time of letting go to release any stored up emotions that may have accumulated throughout the early part of the year. Taking more time to journal, pray, and reflect can be a powerful way to welcome the beginning of Fall.

During the early stages of Fall, the pitta season is drawing to a close and the vata element is on the rise. As vata season becomes more predominant, it becomes even easier to encounter imbalances, especially in the qualities of wind and ether. Similarly, in the Chinese medicine tradition, such imbalances can have a major effect on the organs specific to the lungs and the large intestine. This is why it is crucial to take extra care and pay close attention to how you go about your daily routines. The most common imbalances at this time manifest as seasonal allergies, dryness, constipation, sadness, grief and anxiety, and a tendency towards dehydration.

Food For Fall Support

The best way to support this transition into Fall is with grounding and nourishing foods. Think of foods that help to counteract gas and bloating and focus on foods that nourish and strengthen the liver.

This is the perfect time for stewed mung beans, roasted winter squash, cooked dandelion greens with ginger and fresh turmeric. Apples cooked with a small amount of ghee and spices would also be a great way to hydrate the body and help to keep things moving. If you can, try to plan for a gentle cleanse. Ayurveda highlights the time between September 15th and October 15th as the ideal range for a kitchari cleanse. See our free cleansing guide below.

Herbs for Fall Support

Perhaps one of the best ways you can additionally support yourself at this time is through the power of herbs or mushrooms. Try adding some reishi, chaga, or lion's mane to your morning or evening beverage. These mushrooms are considered major superfoods and are strongly anti-inflammatory, promote longevity, better immune function and mental clarity.

Tulsi, ashwagandha, licorice, and gotu-kola are all some of our favorite ayurvedic herbs for fall. Tulsi and licorice make a delicious tea to sip on all throughout the day. We also love this blend from banayan to support yourself through the fall Adrenal Support. (Use code KATIE15 for 15% off). 

Practices for Fall Support

The fall tendency is to become more mentally scattered, anxiety can rise, and emotions can become a little more intense. Try focusing on exercise that incorporates more fluid movements like walking, gentle yoga, and body weight mobility circuits.

Meditation in morning and evening sun can be most effective and taking the time to journal can help to ease any extra stress. In particular, it could be helpful to use writing prompts such as I let go of or I release. Taking the time to reflect on what has and has not served you in the six months would be constructive and intentional practice as you move forward into the season of release and surrender.

This is a crucial time for building and tonifying the body in preparation for the winter months ahead when the body tends to become weaker and more susceptible to illness. Take the extra time and dive into the healing practices of Ayurveda.

Katie’s Autumnal Must Haves

Reishi

Chaga

Open Heart Rose Powder

Adrenal Nourish

Golden Milk 

Vata Spice Blend

Use code SHAKTIPOWER for 10% off everything from Paavani Ayurveda

Use code KATIE15 for 15% off everything Banyan Botanicals

Click here to access Shakti School's Ayurvedic Cleanse Guide

Want to go deeper into the healing power of Ayurveda? Seasonal transitions can often be the perfect time to set new intentions. Join Ayurveda School to learn more about cleansing, herb support, and get certified to help support others!

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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 Star of the Weeds: The Dandelion (Recipe!)

Dandelion Pesto

The Star of the Weeds: The Dandelion

The common weed that often springs up willingly in your lawn or garden, the dandelion, is actually one of the best things you could be eating in addition to all of your other springtime foods. In the plant kingdom the proper terminology for the dandelion is Taraxacum. I like this because it makes me think of the hindu goddess, Tara. Tara is known as one of the wisdom goddesses and is a form of Shakti. Tara, like the goddess Kali, helps to slay all of our inner demons! Like the goddess Tara, the dandelion acts similarly in its ability to remove and clear toxins out of the body. Tara also stems from the root word star which also channels the Dandelion perfectly: the star of all the weeds.

The Dandelion is so incredible because it’s loaded with properties that help to boost your immunity and overall wellness. It’s packed with vitamins (A, B complex, and C) and minerals (iron, potassium, and zinc) and it is because of its tremendous healing properties that it has been used in many and differing ancient medicinal practices as a liver tonic, a digestive tonic, and even a skin tonic. It can also help with water retention with its natural ability to pull fluid from the body.

Benefits of Dandelion

  • Decreases Water Retention and Bloating The dandelion has diuretic properties that help to relieve fluid from the body
  • Detoxes the Liver The polysaccharides in dandelion help to detoxify the liver
  • Blood Detoxifier The vitamins and minerals in the dandelion plant help to filter and cleanse the blood
  • A Powerful Antioxidant with its heavy beta-carotene content
  • Prevents UVB Sun Damage The flower of the Dandelion and the lead actually help with oxidative stress from the sun and can help to reduce aging skin

Dandelion was used for its therapeutic benefits in Native American practices for the skin and the stomach. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it’s used for combating inflammation, stomach ailments, and detoxification. In Ayurveda dandelion is most used in detoxification, liver cleansing, and for kapha dosha imbalances. It is best used in the springtime when excess kapha has accumulated from the winter. 

Dandelion is bitter in flavor and can be used in a variety of culinary dishes. It’s so delicious sauteed with a little ghee and spices, brewed as a tea, or (my personal favorite) made into a pesto! Check out this amazing dandelion pesto recipe below. 

Dandelion Pesto

5

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of dandelion (chopped)
  • 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup pine nuts (or walnuts) 
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese (grated) 
  • *option to substitute vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast here
  • 2 cloves of garlic 
  • ¼-½ cup of olive oil 
  • Juice from ½ a lemon
  • 1 tsp sea salt 

Directions

Add all ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor *except for the parmesan. Blend until it has reached your desired consistency. Add in the parmesan and blend until it is fully incorporated. 

Add to your favorite pasta dish, salad, or use a dip! 

Resources:

  • https://www.gaiaherbs.com/blogs/herbs/dandelion
  • https://sunwarrior.com/blogs/health-hub/11-health-benefits-of-dandelion-leaves-and-dandelion-root
  • https://www.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2015/619560/
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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: ⁠
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“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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🌴 A Paavani Pitta Summer Kit full of cooling body magic⁠
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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.⁠
⁠
The ancient texts called this digestive fire AGNI.⁠
⁠
Agni is what transforms and assimilates what we are taking in, whether it’s food, life experiences or thoughts. ⁠
⁠
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. ⁠
⁠
When our agni is functioning well, Ayurveda teaches that our body will be healthy, our skin radiant, our mind clear and our energy balanced.⁠
⁠
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.⁠
⁠
A small dab (about the size of your thumb tip) is traditionally taken before meals to stimulate the digestive fire and awaken agni.⁠
⁠
🫚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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