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Replacing Rules with Rituals and Learning To Truly Care for Myself

By Greer Christos

I remember the first time I heard Katie say, "In Ayurveda, HOW we eat, is as, if not more important to what we eat.”

BOOM!

My entire body dropped knee length into the mud.

Held, supported... feeling like no matter how much I leaned to one side, mama earth’s wet, warm body had me. I would no longer be pushed over by external forces.

Of course, I wasn’t literally standing in a muddy pond, but I may as well have been.

I thought of alllllll of the times over all of the decades (3 in total!) I had been “battling” with what I should / shouldn’t eat, and “why” I should / shouldn’t be eating what I was.

I reflected on the synchronicities that had played out in the month prior to me going from “Ayur-whaaa?” to signing up to Shakti School Level 1 (& subsequently Level 2) & how the ease of what I was now receiving and truly ‘inner-standing’ (as opposed to ‘understanding) was one of those moments in time where everything shifts.

Despite thousands of hours of self-inquiry, talk-therapy, plant medicine, western-based psychology approaches, new-age/quantum activations, shamanic healings, (insert every healing modality you have heard of), I was still - STILL - struggling with letting go of the eternal-internal narrative of “why” am I STILL over eating and struggling with food addiction?

And whilst the above modalities & experiences had definitely helped with my chronic use of alcohol, drugs and general disassociation from my deeper needs & truth: the “food” thing still had me. And so, when Katie spoke those words in that sweet Southern accent of hers, it l a n d e d.

Yes in my mind, but more so in my body: and even more, in my Sacred heart.

It’s as if the burden of resisting food/bingeing (that I had become so used to carrying around and struggling to keep up above my head so I could continue searching for a way to be able to put it down), simply jumped out of my hands, arms & shoulders and vanished.

And so, for the next few months, I paid particular attention to HOW I was eating.
I stared to notice how I could rush my eating…
How I could hide…

How I could gobble & swallow almost whole…
How I would unconsciously tense my hands under the table when I was wanting a second serve but afraid of being judged…
How I would kid & shame myself about what I had eaten...
And on, and on, and on.

I also dived deeper back in to Geneen Roth’s work which was also really supportive, but what made it HEALING was the synergy of this increased awareness with my gradual, yet consistent and expanding devotion to practicing Dinacharya.

Up until being introduced to dinacharya, I had definitely gone through regular (but not necessarily consistent) waves of, what I had thought of was “self-care” but was actually a regime of exercise, meditation or other physical/mental/energetic practices. These periods had been helpful, activating, inspiring ~ for sure ~ but none of them lasting.

Yet something happened over the following two years, and I started to notice how as I cared for myself in this new way, I started to slow down, drop in, & gain a sense of ‘me’ on a day to day basis.

I would notice the days my skin was dryer, my tongue had more ama, my neti wouldn’t flow, and I would want to head straight to a cacao instead of my lemon-ginger water first thing.

I’d also notice the days I felt luscious, my tongue clear, my neti streamed effortlessly, and I’d embrace a full liter of warm fluids before anything else...

The practices were really great. They really were – and yet, after a while, I started to notice that even though these self-care practices were very nurturing, over time, they started to feel like “have-to’s”.

On the mornings I would have the time & space (I.e. when my 3 children would sleep in), it was wonderful. But sometimes they would wake early, or I would sleep in, & I would become subtly stressed that I wouldn’t have time to ‘get it all done’.

And I started to catch myself ‘rushing’ through my dinacharya. What had started as ritual, was gradually becoming a regime that, if I didn’t “tick off” would produce a subtle tension in my body & mind.
What started as an “ahhhhh” (insert relax tone of voice) was gradually becoming an “eeehhhhhhh” (insert rushed tone of voice).

And then it HIT me!!!

Just like food, HOW I practice my dinacharya is AS, if not MORE important than “what I do” for my dinacharya. And THAT, changed everything.

I suddenly realized that I don’t need to do it all. Sure, it’s great when I can. But if I find myself rushing, then I slow. If I find myself going on autopilot, I pause. I drop in to my body, & I open my heart, and ask,

“What is it I really need right this morning? In this moment?”

HOW could I love myself FULLY right, here, now?

Quite often, it’s just one or two practices done mindfully, heartfully.

S l o w l y.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s been since I’ve shifted HOW I self-care, that my relationship with food has truly healed.

Sure, sometimes I catch myself rushing, not fully chewing, etc. etc., but it happens so much less often. And when it does, I catch myself sooner, so there’s less fallout/casualties, and as I start my mornings in this slow & oh-so-yummy tempo,that echoes through my day which slows me down in all areas. And because I’m not rushing, I’ve got clarity of thought. I’m more patient with my kids. I can open more in my love-making.

And life,
Once again,
Becomes Sacred.

About Greer

Greer is a Feminine Embodiment Guide, Conscious Relationship Coach, & Ayurvedic Wellness Counselor. Greer specializes in supporting women rise from depletion & overwhelm to reclaim their juicy, authentic self & cultivate sacred ritual as a way of life.

She currently resides in Tasmania, Australia where she’s raising her young family. She works alongside her husband Aaron in their business Tantra for Parents; offering a range of online & in-person workshops, Ceremonies, mentorships & retreats. You can find more info at her website at www.tantraforparents.com.

What It Means to Get ‘Juicy’ and Why You Should Try It

By Crystal Hoshaw

A few things might come to mind when you hear the word juicy, but I’m not talking about couture or the Notorious B.I.G.

Getting juicy doesn’t have anything to do with squeezing into a velour tracksuit or sporting curves like the Kardashians.

It’s an inside-out affair that has to do with every layer of the self, from the subtle to the most physical. In fact, being juicy is one of the telltale signs of radiant, whole-person health.

So what does it really mean? In simplified terms, being juicy refers to lubrication.

So much of the body depends on lubrication for optimum health, from the joints to the mouth to the eyes to the sexual organs.

On a more microscopic level, the skin relies on lubrication in the form of collagen—a protein—and ceramides, a fat necessary to protect the skin from the elements as well as pathogens.

Plus, there’s even an emotional element to lubrication, if metaphorical. Think bouncing back from difficult emotions, resilience in hard times, or letting things roll off you like a big rubber raincoat.

The best way to think about the type of lubrication I’m talking about is to picture a big, juicy grape. Then compare it to a raisin. The raisin is dried up and shriveled, and doesn’t contain nearly the same amount of water as the grape.

When it comes to wellness, we’re going for the grape.

Giving juiciness a name: Ojas

While there’s no equivalent for this type of all-encompassing lubrication in Western medicine, there is a name for it in Ayurveda: ojas.

Sometimes translated as “vital fluids,” ojas is the juicy quality that makes life feel abundant, insulates us from the cold, and acts as a pathway for pleasure.

Without it, life is dull, dry, brittle, and tight. It not only lacks hydration—it lacks flexibility, adaptability, and that je ne sais quoi, in-the-flow vibe that brings about joy.

The lubrication that ojas provides is also responsible for immunity, as ojas feeds the mucous membranes and ceramides layer that are integral in keeping out infection.

Physical effects of low ojas

When it comes to the physical body, there are several physical symptoms that may point to a lack of ojas:

dry skin and lips
brittle hair and nails
scanty sweating
dry mucous membranes
premature wrinkles
reduced immunity
vaginal dryness

An extreme lack of ojas can actually affect the nervous system and the cerebrospinal fluid, which provides nutrients to and protects the brain and spine.

The nerves themselves are wrapped in a layer of myelin, a plasma membrane that helps protect them and contains the electrical impulses they carry.

Without myelin, the nerves can become like livewires, which can be the beginning of a number of neurodegenerative disorders.

Psychological effects of low ojas

Since ojas impacts the nerves, brain, and spine, it may not come as a surprise that the juiciness of ojas—or lack thereof—can affect the emotions as well.

Psychological effects of low ojas can include:

insecurity
anxiety
paranoia
feeling ungrounded
feeling unsafe, or like you don’t belong
fatigue and tiredness
brain fog and poor memory

Needless to say, ojas is a must on both a physical and psycho-emotional level.

When it comes down to it, ojas could be considered the closest physiological correlate to self-love. As such, it’s the core as well as the byproduct of a healthy wellness routine that’s focused on deep well-being.

In other words, ojas is the refined essence of life that makes us feel like we’re wrapped in a big, warm, protective hug.

How to get juicy from the inside out

Now you know how essential ojas is for feeling your best, inside and out. Here’s how to dive into juiciness in every aspect of life.

Focus on the sweet

While diet culture so often tells us to shun sweet things, ojas relies on sweetness to grow and flourish.

However, sweetness doesn’t just come from sugary foods like cookies and cake. There are a whole host of things that can bring sweetness into your life, like:

a tender hug from a loved one
giving yourself a slow, sensual massage
a heart-to-heart chat with a dear friend
a cozy cuddle-up with a warm blanket, a tea, and a good book
listening to uplifting, inspiring music
surrounding yourself with colors that energize you
placing fresh plants or flowers throughout your space
eating your favorite comfort foods (especially when cooked with love!)

When you reframe sweet to encompass more than just the tub of ice cream in the freezer, you can start to meet your craving for sweet from other places.

It doesn’t mean you have to skip the sweet foods—it’s just a way to expand where you get your sweetness from.

The bottom line is that when you crave sweet, it’s often a deeper craving than the desire for sugar. It often speaks to a more subconscious desire for:

rest
calm
love
affection
tenderness
softness
a sense that you’re safe, held, and belong

By regularly and intentionally giving yourself the sweetness you crave in a variety of ways, you can reduce your dependence on any single source.

This can do wonders for the quality of your diet just as much as it can for the quality of your relationships!

Take hydration to the next level

If getting juicy is the opposite of feeling dried out, then hydration can help you get there.

Hydration can happen on so many levels, from getting enough water to using your favorite moisturizer.

Here are some quick tips for getting deeply hydrated:

Drink plenty of water.
Add sea salt or trace minerals to your water.
Eat healthy fats like ghee and avocado oil.
Keep your skin barrier happy and protected with oils and moisturizers.

How much water is “plenty?” About half to one ounce per pound of body weight, according to Penn Medicine.

Salt and trace minerals can help add back important macro and micro minerals to the body. These are important for a number of reasons, including:

cardiovascular health
bone and skeletal tissue health
cell metabolism
maintaining pH balance
regulating nerve and muscle function

They also contain important electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium that support healthy hydration by affecting the amount of water your body retains.

Make fat your friend

As mentioned above, healthy fat is one way to moisturize the body from the inside out. Adding healthy fats to your diet ensures your tissues are getting enough lubrication (read: juiciness).

According to a 2021 review, omega−3 fatty acids can protect against metabolic disorders and chronic disease by increasing α-linolenic acid (ALA) in the diet.

There are a number of great dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, including:

walnuts
edamame
beans
chia seeds
hemp seeds
flax seeds
tofu
seaweed
fish like salmon, mackerel, and anchovies
MCT oil

Of course, you can always add an omega-3 supplement to your diet too.

According to Ayurveda, ghee, or clarified butter, is considered an ideal healthy fat that’s used in cooking as well as body care.

Along with being high in omega-3’s, ghee is a great source of butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that may help reduce inflammation and support digestive health. It’s also high in antioxidants and fat soluble vitamins.

Healthy fats are incredibly beneficial for the health of a number of body systems, but it’s still important to maintain balance in your fat intake.

Moisturizing 3.0

You may know that moisturizing is essential for skin health, but there’s so much more to moisturizing than just applying lotion or serum.

Ayurveda recommends self-massage with oil, also known as Abhyanga, on the daily.

This practice is incredibly soothing and relaxing when done with patience, presence, and care. It also often involves medicated oils or ghees that are deeply nourishing to the skin.

These oils may also include herbal blends for encouraging specific health outcomes, and can be warmed to help open the pores for increased absorption.

Applying warm oil to the entire body from head to toe each day is a wonderful way to send a signal to your body that it’s loved, nourished, and cared for.

It’s also a sure-fire way to up your juiciness.

The takeaway

Getting juicy goes beyond the surface level. It’s about bringing on the ooey-gooey love into every aspect of your health, from your emotions to your diet to your skin.

With a few simple lifestyle habits, you can be dripping with juiciness—in other words, glowing with self-love from the inside out.

Sources:

Ahmad R. (2015). How Much Water Do You Need Each Day?. https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2015/may/how-much-water-do-you-need-each-day

Bali S, et al. (2019). Ghee: the much maligned cooking medium, now slowly reclaiming its

therapeutic reputation. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharadendu-Bali/publication/356498949_Ghee_-_The_Cooking_Medium_for_Good_Health/links/631d8079071ea12e3624b02a/Ghee-The-Cooking-Medium-for-Good-Health.pdf

Borycka-Kiciak K, et al. (2017). Butyric acid – a well-known molecule revisited. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497138/

Chycki J, et al. (2017). The effect of mineral-based alkaline water on hydration status and the metabolic response to short-term anaerobic exercise. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5676322/

Gaffney-Stomberg E. (2018). The Impact of Trace Minerals on Bone Metabolism. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-018-1583-8

Han F, et al. (2019). Neuroinflammation and Myelin Status in Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Normal Aging Brains: A Small Sample Study. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/pd/2019/7975407/

Kumar Saini K, et al. (2021). Omega−3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs): Emerging Plant and Microbial Sources, Oxidative Stability, Bioavailability, and Health Benefits—A Review. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/10/10/1627

Mohammadifard N, et al. (2017). Trace minerals intake: Risks and benefits for cardiovascular health. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408398.2017.1406332

Morell P, et al. (n.d.). The Myelin Sheath. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK27954/

About Crystal

Crystal Hoshaw has been a student of yoga since 2004 and a student of Ayurveda since 2007. She earned her Ayurvedic Wellness Coach certification from The Shakti School after years of on-site study in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Thailand. She marries her knowledge of Ayurveda, mindfulness, and yogic philosophy through coaching and courses at www.simplewildfree.com. You can also find her on Instagram.

It’s Never Too Late: Honoring the Unlimited Power of the Wise Older Woman

By Christine Griggs

I will never forget my first day of Shakti School.

I had signed up for Level 1 of the Ayurveda Training just two months before. It had caught my eye -and my soul- over a year ago, but I kept
finding reasons not to sign up.

~I was 58 years old. I already had my midlife crisis when I gave up my
translator career to become a yoga teacher thirteen years ago. Did I
really need to embark on something new? Wasn’t yoga enough?

~Wasn’t it too late to learn Ayurveda, The Science of Life, when over half
of my life was behind me?

~Wasn’t it too late to change my lifestyle with new Ayurveda practices?

~And, as some of my acquaintances felt the need to share: “I could do it
too, but it’s too much of a commitment.”

As I sat in our virtual classroom, seeing fresh young faces pop up in their Zoom boxes, I realized I was one of the oldest participants, and this question popped into my mind: “Do I belong here?”

I sat with the discomfort for a few minutes, I melted into it and let it carry me into our first class. As the class unfolded and Katie did her magic, I realized that YES I belonged here. And the commitment was a joy. Over the next 2 ½ years, those classmates became sisters, some are now dear friends. Age did not matter at all. I felt closer to those young women than I did to most women my age. It was not too late for me to enter this sisterhood. It was exactly the right time!

At 61, I just graduated from Level 2 as an Ayurveda counselor. Not joining Level 2 was not even an option! I couldn’t imagine a better container of love and support to enter my sixties than my family of sisters and this ancient knowledge that sustains me.

The fear of getting older

Most women fear getting older. Our society does everything to drive that fear, bombarding us with images of what the ideal woman supposedly looks like: eternally smooth-skinned and flat-bellied. Once they’ve instilled that fear in us, we’re a captive audience to buy their stuff that will supposedly make us feel and look younger. It’s a billion-dollar industry.

My friend Debbie is 73 and has been letting her gray roots grow out. Her female acquaintances are pestering her with: “You should cover those grays, it ages you.” She started to doubt herself. Believe me, she looks vibrant and beautiful. And I keep reminding her of that. A woman should never submit to society’s pressure of what she should look like or do. What liberates her is what makes her beautiful.

Let’s encourage our sisters to be themselves instead of gnawing at their self-esteem with words that stunt their growth.

“The making of a woman who has continued to grow is a beautiful thing to behold.” –Naomi Wolf

Dare to be yourself

Like most of us, when I was younger, I thought 60 was super old: time to retire and pursue hobbies. But I find myself in my sixties feeling young and vibrant, with a growing business and more projects and ideas than I can handle. I’m pursuing the dreams I didn’t have time for as a householder working and taking care of my family.

My first love is writing and, growing up in France, I dreamed of being the youngest literary prodigy of the century. Well, it took me several decades to write my first book, not as a young prodigy, but as a 57-year-old woman who believed it’s never too late. Remember that your dreams take different shapes.

My friend Dede just launched her own brand at 62, combining her love of dancing and helping others. She tells me she’s never felt so alive: “It’s my time now.”

Carol has been my private yoga student for 10 years. She dared to start yoga at 69, because “some part of me was not whole. I could feel it in every part of my being. I had no idea what was in store for me…” It changed her life.

On the other hand, I know many women of my generation who are paralyzed by the fear of stepping out of the box society built for them. They’re so worried about doing the “right acceptable things” that they’re not doing the right thing for them. This box is comfortable, but it’s not fulfilling. Filling the box with more stuff does not fill their soul.

Sadly, most of the time, we’re the ones setting limitations for ourselves. For example, whenever people hear I’m French, they almost always tell me: “I always wanted to learn French, I dream to go to Paris and speak French with the locals.” My answer always is: “Why don’t you?” And they invariably answer: “Oh, it’s too late now!” And I reply: “No, it’s not too late! You could either start now and you will be ordering pastries in French in a Parisian patisserie next year or not start and be in the exact same place: wishing you were speaking French in Paris.”

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.” –C.S. Lewis.

Wear the Crown of the Crone

Our society has been disparaging old age, especially in women, for too long. The meaning of Crone is not the derogatory term used in our society, that of the withered disheveled ragged old hag. The Crone is a majestic title to wear with pride, it means the One who wears the Crown.

Disrespecting the older woman means dishonoring the Sacred Feminine, a principle seriously lacking in our modern world. Our role as women is to put the Crone back on her throne. As we do this, we reclaim our Goddess status for ourselves and future generations.

I have made it my mission to demystify aging. I want my younger sisters to see passing years as a joy and privilege and something they can actually look forward to.

I also want to encourage my older sisters to see their mature years as an empowering opportunity to learn, grow and dream, and be a role model for younger generations. Not with their material possessions, but with their wealth of experience, wisdom and especially with their example. Young women look up to us to see what “getting older” looks like. They notice how we act and react. They notice if we still have a passion for life and if we care about the world. They notice if we are willing to take risks and go on adventures, learn and grow alongside them. Just as they are our hope, we are their hope for what’s awaiting them. Let’s show them that owning their aging journey is their superpower!

“This time belongs to the Crone. She’s arriving into the greatest time of her life. Creativity is blossoming, even exploding within her. She’s never felt more free and she’s never felt more empowered than now to be all of herself.” –Sukhvinder Sircar

The Wise Older Woman’s Empowerment Journey through her Chakras energy centers

As we become older, we become what the Vedic teachings call The Forest- Dweller. While still playing our part in the world, we’re able to detach ourselves from mundane attachments and spend more time attuning to the deepest parts of our being. We become our own best friend. I have noticed a deeper relationship and dialogue with my energy centers and I’d like to share the lessons they have taught me about becoming a wise older woman.

1. I am Grounded in the Roots of my ancestors and my culture. I honor my heritage, but I do not let my history limit me. I am not stuck in the drama of the past. My roots are my strength, not my burden.

2. The power of my womb is not limited to its physical ability to create human life. It is an unlimited fountain of spiritual and sensual creativity. It is a fertile ground for the awakening and flow of the Goddess energy all around me. I Feel and I Flow.

3. I am Worthy. I am exactly who I want to be and I am becoming who I want to become. I truly don’t care what people say or whisper about me. I do not judge myself or others. I have no time for gossip and limitations. I keep company with souls who uplift and support me. I am Strong and I Can do anything.

4. I give myself the greatest gift of all: Forgiveness. I stop keeping tabs on who didn’t love me enough and who hurt me. I forgive, but I am careful about whom I allow into the sacred space of my heart. I focus on gratitude for the love that I have. I know that I Love and that I Am Loved unconditionally.

5. I speak my spiritual Truth and what I believe in. I surround myself with the voices of teachers and soul companions who inspire me. I use my Voice for good. The world needs to hear my Voice.

6. I Trust my Inner Guidance. I know how to find it in stillness and meditation. The merging of my Intuition with my life experience is a magical formula that guides my decisions and every step I take.

7. I know that I am Connected to Source and never alone. I let go of anything that causes separation and honor my community of Souls who share my journey. Together we are stronger.

Women helping women

One of my greatest teachers was Frau Ursula Redeppening. I was her au pair while studying in Munich. I was 21, she was in her early forties. She
was a formidable woman, divorced mother of two teenagers, the youngest woman ever elected to the Bavarian parliament. She was a prodigy! One evening, as we sat together sipping wine, she gave me one of the greatest lessons one can give to a young woman. She told me that her perfect life was not one she had chosen for herself, she had followed others’ vision of her: her deepest desire was not to be a famous politician, but to help the world and reduce hunger and poverty. And then she said the words that guided my life: “When my children are raised, I will follow my own vision. It’s never too late.”

It is now my turn to pass along the wisdom I was given. Whatever age you are, know that it’s never too late. Write that book, take that course, learn a new language, a new dance, train for a marathon, travel, move to your dream city or country, make brand new friends, have a love affair, start your business, and most importantly, let your Spirit shine. The world needs your Light!

“You playing small doesn’t serve the world… As you let your own light shine, you indirectly give others permission to do the same.” –Marianne
Williamson

About Christine

Growing up in France, Christine always felt a deep longing for the spiritual and the powerful resonance of words and stories, accompanied with a passionate desire to explore the world. After years of globetrotting, this multilingual translator Mama of 3 and her family settled down in Coastal Virginia, where she discovered yoga. She instantly knew she had found the universal language that would help her empower others to find their own voice and share it with the world. She is an ERYT-500 Yoga and Meditation Teacher and Trainer, and an Ayurveda Health Counselor. Yoga helped her reconnect with her love of writing and write her first book: “Yoga with a French Twist: A Journey through the Chakras” as well as create her business: Yin Traveler. Her love of learning, Nature, and Spiritual Activism led her to Shakti School and the integration of Ayurveda into her teachings. Her new projects include a new book and planning spiritual retreats. You can find more info at her website at Yintraveler.com

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

By Crystal Hoshaw

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

By Becky Nethery

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.

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.

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

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