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thanksgiving

Ep. 70 The Words Before All Else

The Words Before All Else come from the traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy. In this episode I share a prayer I’ve been learning.

In this episode I discuss:

~A ritual to begin meetings

~The importance of The Words Before All Else

~Thanksgiving Address for $6 from Mohawk Craft Shop at Kanatsiohareke, (518) 673-2534

~Thanksgiving Address from The Tracking Project

~Thanksgiving Address on Amazon

~Thanksgiving Address PDF

Or Subscribe on iTunes

Save 15% on Banyan’s Stress Ease by visiting: banyanbotanicals.com/katie

This episode is also sponsored by the Ahara Ghee family. Use promocode GHEESPOT at checkout for $5 off your order.

Learn more:

Shakti Ayurveda School

Free Divine Feminine Ayurveda Mini-Course

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How to Keep a Healthy Belly During the Holidays

The holiday season is a wonderful time, but let’s face it, it can also be super stressful, physically taxing, and can leave us with that post-holiday belly bloat. Ugh !

There is nothing worse than starting the new year with your digestion in a funk. When you’re not able to digest your food you're not able to digest your life either, and when we can’t digest our life things start to get really gunked up. This can lead to a number of problems like disturbed sleep, mood disorders, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, weight gain, and many other unwanted winter-time stressors.

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So, how do you create EASE during the holidays?!

Stoke that digestive fire (Agni)! Cultivating strong Agni pre-holiday season will have tremendous benefits during the festive season and the months to follow. In order to keep your Agni strong do what you can to create ease on your digestive system and lower the intake of anything that is more toxic or inflammatory. Another key element for maintaining easeful digestion is eliminating any stressors that may be causing adrenal upset. Your adrenal glands play a huge role in regulating your stress levels. They help to regulate your blood sugar, your blood pressure, help you burn fat and protein, and they also determine how you react to stress.

Here are some helpful tips to eliminate stress and help you prepare a strong digestive fire pre-holiday feasting:

*Mung bean cleanse (pre and/or post holiday) - leading up to the holidays (and also after the holidays) can be a great time to eat a more simplified diet. A kitchari (ayurvedic mung bean) cleanse helps to clear away any excess sludge in the body, it strengthens your digestion, and will leave you feeling light and clear as you go into the family and eating frenzy. It’s also an appropriate cleanse to do during the cooler months because you aren’t depriving yourself of foods, but rather eating enough food that is warm, nourishing, AND cleansing. This is also a perfect cleansing protocol to do at any time of the year, especially for the working woman who needs to be fueled throughout the day!  A mung bean cleanse can help to keep your vata balanced and will give you loads of energy for all the events on your holiday calendar.

*Tulsi-Ginger tea - This is a great tea to help keep you calm while also aiding in digestion. Ayurveda’s “Holy Basil” is an all around beautiful tea to soothe your mind, boost your immunity, and calm your belly. I love the addition of ginger in this tea for the added “debloating” effect that it has. Try using this in between meals while you are out of your normal routine and watch how it creates more stability in your mood and in your tummy.

*Float Tank- This could be a hard one to find, but Float Tank spas are popping up all over the place and if you’re lucky there might just be one located near your holiday destination. A float tank is a sensory deprivation tank that is filled with water and epsom salts. It is meant to be a meditative experience helping to reduce external stimulation and create ease on your neurotransmitters. It can be extremely helpful when we are traveling, out of our normal routine, or if we are just looking for a targeted way to unwind. You could even suggest doing this as a family event! If a float tank isn’t available, try adding some time for some sort of mindfulness and meditation practice. This will help you to stay present and enjoy each moment through the holiday season.

*Take a walk with the family before/after meals- The holidays are all about togetherness, but this doesn’t mean that togetherness always has to happen lounging on the couch. Of course wintertime is a great season for rest, but it’s just as important to expose yourself to the elements and move your body as it is to relax. Doing some form of exercise in the open air to fuel your lungs and stretch your body will keep you from sinking into that holiday slump. It’s also a wonderful way to have more intimate moments with the people you love.

*Try to stay away from dairy- It can be difficult to keep to our healthy eating habits when we travel great distances and visit people that may not have our same dietary needs. Please be gentle with yourself no matter what you’re eating (your mind plays a huge role in your digestion). However, if you can limit the amount of dairy you take in this holiday season it will significantly aide your digestive system. Dairy is often overused ingredient in holiday cooking. Even if you normally do okay with dairy, it is still best avoided during the times when excess Kapha can start to clog up your digestive tract. So, maybe this means you politely pass on the heavy whipped cream and gravy.

Or, take your digestive enzyme and choose the dairy dish that you just can’t pass up! 🙂

*Take it easy on the alcohol- I know that alcohol can sometimes help to ease the tension that may come from stressful holiday gatherings, conversations, or family members you don’t quite tolerate as well, but it’s not always the best choice. When misused alcohol can make you feel worse. It also slows down your metabolism and wrecks your digestive fire. If you do decide to drink try to drink moderately, drink lots of water in between, and maybe try adding in some supplements for additional support. Activated coconut charcoal, vitamin C, and digestive enzymes will help aid in your liver’s ability to detoxify the alcohol. It’s also best if you can try to have your last drink earlier in the evening and the next morning add a dash of celtic salt to your water to help replenish any minerals you might have lost.

*Hack your sleep: Getting plenty of rest is so important for the body’s ability to repair itself. This is crucial during the times when we are overloading our system with different foods. It’s not always easy to sleep outside the comforts of your own bed, but I’ve found that earplugs and a face mask can really help in keeping my sleep consistent. Try using some essential oils like lavender, geranium, frankincense, and cypress to lead you into a more restful state. I love adding these essential oils to a carrier oil like sesame or coconut oil for a little self massage pre-bedtime. My favorite oil to use is the Vata Balancing Massage Oil from Banyan Botanical.

*Bring your non-negotiables with you! For me whenever I travel I have to bring a few essential items that I know will help keep me close to my routine and will also help to keep me sane. These items include my morning beverage (right now it’s matcha green tea with oat milk), triphala for healthy digestion, heavy amounts of leafy greens (a green liver powder works great), and my essential oils for body love! I also find it crucial to bring my stash of supplements. I may look a little cookey on the plane, but if it works, it’s coming with!

Supplements We Love

Triphala - Shakti School insiders get 10% off at Banyan! Use promo code SHAKTI10

Oil of Oregano (for immunity)

Maca - Chaste Berry - Ashwagandha powder (healthy hormone balance)

Lipotropic Complex (liver support)

Quinton Water (mineral replenish/post drinking remedy)

Digestive Enzymes 

Thorne Brain and Mitochondria support 

Nordic Naturals DHA Algae 

Thorne Vitamin D3 + K2

Kettle & Fire Bone Broth (digestive aid)

 

Oils:

Transdermal Samadhi Roll on Set

Banyan Vata Balancing Oil

Essential Oils: Frankincense, Geranium, Lavender, Cypress, and Eucalyptus.

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The Pumpkin Pie You Want To Eat

The Sugar Timeline, celebratory events, and why we eat more when we’re together
(Recipe included)

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The Holidays can be frustrating when it comes to making healthy food choices.

This should be a special time of year when your energy is centered around celebration, togetherness, and joy and where the focus is to spend quality time with the people you love most. Instead it often includes frustration around food decision making, and the fear of uneasy digestion. On Thanksgiving especially, it's common knowledge that we overeat and typically we overeat sugar.

In North America (and all around the globe) the use of sweets in celebratory events has been a historical tradition. Though the cultivation of sugar dates back to 8,000BC, we see the use of sugar in celebratory event as early as 2,400 BC (!) where there is evidence of beekeeping and the collection honey for honey cakes found at a religious temples near present day Cairo, Egypt. (Hippocrates Health Institute-The Sugar Timeline)

We also see this in the Hindu/Yoga tradition where bringing sweets to the temple as an offering to the God’s is commonly practiced. Traditionally, before industrial sugar cane manufacturing, sweets were more of a luxury item and were considered “Sattvic,” or pure. Of course, this is in reference to sugar in the form of dates and honey which aren’t nearly as taxing on the body as the chemically refined sugar we most commonly use today. As sugar cane evolved into the chemically refined substance that we know all too well now, it became more accessible and affordable and unfortunately we see a direct correlation to the rise of Alzheimer's, diabetes and obesity. Instead of sugar being used a sacred treat, or offering, it became readily available to everyone, all the time, in unnatural states and in absurd quantities.

So, how do we go back to making sugar sacred?

It all comes back to eating whole foods and preparing food at home. For most Americans, having access to healthy ingredients and the time to prepare food at home is a luxury. If we all made an effort to only eat sugar when we could prepare our own sweet treats, it would likely lead to much healthier options (no matter if you’re cooking with white sugar or not). The act of cooking for others truly is sacred and the Thanksgiving holiday is a perfect time to make food that is celebratory, healthy, and sweet. 

What about when it comes to overeating? 

It’s interesting to note that a food study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2013 concluded that people tend to eat more calorically dense food and more volumes of food—depending on the information they’re given about what other people are eating. Similarly, the same study showed that we even synchronize our bites, the same way we subconsciously mirror someone else’s posture or body language, without ever realizing it. Simply becoming aware of this fact is enough to make you think differently and possibly act differently when you sit down at the Thanksgiving table. If you are able to be more aware when you’re eating it not only will help you to make more thoughtful choices about your meal, but it could actually help those you are eating with to make more thoughtful choices about what they are eating as well.

Now, let’s go back to celebrating. 

Now that we’ve established that we all love the occasional sweet treat and we want to celebrate with some sort of sacred sugary dessert,  it’s important to choose something that is still balanced and nourishing, not something that is loaded with white flour & white sugar. This is especially important when you want your energy to be sustained through those long evening chats with cousin Kristie. So, how can we be sure a healthy option shows up to the Thanksgiving table? Bring it yourself!

If you want your family to be blown away, show up to the holiday dinner party with this amazing (and healthy) Pumpkin Pie ! ! !  It’s not going to spike your blood sugar, it’s going to make everyone in the room happy, and eating it might even be a sacred act.

The Pumpkin Pie You Want To Eat

For the Crust:

  • 2 cups pitted dates
  • 2 cups raw nuts (I used half pecans, half walnuts)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 tbsp of coconut oil
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • A dash of salt

For the Filling :

  • 2 cans of pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup of cashews (previously soaked)
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 3-5 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg, ginger and cloves
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pumkin Pie

Directions:

For the crust: pulse the nuts & coconut flakes in a food processor until they're crumbs, add the dates and the remaining ingredients and process until it begins to stick together. Press into a pie dish and put in the fridge (or freezer) to harden.

For the filling: blend all of the ingredients until smooth, adding however much of the spices you like. Pour into your crust and freeze overnight until it's set. The next day transfer to the fridge to let it thaw out. Take it out of the refrigerator 15-20 min prior to serving.

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*Top with your favorite homemade whipped cream!

(It’s best to use an organic Grass-Fed Heavy whipping cream or you can try this recipe below for a vegan coconut whipped cream).

Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream: 

1 can coconut cream or full fat coconut milk (Cream tends to work better)

3 TBSP of organic powdered sugar (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

*Place the can of coconut cream into the refrigerator and leave it there overnight

*The next day, take it out and carefully open it

*Scoop  out only the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer, leaving the coconut water behind.

*Start with a slow speed and gradually increase speed until you achieve a whipped cream consistency

*Once you have whipped cream consistency, Add your powdered sugar and vanilla

*Whisk again until it’s mixed in !

 

Enjoy !

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theshaktischool

TheShaktiSchool

We’re throwing YOU a party (tomorrow)! You’re We’re throwing YOU a party (tomorrow)! You’re not gonna wanna miss this virtual launch PARTY/oprah-style-giveaway/workshop for creatives! (Swipe to see the incredible stuff we’re giving away) ➡️⁣
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TOMORROW 10/3 at 10am ET (US Time) join us for a Morning of Glow, the official virtual launch party for my new book, Glow-Worthy 🧘🏼‍♀️⁣
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We will be:⁣
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✨ Celebrating the release of my new book, Glow-Worthy (!)⁣
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✨ Getting insight into my “secret” process for writing (and how you can use these easy tips for busting through the inner blocks on your OWN creative babies) like imposter syndrome and perfectionism, and how those two little demons were the enemy of getting this thing done. You’re also gonna hear about the book I actually tossed out the window before I wrote this one!⁣
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✨ Practicing some of the embodiment energy meditations from the book ⁣
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✨ Getting showered in love and gifts (yes, we ARE giving away 2 spots for Ayurveda School + TONS of other amazing prizes, swipe through for more)➡️⁣
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We will also dive into some of the core ideas from the book and I will tell you WHY I wrote it and for whom… (you, of course 😉). ⁣
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I cannot wait to celebrate with you! Go get on our email list ASAP (link in bio) and keep an eye on your inbox for the zoom link!
Join us tomorrow for a very special book party onl Join us tomorrow for a very special book party online! We will be giving away TWO free spots to level one Ayurveda school but you have to show up with your best friend and be there for the whole event live! We will also be going deep into our creativity with meditation/journaling. If you are in need of a creative boost and a celebration of soul: Please join us. 🌈🦄💕🩵We are also giving away $8000 in prizes to everyone- all levels of Ayurveda School snd people new to our community welcome! To register simply put your name in our newsletter. Link in the bio and we will be sending emails tomorrow morning with the zoom link.
We’re trading hot girl summer for cozy girl fall We’re trading hot girl summer for cozy girl fall up in the Northern Hemisphere. The theme?? ➡️major permission to start slowing down, warming up, and amping up our witchy Fall self-care rituals. Send this to a friend you wanna plan an Ayurvedic fall self-care day with 🕯️🕯️
With warming ginger, black pepper and nutmeg to he With warming ginger, black pepper and nutmeg to help kindle your agni plus some grounding pumpkin and Ashwaghanda - WHAT more could the vata in each of us need!? 😉☕️🍁🍁⁣
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@ayurveda.bianca is one of our Level 1 grads and she offers personalized Ayurvedic consultations out of Long Island, NY (and also virtually!) She is such a sweet soul and we are honored to call her one of our grads. (She also shares amazing Ayurvedic content on her page so go check her out) 🤍🤍🤍⁣
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Here’s the recipe for this incredible Ayurveda-girl style PSL she’s making:⁣
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1 cup of your choice of milk⁣
1/8 cup of pumpkin purée⁣
1 tbsp of coconut oil⁣
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon⁣
1/4 tsp ground ginger powder⁣
1/4 tsp ground turmeric⁣
Pinch of nutmeg⁣
Pinch of black pepper⁣
1/2 tsp ashwagandha⁣
1 pitted and soaked date⁣
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Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. In a small pot, simmer over low heat until warm. Serve and enjoy!⁣
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Modifications for each dosha:⁣
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Vata - This recipe is perfect “as is” for keeping Vata in balance.⁣
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Pitta - Reduce the heat by removing or reducing the amount of ginger, black pepper, or turmeric.⁣
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Kapha - Substitute 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 cup water, use just one tablespoon pumpkin purée, and/or don’t add the sweetener.⁣
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Want your very own e-book of our FAVE fall recipes? Come to our Fall Rituals and Routines webinar this morning at 11am ET (link in bio to register) and/or come to our Morning of Glow workshop on Tuesday 10/3 (get on our email list to get the invite) - those who attend either of these events will get our Fall recipes e-book for free! 🍁🍁
We are beyond excited to share this incredibly spe We are beyond excited to share this incredibly special gift with you….⁣
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Introducing….⁣
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✨The Glow-Worthy Meditations ✨⁣
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(Yeah, we were gonna wait to give these to you til the Morning of Glow workshop on Tuesday but WE JUST COULDN’T keep it in!!!!)⁣
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But you should still DEF come because that’s gonna be the very first time we steep in the Glow-Worthy energy together!!⁣
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This coming Tuesday 10/3 at 10am ET we’re throwing a Morning of Glow virtual workshop where we’re gonna be practicing some of the embodiment energy meditations from the book! Presence🧘🏽‍♀️ + Love💗 = Glow✨✨✨⁣
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We’re also giving away an INSANE amount of gifts (like $8,000 worth…) during this live party-slash-workshop! Come (you have to be there live to win!) for a chance to receive:⁣
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 ✨2 FREE SPOTS TO LEVEL 1 AYURVEDA SCHOOL! Bring your bestie who also wants IN on Level 1 Ayurveda school and stay for the whole event where the winners will be announced! (Plus you’ll get all the books for class) ⁣
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Don’t worry Level 2 babes, you can still win all the other stuff! 👇🏼⁣
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✨1 WINNER will get a free private coaching session with Katie (Katie doesn’t do this like *ever*) so this is an insanely rare opportunity to connect with her on a one-on-one level!⁣
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✨3 WINNERS will get a personalized love note and signed copy of Glow-Worthy sent to your door. ⁣
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✨3 WINNERS will get Katie’s Winter Skin and Sleep Kit ⁣
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✨EVERYONE! Katie’s Fall Recipe FAVES E-book⁣
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I mean are you as EXCITED as we are!!? Let us know and tag your BFF who you’re coming with❤️⁣
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How to join Morning of Glow: go to our link in bio and sign up for our email list. We’ll be sending out the zoom link to EVERYONE on our list, so mark your calendar for Tuesday 10/3 at 10am ET and then keep an eye out for the link! 💌⁣
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Get the Glow Meditations NOW at the link in bio🤍

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