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Herbs, Summer

The BEST Summer Herb

Amalaki (aka Indian Gooseberry, aka Amla) is COOLING. It’s great for pitta tendency people like me who get overly heated (think menstrual related acne, or loose stool), especially this time of year.

It's one of the fruits in ayurveda's digestive formula Triphala. It's english name is Indian Gooseberry.

But it's also a potent external medicine for hair and skin!! ⠀

You can take amalaki internally. It is a super-well-known rejuvenate as it gently cleanses the colon, beautifies hair and skin and is an all-around tonic for the organs. In India its known as a super-food, youth-enhancer!

It’s also SUPER helpful for blemishes. Scroll down for my summer Amalaki face mask.

➳ You can also use the powders in your smoothies or yogurt. It has a delightful sour taste.

➳ Mix it with coconut oil and use as a hair mask. It makes your hair really shinny and strong. This is so good for pitta hair that’s often very fine and breaks easily. It’s hard to grow out your hair sometimes as a pitta.

➳ Mix it with almond oil to make an anti-aging treatment and soften fine lines. (Amalaki is high in Vit C, which helps build collagen).

➳ Mix Amalaki juice or powder with aloe vera juice for a refreshing facewash.

➳ Banyan Botanicals sources THE BEST amalaki, it’s potent, organic and fair trade. Banyan is supporting farmers in Asia, not just doing business and then peacing out. Use the discount code SHAKTI10 for 10% of your order.

Try this facemask, it will change your skin routine forever!!!!

Amalaki facemask with honey (& optional parsley)

This is a great mask for blemishes but it may dry out your skin if left for too long, or used during dry months, or during dry skin cycles. Use this in humid environments, in the high summer season or if you have oily skin.⠀

➳ Start by chopping up finely a sprig of washed parsley⠀

➳ Crush it up in a mortar and pestle until the juice is coming out (the bottom of the clean jar on a chopping board can suffice if you don’t have one)⠀

➳ Add 2 teaspoons of Amalaki (Amla) powder and hot water to make a wet paste with the crushed parsley⠀

➳ Add a teaspoon of Manuka honey to the still warm mixture and blend them all together into a paste⠀

➳ The crushed parsley won’t spread consistently but this doesn’t matter as the hot water will have dispersed its compounds into the paste⠀

➳ You want your face mask to be the consistency of yogurt – easy to spread but not too watery/runny.⠀

➳ Apply the paste while it's still warm⠀

➳ Wash your face of any dirt or makeup⠀

➳ Apply the paste to damp, clean skin⠀

➳ Lie down in your room with mask on for 20-30mins⠀

➳ Wash off with warm water and apply your favorite moisturizer!⠀

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Calling all Level 1 Grads–is your heart whisperi Calling all Level 1 Grads–is your heart whispering that your journey with the feminine healing arts isn’t over yet? Join us in Level 2 to deepen your study with Katie and our expert teachers, going deeper into topics like: ⁠
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🌼 Spiritual herbalism⁠
👩🏻‍🍼 Babies’, children's and men’s health⁠
📋 Managing your coaching practice⁠
🧬 Ageing gracefully⁠
👁️ Ayurvedic Oral and Eye Care⁠
💞 Attachment theory⁠
🌿 Ayurvedic pregnancy loss support⁠
🔻 Ayurvedic approach to easing menopause⁠
💎 Manifestation and bhakti ⁠
⁠
…and so much more.⁠
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💌 DM us with your questions. Level 2 begins on April 21st!
Damiana has long been called the herb of love - no Damiana has long been called the herb of love - not because it forces desire, but because it restores the warmth, circulation and nervous system ease that allow pleasure to arise naturally. ⁠
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Through an Ayurvedic lens, damiana supports agni, moves stagnation and gently nourishes reproductive vitality, especially in colder seasons when the body needs more warmth and flow. ⁠
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🌹 Remember: Pleasure is a physiological state tied to hormonal balance, digestion and emotional regulation. ⁠
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🍯 Comment ELIXIR for my Heart-Opening Damiana Rose Elixir recipe to start experiencing it for yourself.
When your agni is turned on, your digestion is thr When your agni is turned on, your digestion is thriving and your body is well-oiled from the inside out. 😉🍯

Ayurveda has been teaching that your glow starts with digestion for thousands of years. When we tend our agni through simple daily rituals (tongue scraping, warm water, warm and spiced foods and yes… complete elimination 💩), assimilation improves, toxins clear, hormones regulate and vitality improves from the inside out.

Radiant wellbeing emerges when the system is supported.

✨ Want to learn the foundations of Ayurveda that help women feel clear, energized and luminous - in mind, body AND soul?

🌸 Join our free Women’s Wisdom & Ayurveda mini-course now. Comment WISDOM to start learning the language of your body.
You can never have too many aphrodisiacs. And thes You can never have too many aphrodisiacs. And these passion-inducing foods might already be in your kitchen: 🥑

Maca is known to enhance fertility and energy and boost libido with its adaptogenic properties.

Saffron is worth more than its weight in gold and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine as a women’s fertility support and hormone balancer for hundreds of years.

Chocolate, the quintessential ancient Aztec aphrodisiac, contains compounds that boost mood and arousal (phenylethylamine, serotonin and anandamide). It’s rich in PEA - “the love chemical.”

Strawberries (along with figs, plums, apples, pears and berries) have long evoked images of Eve and the feminine body. On a physical level, berries are packed with antioxidants.

Honey reminds us of our vital, life-bringing sap-the sweetness of passion and pleasure. It’s condensed effort, much like our human baby-making substances.

Arugula, also known as “rocket,” gives salads a boost of fire. In Italy, it’s said to enhance passion due to its peppery flavor.

Truffles are prized for their musky, earthy aroma and reputation as stimulators. Some even claim they have a pheromone-like scent that drives pigs wild - make of that what you will.

Ginseng, the holy grail of Chinese medicine, is a powerful nervous-system tonic shown to help the body adapt to stress and build vitality.

Avocados are rich, oily and deeply lubricating—supporting supple skin, collagen preservation and overall nourishment.

Walnuts resemble the brain and nourish it, too. They’re rich in omega-3s, vitamin E and polyphenols that reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.

Oysters, food of the lovers, are rich in B12, C and D, omega-3 fats, iron, selenium and copper-nutrients essential for sensual vitality.

Anything can be aphrodisiac if it builds Ojas - the subtle essence of youth, immunity, satisfaction and vitality. These foods help preserve that creative sap and that, Ayurveda says, is what makes us truly turned on. ✨

🌹 Comment ELIXIR for my Damiana Rose Elixir recipe.
🍫 Comment BROWNIE for my Aphrodisiac Sweet Potato Bomb Brownie Bites recipe.
🍯 Comment LOVE TONIC for my Ojas-Building warming date + almond shake recipe.
I’m so honored to be speaking at the upcoming Ca I’m so honored to be speaking at the upcoming California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine International Conference among luminaries like Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan, Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary and so many more. ⁠
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❤️‍🔥🦴🌹 I’ll be speaking on The Bones as the Portal to Ojas: Tantric Anatomy, Essence & The Marrow of Embodiment.⁠
⁠
Join us for a three-day immersion March 20–22, 2026 in Milpitas, CA (or online) with Ayurveda’s brightest luminaries—teachers, scholars and healers who embody light, wisdom and grounded radiance. Together, we’ll explore how Ayurveda illuminates modern health through timeless principles, lived practice and the science of nature’s intelligence.⁠
⁠
This year’s theme, Luminary, celebrates the guiding light within each of us—our ability to transform knowledge into wisdom, ambition into purpose, and healing into collective brilliance.⁠
⁠
Who This Conference Is For:⁠
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🌿 Health-conscious and Ayurveda-curious individuals seeking inspiration and connection⁠
🌿 Practitioners and students of Ayurveda looking to deepen their knowledge (NAMA PACE credits available)⁠
🌿 Holistic health professionals across disciplines—yoga, herbalism, integrative medicine, nutrition, and wellness coaching⁠
🌿 Anyone drawn to nature-based ways of knowing and being⁠
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Use code SHAKTI30 for a discount when registering. Learn more at @californiayurveda

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