R.R. Shakti | Soul Artist
  • ABOUT
    • R.R. Shakti, PhD
    • Inner Power Yoga®
    • Why Are You Here?
    • Calendar
    • Connect
  • MYTH
  • RITUAL
    • Nature Ritual
  • ACADEMY
  • JOURNAL
    • Soul Artist Journal >
      • "The Other"
  • BOUTIQUE
  • ONE/ONE
    • Soul Artist Awakening
    • Soul Artist Compass

Endive & Beet Salad

1/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Ayurveda. Beets. Kitchen Ritual. ​
Picture
Navigating the changes from vata to kapha season, deliciously, means following a few Ayurvedic rules...
and breaking a couple, too.
This is how we stay balanced through the changing seasons. 

Ingredients


True.
Salad is typically a "spring & summer food" around these parts.
But sometimes you just get a hankerin'. Like today, when Marley said, "Mom, will you make a beet salad for lunch?

So when it comes to salad + winter in the Rocky Mountains, a few ingredients keep our vata mellow and nourished, while stoking our cold, sluggish kapha: 
  • 8-10 BEETS (golden & red)
  • ENDIVE & RADICCHIO (4 small heads)
  • LEEKS (4 large)
  • ARUGULA (2 cups)
  • SUNFLOWER OIL (3 TBS)
  • APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (2 TBS optional) 
  • BALSAMIC VINEGAR (1/2 cup) 
Beets and leeks help to ground vata dosha and balance kapha dosha, while balsamic vinegar stimulates your digestion. The bitter/spicy greens are warming and purifying. When the bitter and spice is balanced with little orange morsels, vata stays calm. 
SO MANY exciting flavors make this salad worth breaking a few Ayurvedic rules for:
  • ORANGES (two large)
  • OLIVE OIL (1/2 cup + 2 TBS) 
  • RICOTTA CHEESE (2 oz) Yoga + Ayurveda Workbook
  • FETA CHEESE (4 oz) 
Olive oil and cheeses are all heavy enough to use sparingly during kapha season, but if you MUST use cheese (and in this recipe we MUST), light cheeses like goat cheese, ricotta, and feta are the most kapha-neutral options.

Ayurveda 101: Kapha flavors to savor include: bitter, spicy, and astringent. 
Vata is balanced by sweet, sour, and salty.  Vata season transitions to Kapha Season between January & February in the Northern Hemisphere. LEARN MORE. 

Directions


1. Roast the Beets
Quarter the beets, drizzle with Sunflower oil, add a dash of salt and pepper.
​I also sprinkle on a little Jalepeño pepper, to add a touch of warmth. 
Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (or until just tender.
Picture
2. Soak the Endive & Radicchio 
Tear your "greens" and soak them in a "citrus bath" of 1/2 cup orange juice, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. You can also add 2 TBS of apple cider vinegar for a little extra zest. 
Picture
3. Roast the Leeks
Slice your leeks vertically and drizzle with oil. Salt/pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes.
They can join the beets in the oven at 400 degrees F.
Picture
4. Whip up the dressings & Serve
This salad gets 3 dressings. 
The first dressing is the citrus bath for the radicchio and endive (above).
The second is a creamy blend: 2 oz. ricotta, 4 oz. diced feta, and 1/2 cup olive oil.
The third dressing is a drizzle of balsamic glaze made from reducing balsamic vinegar over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until a thick glaze forms. 

ONCE YOUR BEETS & LEEKS HAVE COOLED:
Cut orange wedges into small morsels.
Line a plate with fresh arugula.
Top the arugula with endive, radicchio, leeks, beets, and orange morsels.
Dollop with the creamy cheese blend.
Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
Top with a bit of cracked black pepper to taste.
ENJOY!
Picture
Picture

More options for 

Ayurveda. Kapha. Vata.
Picture
Vata Balancing 101
Picture
Yoga + Ayurveda Workbook
Picture
Kapha Balancing 101

Need some help establishing a seasonal routine? 

​Receive a full year of God/dess Archetypes, Lifestyle Rituals, and One/One Support to Align with Nature's Rhythms & Awaken your Inner Power. 
Picture
0 Comments

November Moon | Connection

11/2/2021

0 Comments

 
Moon. Motherhood. Connection
Picture
November invites you into the sanctuary of human connection
Yesterday I took my little daughter to a hot-spring pool just to watch her swim.

I didn’t bring my phone. I left my books at home.
It was a moment of heaven just to connect with my child; to enter into another realm, where mermaids play.

She dove beneath the surface to flip and twist and glide. She kicked her way back to me for a slippery snuggle, then launched away again to show me more of her aquatic dance. I relished the phrase, “Watch this mom!” as just about the best three words ever strung together, a dynamic variation of “I love you.”
Real connection is an act of love. It is climbing into another person’s experience, to touch the essence of another human heart with your full attention.
Connection is the lunar principle for November. Inspired by the Beaver Moon, it marks a time when critters of the North American landscape work together to gather stores and build retreats for the winter ahead. This moon invites you to gather in community, collaborate for collective resilience, and deeply connect within the human sanctuary.
The Moon is Magic.
Actually, it is more than magical.
The lunar display of cyclical transformation is nothing short of mystical. Before scientists confirmed its gravitational power over the planet–the cycles and tides–mystics and poets sang of the moon’s energetic sway. Each month provides opportunity to celebrate the illuminating power of the full moon and surrender into the cleansing potential of the new moon.


When you align your daily practice with the rhythms of la luna, your entire life becomes attuned with the generating song of the universe. You become a creative force for manifesting your most meaningful human experience.
November is the month of connection. The full moon provides time to celebrate in community and to remember gratitude. The new moon asks you to let go of any protective patterns–barriers–that have prevented you from truly connecting with the world around you. Fears are conquered, limitations are dissolved, and wounds are healed in the sanctuary of deep person- to-person connection.
Join us as we dive into the sanctuary. ​
Picture
Picture
November Themes, Moons, & Holidays:
The Beaver Moon • Connection • Scorpio • Water Element • Gathering Energy • Collaboration • Building Shelter • Sanctuary ​
Find connection at the Kindness Collective and the Soul Artist Academy. 

Picture
Picture

Picture

Soul Artist's Book Club
Myths & Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization

Study this classic work by Indologist, Heinrich Zimmer
with Contemplative Mythologist, R.R. Shakti, PhD

Begins December 1, 2021

GET THE DETAILS.

0 Comments

three little bird eggs

4/4/2021

0 Comments

 
Holy Days. Spring. Inspiration.
Picture
For me, Easter has come to mean new beginnings.
My childhood winters in the US Midwest were long. Once Christmas had past it was mostly just snowy, drizzly, dreary days and long nights. Nearly half the year spent under cloud-cover, seeing your breath when you talk, waking up for school in the cold dark.

LONG.

Daylight would arrive each morning a little sooner...and a little sooner until one day, like a sunrise blast over the horizon, the entire world felt different.
The world looked different.
Life changed in an instant.

They say that when Jesus came out of the tomb, not all of his friends recognized him at first. He had changed.
That makes sense to me.
Within the span of the three new moon days/nights, Jesus had traversed into the underworld, ascended into heaven, and returned to solid Earth. It stands to reason, things would have been a little different.

Per usual, Jesus provides a model for the Soul Artist who seeks to live their most meaningful life.

Because this has been a year.
In the span of just over 365, we have certainly traversed some new territory. For some it was a deep-dive into the underworld–the "Dark Night of the Soul." Others found illumination of their shadows. There have been challenges to be certain, and hardship provides opportunity for transformation.


What about you? How have you changed?
Do you feel yourself cycling through into something new?


Today, I remember my favorite childhood Easter dress. I remember styling my hair and polishing my shoes and stepping into the church pew to hear the Sunday sermon.
There was excitement in the air.

After the service (and oh! the singing) the children were ushered out into the warm and radiant sunshine for an egg hunt on the lawn. I was bigger then. I followed behind the smaller ones. Something new was stirring.

As I walked the perimeter of the church yard, I spotted a little nest nestled beneath a tree. It was crooked and disheveled as if it had fallen from the branches. But there were three tiny eggs inside. I sat down to get a closer look.

It was a Soul Artist moment.

On the soft cool ground, under the brilliant blast of the Easter sun, I had a new understanding about the cycles of change (samsara in Sanskrit). It is all happening. Seasons. Moons. Days. Years. Thoughts. Life.

Creation.
Preservation.
Dissolution.
...and it is always coldest, darkest just before the dawn.

It was something like that, anyway, elusive and curiously peaceful as I sat awestruck with wonder beside that little broken nest. Birds sang everywhere above me. The breeze blew the style out of my curls. And the sun was there.

I let the littler ones look for the Easter eggs. I had already discovered mine.
Walking back to find my mother I felt like I had grown.

​I wondered if she would recognize me.

0 Comments

where eight is

3/21/2021

0 Comments

 
Motherhood. Poetry. Spring.
Picture
...then sometimes I am eight
and we stay up really late, past our bedtimes listening to records in the loft. Time is our kitten and the moonlight is soft...
and it’s finally Spring after a year of masking our faces and staying away from certain places and I am right where eight is.

I am where we get lost on purpose. We hide and then resurface. You are there and I am there and we are both nowhere else.

We dance the ancient Dragon Dance from the Empire of the Sun. It’s the graceful dance. The sacred one. The one we just made up for fun...and you are my best friend.

We watch the vinyl spin. Flip it over and play it again. We spin and spin and spin and spin...until we fall onto the pillow fort we built, drenched in the water that we spilt.
I am soaking it all in.

Because when you’re eight, there is nowhere but the middle. You’re a big girl...and still little.
You don’t need anyone to tell you what to wear.
You can pack your own bag. You can brush your own hair. But you still always want your mama there.

And so for right now, I am right here-right where eight is.


0 Comments

Love letter to you. You know who you are.

2/14/2021

0 Comments

 
community. gratitude. inner power yoga
Picture
I love you.
You know who you are. 
You are the reason I keep trying. 

You were the first one to trust me with your downward facing dog. 
You were the last person to leave last week's zoom call.
You've seen it all. My tenderness and scars. My triumphs and disgrace. 
You dare to look. You give me grace. 
And I love you for it. 

I love your face. 

You came over to my house that one night, nearly two decades ago, 
when I was lonely for deep company and hungry for the new perspective you would bring...
the wine. the ideas. everything. 
We called it the Goddess Gathering. 
I wanted to know what you know. 
Because I love you. 

Because you believed in me when my confidence wavered. 
I can't even count the love seeds you gave when
​you supported our seva in West Africa and Pine Ridge Reservation...
when you built sets at Yoga Rocks Mountain Fest or the Rocky Mountain Yoga Conference. 
You came. 
You sang. 
You made time for us. 
I found new confidence in your Basic Goodness. 

You brought hope to the Soul Artist Studio when it was build on a broken heart. 
a defiant 
and ambition broken heart
determined to make a new start
to make Soul Art
to sing a new song over old bones. 

I was never alone. 
You reminded me to listen for the beating spaces, 
for the meeting places,
for the meaning in between the gasps for air. 

I love you.
You know who you are. 
You were right there. 

You are the men who helped me build schools. 
who leapt of cliffs into the seven sacred pools
,..the women who formed a wisdom circle around my womb.
You gave me room to make mistakes. 
and I've made many in my day. And I'll make more, 
but you love me anyway. That's what love is for. 
Its for seeing and believing that there's something new in store–
something worth trying for. 

This is for you, over there. 
You there. 
You care to read this letter down to this line. 
May Love flood into your human experience; from mine.
It's just about time to check all our barriers at the door. 
To enter the chamber. To kiss the floor and to sit down at the table of the mystics. 
Those who tried to show us what love is. 

Could you be loved? 
...and BE LOVE? 
beyond the opposites.
without an end.
eternally transforming.
turning and returning again and again
to the guru within, as a student. 
As a teacher. 

​...As a friend. ​

0 Comments

Be Love.

2/12/2021

0 Comments

 
clothing. cool people. lifestyle
Picture

Be Love Clothing is a beloved Inner Power Yoga® Lifestyle Partner because of their commitment to sustainability and activism...and they are just really cool people! They have been offering generous discounts to our Inner Power Yoga® tribe since 2012, and some of my most cherished tees come from their inspired creativity.

The last time we were in L.A. together, Gretchen and I had a chance to visit the owners of Be Love, KamGi and Kyle at their A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. store location in Topanga CA. The entire experience was nothing short of magical. As soon as we saw them, we knew immediately: these are just really cool people!

"Our Mission is to grow a successful apparel business that inspires and empowers people through education, activism, art and fashion.  Be Love exists to support transformative, community-based causes serving youth and families. Our purpose is to serve." 
​
—KamGi & Kyle
WE 💖 BE LOVE!!! 
Shop their beautiful collection today! (IPY TRIBE: You get 30% off your order!)
And check out the growing list of 2021 
Inner Power Yoga® Lifestyle Partners.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The Peace Warrior T-Shirt is one of my personal faves. ...Love their dreamy marketing.
...And, in the middle, that's KamGi, our new BFF!
0 Comments

What Don't I Know? | Light me up.

11/14/2020

0 Comments

 
Love. Inner Power. Diwali. 
Picture
What don’t I know?

We are all pretty sure about one thing: our own perspective. So many conversations begin with, “Look here,” or “Listen up,” because “This is where I stand.”

The whole entire enterprise of human engagement becomes a quest to be understood.

But standing in that mentality means staying in the dark—denying that there’s another point of view.

So here’s something new: What if you start each encounter with the question, “What don’t I know?”

Example: The neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking and it’s making me crazy. What don’t I know? Or: Marty left his dirty laundry in the middle of the floor, again. What don’t I know?

I fail at it daily. But when I remember this practice, my life is just better. It’s like real world enlightenment. The light shines on another’s perspective and I find out that we weren’t standing so far apart, after all.

Today is an Indian holy day: Diwali. It is an opportunity to celebrate the light.
The light of awareness.
The light of consciousness.
The light of your inner power.

There has never been a more crucial time for the teachings of Mystic Traditions to make their way into the real world human experience,
t
o make life... just better.
​
Picture
10 Practices to Celebrate Diwali.

diwali. love. marriage.​
​
Read more on these topics. 
Picture
3 Question to Transform Your Life
Picture
Diwali | Celebrating Light
Picture
Diwali & Kung Fu Panda
0 Comments

10 Practices to Celebrate Diwali

11/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Diwali. Lakshmi. Abundance.
Picture
Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights" because it is a celebration of illumination. It honors the light of your awakened consciousness. It invokes beauty, abundance, prosperity, and love–the archetypal attributes of the Indian Goddess, Lakshmi. This mystic tradition invites you to realize those attributes as qualities of your own mind. Rituals serve to remind you of your inner power and transform your awareness. Your most powerful expression of abundance is a grateful heart. Diwali is the party for a more meaningful life. 

10 Practices for Diwali

  1. Clean your home. The first day of Diwali, Dhanteras, begins the celebration of Goddess Lakshmi, the archetype of beauty, abundance, and material wealth. Make house cleaning a sacred ritual of decluttering your life, detoxifying your environment...and creating space for absolute abundance.  
  2. Build a Lakshmi altar. Place an image of Lakshmi on a small altar. Surround it with flowers, candles, stones, and incense. This is done to remember the archetypal attributes of the Goddess–to embrace her beauty, love and abundance as qualities of your own heart/mind. 
  3. Adorn your hands with mehndi. Mehndi art on your hands is symbol of good fortune, health, beauty, and prosperity–all characteristics of Goddess Lakshmi. 
  4. Create rangoli. On Narak Chaturdashi, the second day of Diwali, it is traditional to create bright, colorful rangoli designs to decorate your home. Rangoli is temporary artwork that depicts beautiful designs–typically floral or geometric patterns. Draw or paint your design on paper, then embellish the artwork with colored sand, dyed rice, stones, mirrors, shells, flowers, and/or beads.
  5. Light diyas and candles. Diyas are small oil lamps, generally placed in a doorway or entry, They symbolize welcoming Lakshmi (and the divine light of awakened awareness) into your home. Place diyas and candles in every room and use them to illuminate your rangoli art. You can also hang stringed lights or use floating lanterns to decorate the outside of your home. 
  6. Make a Feast. On the third day of Diwali is the Lakshmi Pūjā (invocation ritual).  Invite family and friends for what is considered the most significant day of the festival. Enjoy a meal and share words of gratitude, invoking abundance through the power of your appreciation. You can also chant mantras to Ganesha and Lakshmi to invoke the energies of success, abundance, and joy. 
  7. (If it is safe and legal) Light sparklers. This is a popular way to celebrate in India. 
  8. Exchange gifts. Padwa is the fourth day of Diwali, and in some regions it marks the first day of the new year. On this day, it’s traditional to exchange small gifts and greetings–messages of gratitude for your loved ones. 
  9. Honor your loved-ones. The fifth of Diwali is called Bahu-dooj. This final day of celebration honors the love of siblings and friends. Mark each other's forehead with a tilak made from vermillion. The tilak symbolizes the presence of God/dess within. When you mark your brother/sister, lover, or friend at their third-eye center; you are honoring the divine light that dwells within them. 
  10. Join me live! I am stoked to provide live rituals and mind/body practice for holy day celebrations. Check my calendar for my next live event. I would love to see you online or in person, soon. 

diwali. light. rituals.​
​
Read more on these topics. 
Picture
What Don't I Know? Light me up.
Picture
Diwali | Celebrating Light
Picture
Diwali & Kung Fu Panda
0 Comments

Dia de los Muertos

11/1/2020

0 Comments

 
Holy Days.  Mystery.  ​Muertos.  
Picture
“I use the word mystery, rather than magic. I love magic. 
Something magic was always going to happen. 
When it did, it never did anything but land me in trouble.
MYSTERY is the depth of the sacred.”
― Marion Woodman
​
Dear Friend,
It is palpable! ...the power of the sacred mystery.
Right here. Right now.
We are creating history...and HERstory.


Your life is profoundly meaningful. Your choices have power. ...even if that sacred purpose is yet to be revealed.

My cultural upbringing included a celebration of answers. It was always much better to be right. We wanted to know exactly what happens next, where we were going, what it all meant. Religion, politics, history, science–education was sought for concrete reality. The unknown was, frankly, dangerous. There was little room for mystery.

These days, I relish the unknown. Within it lies infinite potential. I have found that being "right" is limiting.

There is so much more.

As I revel in the light of the full moon, I honor the unseen darkness on the other side.

Today, I celebrate Dia de los Muertos with my family. This holiday was not a part of my cultural upbringing...it celebrates the unknown. As we gaze upon the photographs of our ancestors, we honor the love that brought us here. We revel in the light each soul brought to the planet. And we honor the mystery–the unseen journey on the "other side."

My yoga–mystic wisdom & ritual–empowers me to embrace the unknown with peace and wonder as I trust in the ultimate fulfillment of Love.

DEEP TRUST: We all could use a little, right about now.

​holy days. love. shadow.​
Read more on these topics. 
0 Comments

Celebrating Light

10/27/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Imagine the world before electricity. I bet you'd tend your fire carefully. Make it last through the cold, dark night.
...And then comes dawn. Every morning is like a victory–the triumph of the light. 
That is why Indian holy days, like Diwali. celebrate the light. 
That is why Indian mantras, like Gayatri, invoke and worship the light as a divine power. 

It is. 

In yoga, I honor the "dawning of awareness" as the power of illumination which awakens, heals, and provides clear vision. 

But the light does not always come easy. Let me explain with a story: 

Once upon a time my husband and I were arguing. It was heated. Now, I can't even remember what it was about. But at the time I was quite certain–I had no doubt–that I was "RIGHT!"
He disagreed. He presented his case, but I doubled down on my point of view, again and again. I wanted him to realize (and admit) that I was "RIGHT!" 

Then something happened. Mid-sentence. It hit me like a floodlight: "Oh, shit. He is right... 
​
I'm wrong."
Picture
Daaaang! I felt just like Wile E. Cayote when he looks down from his full-throttle pace to realize that there is nothing beneath him but empty space and a long, hard fall. 

We celebrate the light as if it is always welcome. As if we are in a state of perpetual curiosity, always ready to expand and embrace personal development. 

But sometimes we're not.

Sometimes we think we already have the answer. We already know. We are "RIGHT!"...and nothing will change our minds. Then the light of awareness "dawns" on us illuminating our flaws. It isn't comfortable. Sometimes, truth be told, we wish we could stay in the dark. 

​Our practice often determines what happens next. 
Yoga provides the courage and compassion to face, and embrace, the light.

So back to that one time, when I was wrong:
I took a deep breath, mustered up the humility and said, "Wait. I'm just realizing that you are right. I am wrong. I am sorry."

My husband looked at me, first with surprise, then tenderness. "Yeah," he said. "I love you." 
I had braced myself for impact, but it turned out to be a super soft landing. Blissful in fact. 
Because in that moment, I realized that being wrong gives me the opportunity to experience his unconditional Love. If I were always "RIGHT," I would never feel the sweet sensation of forgiveness. 

When I embrace my imperfection it becomes a radiant gift. 
I am human, and growing. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Inspired by the words of Leonard Cohen: The cracks are where the light gets in. 
That realization has been, for me, like the break of a glorious new day. 

​Happy Diwali
0 Comments
<<Previous

    About The Author

    Picture
    R.R. Shakti, PhD 
    Founding teacher of Inner Power Yoga®, Shakti is a Contemplative Mythologist, ritual facilitator, and writer who presents a Tantrik approach to personal empowerment and social action. Through contemplative story-telling and mind/body practices, she offers a vision of deep peace and radical freedom.

    Categories

    PSYCHE + SOUL
    BODY + PLANET
    HOME + LIFE

    LIFE & STYLE

    All
    Abundance
    Ayurveda
    Connection
    Diwali
    Events
    Fashion
    Holy Days
    Inspiration
    Kapha
    Kitchen Rituals
    Light
    Love
    Love & Marriage
    Moon
    Motherhood
    Mystic Home
    Mystic Traditions
    Poetry
    SEVA/Social Service
    Spring
    Tantra
    Vata
    Water


    RSS Feed


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Read More. 

Soul Artist Academy     
Soul Artist Boutique      
Inner Power Yoga®      
Meet Shakti
Lifestyle Partners      
Soul Artist Journal      

​Event Calendar
Membership
Photo Credits
Your Privacy
FAQs
​Provide Feedback
© COPYRIGHT 2018..
R.R. Shakti | Soul Artist
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • ABOUT
    • R.R. Shakti, PhD
    • Inner Power Yoga®
    • Why Are You Here?
    • Calendar
    • Connect
  • MYTH
  • RITUAL
    • Nature Ritual
  • ACADEMY
  • JOURNAL
    • Soul Artist Journal >
      • "The Other"
  • BOUTIQUE
  • ONE/ONE
    • Soul Artist Awakening
    • Soul Artist Compass