Daily Dressing for the planets

One of my favorite little rituals is choosing the colors I wear based on the planets. In Jyotish, or Vedic astrology, each day of the week is associated with a particular planet, and each planet carries certain qualities. Wearing its color is a simple way to align with that energy for the day.

It’s not about superstition for me. It’s more like a reminder that we are part of a larger rhythm moving through nature and time. Here’s the traditional lineup I follow:

Monday — White (Moon) to support calm, steadiness, and emotional balance.

Tuesday — Wine/dark red (Mars) to channel courage, strength, and decisive energy.

Wednesday — Green (Mercury) for communication, learning, and clear thinking.

Thursday — Yellow (Jupiter) to invite wisdom, generosity, and good guidance.

Friday — Pink & Patterns (Venus) for beauty, love, and enjoyment of the senses. (leopard print yeah!)

Saturday — Blue (Saturn) to honor discipline, patience, and steady effort.

Sunday — Red/Gold (Sun) to support vitality, confidence, and leadership.

I find it’s a small, fun way to stay connected to the teachings of Jyotish and to start the day with a little intention. Sometimes it’s as simple as choosing a scarf or sweater in the color of the day. Little rituals like this help keep the connection between daily life and the cosmic rhythms alive.

Jar O’ Ojas

Try this classic Ayurvedic rasayana, Jar-O-Ojas or spiced dates! (Hit the save button on this one) Dates soaked in ghee and warming spices are a rejuvenative food that builds ojas, the subtle essence of vitality, immunity, and resilience. A prized aphrodisiac, this could also be called a love potion increasing libido and lack of energy. Pass on this if you're working on getting Ama down or have weak agni. A little goes a long way, and it is best enjoyed when digestion is strong and the body is ready to receive deep nourishment.

Ingredients

2 pinches saffron threads

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup ghee, or enough to fully cover the dates

1 1/2 cups pitted Deglet Noor dates, cut in half.

Directions: Grind saffron and spices. Warm ghee gently and stir in the spices. Pack dates into a clean glass jar and pour spiced ghee over them until covered. Seal and let sit 1 day before enjoying. Keeps up to 3 months at room temp.

New Moon Kitchari Recipe

You're gonna want to hit the saved button on this one! 😉

The new moon week is a great time to enjoy this light, simple, and digestion-supportive kichari, which is especially soothing during the new moon when the body and mind are naturally turning inward.

Ingredients (serves 4):
6 cups water
1 cup basmati rice
½ cup yellow split mung beans (ideally soaked for 1 hour or more)
1 tablespoon Essential Spice Mix or 1 teaspoon each thyme, oregano, and/or basil (fresh or dried)
pinch of hing powder (optional)
1 cup coarsely chopped fennel bulb
1 cup chopped kale, stems removed
½–1 teaspoon salt (to taste); chopped cilantro for garnish.

For the tempering:
1–2 tablespoons ghee
½ teaspoon each ajwain seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds (optional)

Directions:

• Bring 5 cups of the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat and set the remaining 1 cup aside to add during cooking if needed.

• Rinse the rice and mung beans until the water runs clear, then add them to the boiling water along with the spice mix (or herbs) and hing if using.

• Once it returns to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer with the lid slightly ajar for 15 minutes without stirring.

• Layer the fennel and kale on top and allow them to steam for another 15 minutes, adding more hot water if the pot begins to dry out, again without stirring.

• If the beans are still holding their shape, simmer for about 10 more minutes until they soften and break down completely.

• In a small skillet, warm the ghee over medium heat, add the ajwain, coriander, and fennel seeds if using, and when the seeds begin to pop after about 2–3 minutes, pour the ghee and spices over the kichari.

• Garnish with cilantro and serve warm.

A bowl like this is an invitation to slow down, tend your inner fire gently, and let nourishment do the work. Try it and tell me how you like it! 💖

Winter Morning Routine

1. Tongue scrape

2. Rinse eyes with cool water

3. Warm towel compress

4. Facial oil massage

5. Herbal Coffee

Find link and discounts for all my favorites like this herbal coffee from Banyan Botanicals and Osi face oil, here.

I also want to be sure you know! These Cozy Earth bamboo jammies are 2 for 1 until Feb 8 with code BOGOKATE.
The sale includes bamboo stretch sets and Sutton cotton sets. I've never seen them have a sale like this! I am totally hooked on these jammies from Cozy Earth.

The Thing About Getting Sick

You know that moment when you first feel it coming. The slight scratch in your throat. The barely-there heaviness behind your eyes. The faint suspicion that your body is about to betray you.

Most of us respond the same way: denial, followed by panic, followed by a frantic scramble for vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and whatever wellness trend promised immunity this month.

But here's what Ayurveda knows that the supplement aisle doesn't: immunity isn't something you can bolt on at the last minute. It's not a product you purchase or a protocol you follow when you feel the tickle starting. It's a state of being that you cultivate, day by day, season by season.

The ancient texts call it Ojas—the nutrient cream of the body. Picture it as a subtle, milky film that coats every tissue, every cell, creating a barrier between you and everything that wants to take you down. It's built slowly, over time, from food that's been properly digested, from sleep that's deep and restorative, from a life that doesn't constantly ask your body to choose between surviving and thriving.

When you have Ojas, you walk into a room full of coughing, sniffling people and walk out unscathed. Not because you're special. Not because you got lucky. But because your body is robust enough, refreshed enough, resilient enough to handle the exposure.

The problem is that most of us are running on empty.

We're dried out from indoor heat and outdoor cold. We're depleted from irregular sleep and constant stimulation. We're eating foods that might technically be healthy but don't actually nourish us—cold smoothies and raw salads in the dead of winter, astringent green juices when what our bodies are begging for is warmth and substance.

And then we wonder why we keep getting sick.

Here's the shift: stop thinking about immunity as a battle you need to win and start thinking about it as a garden you need to tend.

In winter, that garden needs moisture. Your nasal passages need oil. Your lungs need the gentle coating that licorice tea provides. Your skin—that magnificent barrier between you and the world—needs to be treated like the protective organ it is, fed with warm oil and kept supple.

Your digestive system needs foods that build rather than strip: warm broths and stews, nuts and seeds, dates and warming spices. Milk that's been gently warmed and spiced with cinnamon and ginger, not because it's trendy but because it creates the kind of deep nourishment that becomes Ojas.

The beauty of the Ayurvedic approach is that it doesn't ask you to be perfect. It asks you to be consistent. It asks you to notice. When you start to feel dried out, add moisture. When you feel depleted, add substance. When you feel vulnerable, create barriers—oil on the skin, oil in the nose, warmth around the throat.

It's not complicated. It's not expensive. It doesn't require special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. It just requires you to remember that your body is not a machine that occasionally breaks down and needs fixing. It's a living system that needs tending.

So the next time you feel that first tickle, before you reach for the emergency supplements, ask yourself: Have I been tending the garden? Have I been building resilience, or have I been hoping I can get away with running on fumes just a little bit longer?

Because here's the truth: some pathogens are stronger than others. Some exposures are unavoidable. Some seasons are harder than others.

But when you have Ojas—when your body is robust and refreshed and resilient—you don't need to fight so hard. You don't need to panic. You just need to keep tending the garden.

The rest takes care of itself.

Wellness Trends I Won’t Be Falling For This Year

Wellness Trends I Won’t Be Falling For This Year (and what I "will" be doing instead)
Because the more extreme ≠, the more healthy. 💪

Which trends feel out of alignment for you? I'd love to know your thoughts!

PLUS get the new Anytime Home Cleanse FREE with membership now through January. Reboot with a 4-day DIY food-based program. It’s new and improved this season, with expanded recipes!

Ready to guide transformation with Ayurveda?

In my journey, the key to gaining traction was offering community cleanses. Folks are a little detox-obsessed, and if you put this out there, most will take a looksie.

Over the years, the program has developed into a 10-day “bootcamp” of sorts that has worked as a fantastic entry point for newbies, as well as a tool to link clients together in community.

If you would like to learn from me about how to safely offer this and to get access to all the resources your people will need, consider joining the Community Cleanse Training.
This is a year-long training including a cohort who come together to learn how to lead a cleanse, how to market it, and to actually DO IT in your communities, using my full-color professionally designed assets, copywriting, and even a ready-to-go manual to provide your students.

Ready to guide transformation with Ayurveda? Send an email to hello@ayurvedicliving.institute, and I’ll send the training info your way.

Ayurveda and Perimenopause

Join me and one of my teachers, Anusha of @bostonayurvedainc, for a weekend retreat where you’ll dive deep into the Ayurvedic wisdom of menopause and longevity. Save your spot @kripalucenter, I will teach what are longevity foods, according to Ayurveda, and teach you how to use them!

Menopause is a significant life-changing transition in a woman’s life, and with the right tools, it can be a time of empowerment, vitality, and renewal.

Ayurveda, with its holistic approach, offers a profound perspective on how to navigate and even embrace this phase of life known in the Vedas as the time of the forest dweller. Can’t wait! 😉

Most Holiday Self-care

Most holiday “self-care” is just overstimulation in disguise.

Ayurveda doesn’t cancel joy, it simply helps you enjoy it without the crash.

Trade the sugar rush for steady warmth, and your body will thank you. Care for yourself the way nature intended.

Access The Self-Care Workshop: Deep Winter anytime to learn Ayurvedic practices that keep you balanced through the holidays and grounded all winter long.

Italy Retreat

Join me in Italy this spring for ṚTÚ VIDYA: Seasonal Wisdom, a week-long immersion designed for women seeking deeper alignment through Ayurveda and yoga.

April 4–11, 2026, in Puglia, Italy Comment 'ITALY' and I'll send you the link to learn more.

EARLY bird pricing expires on Dec 31st!