Day 15: 🍋 Fresh Citrus & a Fresh Mind🍋

🌿✨ Gentle Readers, Welcome to Week 3 of "The Challenge"! ✨🌿

🌿 With every breath out, I release what no longer serves me and make space for clarity, lightness, and flow✨

💜Let this affirmation guide you today as we deepen the connection between

feminine energy and the moon. 💜🔥

Just like the moon waxes and wanes, your feminine energy thrives in cycles of holding and releasing. Today, let the exhale be your gentle letting go: inviting softness, intuition, and space for inner light to rise.💜🔥

🍋 Nutrition Focus: Fresh citrus for digestion

💨 Ayurvedic Element: Deep exhalation (clearing the mind)

✍️ Reflection: What thoughts release when I focus on the out-breath?

✅ Week 3: Sustainability & Reward

Integration & Celebration!

We’ve explored so much already—now it’s time to make these new habits feel natural. You’ve put in the effort, and soon, these rituals will become second nature.

Feeling a little off-track? Maybe your mornings are solid, but evenings bring temptation... Or perhaps you’ve already nailed your routine like a pro! Wherever you are, this week is about flow, finding ease and joy in the process.

🗳️ Self Check-in Poll:

How consistent have you been with your habits so far?

• Very consistent – I rarely miss a day
• Somewhat consistent – I follow most days
• Inconsistent – I struggle to keep up
• I haven’t started yet

💬 Your Turn!

We’ve come so far!!! Now I’d love to hear from you 💛

✨ What has been the most difficult habit for you to shift so far?

Was it resisting late-night snacking? Staying consistent with your morning ritual? Or maybe letting go of mental clutter?

👇 Drop a comment and share your experience. We grow stronger by reflecting together, and your story might just inspire someone else who’s facing the same challenge.

🌿 Change isn't always easy, but every small effort counts... and you're doing better than you think!

🍋 Nutrition: Fresh Citrus for Digestion

In Ayurveda, citrus fruits like lemon and lime are considered powerful digestive allies. Their sour taste and acidity help awaken your Agni (digestive fire), breaking down food and preventing sluggishness or bloating.

Here’s how citrus supports your digestion:

✨ Kickstart the Day – A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime in warm water first thing in the morning gently wakes up your digestive system.

🌿 Detox & Alkalize – Though acidic in taste, citrus becomes alkaline once metabolized—supporting gut health and detox.

🍽️ Absorb More Nutrients – A few drops of citrus on meals boost iron and mineral absorption.🛡 Regulate Heat – Citrus stimulates digestion without overheating the body—especially helpful if you feel heavy after eating.

💛 Ayurvedic Tip: If digestion feels slow, try adding citrus to your meals. If you tend toward acidity or heat, balance with cooling foods like cucumber, coconut, or mint.

🥣 Today’s Dish: Ayurvedic Sabudana Delight with a Lime Twist

Let’s bring together tradition, nutrition, and a touch of history with a light, energizing meal perfect for digestion and fasting days: Sabudana (tapioca pearls)

Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma

🧭 A Bit of History

While tapioca isn't Roman, the Romans loved their starches: think porridges with barley and wheat. The idea of starchy, energy-rich food as fuel for the body has always been global.

Sabudana was introduced to India in the 1860s by Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma, Maharaja of Travancore), during a famine. His brother, a botanist, brought tapioca from Brazil.

Initially feared as poisonous, it was only accepted after the royal family publicly ate it themselves.

Since then, sabudana has become a staple during fasting—nourishing and easy to digest, much like the ancient grains of old civilizations.

👩‍🍳✨ Let’s cook it and feast with our ancestors honoring the wisdom of those who came before us, nourishing our bodies, and lighting the digestive fire within!

Every bite is a blessing, every spice a story. 💛🌿

🍋 Sabudana Khichdi with a Lime Twist Ingredients

• 1.5 cups sabudana (tapioca pearls)

• 1 cup water (for soaking)

• 2 tbsp ghee (or coconut oil for a cooling effect)

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 3 green chilies (or mint/coriander for Pitta)

• 1 medium potato, diced

• ½ cup roasted peanuts, crushed

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp sugar (optional)

• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (or sweet lemon)

• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Ayurvedic Preparation

1️⃣ Soak Sabudana: Rinse until the water runs clear. Soak in 1 cup of water overnight, then drain.

2️⃣ Ignite Digestion: Heat ghee, add cumin and chilies (or cooling herbs), let them sizzle to release their properties.

3️⃣ Add Potatoes: Cook until golden brown. They are grounding and stabilizing.

4️⃣ Mix in Sabudana & *Peanuts: Stir gently, coat everything well.

5️⃣ Cook to Perfection: Cover and cook 2–3 mins on low, then uncover and cook until translucent. If you prefer sabudana more dry, avoid covering.

6️⃣ Lime Finish: Squeeze fresh lime juice before serving (or earlier for less acidity). Garnish with cilantro.

*Peanuts: If you like crunchy taste in your dish, roast the peanut in ghee and then add to the dish.

🛡 Why This Works?

• Balances Vata & Kapha: Sabudana grounds; lime stimulates digestion.

• Supports Fasting & Gut Health: Light yet energizing.

• Enhances Agni: Especially when paired with spices like cumin.

✨ Pitta Tip:

• Use coconut oil instead of ghee.

• Replace chilies with mint/coriander.

• Add cucumber or coconut chutney on the side.

• Opt for sweet lemon or a mild citrus alternative.

✨ Let me know if you like it!! Sabudana is one of my favourite dish!!!!! Comment ✨ 

💨 Ayurvedic Element: Deep Exhalation for Mind Clarity

Let’s slow things down.

Inspired by Swami Rama’s 1:2 breathing ratio, this simple technique calms your nervous system and clears the mind. The idea is: longer exhale = deeper calm.

🧘‍♀️ The 1:2 Breath Practice

1️⃣ Sit comfortably, close your eyes.

2️⃣ Exhale gently through the nose for 4 counts.

3️⃣ Inhale through the nose (or mouth) for 2 counts.

4️⃣ Repeat for 2 minutes or until you can, keeping it soft and smooth.

Let's do it together:

Breathing 1:2 ratio

🌬️ Breath & Let Go Challenge

Add a fun twist: mentally pick something to release and when you exhale, offer it to the Guru Chakra!

• “I let go of tension.”

• “I release negative thoughts.”

• “I welcome peace.”

Each exhale becomes a reset—a quiet whisper of freedom.

🌞 Morning Ritual Recap

1️⃣ Wake with Gratitude – Acknowledge the gift of today.

2️⃣ 1:2 Breathwork – Start with the exhale for 4. Inhale for 2, exhale for 4, inhale 2…Repeat until you can. Max two time a day and only while during the practice. This is to prevent any damage to the way of breathing and lungues.

3️⃣ Hydrate – Sip warm water with lime. It gently awakens digestion.

4️⃣ Circular Motion – Rotation in different planes of shoulders and inner hips, to move energy and keep the body young.

5️⃣ Lighter Breakfast – Choose warm, easy-to-digest foods. Digestion follows the circadian cycle, which means that as soon as we get up even the digestive fire is waking up so feel compassionate and give light nutrients to break down.

✨ Bonus: Step outside for a few minutes of sunlight and acknowledge the energy that sustain this body, mind, and soul. Let nature align your rhythm.

🌺 Discovering the Path of Samaya Tantra

The most profound experience I have had is the journey into Samaya Tantra, a path of unity and divine presence.

When my Guru Sakalamaa called us to India, I began discovering a new way of being.

🌺Samaya means "I am with you."🌺

🔹 Swami Rama says: “When you are conscious that the Lord is present all the time, you have attained something.”  

He teaches us how to use your mind and burn hurtful thoughts in the process with the technique of

🔹 Mana Prakshalana, the purification of the mind, helps burn painful thoughts and transform inner suffering.

He says:

"In the School of Samaya, we embrace both Bukthi (Bhog – worldly experience) and Mukti (Moksha – liberation), understanding that the divine presence is always within us.

"I am the shrine of the Lord, and the Lord is within me."

There is a Constant Mother Divine Presence, that’s why is called Samaya=I am with you!

This is the Path of Samaya.”

Swami Rama dell'Himalaya.

🌟 Want to go deeper? Swami Rama’s teachings on the mind and its purification are beautifully explained in Saundaryalahari (4/4). Listen to him here: Swami Rama – YouTube (58:00).

✍️ Today’s Reflection Prompt:

What thoughts troubling you? Have you offered them to the Guru Chakra?

Play with it:

• Level 1: Let go of small daily clutter (e.g. “need to buy toothpaste”). Offer it to the Guru Chakra

• Level 2: Breathe out lingering stress (e.g. “unfinished work”). Offer it to the Guru Chakra

• Level 3: Exhale old fears or limiting beliefs (e.g. “I’m not enough”). Offer it to the Guru Chakra

💭 Imagine the thought floating away like smoke, a feather, or a bubble. Watch it drift... then breathe in joy and reinforce your faith that the inner light is always with you.

Now it’s your turn!Try the dish, take a deep breath, and let something go.What shifted for you today? Write it down. Share if you feel like it 💛