Sattva Botanica Apothecary

Skincare before the skincare.

Warm lemon water (I take mine with dry ginger) before coffee.

Dinacharya in Ayurveda is simply the lifestyle practices we repeat each day. 🍋

The calendar says September. The weather still says Summer.

I’m not rushing us into Autumn yet. I’ll know it’s getting close when my front porch yoga starts going long.

September at the Sattva table stays with what late Summer is still asking of our skin.

And one new ritual joins the table this month: Sattva Taila™, my slow sun-cured botanical body oil for abhyanga.

We’ll begin noticing Autumn when it actually begins to arrive.

For now, we stay here.

This is where I start my mornings with Sattva, learning first.

What I love about Ayurvedic teachings is how they make big ideas simple through storytelling.

Like milk.

Ayurveda compares our skin to that thin layer of cream that forms on top of milk as it’s heated, called santanika.

The idea is simple. What we see on top reflects the quality of the milk and how it was heated.

In Ayurvedic thinking, if our digestive fire, Agni, runs too hot, the cream may burn. We see excess heat reflected in skin as redness, inflammation, pigmentation and signs of premature aging.

If Agni is too low, the milk never quite cooked enough for that cream to form properly. Ayurveda associates that slower, heavier state with qualities like dullness, puffiness and congestion.

Also, fun fact: the outermost layer of skin is called Avabhasini, “the illuminator,” and is described as only 1/18th of a rice grain thick.

Saturday mornings at the Sattva table.

You can usually find me here around 11.

I learn a lot from the women who stop by. What you’re using. What you’re noticing. What feels good.

Sattva formulations are refined through the voices of the women who use them.

What makes Ravi Press, press.

Powdered botanicals.
Marshmallow root wool.
Botanical activator.

Worked together by hand until the preparation holds.

Then just a small pinch is shaped into a thin disc and pressed directly over a dark spot.

I’ll be making Ravi Press at The Station today at 5 pm and tomorrow at 11 am if you’d like to see how the ritual comes together.

Ravi Press™
Prepared by my hand. Finished by yours.

A new way to Ravi Press.

Tomorrow during Last Friday, I’ll be at The Station from 5–6 pm, and again Saturday at 11 am, demonstrating Ravi Press™.

I’ll show you how I finish the botanical blend included in the porcelain ritual into a soft press, and how I use it directly over a dark spot.

And now, if you’d rather skip the making part, Ravi Press will be available finished in tins too.

Same ritual. Two ways to begin.

Another ritual I’d like to share.

For four years, almost every night, I’ve been welcomed exactly as I am and soothed by Lauren Ostrowski Fenton to relax, release and heal.

I’ve learned to create a little space from feelings and thoughts.

That I can be a new version of myself in every moment.

And to stop layering a narrative with more and more evidence.

“You are allowed to soften a little.

Soften the edges.

A little bit more acceptance.

A dash of letting go.

A hint of kindness.”

— Lauren Ostrowski Fenton

Find Lauren on YouTube. She’s my angel.

Now on Faire.
Wholesale for thoughtful shops and spaces.

A preparation for deeper practice. Warm, slow and comforting for the nervous system.

Taila: an oil that carries herbs.

Abhyanga is the unhurried practice of warm oil massage, traditionally done at the start of the day. Or sometimes, simply the soles of the feet before sleep.

Taila begins with a single oil base, slowly prepared with herbs.

Long strokes along the limbs. Circles around the joints. Gentle clockwise circles over the abdomen.

Then let the oil rest on the skin for 15–20 minutes before a warm shower or bath.

I’ll be placing a few full-size 8 oz bottles on the table thestationclayton for those who want to join me.

Early light in Late Summer reminds me there are more than four seasons.

This morning felt almost like Autumn. Two hours later, back to Summer again.

These little spaces between seasons are a favorite.

Wandered downtown early with Shanti on my skin this morning and thought about how sweet seasonal living really is. Just noticing what’s changing.

Shanti has no seasonal agenda. She isn’t cooling for Summer, releasing for Autumn, holding for Winter or uncovering for Spring. She’s just comforting during change.

Rose, fenugreek and chamomile. Soft, a little sweet and really nice for the in-between.

Breakfast, spiced pear.