A couple of months ago, I was lucky enough to meet Celine Wallace, the founder of Sattva Soul Retreats, at a Yoga Class. With a shared passion for yoga, health and wellness we got talking and Celine shared with me her incredible story and her motivation behind creating Sattva Soul Retreats and Sattva Soul Events, which eventually turned into an interview that we published in Verve (link here).
While Celine’s retreats and events sound absolutely dreamy, what really struck me about Celine is her commitment to the long-term health and wellbeing of her clients. She explained to me how so often after her retreats and events, women would come to her, asking for longer terms stress and anxiety support. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, Celine felt driven to create something accessible for women to use in their daily lives. Looking around, she couldn’t find all organic, FDA-approved supplements, with the Ayurvedic practitioner dosage that got results, so she created her own – Sattva Soul Supplements.
Sattva Soul Supplements are made from Ashwagandha, an ancient Ayurvedic medicinal herb that has been around for years. Having never heard of it before, I’ll admit I was a little uncertain when Celine asked me if I would like to try the supplements.
In her simultaneously gentle and bubbly way, Celine sat me down and gave me the run-down on what Ashwagandha is, where it is sourced from and why Ashwagandha is one of the most important herbs in Ayurveda, a form of alternative medicine based on the Indian principle that everybody is comprised of three unique energies called Doshas. These energies blend our mind-body type and are related to how you interact with the world, in relation to physiology, digestion, metabolism, personality and so much more.
There are three different Doshas in Ayurveda, known as Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. While we are all made up of a combination of all three of these forces, understanding your dominant Dosha can help you to build an increased sense of self-awareness and understand what lifestyles choices can support your energy type.
Celine does Dosha Diagnosis for all of her retreat clients and kindly offered to read my Dosha for me, determining that I am a Vata – a combination of Air and Space elements. Any wonder my mind feels constantly over stimulated; it’s true that I spend a lot of time in my head, or ‘up in space’ you could say. Among other attributes, Vatas have a tendency to suffer from light, disturbed sleep because of our restless minds.
We spoke about how when I turn out the lights at the end of a long day, even though I feel physically tired my mind is still peddling like a spin class, and sometimes I feel completely powerless to stop it. Celine suggested I try taking 2 of the Ashwagandha supplements about one hour before bed to help break this exhausting cycle. Ashwagandha is classified as an adaptogen, meaning that it can help to slow down your nervous system by lowering the cortisol levels in the body.
While I didn’t immediately notice that it was any easier to fall asleep, after just three days of taking the supplements I realised I was feeling much less tired with a lot more mental clarity. I emailed Celine to give her an update, and she encouraged me to keep taking the supplements as the only way you notice the benefits is if you take them consistently everyday to help your body adapt to stress on a consistent basis.
So with my little bottle of Sattva Soul Supplements on my bedside table, I diligently kept it up. Sure enough, two weeks later and falling asleep at night began to feel like the most natural process in the world. I’m no longer lying awake listening to a loop of never ending (and not particularly helpful) thoughts.
For me, that in itself is a good enough reason to continue taking the supplements. One month on from when I first met Celine for a coffee and Dosha reading though, and I have to say I have begun to observe other changes within my body and brain too.
I definitely feel that I have a stronger sense of mental clarity and ability to focus. Sure, my Vata energy still wants to pull my mind away from the present moment and into some sort of projection, fantasy or worry about the future, but what I have noticed is that I am able to reign it in so much faster. I feel more stable, able to regain control over the constant stream of thoughts rolling through my head.
Do I still get moments of overwhelming stress and anxiety? Absolutely. But I am now able to quickly come back into a more grounded state of mind, anchored in the “now” rather than up in the ether of no mans land.
It’s worth noting here that not all Ashwagandha supplements are created equal. Sattva Soul Supplements are all natural, grown and harvested on organic farms in the northern mountains of Kandy, Sri Lanka where they are delivered directly to the customer via Sattva Soul Supplements. The internal path of nutrients is an intricate one, so the purer the supplement, the faster your cells rejoice. Sattva Soul Supplements are made from 100% Organic Ashwagandha with no yucky fillers – so you’ll notice the benefits almost as soon as you take them.
Overall, I can confidently attest to the power of these supplements for helping with managing stress, fatigue and mood. They’ve definitely been added to my personal daily self-care routine. If you’d like to try these for yourself, or find out more about what Celine Wallace offers, head to: https://sattvasoulsupplements.com/
(and while you’re at it, take the Quiz to find out what Dosha you are!!)
Words: Ashlee Lala
