I hope this spring has filled your days with warmth, sunshine, and vibrant new beginnings! Don’t forget to get outside and put your feet in the grass.
I am very excited to announce another Wild Witchy Yoga Retreat! Join Paisley and I for our 7th retreat together, taking place October 3–5 in northeast Ohio. Immerse yourself in a weekend of yoga, meditation, breath-work, women’s wellness, grounding practices, hiking, sauna, and invigorating cold plunging. Come reconnect with your wild self and a community of like-minded women in a safe and empowering space.
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This Month’s Resources
Building a Solar Callus
You may remember our last email when we talked about the benefits of doing yoga outside. At the very bottom of the email we spoke about what a solar callus is, but as we head toward warmer days and stronger sun, we wanted touch upon this a little more so you can get a healthy tan and feel good! Remember, we are beings of light and need sun to survive, just like all other life on Earth. Our skin is a solar panel for our brains and our hearts.
So, according to Dr. Alexis Cowen, how can you build a solar callus and avoid burning, while utilizing the healing energy from the sun?
- Increase your midday sun exposure, GRADUALLY
- Midday sun is going to be the strongest UV light, which stimulates the production of melanin. Building melanin on the skin (getting tan) is the best way to both avoid burning and promote a healthy internal environment.
- Stop wearing sunglasses, contacts, prescription glasses, and sunscreen while sun bathing
- Eyewear blocks UV light from entering the eye.
- Sunscreen blocks UV light from interacting with the skin.
- Seeking shade or putting on light clothes is always a better choice over sunscreen. Many sunscreens include chemicals that can cause cancer. If you are in the process of building a solar callus or going to be in really intense sun, please try a tallow based sunscreen such as: Vanman’s or Dakota Tallow’s.
- Leverage red and infrared light
- Best to get at sunrise and sunset! Red and infrared light exposure before and after UV light exposure helps to minimize burning. Why? Long wavelength red and infrared stimulate mitochondrial function, which facilitates the production of melanin in response to UV light.
- Optimize your light environment
- You might remember the email we did that talked about the damaging effects of artificial light…. Well, it turns out, blue light inhibits mitochondrial functional on our surfaces. In nature, we never encounter blue light without red and IR light, which balances these effects on mitochondria.
- Receive full spectrum light indoors by opening windows and doors.
- Opt for full spectrum lightbulbs during the daytime indoors and red light bulbs for use starting around sunset.
- Support your mitochondria
- Grounding/Earthing… connecting your skin directly to the Earth. You might remember the email we sent last year that talked about grounding.
- Optimizing your microbiome through sunlight exposure on the abdomen (UV, red, infrared), consumption of prebiotics, and exposure to natural environments.
- Eating locally and seasonally.
- Optimizing omega-3 DHA from animal sources (fatty fish, shellfish, grass-fed lamb).
- Optimize your omega-6 to omega-3 ration
- Limiting/avoiding seed oils (canola, sunflower, soy, cottonseed, corn, sunflower, peanut, etc.).
- Because the skin turns over so quickly, the fats you eat greatly contribute to skin cell membranes and omega-3 fats help to cultivate more of an anti-inflammatory environment throughout the body.
Learn more about circadian biology from Dr. Alexis on Instagram here.
You can also review this thread titled: “The truth about sunscreen (and what no one tells you about the sun).” It discusses how modern humans have a broken relationship with the sun, how sunscreens are toxic, that sunlight is a key hormone and mitochondrial signaler, and how to get smart with sun exposure.
This 1 and a half minute video also does an excellent job talking on building a tan and sunbathing babies.
Coconut Oil
A summer staple! Why summer? Coconut oil is a tropical fat. It should only be consumed when sunlight and temperature conditions match those in the tropics, i.e., summer. Dr. Jack Kruse argues that mitochondrial function and circadian rhythms evolved to be in sync with the seasonal availability of food. In his model:
- Summer = high UV light, longer days, higher temperatures
- These conditions support a carb-rich and tropical-fat diet (like coconut oil)
- In contrast, winter = low light, cold → favors omega-3-rich animal fats, not tropical oils
Believe it or not, coconut oil aids in weight loss. There are stories of farmers who tried to fatten up livestock with cheap coconut oil and all the animals ended up leaner and more energetic. Here are 6 ways in which coconut oil will help you with weight loss:
Metabolism boost (attributed to its medium chain triglycerides that are metabolized differently than other types of fats — quickly absorbed and transported to the liver, where they are more likely to be used for energy rather than stored as fat). Better metabolic rate = more energy for physical & cognitive performance, less energy stored as fat. Impact on the body composition (rats that consumed saturated fats like coconut oil had less body fat compared to those consuming unsaturated fats like corn oil, despite calorie intake being the same). Improving thyroid function, crucial for metabolism (coconut oil can help the liver destroy estrogen in the blood, provided there’s enough protein and B vitamins in the diet; estrogen inhibits thyroid function, reducing its levels helps maintain good metabolic rate). Hormonal balance (balancing hormones responsible for weight gain by supporting the thyroid and reducing estrogen). Energy utilization (immediate effects of consuming coconut oil, such as an increased pulse rate and feeling warmer, indicate a rise in energy expenditure, which can contribute to weight loss if it leads to burning more calories than are consumed). Appetite reduction (lower calorie intake over time, might be due to the way MCTs are metabolized, which can create a sense of fullness or affect hormones that control appetite).
Carrot Salad
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Dr. Ray Peat was a biologist known for his work on energy metabolism and hormonal health. Dr. Peat’s carrot salad is a metabolic powerhouse that can detox your gut, balance hormones, improve metabolism, improve digestion, help optimize hormones, address estrogen dominance, alleviate PMS, sweep out bacterial toxins, and protect from oxidative stress and inflammation.
Ingredients: 1 large organic carrot peeled and shaved length wise, 1/2 tablespoon organic coconut oils, 1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider preferred but white works too), a pinch of sea salt.
“Raw carrots have unique fibers that bind to endotoxins, toxins from gut bacteria, and estrogen metabolites, reducing inflammation and improving liver health. By lowering reabsorbed estrogen, the salad supports a healthier estrogen-to progesterone ratio, crucial for metabolic health. The fibers help maintain regular bowel movements, lowering the risk of endotoxin buildup. Coconut oil provides antimicrobial benefits, while vinegar supports digestion by enhancing stomach acidity.”