Honouring Your Shakti Through Navratri and Everyday Life

Navratri creates a dedicated time to honour the goddess. As a British Gujarati Hindu woman, it also gives me a reason to reflect on how I understand feminine power, and how I make room for it in my everyday life.

The phrase “feminine energy” can bring up a particular image. Perhaps a woman who seems endlessly calm, receptive and effortlessly at ease. When your own days involve work, responsibilities and decisions, it can be difficult to see yourself in that picture.

Hindu goddess traditions offer a fuller understanding. There is compassion, and there is courage. There is care, and there is the power to protect what matters. Reflecting on Shakti allows us to explore those qualities without trying to fit ourselves into one version of femininity.

What is Shakti?

Shakti is a Sanskrit word often translated as power or energy. In Hindu traditions, it refers to divine power, often understood and worshipped as the feminine creative power of the divine. Different traditions express this understanding in different ways.

For devotees, the goddess is sacred. Alongside that devotion, reflecting on the qualities associated with her can invite us to consider how we live, what we value and how we respond to our own needs.

I approach the everyday practices below as personal reflections inspired by Hindu goddess traditions. They can sit alongside worship without replacing its religious meaning.

Navratri and honouring the goddess

Navratri means nine nights. Many traditions honour the nine forms of Durga, while other observances dedicate parts of the celebration to Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Customs vary across Hindu communities and can include prayer, worship, fasting, music and dance.

In Gujarati tradition, garba is a devotional dance often performed around a lit earthen pot or an image of Maa Amba, the Mother Goddess.

That shared centre gives me a way to think about what I return to in my own life. When circumstances change and demands build, what helps me remember what matters? For you, that might be faith, your values or the relationship you are building with yourself.

Durga and the courage to have boundaries

Durga is honoured as a powerful and protective goddess. Reflecting on protection brings me to the boundaries we need in everyday life.

You might recognise when a friend is giving too much, yet struggle to pause before agreeing to another request yourself. You may worry about disappointing someone, even when you know you need time to rest.

Ask yourself what needs protecting right now. It could be an appointment you keep cancelling, time for something you care about, or an evening you need to yourself.

Then consider one action that would support it. Saying, “Let me check and get back to you,” can give you time to make an honest decision. Your needs can have a place in the conversation alongside someone else’s.

Lakshmi and making room to receive

Lakshmi is associated with prosperity and good fortune. My everyday reflection on that is about recognising what supports us and allowing ourselves to receive care.

When giving feels familiar, receiving can feel uncomfortable. You might dismiss a compliment or turn down help before considering whether you need it.

Begin with something small. Accept a compliment with a thank you. Tell a trusted friend what would help when she asks.

Receiving includes discernment. You can consider whether an offer feels respectful and whether you are comfortable with any expectations attached to it. Honouring support also means being honest about what is right for you.

Saraswati and trusting your voice

Saraswati is associated with knowledge, learning, music and the arts. Those qualities invite reflection on expression and curiosity.

What would you enjoy learning or creating if you did not need to be good at it immediately? Is there an idea you keep dismissing, or something you want to say but edit before anyone hears it?

Give yourself a manageable place to begin. Write for ten minutes, explore a subject that interests you, or share a thought without apologising for it first.

Your creativity can have a place in your life simply because you enjoy it. You can also trust your capacity to learn while remaining open to questions and new understanding.

Everyday rituals to reconnect with yourself

A ritual can be a small practice you return to with intention. Choose something that fits your actual life.

Begin the morning with a few minutes of prayer or quiet before reaching for your phone. Ask what quality you want to practise today, then choose one action that reflects it.

Make time for movement you enjoy. Put on a song and move in a way that suits your body, without needing to record it or make it look a particular way.

Bring attention to an ordinary act of care. Sit down to eat, take your shower without answering messages, or notice what you need when you feel tired.

In the evening, reflect on where you listened to yourself and where you overrode yourself. Stay curious, and recognise one choice that supported you.

If Navratri is part of your faith, these reflections can sit alongside your own family or temple practices. You can also carry them into the weeks beyond the celebration.

Ask yourself: What needs protecting? What support am I ready to receive? What do I want to express?

Choose one answer and give it a practical place in your day. Honouring your Shakti can include making room for courage, care and creativity in the way you live.