Hello and welcome to the Soul Align Podcast. I'm so excited to have you here and have a conversation
with you. How are you doing today? Thank you. I'm great and I am also very excited to be here today.
Well, I just want to get right into it because I have so many questions for you today. I
hopefully I can get to them all. But to start off, could you tell the listeners about your relationship
with plants? And maybe you can give me an idea of when that relationship, when you felt that
deeper connection and you knew you were going to be spending most of your time working in that field.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, my relationship with plants and nature generally definitely began when I was a
child. I grew up in nature. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Very, very much in the wild. We had a,
I was raised on a farm and you know, we could barely see on the horizon our nearest neighbor and
I spent, you know, all my time outdoors and really, really, really cultivated a relationship with
the natural world at that point. I also had parents who worked in medicine and health. My dad was
an anesthesiologist and my mom essentially is a functional health care practitioner still. And so
I was exposed to a lot of concepts of nutrition, nature, the body, medication, surgery, all these
things from a very young age. But I was never intent on making that my career. I thought this is
interesting. This is a big part of my life, you know, my personal life, but I want to move to New York City
and work in fashion. I want nothing to do with dirt. I want nothing to do with, you know, healthcare,
frankly. So I did that. But, you know, from the time I was very young, I was, you know, on a, on a
personal note. I was eating very, very healthy food. I was using vitamins and supplements and herbs.
I was fascinated with the human relationship with nature. I had a very kind of philosophical or
spiritual interest in that. And I was constantly studying, essentially, again, from the time I was a kid,
concepts of medicine, concepts of spirituality, the world's healing traditions, everything I could get
my hands on from Ayurveda, yoga, traditional Chinese medicine, you know, paganism, mysticism,
psychology, physics, philosophy, whatever I was just in my world on the side. And long story short,
I worked in fashion and there came a point where I realized that I had achieved the dreams that I
had for my career in fashion and that that wasn't going to be my whole life, which surprised me
because I thought it was going to be my whole life. And when that sensation occurred, I sort of opened my
perspective again to what else I might do with my future. And, you know, at that point, I was,
you know, still just personally practicing very, very heavily in all of the things that I sort of
mentioned. I was raw vegan. I was sober. I had been to Peru and, you know, experienced ayahuasca
and sand Pedro and this is over a decade ago. And the wellness world was, so the wellness industry was
just beginning to be a thing. So it was this sort of, sort of natural progression where I kind of looked,
you know, off to my writer, wherever it was and saw this industry beginning to develop and everybody
else was looking at me and they're like, oh, that's what you're doing. All of a sudden, there was context
for this sort of strange things that I was eating or my tea that I was drinking or all these,
you know, otherwise very weird to a lot of people, things that I did, you know. So I decided to
quit fashion and quit my full-time work and begin working in wellness. And, at that point,
I started working as a health coach, essentially. I never liked that term, but I didn't know how to
describe what else I did. I was creating products. They were herbal products. I was, people were asking
me to coach them on their health. So I was seeing clients. I was writing a lot. And, at that point,
I re-encountered herbalism and I realized herbalism encompasses all of these sort of, otherwise
seemingly separate studies that I'd done. It's about nutrition. It's about plants as medicine.
It's about our relationship with nature. It's about community and fitness and mental health and
everything. And I realized, oh, this is it. You know, it was like a light bulb moment. I was like, this
is the philosophy. This is the lifestyle. This is the through line that connects everything that I'm
so interested in and everything that, you know, there are so many specialists in wellness. But I
really, really do see herbalism as this holistic kind of umbrella under which there are so many
individual disciplines that we often don't realize our herbalism. So anyway, at that point, I began
studying herbalism again and much more deeply and using the title herbalist. And then I went on
to get my certification with the American herbalist, skilled. So in short, you know, I've always had a
relationship with plants, but somewhere around, you know, 10 or 12 years ago, I sort of, I saw it
again and realized what it really was. And that was the point that I became committed to
becoming an herbalist.
Well, that was, there was so many aspects of that that I just love. And I can relate to like all of
them. So I think we should be like soul friends kind of. All right, let's see what we already are in
that case. Yeah. So, but when I think of my audience, I think, yeah, there's probably a bunch of
people listening right now who are like, yes, like, you know, yeah, all those things. And then there's
a few who are like, what is she talking about? Like weird and stuff like that. Some people think that
I might be weird myself, you know, and because I'm into like all those same types of things.
So I guess my question would be, what would you like the audience? Because this is a self-care
podcast. And I want to start getting into talking about herbalism a little more, but what would you
like them to take away today? And also like on another side of that question, what do you think most
people get wrong when they're trying to understand herbalism or using herbalism and their everyday lives?
Yeah. I would love people, first of all, in terms of the takeaway, I would love people to know that
herbalism is probably what you've been looking for and not realized, you know, that it was what you
were looking for. herbalism is about optimizing our health and our entire lives naturally. It is,
it is not just plants as medicine. It is really an option for any aspect of our life
that we're trying to improve life or health, inclusive, that we're trying to improve from, you know,
naturally, that's herbalism. That's what I would like people to know. The other thing that I like to
say, which is the first line in my book, naturally, we are all herbalists, whether we know it or not,
we're probably practicing herbalism already. And if we're not, we are one half of a step away from
doing so. If we have coffee or tea, if we use essential oils or incense, if we cook with spices,
any of these things, if we bathe with plants, any of these, these, this is herbalism. So it doesn't
require going, you know, to school, it doesn't require getting an official education. It can be very,
very, very easy to access. So we are all herbalists and we have all been herbalists as long as our
species has existed. Herbalism used to be a way of life, you know, and I really, really, really hope,
and my intention with this book is to show how, well, how natural it is, you know, anytime I introduce
people to herbalism. I said this yesterday, I have never introduced somebody to herbalism and had
them understand it and say, "No, that's not for me." Everyone says, "Oh, that makes so much sense."
"Oh, I get it." "Oh, of course, that's what I've been doing." Or that's what my grandma was doing,
or my aunt or my uncle, or that's what, that's, that sounds right. That's what I need to do. That's
what I want to do. It is just so, it is so natural for us. So those are, those are some takeaways.
And in terms of misconceptions, you know, I touched on a couple, but I think common misconceptions
about herbalism include, you know, the idea that it is outdated, that it is something kind of fringe,
or esoteric, or irrelevant for modern life, that it's not effective, that it's not been proven by
science, and that it's not safe. And all of those, I really, I address in the book and I address on
a regular basis because they're understandable, but they're misconceptions, you know. Herbalism is
so relevant for modern life. It's never been more, it's never been more relevant. It's what we really,
really, really do need now, and we need more of in the future. There's tons of science that supports
the efficacy of all these plants. There's also thousands of years of use and practice. People
around the world, you know, 80% of the world's population uses herbalism as a primary or supplemental
form of healthcare today. And it is generally very, very safe. It's generally much more safe than the
medications that we consider to be very safe over the counter or prescription. So again, there's
more, there's much more detail to all of those points, but I really like to try to clarify those
because this is a friendly, safe, natural option for improving our health. Yeah, I think that,
that's very, very well said. I think that once people start understanding exactly what herbalism is,
they're definitely, they understand it better when someone explains it to them exactly how you
explained it. Would you say, well, you mentioned that some people are already practicing herbalism.
They're already doing these things in their life. And so what are besides coffee and tea, what are
some of the other ways that people do this, not even realizing it? And also how, how can somebody
start using herbs in their life, informing these relationships with these plants as like a newbie,
you know, just getting, you know, what are some ways that they could infuse this into their life for
their health? Yeah, definitely. I mean, what I've mentioned were some of the most common examples.
You know, when we're eating a plant, doesn't have to be entirely plant-based, but when we're eating,
you know, plant-based foods, that's an example of herbalism. When we're eating healthy foods,
that's an example of herbalism. You know, any herbalist will start with nutrition and sleep and
movement and all of these foundational pillars of health when recommending something to a client.
Any kind of engagement that we have with the natural world and then feel better as a result,
that's herbalism. You know, it may be getting sunlight on our face first thing in the morning.
It may be seeing dark, you know, in the evening. It may be going out and touching grass. It doesn't require
us to grow our own herbs or make our own tinctures or, you know, do anything complicated, you know,
and I really like to, I really pull that all the way through the book because I like to make sure people
know that you don't have to be any kind of professional to work with this. So, you know, in one of the
most common ways that people begin with herbalism is to start drinking more tea and explore the world
of herbs in tea form and that can be ordering it from the coffee shop where you normally get a coffee
or a matcha that can be buying tea at the grocery store and just making a ritual out of it, you know,
maybe paying more attention to what the ingredients are in that tea and then maybe we go to, you know,
the farmer's market or health food store or an herb shop and pick out our own herbs or ask them what they
think would be great for sleep and then we start making that blend and we feel how we feel and we sort
of see, oh, look, there was lemon balm in that tea that I bought at the coffee shop. There's lemon balm
in this sleep blend. Hmm, what's lemon balm about? Maybe I want a lemon balm tincture. Maybe I want to
find lemon balm at the farmer's market and see what it looks like in whole plant form. Maybe I want,
you know, an essential oil or something like that. So just one tiny step at a time but with all
changes, I always recommend that people just take one step and stick with that, make it a habit and
don't add anything new until that step has been integrated. Learn one plant at a time or one blend
at a time and if somebody doesn't like tea, you can use capsules, you know, we don't even have to be
brewing tea. You can buy some great herbal blend, take it in the morning with your probiotics or
your multivitamin and that is your first step, you know, to practicing arpeggio. It's really, it can
be really, really simple or, you know, pick up a book and learn a little bit more. Yeah, exactly.
You'll find what resonates. Yeah. So I find that when I actually work with the plants, I
understand them better. So like when I grow them and harvest them and dry them sometimes and use them
that way, I create these relationships where I understand the plant better. You know, most of the
plants that I grow are for stress and anxiety and those types. So it's like, my garden is, and it
wasn't like intentional. It wasn't like, oh, I'm going to plant this herb garden. I was like, oh,
I like that. Let me grow that, you know, that's how it happens. So it was like lemon balm, lavender,
holy basil, um, camomile. I have some rosemary in my garden. I have a lot of different things and I've
made teas out of them and I love doing that. And I think that when I pick the flowers, I just feel
like I have a closer relationship with them and it means so much more to me. I'm talking about
rituals when I have that tea. And I have that tea all winter that I grew myself. I think that
it just seems so much more powerful. But talking about like stress and anxiety and overwhelm,
the world is very heavy right now. And I feel like there's a lot of people right now that could use,
you know, some remedies for stress, anxiety and overwhelm. So what are some of the herbs that we can
use to help us with those things? Yeah, definitely. I mean, and firstly, I just have to say, I love,
yeah, love that you grow your own herbs. And that is, that is the absolute best way to cultivate a
relationship with these plants to see them in live form or bring them to life. How beautiful.
Yeah, in terms of stress and anxiety. So I, um, in naturally actually split those on into two
separate chapters, because I think in my work, I've found it to be very important to help people
understand the difference between stress, anxiety and busyness. And one of the beautiful things about
herbalism is this very, very personalized and it's very specific. So if we are feeling stress,
you know, we can ask ourselves even more questions about that stress before we treat it.
How does it feel? How is it showing up in my body? How is it affecting my life? Because the way I
experience stress is going to be so different from the way you experience stress. We're going to need
different supports for that, right? And in herbalism, there are two categories of herbs that are
particularly well suited to treat stress and or anxiety. So one is nerve-ines, many of which you mentioned,
nerve-ine herbs are herbs that support the health of the nervous system. They tend to be gently calming
or they range all the way to being sedative. And those provide very specific relief and can be
kind of a light touch like lavender, lemon balm, or they can be a heavier sedative for sleep or
treating panic attacks, for example. And that'll be something like hops, valerian, california, poppy.
And those, so again, I mentioned that they're specific and that's an important point because
most herbs are specific. We have a specific function in the body, you know, they're a
nerve-ine, they create relaxation or they heal the nerves. They're an anti-depressant, they lift the
mood, like St. John's Ward or Rodeola. But the next category of herbs that's very helpful for stress
is non-specific by definition and that is adaptogens. And adaptogenic herbs work in a general way
in the body to help improve our resilience. So we respond better to stressors when they occur
and we recover more quickly on the other side. They tend to work through the HPA axis in the brain,
which is the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis. And again, they're non-specific, so they're
generalized in their action and they're normalizing. So they're not a sedative, they're not,
you know, acutely calming. They are making us more resilient overall and they tend to work
over time, four to six weeks, really, of daily use to reach full efficacy. Examples of adaptogens would
be ashwaganda, ginseng, Rodeola, cordiceps, licorice, plants like that. There are not a lot of herbs
that are adaptogens and that term is very popular right now. I'm sure we've all heard it. But it has
a very specific definition and a very specific set of plants that fit within it. So when treating stress
and anxiety, it could be very beneficial to take an adaptogenic blend on a daily basis to build that
foundational resilience and then use the nerve lines as needed to help calm the nervous system
before or after a stressful meeting, for example, or before bed, for example, these sorts of things.
Yeah. Yeah. So a question that I have about the adaptogens, so you know, it builds up until you get
like full efficacy, right? So you said four to six weeks, I think you said. Typically, yeah. Okay. Is it okay
to like continuously take them or is there a certain point where you should give your body a rest?
And which I was able to try to keep going with them. Yeah, great question, very common question. There's
a lot of talk about cycling right now. So generally, we don't need to give our body a rest from herbs.
If we're taking something really, really strong, maybe we're doing a cleanse or we're sick and
we're taking something really potent, like, I don't know, a regular oil. It's not that's not even that
potent, but it's an example of a pretty potent plant. Those we don't need to take, you know, all the time,
but for example, if we're using an adaptogenic blend that contains ashwaganda, for example,
we can use that as long as we want. There's no, there's no advice to cycle herbs, meaning there's no
advice in the herbal community. It's something that's come a little bit more on the outside.
To cycle herbs, however, I believe that it's always a good idea for us to take a break from things
and check in. You know, if we are drinking coffee every day for five years or 10 years or 15 years,
or whatever, whatever whole lives, maybe, you know, we take a break or, for example, you know,
we're taking a vitamin or a supplement or we're, I mean, gosh, if we're eating the same foods,
we should definitely, you know, switch those around. That's just good advice in general, but,
you know, my favorite response to that comes from one of my teachers, David Winston, and he said,
you know, we know we need to eat vegetables to become more healthy, right? So we eat vegetables,
maybe we lose a little weight, we feel better and we're like, healthy or now. Do we stop eating vegetables?
Yeah, that's a good, I love that response. That's a perfect way to say it. Yeah, everybody can understand that.
Yeah, keep using the herbs, but you know, it's like sometimes, you know, we might use them long enough
that our nervous systems are rehabilitated to the point that we don't need them. And so what I would
say is, okay, fine, stop taking the adeptogenic blend, but like find some other herbs to take,
because they're so beneficial, like if we can take them, we should. Yeah. Well, let's talk about your book.
Tell me a little bit about your book, who the book is for, and what we can find inside of there.
Yeah, definitely. So my book is naturally the herbalist guide to health and transformation,
and I put everything in that book, everything I have, everything I know, everything I've learned,
it is for anyone who is interested in natural health. You don't have to be interested in
herbalism specifically. You can be interested in herbalism specifically. It includes everything
you need to know to understand herbalism well, to understand natural health well, to begin practicing.
There are case studies from all my, not all of my sorry, from some of my clients.
So you get to see the very specific formulas that I gave people and how I coached people to
better health. And each chapter of the book is dedicated to a category of herbs, because that's
a very easy way to understand herbalism. So there's a chapter on nerve vines and the nervous system.
So you learn about the nervous system, you learn about nerve-ine plants, you learn how to use them,
and you understand all the other ways as well, that we can have better nervous system health.
There's a chapter on stress, detoxification, energy, retreating, pleasure and aphrodisiacs,
sleep, pain, and the last chapter is on transformation and just these sort of bigger life changes that are
possible with nature, with herbalism. I also have recipes in the back and I have a very useful
herb use table that allows people to just kind of pop in and say, "Okay, lemon balm, what's the best
form? How much should I take and are there any special notes to know about it?"
"Aushwaganda." So you can quick reference like, "Oh, an ashwaganda goes well with
Rodeola and Cordisaps." Okay, great. So that table, that table to me is very valuable. I've never seen
anything like that in the herbal world and I think it needed to exist. So it's in there.
And the book is a combination of poetry, science, philosophy, practical, you know, advice and
really, really, it's comprehensive. It's really one for ever.
Sounds wonderful. It sounds absolutely wonderful. I can't wait to dive in. I'm waiting for it to
come right now. Yeah. It live on the top of a mountain and I don't know. It's like they take forever to
deliver up here like I'm in some other planet or something. Everybody gets next day delivery. I get
like, "Okay, it'll be there seven to ten days." Sometimes. I'm eventually, yeah, that's like
in Costa Rica. I actually don't have an address. My mom is like, "Wait, what? How do I send you a
birthday card?" I said, "I don't know. There's just no addresses here." That's kind of nice in some ways.
I guess that. So I have a question about that. So you have two home bases. One is in New York City
and experience living in New York City and one is in Costa Rica. Two completely different experiences.
Now my question is when in New York City and to all the people who live in cities all over the place,
how did you and what would you recommend to other people to connect with nature? Because I feel like
you have to be a little more intentional about it when you're living in a place like New York. Now,
I'm aware there's a lot of parks in New York, but like how, what are some of the ways that you did
this for yourself when you're in New York City? Yeah, yeah. It's a great question. I mean, I can't count
the number of times that I've been asked why in the world I live in New York City has an herbal
list or a plant present that they're like, "What are you doing here?" But obviously I came here for
different reasons. So that said, I have always found ways to remain connected with the natural world
here. And I was actually just writing about this topic yesterday and some of the examples that I
was listing for how to do so include filling our home with plants. It can be fresh plants. It can be
dried plants. It can be plants as art. It can be essential oils. It can be incense. It can be
any kind of botanical element. I mean, looking around my desk and I'm like, my hand lotion is made
from plants. My perfume is made from plants. I have essential oil here. I've incense here. I'm,
you know, I always look out my window and I can see one tree. It's not great. It's one, but it's still green.
And you know, I do that often. We can learn to identify some of the plants that grow in the area
locally. We can walk down the sidewalk and there's a weed growing through the sidewalk, but we realize
that that weed is muggwort and muggwort is medicinal. You know, it's plantain. It's chikari. It's, you
know, one of these things. There are communities, if we're interested in that, there are always communities
of other plant, plant people. So we can find those. Maybe see if there's a local forager or a health
food store or an herb shop or a farmer's market where there are people who are urbanites, but who are
still interested in the plant world. We can cook with plants, you know, we can be making tea, we can
be infusing them into our meals. And often we're already doing that, but we may not realize it, you know,
and so just that act of realizing like, oh, I mean, maybe like if you like basil or cilantro or parsley
or thyme or regular or any of these things and you already cook with it, may take a moment
and learn about the benefits of that plant. And then the next time you use it in your food,
you'll realize that you're ingesting something functional and medicinal, you know, blueberries are
considered an herb. And there's so many that are already in our diet. And then I think, you know,
once we begin to just start to see, I think often it's a matter of just seeing what's already there
in terms of plants that surround us. That kind of opens our eyes and we start to realize how much more
we could surround ourselves with the natural world. I mean, coming from fashion, even our clothes can
be made from botanical material, you know, if we choose them intentionally and that sort of thing,
plant died or, you know, hemp fabrics or these different things. So there's a lot of, there are a lot
of options. And then yes, of course, I mean, get outside at every possible opportunity. I take a lot of
walks, you know, I'm often discouraged by the lack of nature here, but that doesn't stop me from
running and cycling and walking and sitting in a park and just trying to look up instead of down on
a regular basis. That's a good point. Look up instead of down. Yeah. You have to be intentional sometimes.
Now let's go down south and go down to Costa Rica and tell me about, I'm not sure how long you've
been doing that, but tell me about some of the beautiful things that you've learned and experienced
and have got to work with like hands on that maybe you haven't experienced in the Pacific Northwest
or the Northeast and the United States. Yeah. I mean, it's funny you ask me that and I almost feel
tearful because it's been such a beautiful, beautiful home for me. Well, you just, your face, your
whole body just lit up by the way. It's very, very moving. I mean, I, I've traveled a lot and I,
I never, I didn't travel to Costa Rica because I had an idea of what it was like that was,
I thought it was not something I was looking for and long story short, I felt, I fell in love with
that place like it was a person. It was so, so, so thorough and it changed my life and it is
the right place for me at least for right now. And I mean, in that environment, the the amount of
things that I've learned in the last year and a half or two years is astounding. I mean, I'm speechless
now trying to, you know, I'm like, this is my next book because it's just, it's gonna say that.
It is, it is. It's been profound, you know, and I think that happens when people find their place or
they find their people, you know, you just, it's like, it change, it can change overnight, you know.
And, you know, I, I'm, I'll try to summarize it. I'm bathed in nature there all day, every day.
Barefoot in the ocean, I'm surfing, I'm on the beach, I'm in the jungle, I'm planting trees,
I'm eating the most fresh, you know, local food, all the time, fish that was caught that day, you know,
tropical fruit, whatever, it's just, it's, it's beautiful thing. And there's also a lot in the
community there that I appreciate. There are a lot of philosophies about health. I mean, it's a
blue zone. So you're around people who've grown up with generations of people who have lived, you
know, the longest of anyone in the world. And their philosophy about health and their philosophy
about life and their philosophy about work and pleasure and balance and play and all these
different things is very, very different than what we have in the US. So I'm just fascinated to
sit and absorb the local's perspective on life. There's, there's a lot there that I've, that I've
learned, yeah. And, you know, and then the, the contrast of that to New York has been, I mean,
it's obvious, but it's also been really, really educational because it removed me so thoroughly
from this environment that it really gave me the opportunity to reflect back on the life that I
have here and see it in a different way. And even though I'd traveled and gained some, you know,
degree of perspective, I think the gift of being fully removed from your life and being able to see it,
you know, fully from the outside and then sort of choose what aspects of it you want to continue. I
mean, I said it, it's a gift. So that's been really, really, um, edifying. It's been challenging, but
it's been, yeah, yeah. So that's on a, Costa Rica is definitely on my travel list. And I've been wanting
to go there for a long time and, you know, just like increase that a little bit. So I'm excited, I'm
excited for your next book. I haven't even read this one yet. I can't wait to read it and
fight it for the next one. I, I think that you said it very beautifully. And I like how you
mentioned the blue zones and, yeah, because that is a big part of our health. And for people who
aren't familiar with the blue zones, it's all these different places all over the world where people
live into like their, their hundreds and whether they're, their lip, they're not just alive, but they're
living healthy, functional, beautiful lives. And what I like about the blue zones is that these areas
are so different. They're eating food, but there are these common things. So if you're interested in that,
just look it up. It's very easy to find, but I love how you mentioned that because community is a
big part of that. And there is community in New York City. I've seen beautiful communities in New York
City. And so that would be definitely a common denominator for health, if you're, yeah,
looking to support your health. Now I want to like totally switch the subject right now.
There's a lot of women that listen to the podcast that are middle-aged women who are experiencing
parry menopause and menopause, including myself. And I was wondering if you had some maybe
wonderful advice, how women could support their systems going into this. So not just like when they
get into it and they're in the thick of it and they're just like, oh my god, what do I do? But you know,
kind of before they get there to support themselves on that path. Yeah, definitely. That's a lot of my
community as well as I definitely understand. I mean, I'll share some of the greatest herbs for
women and a couple of other pieces of advice that I've found to be really effective and always
always recommend. The first one sounds a bit basic, but I promise it's worthwhile. And that is
fiber. So the more fiber we can eat, I know, I've been talking about fiber for ever. People are
like, this is so boring, but it's really, really, I mean, this is life changing. And that's like,
this is the glucose goddess, you know, and blessed her. Her message is great, but it's like stable
blood sugar is a beautiful, beautiful thing. And we all feel so much better. We have stable blood
sugar. And fiber is a huge aspect of that protein and fat, of course, are also important, but most
people are not eating enough fiber. And when we do that, yes, it stabilizes blood sugar, but it also
improves our digestion and motility, our elimination, and the benefit of that is it's improving our
detoxification processes. And the benefit of that is that our detoxification process is what's
balancing out our hormones. So fiber equals better lots of things. But I would say that's, I mean,
that's actually recommendation number one in general for most people, but especially for supporting
hormone balance in addition, of course, to all the other sort of health pillars eating well,
getting them sleep, balancing, stress, these kinds of things. Along the same lines, I recommend
milk fissile, which is a liver supportive herb. And I take that one every single day, even though
I don't drink alcohol, and I recommend it to most people, because especially women, especially
women of this age, again, because the liver is so important in detoxifying our hormones and helping
with that balance. So it's often overlooked. We're thinking about, you know, what's an herb I can take
to adjust my estrogen level or my progesterone level or to help me with this symptom that I have
of imbalanced hormones. But the more we can think of the root, you know, root cause level, the better
and the liver is really important for hormone balance. So milk fissile as well. Now there are a few herbs
that are really helpful for women of all ages, but especially women who are going through hormonal changes.
So can be puberty, it can be getting on or off of birth control, and it can be menopause peri,
menopause post any any kind of transition, even after birth in these sorts of things.
And those herbs are vitaxe. So these are usually in a blend together.
Vitex, otherwise known as chastetree berry, is a beautiful herb that helps to regulate hormones by
supporting the pituitary gland and levels of LH. It's really, really helpful for anyone with irregular
cycles or PMS symptoms, also symptoms of estrogen dominance, mood swings, breast tenderness, irregular
periods, like I mentioned, and during peri menopause. Black cohosh, classic classic, these two are often
together, informulas, and it's really recommended to find a blend that contains multiple of these herbs.
Black cohosh helps to modulate estrogen levels, really helpful for hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings,
vaso motor symptoms, so that's like hot flashes irritability insomnia.
Sounds like the match pill there. It's great, those two are really, really good. I take them both,
I've taken the vitaxe for years. Vitex is one that, you know, I can't, I mean, anybody any woman I've
ever given it to has come back and said, wow, wow, thank you, you know, not thank me, thank you, the
vitaxe is really incredible. Don Quay is another classic. You often find, again, this is often a blend,
more of a T-C-M herb used to help balance hormones, regulate periods, treat fatigue, I would say,
and then it kind of depends. So for example, if somebody is having trouble sleeping,
we might work with some of the sedative herbs, or maybe ashwaganda, to help balance cortisol levels,
or if somebody is having low mood, then maybe we include St. John's word or rodeola, rodeola can be
really helpful for improving mood, but also balancing or improving our resilience to stress.
It's kind of an anti-depressant herb that is also an adaptogen. Another that I really like is
Shodavari, and Shodavari is great for dryness. So that's such a common experience during menopause.
Shodavari helps to improve, like, mucus membranes, you know, sort of mucus production, it's not,
it's not going to make you feel sort of mucusy, but it improves, like, hydration and dry, you know,
dry areas, great for libido, hormone fluctuations in general. Red clover,
is often used, not so much during menopause, but a bit more prior. Red clover is a really nice
nutritive herb for women in general, contains phytoestrogens, which sounds like plant estrogens,
it's not actually estrogen, but it can bind to some of the same receptor sites and help to normalize
hormone balance overall. We think if there's anything else,
liquorice, yeah, go ahead. We'll go back to liquorice, but yeah, you said a Tcm herb, I just
want you to like clarify to people what you meant by that. Yes, of course. So we were talking about
Dong Guai, and I said Tcm, so that's traditional Chinese medicine, and, you know, the beauty of
herbalism today is that I, for example, as an herbalist can work with herbs from all over the world.
I can use Chinese, you know, quote unquote Chinese herbs because they might not even come from China
anymore, but like, originally used in traditional Chinese medicine, you know, I can use Chinese herbs,
I can use herbs from Ayurveda, I can use Western herbs, I can use Indian herbs, I can use African
herbs, I can use whatever I want. And, but I like to sort of call that out because, you know, for
example, traditional Chinese medicine is one of those specialties, if you will, beneath the
global umbrella of herbalism. So Tcm is herbalism. It is just an art and a science that's one of the
oldest in herbalism that works exclusively with Chinese herbs or herbs that historically have been
used by indigenous, you know Chinese people, and you have the same with Ayurveda, for example, in
Ayurveda. And Tcm also have these other concepts that we don't necessarily work with in Western medicine,
or Western herbalism, we can as well. So, you know, I'm sure your readers are familiar with Ayurveda
and dohas, you know, have these different dohas and there's yoga and there's all these different things,
whereas in traditional Chinese medicine, there are concepts of Yin and Yang and different energies
and meridians and they have different ideas about organs in the body. So, it's a beautiful time
because we have access to all these different philosophies and, you know, specialties, but some people
also choose to work exclusively in that, you know, division, if you will. And yes, thank you for clarifying
that. Now, I interrupt to do in the middle of licorice, the back to licorice. Ah, licorice is such a
great herb. A lot of people don't love licorice because they either don't like the flavor of it or it can
be a bit to energizing, but it's really, really, really, it's one of the most common herbs in herbalism,
I think. You see it in so many formulas, definitely in traditional Chinese medicine formulas, also,
also Western. And that is because it is, it has a few different functions. So, one function is it's
included in blends often because it has a kind of, it acts a little bit like a catalyst or a bioenhancer,
which is something that improves the absorbability or the function, if you will, of the rest of the
herbs in that formula. So, licorice will be this kind of, it's like you have your whole herbal formula,
and then you add licorice and the whole thing kind of lights up. It's like it creates synergy, it
makes it work better. It's kind of like when you have turmeric and you add black pepper, you know,
okay? You're like, you know, ding, now we have synergy, now the curcumin is absorbable, now the
thing works better. So, licorice is often used that way in formulas. It's also an adaptogen,
it helps to, I guess the way to describe it is it helps to sort of, I like to say that it makes our
cortisol usage more effective. So, it's like we produce cortisol and then licorice allows us to sort
of use it longer. It's a really interesting action. So, yeah, it can be helpful for energy, but again,
some people, you know, some people maybe with hard issues or these sorts of things, it can be
not ideal for them. There's also licorice that is de-glycerized, which means it has the kind of the
active compound removed. And then it just works as a great gut health, kind of a, you know, slippery,
slimy, smooth gut health herb. But licorice is great for women, you know, who are going through
metapause or parimenopause and you'll often see it in a blend with vitex, black hohosh,
don't cry, shot of R.E. Something like that. Interesting. I did not know that licorice was an adaptogen.
I didn't know that. I like licorice sometimes. So, I'm not a big fan of like that licorice flavor.
Like eating like straight black licorice or like a black jelly bean. I get so pissed off if I get a
book, you know. But like when you have a look at a machine in a tea or something like that, I kind of
like it because it's way more milder and it kind of has a sweetness. But I never, I never like look
to it as like beneficial in you. So that's really, that's cool. That's really cool to learn.
Yeah, that was, that's a lot of, thank you. That was a lot of helpful,
for like like very selfishly for myself, but like with pleasure. Also for the audience.
Now, I guess, good question. And you probably hear this a lot. You're probably bored of this question. But
we're going into the winter season and we have cold and flu and all those things. What are some
of the things that we could, you know, start adding into our, you know, our lifestyle right now,
to help us with, to help our immune system to support our immune system, build it up.
Yeah, definitely. I mean, my favorites are very easy to work with. Garlic and ginger.
Oh, really, yeah, yeah, really effective, right? Yeah.
I actually, I came home on a red eye a couple days ago and I caught a cold on the plane and I mean
sleeping for zero hours, definitely didn't help. And I ate so much garlic the following day and a half
and the cold was gone in two days, I think, something like maybe less, very, very quick.
Garlic is great, preventatively. It's like one of those things I just recommend people work in.
Put it in salad dressings, cook with it, like put it, I put it in guacamole when I'm in Costa Rica.
Just like the avocado was like a vehicle for me to, you know, ingest more garlic, but it's really,
really effective for the entire cold and flu season, ginger as well. Functional mushrooms are
an excellent immune herb. So, and I recommend a blend when you're working with functional mushrooms,
just try to find a blend that has seven to eleven mushrooms in it, shataki, mytaki,
rasi, cortisaps, lion's mane, tremella, what, you know, there's so many, but a blend is nice,
it's just sort of a greedy way to get a lot of mushrooms. And mushrooms help to regulate the
function of the immune system. So, it's a, again, kind of like adaptions, they have a normalizing
action. So, they ensure that the immune system is functioning well, but not over reacting,
and that can be important, especially in this day and age when we have so many autoimmune
conditions where people's immune systems are overactive. So, I love that as a blend. I mean,
vitamin D, not an herb, but that's very important for immunity. And then if we're actually sick,
we can use things like echinacea, elderberry, oregano, those are various, oregano is very strong. So,
I was definitely, you know, doing all of that at the same time as well for my little cold.
Elderberry is great preventatively as well. Some of those herbs like echinacea, you know, we can
just save until we are sick and use them to help get over it. Yeah, those are so, and my favorite,
which people don't love, but eat as little sugar as possible. Like, nice. I know. Sugar is so bad for
us, but it's so delicious. And especially when we're sick or if we're on the verge, it can be a huge
difference. Yeah. People always get frustrated when they say that. It's such a bummer, but you could,
once you detox yourself from sugar, which is really difficult, things that wouldn't normally be sweet
start tasting sweet. Exactly. It'd be surprised like a lemon could be sweet. And especially a lime
could be very sweet actually. And that's what I noticed at least, but I am like a sugar whore. Like,
I just like, I go back into it. And then I'm like, okay, all right, Tina, calm down. Like, you got to
hop and then I'll go completely off of it. And then I'm like, oh, this is so much better. And then,
you know, I don't know, you have something that's just like lights your brain up and then you're like,
okay, here we go again. Well, that's exactly what it's doing. It's lighting your brain. I brains up.
It's a, yeah, it's a, it has a drug action. And there are so many, you know, options today that are
designed to do that, you know. But, yeah, if we're sick, if we can abstain, it's really, really helpful.
Stay really warm, lots of spicy foods, scarves and things. Try like to try to sweat it out.
possible. Well, thank you so much. I want to respect your time. But before we get going, I always
ask people to, if you feel comfortable to share something with the listeners about yourself that
has nothing to do with this part of your life, maybe something, a hobby or just something about you
that maybe you haven't shared before. Oh, wow, that's so interesting. What can I share? I feel like
people know so much about me. I know, right? So true. Well, I mean, this is top of mind. My hypnotherapist
friend always says, first thought best thought. So, we'll go with this. I just got back from three weeks
in Brazil. And I'd never been to Brazil before. I had a friend who was traveling through South America
and they were like, come, it was my birthday. I managed to get away in the middle of the promotion,
which was crazy, but so helpful. My nervous system really needed it. And it was such a beautiful,
such a beautiful trip. And I learned, so something that I've learned in Costa Rica is, you know,
they've a very different relationship to time. And it's very common for Costa Rican's to not think
very far ahead. They live in the present moment. So they're not thinking about tomorrow even. And
of course, you know, for me, I'm thinking for all of us, you know, we're thinking months in advance,
years in advance sometimes. So I went on this trip with no plans other than that I would be there
for three weeks. And then we would be traveling around. And it all worked out really well. And it
was the first time I'd ever traveled in such a spontaneous way before. And I found that to be
most of the time very fun. And again, very like, I love to learn things, right? So I was like,
learning about my relationship. So like, we're going to plan where we're going tomorrow, like,
tonight, you know? Yeah. And yeah, and I loved that. So ended up seeing São Paulo, Rio,
Salvador area, hiking in Chapada, Diamantina, lots of traveling around. And yeah, just kind of
going with the flow, I only took a backpack. I can't remember the last time I traveled. We went back back.
So wait, am I really doing this again? But I did. And it was, it was wonderful. So yeah, I share all that.
And maybe, maybe the teacher in me wants to just offer like, you know, the benefit of us doing
new things, doing things that are uncomfortable, doing things that feel, you know, just unfamiliar.
It's so great for self-awareness and growing ourselves, you know, learn more about ourselves
and about the world. And then more opportunities open up to us in the future because we realize,
you know, we're capable of being different. So that's my share. I love that. That's beautiful.
It's very true. Like, a quick story for you. When I first started doing the podcast, I was terrified
to have guests on because I didn't know what I was doing. Like I just really went to it. And I was afraid
that I would look unprofessional. And I put it off for a really, really long time. And then I was like,
oh, I have to do this. And I can't tell you the, the reward on the other side of that, you know,
doing it for a couple of years now. And I'm like, I can't, like, the coolest people I get to me and talk to
you. Yeah. It's just, it's been amazing. So yeah, that, that little bit of discomfort is so worth it
when you see what's on the other side, the gifts that you get when you grow. And just beautiful. I
love that. And also I love what you said about living in the present moment. It's so important.
It's so difficult for us to do, especially when we're kind of like programmed not to do that. So
it's going against, we read a little bit. Yes, it is. Yeah. So where can people find you? Where,
where do you hang out? Where can they connect with you? They can find me on the internet. I can be
otherwise difficult to find in the real world. But well, that's what I mean. I don't want people
hunting you down. My website is rochelle robinet.com. And everything is there. My book is there.
Our newsletter is there. That's a great place for people to sign up for a newsletter that is
full of herbalism information and many other things. And I am also on Instagram @RachelleRobinet.
Great. I put all of this stuff in the show notes. I just signed up for your newsletter today.
So I'm excited about that. Thank you so much for coming on. Sharing your wisdom. It's been so
nice chatting with you. And I would love to have you on again when you write that next book. And
thank you. You could have a conversation about Costa Rica. So thank you so much. Yes. Thank you
for having me. This is wonderful.
Okay.
