The Holistically Healthy Family: Natural Remedies for Wellness

Ready to dive into a holistic approach to health and wellness? Well, you're in the right place! Join me as we explore the incredible world of herbs and natural strategies for feeling your best.

Here’s the shocking truth for some – herbs aren't magic pills. But boy, can they be powerful allies on our wellness journey! I'm all about breaking down the misconception of quick fixes and instead, embracing a holistic view of health. That means we're digging into everything – from what we eat and how we move, to managing stress and nurturing our mental well-being.

So, if you’re ready to take a more natural approach to your family’s health, I invite you to the  'Holistically Healthy Family Summit' – a must-attend, totally free event designed especially for you, natural-minded moms! Get ready to learn all about holistic healthcare and home remedies that'll have your family feeling fantastic.

So, grab your favorite herbal tea, cozy up, and let's embark on this journey to holistic wellness together! Get registered for the summit below, and I’ll see you there!

https://holistically-healthy-family-summit.com/ 

If you've been trying to figure out the best remedies to have stocked in your natural medicine cabinet, you are in luck! I've got a free guide for you where I'm sharing the best remedies to have for all the things from colds and flu, to tummy aches, sleeplessness, and daily well-being. You can get it right here!

If you're done struggling to keep your kids healthy as cold and flu season comes about, then you are going to LOVE Oregon's Wild Harvest and their Kids Echinacea with Raspberry flavoring. I know my daughter LOVES it, in fact she asks me for it all of the time, even if she's not sick!
Be sure to get yours w/ 15% off here!

Transcript

Introduction and Personal Reflections

Hi. How are you today? I hope you are doing really, really well. It's February, it's the day after my big brother's forty-ninth birthday, which is crazy to me and totally irrelevant to you,  but really I just hope that you're doing well. I am beyond excited for February, which leads into spring, which always makes me oh.

So happy, just like I'm so happy that you are here listening to this episode. 

Understanding the Role of Herbs in Healthcare

So in today's episode, I really wanted to talk about a big, big, big topic that comes up for me on a very regular basis and is often misunderstood across the board. And it's really all about using herbs for healthcare and using them, um, successfully, right? 

I wanted to bring this up because one of the things that I hear most often as an herbalist is, Hey, Mel, what herb do I take for whatever problem you are maybe dealing with? Right. Which is understandable because  that's what we're taught to do. When we are in the Western medical system, we are taught to take a pill to fix our problems.

Right. And so one of my biggest jobs as a clinical herbalist, as an herbal educator is to help you start to think outside of that broken Western medical system box of give me the instant fix pill, because quite frankly. You may not wanna hear this, but that's not how herbs work. That's not it at all. I mean, we're all seeking these natural alternatives to the Western medical system, yet we don't wanna break out of that mindset.

Right. But when we're looking for something different from what has not satisfied us, what has not served us well, what we've all started to discover is perhaps a bit of a corrupt system. We need to start thinking differently right outside of the box. So what do I mean by this?  Number one, yes, herbs are amazing.

They can provide incredibly powerful healing, right? 

The Holistic Approach to Health

But as a clinical herbalist, my first approach is not to give you an herb for your problem. It's to discover what is the root cause of the problem. And that means we are going to look at many, many different factors. We're gonna look at what's going on in your diet. 

How often are you exercising and in what ways are you exercising? What are your stress levels like? What lifestyle scenarios might be leading to some type of illness or disease within you? Your family member or whoever you're seeking to work with? How's your mental health?  

The Role of an Herbalist

So a good quality herbalist is not just an herbalist, not just somebody that gives you herbs and says, boom, you're good to go, but it's somebody that understands how your dietary needs may be different from John or Jill or Tommy or Suzy or whoever, and help you find the right dietary guidelines for you.

And your unique specific body, maybe they'll help you discover ways that you can adapt to the various stressors that may be going on in life, or give you the support that you need to take the next step in whatever it may be that you need to heal beyond just taking the herbs. So a good herb list is going to be very well versed in nourishment and nutrition, right?

Of course we're gonna know herbs, right? We're also gonna be able to hold space for you to understand that there are so many aspects of you as a human being. You are a whole being. So a good herbalist is going to take a very holistic approach to your healthcare and help you discover what you can do.  In an evidence-based fashion in a very inclusive fashion to help you live your best and healthiest life.

The Connection Between Gut and Brain Health

Whether you are dealing with issues of mental health, of, um, gut health, right? We know our gut and our brain are connected. So when the gut is not healthy, the brain is not healthy, and when the brain is not healthy, the gut is not healthy, and so on and so forth. We know the impacts of being able to. 

Regulate stress, right? 

Stress Management Techniques

We all have stress in life. There is no avoiding it. It's about how we handle those stressful times. Are there breathing exercises you can bring into it? Can you take a walk in nature? Like, um, can you work with a therapist? Can you take time out to meditate? All of these things, right?

But all of these things may not be for you. Right. That's the other approach we take. 

Financial Considerations in Natural Healthcare

We also, as clinical herbalists, have to take into consideration your financial boundaries. 'cause a lot of that natural healthcare stuff out there is really friggin expensive. If you catch my drift, I'm sure you've seen it on store shelves and whatnot, and.

Some of it is not. Some of it you can really take into your own hands. Some of you can start like growing and making your own medicines. You can, um, trade and barter with people. Taking a walk outside is completely free. You just have to do it.  But sometimes it's understood that there may be various circumstances in life that keep you from that.

The Importance of Treating the Whole Individual

So I really just wanted to talk about this, how like real true healing that is outside of our, our Western medical system is. Is about treating you and your children or your family, all as whole, individual, unique beings. We're treating the mind, we're treating the MO body, we're treating the spirit.

The Drawbacks of the Western Medical System

Instead of just focusing on individual symptoms or individual ailments and hoping to put that masking instant fix pill on top of it to fix the problem, which by now I think more and more people are really discovering that doesn't fix the problem at all. If anything, it brings about more problems, right?

It brings along that long list of side effects that is spoken so quickly at the end of the commercial, and you know what I mean? Like you're gonna stop puking all day, but now you're gonna have diarrhea and you may be bleeding out your. Bum or whatever, you know, you catch my drift. I'll, I'll lay off on that.

Um.  So, yeah, we, we've discovered that that's not necessarily the greatest way of healing. And so we do have to look for alternatives. And in saying that, that also means it's, it's more preventative care. It is lifestyle changes, and then we bring on the herbs to support whatever else may be going on within the body.

And really it's about empowering you. To take this proactive role in your own health and really get out there and, and seek what the root cause of the illness is instead of just trying to manage your symptoms. Right? So a holistic healthcare approach is going to be very practical. It's going to be evidence-based.

There is plenty of science around this. It's also inclusive and it's recognizing that each and every one of us. Is this unique being and your health is influenced and impacted by so many different factors. It's really all about finding balance. It's about finding homeostasis or harmony in all aspects of your life to promote this level of vitality, to promote this level of longevity that is so incredibly important, right?

So I feel like I'm almost like soapboxing on this, but it, it's really so important and, and I don't know how many times I do say this, like, no, there is no one herb for you. We need to look at the whole scenario. We need to look at the whole you. What is really, really going on. And I can't give that specific herb to somebody if I haven't actually done a consultation and understand your whole health history and all of the other varying aspects that come into play.

Right.  

Holistic Healthcare for Parents

So I also just wanna touch on this concept of holistic healing as a parent, right? There is so much that goes into helping our kids thrive, right? I. It's really, really hard and it's really hard to drown out the noise that is out there. Like who do you trust? What do you believe in, what can you do that isn't gonna break the bank just to take care of your kids?

How can you support their emotional health and well-being and just really foster some, some great healthy finance family. Dynamics. 

Tips for Integrating Holistic Practices into Family Life

And so I just wanted to share a couple of tips that may be helpful for you to integrate more holistic practices into your daily family life. So I think one thing that is really important here is just mindfulness, right?

And, and present, like being able to be fully present. With our kids not scrolling while they're trying to tell us about their day, not scrolling on the phone when they're asking you questions and like actually look at them, listen to them and be attentive to their needs and hear their emotions and let them express them without having judgment.

Or being distracted by your phone or your email or your work or whatever else may be happening, and maybe teaching them some mindfulness techniques like deep breathing or maybe if you've ever heard of EFT,  emotional freedom technique, tapping.  It can be really helpful. My daughter really likes that. Um, and just, you know, finding different ways that work for them to help regulate emotions and be present.

The Importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity

I think one of the biggest things that I. Comes to mind when it comes to holistic healthcare is nutrition, right? Without being properly nourished, our bodies cannot properly function. So that means we're looking for real whole foods. Colorful foods, nutritious foods, really emphasizing the use of fresh fruits and vegetables, getting plenty of protein in the diet, and teaching your kids about the importance of nutrition.

Getting them involved in the meal planning and the preparation and the shopping and all of that kind of stuff, I think is is really, really important.  Making sure they're getting enough physical activity, making sure you are getting enough physical activity, whether that's just going outside for a walk or you know, dancing, hiking, biking, skiing, whatever it is that you enjoy doing.

Maybe it's some type of martial arts or yoga or what have you. However, we can get these kiddos moving their bodies. Maybe it's jumping up and down on a trampoline for an hour a day, like, holy hot dog, who doesn't love to giggle and play with that. Um. But yeah, body movement, super duper important. 

The Role of Herbs and Supplements in Holistic Healthcare

And then of course, we can always bring in the herbs and the supplements and more natural or holistic remedies that can for sure be incredibly helpful and lead to a lot less side effects and symptoms.

Then some of the things that may come about.  Um, from the drugstore or from the doctor's office, things along those lines. Always super duper important.  

Teaching Kids About Environmental Care

I also feel like teaching our kids about the importance of caring for the environment and just living more in tune and connection with nature is really important.

So you can do things like just. Creating habits amongst your family, like recycling, right? Like learning to turn off the lights when you leave the room, or collectively going outside to spend time in nature and observe and journal, and just do these kinds of things. I think that's really lovely to do as a family.

Maybe you need more spiritual or cultural connection within your family where you can honor and just. Celebrate the, the heritage or the spiritual beliefs of your family and create meaningful rituals and traditions that create a sense of connection, a sense of belonging in the family,  and really it's just all about. 

The Importance of Balance and Moderation

This balance of moderation in all lives, right? Because like, it's hard to do it all perfectly, right? The, the Instagram life that you see out there where these moms just do everything perfect, naturally outside and yada, yada, yada. I mean, come on. It is about balance. We are still all living in our society and nobody's perfect despite what their Instagram page looks like.

But we do need to try and balance like screen time. That's one we could really stand to ditch more, and you know, making sure that there's plenty of extracurricular activities going on. Another huge one for parents. Work-life balance. I'm horrible at it, but I am really making a conscious effort.  To give more of the life side, more of my weight than the work side.

Um, definitely something I have been slacking on and need to work on. And that's, that's great because that means that we're always constantly evolving. I'm constantly evolving and seeing what is important and recognizing that without me getting adequate rest and relaxation.  I can't be the best person that I am.

I can't be the best mom. I can't be the best herbal educator. I can't be the best podcast cast, host, and, and I wanna be the best at all of those. So it is more time for me to start just supporting and nourishing me. I, again, have really left that behind for quite a few years now, and that's not what I'm doing this year.

And I hope that you aren't also,  and okay, so. I kind of started this with that approach of like holistic healthcare, how herbs are amazing and powerful, but they are not an instant fix pill. They are not everything, and holistic healthcare is a really, really big and broad topic, and it can be so overwhelming to try and figure out who you can trust or what you need to be doing. 

But if this is something that is important to you and you want to learn more about healing your family and doing this in a natural way, in a way that is supportive of them, mind, body, soul, spirit, all of it, you as a collective familial unit. 

The Holistically Healthy Family Summit

I have something super exciting that is opening right now on February twenty-seventh through March 1st, I am hosting the Holistically Healthy Family Summit, and it is specific for natural minded moms who want to learn to heal their family's naturally.

I have brought together over twenty-six amazing experts in various fields of holistic healthcare. There are twenty-eight pre-recorded presentations coming out to you. We are gonna be playing games with some incredible prizes from the speakers that will be sharing their physical products to their knowledge products, and so much more. 

We have presentations on med free ADHD, on infant massage, on mental health for your children on oral and dental healthcare. On my goodness on you. Like how to sync your life with your menstrual cycle so you can be the best mom out there. There's stuff on nutrition and gut health and making herbal remedies with your kids and so much stuff like, like I said, there's 28 presentations in there.

Amazingly brilliant speakers. I am absolutely thrilled about the event. There is going to be a link in the show notes for the Holistically Healthy Family Summit. I certainly hope that you decide to join us. There's also going to be an herbal mocktail party that is sponsored by Wish Garden Herbs, and one of my.

Favorite herbal companies out there? We are doing a fungal, medicinal mushroom party with whole Sun Wellness, which is a woman-owned, medicinal functional medicine company. That's fantastic. She is going to teach you all about the power of mushrooms as medicine for your family. We are going to be doing a live herbal tea blending workshop sponsored by my Apothecary Mama Herbal Mentorship.

Yes. That's me sponsoring my very own event because I can, and I am beyond thrilled about this event. I've actually been working on it for over four months behind the scenes, and I just now get to start telling you about it. So again, if you really wanna learn how to heal your family and. Learn from sources that you can trust.

The Holistically Healthy Family Summit is going to be an epic party. It's gonna be a party where you're gonna win tons of prizes and learn so many incredibly valuable skills to take better care of your people. And it's gonna be an epic party that you can feel good about attending, right, because you're learning.

To take better care of your family in this natural, holistic, healing way. So definitely get yourself signed up for it. Again, it is starting February twenty-seven through March 1st. It's a completely free event. You will have forty-eight hours to watch each presentation from the day that they go live,  um, because I get mom life.

So you can have two days to check those out. E, if you want access to the thousands of dollars in bonuses, there is going to be an opportunity to grab the Natural Family Toolkit as well, which will give you ongoing access to all of those lessons. A private podcast feed, um, workbooks and transcripts and like all of the things including, including.

Amazing workshops, eBooks, courses, memberships, and things like that, that are being given out by these incredible expert presenters. So  it's amazing. It is so darn cool. I am really, really jazzed about it. This is my first time putting on a summit to this extent, and I gotta say it hasn't even started. I'm so proud of it because I've seen the presentations and when you sign up, you are gonna get mind blown as well.

It's incredible. 

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

You are incredible. I hope you appreciated this episode, and if you did, please reach out and let me know that you just at least started thinking about herbs a little differently. Instead of thinking them, of them as a, an instant fixed pill, you are more ready to look at your healthcare and your family's healthcare in a holistic way. 

And if that is you, definitely get yourself registered for this upcoming Holistically Healthy Family. Summit, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to listen to this episode.  I hope the rest of your day is amazing. Take care.