The Love of One’s Work
The past few years have been nothing but non-stop change — for the world as a whole as well as for me as an herbalist. Though I had been practicing as an herbalist for a few years prior, last year I formally started my business: I created an LLC with the state, got insurance, started keeping better books, and the likes. I even just filed my business taxes for the first time, which in itself felt like quite an accomplishment.
In this time, I have also sat down, put pen to paper, and really identified the folks I wanted to focus on with my work as an herbalist – women experiencing persistent anxiety. So, I put myself out there, worked with some amazing clients, taught some classes. I did all this with my little baby at my side or on my lap, cooing in those early months of life, looking up at me with those big wide eyes.
As my little one has grown (she is now over a year), she has become very active + interactive. She has also awakened in me a whole bunch of deep change — personally and as an herbalist. During my pregnancy with her, I learned everything I could find about herbs + natural health during pregnancy, postpartum and the early childhood years to get ready to be able to care for my new child at home in every way possible. This learning has inspired me to want to include a new focus to my work, and I am excited to announce that my practice is now incorporating a new focus on pregnancy, postpartum and the early childhood years.
Though I am still fully enjoying my work with women who have anxiety (and am still so happy to include them, and all folks, in my practice), I feel this shift to pregnancy, postpartum and the early childhood years as a coming home of sorts as an herbalist. I feel it is the calling I have been looking to find.
My love for my work as an herbalist runs incredibly deep – it is a love for the earth and all its creatures, a genuine desire to help and offer support for healing. Through my own transformational personal experiences recently, I see that the folks at the heart of creation, the mothers, babies and young children, really need support. I know this, because as one of them, I recognize in the first year postpartum (especially) we need each other, we need community, we need the empowerment of the earth, the plants, animals, and bees to support us in maintaining new life itself. No small feat indeed!
This is all to say, I am really excited about this new course of practice, and I have some ideas brewing about how this will actually present itself in the world.
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I mentioned that I have some ideas brewing about my new practice focus: Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Early Childhood.
How I am thinking about supporting this life stage is through educational herbal groups, ones where Mamas and babies can come together to learn about how to care for their family’s health using natural methods. I imagine a garden or outdoor setting where we can gather in a small group, share and learn about herbs, learn to make herbal preparations, and discuss how to combine herbs together into practical formulations. I wanna empower the Mamas to take healthcare into their own hands!*
Are you pregnant, a new mother, or a mother of a young child? Would this sort of group be interesting to you? Please email me if you would be interested.
I am also planning to continue one-on-one support, clinical herbal sessions where I can support an individual’s personal health goals. My focus being on the childbearing time, some health goals we could work together on may be: managing morning sickness, re-building strength after birth, postpartum depression or anxiety support, time management with babies, or preconception support.
*(For basic things of course: always consult a health care professional for anything serious!!)