This week I’m chatting with Tonya Papanikolov, the founder of Rainbo. Rainbo is a medicinal mushroom based line of supplements and functional foods whose mission is to optimize health and open minds with medicinal mushrooms. They believe that plants, food and fungi are medicine for the body, mind and consciousness.
Read MoreThis week I’m speaking with Angelo Grinceri, a functional wellness practitioner, eco grower and coach. I’ve known Angelo for about five years and it’s been a joy to watch his life unfold with all of the unexpected twists and turns of a meandering stream. In the process of living so close to the land and observing nature through tracking wildlife, Angelo re-discovered himself and what truly mattered.
Read MoreThis week, I’m speaking with Courtney Lanctot founder of The Unpopular Black, whose mission is to encourage Black adventure beyond the stereotypes and narratives of what Black people ‘don’t do.” The goal of her company is to “show a real representation of Black people adventuring and provide information on how to access outdoor spaces and adventure activities that have been white facing/focused for far too long.”
Read MoreToday’s episode is the final part of a series of conversations with my ayurvedic teacher Dr. Bhaswati. If you haven’t listened to our first two conversations, I’d go back and listen to those before you tune into this conversation, so you’ll have the proper context. As many of you already know, Dr. Bhaswati is so incredible. I’ve been studying with her at the Dinacharya Institute through the Dinacharya master classes for about four years now.
Read MoreThis week I am so excited to welcome back Our Nature’s first repeat guest, my Ayurvedic teacher Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya to focus on the elements of Dinacharya, which is the sanskrit word for the concept of looking at the cycles of nature and basing daily routines around these cycles to maintain optimum health. Dr. Bhaswati is one of my absolute favorite people to speak with and I hope you’ll use the wisdom she shares to align your routines with cycles of nature. Even the smallest shifts will change your life.
Read MoreThis week, I’m speaking with Kristina Headrick of Yia Mas, a lifestyle brand and workshop series inspired by the traditions of wellness and self inquiry embedded in Hellenic culture. Yia Mas’ aim is to “elevate alternative perspectives of Greek culture beyond the mainstream.” Kristina is a Greek American who became fascinated with exploring new and more modern ways to present Greek folk remedies and ancient traditions. Through Yia Mas, she hosts workshops focusing on topics such as: Greek herbs and remedies for wellness or Greek dance gatherings.
Read MoreThis week, I’m speaking with Doniga Markegard, a wildlife tracker turned regenerative rancher. In her memoir, Dawn Again, Doniga shares the incredible story of how a near death experience as a teenager changed the course of her life, setting her on a new path, back to nature and reclaiming her wildness. From a young age, Doniga was steeped in indigenous wisdom and eventually adopted by an indigenous elder Gilbert Walking Bull. Today, she operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed with her husband Erik, which is a regenerative cattle ranch that produces certified grass-fed and grass finished beef and lamb, and pasture raised chicken and pork.
Read MoreThis episode will forever change the way you relate to the sun, your dental health and your microbiome. In this first episode of Season 3, I speak with one of my personal heroes – Nadine Artemis. She is the creator and inspirational force behind Living Libations, a botanically-rich line of serums, elixirs and oils that have a cult-like following, garnering rave reviews from the NY Times, The National Post and the Hollywood Reporter. Nadine is a beauty philosopher, aromacologist, and botanical muse, tapping the intelligence of plants to create immune enhancing formulas and medicinal blends that restore health and beauty from the inside out.
Read MoreJenn Tardif is the founder of 3rd Ritual, a global collective that creates mindful objects, botanical blends, and esoteric content, all of which are intended to help us move half as fast and notice twice as much. Jenn is a mother, a teacher, and a lifelong student of Taoism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yogic philosophy, numerology, and sacred geometry. We're recording this in fall—a season that can be anxiety-inducing for many, especially in 2020, so we're going to delve deeper into some of the practices that can help us harmonize with our surroundings, inviting, in turn, a greater felt sense of safety in our own skin.
Read MoreThis week’s episode is about the search for meaning and fulfillment and the unexpected places it leads. It comes by way of Ethan Delorenzo, a father, permaculture farmer and multi-disciplinary artist who lives in an eco-village on Vashon, a rural island off the coast of Washington State. Ethan climbed the ladder of success in the music industry, beginning as an assistant to mixer and engineer Ryan West (who has worked with Rihanna, Eminem, Jay Z and Usher). Ethan then formed a band with Teyana Taylor and continued to rise in the industry as a producer and engineer. But, after achieving a remarkable amount of success by his early 20’s, he began to seek a different kind of life, one closer to the land and in alignment with his own values.
Read MoreIn this episode, I want to touch on three autumn-oriented practices that have been instrumental in helping me feel more grounded as I move through waves of anxiety and grief. We have nature within us, and because of that, the seasonal shifts in our external environment become expressed in our bodies. I mention this because we have just entered what we in the West call Fall. In Ayurveda, the life science from ancient India that I study, this time of year, from mid- September to the mid-November is called Sharad Ritu (with ritu meaning ‘season’ in Sanskrit). In fact, the seasonal changes are considered some of the most significant factors governing proper lifestyle and diet at any given time.
Read MoreThis week, I’m speaking with the powerful Synmia Rosine, a birthworker who regularly practices and engages with plant medicine and ancestral healing. She’s a mother, an avid urban gardener, and a wise soul who turned to nature and indigenous wisdom to help heal physical and mental imbalances. Synmia’s story is one of great courage and resilience, which you’ll hear more about in this episode. I describe Synmia as powerful because she is unafraid to embody her authentic self, and it was inspiring and expansive for me to witness this throughout our conversation. As I continue to find my voice, it’s truly an honor for me to share hers.
Read MoreThis episode is the second in a series exploring how plants can help us regulate our stress response. This week, the plant we’re exploring is hemp. In this episode I talk with Alexis Rosenbaum, the founder and CEO of Rosebud CBD, which makes CBD tinctures with a high concentration of full spectrum hemp extract mixed with certified organic MCT oil for a faster, more efficient delivery throughout the body. Alexis says: “I believe in the power of hemp and cannabis because our biology shows such a strong and natural connection. I hope Rosebud brings people relief, but more importantly, the ability to live a happy and comfortable life feeling like their best selves.”
Read MoreI learned so much in this week’s episode with Nadine Joseph, the CEO and founder of Peak and Valley, a company that makes adaptogenic blends using varying combinations of over 18 adaptogens, mushrooms and herbs. In this episode we discuss Nadine’s work as a neuroscientist studying what happens physically in the body when you’re exposed to stress, how Nadine’s own experience with chronic stress, anxiety and adrenal fatigue led her to adaptogens and ultimately healing, the definition of adaptogens and the origin of the term, the role of primary, secondary and tertiary adaptogens, why the beta glucan content in mushrooms matters, the healing powers of turmeric, and why consumers need to be incredibly careful when purchasing plant-based products and how to screen brands for purity and quality.
Read MoreThis week on Our Nature, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of my favorite individuals and teachers Jules Bakshi. She’s a dancer, choreographer, certified pilates instructor, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the owner of GOOD MOVE, a dance and mindful fitness studio for movers of all levels, genders, races, shapes, and sizes. Her classes are designed to take the intimidation out of dancing and help you feel the joy, freedom, and empowerment of expression through movement, which you’ll hear much more about in the episode.
Read MoreDanielle Beinstein is a psychological astrologer. She combines astrology with archetypes to reveal and reflect different aspects of the human psyche believing that astrology offers us “a window into our personal life cycles.” Because astrology is so complex and individualistic that it’s hard to unpack without a specific chart to read from, I asked Danielle to give as much of a high level overview of astrology as possible. This episode is for people both new to astrology and for those who are familiar with it, but curious about how astrology and psychology connect.
Read MoreThis week, in celebration of the one year anniversary of Our Nature, I’m returning to the first topic I covered on the podcast: Ayurveda. In this episode, I chat with my longtime Ayurveda teacher Doctor Bhaswati Bhattacharya. Dr. Bhaswati is a biomedical scientist, international health specialist, primary care physician and holistic healer. In this episode we discuss: the foundational elements of Ayurveda, how our daily routines profoundly affect our physical and emotional health, the life changing practice of an electricity fast, where Ayurveda and Western medicine overlap and where they differ, how a particular type of oil is considered a miracle cure in Ayurveda, and the many non-cooking uses for ghee (which is clarified butter).
Read MoreThis week I’m chatting with April Valencia, a photographer, textile artist, sustainability consultant and private chef. She’s shot for Apiece Apart, Levi’s Made and Crafted, Sezane, Gjusta, among others, cooked for Yola Mezcal and the ICA in London, and she’s also on the board at the Elizabeth Street Garden in Manhattan. I wanted to speak with her because she’s had such a wide ranging, varied life - from being married at 21 and working at Trump Tower in New York, to losing her brother and finding herself alone in the jungle of the Yucatan, April’s life has shifted and evolved as she’s grown into herself.
Read MoreIn this episode, I wanted all of you to experience water’s creative power through a bath ritual and meditation hosted by water healer Jobi Manson. What I like about this offering is that we have a chance to connect with the most powerful element in nature from wherever we’re sheltering in place (as long as you have access to a bathtub). It was always my hope for Our Nature to provide you with practical things you can do to connect with the natural world and in turn, yourself, in the most accessible way possible. This feels like that opportunity.
Read MoreThere’s no better way to celebrate Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary than by sharing an episode that focuses on the life giving element of water. Jobi Manson is a water healer, a creative director, photographer, entrepreneur and designer. She believes that “nature is the key to a creative life” and helps guide people into their creative expression through water immersion. Jobi calls these experiences “Sefari’s” or rebirth water experiences. Think of them as adventures into one’s creativity by inviting in water’s inherent wisdom.
Read More
