First I want to say this…..Tinctures are surprisingly easy to make! All you need is:

• Herb or Herbs of choice

• Mason jar

• Soaking agent: Alcohol, Vegetable Glycerin or Vinegar (Glycerin is my goto since it’s more user-friendly for children and has a sweeter taste making it more desirable for all, but alcohol has a benefit of making the tincture last forever.)

• Masking tape for labeling

• Cheesecloth used for straining

• Doppler for application use

Tinctures are a key component of traditional herbal medicine. I decided to make my own tincture when I realized the tincture I bought had all natural ingredients in it. I thought, Hey! I can make this! I wanted to save money, and tap into my inner herbalist. Using plants for medicine is something our ancestors did for healing. Tinctures usually take longer to make, anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to fully saturate the liquid with the plant medicine. The wait period is the most challenging part of the process because the longer you allow the plants to soak, the more benefits can be yielded from the plant. Increased potency is best when making your own healing medicine.

Bentonite Clay is great for removing toxins.  Toxins are around us every day absorbed into our skin, hair, and body. For centuries people around the world would refer to bentonite clay as the "healing clay". It was used in ancient cultures as a healing method for protecting the body from disease.

Bentonite Clay produces an "electrical charge" and when combined with liquid it literally pulls toxins. This detoxification process occurs because Bentonite clay is comprised mostly of negative ions. The toxins and heavy metals in the body are made of positive ions, and bentonite clay works like a magnet that seeks out and binds to the impurities, helping to eliminate it out of the body. 

As we welcome 2020, I think it’s a perfect opportunity to make sure that this coming year is a healthy one. The pressure we add on needing to be a newer version of ourselves is a hard concept to take in when you already feel like you are killing it - working towards your goals, dreams and passions. Sometimes the next thing we need to focus on is maintenance. I know from working through my own trauma that healing is not a year long process but instead a continuous lifelong process. As you step into a new year it’s important to recommit your self to rituals that help you thrive and live your best life. Affirmations are great tools that cost nothing but time and consistency, to help manifest your greatest day, goals, passions and dreams.

Want a natural way to boost your immune system? Don’t like taking the flu shot? 

One of the first steps at maintaining good health is to boost your own immune system with natural, earth-grown sources of support.

Plant medicine is key.

I like to think of Fire Cider as Liquid Fire Healing Miracle Juice! It packs a punch! Fire Cider is a sweet and spicy infused vinegar herbal tonic that includes powerful herbs and raw organic ingredients that have strong medicinal properties found right in your kitchen, such as: Oranges, Lemons, Ginger, Garlic, Turmeric, Red Peppers, Onions and more.

Tap into ancient healing wisdom with an old tradition for a great way to boost the immune system, support respiratory health, maintain a healthy micro biome and gut health by stimulating digestion, guide healthy detox pathways, and nourish the whole body with nutrient-dense ingredients that help the body improve during signs of illness and periods of stress. Fire Cider is a natural antibacterial and antiviral. It helps the body become more alkaline, bringing the body to its natural state for health and healing. This is a must have for any home medicine cabinet!

Affirmations can be a very powerful tool in helping you transform your life. Self-talked statements leave a mark on your subconscious mind before it becomes a natural behavior. Consistency is key for results because affirmations gain their power from repetition. Here are some affirmations to get you started on your personal journey. Practice these affirmations at least twice a day (upon waking up, and before going to sleep).  In addition, whenever you experience happiness, say the affirmation out loud. This reinforces the affirmation. In practical alchemy, write them down on a note and make them visible in your home: on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, by your bedside, in a cute frame in your living room. Applying these affirmations into your lifestyle is how you achieve practical alchemy.

Our first travel experience was when our son, Cuba, was 3 months old. We flew from NYC to ATL, a 2.5 hr trip. The rest of our vacation consisted of us traveling on a plane from ATL to Fort Myers, FL and then another plane from Fort Myers back to NYC. So altogether within 1 trip we had an adventure of 3 plane rides with our infant.

After the 3rd trimester, there is something we go through that few speak of – the 4th trimester. 

The 4th trimester is real and begins from the moment you bring your baby home. There is such a challenge because you are not yet feeling like yourself. There’s a shift that has taken place. Mom and baby both have just been born and you both are beginning to adjust to your “new normal”. Adjusting can be hard; the focus now goes from you to the baby, who needs lots of attention. However, a healthy baby is not all that matters during the 4th trimester. A healthy mom also needs to be part of the narrative that we speak and share on, since you too as a new mom require attention too.

When I gave birth to my son, I not only became a mother, but a mother without a mother. At the age of 55 my mother died of breast cancer. It was an aggressive strain, and after living cancer-free for more than 20 years, it returned spreading aggressively to her lungs and then her brain. After the double mastectomy we thought for sure it was the end of the cancer. Only for the cancer to return a year later taking her life and mine too soon. Losing your mother when you are becoming a mother can feel like your compass is gone; lost. Grief can be a constant trigger. I had to learn to redirect my mind.

I have my moments where I am mourning all what might have been with her. Watching my child grow I am suddenly in the role of who I need the most but who is no longer around. Grief has a way of reminding me of all the questions I didn’t get to ask. Questions about the symptoms I’m feeling or how she felt at __ weeks pregnant. Or what her delivery experience was like in comparison to mine.  I’ll never get to have those conversations but despite the unknowing, pain has a way of leading to transformation. 

Through motherhood I transformed from a wounded daughter into a healing mother. I made the choice to be a happy mother and I wanted to be greater than my grief. I tapped into all the great mother energy around me – those with children and those without. From my mother in law, great-grandma, my sister, even ChiChi – my female bulldog, some friends and co-workers and my doula, I had all this great maternal energy to tap into. I absorbed it all. I honored their wisdom, while at the same time I created a space for my own mothering to grow. Some people do certain things in their family because their mom did it. Well when it comes to mothering without a mother, I didn’t have that so instead I chose to see the beauty in creating new family traditions.