Tell us about your practice and your holistic approach to nutrition.
My mission is to give my clients a strong foundation so that they create the most vibrantly sustainable and elevated lives possible. I foster a greater independence from the Western Medicine matrix so that everyone who works with me has more freedom to be truly well.
My programs encompass nutritional upgrades, movement, mindfulness, lots of impactful tips and tricks and also include other healing modalities. I truly love building holistic teams around my clients as I find this to be most effective. Gut health has also been a main focus of my practice.
All of my programs have common threads although each client receives individualized plans and detailed attention. Often, I act as a wellness concierge as many crave added support. In this way, I make it very easy for my clients to soar without them having to bother with the details. I’ve also curated food and cleansing plans with many private chefs over the years.
My intention is for everyone to have fun with it all, feel supported through the process of upgrading, introduce the cleanest and most delicious products around and for my clients to be able to tap into their innate intuition (or deepen this practice). I am everyone’s greatest cheerleader. And I lead with love, kindness and compassion. Always.
What are the key components to creating health?
There are so many factors in creating a luminous life and I’ve listed the main ones below. Of course, there are nuances with every individual, but overall, I'm always looking through a holistic lens though as everything is connected. And this approach serves everyone.
Cleansing and gut health Clear the toxicity from the body, take cleansing baths, oxygenate.
Eat fermented veggies (made with salt, not sugar).
Heal the gut. When the digestive system is truly working, you are golden.
Create space Clearing and keeping the elimination channels clear. This is a daily and lifelong practice.
Healing past traumas. Trauma will create dissonance and imbalance in the physical body until it is released.
Connection Cultivate a strong community.
Epigenetics, home environment Clean air, clean water, clean products and protect yourself from EMFs and toxic blue light exposure.
Nutrition Eat properly combined, water-containing, high vibrational nutrition as much as possible. Be consistent.
Eat local and seasonal. Beyond the food being more vibrant and alive, our bodies are actually wired to consume what grows near us.
Eat organic, wild, grass-fed and biodynamic. This will ensure that the foods you ingest are the cleanest, free from hormone disruptors and other perils of modern day living.
Hot and Cold Many cultures have used this practice for centuries (the Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Russians, and Japanese, to name a few). Infrared saunas and cold thermogenesis (cold plunges, ice baths, cryotherapy) are our more modern versions.
Intention Eating with intention and consciousness. Choosing with eyes wide open is vastly different than mindlessly eating. Enjoy whatever it is you are eating. Whatever it is. Leave the guilt behind.
Your next meal can easily be back on track.
Sit upright after eating, for at least 30-minutes, to aid in digestion.
Laughter and Joy Laughter heals. Joy elevates and is the creative force of the universe.
Love The most important of all…
Mindfulness Meditate daily, even if it’s for 2 minutes. It all counts.
Stand up and advocate for marginalized communities. We are never going to be truly healthy until the collective is healthy.
Nature and sunlight We are sunlight filled beings and are meant to use the sun intelligently. This includes watching the sunrise every morning to reset your circadian biology!
Oxygenate the body in nature.
What do you find are the biggest stumbling blocks for those of us on the path to better health?
I’ve identified several main stumbling blocks in working with clients over the years. Here are three of the biggest:
Social conditioning At social events, business lunches and even family meals, people allow what society considers “normal” and what others are eating to derail their progress. While I do wholeheartedly believe we are meant to be in community and share meals together, we don't all have to be indulging in the same food. I’ve heard all the excuses in the world but when it comes down to it, it’s all a matter of choice. And those choices do not have to be perfect.
But if we want to create real, long-term vital health, it rests on being consistent in choosing food that has little to no negative impact on the body, food that delivers lots of alkalinity, nourishes our cells and builds the blood and organs.
Addiction to food Food addiction runs rampant. I used to be so addicted to refined sugar that I basically ate it for dinner every night for weeks on end (as in, frozen yogurt with rainbow sprinkles and another cup of extra sprinkles just in case the topping wasn’t enough!).
We are all addicted to food in one way or another. And a lot of the food “on the menu” is highly addictive! You all know the major culprits at this point. However, as we start to eliminate (or greatly reduce) those addictive foods, alkalinize the system and heal the gut microbiome, the addictions subside or completely disappear; they simply do not have a hold on us anymore.
Note: There is also a strong emotional component, which often times needs to be addressed in a real way as well in order to heal.
Disconnection from nature As we are glued to technology and have more sedentary lives, it’s easy to overindulge in food, especially when we live in concrete jungles.
When we are truly soaking ourselves in nature, our food choices naturally shift for the better. This means ingesting oxygen-rich air, exposing our skin to the sun’s energy, dipping in salt water, fresh water and mineral hot springs and grounding to the earth.
When we are nourished by our gorgeous earth and glorious sun, our need for stimulation from food is greatly reduced.
You were instrumental in supporting some of the city’s most seminal juicing programs. But it seems these days that juicing has fallen a bit out of favor. Are you still a believer?
YES! I am of course a firm believer in fresh green juice and it’s still part of my client programs. Juicing is a powerful way to infuse the system with tons of enzymes, minerals, vitamins, potent phytonutrients and hydration. Juicing raw green vegetables gives the body a direct source of chlorophyll, which doesn’t require any digestion and therefore absorbs directly into the bloodstream; it’s a transfusion of everything your body can use to generate new, healthy cells. And you can get an amazing amount of produce into one green juice!
Trends come and go. In many ways, it was incredible that juicing had its “moment”. However, it didn't happen overnight and took years before it hit that critical mass. I love how green juicing became more mainstream and part of the lexicon.
So why did juice become a fallen angel?
I believe there are two main reasons:
Lack of education As with anything else, when there isn’t proper education in place, things are often used incorrectly and then yield undesirable results.
Misinformation Juicing became a hot topic that was written and talked about by many people (doctors, practitioners, health “experts”, bloggers) who simply don't understand its real function. And coupled with the lack of education and misuse, it got a bad rap. Speak with anyone who truly understands the concept and application of juicing, for whom it works best for, and when, it’s wildly valuable. And certainly not a trend when used correctly.
What is the ideal way to juice?
On an empty tummy and away from food. Otherwise, it creates a lot of fermentation, also known as bloating. Ideally, I advise including predominantly green juice with little fruit added.
Fruit is not inherently bad but in juice form can be too cleansing and create, you guessed it... more bloat, among other cleansing reactions, especially in the beginning as one is clearing out the old stuff.
I recommend starting the day with a deep green juice to flood the body with hydration, alkalinity and superior absorbable liquid nutrition.
What lifestyle rituals do you practice?
I go in stages with everything…
Currently, in the daily and weekly rotation are TM, Kundalini yoga, dry skin brushing, rebounding, Epsom salt baths, homemade green smoothies and gravity colonics, which has been a staple ritual for over 12 years.
What are a few of the most influential books you’ve read in the healing realm?
All books by Bernard Jensen and Norman Walker
Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
Power vs. Force David R. Hawkins
I am currently reading Dirty Genes by Dr. Ben Lynch and still reading Sapiens!
What are some of your favorite picks from CAP?
Shiva Rose Rose Moon Sea Salts
Dr. Shingha Mustard Bath Amazing detoxifier, helps clear sinuses, alleviates sore muscles, and can even help with insomnia. I especially recommend using in the winter; this bath gets HOT and really warms the body to the core!!!
Recharge Ionic Body Brush The most epic dry skin brush around!
Sophie Nova Meditation Cushion We all love a gorgeous meditation cushion and this one offers a dual purpose: if used while eating, it keeps the body upright and in alignment, which is great for digestion.
Activist Manuka Honey 850+ Everyone needs this in the pantry. Manuka honey is a medicinal honey and good for so many things: burns, wound healing, and sore throats, to name a few. It's definitely a staple.
Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters Excellent to take when eating animal protein; greatly helps assist proper digestion.
Glass Dharma Glass Straw because, you know, it's good for the environment…
May Lindstrom Honey Mud I bought this divine product for a client of mine (who has everything) and she LOVES it. It's delicious and clean and good for the soul (and... it works)!!
