In this enlightening episode, we are joined by the brilliant herbalist and wellness educator, Ariana Salazar, for a rich conversation on the transformative power of herbs. Whether you’re new to the world of herbal medicine or already herb-curious, this episode will leave you inspired and ready to explore what nature has always provided.
0:02: Welcome to the Fully expressed podcast.
0:03: We are your hosts, Samantha and Karenna.
0:06: This is a show where we invite you into your fullest express self and life, relationships and business.
0:11: We believe that if you crave more, you are meant for more.
0:14: There is room for all of us to be fully expressed.
0:17: Enjoy this new episode.
0:20: Hey guys.
0:20: Samantha here.
0:21: Today’s talk is one that really speaks to the heart of what the Fully expressed podcast is all about stepping into our fullest expression in life, relationships, and business by coming home to ourselves in the most natural, authentic way.
0:33: In this episode we’re joined by the incredible Ariana Salazar, a devoted herbalist on the path to holistic healing.
0:39: Ariana’s work is rooted in plant medicine, emotional and spiritual detoxification, divine feminine healing, and ancestral wisdom.
0:47: She holds powerful space for those ready to do the inner work and transform their lives from the inside out.
0:52: Her message is a reminder that true healing isn’t just physical.
0:56: It’s emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal.
0:59: When we ignore the pain and trauma that lives beneath the surface, it can show up as illness, disconnection, and blocks in all areas of our lives.
1:06: But when we begin to face those parts of ourselves with compassion and curiosity, we open the door to real transformation.
1:13: This conversation hits home for both of us.
1:15: Like many of you, we felt the overwhelm of navigating diet culture and mixed messages around health.
1:20: But over time, Karenna and I have started turning to holistic wellness, not as a trend, but as a deeper way of listening to our bodies and reconnecting with nature’s rhythms.
1:28: Personally, I’ve always been drawn to the magic of plants.
1:31: After taking an herbology class, I began to explore the medicinal properties of herbs like bitters for digestion, blue lotus to calm the nervous system, and nettles to nourish the body.
1:40: These small intentional practices have shifted my relationship with baldness in such a powerful way.
1:45: Karenna and I both believe that the path to being fully expressed starts with reconnecting not only with ourselves, but with the earth and the deeper wisdom that’s always been within us.
1:54: If someone you love is on a healing journey or seeking more alignment in their life, please share this episode with them.
1:59: It might be the invitation they’ve been waiting for.
2:01: So let’s get into it.
2:02: Here’s our conversation with Ariana on healing through herbs, releasing trauma, and reclaiming your full expression, body, mind and soul.
2:12: Thank you so much for coming.
2:13: Thank you.
2:14: Thank you for having me.
2:15: Yeah, I’m so excited because I just took an herbalist class like a month ago and I knew nothing.
2:22: I like I knew a little bit, but I only like dipped my toe in, but when I saw that you wanted to come on the podcast, we were gonna have you so.
2:29: Excited because I think there’s nothing more powerful than herbs and I am by no means an expert in any way.
2:36: So yeah, thank you for being here.
2:38: We’re really excited.
2:39: Thank you so much.
2:40: Yes, herbs honestly have changed my life on coming from chronic pain and different.
2:48: Parts of my body where you know there was a lot of prescription drugs that were recommended to me things when it came to mental health, gut health, really healing my body naturally with diet, herbs and superfoods and.
3:03: A lot of reprogramming so it was a process, but the the plans are definitely there to give you the healing and they’re so powerful, so powerful.
3:15: I love, I love that you started there so I’d love to know a little bit more about your story like how did you get to what was the thing that was like I’m gonna look into herbs over looking into like prescription medicine or other supplements like what what did that journey look like for you?
3:28: , so I always have been in tune with herbs, being from an indigenous background, my, dad’s side is from Costa Rica and my mom’s side is from Honduras.
3:38: Both of my grandmas are big gardeners loving to be in the kitchen, you know, your typical Hispanic family, just like really loving to cook and.
3:48: Having that connection with plants and I would play in the garden a lot with my sister and my grandma would teach me about the different plants and the different flowers that she had, how to water them.
4:00: So at a very young age, gardening herbalism was already there but just you know over the years in high school I had my own little phases of transitioning into fashion and beauty and all these different things but my friend, one of my best friends gave me a book on herbal energetics and about the plant spirit healing, so, the magical properties of herbs and how how to use them.
4:25: And ever since I read that book it was that was like wow I need to read more.
4:31: I love this and I just kind of starting off with my own herbal kits or you know researching them or just kind of connecting with roses and the energetics of that and how beautiful they are, how like high vibrational and the essence that they bring from mugwort to lavender it just kind of expanded from there.
4:51: , but then when I was in my late high school years I had a really bad chronic pain and fibromyalgia, depression, skin issues, gut health.
5:04: It was just everywhere and I went to multiple doctors and it got to a point where my mom was like we need to find another solution.
5:12: We need, you know, additional help because there wasn’t really a cure for fibro and the other things it was just medication on medication.
5:20: And I’m not saying I’m against it.
5:22: I think there’s room for both to coexist in the synergy of Western medicine and holistic medicine to both help people, so I went to a curandera in Mexico.
5:34: curandera is basically a medicine woman, and I was tapped into the Kumai tribe and, different mentors and women that kind of guided me back into my roots and the sacred healing of plants with my fibro and just changing my diet around.
5:49: , and they basically taught me back and tapped into it and connecting with my grandma again and just kind of like having her by my side when I was healing, it took some time but it was, it changed my whole life around and a lot of my friends say, yeah, like it’s like a miracle how you’re such a different person and.
6:11: Even to like how I view my life and with herbalism and spirituality with everything it’s not something that I just kind of tapped into and that was this it was more of like this is a lifestyle I kinda have to have in order to fulfill the life I I wanna be or become or be a healthier person so.
6:30: Yeah, so cool.
6:31: Yeah, it’s so interesting because that’s something I’ve noticed like taking that course and it was from this older, like very old man.
6:40: They have a lot of wisdom there’s so much wisdom, but what was and him and his wife both were like plant people, you know, which is so funny.
6:48: They joke that way because I do feel like it completely shifts you when you start to build this relationship with nature.
6:53: , and I was wondering because you said you read a book that kind of inspired you on spirituality and plants like what were, what are some of the biggest takeaways that you have come across or that you have discovered through working with plants through like it could be spiritual or physical but like what are some big aha moments or big takeaways that you’ve learned for me it was the the.
7:17: The sacred rituals basically from indigenous practices is called like Olympia or like sacred smudging so I had a few it’s called a parrida so curanderas would use certain herbs and dip them in oils that are also from based off herbs and they brush it around your body to clear off negative energy or stagnant energy and then the smudging and the smoke and really connecting to the the spirit healing properties of plants without consuming them.
7:47: , and seeing that really change in my body, and then over time seeing like, OK, it’s, it’s something that’s unseen, you know what I mean?
7:58: It’s like you’re going through this dark time or whatever and you’re going to this lady who’s gonna rub some rosemary on you and say that that’s gonna cure you.
8:06: You’re like, what?
8:07: Like how that, how is that possible?
8:09: But after Experiencing it myself and seeing multiple people too and being in certain ceremonies myself with Happe and connecting with that element of plants it was just phenomenal seeing the unseen really transverse into how it can actually affect somebody and heal them.
8:30: That’s the plant spirit healing and then consuming them that’s a whole other.
8:33: Yeah, as you’re talking, like something that I think about just like break it down, you’re talking about so much like ceremony and ritual that comes along with like leverage like with complimenting the herbs if you will.
8:44: So how much of how you teach or show or share, is it a ritual and a ceremony or can someone start Also just implementing herbs in their day to day, you know, like you brought this like beautiful tea blend, which I think is also very magical.
8:59: And so I think sometimes there’s this like magic and like the ceremony and the ritual and I love that.
9:05: And it’s also like how can we take these things that are such gifts into our everyday life and start supporting our systems.
9:12: Yeah, so a cup of tea, even making your coffee.
9:15: Or even the matcha drinkers we all have our starting our morning right and I love cacao too cacao is such a good heart opening warming feeling as well, tea some days for me cacao when I’m in my more creative state or wanna connect to my heart chakra so that daily cup, that daily ritual, how you’re really connecting and I feel like herbs are really.
9:37: , beautiful when you’re boiling the water and when you’re adding it and you’re stirring it.
9:43: Same goes for coffee, but I feel like coffee, especially in today’s society, is more of a rushed like I need to make my coffee and we have all these machines.
9:52: I have a loose leaf tea brand, so I really point people towards connecting with the herbs, so putting it in the strainers, letting it steep and sit.
10:02: I.
10:02: I do offer the organic tea bags too for people who are in a rush, but I really educate and want to tell people like, you know, connect with them, smell them, stir, set your intentions because that is the energy and the movement of the day and how these plants are going to heal you.
10:18: That’s so interesting too because, you know, Kern and I, we hold community groups, events and all kinds of things and one of the questions that we always like to ask is what.
10:27: brings you, when do you feel most yourself or when do you feel most fully expressed and almost without a doubt there’s always one of the number one answers is being in nature.
10:35: And so it’s so interesting because it’s true we’re such a go go go energy and I even think about how you were saying, you know, your healing took a while, and I think Western medicine almost is like our cup of coffee.
10:48: It’s like instant gratification, like, but it’s really just masking the.
10:52: Symptoms most of the time unless it’s a surgery or something more intense.
10:55: And so I love that you’re bringing that back in because it’s so true like nature is our wisdom, it’s our connection and it is our most favored place usually I’d say most people and so yeah, that’s so beautiful to have a tea that brings you back to that same energy and in that as you’re saying like there’s a sense of presence and like slowing down, which I think is so.
11:17: Hard for our, you know, people that a lot of, a lot of listeners here are like highly achieving, highly ambitious, are doing all the things, you know, so really finding time to like when you do make your tea, like even taking those five minutes is like dropping in.
11:30: The other thing that I love that you said too was like talking to us.
11:32: So Samantha, anytime that we eat food or we, she, she’s, she’s definitely influenced me in this way, but like drinking water, like thank you, thank you, thank you.
11:40: You are gonna to nourish me, you’re gonna take care of me, like actually speaking to it and I think there’s even signs behind how the water.
11:46: It’s there’s a book, it’s by the hidden messages of Water and it it talks about how he speaks into the water and the water basically moves into different crystals and like crystallization.
11:59: So that is he freezes the water.
12:02: And the other thing too, like I read this one book recently that’s all about trees and how they communicate with one another.
12:08: And it’s like all these things, the herbs, the plants, the nature, like it’s just as much as alive as we are and it’s listening and Like just like when we do these like settings for ourselves like we’re tapping into an energy and so you’re saying let’s bring that to the herbs as well and so whatever we consume, it’s going to be an intention within us.
12:27: Yeah, no definitely.
12:28: Even conscious eating and food.
12:31: I’m, I’ve fasted, I’ve done different types of diets.
12:33: I’ve done keto, Mediterranean, I was vegan, I was raw vegan.
12:39: All these, you know, I don’t like to call it diet too much because I would say the word die is in diet, so I say it’s just more of a, it’s so true, yeah, so that’s something I had to kind of become aware of time too.
12:51: It’s, it’s not, it’s not a diet, it’s more of just like what you are consuming so I could say I’m consciously eating so.
12:58: So learning to sit down and digest my food.
13:02: Sometimes I, you know, when no one’s perfect, we have our times when we rush, but if you really are sitting there cooking and taking time to even, you know, in religion, it’s prayer before you eat.
13:12: It’s that intention you’re putting and you’re telling your vessel and your body how you want the food to go down.
13:17: And eating in a rush to kind of throws off your energy and your bowel movements are all different, or you just feel like, oh, I didn’t digest it you get a little bloated so kind of all coincides to that aspect of energy and kind of taking care of your body and nurturing it.
13:33: So good.
13:35: Do you have a question?
13:35: I was gonna say I was gonna ask and kind and Taylor a little bit more like into the herbs.
13:39: What are some of your favorite herbs that you’ve implemented in your life and why?
13:43: Because I’d love for like the listeners to hear like, oh, maybe I should try that herb, but I’d be so curious for you.
13:48: Yeah.
13:49: , I really love, so when I started my brand, I was making herbal spliffs.
13:56: I called them fairy spliffs, so no tobacco, no cannabis, just basically smoking botanicals, and I really was drawn to Blue Lotus because it had a.
14:05: Very calming euphoric effect without the psychoactive or the nicotine and Blue Lotus was a very like eye opening third eye the Egyptians used to use it as an aphrodisiac so you get that like very fun bliss euphoric feeling and it really helped me become very present too and tap into in in meditations, deeper states of meditation.
14:31: , so blue lotus is an amazing herb for that, very calming, very soothing and euphoric.
14:37: Another one of my favorites is, I would say cacao, just coming from Costa Rica and having.
14:45: , that roots of my uncle like having cacao growing in our yard everywhere and just eating the fruits and just loving how it’s, it makes me feel the the warmth in my heart, especially those healing from grief, connecting to the heart chakra, and if you love chocolate and you want a healthier alternative than regular, just make sure you’re diving deep into rock a cow so that is an amazing herb.
15:13: And as well I would say go to cola, which is a herb that helps with the cognitive function.
15:20: I really love brain herbs and kind of stimulating the brain and focus.
15:25: this is a leaf you can get it in tea or a tincture.
15:28: , but that it’s very similar to ginkgo Bilboba, but go to cola is helps with memory, cognition, and endurance, and in India they found they did some research on when they discovered the plant that there was these elephants that would go to a certain like batch of.
15:45: Herbs in like a bush and they would eat it and they would come back and they’re like where where are they going and what is this?
15:51: and they saw it was the go to so they’re like that’s why the elephants are so smart they’re so literally it’s so true, yeah, a lot of cognitive herbs, lions made too mushroom.
16:02: , so there, there’s, it’s hard to choose, but I would say those are my main ones just because I like working in that way, you know, calmness, euphoria, heart opening, and cognitive, right?
16:14: I feel like that’s like the blend that every fully expressed woman wants, you know, like when we talk about being a fully expressed woman or person and human, like you really think about it as like being really present and like open to love.
16:24: But then also, you know, fearing euphoric in the sense of like, you know, connecting to your environment or the people that you’re connected to and then also like being a baddie, right?
16:34: Like what does it look like to you know be cognitively aware and being able to keep up with it and have the resiliency and what I like to use the word is capacity to keep going so I love that you shared those.
16:44: I think they were absolutely beautiful, yeah, I wanna ask too because you know as a Latin woman like there’s.
16:52: It’s on one end there’s such an indigenous connection to Mother Earth but then I also think on the other end there’s like especially in America specifically like we’ve all lost that connection but I mean I have a lot of like Mexican and Latin friends that I would say also like fight against like some of them are more like hippie or holistic and they have to kind of fight their their traditional parents, you know, who have not really followed into that.
17:15: So what do you like how do you, and this could be for anyone, not even someone.
17:19: That’s of Latin descent, but like what do you say to people that are kind of like this is woo woo or this is like how do you draw them in?
17:26: And I would say even like culturally too, you know, because I think health is holistic health particularly is such a touchy subject for people in general like food is such an in food is such a triggering subject.
17:38: So like what are your techniques?
17:39: like what would you say to somebody that’s maybe not feeling great, but also like hesitant to believe.
17:46: Woo woo, to believe that herbs can heal you.
17:50: Well, I would, I would say basically they are not the alternative, they are the original medicine.
17:57: I even have background working in the pharmacy.
17:59: I was working in the medical field for a bit.
18:01: I was a pharmacy tech and I worked in the cannabis industry, so really seeing both sides of pharmacology, but tending to just my own brand and herbalism, I One say they they are the original and this is something that has been for years our ancestors have been utilizing and practicing and taking from nature and giving back to it in a way where in the 18 to 1900s that was basically changed because of.
18:31: You know, history and the revolutionary War and all this industrial the quick fast pace so I really kind of geared towards them and dropping that seed that this is the original medicine, this is what our ancestors were practicing and if you look in history, things changed at this time because of the quick pace so things were packaged and manufactured and processed so that’s for you to, you know, to figure out on your own and.
18:56: It’s not woo woo.
18:57: There is a lot of evidence out there for certain plants and trials and research and science that backs up what herbs do, so it’s just kind of planting the seed and seeing where they’re at.
19:07: One thing that I went to like this herb workshop that I did and we literally sat down and tasted every single herb.
19:14: And what I loved is like the intention behind it was to taste it and then feel what it does to you.
19:20: And I think that’s also a really great way to bring anyone else on board.
19:23: It’s like, we’ll try it, you know, see, but like take the time right now to just drink it and like go on a rush and go out the door.
19:30: Like you can actually feel the herbs do something to your body.
19:33: Like you can feel the shift of energy.
19:36: And so I feel like that’s also like a way to bridge them there because you’re right, it is such an it is the original medicine.
19:41: You and I talk about that all the time.
19:42: Yeah, we’re at the 100% and it’s like I always like try it like you’ll never do.
19:51: Actually feel which herbs like do you feel like I take lion’s I’m like, oh my gosh, I can’t live without my little lions being dummies that I have every single day because without them I’m like I’m not as clear as focused, like I’m not as resilient and I’m like I love my lion’s pan so.
20:06: Once you start to add them, I feel like you start to be like, oh, this really works.
20:10: Yeah, no, definitely the feeling, especially really popular one right now that everybody’s talking about is Ashwaganda because of the way it’s helping manage stress.
20:18: We just took over the nervous.
20:20: I put it up, I took a couple drops this morning to get me through the day.
20:24: Yeah, and, and a lot of people see effects because it’s such a potent herb, so they’re like, oh wow, I need my ashwagando because it’s making you feel a certain way.
20:32: And I think it’s important to note that that’s an herb.
20:35: Right?
20:35: Because we can think about that as like a supplement.
20:37: It’s superfood.
20:38: Yeah, it’s a superfood or a supplement.
20:40: Like, you know, so I think that’s the other thing like there’s so many supplements out there that people are just taking and they’re like, I don’t even know what it is, but you just mentioned something that is an herb, a plant.
20:50: It comes from Mother Nature.
20:51: That’s where you find it.
20:53: And so much pharmacology is rooted in plants.
20:56: Like it’s taken from plants like Advils and or Tylenol, they’re taken from white willow bark like there are, you know, I think people.
21:03: Have become so disconnected they don’t even realize that it’s rooted in what the effects were of plants.
21:08: They’re like, oh this plant is it, how can we magnify it and really numb your nervous system or whatever so yeah and that’s that’s the, that’s the thing that’s kind of getting people to really understand well this is and they’re like, well did you know?
21:20: And it’s not that you’re trying to prove a point or make them feel like, oh, I know everything.
21:26: It’s like, well, hey, kind of approaching like well did you know this actually came from here?
21:31: This is how it is and Hey, try it out.
21:33: How do you feel?
21:34: And you can’t really force because there’s people who are stuck in their ways, you know, and I’m not going to, you know, force upon like taking certain herbs for certain people, but it’s, it’s so safe to take herbs, even pregnant women, they they geared towards holistic alternatives because of the safety of your baby and your own health, so.
21:54: , herbs are safe.
21:56: They don’t have as long side effects and symptoms compared to other pharmaceuticals.
22:03: however, it’s more of a gentle approach.
22:05: They’re not saying that there’s toxic non-toxic herbs out there.
22:09: There are toxic herbs out there are certain herbs that with anything overconsumption can lead to harshness or toxicity in the body, right?
22:18: So it’s just about, you know, really educating and knowing to start slow and really introduce yourself.
22:24: What are some of those toxic herbs?
22:26: , I would say high amounts of poppy, poppy seeds, California poppy, are very sedating to the body and it’s I love California poppy, it’s great to relax, but if you can drink a lot of it does some harshness to your liver and Is not looking good mugwort.
22:47: There’s also high traces of mugwort that if you consume a certain amount could be actually pretty poisonous, and it’s just all about dosing, right?
22:57: And it also comes back to you and yourself in digesting.
23:01: Another toxic plant that.
23:04: Actually grows everywhere and hikes around here.
23:08: It’s it’s a white flower.
23:10: I’m trying to think of the name right now.
23:11: It’s not coming to my mind, but it grows and it’s like a white flower has big green leaves, but it’s a hallucinogenic flower and it’s, yeah.
23:22: No, that’s mugwort’s mugwort is not a hallucinogens like it helps you have like vivid dreams.
23:29: I can’t think of it, but it’s, it’s basically a type of Plant that people would take and they kind of trip out but if you eat it in large amounts, it’s actually very toxic yeah same with certain like plants in the rainforest, right?
23:43: and certain regions, we have to just be very mindful certain berries that are out there, you know, and that’s another thing that I wanna start doing soon is herb walks and kind of educating people on what plants are around us, what are safe, what are kind of things to be aware of that are beneficial, so.
24:00: , yeah, so starting slow and really identifying, you know what plants are out there.
24:06: It would be so cool if you, I don’t know if there’s like some kind of assistant, but like if someone came to my house and was like, oh my gosh, you have all these plants that you’re not taking advantage of.
24:15: Like you should be cooking with them, you know what I mean?
24:17: Because I wonder if I look in my, my backyard or in my front yard.
24:20: I’m like, how much of this do I know?
24:22: Like we have aloe and mint and things that we’ve intentionally planted, but I’m also so curious.
24:28: I’m like, what am I just growing and not leveraging in my cooking, you know.
24:34: Yeah, no, definitely, it came to my mind.
24:37: I had to research it on my phone.
24:38: It’s the, it’s a flower.
24:41: I don’t know if you see that, yeah, maybe show it on the screen.
24:45: I was like it’s, it’s a white flower, basically, so it grows everywhere in Southern California so yeah that.
24:53: Very toxic to the body, but what you’re saying as far as like kitchen herbs, that’s that’s kind of like an introduction on how you know adding herbs and spices, not just add flavor to your food but amplify the benefits of your body healing.
25:07: So oregano is really good for kind of digestion.
25:11: rosemary has like a nice like Very bitter, earthy, you know, scent to it as well.
25:18: And when we’re cooking with all these herbs, we’re not, we’re not thinking like, oh, they’re actually helping our body digest and really healing or soothing, whatever it is that the plant does, Yeah, yeah, Austin, my husband and I take bitters, try to remember to take it.
25:34: We have some herbs in a spray, but even if I don’t, I’ll eat like, rosemary or oregano or any of those.
25:40: I guess oregano is not a bitter, but, when we, we actually went to Costa Rica and Went to an island where they grew everything on the island and they cooked these amazing meals and they made like no need juice and all these different things to help digestion and we tried this plant that was a bitter and you bit it and it was so bitter, but it worked.
26:02: Your digestion is like woo, he was like, don’t eat too much of that or you will, that was such a great trip.
26:06: If anyone wants to go out the dolphin quest in Costa Rica in Costa Rica.
26:10: And what I loved about that walk because we did do like an herb walk and like someone basically took us on a hike and he like stopped out and like literally even to single.
26:19: What did we eat some like ants.
26:21: Oh yeah, we yeah, some kind of ants of kind of bug like if you’re ever they’re.
26:27: Termites.
26:28: So if you, if you’re ever stuck in the jungle and you need protein to keep yourself going, like you can eat these types of termites, and he taught us that and at the same time on that walk, he also taught us about that bitter leaf and what was it?
26:41: I don’t know, we were all feeling so good and you were just like chewing away at it.
26:45: Last night I can’t wait to have a lot.
26:47: It’s just like munching on.
26:50: Yeah, but, but because of that, when we got back, we bought a bitter spray and we started researching what bitters you can get here in California and they make such a difference like they are huge like my day when I remember to take them before a meal, I digest so much better, but it’s true it’s like little thing and I know Rosemary is one, but you just don’t think about those things, you know, like we’re not taught those we’re not taught any of that.
27:15: What are some daily, so in going on on that train, what are some daily ways besides your tea that you incorporate herbs like what is what is a day in the life look like as an herbalist?
27:29: Yeah, and always, not just tea, tinctures.
27:34: I love my sea moss and bladder tincture that I take.
27:39: What is bladder ladder wha is a really, it helps with an absorption.
27:44: It’s nutrient, iron, vitamins, just it’s like a powerful, herb too as well.
27:50: It helps with skin.
27:51: Same with sea moss.
27:52: They’re they’re known as superfood herbs because of how much they can help your body and all these benefits.
27:59: so that’s a tincture I take or I put it with my tea because it’s very like potent.
28:03: , and I don’t like the taste of it sometimes, so just kind of incorporating herbs and not just teas, utilizing tinctures, and then in my smoothies I use or in my oatmeal.
28:16: I’ll make a superfood, oatmeal, so I’ll add the cow and mocha, and then just blend it with my coconut milk.
28:24: It’s a nice fun recipe with oatmeal, cinnamon.
28:26: Those are all ways that we’re adding herbs and then the benefits of them in our daily meal.
28:30: , even my skin care routine, I use, one of my favorite blends is a soap, so I use the cleansers, and then, for oils I make my own calendula and prime rose oil, so that’s kind of like my moisturizer.
28:44: , and then they have beautiful skin.
28:47: Oh, thank you.
28:48: It’s right now I’m going through a little hormonal changes because I’m about to be 25 in a few days.
28:53: So I’m like stressing out, so I’m like, oh my God, the hormonal, but it’s, it’s gonna come in back into balance and that’s, that’s another thing too is when I see my body is off or something’s going on, I’m like, OK.
29:04: This is what I need to avoid.
29:06: This is what I need to do.
29:07: I need to get some probiotics in.
29:09: I need to start drinking, dandelion tea like it’s kind of reading and understanding what I need to do and me being, I wouldn’t say I don’t I don’t like to call myself a healer, but I’m healing myself right now I’m helping others heal in their own way, identifying, you know, what those symptoms are in your body and what is going on and taking action in that moment.
29:30: So, that’s another part.
29:33: Of kind of herbalism is really identifying when something’s going on I’m just having like OK what herb is there what what kind of like am I called to intuitively to to help myself alleviate that and then as well as like PMS, I like to sit in herbal baths so I do like a nice yoni bath which is.
29:54: Different herbs like rosemary, raspberry leaf, calendula, lavender, yarrow, which is really great.
30:02: This is an antimicrobial, antibacterial and also really calming and relaxing, so yeah, yeah, I do Yoni blends as well, and that’s how you can sit in it with more of like the bathing part and relaxing and for beauty purposes too.
30:17: It’s really good for your skin, floral baths, So there’s so many different ways on utilizing these plants and then originating to how I started my brand, the, the smoke.
30:27: So if I want to roll up a nice oh it’s a fairy spliff I would say so I’ll do like rose petals, lavender and mullen and just like hit that and it’s a nice sacred ritual right there.
30:39: , so they, and they have so many powerful properties, even burning certain herbs to kind of cleanse your space.
30:45: I do coal or palo santo too if I feel like my home is very heavy or there’s a lot going on.
30:51: I’m like, alright, so always from waking up to making my tea to adding it in my smoothies or adding it in my beauty routine, there’s and smudging, there’s so many ways to utilize these plants.
31:04: You’ve really integrated it into your life.
31:07: I love it.
31:08: Like I feel like you’re like living it from day to day because so much of what you’re saying, I’m like I’ve done that.
31:13: But I do it every once in a while, you know, like I don’t really live that way.
31:17: And as you were talking, the other thing that came to mind too is like, I feel like people listen to their symptoms, but they think headache, Tylenol or I have a stomach ache, Pepto-Bismol or whatever, you know, so it’s like.
31:30: A new way of thinking about these herbs and a way of like, OK, so what’s been going on in your life?
31:35: What else are you feeling and what are the blends that I need to support myself instead of grabbing the Tylenol.
31:40: Sometimes you need the Tylenol, but I’m just saying like it’s another way of being able to support yourself.
31:43: Yeah, no, exactly, and it’s lifestyle and as women, I’m very big on moving with my intuition and intentional living.
31:51: , so that’s another amazing part about plants to connecting with your own intuition and the intuition of the plants and that energy like when you feel you need something, you have that strong intuition, that gut feeling, right?
32:06: And you’re like, OK, that’s what it is and then that’s how plants for me, that’s how they kind of coexist and communicate.
32:12: I love what you’re saying because you’re saying take it back into yourself, like trusting yourself instead of like asking others or I think we’re taught, oh we need to go to the doctor.
32:21: Oh, we have, we’re sick like we need to go to the doctor and they need to tell us what’s wrong instead of like trusting our own truth and our own intuition.
32:29: And I do think that’s something that herbs really help.
32:32: You like reconnect back in and I think something else you said too is like the Kerner was saying is we’ve gotten used to feeling unwell and I think it’s like chronic, I mean clearly it’s chronic in the world, but especially in the west.
32:45: And I think that we’re again going back to that like quick answer, but even I can say for myself, and it sounds like for you too, that The more I’ve implemented herbs in my life and slowed down and had more intention and I know as well, we’re our our bodies are healing like we’re able to give it the things they need.
33:02: We’re able to like I don’t have the period pain I once had and I thought I’d have that for, you know, we normalize it and there’s so many things we’ve normalized that I think plants.
33:10: Have an answer to, and I think it’s like you bringing it all together again and what you’re saying like plants and being in nature and it all is, it’s just a slow pace it’s earth energy, it’s earth medicine, so it is slow, it is intentional, that is the energy of earth and so it does, it is like a beautiful reminder to create intention from the moment you wake up.
33:31: Yeah, no, definitely, and I want to add on to that too, like sometimes you know we living in a busy city.
33:38: , we are always on go go go.
33:41: I have a lot, a lot of friends too in New York and they all have plants in their house because they’re like, you know, the constant motion, the constant and, you know, energy in the city is a lot, so having plans where you are resting and relaxing in a place you call home is helping also you connect with nature and recharge, so.
34:00: Just that little reminder if you are in a busy city or if you are a very busy person or an entrepreneur, how can you incorporate plans or ingesting plans or maybe taking a hike, you know, once a week to really kind of ground yourself back into you know your own reality as opposed to what the world is asking you to do.
34:21: I love that.
34:22: That’s so beautiful.
34:24: I’m just like, yes, yes, just because like it’s, it’s they’re just really great reminders.
34:29: Yeah, because you know like when, when I think of, you know, nature and everybody’s like, oh recharging and slow down.
34:36: I always think of that one person like, well, what if I don’t have a yard and what if I don’t have and I live in a condo and like, well, you know, we have starting somewhere or you know, going on, you know, walks by the ocean or just kind of trying to connect.
34:50: In some way, making time to root yourself, and also practicing meditation is something I teach in my spiritual coaching sessions is like grounded meditation, so even visualizations of you diving your roots deep into the earth or you know, giving the earth a big hug or even even touching the soil and and dirt is so grounding.
35:14: So true.
35:15: I agree.
35:16: Yeah, I love that.
35:17: It’s so good.
35:19: The other thing I think that I love what you just said, just like dive in is like bring plants into your home.
35:24: I love a good home that just has so much.
35:26: I mean look at the plants that we brought in here.
35:29: So they’re so specifically like we love our friends, but we needed to bring some plants fake plants and I was like and this is my baby and like just.
35:40: Guys like this plate, for example, I just feel like she gives me so much love and I love her and even when we moved into a smaller space, I was like I need to I need to keep my plants where are they gonna fit, you know, because you can feel the difference.
35:52: They ground the room, they warm up the room.
35:54: They also help the air breathe from what I understand, you know, they make very specific, there’s very specific plans which I’m almost not.
36:02: I know the snake plant for sure really helps you cleanse your air.
36:06: Yeah, snake plant.
36:07: I have snake plant everywhere.
36:10: I like different places in my home, but what I noticed from your plants they’re so like friendly and communicative like they’re literally coming in to talk in the conversation.
36:19: I love it.
36:19: Thank you for talking about, yes, we’re here.
36:24: It’s so true, so cute.
36:26: I love, I’m here for all the plant talk.
36:28: Yeah, I would love to hear a little bit more about your spirituality and you know, one like where are you at right now currently with your spirituality?
36:36: Maybe not so much where you are, but like I would love to know like where you are at now and like where you’re leaning into your spirituality and even more of what that looks like.
36:44: , so where I’m at now is I really.
36:50: Live with intention every day I set an intention.
36:55: My jewelry is all intentional, the the clothes I wear the colors of my makeup, everything, grounding myself, because I’m a very busy person, you know, I have my business.
37:08: I work full time.
37:10: I have to go home and you know, do laundry and all that stuff too and cook and just kind of seeing.
37:17: How you know, as I’m growing and I have more things to do, how can I implement my spiritual practice to them, right?
37:25: so meditation is something that I always do every day and even when I don’t have time to sit in ground and meditate, I will literally meditate in my car and there’s other forms of meditation with frequencies, music.
37:37: I’m really.
37:38: , I’m really into breath work too, so even when I’m working I really take time to just be still and just ground and not go on my phone on my lunch breaks or just really sit with myself and that’s something that I’ve been doing more and more and it really grounds me back to the present moment and declutters my mind.
38:00: So when I move on to the next thing I’m not overwhelmed or overly stimulated.
38:05: , another thing too in my spiritual practice is really listening to my body and how it reacts when I’m around certain environments or certain people, just kind of being a sensitive being and listening to that and really, you know, using my discernment and taking action as opposed to, before I was so like passive or you know a lot of women we were people pleasers so.
38:30: , now I’m really just embodying the energy of saying no or listening to myself, no, you know, I’m OK or I wouldn’t say like rejecting people.
38:40: It’s more of just kind of like respecting myself and really voicing my truth in a way that it’s not harsh and angry, but in a way that is moving from my heart but still protecting it and protecting my energy.
38:55: , so it can, it can look in ways because some people when they think of protecting their energy, they’re like it’s a trauma response right?
39:02: from people coming from, you know, trust issues or people who have done them wrong or certain things in their past.
39:09: So now that I’ve integrated a lot of shadow work and healing, the way I navigate and move is more just like, you know, assertiveness, but still being my true loving self and Just being authentic and really being me and what my higher self is and everybody asks themselves like what is your higher self it’s who you imagine it’s those journals, it’s those vision boards that you put what does she look like?
39:35: what does she wear?
39:36: how does she act, you know, and just taking that day by day and that’s part of my spiritual practice.
39:42: How can I become that person?
39:44: What can I do better?
39:46: you know, how can I approach this in a different way without.
39:49: , projecting and that’s, it’s a big step.
39:54: , I love that so much.
39:59: I love this.
39:59: This is so great.
40:01: So one question that we’d love to ask, sorry, I’m also dealing with the sore throat, so I’m like so I’m like trying to protect, trying to protect my voice for the whole day as well as like trying to be really present.
40:13: Usually I have a lot of energy, but I wanted to say like usually we ask every single guest so this might be like a follow on to what you just said, but where in your life do you feel more called to be more fully expressed?
40:25: This can be in life, relationships, or business.
40:28: , I would definitely stay in business.
40:33: at times I feel like in business, you know, comparing is a huge thing like, oh they have, you know, we’ve been wearing the same niche, oh this person’s doing that.
40:42: I really just realized like no like I don’t need to compare.
40:46: I can just fully be myself.
40:48: There’s millions of tea brands out there.
40:50: There’s millions of coaches out there.
40:51: There’s millions of yogis out there.
40:54: How can I show up in my fully expressed self and Be the person I am without trying to, you know, beat around or, you know, try to copy and that I’ve never been a fan of that.
41:07: So it’s more of just like being that and not.
41:10: Being so shy, you know, and being confident and knowing that I have my own ways of doing things.
41:16: It might be a little goofy, it might be a little messy, it might be a little everywhere, but that’s that’s me and I feel like showing up in that way for my business people will resonate because it’s more realistic and I’m not trying to create a whole fluff and.
41:32: That’s another thing too with social media is like we see those like morning routines and da da da.
41:37: I’m like these girls are recording at like 3 p.m. They’re not waking up at 6 a.m. doing this whole, it takes a process of being more realistic with myself, with my social strategies, with, you know, where I’m going or how I’m posting or creating my website because I wear many hats, right?
41:53: So.
41:54: Just kind of giving myself grace and being my true authentic self and showing that in my business and the people that I meet too.
42:01: I feel like I’ll naturally end up receiving that, you know, what I’ve learned and like what I’ve just experienced in life is like.
42:07: Really people want to feel you and the people that are attracted to your energy and how you are, they’re gonna want to come back, you know, it’s like I don’t want to have to because I think about this all the time too.
42:17: It’s like I want to like try and convince people because I need to look a certain way or create a post a certain way and it’s like what’s that dance between like I want to bring all of me and also honor like things of business but still bring me, you know, and I love that for you because I think the more that you own your energy or your expression or how you say things or how you create things, people are gonna be like, oh, I really like that brand for her, you know, I think that’s like the part of business that people don’t remember like, yes, sometimes it’s aesthetically pleasing, but like it goes so much further when you feel the owner, you know what I mean?
42:50: Or you know the co-founder or the creator, you’re like.
42:53: I want to buy this because I know her, you know, now that we know you, like you have this tea plan of like, I love that.
42:58: That’s so cool because we got to feel you in your energy.
43:01: Yeah, yeah, I’ve had to learn that in my like jewelry business too as a goldsmith and designer.
43:07: Like there’s so many, it’s, I think that’s so common like to think there’s so many, how am I gonna like how am I different or and also not like wanting to be different and what Is my aesthetic and what is my design and what is my product, so that’s so beautiful.
43:21: I love, I really relate to that a lot.
43:23: It kind of when you said the people filming at 3 p.m., it reminded me of when TikTok was gonna go down, you know, and everyone had that final last video of like, you know, since we’re all going down, like, here’s the truth and like I never drink coffee or I never I actually the best one I saw was like a woman who literally made her.
43:39: Higher profile about workouts.
43:41: She’s like I never did the workout.
43:43: Oh my God.
43:44: See, so it’s kind of like, wait what?
43:46: And it really hits something clicking too like we’re human, we’re we’re, we have emotions, we have things that happen in our lives.
43:53: No one’s gonna be perfect.
43:55: And everyone’s craving that realness.
43:57: I will say that.
43:57: It’s like such a delicate dance because you’re like marketing this thing like right your social media is your marketing of that.
44:02: And I think now people are also waking up to like, well, do you really embody this?
44:06: Like when we asked you like, what does your day in life look like?
44:08: You’re like, girl, I got every minute of the day implementing your herbs in my life.
44:13: Like you embody this.
44:14: It’s an integrity that’s beautiful and you can feel that and see that when you start, yeah, when you show up and then also when you start to crave it for yourself.
44:22: So I think there’s also like a different level of self.
44:25: Like now I go out and like, are you in integrity?
44:27: Are you inbodied?
44:28: Do you really live and talk and breathe these things?
44:31: Do you actually practice this stuff and There’s a lot of woo woo out there that says they do and it’s a totally different thing if you live it and you can feel that, yeah, and to add on to that right now, we are in this transit of the year of the snake and the the Age of Aquarius, so we’re starting to see all these woo woo people who are now the face, the mask is starting to slip so.
44:52: , the truth will be revealed.
44:57: So the only way.
44:59: Yeah, we talked about that in another episode of ours too.
45:01: Yeah, definitely.
45:03: Well, thank you so much.
45:05: This is awesome.
45:05: Thank you so much for coming.
45:06: Thank you guys for having me.
45:08: Love how much you’re like integrating all the herbs.
45:10: Thank you for dropping some good ones.
45:12: I’m gonna go back and look up that one that you talked about the brain.
45:17: I’m like get one of those.
45:19: where can people find you, connect with you?
45:21: So yeah, you can find me on Instagram.
45:24: My main page is Ariana Salazar, A R I A N A with one N.
45:29: and then my business and apothecary and spiritual coaching is Bliss Herbs, so B L I S S E D herbs with two S’s on Instagram.
45:41: and my website as well is www.blissHerbs.com.
45:45: So, thank you.
45:46: Thank you so much for being here.
45:49: Thank you guys for having me.
45:50: I loved the questions you guys were throwing at me.
45:53: It was very cool getting me challenged for sure.
45:57: Wow, what a beautiful conversation.
46:01: Ariana’s wisdom is such a reminder that healing doesn’t have to be this overwhelming complicated thing.
46:06: It can be gentle, intuitive, and let’s face it, it’s deeply personal.
46:10: We really believe that when we slow down and start tuning into our bodies, our emotions, and even the plants growing around us, we begin to reconnect with something ancient and true.
46:20: And that connection, it’s such a powerful part of living.
46:23: Being fully expressed, because when we feel well, supported and grounded, everything else just starts to flow more freely too.
46:30: And hey, we get it.
46:32: Starting this kind of journey can feel like a lot.
46:35: But like Ariana shared, it’s not about changing everything overnight.
46:38: It can be as simple as sipping on some peppermint tea or adding spirulina to your morning smoothie to nourish your body, or just noticing when something inside of you is asking to be healed.
46:48: The smallest choices made with care can lead to the biggest shifts.
46:53: You deserve to feel good in your body, in your mind, and in your spirit.
46:58: Thank you so much for tuning in.
47:00: We really appreciate you being here.
47:02: If you enjoyed this episode, we’d be grateful if you could leave us a review and share it with a friend.
47:07: Also, we would love to.
47:08: Hear from you.
47:09: Reach out to us on Instagram and let us know where you feel inspired to express yourself as you embrace this next era.
47:17: We are here to support you and encourage you.
47:19: Before we go, we want to remind you that you are powerful and deserving of fully expressing who you are.
47:25: Embracing your journey toward authenticity is a vital part of that process.
47:28: And we’re grateful to be alongside you.
47:31: If you’re looking to dive deeper and connect with others who celebrate their true selves, we invite you to join our community.
47:37: It’s a virtual space for connection and accountability where you can share your experiences and grow together.
47:43: You can find the link in our show notes.
47:45: We can’t wait to welcome you.
47:47: See you on the next one.
0:03: We are your hosts, Samantha and Karenna.
0:06: This is a show where we invite you into your fullest express self and life, relationships and business.
0:11: We believe that if you crave more, you are meant for more.
0:14: There is room for all of us to be fully expressed.
0:17: Enjoy this new episode.
0:20: Hey guys.
0:20: Samantha here.
0:21: Today’s talk is one that really speaks to the heart of what the Fully expressed podcast is all about stepping into our fullest expression in life, relationships, and business by coming home to ourselves in the most natural, authentic way.
0:33: In this episode we’re joined by the incredible Ariana Salazar, a devoted herbalist on the path to holistic healing.
0:39: Ariana’s work is rooted in plant medicine, emotional and spiritual detoxification, divine feminine healing, and ancestral wisdom.
0:47: She holds powerful space for those ready to do the inner work and transform their lives from the inside out.
0:52: Her message is a reminder that true healing isn’t just physical.
0:56: It’s emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal.
0:59: When we ignore the pain and trauma that lives beneath the surface, it can show up as illness, disconnection, and blocks in all areas of our lives.
1:06: But when we begin to face those parts of ourselves with compassion and curiosity, we open the door to real transformation.
1:13: This conversation hits home for both of us.
1:15: Like many of you, we felt the overwhelm of navigating diet culture and mixed messages around health.
1:20: But over time, Karenna and I have started turning to holistic wellness, not as a trend, but as a deeper way of listening to our bodies and reconnecting with nature’s rhythms.
1:28: Personally, I’ve always been drawn to the magic of plants.
1:31: After taking an herbology class, I began to explore the medicinal properties of herbs like bitters for digestion, blue lotus to calm the nervous system, and nettles to nourish the body.
1:40: These small intentional practices have shifted my relationship with baldness in such a powerful way.
1:45: Karenna and I both believe that the path to being fully expressed starts with reconnecting not only with ourselves, but with the earth and the deeper wisdom that’s always been within us.
1:54: If someone you love is on a healing journey or seeking more alignment in their life, please share this episode with them.
1:59: It might be the invitation they’ve been waiting for.
2:01: So let’s get into it.
2:02: Here’s our conversation with Ariana on healing through herbs, releasing trauma, and reclaiming your full expression, body, mind and soul.
2:12: Thank you so much for coming.
2:13: Thank you.
2:14: Thank you for having me.
2:15: Yeah, I’m so excited because I just took an herbalist class like a month ago and I knew nothing.
2:22: I like I knew a little bit, but I only like dipped my toe in, but when I saw that you wanted to come on the podcast, we were gonna have you so.
2:29: Excited because I think there’s nothing more powerful than herbs and I am by no means an expert in any way.
2:36: So yeah, thank you for being here.
2:38: We’re really excited.
2:39: Thank you so much.
2:40: Yes, herbs honestly have changed my life on coming from chronic pain and different.
2:48: Parts of my body where you know there was a lot of prescription drugs that were recommended to me things when it came to mental health, gut health, really healing my body naturally with diet, herbs and superfoods and.
3:03: A lot of reprogramming so it was a process, but the the plans are definitely there to give you the healing and they’re so powerful, so powerful.
3:15: I love, I love that you started there so I’d love to know a little bit more about your story like how did you get to what was the thing that was like I’m gonna look into herbs over looking into like prescription medicine or other supplements like what what did that journey look like for you?
3:28: , so I always have been in tune with herbs, being from an indigenous background, my, dad’s side is from Costa Rica and my mom’s side is from Honduras.
3:38: Both of my grandmas are big gardeners loving to be in the kitchen, you know, your typical Hispanic family, just like really loving to cook and.
3:48: Having that connection with plants and I would play in the garden a lot with my sister and my grandma would teach me about the different plants and the different flowers that she had, how to water them.
4:00: So at a very young age, gardening herbalism was already there but just you know over the years in high school I had my own little phases of transitioning into fashion and beauty and all these different things but my friend, one of my best friends gave me a book on herbal energetics and about the plant spirit healing, so, the magical properties of herbs and how how to use them.
4:25: And ever since I read that book it was that was like wow I need to read more.
4:31: I love this and I just kind of starting off with my own herbal kits or you know researching them or just kind of connecting with roses and the energetics of that and how beautiful they are, how like high vibrational and the essence that they bring from mugwort to lavender it just kind of expanded from there.
4:51: , but then when I was in my late high school years I had a really bad chronic pain and fibromyalgia, depression, skin issues, gut health.
5:04: It was just everywhere and I went to multiple doctors and it got to a point where my mom was like we need to find another solution.
5:12: We need, you know, additional help because there wasn’t really a cure for fibro and the other things it was just medication on medication.
5:20: And I’m not saying I’m against it.
5:22: I think there’s room for both to coexist in the synergy of Western medicine and holistic medicine to both help people, so I went to a curandera in Mexico.
5:34: curandera is basically a medicine woman, and I was tapped into the Kumai tribe and, different mentors and women that kind of guided me back into my roots and the sacred healing of plants with my fibro and just changing my diet around.
5:49: , and they basically taught me back and tapped into it and connecting with my grandma again and just kind of like having her by my side when I was healing, it took some time but it was, it changed my whole life around and a lot of my friends say, yeah, like it’s like a miracle how you’re such a different person and.
6:11: Even to like how I view my life and with herbalism and spirituality with everything it’s not something that I just kind of tapped into and that was this it was more of like this is a lifestyle I kinda have to have in order to fulfill the life I I wanna be or become or be a healthier person so.
6:30: Yeah, so cool.
6:31: Yeah, it’s so interesting because that’s something I’ve noticed like taking that course and it was from this older, like very old man.
6:40: They have a lot of wisdom there’s so much wisdom, but what was and him and his wife both were like plant people, you know, which is so funny.
6:48: They joke that way because I do feel like it completely shifts you when you start to build this relationship with nature.
6:53: , and I was wondering because you said you read a book that kind of inspired you on spirituality and plants like what were, what are some of the biggest takeaways that you have come across or that you have discovered through working with plants through like it could be spiritual or physical but like what are some big aha moments or big takeaways that you’ve learned for me it was the the.
7:17: The sacred rituals basically from indigenous practices is called like Olympia or like sacred smudging so I had a few it’s called a parrida so curanderas would use certain herbs and dip them in oils that are also from based off herbs and they brush it around your body to clear off negative energy or stagnant energy and then the smudging and the smoke and really connecting to the the spirit healing properties of plants without consuming them.
7:47: , and seeing that really change in my body, and then over time seeing like, OK, it’s, it’s something that’s unseen, you know what I mean?
7:58: It’s like you’re going through this dark time or whatever and you’re going to this lady who’s gonna rub some rosemary on you and say that that’s gonna cure you.
8:06: You’re like, what?
8:07: Like how that, how is that possible?
8:09: But after Experiencing it myself and seeing multiple people too and being in certain ceremonies myself with Happe and connecting with that element of plants it was just phenomenal seeing the unseen really transverse into how it can actually affect somebody and heal them.
8:30: That’s the plant spirit healing and then consuming them that’s a whole other.
8:33: Yeah, as you’re talking, like something that I think about just like break it down, you’re talking about so much like ceremony and ritual that comes along with like leverage like with complimenting the herbs if you will.
8:44: So how much of how you teach or show or share, is it a ritual and a ceremony or can someone start Also just implementing herbs in their day to day, you know, like you brought this like beautiful tea blend, which I think is also very magical.
8:59: And so I think sometimes there’s this like magic and like the ceremony and the ritual and I love that.
9:05: And it’s also like how can we take these things that are such gifts into our everyday life and start supporting our systems.
9:12: Yeah, so a cup of tea, even making your coffee.
9:15: Or even the matcha drinkers we all have our starting our morning right and I love cacao too cacao is such a good heart opening warming feeling as well, tea some days for me cacao when I’m in my more creative state or wanna connect to my heart chakra so that daily cup, that daily ritual, how you’re really connecting and I feel like herbs are really.
9:37: , beautiful when you’re boiling the water and when you’re adding it and you’re stirring it.
9:43: Same goes for coffee, but I feel like coffee, especially in today’s society, is more of a rushed like I need to make my coffee and we have all these machines.
9:52: I have a loose leaf tea brand, so I really point people towards connecting with the herbs, so putting it in the strainers, letting it steep and sit.
10:02: I.
10:02: I do offer the organic tea bags too for people who are in a rush, but I really educate and want to tell people like, you know, connect with them, smell them, stir, set your intentions because that is the energy and the movement of the day and how these plants are going to heal you.
10:18: That’s so interesting too because, you know, Kern and I, we hold community groups, events and all kinds of things and one of the questions that we always like to ask is what.
10:27: brings you, when do you feel most yourself or when do you feel most fully expressed and almost without a doubt there’s always one of the number one answers is being in nature.
10:35: And so it’s so interesting because it’s true we’re such a go go go energy and I even think about how you were saying, you know, your healing took a while, and I think Western medicine almost is like our cup of coffee.
10:48: It’s like instant gratification, like, but it’s really just masking the.
10:52: Symptoms most of the time unless it’s a surgery or something more intense.
10:55: And so I love that you’re bringing that back in because it’s so true like nature is our wisdom, it’s our connection and it is our most favored place usually I’d say most people and so yeah, that’s so beautiful to have a tea that brings you back to that same energy and in that as you’re saying like there’s a sense of presence and like slowing down, which I think is so.
11:17: Hard for our, you know, people that a lot of, a lot of listeners here are like highly achieving, highly ambitious, are doing all the things, you know, so really finding time to like when you do make your tea, like even taking those five minutes is like dropping in.
11:30: The other thing that I love that you said too was like talking to us.
11:32: So Samantha, anytime that we eat food or we, she, she’s, she’s definitely influenced me in this way, but like drinking water, like thank you, thank you, thank you.
11:40: You are gonna to nourish me, you’re gonna take care of me, like actually speaking to it and I think there’s even signs behind how the water.
11:46: It’s there’s a book, it’s by the hidden messages of Water and it it talks about how he speaks into the water and the water basically moves into different crystals and like crystallization.
11:59: So that is he freezes the water.
12:02: And the other thing too, like I read this one book recently that’s all about trees and how they communicate with one another.
12:08: And it’s like all these things, the herbs, the plants, the nature, like it’s just as much as alive as we are and it’s listening and Like just like when we do these like settings for ourselves like we’re tapping into an energy and so you’re saying let’s bring that to the herbs as well and so whatever we consume, it’s going to be an intention within us.
12:27: Yeah, no definitely.
12:28: Even conscious eating and food.
12:31: I’m, I’ve fasted, I’ve done different types of diets.
12:33: I’ve done keto, Mediterranean, I was vegan, I was raw vegan.
12:39: All these, you know, I don’t like to call it diet too much because I would say the word die is in diet, so I say it’s just more of a, it’s so true, yeah, so that’s something I had to kind of become aware of time too.
12:51: It’s, it’s not, it’s not a diet, it’s more of just like what you are consuming so I could say I’m consciously eating so.
12:58: So learning to sit down and digest my food.
13:02: Sometimes I, you know, when no one’s perfect, we have our times when we rush, but if you really are sitting there cooking and taking time to even, you know, in religion, it’s prayer before you eat.
13:12: It’s that intention you’re putting and you’re telling your vessel and your body how you want the food to go down.
13:17: And eating in a rush to kind of throws off your energy and your bowel movements are all different, or you just feel like, oh, I didn’t digest it you get a little bloated so kind of all coincides to that aspect of energy and kind of taking care of your body and nurturing it.
13:33: So good.
13:35: Do you have a question?
13:35: I was gonna say I was gonna ask and kind and Taylor a little bit more like into the herbs.
13:39: What are some of your favorite herbs that you’ve implemented in your life and why?
13:43: Because I’d love for like the listeners to hear like, oh, maybe I should try that herb, but I’d be so curious for you.
13:48: Yeah.
13:49: , I really love, so when I started my brand, I was making herbal spliffs.
13:56: I called them fairy spliffs, so no tobacco, no cannabis, just basically smoking botanicals, and I really was drawn to Blue Lotus because it had a.
14:05: Very calming euphoric effect without the psychoactive or the nicotine and Blue Lotus was a very like eye opening third eye the Egyptians used to use it as an aphrodisiac so you get that like very fun bliss euphoric feeling and it really helped me become very present too and tap into in in meditations, deeper states of meditation.
14:31: , so blue lotus is an amazing herb for that, very calming, very soothing and euphoric.
14:37: Another one of my favorites is, I would say cacao, just coming from Costa Rica and having.
14:45: , that roots of my uncle like having cacao growing in our yard everywhere and just eating the fruits and just loving how it’s, it makes me feel the the warmth in my heart, especially those healing from grief, connecting to the heart chakra, and if you love chocolate and you want a healthier alternative than regular, just make sure you’re diving deep into rock a cow so that is an amazing herb.
15:13: And as well I would say go to cola, which is a herb that helps with the cognitive function.
15:20: I really love brain herbs and kind of stimulating the brain and focus.
15:25: this is a leaf you can get it in tea or a tincture.
15:28: , but that it’s very similar to ginkgo Bilboba, but go to cola is helps with memory, cognition, and endurance, and in India they found they did some research on when they discovered the plant that there was these elephants that would go to a certain like batch of.
15:45: Herbs in like a bush and they would eat it and they would come back and they’re like where where are they going and what is this?
15:51: and they saw it was the go to so they’re like that’s why the elephants are so smart they’re so literally it’s so true, yeah, a lot of cognitive herbs, lions made too mushroom.
16:02: , so there, there’s, it’s hard to choose, but I would say those are my main ones just because I like working in that way, you know, calmness, euphoria, heart opening, and cognitive, right?
16:14: I feel like that’s like the blend that every fully expressed woman wants, you know, like when we talk about being a fully expressed woman or person and human, like you really think about it as like being really present and like open to love.
16:24: But then also, you know, fearing euphoric in the sense of like, you know, connecting to your environment or the people that you’re connected to and then also like being a baddie, right?
16:34: Like what does it look like to you know be cognitively aware and being able to keep up with it and have the resiliency and what I like to use the word is capacity to keep going so I love that you shared those.
16:44: I think they were absolutely beautiful, yeah, I wanna ask too because you know as a Latin woman like there’s.
16:52: It’s on one end there’s such an indigenous connection to Mother Earth but then I also think on the other end there’s like especially in America specifically like we’ve all lost that connection but I mean I have a lot of like Mexican and Latin friends that I would say also like fight against like some of them are more like hippie or holistic and they have to kind of fight their their traditional parents, you know, who have not really followed into that.
17:15: So what do you like how do you, and this could be for anyone, not even someone.
17:19: That’s of Latin descent, but like what do you say to people that are kind of like this is woo woo or this is like how do you draw them in?
17:26: And I would say even like culturally too, you know, because I think health is holistic health particularly is such a touchy subject for people in general like food is such an in food is such a triggering subject.
17:38: So like what are your techniques?
17:39: like what would you say to somebody that’s maybe not feeling great, but also like hesitant to believe.
17:46: Woo woo, to believe that herbs can heal you.
17:50: Well, I would, I would say basically they are not the alternative, they are the original medicine.
17:57: I even have background working in the pharmacy.
17:59: I was working in the medical field for a bit.
18:01: I was a pharmacy tech and I worked in the cannabis industry, so really seeing both sides of pharmacology, but tending to just my own brand and herbalism, I One say they they are the original and this is something that has been for years our ancestors have been utilizing and practicing and taking from nature and giving back to it in a way where in the 18 to 1900s that was basically changed because of.
18:31: You know, history and the revolutionary War and all this industrial the quick fast pace so I really kind of geared towards them and dropping that seed that this is the original medicine, this is what our ancestors were practicing and if you look in history, things changed at this time because of the quick pace so things were packaged and manufactured and processed so that’s for you to, you know, to figure out on your own and.
18:56: It’s not woo woo.
18:57: There is a lot of evidence out there for certain plants and trials and research and science that backs up what herbs do, so it’s just kind of planting the seed and seeing where they’re at.
19:07: One thing that I went to like this herb workshop that I did and we literally sat down and tasted every single herb.
19:14: And what I loved is like the intention behind it was to taste it and then feel what it does to you.
19:20: And I think that’s also a really great way to bring anyone else on board.
19:23: It’s like, we’ll try it, you know, see, but like take the time right now to just drink it and like go on a rush and go out the door.
19:30: Like you can actually feel the herbs do something to your body.
19:33: Like you can feel the shift of energy.
19:36: And so I feel like that’s also like a way to bridge them there because you’re right, it is such an it is the original medicine.
19:41: You and I talk about that all the time.
19:42: Yeah, we’re at the 100% and it’s like I always like try it like you’ll never do.
19:51: Actually feel which herbs like do you feel like I take lion’s I’m like, oh my gosh, I can’t live without my little lions being dummies that I have every single day because without them I’m like I’m not as clear as focused, like I’m not as resilient and I’m like I love my lion’s pan so.
20:06: Once you start to add them, I feel like you start to be like, oh, this really works.
20:10: Yeah, no, definitely the feeling, especially really popular one right now that everybody’s talking about is Ashwaganda because of the way it’s helping manage stress.
20:18: We just took over the nervous.
20:20: I put it up, I took a couple drops this morning to get me through the day.
20:24: Yeah, and, and a lot of people see effects because it’s such a potent herb, so they’re like, oh wow, I need my ashwagando because it’s making you feel a certain way.
20:32: And I think it’s important to note that that’s an herb.
20:35: Right?
20:35: Because we can think about that as like a supplement.
20:37: It’s superfood.
20:38: Yeah, it’s a superfood or a supplement.
20:40: Like, you know, so I think that’s the other thing like there’s so many supplements out there that people are just taking and they’re like, I don’t even know what it is, but you just mentioned something that is an herb, a plant.
20:50: It comes from Mother Nature.
20:51: That’s where you find it.
20:53: And so much pharmacology is rooted in plants.
20:56: Like it’s taken from plants like Advils and or Tylenol, they’re taken from white willow bark like there are, you know, I think people.
21:03: Have become so disconnected they don’t even realize that it’s rooted in what the effects were of plants.
21:08: They’re like, oh this plant is it, how can we magnify it and really numb your nervous system or whatever so yeah and that’s that’s the, that’s the thing that’s kind of getting people to really understand well this is and they’re like, well did you know?
21:20: And it’s not that you’re trying to prove a point or make them feel like, oh, I know everything.
21:26: It’s like, well, hey, kind of approaching like well did you know this actually came from here?
21:31: This is how it is and Hey, try it out.
21:33: How do you feel?
21:34: And you can’t really force because there’s people who are stuck in their ways, you know, and I’m not going to, you know, force upon like taking certain herbs for certain people, but it’s, it’s so safe to take herbs, even pregnant women, they they geared towards holistic alternatives because of the safety of your baby and your own health, so.
21:54: , herbs are safe.
21:56: They don’t have as long side effects and symptoms compared to other pharmaceuticals.
22:03: however, it’s more of a gentle approach.
22:05: They’re not saying that there’s toxic non-toxic herbs out there.
22:09: There are toxic herbs out there are certain herbs that with anything overconsumption can lead to harshness or toxicity in the body, right?
22:18: So it’s just about, you know, really educating and knowing to start slow and really introduce yourself.
22:24: What are some of those toxic herbs?
22:26: , I would say high amounts of poppy, poppy seeds, California poppy, are very sedating to the body and it’s I love California poppy, it’s great to relax, but if you can drink a lot of it does some harshness to your liver and Is not looking good mugwort.
22:47: There’s also high traces of mugwort that if you consume a certain amount could be actually pretty poisonous, and it’s just all about dosing, right?
22:57: And it also comes back to you and yourself in digesting.
23:01: Another toxic plant that.
23:04: Actually grows everywhere and hikes around here.
23:08: It’s it’s a white flower.
23:10: I’m trying to think of the name right now.
23:11: It’s not coming to my mind, but it grows and it’s like a white flower has big green leaves, but it’s a hallucinogenic flower and it’s, yeah.
23:22: No, that’s mugwort’s mugwort is not a hallucinogens like it helps you have like vivid dreams.
23:29: I can’t think of it, but it’s, it’s basically a type of Plant that people would take and they kind of trip out but if you eat it in large amounts, it’s actually very toxic yeah same with certain like plants in the rainforest, right?
23:43: and certain regions, we have to just be very mindful certain berries that are out there, you know, and that’s another thing that I wanna start doing soon is herb walks and kind of educating people on what plants are around us, what are safe, what are kind of things to be aware of that are beneficial, so.
24:00: , yeah, so starting slow and really identifying, you know what plants are out there.
24:06: It would be so cool if you, I don’t know if there’s like some kind of assistant, but like if someone came to my house and was like, oh my gosh, you have all these plants that you’re not taking advantage of.
24:15: Like you should be cooking with them, you know what I mean?
24:17: Because I wonder if I look in my, my backyard or in my front yard.
24:20: I’m like, how much of this do I know?
24:22: Like we have aloe and mint and things that we’ve intentionally planted, but I’m also so curious.
24:28: I’m like, what am I just growing and not leveraging in my cooking, you know.
24:34: Yeah, no, definitely, it came to my mind.
24:37: I had to research it on my phone.
24:38: It’s the, it’s a flower.
24:41: I don’t know if you see that, yeah, maybe show it on the screen.
24:45: I was like it’s, it’s a white flower, basically, so it grows everywhere in Southern California so yeah that.
24:53: Very toxic to the body, but what you’re saying as far as like kitchen herbs, that’s that’s kind of like an introduction on how you know adding herbs and spices, not just add flavor to your food but amplify the benefits of your body healing.
25:07: So oregano is really good for kind of digestion.
25:11: rosemary has like a nice like Very bitter, earthy, you know, scent to it as well.
25:18: And when we’re cooking with all these herbs, we’re not, we’re not thinking like, oh, they’re actually helping our body digest and really healing or soothing, whatever it is that the plant does, Yeah, yeah, Austin, my husband and I take bitters, try to remember to take it.
25:34: We have some herbs in a spray, but even if I don’t, I’ll eat like, rosemary or oregano or any of those.
25:40: I guess oregano is not a bitter, but, when we, we actually went to Costa Rica and Went to an island where they grew everything on the island and they cooked these amazing meals and they made like no need juice and all these different things to help digestion and we tried this plant that was a bitter and you bit it and it was so bitter, but it worked.
26:02: Your digestion is like woo, he was like, don’t eat too much of that or you will, that was such a great trip.
26:06: If anyone wants to go out the dolphin quest in Costa Rica in Costa Rica.
26:10: And what I loved about that walk because we did do like an herb walk and like someone basically took us on a hike and he like stopped out and like literally even to single.
26:19: What did we eat some like ants.
26:21: Oh yeah, we yeah, some kind of ants of kind of bug like if you’re ever they’re.
26:27: Termites.
26:28: So if you, if you’re ever stuck in the jungle and you need protein to keep yourself going, like you can eat these types of termites, and he taught us that and at the same time on that walk, he also taught us about that bitter leaf and what was it?
26:41: I don’t know, we were all feeling so good and you were just like chewing away at it.
26:45: Last night I can’t wait to have a lot.
26:47: It’s just like munching on.
26:50: Yeah, but, but because of that, when we got back, we bought a bitter spray and we started researching what bitters you can get here in California and they make such a difference like they are huge like my day when I remember to take them before a meal, I digest so much better, but it’s true it’s like little thing and I know Rosemary is one, but you just don’t think about those things, you know, like we’re not taught those we’re not taught any of that.
27:15: What are some daily, so in going on on that train, what are some daily ways besides your tea that you incorporate herbs like what is what is a day in the life look like as an herbalist?
27:29: Yeah, and always, not just tea, tinctures.
27:34: I love my sea moss and bladder tincture that I take.
27:39: What is bladder ladder wha is a really, it helps with an absorption.
27:44: It’s nutrient, iron, vitamins, just it’s like a powerful, herb too as well.
27:50: It helps with skin.
27:51: Same with sea moss.
27:52: They’re they’re known as superfood herbs because of how much they can help your body and all these benefits.
27:59: so that’s a tincture I take or I put it with my tea because it’s very like potent.
28:03: , and I don’t like the taste of it sometimes, so just kind of incorporating herbs and not just teas, utilizing tinctures, and then in my smoothies I use or in my oatmeal.
28:16: I’ll make a superfood, oatmeal, so I’ll add the cow and mocha, and then just blend it with my coconut milk.
28:24: It’s a nice fun recipe with oatmeal, cinnamon.
28:26: Those are all ways that we’re adding herbs and then the benefits of them in our daily meal.
28:30: , even my skin care routine, I use, one of my favorite blends is a soap, so I use the cleansers, and then, for oils I make my own calendula and prime rose oil, so that’s kind of like my moisturizer.
28:44: , and then they have beautiful skin.
28:47: Oh, thank you.
28:48: It’s right now I’m going through a little hormonal changes because I’m about to be 25 in a few days.
28:53: So I’m like stressing out, so I’m like, oh my God, the hormonal, but it’s, it’s gonna come in back into balance and that’s, that’s another thing too is when I see my body is off or something’s going on, I’m like, OK.
29:04: This is what I need to avoid.
29:06: This is what I need to do.
29:07: I need to get some probiotics in.
29:09: I need to start drinking, dandelion tea like it’s kind of reading and understanding what I need to do and me being, I wouldn’t say I don’t I don’t like to call myself a healer, but I’m healing myself right now I’m helping others heal in their own way, identifying, you know, what those symptoms are in your body and what is going on and taking action in that moment.
29:30: So, that’s another part.
29:33: Of kind of herbalism is really identifying when something’s going on I’m just having like OK what herb is there what what kind of like am I called to intuitively to to help myself alleviate that and then as well as like PMS, I like to sit in herbal baths so I do like a nice yoni bath which is.
29:54: Different herbs like rosemary, raspberry leaf, calendula, lavender, yarrow, which is really great.
30:02: This is an antimicrobial, antibacterial and also really calming and relaxing, so yeah, yeah, I do Yoni blends as well, and that’s how you can sit in it with more of like the bathing part and relaxing and for beauty purposes too.
30:17: It’s really good for your skin, floral baths, So there’s so many different ways on utilizing these plants and then originating to how I started my brand, the, the smoke.
30:27: So if I want to roll up a nice oh it’s a fairy spliff I would say so I’ll do like rose petals, lavender and mullen and just like hit that and it’s a nice sacred ritual right there.
30:39: , so they, and they have so many powerful properties, even burning certain herbs to kind of cleanse your space.
30:45: I do coal or palo santo too if I feel like my home is very heavy or there’s a lot going on.
30:51: I’m like, alright, so always from waking up to making my tea to adding it in my smoothies or adding it in my beauty routine, there’s and smudging, there’s so many ways to utilize these plants.
31:04: You’ve really integrated it into your life.
31:07: I love it.
31:08: Like I feel like you’re like living it from day to day because so much of what you’re saying, I’m like I’ve done that.
31:13: But I do it every once in a while, you know, like I don’t really live that way.
31:17: And as you were talking, the other thing that came to mind too is like, I feel like people listen to their symptoms, but they think headache, Tylenol or I have a stomach ache, Pepto-Bismol or whatever, you know, so it’s like.
31:30: A new way of thinking about these herbs and a way of like, OK, so what’s been going on in your life?
31:35: What else are you feeling and what are the blends that I need to support myself instead of grabbing the Tylenol.
31:40: Sometimes you need the Tylenol, but I’m just saying like it’s another way of being able to support yourself.
31:43: Yeah, no, exactly, and it’s lifestyle and as women, I’m very big on moving with my intuition and intentional living.
31:51: , so that’s another amazing part about plants to connecting with your own intuition and the intuition of the plants and that energy like when you feel you need something, you have that strong intuition, that gut feeling, right?
32:06: And you’re like, OK, that’s what it is and then that’s how plants for me, that’s how they kind of coexist and communicate.
32:12: I love what you’re saying because you’re saying take it back into yourself, like trusting yourself instead of like asking others or I think we’re taught, oh we need to go to the doctor.
32:21: Oh, we have, we’re sick like we need to go to the doctor and they need to tell us what’s wrong instead of like trusting our own truth and our own intuition.
32:29: And I do think that’s something that herbs really help.
32:32: You like reconnect back in and I think something else you said too is like the Kerner was saying is we’ve gotten used to feeling unwell and I think it’s like chronic, I mean clearly it’s chronic in the world, but especially in the west.
32:45: And I think that we’re again going back to that like quick answer, but even I can say for myself, and it sounds like for you too, that The more I’ve implemented herbs in my life and slowed down and had more intention and I know as well, we’re our our bodies are healing like we’re able to give it the things they need.
33:02: We’re able to like I don’t have the period pain I once had and I thought I’d have that for, you know, we normalize it and there’s so many things we’ve normalized that I think plants.
33:10: Have an answer to, and I think it’s like you bringing it all together again and what you’re saying like plants and being in nature and it all is, it’s just a slow pace it’s earth energy, it’s earth medicine, so it is slow, it is intentional, that is the energy of earth and so it does, it is like a beautiful reminder to create intention from the moment you wake up.
33:31: Yeah, no, definitely, and I want to add on to that too, like sometimes you know we living in a busy city.
33:38: , we are always on go go go.
33:41: I have a lot, a lot of friends too in New York and they all have plants in their house because they’re like, you know, the constant motion, the constant and, you know, energy in the city is a lot, so having plans where you are resting and relaxing in a place you call home is helping also you connect with nature and recharge, so.
34:00: Just that little reminder if you are in a busy city or if you are a very busy person or an entrepreneur, how can you incorporate plans or ingesting plans or maybe taking a hike, you know, once a week to really kind of ground yourself back into you know your own reality as opposed to what the world is asking you to do.
34:21: I love that.
34:22: That’s so beautiful.
34:24: I’m just like, yes, yes, just because like it’s, it’s they’re just really great reminders.
34:29: Yeah, because you know like when, when I think of, you know, nature and everybody’s like, oh recharging and slow down.
34:36: I always think of that one person like, well, what if I don’t have a yard and what if I don’t have and I live in a condo and like, well, you know, we have starting somewhere or you know, going on, you know, walks by the ocean or just kind of trying to connect.
34:50: In some way, making time to root yourself, and also practicing meditation is something I teach in my spiritual coaching sessions is like grounded meditation, so even visualizations of you diving your roots deep into the earth or you know, giving the earth a big hug or even even touching the soil and and dirt is so grounding.
35:14: So true.
35:15: I agree.
35:16: Yeah, I love that.
35:17: It’s so good.
35:19: The other thing I think that I love what you just said, just like dive in is like bring plants into your home.
35:24: I love a good home that just has so much.
35:26: I mean look at the plants that we brought in here.
35:29: So they’re so specifically like we love our friends, but we needed to bring some plants fake plants and I was like and this is my baby and like just.
35:40: Guys like this plate, for example, I just feel like she gives me so much love and I love her and even when we moved into a smaller space, I was like I need to I need to keep my plants where are they gonna fit, you know, because you can feel the difference.
35:52: They ground the room, they warm up the room.
35:54: They also help the air breathe from what I understand, you know, they make very specific, there’s very specific plans which I’m almost not.
36:02: I know the snake plant for sure really helps you cleanse your air.
36:06: Yeah, snake plant.
36:07: I have snake plant everywhere.
36:10: I like different places in my home, but what I noticed from your plants they’re so like friendly and communicative like they’re literally coming in to talk in the conversation.
36:19: I love it.
36:19: Thank you for talking about, yes, we’re here.
36:24: It’s so true, so cute.
36:26: I love, I’m here for all the plant talk.
36:28: Yeah, I would love to hear a little bit more about your spirituality and you know, one like where are you at right now currently with your spirituality?
36:36: Maybe not so much where you are, but like I would love to know like where you are at now and like where you’re leaning into your spirituality and even more of what that looks like.
36:44: , so where I’m at now is I really.
36:50: Live with intention every day I set an intention.
36:55: My jewelry is all intentional, the the clothes I wear the colors of my makeup, everything, grounding myself, because I’m a very busy person, you know, I have my business.
37:08: I work full time.
37:10: I have to go home and you know, do laundry and all that stuff too and cook and just kind of seeing.
37:17: How you know, as I’m growing and I have more things to do, how can I implement my spiritual practice to them, right?
37:25: so meditation is something that I always do every day and even when I don’t have time to sit in ground and meditate, I will literally meditate in my car and there’s other forms of meditation with frequencies, music.
37:37: I’m really.
37:38: , I’m really into breath work too, so even when I’m working I really take time to just be still and just ground and not go on my phone on my lunch breaks or just really sit with myself and that’s something that I’ve been doing more and more and it really grounds me back to the present moment and declutters my mind.
38:00: So when I move on to the next thing I’m not overwhelmed or overly stimulated.
38:05: , another thing too in my spiritual practice is really listening to my body and how it reacts when I’m around certain environments or certain people, just kind of being a sensitive being and listening to that and really, you know, using my discernment and taking action as opposed to, before I was so like passive or you know a lot of women we were people pleasers so.
38:30: , now I’m really just embodying the energy of saying no or listening to myself, no, you know, I’m OK or I wouldn’t say like rejecting people.
38:40: It’s more of just kind of like respecting myself and really voicing my truth in a way that it’s not harsh and angry, but in a way that is moving from my heart but still protecting it and protecting my energy.
38:55: , so it can, it can look in ways because some people when they think of protecting their energy, they’re like it’s a trauma response right?
39:02: from people coming from, you know, trust issues or people who have done them wrong or certain things in their past.
39:09: So now that I’ve integrated a lot of shadow work and healing, the way I navigate and move is more just like, you know, assertiveness, but still being my true loving self and Just being authentic and really being me and what my higher self is and everybody asks themselves like what is your higher self it’s who you imagine it’s those journals, it’s those vision boards that you put what does she look like?
39:35: what does she wear?
39:36: how does she act, you know, and just taking that day by day and that’s part of my spiritual practice.
39:42: How can I become that person?
39:44: What can I do better?
39:46: you know, how can I approach this in a different way without.
39:49: , projecting and that’s, it’s a big step.
39:54: , I love that so much.
39:59: I love this.
39:59: This is so great.
40:01: So one question that we’d love to ask, sorry, I’m also dealing with the sore throat, so I’m like so I’m like trying to protect, trying to protect my voice for the whole day as well as like trying to be really present.
40:13: Usually I have a lot of energy, but I wanted to say like usually we ask every single guest so this might be like a follow on to what you just said, but where in your life do you feel more called to be more fully expressed?
40:25: This can be in life, relationships, or business.
40:28: , I would definitely stay in business.
40:33: at times I feel like in business, you know, comparing is a huge thing like, oh they have, you know, we’ve been wearing the same niche, oh this person’s doing that.
40:42: I really just realized like no like I don’t need to compare.
40:46: I can just fully be myself.
40:48: There’s millions of tea brands out there.
40:50: There’s millions of coaches out there.
40:51: There’s millions of yogis out there.
40:54: How can I show up in my fully expressed self and Be the person I am without trying to, you know, beat around or, you know, try to copy and that I’ve never been a fan of that.
41:07: So it’s more of just like being that and not.
41:10: Being so shy, you know, and being confident and knowing that I have my own ways of doing things.
41:16: It might be a little goofy, it might be a little messy, it might be a little everywhere, but that’s that’s me and I feel like showing up in that way for my business people will resonate because it’s more realistic and I’m not trying to create a whole fluff and.
41:32: That’s another thing too with social media is like we see those like morning routines and da da da.
41:37: I’m like these girls are recording at like 3 p.m. They’re not waking up at 6 a.m. doing this whole, it takes a process of being more realistic with myself, with my social strategies, with, you know, where I’m going or how I’m posting or creating my website because I wear many hats, right?
41:53: So.
41:54: Just kind of giving myself grace and being my true authentic self and showing that in my business and the people that I meet too.
42:01: I feel like I’ll naturally end up receiving that, you know, what I’ve learned and like what I’ve just experienced in life is like.
42:07: Really people want to feel you and the people that are attracted to your energy and how you are, they’re gonna want to come back, you know, it’s like I don’t want to have to because I think about this all the time too.
42:17: It’s like I want to like try and convince people because I need to look a certain way or create a post a certain way and it’s like what’s that dance between like I want to bring all of me and also honor like things of business but still bring me, you know, and I love that for you because I think the more that you own your energy or your expression or how you say things or how you create things, people are gonna be like, oh, I really like that brand for her, you know, I think that’s like the part of business that people don’t remember like, yes, sometimes it’s aesthetically pleasing, but like it goes so much further when you feel the owner, you know what I mean?
42:50: Or you know the co-founder or the creator, you’re like.
42:53: I want to buy this because I know her, you know, now that we know you, like you have this tea plan of like, I love that.
42:58: That’s so cool because we got to feel you in your energy.
43:01: Yeah, yeah, I’ve had to learn that in my like jewelry business too as a goldsmith and designer.
43:07: Like there’s so many, it’s, I think that’s so common like to think there’s so many, how am I gonna like how am I different or and also not like wanting to be different and what Is my aesthetic and what is my design and what is my product, so that’s so beautiful.
43:21: I love, I really relate to that a lot.
43:23: It kind of when you said the people filming at 3 p.m., it reminded me of when TikTok was gonna go down, you know, and everyone had that final last video of like, you know, since we’re all going down, like, here’s the truth and like I never drink coffee or I never I actually the best one I saw was like a woman who literally made her.
43:39: Higher profile about workouts.
43:41: She’s like I never did the workout.
43:43: Oh my God.
43:44: See, so it’s kind of like, wait what?
43:46: And it really hits something clicking too like we’re human, we’re we’re, we have emotions, we have things that happen in our lives.
43:53: No one’s gonna be perfect.
43:55: And everyone’s craving that realness.
43:57: I will say that.
43:57: It’s like such a delicate dance because you’re like marketing this thing like right your social media is your marketing of that.
44:02: And I think now people are also waking up to like, well, do you really embody this?
44:06: Like when we asked you like, what does your day in life look like?
44:08: You’re like, girl, I got every minute of the day implementing your herbs in my life.
44:13: Like you embody this.
44:14: It’s an integrity that’s beautiful and you can feel that and see that when you start, yeah, when you show up and then also when you start to crave it for yourself.
44:22: So I think there’s also like a different level of self.
44:25: Like now I go out and like, are you in integrity?
44:27: Are you inbodied?
44:28: Do you really live and talk and breathe these things?
44:31: Do you actually practice this stuff and There’s a lot of woo woo out there that says they do and it’s a totally different thing if you live it and you can feel that, yeah, and to add on to that right now, we are in this transit of the year of the snake and the the Age of Aquarius, so we’re starting to see all these woo woo people who are now the face, the mask is starting to slip so.
44:52: , the truth will be revealed.
44:57: So the only way.
44:59: Yeah, we talked about that in another episode of ours too.
45:01: Yeah, definitely.
45:03: Well, thank you so much.
45:05: This is awesome.
45:05: Thank you so much for coming.
45:06: Thank you guys for having me.
45:08: Love how much you’re like integrating all the herbs.
45:10: Thank you for dropping some good ones.
45:12: I’m gonna go back and look up that one that you talked about the brain.
45:17: I’m like get one of those.
45:19: where can people find you, connect with you?
45:21: So yeah, you can find me on Instagram.
45:24: My main page is Ariana Salazar, A R I A N A with one N.
45:29: and then my business and apothecary and spiritual coaching is Bliss Herbs, so B L I S S E D herbs with two S’s on Instagram.
45:41: and my website as well is www.blissHerbs.com.
45:45: So, thank you.
45:46: Thank you so much for being here.
45:49: Thank you guys for having me.
45:50: I loved the questions you guys were throwing at me.
45:53: It was very cool getting me challenged for sure.
45:57: Wow, what a beautiful conversation.
46:01: Ariana’s wisdom is such a reminder that healing doesn’t have to be this overwhelming complicated thing.
46:06: It can be gentle, intuitive, and let’s face it, it’s deeply personal.
46:10: We really believe that when we slow down and start tuning into our bodies, our emotions, and even the plants growing around us, we begin to reconnect with something ancient and true.
46:20: And that connection, it’s such a powerful part of living.
46:23: Being fully expressed, because when we feel well, supported and grounded, everything else just starts to flow more freely too.
46:30: And hey, we get it.
46:32: Starting this kind of journey can feel like a lot.
46:35: But like Ariana shared, it’s not about changing everything overnight.
46:38: It can be as simple as sipping on some peppermint tea or adding spirulina to your morning smoothie to nourish your body, or just noticing when something inside of you is asking to be healed.
46:48: The smallest choices made with care can lead to the biggest shifts.
46:53: You deserve to feel good in your body, in your mind, and in your spirit.
46:58: Thank you so much for tuning in.
47:00: We really appreciate you being here.
47:02: If you enjoyed this episode, we’d be grateful if you could leave us a review and share it with a friend.
47:07: Also, we would love to.
47:08: Hear from you.
47:09: Reach out to us on Instagram and let us know where you feel inspired to express yourself as you embrace this next era.
47:17: We are here to support you and encourage you.
47:19: Before we go, we want to remind you that you are powerful and deserving of fully expressing who you are.
47:25: Embracing your journey toward authenticity is a vital part of that process.
47:28: And we’re grateful to be alongside you.
47:31: If you’re looking to dive deeper and connect with others who celebrate their true selves, we invite you to join our community.
47:37: It’s a virtual space for connection and accountability where you can share your experiences and grow together.
47:43: You can find the link in our show notes.
47:45: We can’t wait to welcome you.
47:47: See you on the next one.
Here’s what we dive into:
- The History of Herbs – Discover how herbs have been used for thousands of years across cultures as the original medicine—and why they remain just as powerful today.
- The Power of Herbal Remedies – Learn about the incredible ways herbs can support your physical, emotional, and energetic health.
- Herbs to Know & Love – Ariana breaks down popular herbs like ashwagandha, chamomile, nettle, and more—what they’re good for, and when to use them.
- Where to Begin with Herbs – Feeling overwhelmed? We talk about how to start simply and safely, even if you’re totally new to herbalism.
- Integrating Herbs into Daily Life – From teas and tinctures to cooking and rituals, we explore practical ways to make herbs part of your everyday wellness.
Connect with Ariana:
Instagram: @blissedherbss
Personal: @arianasalazar
About Ariana:
Ari Salazar | Medicine Woman | Clinical Herbalist | Spiritual Coach
I bridge ancient Indigenous healing with intuitive energy work to guide souls back to their higher selves. Through herbal medicine, energy transmutation, trauma release work, and spiritual coaching, I help others reclaim balance, clarity, and bliss — rooted in tradition, led by spirit.
Whether you’re looking to reduce stress, boost your immunity, support your hormones, or just feel more grounded—there’s an herb for that.
Join The Fully Expressed Community, where you can be surrounded by other women who are also on the same path of personal growth, healing, and uncovering their authentic expression. Being in a community surrounded by others can truly be one of the most supporting and healing containers to support your personal invitation.
LET’S CONNECT!
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