Rewilded Wellness & The 7 pillars of health

Let's talk about rewilded wellness 

We hear a lot about sustainability these days, especially around food and health. But let’s be real – who wants to sustain a lifestyle that led to burnout? Not me. I didn’t know what thriving felt like until I reconnected with nature. 🌱

Regenerative practices are all about renewal, restoration, and growth. It’s about creating conditions that let us thrive and regenerate rather than just sustain. Imagine leaving everything better than you found it. ✨

In health and wellness, this means promoting holistic healing and enhancing our body’s natural ability to repair and renew itself. So many people struggle to just sustain their current lifestyle, but there’s so much more out there, friends.

My mission is to leave everyone who visits my page or listens to my podcast better than before. If I can plant seeds of inspiration and wisdom to help you create better conditions in your life, to go beyond just surviving, then I’ve done my job.

Nature shows us how to live in tune with our human biology. 
She is, without a doubt, the best mentor for anyone on a healing journey. 

My thoughts on mentorship are that we all need a guide -especially in the modern world that has us so far removed from what it takes to be truly thriving humans with our core needs met.

This guidance should lead us back to our essence, our truth so we can build an internal fortitude to BE well and stay well - this is vital.

And I believe I am here to teach & remind us of the fundamentals: the core basics for human health that need to be habits, because . . .

Health is a daily practice.

When we wait to turn our health around once we are already sick, it becomes an uphill battle, a digging out of a deep hole or worse we give up -succumb to a diagnosis with acceptance instead of a resolve to rebuild or repair.

Prevention is critical. Regardless of what your health complaints are, you’ll always improve your chances of healing if you work on the fundamentals. 

The fundamentals are the foundations that provide your body with the energetic inputs it needs to engage the body’s innate, self-healing mechanisms, restore balance, and maintain good health and vitality. When any one of those inputs is missing, you’ll be operating with an energetic insufficiency - and thus, decreased vitality.The greater the insufficiency, the greater the dis-ease.

You’d be surprised how many people I work with come to me initially and don’t have a single one of the fundamental foundations fully nailed down or embodied.

I’m not surprised as the modern world has literally divorced us from the very things that we need for optimal human health. Nature provides for and nurtures our human biology.

I believe the basics for human health and well being fall into these 7 pillars 

Sun 
Water 
Air 
Food 
Movement
Connection 
Purpose 

Embracing the Fundamentals

After diving into Arthur Haines’ epic work, The New Path, with a small group in 2022, I developed these 7 pillars as the foundation for human health. 🌱 Instead of viewing nutrition merely as what we eat or the supplements we take, true nourishment encompasses these fundamental elements—natural elements that are not manufactured, bottled, sold, or bought. When these pillars are part of our lifestyle, our bodies can thrive, and dis-ease dissipates, allowing for greater ease and flow of mind, body, and soul.

The Disconnect & The Call to Nature

Unfortunately, our modern lifestyles have led us away from these nourishing fundamentals, resulting in a decline in human health. This disconnect from nature has caused us to lose the solid foundations that build true health. Every single pillar has been ‘bastardized’—degraded or corrupted from its original essence.

We’ve moved away from practices that align with our biology and well-being, adopting habits and technologies that harm our health and disconnect us from nature. This bastardization has disrupted our harmony with the natural world, affecting our physical, mental, and spiritual health. It’s time to return to our roots and restore our connection with nature for a more balanced and authentic life. 🌿

Understanding the fundamentals of human health is crucial for thriving in today’s world. These 7 pillars—sun, water, air, food, movement, connection, and purpose—form the foundation of well-being. Yet, modern life has led us away from these essentials, causing a disconnect that impacts our health.

This is the heart of what I focus on in my podcast and client work. 🌿 It’s why I created an online program specifically designed to support your health journey through hair analysis. I believe that when you shore up your foundation, it’s much harder to get knocked down.

Let there be LIGHT : The Sun as NUTRITION

I believe one day we will look back with collective regret at how we feared the sun. 

The very thing we literally revolve around and would die without. 🌍🌞

Just remember society revolves around an infrastructure that is NOT designed for human health and wellness. We have SO much to unlearn and relearn once we understand this. Then we GET TO face this reality so we can build back better foundations. The more of us that link arms and do this the better.

The sun does so much more than help you make the hormone-vitamin D. It’s literally our number one nutrient. And now we are talking about all the myriad of ways it helps our physiology. Of which is our gut/immune health & function are at the tippity top - and I’m pretty sure we could all stand to shore ourselves up with this in mind. Sun exposure can help your microbiota friends! Sign yourselves up for more!

If viewing the sun is crucial for our circadian rhythm you better bet your tan booty it affects all your functions.

Most of us can honestly say, we feel better in a lot of ways in the summer when we have more consistent sun exposure-than we do in the winter (especially those of us in the northern latitudes). And we can feel a lot better year round when we are more intentional about getting sun exposure in the lighter months of the year to help us through the darker ones.

AND I know it gets hot sometimes, I know people feel funky in the heat of the August sun - AND there are workarounds to this -you can MICROdose your exposure- get out earlier in the day or later in the day -build your solar callous in the spring as soon as you can and then keep going -keep retraining yourself to create a sun ritual habit to undo the years of avoiding the sun or sitting inside too much or just forgetting entirely.

Wild Living Water 

I’ve been collecting wild water for the past 2 1/2  years and it has been a beautiful experience that has done more than transformed my physical health - it has reconnected me to nature. Think of it like being lost as a child and reuniting with your loving adoring parents.

Many of the people I speak to feel heaviness around the fact that they don’t have ideal drinking water solutions in place yet.

HERE’S THE THING: 

It doesn’t matter where you are at today with your water - there is no shame - you may feel some regret you haven’t done something sooner to improve the quality of your water - AND now that you know you need to and can improve it, you get to do better! You get to turn things around and you get to BENEFIT in some awesome ways yet to come that you don’t yet know about. To me, that’s pretty exciting.

Sure it sucks that we have to work so hard to clean up our water in the first place - BUT the more of us that take this step now the more it gets normalized -then our kids get to do better and theirs too.

We get to build back better. We get to restore what was lost - when more of us improve our water quality we are becoming better members of society by default - because water affects everything.

I choose to cling to this hope even in the face of a lot of unfortunate deficiency and toxicity.

Air + How you breathe 

Tell me how I’m supposed to live, flow &  breathe with no air.

Societal infrastructure takes your breath away.
Nature gives it back.

In fact, nature had our back all along. We just have to remember.

Society gives us toxic air (environmental pollution), way too many chemicals, a fast paced life with too much stress amped up hormones/nervous system so we clench our jaw tense our shoulders don’t chew our food and forget to breathe. We contract. We breathe through our mouth because we lost so much function/expansion that we can’t breath out of our noses anymore. We have sleep apnea, can’t climb hills without getting winded and we have poor body wide oxygenation. Our soil is suffering too-compacted depleted and not well aerated.

Nature gives us fresh air, natural chemicals emitted from trees and plants, bird song to soothe  our nervous system, butterflies, bees and flowers to slow us down and enjoy their dancing flitting ways, and when we slow down we relax, we chew our food better and longer, we appreciate more, we open up our chest and belly and lift our heads. We inhale and exhale with greater intention and breadth. We sleep deeply and our soil holds moisture nutrients and microbial life.

How you live, breathe and be in your body is everything and nature is your best ally. Society needs to recognize this and move back towards her more often in more ways so we collectively heal many of these overwhelming challenges we see on the rise.

Food 

By consuming foods that are in season, we not only support local farmers but also provide our bodies with the specific vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need for the current season. For example, during the summer, when we spend more time in the sun, our bodies require protection from harmful rays. Luckily, the fruits and vegetables available in the summer provide internal protection for our skin. Tomatoes, rich in lycopene and beta-carotene, safeguard our skin from environmental and UV damage. Blueberries, with their high antioxidant content, shield us from free radicals that can lead to cancer, aging, and other diseases. Even watermelon, cherries, apricots, and more offer protection against UV damage. It’s incredible how nature has provided us with edible alternatives to traditional sunscreen.

In addition to their protective benefits, seasonal summer foods are hydrating and nutrient-packed, helping us meet the increased energy and liquid requirements of the hotter months. Water-rich fruits like melons and cucumbers keep us refreshed and hydrated.

Unfortunately, as a society, we’ve lost touch with seasonal eating, and it’s time to reverse that trend.

Movement

A sedentary lifestyle is the worst thing for breathing 

Just look around sometime -observe people - it’s fascinating how many people can’t even WALK well without some difficulty -and how many people get out of breath so easily these days too

Oxygen deprivation is biologically associated with most types of chronic diseases, including cancer.

Stress, fear, anxiety, and worry cause not only shallow breathing but a habit of literally not breathing as much as needed by holding the breath. Those with the worst breathing habits are often people who do not do any exercise.

Even WALKING more and I’ll even add walking in barefeet on the earth more than on pavement in normie shoes / as opposed to shoes designed for the foot (minimalist barefoot wear so your feet can spread properly instead of scrunched up unnaturally -I’ll probably do a whole episode on that at some point -gotta rewild those feet y’all)-holds a lot of benefits including:

Weight loss
Helps maintain ideal weight
Helps prevent heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
Reduces the risk of stroke
Reduces stress and anxiety
Improves your sleep
Increases your energy levels
Helps balance hormones and lifts your mood
Strengthens your bones and muscles
Movement has been replaced by sitting.
We must UNDO the sit

How many hours a day do you sit?
Have you ever considered this?
In the car, at a desk, at a table, in front of the TV
Have you ever considered the design of the human body and how sitting actually isn’t supporting our structure, strength or posture?

Community & Connection: The Lost Art of True Human Interaction

You know, I've been thinking a lot about community lately. It's something that's been gnawing at me, especially after diving deep into Arthur Haines' book "The New Path" last year. We gathered around bonfires at the retreat center in Berks, discussing these ideas, and it really hit home.

In our modern world, we've traded real, tangible communities for virtual ones. We're all guilty of it – I know I am. We're constantly connected to our phones, firing off quick messages to our online friends across the globe. But let's be real for a second: where's the warmth in that? Where's the comforting voice of a friend when you're down? The supportive hug when you need it most?

True community is so much more than likes and comments. It's about being there for the big moments in life – celebrating achievements, supporting each other through tough times, and marking important life transitions together. It's about shared experiences, rituals, and a deep connection to the people and places around us.

I can't help but feel we've lost something precious in our rush to digitize everything. We've forgotten how to be truly present with each other and with nature. We're part of this earth, you know? We're supposed to be members of forward-thinking communities that are intertwined with the wild world around us.

It's not just about what we eat or how we exercise – it's about our entire way of life. We need to rebuild those connections, to create communities that support not just us, but the ecosystems we're part of. It's about thinking beyond ourselves and considering how our actions today will impact the world tomorrow.

I'm passionate about exploring this more, and I'm thinking of dedicating a podcast episode to community care. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. In fact, I'm considering making this the focus of our first group meeting in HFC. It would be great to get a sense of where everyone's at with this and share ideas on how we can rebuild those vital community connections.

So, what do you think? How can we start rebuilding real, supportive communities in our lives? How can we reconnect with each other and with nature in meaningful ways? Let's start this conversation and see where it takes us. After all, that's what true community is all about – sharing, learning, and growing together.

Purpose 

YOU are your purpose my friends - becoming who you are is the whole dealio. It's why I named my podcast A JOY TO BE ME - it finally felt good and liberating to be in acceptance of who I am a human so much so that it truly felt like a joy to be myself. And my middle name happens to be JOY -it's like I finally became the embodiment of my name. 

There have been many layers of becoming myself, I'm sure you can relate. In a world that pushes us into many boxes and doesn't see us for the real us -it becomes a calling a searching to find ourselves. Truth is we have always been with ourselves all along it's the conditioning and traumas we are bogged down with that have clouded our view.