Now in its fourth year, The Nurtured Way continues to evolve as our family life and schedule and my career path also shifts. The “theme” of this past year has been about simplification. We downsized our home by 2/3, we consolidated our businesses and finances, and I have made important decisions about doing the same with my work at The Nurtured Way.
I have a passion for holistic care, not only surrounding birth, but for all stages of life. As I continue to learn about and practice conscious eating and healing with whole foods, the techniques of Ayurveda, and western herbalism, I have decided to focus my “healing pursuits” on more intensive training as a Community Herbalist. In consulting with and preparing placentas for my amazing clients over the last year and a half and creating salves, tinctures and vinegars, tea blends and sitz baths, I realized that I have SUCH a passion for this work, and I have, at last, discovered a sustainable and enriching focus that compliments my personality and our family life.
Though it has become clear that doula work is not to be “my path,” I feel the need to say that I love every family I have worked with during birth and postpartum, and every one taught me so much about not only the power of women and families, but about deep pieces of myself that were waiting to be discovered. I am excited to continue serving the families of Greater Philadelphia as an Independent Placenta Encapsulation Specialist and budding Holistic Herbalist.
My current offerings include placenta preparations, herbal products, and holistic lifestyle consultations.
In other news, the directory of doulas, midwives and other holistic practitioners, continues to grow, and I will be adding to an ever-expanding list of resources to support a sustainable lifestyle.
A little more about me:
In addition to working with placentas, whole foods, and herbs, I am a wife, and mama of two boys. I’ve also spent the last decade in the Online Marketing/SEO industry and was once upon a time a professional oboist and English hornist. As for other interests… I love to cook, from scratch, with local and organic ingredients, I’m a knitter obsessed with wool, enjoy writing, reading, and exercise, and am currently delving deeper into energy healing practices…
Curious about my training and experience?
You can find more details about my background and approach throughout this site, but a few bullet points…
- I trained as a birth and postpartum doula with Birth Arts International in 2009 and was honored to serve many families through 2012.
- I have been preparing placentas using both the raw and TCM/Aviva Romm methods since 2011.
- I was introduced to traditional and healing diets in 2007, and began a much deeper exploration of them in 2009 after the birth and subsequent illness of my second son (Ayurveda, Weston A Price, GAPS, SCD, Primal, Raw vegan, etc.) and have been keenly engaged in our path towards healing with whole foods ever since. (In my experience, while some foundations ring true across the board, each body needs careful attention and a custom plan of action – I don’t believe in a “one size fits all” diet, so you won’t find that here.)
- I am a student of herbalism with Maia Toll and crew in Chestnut Hill after spending the last 5 years in independent study. I’ve also recently taken the leap to begin Dr. Aviva Romm’s 400 hour Women’s Herbal Educator Course.
- I studied Reiki for two years with Nora Beeman and then briefly with Dharmadevi Romano.
- I studied with Nikki Lee in Philadelphia to become a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in 2010.
- I attended the Midwifery Today Conference in 2010 and took part in a variety of seminars which examined both physical techniques and spiritual/emotional aspects of birth work.
- I was certified in Neonatal Resuscitation through April 2012 and plan to renew my certification this year.
In love and light…