Brenda 00:00:00 Welcome to your yes filled life. I'm Brenda Winkle, an intuitive leadership coach and somatic guide for high performers, high achievers who want more freedom, ease, joy and energy. You are a visionary, leader driven, intuitive and ready for more more flow in your work, more presence and joy in your life and relationships. More trust in yourself and the decisions you make every day. Here we explore the intersection of intuition, leadership, and energetic sovereignty, blending practical strategy with energetic alignment so you can create success that feels deeply fulfilling at work, at home, in your relationships, and in your own well-being. You'll hear inspiring stories, practical strategies, and high level conversations designed to help you integrate the woo into your daily life. Because when your energy is aligned, everything flows ready to elevate how you lead and live. Start by downloading my free energy audit at Brenda winkel.com for audit and discover what's fueling or depleting you. Let's do this. Your yes filled life starts now. Hello and welcome to your yes filled life.
Brenda 00:01:18 I'm your host, Brenda Winkle. Today on the podcast, I'm so excited to have Amanda Furby, who is a Portland based herbalist, entrepreneur, and educator who is going to guide us into our kitchens to help us find the best healing herbs that you probably have right now in your refrigerator or your pantry. And if you don't have them, you can easily access them from the grocery store. I am so excited for this conversation. Ever since I was little, I've been fascinated by plants and herbs and essential oils. I started using essential oils before it was a thing. In fact, I remember carrying lavender oil with me as a new teacher in like the the 90s, like 96, 97. I took a group of kids from Sturgis, South Dakota, where I was teaching. I was the choir director there, and we went to a jazz festival in Fort Collins, Colorado, and one of the kids got a really serious migraine headache, and the medicine that he was taking was not working. And so I offered him some lavender oil on his wrists and on his temples, and his headache improved.
Brenda 00:02:29 So I've been fascinated by herbs and essential oils and spices and plants my whole life. So I was so excited to meet Amanda, and I can't wait for you to meet her too! You are going to absolutely love this conversation. Get ready to take some notes if you're a note taker, because Amanda's going to be sharing all the different herbs and plants and oils that you might use to enhance and improve your life, heal your body, heal your mind, and even which oils and herbs are best for accessing intuition. Let's dive into this conversation with Amanda Furby. Hi, Amanda. Hello.
Amanda 00:03:09 How are you doing?
Brenda 00:03:10 I'm great. Thank you for being here.
Amanda 00:03:12 Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be a part.
Brenda 00:03:15 Oh. Me too. I'm excited for this conversation because we're going to unlock people's kitchens and turn them into a medicine cabinet. And I cannot wait. But before we dive in, I'd love to know what is one thing you either did or did not do that has led to your yes filled life?
Amanda 00:03:33 Oh, wow.
Amanda 00:03:34 so just getting into herbal medicine in general was a huge leap of faith. I did design work for 12 years before this totally unrelated field, and, really just had a vision to get into herbal medicine. about almost 14 years ago now. And, you know, really through me kind of were a curveball because, you know, I had this set plan in my brain about what I was going to be doing with my life. but it was a really direct message, and it brought me from the east coast of Portland, and to the herb shop that's been around since 2005. but I jumped in in 2011 and immediately fell in love with what I was doing. Had absolutely no idea what I was doing or, you know, even how to pronounce most of the Latin words and things like that. So, it was definitely a journey and a leap of faith. And, you know, I feel like I'm always encouraging people. Like, listen to your intuition and follow it because it's leading you and guiding you to, you know, your true potential in life and your true purpose.
Amanda 00:04:40 And, I'm a firm believer in that.
Brenda 00:04:43 Oh, absolutely. So I'm wondering, how did your intuition speak to you? Was it a knowing? Was it a curiosity? How did how did that work for you? You've built the success. your respected, accomplished and good at what you do. But if you're honest, you are still editing yourself to stay likable. Carrying more than anyone knows and wondering when leadership will finally feel lighter. This fall, join me for your yes filled life, a 12 week group experience for ambitious, intuitive leaders ready to stop shrinking and start showing up. Fully expressed. You'll practice nervous system tools, boundaries that hold, and voice activation that connects to your truth so you can lead with clarity, calm, and resonance. Enrollment is open now at Brenda winkel.com. Forward your filled life. That's Brenda Winkel. Yes. Filled life. Your yes. Filled life starts now. So I'm wondering, how did your intuition speak to you? Was it a knowing? Was it a curiosity? How did how did that work for you?
Amanda 00:05:56 I mean, I guess it all kind of started because I was on a three month sabbatical.
Amanda 00:06:02 you know, taking a break and, you know, decompressing and trying to figure out my next moves in life. and I stumbled into an herb shop in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and got some passionflower because I was having anxiety and stress and all the things for the next, you know, part of life. And so I, you know, took that passionflower and was like, wow, this like, worked immediately for me. I mean, it was so it was life changing. And then that same first day that I, that I took that passion flower. All of a sudden I just started getting these, like, visions. I mean, it was just like, you know, visions of a wellness property, visions of herbal medicine. you know, at that point in my life, I was really asking some hard questions about, you know, what did I want with my life? What's important to my life? Like what really makes a difference in the world. And you know what's something that's always needed and, you know, viable.
Amanda 00:06:59 And it brought me straight to herbal medicine.
Brenda 00:07:03 Oh my gosh. And so I, I love this story. And I'm just imagining what it would be like if I was to take a leap into something I didn't know anything about. And, well, I mean, I guess I have done that in a number of ways. And I'm curious, did imposter syndrome ever come up for you as you were navigating this, or because you were coming into a shop? Did that not really play a part?
Amanda 00:07:27 I mean, I feel like there was just so much to learn. It was like this crash course and an imposter syndrome. Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not sure if that was the right word exactly, but, you know, definitely, like, what am I doing? You know, like, how did I get here? But I loved it so much and it just felt like this, you know, download of information that had already been with me for so, so many years or lifetimes or whatever it might be.
Amanda 00:07:54 and so, you know, there was definitely points that I was questioning things and like, am I doing this right or am I not doing it right? but again, it became this really big lesson. And, you know, not only researching and talking to people and taking lots of herbal education, you know, just absorbing that, but also really trusting my gut and my instincts on like, what information was coming in to me.
Brenda 00:08:19 I love that so many of us have the intuitive hits. We we know in our guts what's right for us, and it's really difficult to trust it for some people. Was that something that you had always done? Had you always been able to trust your intuition? Or is it something you cultivated?
Amanda 00:08:36 I think yes and no. Again, you know, I think that for especially my childhood and stuff, I feel like I was really intuitive, but, you know, didn't really know what it was, you know, trying to understand how and what this information is that was coming in.
Amanda 00:08:53 but at the same time, you know, this was such an, such a direct, like message that I could not deny it. There was like, nothing in my body. I mean, anytime I was like, well, maybe I'll go back to, like, doing what I was doing before, like, that's what I'm educated in. That's what I know I'm good at. You know, all those type of things. But it literally was just this message that was like, it was like, you know, don't collect, don't stop, don't collect $200. You know, you have to keep going. and it was really powerful. And, you know, at the time, everyone I knew, friends and family, they were kind of shaking their heads and going, what are you doing exactly? You know, what is an herbalist and what is herbalism? Like, it wasn't a very well, you know, known thing within my friend group or family group. and so I just said, I don't know, I just have to go do this.
Amanda 00:09:48 Like, I can't really explain it to anybody. Except for that. I feel like I'm really being called to go into this line of work and understand it. So that's what I did.
Brenda 00:09:59 Oh my gosh, that's that's so cool. A really good story. And I, I relate to it on so many levels. And one of the things that I personally experienced when I was moving away from education into the work that I do now, is there was this moment and it didn't last long, but it was really powerful where I questioned if I was sane, like what I was asking myself to do was completely beyond convention. It was there was no roadmap. It was literally against everything I had been taught about safety, security and that kind of thing. And so there was this moment where I was like, am I okay? Like.
Amanda 00:10:42 Yes, yes, yes. Well, so much of that is our programming, right? You know, we're like, okay, you have to have the 2.5 kids and the white picket fence and, you know, get your college education and all these things.
Amanda 00:10:54 So, you know, we go through all these steps in life that we're, you know, told we have to do. But then that intuition kicks in, right? And you're like, oh, whoa, this is way different.
Brenda 00:11:06 Yeah, exactly. And so I teach people how to access their intuition. So it comes in a lot of different ways for a lot of different people. And there's no like one tried and true way that intuition speaks. It can be a knowing. It can be hearing a sentence. It can be a feeling. It can be a combination of all of those. It can come in through other people where they are sort of picking up or tracking something that you might be thinking about. And I just love how much trust you had in the process.
Amanda 00:11:38 Yeah, I mean, I had to it was like there was no there was nothing that was going to let me not do it. If that makes sense. You know, I felt just this, very, large push, I guess, if you want to call it, you know, it was it was, it was like, put your blinders on.
Amanda 00:11:57 Don't get distracted. Like you have to do this. And I mean, leaving North Carolina and everything I'd known for 12 years there, and then just packing my bags and moving to Oregon, where I really didn't know anyone or what I was doing, it was, yeah, it was a big trust factor for sure. And, you know, I think the more we get into understanding our intuition and really listening to it, the the more that, you know, trust factor really comes in.
Brenda 00:12:28 Absolutely, 100%. I'm curious, is there any herb that can help people learn to trust intuition?
Amanda 00:12:35 Oh, man. I mean, there's so many out there in so many different forms. I personally really love to work with Clary Sage Essential oil for that. it's it's excellent if you put it on your third eye, if you're meditating, or if you're just having a moment in life where you need to, like, ground down and kind of just feel what you need to feel and listen to what you need to listen to.
Brenda 00:12:58 I love that. I love it I have a little rollerball that I keep on my, on my desk and it is a a fifth chakra voice activator because I do so much work with my voice. So I'm always like, yeah, we'll just like.
00:13:15 Put a little on and yeah.
Amanda 00:13:18 I mean, and I mean, herbs in general are so powerful. But then you look at essential oils and they're almost even more powerful in a lot of ways because they're so highly concentrated and, potent, like potent a little tiny bit goes a long, long way. And there's, you know, there's a lot of education around essential oils with like, what to use and how to use it and how not to use it, all those things. But, I love talking to people about that. And, you know, just kind of educating on just the potency of one drop of an essential oil and how much plant material it takes to, like, make one drop of plant material or a five milliliter, you know, a tiny little bottle, you know, is a lot of plant material.
Brenda 00:14:04 Absolutely. And one of the things I'm a Reiki master, and I was trained to use essential oils as part of my practice. And one of the things that I was taught is how important it is to use a carrier oil, if you're going to have it touch the skin. I wonder if you can talk to people a little bit about that, just so that in case somebody inspired by our conversation about any of these herbs or essential oils, they go out and buy the oils so that they can safely use them.
Amanda 00:14:31 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you definitely want to use either a carrier oil or some sort of water based so that you're diluting that. I will tell the story because that's one of my most favorite stories, and it's very memorable. but one of the classes I took with Rosemary Gladstein, who's, you know, the grandmother of herbalism. Really, in the United States. she was talking about how she had made a big bathtub of water for her husband because he was sick. and she put, like, one drop of oregano, essential oil and that whole bathtub, and it burned his skin.
Amanda 00:15:06 You know, and you're thinking, wow, okay, that really puts into, like, a visual level of understanding the potency of certain essential oils. you know, they say with essential oils, you always want to kind of test them out, either, like, you know, in an area like your wrist or, you know, someplace that, that if you have a reaction before you ever use it, it's a smart, smart move to do before you dive in to them. But you always want to have it have some sort of like carrier to like, kind of dilute it down before you use just a direct essential oil.
Brenda 00:15:42 I love that. Thank you for sharing that. So we've talked a little bit about essential oils. And you pointed to something. You pointed to the idea that essential oils and herbs might be different.
Amanda 00:15:54 Yeah, they definitely are. And I mean just to kind of break down an essential oil and what it is. So if you are touching a plant, for example, let's say you touch rosemary or you touch peppermint, you know, and you smell that on your fingers.
Amanda 00:16:08 That is basically the volatile oils that the essential oils come from. So that's what you're getting, you know, when you touch it or as a as, as taken and extract it into an essential oil. So if you're using it, you know, fresh or dried, you're still going to be getting those components. But what they've done is taken and really consolidated down into a really high potent potency and extracted that, that essential oil, you know, from the plant itself. And so, they're both great and wonderful and you're both going to have amazing results with herbs. As far as whether it's a tea or a fresh or, you know, essential oil. But definitely knowing the potency levels of things is really important.
Brenda 00:16:54 Absolutely, absolutely. so if we look to our kitchen and what many of us might have in the cupboard, I would guess that we probably have some really potent herbs just hanging out in our regular kitchens. Is that accurate?
Amanda 00:17:14 Absolutely. And in fact, this is like an internal battle that I have with myself every time we talk about, like the difference of spices versus like, medicinal herbs, because every single spice in your cabinet is going to have some sort of medicinal property to them.
Amanda 00:17:31 You know, it's so it's kind of hard to in my brain, you know, from a business standpoint when I'm trying to categorize things like, oh, this is a spice or this is a black herb. They're really, you know, all very similar. And they're definitely all going to have lots of great, great, medicinal properties to them. you know, so I'm sure everyone has a, you know, a stocked medicinal, you know, pantry, and they just don't even really realize what else is there.
Brenda 00:17:57 Okay. So I just want to repeat that to make sure I caught that. I think I heard you say that every spice has medicinal properties.
Amanda 00:18:05 Every spice will have some sort of medicinal property. I've never come across one that doesn't. I'll say that. So. Wow.
Brenda 00:18:11 Okay, that is super cool. What are some common ones we might have around that we could use?
Amanda 00:18:16 Absolutely. So garlic is a great one. It's, you know, excellent for the immune system. it's going to it's obviously got lots of, like, antibacterial properties.
Amanda 00:18:28 Antimicrobials, antifungal. ginger is also an excellent one. That's in a lot of people's kitchens. that one is a little hot. So, you know, if you have problems with things like acid reflux or something. You might not necessarily want to use that, but it can be excellent for like nausea or, you know, digestion issues, things like that. Rosemary is another one. That's one of my favorites. I mean, it's again, a little bit on the hot side of things if you have some, some heat sensitivities, and depending on your constitution. But it's, it's excellent for, you know, stimulation. It's used for hair growth and things of that nature. you know, it can also be great for respiratory situations, like if you have a head cold going on, throwing some of that in a pot on your stove really can clear things up. Clove also is one of my other favorites. it's, you know, again, it could be helpful for, for a digestion, but it also is a great pain reliever.
Amanda 00:19:28 You know, if you have a sore throat or not, a sore throat, if you have a, if you have a, a tooth or your gums are hurting, then, you know, that can be something that you can chew on the clove itself, and that can help to relieve some of the pain. there's so many. I mean, I feel like we could go on and on for days.
Brenda 00:19:48 So can I. Can I ask a question? You said when you were talking about Rosemary. Depending on your constitution. Can you say more about what that might mean?
Amanda 00:19:57 Yeah. I mean, some people have like a hot constitution or a damp constitution. And so that really can play into. question. So sorry. My cat just decided to come in here and rampage everything. So. All right, so sorry.
Brenda 00:20:17 About.
Amanda 00:20:17 That. okay. So what? Okay. The constitutions. And so if you, you know, everybody's constitutions are slightly different, you know, whether, your damp or cool may make a big difference in what type of plant you might use.
Amanda 00:20:32 for example, if you are a damp constitution, you might want to use something like sage leaf because that's really drying and pulling. Or you might also want to use that ginger, or use cayenne or even cinnamon and clove because they have some of those warming, you know, rosemary, that they have those warming properties. but if you're somebody that you know, is is hot, you might want something that's a little more cooling, like peppermint or spearmint or things of, of in that vein of herbs.
Brenda 00:21:06 So how would somebody know if they were damp or cool or hot?
Amanda 00:21:13 Yeah, totally. I mean, I think that like a good way to, to recognize that is like if you're, you know, more of a hot constitution, you probably are a little bit like redder. You're, you know, you might sweat more, you might get flushed a lot faster. Whereas if you're like a damp constitution, like, are you cold all the time? You know, like, those are more almost like circulatory type things that are in there, but, you know, diving into those things or.
Amanda 00:21:41 Something that you could do when you do like a consultation and really kind of get into the into the nitty gritty of what those things are.
Brenda 00:21:48 So I love that. And so what you're suggesting is that we could have a consultation and learn more about our own system and what herbs might be best for us.
Amanda 00:22:00 Yeah, absolutely. We do a 30 minute sliding scale through the nonprofit, where people can get in there. And we also have full, you know, our consultations and things like that. But, you know, when I close the retail store and everything all online, I really wanted everybody to have that same opportunity to be able to get on a call with us and have questions answered like they would if they walked into the shop. and so that's where that sliding scale, like 30 minute consultation, you know. And with that being said, like, I'll never turn somebody away if somebody's like, I can't afford that, but I need to talk to somebody. Like That's also kind of part of the nonprofit aspect is that we can really get in there and, and help anybody in any possible way.
Amanda 00:22:44 So.
Brenda 00:22:45 So this would be a great time for you to tell us about the work that you do, specifically about the shop, how we can learn more about the shop, and then tell us also about the nonprofit.
Amanda 00:22:56 Yeah, absolutely. So the whole company is actually now a non-profit. I changed everything over in September of 2023. And a big part of that is just the community outreach that I think is really important. you know, herbal medicine is truly like the medicine for the people. You know, I want to help educate people that they can grow some of these herbs, especially, you know, depending on where you are, like, I mean, anywhere you live, there's things that you can grow. and so I think it's really, really important to like, help educate, to like to bring, you know, free clinics to different areas, like, we're involved with the People's Health Clinic here in Portland, where we do a once a month free clinic for houseless folks. and, you know, really help them try to get into some better lifestyle habits and wellness practices.
Amanda 00:23:46 before we ever dive into to, you know, any herbs or things of that nature, you know, I want to help people to create a safe space for them so that their wellness can, can grow and evolve. with that being said, we do all kinds of events. You know, we're doing events with piccata, and we're doing events with, good medicine confluence. We're doing the free clinics. we've done some work with Rehab Sisters where we've made herbal mocktails. You know, and so, again, I'm a huge advocate of food as medicine. And so, you know, I don't necessarily think every person needs to take a pill necessarily. You know, it's more like, how can I incorporate this into your, you know, day to day life and help folks understand those processes?
Brenda 00:24:33 That is amazing and I feel like it's so. It's always been important, but it feels even more important right now to vote with our dollars for the things that really matter. And so will you tell us we're not done? We're not wrapping up.
Brenda 00:24:47 But I want people to know how can they find you?
Amanda 00:24:50 Yeah, absolutely. So you can go to our website. and that is the it's the herb shop and that's shop pdx.com, and that has all kinds of information. You can also get onto our newsletter because we're sending out, you know, constant recipes and information, how you know how to tips on allergies and, you know, whatever it might be. There's a lot of great, great content that's already on the website. But I definitely recommend, you know, getting onto our newsletter. we're also, I think, on every social media platform that is out there. and again, you know, kind of trying to put as much information out there for folks to, to have the resources that we need. I try really hard to focus on things that are important in the moment. Like for example, right now is allergy season. So you know, all the content that's going to be coming out, you know, through this month is going to be related to seasonal allergies or, you know, ways to improve that and within your own health spectrum.
Brenda 00:25:54 So I love that. So just for reference, we're recording in March of 2025. So depending on when this episode airs, you might want to scroll back through some of those blog posts to find the ones on allergies.
Amanda 00:26:07 Yes, absolutely. And you know, within herbal medicine, we're really touching on pretty much anything that you might go to our regular doctor for. So whether that is allergies or whether that's stress or pain or sleep, digestion, you know, detoxing, like whatever it might be, there's, you know, we're we're working with all the things that we all are dealing with, you know, all the time. For the most part.
Brenda 00:26:34 I love this, so a lot of the people that are listening are high achievers. They're leaders, they're very intuitive, they're probably empathic, and stress is something that can really impact the ability to show up as a leader and the ability to access intuition. So what are a couple things we might be able to use to help reduce or manage stress?
Amanda 00:26:57 Yeah.
Amanda 00:26:58 there are a million herbs actually out there that are great for the nervous system this kind of goes into. Also, I feel like, you know, we are really provided on this earth with all the things that we need. and so when you see, you know, multiple plants for stress or multiple plants for, let's just say the nervous system in general, like there are plenty, you know, passion flowers, a really great one, which we kind of talked about a little bit. Lemon bomb is a great one, also very gentle and great for children as well. there is lavender, of course, and chamomile male. Rose can be really great. Especially if you're, maybe going through some, like, heart healing things as well. It's very grounding. and then there's herbs that, you know, maybe more considered, like sedative. So, you know, they still fall under the umbrella of the nervous system or what's considered a nerve pain. But you're looking at things like California poppy or valerian or, hops, even, Pedicularis, you know, there's there's, again, tons of those.
Amanda 00:28:01 And most of the time when we're formulating, we're trying to keep those things in mind. You know, we don't want to make a sleep blend for somebody that's just trying to work on their nervous system the day to day. Right? You know, and so there's lots of things that lots of herbs that can be really helpful for the nervous system. we make a whole line called the here and now blend, which is great for stress and anxiety, but, you know, is going to keep you awake during the day. It's not going to, you know, knock your socks off and make you feel like I need to go take a nap. So that's really important when it comes to formulations.
Brenda 00:28:34 Yes. And I love what you're suggesting here is that by working with you you can get custom blends. And so I I'm wondering is there is there anything about counter indications like. Would there be certain classes of medications that people would be on that might suggest that they need to make sure they're working with somebody with knowledge to make sure that there's not a problem with the medicine?
Amanda 00:29:01 Absolutely.
Amanda 00:29:02 You know, that's a really great thing to bring up. I think that if you're on any type of prescription medications, you should definitely be working with a practitioner as well. We do have a list on our resources page on the website that has contraindications in there, and it has quite a bit of them. But you know, again, you know, medicine is always changing and evolving. So it's always great to work with, you know, if you have a nature path or even an MD or whoever you're working with in collaboration with us, so that we can make sure that we're all making sure everyone is safe within that realm.
Brenda 00:29:35 That is amazing. And you know, I had forgotten this until this conversation, but, I had a a pre cancer diagnosis in the 20 teens, like 2013, 2014. And they wanted to do a very invasive procedure. And I was like, no, like no, I want to I know my body can can handle this. And so I went to a naturopath.
Brenda 00:30:01 That was my Segway. That was what made me remember this. And the natural path had this tea that she had made from a local herbalist, and it tasted really quite awful. And I drink it every day, twice a day for three months. And I went back and there was no trace of the pre cancer. And it was I mean, I was doing some other things too as far as wellness, you know, making sure I was eating properly and resting properly and hydrating and all the things. But I know that that tea had a massive impact on my wellness.
Amanda 00:30:35 Yeah, there is quite a few medicinal mushrooms as well as, you know, herbs that can be great for cancer. and again, like your food and your food intake can make a huge impact on that as well. What you're putting into your body, obviously you're you're going to get good results, you know, with what you're doing if you're putting good stuff in. there are a couple of blends that I know for sure, like the SCT, which was created by a doctor in Canada, Doctor Cassia, which is backwards.
Amanda 00:31:07 that is a blend that's very specific for tumors and things of that nature. But then there's things like reishi mushroom that is known as like the mushroom of immortality, you know, and it's there's been a lot of great results with some of those medicinal mushrooms for cancer and immune system and kind of regulating and keeping you healthy through processes like that.
Brenda 00:31:30 So good to know. So good to know. So I'm curious, do you have like a personal daily regimen that you use for herbs or do you mix and match depending on what's happening?
Amanda 00:31:42 I do mix and match. I will say that the one that I use probably the most consistently is my Soul Shine blend, which is an adrenal blend because I mean, like myself, like many people in this world. Like, we're all really, really fatigued and our adrenals are super burnt out because we're moving in 700 different directions all the time. and, you know, the adrenal is, also connected to so many things like the thyroid and so many other things in the body.
Amanda 00:32:12 So really making sure that adrenals are, you know, recharged and nourished is really important. also there kind of this I feel like they're like a magic gland. You know, when you start working with adrenal herbs, they can either they bring balance to the body, you know. So if you are, if you can't sleep, then, you know, you can use an adrenal gland to help, you know, blend to help balance that out. Or maybe you're on the opposite end of the spectrum where you're, you know, so like exhausted and lethargic. So it helps to kind of balance those out. And that's really what you know. Adrenal herbs are great for.
Brenda 00:32:50 That is so cool. So cool. Is camomile considered an herb.
Amanda 00:32:54 Camomile is an herb. Yes. And it's a great nervous system. Herb. it's also great for children. You know again when we're looking at formulas and blends and things, you want to be careful about what you're putting in things for. You know, maybe a pregnant person or or children or, you know, like you're saying somebody that maybe is on some other medication.
Amanda 00:33:15 You know, there's there's lots of things. And that's one reason why we custom blend, too. Because if, you know, folks can't get, you know, if they need something that's going to help them and they can't have, you know. Valerian, for example. Then we can make something specific for them.
Brenda 00:33:31 Oh, I love that. I love that. So I heard you say, you know, when you're talking about constitutions, the the hot and the damp, and that is a term that my acupuncturist has often used, and she's trained in Chinese medicine and an acupuncture. And I'm curious, is there an overlap in herbal medicine between Chinese medicine?
Amanda 00:33:51 There is, you know, there's there's a lot of differences as well. And what we work with is mainly Western herbalism, which is plants that are, you know, grown here in the States. they're ones that have been taught by the elders of the communities here. however, you know, we do crossover with Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, and there's a lot of similarities.
Amanda 00:34:13 There may be slight differences on like, maybe how you use them or why you use them, but, things like ashwagandha or turmeric are great examples of those that are really popular. You know, today, in today's society. But, they originally came from, Ayurvedic medicine or, like, Chinese medicine. Same thing. There's there's lots that kind of flow from that vein that we do work with as well.
Brenda 00:34:39 That's amazing. So when I went to Bali, my, my friend, is married to a man who is Indonesian. And so we went all together for part of this retreat, and I can't remember, I think I had a sunburn or something. Well, I mean, I for sure had a sunburn, but, they got this oil called Kudus. Kudus. And it's cut us. and I tried a little bit of my friends, and I was like, okay, how many bottles of this can I take back with me? And so I took as many as I could because it was just it smelled so good and it felt so good and my skin healed.
Brenda 00:35:22 Turns out you can use it topically for stomach pain, for cuts, for bug bites, for for, sunburns. Obviously. It's also like hi vibe. It helps like change your vibration. If you're stuck in negative thoughts. It's like this miracle oil and it's written in Balinese. So I don't have the translation for the ingredients, but some of the ingredients that I was able to translate include black cumin and citronella. And. oh I'm spacing. I just sent my friend a text the other day, but it's this whole turmeric was one of them. I think that was my cue and all these other oils and it just is, it's just the coolest thing I've ever felt. So anyway, I just if you want to look up cute as cute as oil.
Amanda 00:36:14 Yeah, I definitely will have to check that out. I mean, there's so many plants out there, you know, that it's it's there's crossover like we're talking about, but there's it's amazing that there's still so many Arabs out there that I don't even know anything about.
Amanda 00:36:26 After 14 years and, you know, herbalism, I feel, is really a life journey. You know, like even within the shop, there's so many herbs there that I personally may not ever have to use. But that's kind of the beautiful part of interaction with other customers and getting their feedback on things. but I will definitely check that out. And I kind of wanted to like, talk about also a little bit with the fact that oils are going on the skin and things. you know, our skin is our largest organ, and I think people don't always relate that that is also medicine that we're putting on topically, but it really is. And it can be really potent, like you're saying for digestion or, you know, whether it's pain and inflammation, whatever it might be. you know, those topical, the topical herbs are and essential oils are going, you know, directly into your largest organ. So that is a really great way to apply them, and usually a little bit gentler sometimes than maybe taking it as a tincture or a capsule or tea.
Brenda 00:37:28 You know, you made me think of something which is I mean, yes, our skin is our largest organ, and often we forget that when we buy random things from the store, whether it's a lotion or a fragrance. I'm curious. do you have product recommendations for clean beauty, for, different kinds of skincare?
Amanda 00:37:51 Absolutely. We actually make a whole skincare line as well, because I it was one of the first things that I fell in love with within herbal medicine, was making my own skincare products and not wanting so many of the chemicals and things that are in so many products. again, that kind of goes into like, this is a lifestyle. This is a, you know, a life journey. you know, it never. I'm going to tell somebody, go throw away everything that you have in your house because that's wasteful. But, you know, when you slowly start bringing things in, like your skincare, or maybe your cleaning products, or things for your pets or your kids, whatever it might be, you really kind of start looking at those ingredients and going, okay, I can sell, but that's nettles and that's camomile, but I don't even know how to pronounce that word or what that is like.
Amanda 00:38:37 It's good to have that awareness of what is going, you know, in your space, on your body, all the people that you love, things like that.
Brenda 00:38:44 So yeah, absolutely, absolutely. In our bodies and in our air.
Amanda 00:38:49 Yes, yes for sure. I mean, I can we kind of talked a little bit, but I feel like there is an awakening and an awareness that has been happening, you know, for a while. But really, Covid did this crazy thing with us where all of a sudden everybody's like, wait, you know, hold on. What is that? Do I want that in my body? Don't I want that in my body? and that really has been a really beautiful trickle effect to to educate people. You know, that herbal medicine is here for all of us, and it's not, you know, although there are precautions and things like that there. I feel like is a plant for every person for whatever they might have going on. And culturally, it's been used across the world for so, so many things.
Amanda 00:39:33 And, and it's amazing to me how, you know, hundreds of years ago, somebody in Asia and somebody in South America might have been using the exact same plant for the exact same thing. But there's no cell phones, there's no internet, there's no communication. So, you know, those are downloaded messages from those, you know, plants and from our ancestors. And, you know, so it's powerful. It's powerful medicine.
Brenda 00:39:59 That's amazing. This has been such a cool conversation. It's got me really thinking about, first of all, I want to go check out the blog, and I want to find out all the medicines that might be in my cupboard in my spice cabinet, because I do have a thing for spices. It's just when I moved, recently, there were two boxes of spices. Two like big boxes full of spices. Because I've got these. These spinning spice wheels. And then I don't stick to that I still just. Like, also. Oh, I need this random spice for something.
Brenda 00:40:31 Yeah. So I can't wait to do that. And I'll put the link to that in the show notes so everyone can go take a look. Is there anything else before we close that you want to make sure our listeners know?
Amanda 00:40:40 Yeah, absolutely. So for listening today, we have a 20% coupon that is going out for a one time purchase. and the code, which I think Brenda can, can share this with everyone is Brenda. So I felt like that was a great one to put out there. and you can use that on any of our products that are on the website. if you want to custom blend, reach out and we can help you with that with creating that and apply that discount as well.
Brenda 00:41:06 That is so generous. Thank you.
Amanda 00:41:08 Yeah. You're welcome.
Brenda 00:41:09 Yeah. So go check out the website, connect with Amanda on social and I'll put all of your links in the show notes. So it's just one click and easily done. Thank you. Thank you for being here today.
Brenda 00:41:20 It's been wonderful.
Amanda 00:41:21 For having me. It's awesome. I love to talk about it. Anytime you want to talk about herbs, I'm here.
Brenda 00:41:27 Sounds good. Thank you.
Amanda 00:41:28 Thank you. Have a great day.
Brenda 00:41:29 Thanks. You too. I hope that you loved this episode as much as Amanda. And I loved creating it for you. There is so much information. You might even want to go back and listen again. And invitation to share this episode with someone you care about, because there's so much important knowledge about plants and herbs and essential oils and medicinal spices. It's just amazing what we all have access to. I'm going to put all of Amanda's links in the show notes, so be sure that you go check them out. And as a reminder, your yes Filled life Group coaching program is enrolling. Now you've built the success your respected, accomplished good at what you do. Now it's time to enjoy it differently this fall. Join me for your yes filled life, a 12 week high touch group experience designed for ambitious, intuitive leaders.
Brenda 00:42:28 Together, we'll work with nervous system tools, energetic alignment, and voice activation practices to help you lead with clarity, calm and resonance without over giving, overthinking, or over explaining. Enrollment is open now at Brenda Twinkle com forward your filled life. Your yes filled life is waiting for you. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. If you loved this episode, would you please consider going to give it a rating and review wherever you're listening? It takes just 30s and it means more to the growth of the podcast than just about anything else. Thank you for being here. Bye for now. Until next time.
