From the outside, the differences between men and women are clear—muscle mass, height, reproductive organs, and body composition all set us apart. Yet, beneath the surface, more subtle variations exist, from how our brains process information to hormone concentrations, lung capacity, and even the structure of our airways. From the moment of conception, biological sex influences every tissue, organ, and bodily function, making it essential to approach disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in ways that reflect these differences.

However, modern medicine has long been built around a "one-size-fits-all" model with male physiology as the default. In medical education, for example, the 'reference man' is often the standard used to study anatomy, leaving the unique needs of women overlooked. This male-centric approach has led to significant biases in treatment. Take heart attacks: while symptoms in men are widely known and used for diagnosis, women's symptoms often differ, resulting in a 50% higher chance of misdiagnosis and an increased risk of death after a heart attack.

These disparities stem from multiple factors—women are underrepresented in clinical trials, there’s a lack of female-specific education in medical schools, and procedures performed on men often yield higher Medicare reimbursements, further skewing treatment focus. 

Despite women making up half the global population, only 1% of healthcare research and development is dedicated to female-specific conditions. Endometriosis, for example, affects 10% of women of reproductive age, yet it often takes up to 10 years to receive a diagnosis, with minimal research toward a cure.

While women live longer than men, they spend a larger portion of their lives in poor health—25% more of their working years, to be exact. It’s time we demand a healthcare system that recognizes and respects women’s unique biology. This guide is a step toward that goal, offering insights to empower women to take charge of their health and bridge the gap where modern medicine may fall short.

You've likely seen the term "toxic diet culture" all over social media—and for good reason. It's time to move away from it. While toxic diet culture affects everyone, it disproportionately targets women, reinforcing the harmful idea that a woman’s value lies primarily in her physical appearance. Many companies pushing weight loss cures or trendy diet plans are less concerned with your health and more focused on profit. They often fail to recognize that every body is unique, requiring different nourishment to thrive truly.

Instead of counting calories or following restrictive plans, learn to tune in to what your body needs to feel good. It’s all too common for women to lose weight and appear healthy on the outside, while unknowingly depriving their bodies of essential nutrients required for optimal function. This isn’t to say that wanting to lose weight is inherently unhealthy—when necessary for your well-being, weight loss can be a positive goal. But the approach matters. Lasting health comes from a holistic lifestyle that considers diet, movement, and spiritual wellness, not from quick-fix diets that only last until the next trend arrives.

Today, we’re constantly bombarded with unrealistic body standards through beauty and health advertising, with photoshopped images presenting unattainable ideals. This filters into the minds of women, distracting them with restrictive diets, diet pills, laxatives, detoxes, and cleanses they don’t need—when, in truth, the focus should be on feeling good and embracing one’s unique confidence and expression.

The pressure to conform to these ideals often starts young, leaving many women constantly striving to fit a mold that society has dictated. In the following sections, we’ll unpack how to break free from restrictive eating and instead focus on the basics of nourishment, embracing fresh, vibrant foods as the foundation for true wellness

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Here I was, approaching 50 years old and needing an attitude adjustment. Like most, I had questions I wanted answers to but needed to figure out where to look. Luckily, I had my passion for art and design to guide me. I was researching an interior design project when I found Zen. I quickly realized that Zen is not just a way of designing a space but a way of life. I used this new perspective as inspiration in some of my paintings and found the more I tuned into my art, the more I could zoom out on my life and look with fresh eyes. I noticed all of the stuff that cluttered my life and my thoughts. No wonder things felt so heavy. Then, I began to look at all the people I had collected over the past 50 years. Most suffered to some degree, and I realized they were a part of the clutter that weighed down my life and thoughts.

Was it the law of attraction? Or was it misery loves company? As a co-dependent woman, perhaps it was a combination of both. Nevertheless, the thought that plagued my mind was that if I didn't fix it, I would end up “stuck”- Just like my mother. However, changing everything I found comfort in - even if it was false comfort - was no easy task. How do you close a door you've always let everyone walk through? I needed to change not only my surroundings but the dynamic of my friendships and family. I had to learn to create boundaries and the multitude of challenges I had faced due to the lack of these boundaries never fully set in until that moment. 

  Things began to move fast. I realized that I was married to a mentally abusive alcoholic. I divorced him. I rebuilt my life away from my children after being a stay-at-home mom for twenty-some years. Then, right after my divorce, the pandemic hit. With nothing more to do and feeling lighter than ever, I dove head-first into my paintings and projects. I found therapy in repurposing furniture, home projects, drawing, and painting. However, as I spoke with my friends and those around me, most of them struggled with being at home and hadn't found that creative freedom I had. Instead, the only comfort many found was the many forms of entertainment at their fingertips. Meanwhile, for the first time in my life, I could focus and be “in the moment.” A concept I had learned from my experience with yoga and meditation- but never had truly experienced firsthand. It pulled me out of one of the darkest moments in my life and paved a path that allowed me to focus on my passion, but what kind of path was it paving for others?

  As I thought about my experience vs those I had spoken to, my children were at the forefront of my mind. I noticed many of their social environments were made up of pre-teens in an environment of kids who were already addicted to social media. If this was already the case, how would the pandemic affect them? Would they seek the comfort of technology like those I spoke to, or would they find creative freedom like I had? Could they find a balance of both? Not knowing how to navigate what was unfolding in their social environments caused many arguments that could have been avoided if I understood boundaries when they were young enough to show interest in the world of technology. Fortunately, they survived school, graduation, the divorce, and social media- and so did I. Though I know some haven't felt so lucky. I know many parents relate to this constant defeat against social media and technology. You may feel the defeat with it in your own life as well as you try to balance the need for it vs the habitual reach for it. To survive is one thing, but to find that balance for our children so they can still come out with direction and passion is all we can hope for as parents. As we are up against a world of technology and social media, I hope these tools and insights can help you find zen for the tech-minded.

"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." - Deepak Chopra

Let's start with what Zen is not. Zen is not about pretending the world is perfect. Zen is about finding the tools to sit within an uncomfortable world and still find comfort. It's the opposite of pretending. It's seeing things exactly as they are and not just showing up but showing up as a confident expression of who you are, which can be one of the biggest services to the world and yourself. To me, Zen is all about self-care. Tending to your garden first so that you can also tend to the bigger garden of life.

In the Western world, when we refer to Zen, we are referring to something that brings a sense of peace. However, Zen comes from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” which directly translates to meditation. Now, when most people think of meditation they think of someone sitting for a long time with the goal of non-thinking, but meditation can be many different things. One of the best tools can be to find what your meditation is. The thing(s) that create a joyous flow like the therapy I find from my art. When we become too distant from our meditation we often find false forms of it in things that do not add value to our lives and instead become distractions. By getting clear on what our meditation is and helping our kids find theirs (often beyond what they have been taught in school) we can make space for the mindfulness needed to create more balance in our day-to-day lives. It is no mystery that in this world of technology, these distractions are becoming more and more prominent. By tending to our garden of needs and adopting a “Zen attitude” we can transform some of the biggest obstacles in our lives and create healthy boundaries with technology. Finding your meditation is just one of many tools we will explore, but before we get into more of these, let's discuss the physical and mental benefits that can come from adopting this “Zen attitude”.

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness." - Thich Nhat Hanh

When we change the way we think our physical health will reflect that. Our bodies are constantly communicating with us. Signaling when something is off, but more often than not we don't look at the connection between our physical, emotional/mental, and spiritual-leading to an imbalance in our approach to well-being. When you go to the doctor for a lung infection it's very unlikely they will ask you about grief in your life even though in traditional Chinese Medicine that is the emotion that governs the lungs and it is very common to see lung issues in times of grief. When we look at who we are as separate parts instead of an interconnected whole the path to healing can take a lot longer. 

I remember the first time I had seen my body showing me the effects of my traumas and stress. I was about 12 or 13 in the car with my parents who were drunk and fighting. This wasn't anything new and almost a daily occurrence. However, this time my Mother started saying horrible things about my father's family. People who loved me and I loved dearly.  I instantly started breaking out into hives. Skin disorders like the hives I experienced can be related to what German New Medicine calls a separation conflict. As if something was being torn from the skin. Perhaps it was a fear of my mother separating me from my father's family, or my mother and father separating. What I do know is as similar situations persisted I began internalizing it all. 

As time went on I learned to set boundaries and take care of myself first, now I can step into the space of dealing with my mother and see the issues, but not be consumed by them. By prioritizing ourselves and nourishing this zen attitude we can improve many aspects of our health from better sleep to improved concentration. Have you taken time to explore the origins of your health concerns? Is there a possible emotional influence? Could this constant reach for social media, amazon shopping, and entertainment also be a way we distract ourselves from the traumas? I recommend journaling on these questions. Just as these stored traumas and stresses can lead to physical disease as can physical disease lead to emotional mayhem. The most important gift of adopting a zen attitude is being able to take control of your health and realize you do have the power! 

Dr. Gabor Mate often speaks about how the things that are killing us can be the very things that people praise us for. Like a super mom doing it all and constantly running on empty. She may look like a perfect mom who does it all for her kids but on the inside, she is burnt out. Now, we could argue sacrifice- especially for your children- is natural and necessary. However, our children learn by example. As parents, we must teach our children how to take care of themselves but how can we teach something we never do? Leading by example and actions speak louder than words are phrases I'm sure everyone has heard before, but that's because the truth they hold should not be taken lightly. Especially when it comes to parenting. By reflecting this back to our children we are also cultivating more presence in the relationships we have with our children. Let's explore how this zen attitude can impact our relationships not only with our children but with every relationship in our lives and how the world of technology could be creating more disease due to the lack of these connections with ourselves and the people around us.

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you love. It will not lead you astray." - Rumi

 For as long as I can remember all I ever wanted to do was be able to help others. As I grew older that desire only progressed as I began to make sense of the extent to which our world needed that help. However, never would I have thought being an herbalist would be how I pursued that desire. Through being led to the plant path I was led to the truth. The truth of the ways our society suffers, the truth that we have a lot of unlearning to do, the truth about this critical connection we have lost with the natural world, and the truth about many things that only continue to fuel my passion to help others through herbalism. My ancestors guided and I walked, the plants spoke, and I listened. There is NO finish line as an herbalist, only a journey of knowledge and greater union with the plants, human, and nonhuman worlds. Whatever your reason is for learning herbalism, thank you. Thank you for pursuing a path of stewardship, kinship, and a shared vision of a healthier & happier world. To a path more aligned with Mother Earth, to the preservation of Earth's medicines, to an Earth habitual to all life, not just human life.

 "Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”-Robin Wall Kimmerer 

Herbalism is an art, a science, a connective way of living, a practice that all your ancestors were familiar with, a hushed language that we desperately need to listen to again. Herbalism is many things. As you begin to rekindle the art of working alongside the plants, you'll understand there are no words to quite encapsulate "what it is" and it also starts to become less of an important question. As an herbalist, we are not healers. We are merely a vessel for these plants, so we can encourage others to heal themselves while trusting in the plants. You're a facilitator between connecting others back to themselves and the earth. As a vessel for the plants you're also a voice for the plants, and that means you're a steward of the land first and foremost. Helping to preserve the earth's medicine and educating others on how to be a steward of the land as well. Being an herbalist means never losing touch with the understanding we are building a relationship with these plants just like we would with one another. Perhaps this then takes understanding that we are not separate from the natural world around us. Rather we are a part of this web of life that connects us to all living things. Let's nurture this relationship. When thinking of the ethics of an herbalist, I love and recommend the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

 Our understanding of the plant kingdom and the power of our anatomy has been traded for symptom-based treatments. As an herbalist we are educators. That doesn't mean only educating others about the plants and how to be a steward of the land they come from, but also of the innate intelligence of their bodies to empower them to understand that by turning to a more natural way of living they can heal themselves and be preventative and free against dis-ease. This isn't to say healing is not complex but with the right tools, willingness to learn, and respect for our plant allies we can truly see a shift take place. On that note, it's also extremely important to understand as herbalists we are unlicensed practitioners. This means for liability we cannot diagnose or claim to heal anyone. We are merely educating and suggesting. If you end up going the realm of becoming a clinical herbalist this is especially important to keep in mind and something, you'll surely learn again on your journey there