Life is like a series of chapters.  Many have different characters and locations, they all have tears and joy, but they don’t all feel connected to me. The only constant for me has been wellness.  In good times and in bad, I knew I only had this one body, mind, and soul, and I needed to take care of them.  
I was introduced to plant-based wellness pretty much at birth, born in an ashram where my mother worked with the land and used plants to heal mental, physical, and spiritual imbalances.  I have used homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, tinctures, oils, herbal supplements, vitamins, mineral supplements, fitness, and energy work, all with varying levels of success and all as an alternative to western medicine.  In New York and Los Angeles, holistic healing and herbalism were the norms, and I had easy access to both. When I moved to Indiana, I realized a vast population is entirely unaware of plant-based wellness benefits.
In the Midwest, the majority of plant-based wellness is focused on essentials oils.  Beyond that, there is very little education and access to holistic wellness practices and plant-based health like herbalism and traditional Chinese medicine. 
This becomes a problem because when you limit access, women who are seeking solutions for stress, pain, sleep, and reproductive wellness, really only have a pharmacy as an option. 
To paint a picture of what I mean, imagine lots of fast-food restaurants, lots of pharmacies, and one juice place 30 minutes away as your only option for fresh cold-pressed organic juices. You had to work hard to find a green juice where I live, but you can throw a stone and hit a CVS or a Dairy Queen.  So when I was suddenly dealing with mental fatigue (brain fog) and sleep issues, I knew finding a certified herbalist or a naturopath was going to be challenging, so I called my local general practitioner and went in to see him.  He said I was stressed, and offered me sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, and told me to try exercising. I smiled and nodded, feeling like anything I brought to this conversation was going to turn into a prescription instead of a solution.
I would also like to note that I workout 5 to 6 days a week, meditate, do yoga, spin, run, flip tires, Pilates, Barre, you name it, and I love it all (except cardio drumming - not my jam) So I picked up the prescriptions, mostly to learn more about them, not really intending to take them.  The pamphlet of side effects was 8 printed pages given to me by the pharmacist. These prescriptions offered me the possibility of death, weight gain, numbness, or tingling in my extremities, vomiting, trouble breathing, brain bleeds, blood clots, and they have the potential to be habit-forming. Isn’t that a nice way to formulate that you can become addicted? 
I thought I went to the Doctor to get better, but this didn’t sound better to me. 
This is one of the biggest reasons I started a new chapter by launching a DTC wellness shop - Ami Wellness - leaving my marketing company to dive headfirst into providing women with an opportunity to support their bodies with plant-based wellness.
There are some differences between herbalism and pharmacology.  Herbalists use herbal supplements as a means to heal the body. Herbal supplements are regulated by the FDA but do not require clinical trials.  Most doctors prescribe drugs as a means to treat symptoms. Both over the counter and prescription drugs require clinical trials and FDA approval. There is also a difference in approach; herbalism looks at the symptom, and better understands the possible imbalance. Then it uses plants to help the body correct or address that imbalance. Therefore, assisting the body in reducing or alleviating the symptoms.  Herbalism will seek to create healing through homeostasis, which means it is trying to help your body help itself return to balance.
Drugs have a specific purpose and very often have side effects.  I believe this is because drugs work against your body to target the symptom but ignore the impact on the rest of the body.  
My personal experience with many OTC and prescription medications has been a bit rough -- side effects, increased dosage after time, and collateral damage (impacted gut health, etc.) were not experiences that made me feel well.
Don’t get me wrong. I think modern medicine is incredible -- the innovation, the preventative treatment, all amazing. I just question the system of pharmacology, its role in medicine, and the influence money-seeking companies have on our health.
I read a great article the other day that questioned why, we as a society, are so drawn to toxic chemicals to “heal” us and so quick to judge or dismiss plant based on holistic wellness. The article pointed toward long-term commercialization to ensure we spend money with drug companies and health promise with just a little pill.  I think 2020 has opened a new chapter as women are questioning the norms and searching for options that include plant-based wellness.
But I also know that plant-based wellness has a challenge; it’s confusing, and it doesn’t feel like you can navigate it yourself.  We all had that $200 trip to the health store, and we probably still all have half of those supplements sitting in a drawer.  The great news is, there is a new chapter in wellness as more companies are jumping in and making plant-based health easier to understand and more accessible. 
At Ami Wellness, it’s all about sourcing and supporting sustainability. By leaning into lab testing and challenging the ingredients' quality in our tinctures and face & body oils, we are improving the quality and accountability of herbal supplements.
This is a chapter we can all get excited about because it’s a chapter that offers a better solution to mother earth and women everywhere.