Did you know that stress can cause gut dysfunction?

The gut-brain axis is a two-way communication network, connecting the cognitive and emotional centers of the brain with our intestinal functions.
To put it simply...when we're in a "fight or flight" situation, our stress response tells our gut to redirect its energy away from digestion and toward the stressful situation.

LEARN MORE HERE

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a group of essential amino acids that help build muscle and alleviate fatigue.

If you consistently eat and properly digest high quality proteins, then you’re getting your BCAAs in! Because of this, many wonder if a BCAA supplement is even worth it.

Click here to learn if it's a good fit for you!

By Empirica

NETTLES:
a nutrient-filled plant for RESILIENCY

This month, our Build Your Own Apothecary members are enjoying and learning about an herbalist favorite… NETTLES!

Click here to learn more about this herb!

By Element

Click here to learn more about these two herbs, their benefits, and how to use them!

Become a Build Your Own Apothecary member here!

ABOUT THE EMPIRICA ESSENTIALS PACK

Our new, more sustainable packaging is here, starting with the Essentials!

The Essentials Pack supports overall balance, including mood, energy, and optimal cellular functioning, and addresses the most common deficiencies we see.

This pack includes:

Tri-mag (capsule form)

Click here to learn more!

Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about her for over a year. Her ability to shine. Her vibrancy. Her unapologetic connection to her sexuality, sensuality, and sacred gifts. I just want to embody an ounce of her authenticity.

Lately, this ability to stay connected to our own internal flame has felt much more urgent.

This Cancer season has been something, hasn’t it? I feel like we were moving at lightspeed, and Cancer came in and ripped out our engines, plopped us in a tube, and sent us drifting down a lazy river.

We’re on a new timeline and we want to be off to the races, but we’re being asked to start our entry to this new portal slowly, intentionally.

The pains of the world have been in our faces for a long time, and now they feel like they are screaming. Our own individual pain perhaps as well, as we slow down.

But what I know to be true, is that this is indeed a new portal. This isn’t the repetition of old cycles or mistakes of the past. This is being willing to see those things clearly and face them, deal with them, and use the radiance of the Queen of Wands to keep ourselves and those around us warm.

We are not succumbing to the shadows or the fear or the pain. We are being asked to burn brightly and show them the light. To continue to radiate our gifts so that others feel our warmth. To continue to choose joy and pleasure even when it feels difficult.

I hope even as we continue to navigate choppy waters, we hold firmly to our burning flame to guide us.

By Chelsea Mancini

What herbs have such potency that they can indeed change your life?

Our June herbs were picked based on the current environment we’re in: our immune systems are still in dire need of being supported, and the systemic stress surrounding us cannot be ignored.

To take care of ourselves with plants - our greatest allies - is of utmost importance. That is the vision of our Build Your Own Apothecary subscription: not just to experience a moment with these herbs but to take what you learn and change your whole life with it!

With that said, this month has been a special one for our Build Your Own Apothecary subscribers, as they received not just one, but TWO herbs to experience, hold, and heal with…

LAVENDER & ECHINACEA! Click here to learn more!

Want to join our membership & make your own medicine?

BECOME AN APOTHECARY MEMBER HERE!

By Element

We've been working on new, more sustainable packaging! Read more about it here!

We’ve decided to move away from plastic bottles and toward sustainable cardboard packets. It's better for our planet, and we also think it will help simplify your supplement routine.

"The Essentials Pack" will be the first of many custom bundles that we are creating in this new packaging, and it will be available very soon for purchase!

Click here for more from Empirica!

An overlooked ally in the plant world.

Almost everyone is familiar with milky oats - likely from their experiences with it as a breakfast staple - but this unassuming plant holds much more value than you can see in your morning bowl of porridge. And that’s what the month of May was all about!

Click here for a snapshot of what our Build Your Own Apothecary members learned this month, including:

- the benefits of milky oats
- its healing properties
- how to make your own medicine!

Join in for a follow-along circuit with Pasha and Em working through 2 biomechanic exercises. 

These two exercises are to help teach our body to hold weight on one side before moving to the next, as well as light your glutes and lats on fire! 

Click here to learn more about our monthly loose leaf tea subscription and click here for more from Element!

Click here to learn how to take care of your skin this summer with nutrients and herbs!

Get your Omega 3s and go here for more from Empirica!

Want more herb education? Check out Herbal Element!

Google “preconception exercise”. I bet the main thing you’ll see is to make sure you’re doing kegels. And while that’s not inherently wrong, there's nuance to it. Many women have overactive pelvic floors, meaning that kegels may not be beneficial at all.

There are SO many other things you can do to prepare your body for pregnancy, which you can read about in the blog Six Exercises to Prepare for Pregnancy [that aren't kegels!]

Want to learn more about preconception, pregnancy, & postpartum workouts? Join the email list for non-spammy actionable, holistic health tips to your inbox.

What is your relationship with exercise like? If you’re like me, you may have had a love/hate relationship with it over the years.

As a kid, it’s all about having fun! Playing sports, chasing your friends, doing cartwheels, etc. No agenda, no worrying, just pure enjoyment moving your body. Then as you get older you learn about how exercise is healthy and can make you lose weight, which seemingly everyone wants to do. Which makes you think that you should too. You start to realize there is SO much pressure on women especially to look a certain way, and yet that seems to be a moving target.

Be thin, but not too skinny. Be strong, but not too muscular. Be curvy, but not too much! It’s a never-ending cycle.

My relationship with movement has changed drastically over the years, and I thought I’d share because I know some of y’all will relate. You can head to the blog to read the full story!

Fun fact: I taught Zumba for almost 10 years. Try this leg day song for when you need to do legs, but don’t wanna do legs

By Kat Muto

As runners, we love striving for PRs, putting all of our eggs in one race basket.

The feeling of hitting a PR is unmatched - you’re on top of the world.

But when you don’t hit it, it can be devastating.

Here are some things to care about more than your race performance: enjoyment, longevity and how you feel.

I love when my athletes hit their race day goals, but I love it more when they enjoy the process before and after getting there.

One day, the PRs will stop coming. Will you still want to run then?

Click here for more info!

By Kelly Lutz

Excessive breast tenderness?
Crazy mood swings?
Debilitating cramps?

It's no secret that PMS can really, really suck.
But a lesser known fact is that severe PMS isn't normal...and in many situations, it's preventable.

How? Severe PMS often indicates a hormonal imbalance to check in on. With the right natural supplements, this imbalance can be corrected!

So which PMS supps are right for you? 

Click here to learn which supps match up with your symptoms. We share why they work, how they work, & our recommended use.

This is a short, sweet and MAGIC way to reset your body, mind and soul if you're in the midst of stressful seasons of life. Use these simple, body based techniques to bring yourself back to baseline and most importantly, feel GOOD.

By Kerry McGinn

Listen into this episode with Madison Traviss. Madison is a certified forest therapist, the Director of Stewardship and Partnerships for Friends of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, bus dweller, rescue pup lover, long distance hiker, and so much more. We get to talking about all of it, and she even leads us in a moment of mindfulness that is certain to get you in the right headspace for your day.

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of people dealing with neural tension or nerve pain. I just wanted to share a little riff on Neural Tension in the body from the perspective of a Physical Therapist and Yoga Teacher.

Note: This is NOT medical advice. If you are in pain, seek out a PT :)

By Kerry McGinn