Willow Anaïs is an herbalist, small business owner, Head Witch of Elder Apothecary and mama of 2 boys. She is a Filipino-American woman that grew up on the island of Guam, an experience that informs much of the way she is today and colors our conversation about belonging.
We explore what it means to belong to the living world and Willow’s perspective on rewilding and practices of connection. Willow shares her experience of reckoning with her own sense of belonging as a woman of color in a mostly white town and realizing how she has bypassed her own tenderness and needs.
Willow gets transparent about navigating a chronic inflammatory immune condition and the healing power of nature, flower essences, strawberries, play + pleasure, and naked gardening! Willow shares how she moves with deep love for her place of belonging to the living world, and with reverence for the unfolding awakening that is being a steward of it. There are so many amazing takeaways from this episode– we can’t wait for you to dive in!
Show Notes
In this episode, we discuss:
What it means to belong to the living world
Willow’s perspective on rewilding and practices of connection
Willow’s love of “cosmic profiling”, her experience as a boss and owner of an apothecary
Willow’s mission with her apothecary, why she named it Elder and her big vision for her venture
How “belonging” informs Willow’s lifework and day to day operations, including how she shows up in leadership and cultivates allyship within her business
Willow’s experience of reckoning with her own sense of belonging as a woman of color in a mostly white town and realizing how she has bypassed her own tenderness and needs
How Willow cultivates a sense of belonging with the greater living world
How bypassing and disconnection shows up physically
Willow’s experience with a chronic inflammatory immune condition called mast cell degranulation and severe histamine intolerance, and how Willow understands its origin and cause
How self-sabotage shows up and how she navigates those moments
The healing power of making and taking flower essences
Willow’s sweet experience with strawberries as a healing remedy connected to childhood, play and joy
How finding the plant path was healing as a rememberance and nourishment for her nervous system
Willow’s favorite plant allies, especially for the nervous system and stabilizing histamine responses and mast cell stabilizers
Willow’s process of ancestral reclamation and why naked gardening has been crucial for her healing
Willow’s experience of building a healing center amidst her own experience of dis-ease and process of deep healing
What Willow is planting currently on her homestead, both in plant forms and visionary seeds
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Connect With Willow Anaïs
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