Welcome to Naturally Yours!

Who am I and why did I start a newsletter about seeking simple natural paths to holistic health and emotional balance?

Welcome to Naturally Yours!

I'm so glad you're here with me. And I hope we'll get to spend some time together!

For those who don't know me yet, I'm Marie. I am an herbalist, a registered Bach flowers practitioner and I have a Bachelor degree in Psychology.

I live with my husband and our son on an off-grid farm, a “quinta” as we call it here, in the mountains of central Portugal.

Since 2019, we are lovingly developing our life project, Blooming Life: a holistic therapy centre combined with a pedagogic herbalist farm that is housing, at the time of writing, about a hundred medicinal plants and Bach Flowers.

This ever expanding garden is our greatest creation and the place I love most on Earth. It is my life, really… the expression of my soul. And I cherish dearly each and every plant that inhabits it.

I cultivate, but I also harvest, transform and sell my herbal remedies at local markets. I give 1-1 Bach flowers consultations. I regularly organize workshops… And I have now embarked on this Substack adventure!

Why I want to share all of this with you  

Ever since I began my journey with medicinal plants, two essential ideas have coloured my approach to herbalism.

They are the reason why, beyond my love of plants, I am so passionate about sharing this knowledge… they are the reason why I started giving workshops, decided to found a pedagogic herbalist farm and, ultimately, created Naturally Yours.

Self-reliance

Of course, knowing about medicinal plants and how to use them increases our self-reliance. If we have a cold, for instance, we will be able to pick up the herbs that support our immune and respiratory systems. We will then be taking part to our own healing!

The same applies to Bach flowers, which will help us to regain our emotional balance when we need it. They will be our allies in soothing our sadness, overcoming our fears, freeing ourselves from our loneliness...

There's something profoundly compelling in the simple act of making ourselves a thyme tea, an elderberry syrup or an echinacea tincture. Or in preparing a bottle of Bach flowers in a moment of distress. Something that can touch us at our very core if we stop a moment to think about it, to feel it…

We are no longer at the mercy of fate, powerless or dependent on others who have the knowledge and skills we lack. We become empowered, capable of taking action.

And there is here a major shift. Because we are also acquiring a sense of responsibility that represents a complete change of paradigm.

Without a doubt, feeling responsible for my own health and well-being, and having the tools to take care of myself and of my family has profoundly changed my life. And I believe that everyone should have the chance to experience this!

This is why I am dedicated to share with you everything I know!

Connecting with plants and the living world

Knowing how to use medicinal plants helps us to grow in autonomy and to take greater responsibility for ourselves. But connecting with the living world, entering into a relationship with plants as living beings is life changing as well.

It allows us to rediscover our place in the cycle of life, to feel that we belong to a whole greater than ourselves. It is humbling and beautiful. It nourishes our gratitude and respect for Nature. And it is deeply transformative.

This is why I also want Naturally Yours to be your invitation to go and meet the plants, to get to know them more intimately, to establish a relationship with them.

Building a better world

I'm an eternal optimist, an idealist. I want to participate in building a better world.

And that's exactly what happens when we become more autonomous, more responsible, when our connection to nature deepens and when we act in a way that helps to preserve it!

So, you see, in writing Naturally Yours, my wish is to offer you something precious, but also, at the same time, to see us taking care of our beautiful Planet, of ourselves and of our loved ones together.

What makes this place special

In this space, we will be speaking about medicinal plants, herbal remedies recipes, Bach flowers and how to create a medicinal garden.

But what makes it special?

Making herbalism accessible to all

First of all, Naturally Yours has been created to serve you, truly.

I've noticed that a great deal of publications, online articles or books about medicinal plants are either notably specialised and intended for professionals in the field, or are oversimplified and imprecise at best. It can then be extremely difficult to sort out what information is valid and what is not.

In these conditions, how would it be possible for you to learn anything that you can really apply and to get results?

My goal is to make herbalism accessible to all, in a down-to-earth, simple and practical way.

I want to give you access to curated reliable information so that you can pick out what interests you, select what you need.  I want to give you plenty of recipes that are both easy to make and efficient, recipes that really work.  And I want to be there to support you along the way!

Science-based approach and hands-on experience

While being deeply respectful of traditions and folk knowledge, adopting a scientific and rational approach to herbalism is essential for me. After all, I come from a family of doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

This is reflected in every aspect of my work.

You will see it, for instance, in the way I approach plant-based transformations. I am on a constant quest to identify the best solvent and extraction method for each specific plant. I analyse every detail and strive to optimise every step, to produce the most potent herbal remedies possible. And it pays off!

What's more, when I share my recipes with you, as well as my gardening and harvesting tips, they'll all come from real hands-on personal experience. And that too has great value.

I want you to thrive

I've noticed that we frequently tend to push our mental health into the background and to neglect it. It isn’t really a priority, and we are often fairly satisfied with « being ok ».

Well, I want you to be more than ok. I want you to be happy, radiant. I want you to thrive!

That's why we're going to adopt a holistic approach. We will learn how to take care of our bodies but also of our minds and our nervous systems. And we will explore the realm of emotions.

It's a subject I've always been passionate about. That's why I studied psychology and, later, Bach flowers, while carrying out in-depth personal work. The support that the Flowers have given me is invaluable. And I know they have so much to offer you too!

Taking the plunge

This is it. It’s time to take the plunge.

About six months have passed since the amazing Leyla Kazim, author of the enlivening and very popular A Day Well Spent, visited our farm, told me about that writers’ utopia called Substack and got me overexcited to join.

I must confess that, during those six months, I experienced a few moments of self-doubt about this new venture.

But Leyla is truly one of the most inspiring persons I have ever met! Smart, captivating, authentic but also supportive, kind and generous… and she got that “you can do this” energy!

She awakened something in my heart, in my guts. The will and courage to put myself out there, so that I could connect with you. Because I am sincerely convinced that what I am going to share has value, that it is worth passing on! And I am dedicated to give it my all!

So, here we go! And it would be my great honor if you wanted to join me on this journey!

Also, don't hesitate to share and invite your friends to come along! Let's dive into the world of plants together!

Finally, it would make my day if you could take a moment to leave a comment below and say hi! I can’t wait to get to know you!

Tell me what brings you here, how you got to start walking the path of the herbs or what is your favorite plant. Do you already know about Bach flowers? Are you growing some medicinal plants in your garden or on your balcony?

Feel free to share whatever feels meaningful to you. I am all ears!

Naturally yours,

Marie