[Speaker 1] (0:00 - 1:20)
I say this often, but what if health and working on your health didn't have to be complicated and, like, in the form of a protocol with 20 supplements and an hourly rigid routine that you have to practice? Well, you are in for a treat because I just interviewed Lauren Cranmer. Her practice in business is called Blends by the Shore.
In this episode, we talk about so many things. A lot about herbs, using herbs in the form of tea and other drinks. We talk about rituals and habits.
We talk about nervous system regulation and really getting back to basics, which, as you know, is just my whole goal with this podcast is to help people feel empowered to use these things. And if you're a practitioner, Lauren has a practitioner program and we will talk about it in this episode. Also, please go to the show notes so that you can see what this is all about.
But I cannot wait for you to tune in and get something out of this that will help you today. Hello, I am Beck and I'm here with Lauren Cranmer, who is a registered nurse and certified holistic nutritionist and the owner of Blends by the Shore. So Lauren, thank you so much for being here.
Thank you for having me.
[Speaker 2] (1:20 - 1:21)
Very excited to chat.
[Speaker 1] (1:21 - 1:22)
Another fellow nurse.
[Speaker 2] (1:23 - 1:31)
Yes, it's always so nice to connect with especially nurses. I don't know what it is, but I always feel so like I'm so excited to talk to you. Like we get it like on a different level.
[Speaker 1] (1:32 - 1:43)
Yeah, for sure. And then, you know, we have very similar training and background with nutrition too. So that's really cool.
Yeah. So will you just tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?
[Speaker 2] (1:43 - 2:32)
So I own Blends by the Shore. It's a coastal inspired botanical wellness company where I sell organic loose leaf tea blends and rituals and, you know, elderberry wellness. We do a lot of elderberry stuff as well.
I sell loose leaf herbal blends to everybody, but I also do practitioner collaborations where I work with practitioners who really prioritize gentle support and foundational support where we collaborate on the blend. So we could use lab work or any kind of like objective data, but also subjective data to build the blend for the client. So it's really fun.
It's really amazing. And I really feel like it really touches to what I believe health and wellness kind of should be starting as that foundational support.
[Speaker 1] (2:32 - 2:51)
That's so awesome. Well, I can see now, like, well, we're very aligned, right? I mean, yes, exactly.
I knew a little bit about you because that's basically what I preach and this is about too. So I love that. Can you just share a little bit about how did you get into doing this?
Where did it start? Yes.
[Speaker 2] (2:51 - 4:57)
I mean, it could be a very long story or I'll try to give like the cliff notes part as, you know, I was a registered nurse. So I always kind of was prioritizing health in a specific way. As like my own person, I was very, very aware of what I thought at the time was aware of my health, you know, and while working as a nurse and while going through my own health challenges, I have learned so much, you know, as someone who provides support to others for their own health and going through some things as a patient.
You know, I was a, I'm a breast cancer survivor and I went through a lot as like the patient, right? And I saw it from a whole new lens, you know, and thank God for every person that supported me throughout that whole journey, but I learned a lot of what it really meant to feel supported and to feel like I'm taking care of my health. And it kind of just sparked this new path for me in terms of, you know, I didn't want to be a part of like sick care anymore.
I really wanted to be the support as someone's trying to achieve their most well state, right? And through that, you know, that's where I went back to some getting some certifications, doing my own deep dives, of course, for my own health, but also I really just wanted to be able to give back and through that just became, you know, I love tea, I love iced tea, I love infusions, I love all the things I have a drink early. So I did a lot of things for other people, and it slowly just started to build into what it is today.
And so it's hard to explain exactly the route I got there, but through like my foundational roots, I learned to now that it's such important to get back to like doing what your body understands, like utilizing food and simple tactics to kind of get back to like at peace with your body. I don't know if that makes sense, but it does.
[Speaker 1] (4:57 - 6:53)
And I think that people can understand that, you know, the thing that just popped into my mind where you're saying this, and I'm going to say this, and I know I'm going to get some people that are going to like be like, but if you think of coffee, so, you know, when people are very attached to their coffee, which I have been there as well. They can't even imagine going through their morning without coffee, right? And so a lot is a conditioned response and a habit.
Obviously, if it's caffeinated, that's part of it, you know, but yeah, do the same thing with any sort of drink or habit, right? So like, if we're talking about like a tea, or I was looking on your website, you have like a cold strawberry drink that looks amazing, you know, especially with the summer coming, that kind of thing that can be ritualistic also, right? And I think that in our culture, we're often thinking so much about the up, right?
Like, we need to be focused and attentive and awake and all these things. And that's, we could talk about that a whole nother episode. But we also have times where we want to downshift, right?
And we want to down regulate ourselves. And you can certainly do that with some sort of herbal concoction, right? And maybe you can talk about that a little bit.
Like, I don't really know a ton about herbs. I obviously learned about them in nutrition school. I think it's part of every nutrition curriculum.
And I have used kind of my own things that I've made that I have not ever never really gone that deep into it. But do you see that people are going into using like an herbal tea or something? From that standpoint, are they are like, this is my morning ritual, this is gonna start me start my day, it tastes so good, or whatever it is.
Or maybe in the evening, the downregulation piece. Is that what you see people are looking for? So, yes.
[Speaker 2] (6:54 - 8:35)
And I'm glad you brought that up. Because I was trying to explain to people like what this is for me, you know, for me, it is a ritual, you know, like for me, I have like certain times where I have my certain blends, or I'll set my infusion up at night, like before I go to bed, so it's ready for the morning and I'm excited to see it in the morning, you know, like, it sounds like a little lame, but It's like, it's just like very simple parts of my day or even like the ritual factor was a huge part of what I wanted to bring to the table with blends because it is a part like slowing down and appreciating like the things you are putting in your body, I think is a huge factor of of health, right? Like slowing down and actually just sitting and appreciating your tea or like enjoying and feeling the coziness of it or if it's warm, like you're outside on a hot day feeling the hydration like those things, I think, bring a mental aspect that is important to have. And so a lot of the language I use is like ritual because I want you to incorporate this into your day to day life because there are benefits to utilizing botanicals and herbal blends and things like that, that are way better than just water or the drinks that you buy off the shelves and things like that, like there's no sugar, there's nothing artificial, there's things that support your body to do what it's actually supposed to do. I've said this a couple times and I'm saying it again because I love it so much, but like herbs are like the language your body is able to understand. So it like it just is, it's so simple.
And I think that's just another factor of the whole ritual, right? Like it doesn't have to be complicated.
[Speaker 1] (8:35 - 9:00)
Yeah, I love that. I know we definitely want to talk about the nervous system because we're both big nervous system, whatever you want to call it from a standpoint of helping people, you know, learn how to regulate their nervous system for health. But how do herbs like interact with the nervous system?
And maybe that's too broad of a question. And you could pinpoint it on a specific type of herb or something like that.
[Speaker 2] (9:00 - 10:27)
So in terms of nervous system and herbs, it's just looking at things from a whole different lens, right? Like people are just thinking like I'm drinking my tea, like it's in the sense of like coffee, like I'm having my everyday thing that I love, like my habit. But really, there's so much more to that.
I love using the French press to make my tea when I'm making it like a warm tea because like you're seeing all those beautiful herbs and you're seeing like the extraction in front of you and I just like, I just think it's pretty. But in the same breath of how it's like slowly extracting, the more it extracts, the more typically that there's mineral content gets heavier, like things get more intense, the longer it sits, right? So within your body, like when you are consistently ingesting tea or herbal tea rather, or even, you know, green tea or the what base it is, if it's black or not, like there's benefits there that from the consistency and your nervous system starts to understand it from the consistent basis.
So it's just feeling safe with that drink that you're having. And with the ritual aspect we were talking about before, when you were sitting down and having this thing, your body is comfortable, it knows what it's drinking and it's like, it's giving me these resources that I actually need, whether it's, you know, minerals, antioxidants or polyphenols or whatever that your body is needing, which is probably all those things, you know, like it's getting into the nooks and crannies of things that people don't really pay attention to.
[Speaker 1] (10:27 - 12:17)
Yeah, I think when I was in nutrition school and I took herbology, I was like, I couldn't believe how many nutrients were in herbs. I don't know why, I just never really thought about that, you know, and it's something that's talked about like the way that we were trained. And you know, I think from a different standpoint, too, a lot of times people are scared of herbs because herbs are scary if you're taking in like a supplement form and it's going to interact with the patient or something like that.
And so, you know, I think having a different viewpoint of looking at it as this beautiful, nourishing drink. And the drink is really the key, I think, you know, because like, who doesn't want to sit down like you said, have iced tea or a hot tea or something like that and have this full like habit, you know, when you were talking earlier, I was thinking you have a daughter who's younger, my boys are teenagers. And so, you know, everybody always kind of chuckles about that, learning to drive and all that.
So I am not like anti alcohol, necessarily, the way that I have my drinking, my relationship with alcohol has changed drastically in the last couple years, mostly because I realized it really wasn't serving me. And I feel very good. And so I've created rituals with other things.
So like CBD, tea, different things like that. And so, you know, I think it's just something for people to think about. Because for me, it was like, in the evening, especially when my boys were little, it was like, Oh, my gosh, I need I've been up all day, taking care of them or doing whatever, working.
And then it's like, I need to down regulate, right? And that's so you got alcohol or some other substance. And that's so common, I think, but this could be a great replacement for something like that.
[Speaker 2] (12:17 - 13:58)
Yeah, I actually do say that all the time. And I've recommended a lot of things to people for like, you know, an alternative swap, you know, to make things a little bit and sometimes you could add things to your tea too. So like, there's so many fun ways to make it that ritual for you, if that's something that you're looking forward to at the end of the night or whatnot.
A lot of people love sleepy teas, you know, so there's like a lot of fun things you do. If somebody is taking magnesium, for example, like you could make it a little like tea mocktail, like there's just I just love it. Another reason I'm a big fan of tea or just like drinking in general, because another part of my story too, is after I went through cancer, I also randomly found out like it was totally about an accident that I found out that I had Crohn's disease, my mother had colon cancer.
So I had gone for a preventative, you know, colonoscopy, because I was trying to do all the right things, you know, like, get all my preventative stuff. And she's like, Yeah, Lauren, you have Crohn's disease. I was like, What?
That's not even why I'm here. You know, like, what is happening? But so with that, I, you know, I leaned on my blends, and I leaned on a lot of like, easily absorb things like I've found a new love for like juicing as well.
Just not what I would have done in the past. But now, given the circumstances, I want my body to easily break down the things that I'm ingesting, right? So I know when I have my tea, I feel good, because I know my body can accept that, if that makes sense.
That's another thing to talk about too, is like the absorption factor. Like if your body is in like a heightened state, like you are not going to be absorbing things as well. And that sounds so simple, where like, if you're if your nervous system is completely dysregulated, like, do you really think that your your body is prioritized how it's absorbing things.
[Speaker 1] (13:58 - 15:15)
So utilizing like botanicals is a way to really kind of break it down simple for your body to just be like, Okay, I'm doing all this crazy stuff, like stressing out, like, let me, let me, you know, easily absorb this, this tea. You know, you're just like, Oh, I have 30 minutes or 20 minutes. Or if you're a nurse, you might have five minutes in your lunch, or eat something, right?
And so how can you figure out how to do that? And one of my favorite things to teach people and recommend is to do like some sort of breathing or, you know, call it breath work. But you know, breath work really is just any sort of ritual thing that you do that helps down regulate you.
So it helps activate your vagus nerve, which helps push you more into parasympathetic state. Because as you mentioned, if you are in a sympathetic state, your body is not going to focus on digestion.
[Speaker 2] (15:16 - 15:16)
Right?
[Speaker 1] (15:17 - 16:05)
No, I just remember being at work and like shoving food in my mouth, and then sitting there and being like, Oh, I do not feel good. And even as a nurse, like at that point, I had a degree in exercise science, I had a degree in nursing, and I didn't understand why I would feel so bad, right? In that situation.
And it's funny, because we don't, we're just not taught it that way. You know, and so then, yeah, like had to heal my own digestion. And I was in nutrition school, I was like, Oh, this makes total sense, right?
Like, your digestion, yeah, not on when you're like, in sympathetic mode, running around at work, or stressed from something or even just busy, just life these days, because everybody is just like, hustling, I feel, or like, everything is just like, instant now, or like, what's next?
[Speaker 2] (16:05 - 16:11)
What's next? You know, so I feel like it's so hard to separate it now at these days, I guess you would call it.
[Speaker 1] (16:12 - 18:25)
Yeah, no, it's so true. One of my favorite examples I love to tell people about is I had this client one time, and she had three kids to drop off for school. So three different schools, you know, three different drop offs, and she always wanted to drink a smoothie in the morning.
And you know, as well as I do that sometimes a cold, something cold isn't the best thing for your digestion. But I really don't get into those hard and fast rules with people in the beginning, unless their body just continues to fight that. I really try and meet people where they are.
And so, you know, she was like, I have to do this protein smoothie. This is what I've done. This is the easiest thing for me.
It's just what I have to do. And I have to drink it in the car. And I was like, Okay, well, you know, you have a three school drop off.
How long does it take you? She said, Well, it takes me about a half an hour. And I was like, Okay, well, when is the smoothie finished?
And she was like, Oh, it's finished by the first drop off. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, what if you tried to just make that smoothie last until you got home? So just little sips, you know, let it sit in your mouth a little bit and warm up, slow introduction to your stomach, not just pounding it down.
Yes. Because what would happen is she was like, I can barely make it home. I have to run to the bathroom because this smoothie is like hitting my stomach.
She within a couple days, she did that and slowed it down. Symptoms gone. No problem.
Right? Isn't that wild? And it's just a great example of like, you don't have to fit inside the box that the investor or the expert on the internet tells you, like, you can't drink cold things, or you can drink smoothies for breakfast or whatever.
Like, yeah, if we can get that to work for you, you know, if you want to give it up fine. But if you really don't, and she didn't, it was a perfect solution. And it really changed the way that she thought about things.
Because you talked about something earlier where you were talking about awareness. And I feel like that's another thing that people just really struggle with. And I know that was definitely part of what was going on for me.
It wasn't that I was like, doing all these things. And I was like, Oh, I'm just gonna do them anyway. I really wasn't even listening to my body.
I wasn't even aware. Do you? Are you seeing that too?
[Speaker 2] (18:25 - 19:34)
It's so funny, that it was such a small little adjustment that can make such a big difference. And I think that just like, it like shows what people go through. Sometimes things feel so complicated.
And they, you know, you're boxed in. So you're not seeing it from another, from another perspective. Like you can do things according to you that is right for you.
It doesn't have to match anything else. You know, it doesn't have and it's hard to learn that it's really hard to learn that because you're just so accustomed to doing what you're doing. And you know, anything different from what you're doing, a few things that you're trying to do.
It feels big, you know, so when you try to make a change, or, you know, you're trying to do all the right things or whatever, it feels like you're just doing this overhaul, you're overwhelmed, you're stressed by it. And then you kind of revert back to like your old habits, but you really could do small shifts and small little subtle things over time, like add up and it sounds cliche. But like you were saying, a lot of people have their own experience that taught them this.
It's hard, but it takes experience sometimes to understand or have that like, something click of like, wow, like, it doesn't have to be like this grand thing. It could be something as simple as slowing down your intake of your smoothie.
[Speaker 1] (19:34 - 21:54)
Yeah, you know, Yeah, for sure. And I think to like, I believe that everybody has like an intuitive sense. And some people definitely is a little bit stronger than others.
I feel like that often has come from them fostering that as a young child based on who they grew up with or whatever. I know the details, but I just know that when I've talked to people about like, what is your gut tell you, they are like, my gut is telling me that I don't want to go on that medication. Like my doctor's telling me to do this, you know, for my heartburn or whatever, but I don't want to do that.
And I'm like, Okay, well, what if we tried a couple things to see if we could get you some relief before you tried it. And then it's the worst case scenario, you could try it, you know, and tell your doctor what you're doing. I think there's just such a psychological power.
And I don't mean power in a bad way and just mean power over what this whole podcast is about is like harness your own health. Like you can do care of yourself, you are in control and not in a way that you're resisting your doctor, you need your doctor, you need your professionals. It's not that it's just more of like, you're in control of these daily habits and consistent rhythms that are going to make all the difference for you on your journey.
Because if you're just going along in life and having, you know, little things here and there, like a lot of people do, that's one thing. But if you have a big stressor and a big bleep on your health radar, like you needed all those people to take care of you when you were in cancer treatment. That doesn't mean that you're not going to drink your herbal, you know, but that's part of how you nourish yourself.
And that's so much more than just doing that. As you already mentioned, I want to use the word control because it's the word that keeps coming up for me, but it's not control in a bad way. It's just you taking charge, right?
Like, yeah, being in control of your own health. And I think that a lot of people just need to be given permission to do that. And to then work with their practitioners to have this line of like all these different things that are supporting you.
It's really important.
[Speaker 2] (21:54 - 23:40)
Yeah, what I kept thinking was like being authentic to you and being like aligned to you. And what I mean by that is like, when you are going through something, you are like, you have to start getting in tune with yourself. Like you were saying, like you kind of maybe lost that along the way, or like, you have to trust your gut, like you have to kind of get in touch with yourself again.
So you know what choices you want to make. So you know what you actually feel comfortable with, or like what feels right for you. And it's not like an instant switch.
So it's like, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna start to follow my gut, like you actually have to take the time to learn what that means to you. You know, like, I personally had to do that for sure. Like it was an active thought in my mind, like, what am I making this choice for me?
Or am I making it for someone else? I was a people pleaser through and through. Like, I was always like, making people make decisions for me, because I didn't want to make the decisions, you know, like, I had to relearn what was the right way to trust my gut.
And a lot of the times my gut's right. And it's like, that goes for, you know, all of life, not just health purposes. But it's like almost like a spiritual journey.
And I hate, you know, I don't want to say the word spiritual to like confine anybody into a box. It's like, all encompassing, where like, you kind of have to go back to like, you have to rip down the layers. Like, you have to like, really get in touch with yourself before you make the next step.
And it sounds so simple, like, okay, I'm just gonna get in touch with myself. I'll go like, I don't know. But it's the reality.
It's a, it's a game changer. Once you really understand what is like, true to you, what you want, and what aligns with you, because it'll guide you along the way in your goals, like tremendously.
[Speaker 1] (23:40 - 24:51)
Yeah, I just remember at one point, my kids were young, and I like, you know, saw something or someone said me something, or maybe it was a book, I don't remember exactly what it was. But it was like, what do you want? You know, what are your aspirations?
And I've just been spending my time taking care of these little kids and working a little bit part time. And I was just like, I don't know, I just stared at the page for the longest time. I was like, I have no idea.
I don't know. Like, I'm exactly. And you know, it's like, everyone, you know, people call it self care, whatever.
And that's fine. It is self care. It's but it really is those daily kind of like habits and rituals for yourself.
That's like your time. You know, yeah, it just makes me think of like, when your kids are little, and you're ready for them to go to bed, you know, I had two boys. And so, you know, it's basically like wrestling right up until that time.
And there's no like, wind down. I mean, we tried to wind down. But a lot of times, that's just not the reality.
And so, you know, you're just waiting, waiting for that. And then it's like, you sat on the couch and like, that's when the herbal infusion or the herbal tea would have been really amazing.
[Speaker 2] (24:52 - 25:29)
Yeah, I 100% do. So my kids are seven and four. I have my older is my son and my daughter is four.
And they're both wild, wild, full energy. Like, they don't stop talking. They don't stop moving.
They just I tell everybody I clock out the second that they go to sleep. Like, that's my like, shift is over. I'm sitting on the couch.
I'm getting my drink. And I'm just like, not talking to anybody for at least 10 minutes. And I just like need to decompress from the day.
I shut all the lights off. I'm in the dark. I just I don't want to Yeah, I don't want to watch TV.
I just like, I want to sit.
[Speaker 1] (25:30 - 25:48)
No, it's I was there. My husband still is like, how can you drive in silence? Or how can you sit?
No, no stimulation. I'm like, Oh, it's the best thing. I had one kid that talked a lot.
It's saying when you said that didn't stop talking. I was like, Oh, gosh, I remember.
[Speaker 2] (25:49 - 25:58)
And they're hard questions, too, at this age, like, buddy, my, my brain is slow right now. And it's a little sleepy. So we're gonna answer that.
Oh, like, in the morning.
[Speaker 1] (25:58 - 25:59)
That's a morning.
[Speaker 2] (25:59 - 26:01)
Yeah, it's a morning question.
[Speaker 1] (26:02 - 26:41)
I love that. So do you feel like there's a place for herbal blends that are more of like morning time blends? Like, I don't know if they would replace coffee or just I don't drink a lot of caffeine.
But in the morning, I like to use lion's mane. So I actually am going to be doing a podcast on that too on mushrooms, which is really fun. And it's been a game changer for me as far as like focus, because I don't need to feel like jittery or like super energized.
So I just want to feel alert and focused. But do you have like blends or combinations of herbs that are coming to mind for that too?
[Speaker 2] (26:41 - 28:23)
So for me personally, I based off of like my, I don't know, my current goals that week in the morning, I like to have like something warm and a little bit more bright. So like all I usually tend to lean toward like the brighter herbs and things that are a little bit more like, like, definitely add some more like berries in there or like fruit in there a little bit more like full botanical like balance. Actually, that's one of my blend names is Botanical Balance.
Because it's like all encompassing. And it's, you know, it brings a lot of nourishment. And I love coffee, I am a coffee drinker.
And one of the things that I focused on over a decent period of time now, whether it's tea or even juice now that I've incorporated that is doing that before I have coffee or, you know, making sure I eat before coffee. So those are part of my like, my slow morning routine. So everybody who works with a practitioner is always like, what, how do I need to take this?
Like they're thinking like supplement supplements, right? Like, do I take it in the morning at night? Or do I do it like after food?
I'm like, you need to fit this in when it's best for you, when you have time to slow down a little bit or appreciate what you're, you know, drinking and whether that is the morning or whether it's the night, whatever works best for you, depending on what you do. And I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm
[Speaker 1] (28:25 - 29:33)
like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I You know, I know really what it comes down to and a lot of people are like, that sounds so vague, but the way I like to explain it is like, you're giving the body what it needs and the body is deciding what to do with it, right? So like magnesium, because you know you need it or you feel better taking it or your test has showed that you need it, then you're giving it to the body and the body is using it for what it needs it to do. We are right.
Our job is done after me. You take the magnesium, right? So it's kind of like the same thing.
It's like doing this consistently, thinking about how you felt drinking this, like, you know, evaluate a little bit and then just kind of going from there.
[Speaker 2] (29:33 - 31:44)
Yeah. And that's another thing too. Like with herbs, it's not like these quick fixes that people are, it's not like some kind of medication, right?
Like you're not like going to take one or take a cup of tea and like feel this difference of any sort, right? Like it's not like that. Like, yeah, I mean, hibiscus is something that people use to consistently, they use it consistently to replace blood pressure medication.
And, but again, the consistency part is a huge factor. You're not going to just drink a cup of hibiscus tea and be good to go, you know, like it's again, it's more of an incorporation into your life and making it part of your routine. And again, that's a lot of what I think you and I would agree on is important is like the slow changing of your habits that could be maybe like altered a little bit for the better.
They don't even have to be like huge overhaul anything, just like these small little changes of things. And like one of those things I found for me is tea, you know, I try to provide that for others. And I'm not sure if I talked about this before, but a lot of my nursing career was in fertility and reproductive health.
So I worked with like a ton of women throughout my whole career. And then after, once I started into kind of, I guess, I would call it health coaching world. I was always working with women and their health and a lot fertility.
So once I started bringing herbs into the mix, it like spoke women who are experiencing that or trying to achieve pregnancy, like it spoke to their their goals. Like they were, you know, they want to be pregnant yesterday. They're like, oh, you're telling me that I could drink some tea and try to like slow down.
I'm on it, you know, like it's like the magic words they want to hear, because in especially in the infertility space, like you're going to appointments all the time. You have to get blood, like blood work medications like thrown at you. You're there all the time.
You're fast. It's just like overwhelming. And so hearing something like, let me slow down, let me have some herbal tea.
You know, it's just like it's almost like this, like, like breaking down of that, like stress barrier, you know, a little bit in the permission. That's the word.
[Speaker 1] (31:45 - 33:15)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I don't really talk about this to my story. And I know I told you before we started recording that I had trouble getting pregnant with my first son. So a naturopath had one session of acupuncture and I didn't mention, but basically that session of acupuncture, I had ridden my bike to work that day because this is like where I was working as a nurse and I couldn't ride my bike home.
I was so exhausted that my body was just so down regulated, which at the time I didn't understand at all. And I know now that basically she just down regulated my nervous system so much. I went home.
My husband wasn't even home yet. I was like, I'm not really hungry. I'm so exhausted.
I went to bed. It was like six or six 30. I had to have a friend to take me home from work.
And I lived really close to the hospital, but I went to bed and I had the best night's sleep that I've ever had. And the next morning I woke up, I felt amazing. And then I told you that about two weeks later I found out that I was pregnant and it was a downregulation on my nervous system.
I was so focused on getting pregnant and then when you can't get pregnant, then you're so, it's just, it's such a vicious cycle of like worrying and thinking. And am I doing all the things? And so yeah, in that realm of like medicine, I think this kind of permission for women to really take control of some of these things and support themselves is really needed.
[Speaker 2] (33:16 - 34:25)
It's a client of mine. Like it was actually like in the beginning, like when I was, you know, working with one of my clients, she was doing a beach body workouts. And I was like, you need to stop doing those beach body workouts.
I was like, you need to cause her goal was weight loss. And she felt like her hormones were all over the place. And I was just like, listen, you are doing an amazing job, but I want you to try to like slow down.
You don't even have to stop. Like slow down your beach body workouts, maybe incorporate some walking, like do things that are like going to not heighten the stress that your body's already experiencing, whatever. She did not listen to me.
And she, you know, she tried some other things, but she did not listen to me. And years later, she started to walk and like she would be consistent with walking. Just walking, woke up in the morning, walked to the shore, saw the sunrise every morning, walked back, ended up losing like 20 something pounds.
And I remember talking to her after that. I was like, I think I remember somebody telling you to slow down a little bit. And like, yeah, she's like, you know, I didn't give you.
That's awesome. It's just real, you know?
[Speaker 1] (34:25 - 35:58)
Yeah, it is. And you know how it is. Like people obviously hire us for our guidance and our support, but sometimes they're not quite ready to hear some of the things that we think are important, right?
And so it's like being honest with people about those things, but then also recognizing that there are humans too. I just remember like where I went to nutrition school, I did a couple whole thirties and the very first one, it took me like three months to wrap my head around that I was going to give up sugar and I was going to give up flour and like all these things. And like, well, what would I eat for this?
And what would I eat for this? And, you know, me kind of putting my heels and like, I wanted to do it. My girlfriend was like, we need to do this.
And then it was just so funny looking back on it, you know, because you do have to be ready. That's awesome that she finally got to her goal anyway, right? Yeah, yeah.
So what matters because when she looks back a couple years from now or 10 years from now, she's not going to be like, Oh, I can't believe I didn't listen to her one time, you know, like, yeah, we're all just human and doing the best we can. But I do think when we nurture ourselves a little bit and nourish our nervous system, we are able to like slow down and really sit and listen with those things that people are telling us or we're feeling ourselves. I know for me, when I was just like busy, busy, busy, go, go, go, like there was nothing coming in and it was all just bouncing off, you know?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Speaker 2] (35:58 - 37:28)
And I think too, like when we say nervous system, like now, at least for me, like it feels like it encompasses a lot because I think it's one of those things where we're like, we're trying to make the person hearing it understand. And it just means so much. And I think addressing like down to the root cause or like not the root cause, I'm saying that because that's what I say all the time, but that's the root of who you are.
There's a lot of like hard truths that you have to address. And I think part of that is nervous system work because you're kind of like breaking off the shell of like what you're supposed to be. And sometimes the hard truths are things that we're doing that maybe we don't realize that we're doing individually that are hurting our progress or what we really feel or what we really want to do.
Like some people don't actively think about those things. So like when we say like nervous system, obviously like you and I might think of like the scientific definition of what the nervous system does, but I think it encompasses just kind of getting back to the basics really down to like the core of what a human needs, which is very simple. And I really appreciate what you're doing here on this podcast, because I think more people need to hear about the simplicity of that.
And I think more people need to understand that just because you believe one thing doesn't mean everything else is out of the way, right? It just means that there's purpose in everything and it just matters. It all matters and it just how you fit it into your life.
[Speaker 1] (37:28 - 39:07)
Yeah, that's so beautifully said. I love that. Yeah, I just really try and explain it to people like don't think about, cause if you say sympathetic versus parasympathetic or lion, there's no lions here.
But like, yeah, I help people think about it as like, how do you feel in the morning? Do you feel awake and alert? Cause it is very aligned with like your circadian rhythm and things like that.
If you don't feel awake and alert in the morning and you tend to feel awake and alert, like at bedtime when you should be going to bed, that is kind of a nervous system dysregulation thing, right? Your cortisol is high in the evening and it's not high in the morning. So like those are specific examples, or like if you just got off the phone with your boss and it wasn't a great phone call and you're ready to eat your lunch and you're struggling to do that cause you feel sick to your stomach, that's again, a nervous system thing too, right?
You need to be able to down regulate your nervous system after having that call so that you can eat. So what would you do? You know, I know what I would do.
I would go outside, I would make a couple of laps around my yard or walk around the block and then sit down and really be intentional and take some deep breaths and things like that to down regulate. But part of the reason the breathing works for me is cause I've done it for years, you know? And so it just needs to become part of your practice.
But yeah, the nervous system stuff, that's what I really love to help people with is like what is a specific actionable thing that you can start doing? It's not that you just have to spend your 14 hours a day like working on your nervous system.
[Speaker 2] (39:07 - 39:08)
Right, exactly.
[Speaker 1] (39:08 - 39:28)
What is the specific one time that we should start with and start with that and then you can build on it. And then once you kind of are aware and know what is going on with your own nervous system, then you can start to make really a lot of traction. Well, this has been awesome.
Lauren, thank you so much for joining me.
[Speaker 2] (39:28 - 39:40)
Well, thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure to chat with you. If you're listening, you know, just remember that it's okay to slow down and it's okay to look at things differently every once in a while and just appreciate what's in front of you.
[Speaker 1] (39:41 - 40:25)
Yeah, I love that. Such good advice. So Lauren, if you go to her website, Blends by the Shore, as you mentioned a couple of times, I have some great products on there.
I'm gonna do some shopping myself. We'll get off our call. I'm so excited about that.
Also, you have a practitioner program that you mentioned where practitioners apply to work with you and then they help create blends or use your guidance, I guess, to create blends because I know for me, like I could probably make some guesstimates but I would really want the expert opinion on doing that for someone. So why don't you speak to that just a little bit too because I know there are gonna be other practitioners who are listening to this and hear how that could benefit them and their clients.
[Speaker 2] (40:25 - 42:01)
Yeah, absolutely. I love collaborating. I think it's just like a beautiful thing, you know, when we're all aligned in the same like standpoints and just can really bounce ideas off one another.
And I work with practitioners as much hands on or hands off as you'd like, depending on like knowledge base and whatnot. So yes, blendsbytheshore.com slash practitioner is the website. You can look kind of a little overview about what the program is.
And really it is just kind of being part of this blends community that works with me in order to build custom blends for your clients in the best way that you see fit. So very flexible, very open to suggestions or very open to so many different things. And we talk about your clients and we build custom blends based on labs if you have them or just their goals.
And it's really, it's honestly just awesome because again, it's collaborative. So you don't have to feel like you have to come to the table with a recipe. You know, that's what I'm here for.
You just have to come with your knowledge of the client, right? And I do offer like practitioner codes where if you are purchasing something that you get a 10% discount as a practitioner for being a part of the program as well as your clients. So if they order a custom blend with you and you place the order, they can place refills by themselves using your code for the discount as well as acknowledgement of you as a practitioner.
It kind of gives you a different kind of support a little bit of hands off once you do that initial blend and it's awesome. So if you're interested, check it out and always open to collaborating, so.
[Speaker 1] (42:01 - 43:46)
Yeah, that's so awesome. Yeah, I need to dive into that a little bit more too. Very fun.
Well, thanks again for your time today, Lauren and we will see you later. Thank you. I just had an amazing discussion with Lauren Cranmer of Blends by the Shore and I hope that you enjoyed our conversation too.
Whether you are a practitioner, you work in the typical medical model, you are just a person who is trying to navigate their own health journey. I hope that you could take something from this and really feel empowered to make your own choices about these health rituals and things that can greatly influence your body. Because remember your body is connected in every way and we talk about that a lot in this episode.
I'm just grateful for Lauren and her time and please visit her website. She has some amazing things you can order on there, some herbal tea concoctions and other things and visit her practitioner page. If you're a practitioner, you can look into working with her to make your own custom blends for your clients and patients, which is pretty cool.
I've never heard of anyone else doing this. So I'm Kara Sederberg. I appreciate you being here and until next time, have a great day.
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. I am not a medical doctor and this content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making any decisions related to your health, especially if you have a medical condition or are taking medications.
