I came up with the concept for The Wooed at a time in my life where my body was under a lot of mental and physical stress. I was constantly under pressure to meet deadlines, working overtime and dealing with serious health issues in my family. I didn’t know it then, but I was presenting with a number of symptoms pointing towards high stress and burn out - extreme brain fog, bloating and weight-gain, irregular menstrual cycle, always fatigued yet had trouble sleeping. I remember talking to friends about how I was feeling, to my disappointment the general consensus was, ‘that's being an adult, everyone feels that way.’ While I gathered from this insight that my experience was indeed very common, I knew it wasn’t normal.
My health continued to get worse and the feeling of ‘something isn’t right, I have to make a change’ grew, until eventually I had to listen. I quit my job and the lifestyle it demanded to study Naturopathy with Endeavour College of Natural Health , and Evolutionary Herbalism. While simultaneously trying to treach myself to slow down, to rest and feel into my body more. I focused on intuitive eating and nourishing myself from the inside-out, predominately with plants. As Hippocrates said, “let food be thy medicine”. With these changes came a vast improvement in my mental and physical health. I felt lighter, happier, and my symptoms one by one disappeared.
What I ultimately put this down to is a massive reduction in the stress I was under each day, coupled with positive changes in diet and lifestyle, which nourished my body and allowed it the opportunity to find it's natural rhythm again. While my adrenals and nervous system were given the rest they so desperately needed. (If you relate, see Why rest is revolutionary.)
During this time, I became captivated by traditional herbalism; Chinese, Ayurvedic, Celtic - these cultures have known for thousands of years what modern science is only now discovering. What intrigues me the most about traditional healing systems is their understanding of the energetic and spiritual properties of plants. A truly holistic paradigm for approaching health that considers the mind, body and spirit.
One of my favourites physically and energetically is Ashwagandha, a plant you'll find in an array of our products. In Ayurveda, Ashwagandha is known to facilitate spiritual breakthroughs due to it's ability to calm the nervous system and reconnect you with your higher self.
With this new understanding I began experimenting with medicinal herbs – creating my own Powders, Body Oils, Tinctures and Lotions to nourish my psyche and soma. Thus, The Wooed was born. Rooted in traditional knowledge once referred to as ‘woo-woo’, science now has the data to substantiate.
Our bodies, plants, nature in general – are all biologically programmed to be continuously moving towards a state of health. Problems arise when substances non-conducive to health become trapped in the body, creating a toxic load that leads to inflammation and throws off our natural ability to heal. Modern lifestyle factors like environmental pollution, chemicals in our food/water, emotional trauma (i.e. stress, grief, anxiety, fear), insufficient movement and poor sleep are a few aspects contributing to the toxic load our bodies face each day. Removing as many of these from our lives as possible is ultimately the best way to cleanse our system and embrace natures innate wisdom.
With this in mind, my intention for The Wooed is to create thoughtful and effective products that support this process, rather than suppress it. Allowing more space for love, connection and vitality.
Tika x
