An Herbal Journey: Exploring Mother Nature’s Medicine – with Doug Wolkon

Dr. Mindy  

On this episode of The resetter podcast, I bring you Doug wolfskin from kawaii pharmacy. So let me give you a little background on this conversation. We my husband and I were in quiet for a couple of weeks back in March. And we stumbled upon Doug’s regenerative farm. And on a vacation moment, we decided to go and get a tea tasting and explore what he was, you know, his products and what he was demonstrating that he’s growing within his regenerative farm. But something magical happened when we showed up, there was a vibration change, there was a calmness that came over us there was a general lift of energy, something magical was going down on this farm, and we had been on the island for a couple of weeks. So it was just a real energetic shift. We spent several hours there really understanding his products and how they relate to the overall healing of the human body. And I’ve been become so enamored with the concept of using high quality plant medicine to heal us. And when I say high quality, you’re going to hear that in this episode. This is not what you will find in your grocery store. This isn’t even what you’ll find at your farmers market. So in this episode, you’re going to learn about how you can use something as simple as curry powder, or something as simple as Tulsi tea to be able to bring your cells back into homeostasis. We even talked about all different types of detoxing and how gentle detoxing through the concentration of high quality plants like Doug is offering can actually gently detox you and bring your body back into balance after you have been living a life of high stress, high toxicity. How do we use plants to lovingly bring us back into balance? This is herbal medicine like you’ve never heard before. So I am so excited to bring Doug to you. He did such a brilliant job of breaking down what we need to know about plants. He did an incredible job talking about the differences between drinking it and putting it on our skin. And I really truly am excited to bring you this episode. I feel like it’s a true gift to give you because what he’s up to is magic. So Doug from quietly pharmacy, I highly recommend you dive into not only this episode, but what he is offering the world because it’s truly special. Enjoy.

Dr. Mindy  

Hey, Dr. Mindy here and welcome to season four of the resetter podcast. Please know that this podcast is all about empowering you to believe in yourself again. If you have a passion for learning, if you’re looking to be in control of your health and take your power back. This is the podcast for you. Enjoy. Okay, Doug, for starters, I have to welcome you to my podcast. I feel like the first time I met you I was in shorts and a flip flop and flip flops. And now you’re seeing the professional version of me. So let me start off by just welcoming you. I’m so excited to have this conversation.

Doug Wolkon  

Thank you, Mindy. Yeah, it’s a pleasure. No, the first time you came kind of undercover on the farm I didn’t quite know, you know who you are. I’m so honored to be here.

Dr. Mindy  

I here’s where I want to start this conversation because there’s so much that I want my audience to understand about your products, what you’re up to. But I think your story is really fascinating because so many people are starting to understand it’s time to slow down. So talk a little bit about how you went from a high stress life to being a regenerative farmer on quite

Doug Wolkon  

well, that was quite some time ago.

Doug Wolkon  

I used to do private equity, real estate finance stuff in my 20s. So that was early 2000s. And I left that world when I was 30. Not sure what I was going to do. I definitely wanted to change I wanted to see what else was out there. And then we had our first child and my wife and I Jenna who we both own together quite pharmacy and founded it together.

Doug Wolkon  

We went to qui really to find just the journey and and we’re definitely on a healing in a healing space for sure. We were both challenged. I was 30 pounds heavier than I am now. And my wife had some challenges with her birth or our firstborn. And we wanted to just tap into something new and also really We take responsibility for our, our health that was that was important to us. So as that, as that idea of taking responsibility came to fruition, I mean, Kawhi was was the place that had all this medicine. I mean, we had, so we traveled to Hawaii and and when we got there, yeah, this, this medicine was being put in front of us. And we first started with noni leaf and we were kind of putting on our skin and making tea with it, and realizing just wow, this powerful leaf, you know, so profound in its in its healing attributes, and we didn’t know such medicine existed. It was, it was new for us. I mean, I thought all medicine came in a bottle. So yeah, so this leaf, we would just put it in water and heat it up and make tea out of it. And we just started there. And the slowing down process, honestly, it was quite the unwinding, in still is, you know, I’ve been it’s been 15 years on island, we did a lot of work, and the first 1212 ish years were more in the physical space. For me, at least, and I cleanse, you know, cleaned out a lot of the toxicity that was in, you know, in my physical being, whether it be the wonderbread, from the My childhood or so much of the other foods that I had gobbled up during my life at that time, but and then last few years, the, you know, it became the slowing down process became as much about just realizing, activity, you know, this idea of like, what, like being more and doing less, really, is the idea, or higher higher production and lower consumption. Right. So what is what does that mean, and really leaning into that concept, because that’s where the power is, for me. That’s where slowly that’s probably because slowing down, it can be elusive. You know, your mind can go, you know, your mind can go the other way.

Dr. Mindy  

Explain that a little bit more. Because I, I can tell you for my own self, that I’m very cognizant of the fact that I need to start to slow down and even in some small little way, every time I do it, I feel like every cell in my body says speed up, stop sitting on the couch, stop slowing down. Like, I think our nervous systems become so conditioned to this modern world that slowing down actually feels like torture. So talk, how did you how did you manage the feelings that came as you were slowing down?

Doug Wolkon  

Slowing down is yeah, not an ideal description of, of the truth of it, it’s really alignment, right? That’s really what we’re trying to find. That’s what we’re seeking is alignment. And, you know, we’re just seeking alignment really, with the universe. And then within the slowing down is more of like, you know, that’s like the punishment part. That’s a pain and suffering. And you really, ideally, you avoid it, you know, you can transcend the slowing down, and, and work yourself into alignment. So yeah, because like I said, the slowing down can be a lot of pain and suffering. Yeah. So you don’t really you don’t really know, you know, you don’t really know what to do. So the question is how, you know, getting into alignment, you’re refining your energies, right? You’re refining your physical, mental, emotional, and energetic being, so that it’s in alignment with the universe. And as you do that, it feels like slowing down is the same thing as speeding up and everything is, ideally, you know, joyful, if you will. And you’re able to take on the biggest tasks of the day and also get rest when rest is, you know, is calling.

Dr. Mindy  

Yeah, I love that, that the slowing down feels like speeding up because it does it really I mean, and I’ve only I’m only at the beginning of learning how to do this. So talk to me a little bit. What about this idea around plants being medicine because and how that ties into the slowing down? Because I’ll just tell you what I saw when I was on your farm. I definitely saw a many blissful individuals, not just you, but everybody there seemed to have just a peace and joy about them. There was something magical when I got out of my car that I could smell all the smells coming from the plants that you have on your farm. You could feel a vibrational shift in the air. And I’ve heard you say this many times. I’ve heard you say it today. I’ve heard you say it when I was on your farm, that that the medicine that this is medicine, and so talk a little bit about how you went from this high stress life to the quiet farm, to using the plants to start to heal your body. What is it about plants that we can use to help in the healing that we need to have from our modern Russian lifestyle?

Doug Wolkon  

Big Question. It is big. It is. So there’s so much to the planet at the same time. It’s the simplicity. Right? It goes, it’s the whereafter. So it’s like it’s, you know, words like cleansing detoxing are certainly there. But also, you know, words like lifeforce and circulation are also part of the plant medicine. So there’s no linear aspect of it. It’s it encompasses all that mother nature has to offer at the same time. You know, it’s holistic, it’s, you know, it’s oneness and it’s as delivery so, like you’re accessing all the powers of Mother Nature, the full spectrum rainbow, right? So you know, orange tumeric and red chili peppers and cacao, you know, magnesium and all the different vitamins and minerals and nutrients in the ground that aren’t really accessible to human beings right now. Those those rare spices and, and herbs that created the spice wars of yesteryear and the Spice Islands and the spice world we all have that. You know, even the Indian tea and Spice Company basically the the birth of Global Capitalism was birthed on the back of herbs and spices. And so people were after this lifeforce, and today that lifeforce has gotten him on homogenized, it’s gotten fertilized, it’s gotten, you know, stale, old. And so people look at herbal medicine as I did growing up and said, That’s not gonna work. Not gonna work, right? Because it doesn’t, right, because it doesn’t, right. Like it’s but if you take the intention, and it’s it’s as simple as backyard gardening, you know, I mean, certainly on kawaii we’re gonna deliver another level of vitamins and minerals, it’s gonna be kind of, you know, beyond the level you could do elsewhere, just just given the soil and the air in the water. But in any case, freshness intention, what you can do in your backyard gardens with herbs like mint and lemon balm. Just drinking those those plants every day, lavender. So many I mean, if you look at the, the herbs from they used in the most powerful empires in the world, whether it be Greece, you know, the Roman Empire, India, Africa, all during those times, what did those cultures? Well, how were those cultures raised to have massive populations and their medicine cabinet 1000s and 1000s of years was plant medicine and it was fresh plant medicine. And it was plant medicine that was it was highly, highly sought after and honored. And so the, the herbs, they come into the body, the beautiful colors and just like a beautiful river attracts beautiful birds. These beautiful herbs come into the body and they and they clean, you know and otherwise polluted self. Or if the body’s clean, they’ll they’ll help you know resonate and magnify and already beautiful being with more colors of the rainbow. And again, beautiful vitamins and minerals.

Dr. Mindy  

You know, I love this word lifeforce, because I think it’s really key to what you have created there. So would you say that when we’re looking at the modern world, we’re looking at the toxic food, the toxic thoughts, the toxic lifestyle? It’s depleting the lifeforce. But when we come to plants and herbs, what we’re doing is we’re rebuilding the life force in the body. But I what I’ve heard you say many times, and why I think herbal medicine gets discredited is that the life force of this of these plants comes from the soil. So if the soil is depleted, and doesn’t have enough nourishment and energy and life force in it, what they’re growing out of that is going to be depleted, which is perhaps why your products work so well and, and the best way that I could explain it, in my own personal use is those darn black peppercorns. You gave me that almost one pepper corn lit my mouth on fire. I had never tasted a peppercorn like that. So is it that herbal medicine does didn’t get enough credit right now. Because what we have access to is a weaker energy source than what you’re growing on coffee farm.

Doug Wolkon  

Yeah, no question. I mean, like I said, they, we talked about the spice wars before they traveled 18 months to two years, Christopher Columbus would travel from, you know, Spain to the Spice Islands and lose 200 men over a two year period and come back with black pepper. Why did he do? That’s not what’s on the table today. He did that because he went after he was going after life saving medicine. And if you look at the numbers, I mean, I don’t, I don’t really love to get into this. But it’s got to be said, the spread between the money we invest in our herb plant medicine cabinet, you know, true plant medicine. And what we invest in so many other industries, but let’s just call it pharmaceuticals for now, because it’s the most relatable is just massive, right? You’re talking like, like, here’s this little design, I wouldn’t even call herbal medicine and industry. I wouldn’t even call it a like it gets no money. There’s no support. Yeah, so you have people in Vermont, you have people in New Hampshire, people in Seattle, holding it down San Francisco outside of San Antonio, they’re holding it down the herbalism trade, you know why? To take care of their families take care of, you know, their communities, as a as a culture, right? The American culture, the Western culture, our investment, you know, we’re not vested in herbal medicine, there’s, there’s no, there’s no investment so, so not being invested. Having no knowledge of having no experience of is just so it’s such a big part and changing that story, rewriting that story, you know, the new the new narrative, that’s what, that’s what needs to happen. And, and what happens is foundationally, you’ve changed, you’ve changed every molecule in your body. Because the alkalinity and your this is radical alkalinity. So yeah, when you get your when you get to pH, you know, seven, two, and you’re this beautiful spring water and you can ease and grace grace through life, then that’s great. You can eat salads and soups, and you’re cruising. But before that, you know, how do you how do you interrupt a toxic diet? You know, it’s like, it’s easy for me to rah, rah, you got to stop eating that food, but it’s like, well, you’ve been feeding me this food. Since the day you gave me the milk. Yeah, right. Yeah,

Doug Wolkon  

I read right out, you’ve been giving me that toxicity. And now you’re telling me 50 years later,

Doug Wolkon  

I gotta stop. I’m hooked. Yes, so the radical alkalinity of herbal medicine comes in. And I can tell you, it comes in the, the genius of it, it comes in as softly and gently as you would like, you know, and that’s, that’s the brilliance of it. And as it comes in so gently, you know, you can drink a half a cup, you can brew it strong, you can brew it light, you can sprinkle a little bit on your food, you can sprinkle a lot on your food, what’s the worst that can happen, you detox a little more, you detox a little less, the side effects are a little headache. You know, that’s kind of the way it rolls. It’s not the side effects do not have to be told on a commercial. You know, that’s not the type of side effects. So well

Dr. Mindy  

said that was so well said. So,

Doug Wolkon  

so in any case, that’s, you know, that’s where herbal medicine holds. The key is, its foundational in its radical alkalinity, and that alkalinity is inevitably what’s going to move the acidity in the body to a, a pH that is more in balance with it’s more in balance with with the universe and with with everyday health.

Dr. Mindy  

I really liked this idea of looking at our toxic lifestyle, whether it’s physical, emotional, chemical toxins as polluting our body. So you’re now in a polluted state, which puts you more in this acidic state, which, you know, every cancer researcher you know, every chronic disease comes from this acidic state. So that I love the terminology around that because I think we don’t, we don’t give enough credit to the damage that toxic living can do to our health. And we don’t give enough credit to the power of bringing the body back into alkalinity alkalinity. So when we look at the plants on your farm, how and you’re dealing with a polluted body what It is our first door in and I know you have a lot of amazing products but how do we begin the journey from acidity pollution to alkalinity peace and and you know health within the body.

Doug Wolkon  

So the name of our farm is quite pharmacy wherever four acres. We have about 20 people working on the farm so gardeners, people crafting, so alchemists, and then people educating and doing fulfillment We do everything from the farm. We started with the farm growing a small black like a blend of five different herbs. And there was our first product, it was called Wellness tea, we call it wellness, tea, and it still exists today. And it’s it’s five basic herbs and these, you know, what we do is it’s not revolutionary by any means. It’s avant garde relative to what’s been going on the last 50 years. But, you know, the ancients were doing this, you know, in their backyard, so, and they’re happening all over America, in in backyards as well, which is taking herbs that they’ve been using all over the world, ginger, tumeric, lemongrass, Tulsi. Those are the four basic herbs that we believe should be in your diet every single day. And so what is one of those doing lemongrass we used in 99. I think 98% of the world’s lemongrass is used for house cleaners as a house cleaner. Wow. Which is and you couldn’t source really good lemongrass. So that just shows you how backwards the western world is, is that we’re spraying lemongrass on our floor yet, we should be drinking it. And yet in Thailand, it’s in breakfast, lunch and dinner. Interesting. breakfast lunch. Interesting. So what does it do? What is lemongrass cleaning? It’s cleaning. You know, and yeah, it’s cleansing and listen to this isn’t hot about, you know, the detox is like emergency. Right? Like, we I know, you talk a lot about a lot about fasting and, you know, ideally, we get to a place and I know you talked about stages where we’re fasting from a place of, of innate weight, you know, it’s like, that’s what’s comfortable for us. And the same thing goes with things like lemongrass, they’re in our, our food every day. And then as a result, we’re cleaning everyday we don’t have to cleanse we don’t have to detox. Right? That’s a that’s a lot of pain and suffering. I’d rather Yeah, it’s a lot and so, so So we keep going and then we go so Tumeric really, you know, sourcing the right Tumeric we you know, kawaii grows amazing Tumeric knowing knowing where you get your Tumeric from is is key all different levels of quality there so it’s really going to help reduce inflammation increase your immune system. In India they use it for for makeup for the skin to keep the mosquitoes away. So it’s it’s renowned as a second skin. You know, in India, they have malaria there. So it’s important, you know, these are these are these are masks, these are these are protective items. So immune system is not this, like this esoteric concept. It’s, it’s, it’s an immunity, you put a, you put a second skin on your body. Right? So as you eat the Tumeric like, you don’t worry about things like radiation, they don’t even affect you, because the two mics inside you. Right? Protecting you protecting you. Yeah, and it’s like, oh, it’s something Oh, no, no, just just eat the tumeric and you won’t even be thinking about the radiation. It’s too it’s, it’s not there. Because you are building your immune system in real time. So that’s tumeric and again, the anti inflammatory aspects of Tumeric you know, healing the air, in my opinion, every physical ailment manifests through inflammation. So, you know, like, when I eat inflammatory foods, I can feel it in my hotspots, right? So I have a little shoulder thing. So if I, if I eat alone, you know, inflammatory foods, just my shoulder just feels a little tight. And, and if I keep eating those foods, I will continue to tighten up my shoulder to the point where it will begin to numb and then it will begin to grow like we talked about, you know, cysts or tumors or all kinds of stuff. And we begin to get numb from the feeling which started you know, started as a as a small little inflammatory food and So Pat, you know, moving forward to Ginger, Ginger is all about that fire, metabolism, you know, really helping, you know, we talked about less, less consumption, more production. Ginger really is all about that, really, you know, a lot of people are overweight, and they can’t even they can’t even get on a treadmill or they can’t go for a run. They can exercise their two elements. It might be to you know, older, so the ginger is gonna work for you, right, it’s gonna burn it’s gonna burn and and you know, Integrating that ginger in. So it’s in. It’s also in this wellness, tea, it’s these herbs are in almost all of our teas, ginger, tumeric lemongrass, and the fourth one is Tulsi. Tulsi or holy basil is an herb that they’ve been using in India for, you know, 1000s of years. And although I have experienced with it, it’s people have much more knowledge of TLC than me. It’s been it’s been such an honor to grow and utilize this plant for awareness, really, awareness. So it helps with the breath that helps with opening up the respiratory system, getting becoming aware of your digestive tract. And what’s what’s healing for you. I drank a Tulsi to actually be one of the first blends I made was Tulsi, my wife and I were on this property that had a beautiful herb garden. And I was making a sage, lemon balm, Tulsi mint tea, and the Tulsi was so profound in this tea and I could feel my awareness to like who I was what was happening to me, I was 30 pounds heavier. My son was, you know, running circles around me, I was 36 years old. And it was like, What is going on? Like, where is this? Where is this headed? And, and I was drinking the tea. And the Tulsi was just so profound, and it’s a wake up call. It was such a wake up call for me, spiritually speaking, and it was just like, it was the it was the beginning, it was the first door to open for me, in the spirit in the spiritual realm, yet so gentle in its ways, you know, and it’s and it’s one of those herbs that’s like, when I say awareness, like, how does it relate to health will, you know, you walk into a cold room and you put a jacket on, or you have to go to the bathroom, so you don’t hold it for, you know, an hour or two like or you’re thirsty and you take a drink of water, all those things that like the awareness of them, sometimes the consciousness you know, next thing you know, it’s two days gone by and you haven’t had a sip of water. And you were you know, at one point you were on it, you were conscious about it. Right now all of a sudden, two days go by or you haven’t rested or you haven’t slowed down, or those things haven’t happened. So the Tulsi really helps solidify that awareness and having Tulsi tea and, you know, on the daily is critical. So that wellness tea, and again, I’ll cross all our T’s you’ll basically find ginger, tumeric, lemongrass and Tulsi. So how to start you know, I think you know what, from our farm, you can’t really go wrong. There’s a lot of blogs that we have going on our website, lot of videos on YouTube, that we have going and drinking tea, putting it in the fridge as ice tea, putting our super foods or endurance powder with our ashwagandha having that in your in your smoothie, you’ll just see a different level. I mean, I don’t know of of many, if any superfoods that you can access, you know the source. And that’s got to change that’s going to change I’m I’m I’m proud to say that we you know, you can access the source with us. But there’s there needs to be more sources like us.

Dr. Mindy  

Yeah, and I can tell you just from being on your farm, like after a couple hours there, when we left, we literally felt different. And my husband and I were trying to figure out what it was. And there was also the whatever that was coming off of the plants, if there was a smell or like some molecule of healing that was coming off these plants, there was it was just something I had never experienced before. So talk a little bit and I really don’t want people to lose this because I watched so many people go down the herbal medicine path only to be disappointed. Why can’t I listen to a podcast like this? And just rush out and get some curry organic curry powder at Whole Foods and sprinkle it on my food and expect the same healing result. Does it have to do with the soils in which it’s grown in? Does it have to do with small batch versus large batch? Like how and how do we navigate whether something’s just an really intense version of perhaps an Old Spice we’re used to using How do we know the difference between a healing spice and one that may be more generic?

Doug Wolkon  

Yeah, it’s a wild concept and I can’t tell you that I truly understand I’m going to kind of default to a little bit of ignorance here because I don’t I don’t really understand that industry except for you know my the experience that I have with other relates to cinnamon and black pepper and things like that that you can get an abundance stevia. I just look at those and see. I don’t I don’t feel any medicine at any of those. Yeah, and I have And for quite some time, so, but I think if I step back for a moment and just appreciate what it takes to, to heal oneself and use, eat nourishing foods you know, we all have professions. And when you approach our professions with, with such diligence and such commitment and such professionalism, it’s just incredible. The commitment that we have to our professions to how we keep our home, to the cleanliness of our cars, the cars we drive, I mean, it just goes on and on and on. But when it comes to the way we approach our food, there’s this level of wax. Yeah, so you know, and, and we, we choose to not cross our t’s and dot our eyes. But like a b minus, or a B pluses, you know, is not acceptable in our English paper. But it’s totally, it’s totally cool. It’s totally cool to put a b minus in our mouth, you know, it’s totally okay. To actually, in fact, like, live a little bit, have a date, have a D, and an F, ah, you know,

Dr. Mindy  

when that be interesting, you just actually got me thinking, when that be interesting, if we had some kind of health rating like that on every food, so that you could be like, Hey, this is an F in health, it might, you might like the taste of it, but just know it’s scored an F? Like, would that change? Because we’re so success driven? or So grade driven? Like, would that change the way people would approach food? It’s a really interesting thought

Doug Wolkon  

So and then, and then the premise of just Okay, so and the why, right? You know, F doesn’t feel good. You know, I people know, they’re eating the bad food, they don’t eat enough to tell them, that they’re eating the bad food. So now the question is the why. And it’s like, well, because the good foods gonna make you feel good. And how do you trust that? And how do you trust the process? And what’s the outcome and the fulfillment, right, the the fulfillment of your life, right? That you get to, you get to enjoy your life, and then potentially explore other dimensions even, you know, and really make the best of this journey. So, I mean, that’s the why. And so when you mentioned that A to F, you know, it’s, it’s kind of funny, because, on one end, you know, I’m sure a lot of people would not appreciate that, you know, it’s, it’s kind of serious, and it’s like, but at the same time, the seriousness is, is, is kind of moving into a place in which you start to respect yourself more, right? Because so well, because the truth of it is you’re, you’re hiding from You’re disrespecting yourself when you eat those foods and drink that liquid. And then you’re hiding in a space of, you know, lack of a better word in the party space, right. And you party, only to have have have a crash later. And as you get older, as you get older, there’s no avoiding the crash, the crashes become, you know, it’s like, the binges become shorter, because you can access them for long, you know, you can go on longer binges when you’re younger. And so, so the lessons become shorter, and then it’s like, why am I even doing this? It’s only a one day binge, and I get nothing out of it. So in any case, yeah, the the idea is that you’re able to create that foundation, in which you can, you can bring in those experiences on a consistent basis. And they and they add on to themselves. And, and the the a like, you know, living, right. There can be some, there can be some B pluses, you know, lots of lessons all over the place, always right. I think

Dr. Mindy  

the way you you explain this is really beautiful, because I believe as we age, our cells, not our not our mind or our spirit, but our cells become less tolerant of the abuse. And so what they do is they give you more fatigue, they give you more cravings, they give you more, more anxiety in your brain. And all of that is just a cry from your cells to stop physically, emotionally, chemically toxifying them. And so you really bring up a really interesting point where I think we have to look at the wisdom of aging. As when you have these aches and pains in your body when you’re when you’re not your mind isn’t at that performance level. It’s just your cells saying enough. I can’t handle it anymore. You’ve got to do something different. And I can tell you with women, that as we get over 40 We don’t have that neurochemical armor of estrogen progesterone that you used to protect us. And so our cells are just so exposed, which is why I’m so intrigued as a 53 year old woman by products like yours, because it feels like cellular healing. So talk a little bit I know you have, you’ve used a lot of products on women, a lot of products on women going through the menopausal journey, how can we start to use some of the herbs that you’ve grown the plants that you’ve grown to bring, not only Cellular Healing back to bring, but to bring some balance to our hormones, and maybe even our neurotransmitters back into balance as we move through our 40s and 50s.

Doug Wolkon  

You know, we, we bought the farm. So obviously, you know, my approach to plant medicines, somewhat, you know, it’s all about abundance. Right? I, I love, I want to bathe in it, I want to immerse myself fully in, in plant medicine. And as I immerse myself, like I don’t, I don’t just like put a little thing on my wrist when my wrist hurts if my wrist hurts, I douse you know my finger to my shoulder, with, you know, the finest oil that I can find. And, and I as I move forward with through the plant medicine, I just trust so much because you, you learn how amazing it is and the trust and the wisdom that’s within the plants and the information. So we’re drinking the tea, you know, consistently we’re sprinkling the spices on our foods, we’re putting them in our smoothies. We’re using the SAVs we have a botanical body butter, that’s just beautiful. We have a countryside. Yeah, it’s, it’s got

Dr. Mindy  

attached to that, yeah, using

Doug Wolkon  

using kawaii beeswax I mean, using macadamia nut oil, those, like really understanding where your where your medicines coming from. And, and then when you get the goods, you know, not hoarding it, using it, using it on your body, like learning how to treat yourself learning how to, you know, not play the victim not rely on others massaging yourself, right? Massaging your feet on the daily, really practicing, you know, self care and self love in, you know, in order to build that respect that self respect. And as you build that self respect up, and as you build that, you know, practice, in fact that it just becomes easier, and your body actually requires less, but certainly at you know, women in their 40s and 50s. And and having having children, certainly, lack of, of village like communities that that the Western world has been experiencing, there’s been a tremendous amount of pressure put on women. In a in my opinion, you know, that ends up becoming an extremely challenging mental and physical experience after, you know, once the child children are born because of the lack of village and community that yes, in our culture, it’s just yeah, I It’s topic. I have a tough time. It’s disgusting. Yeah. So so so now it’s for women, it’s about, in my opinion, building that self respect back up, because they had to let go of so much. Yeah, yeah, it’s that

Dr. Mindy  

it’s so well said. So, one interesting thing after we left your your farm, the next day, you I think we had told you that we were staying at the one hotel, and I went to get a massage. And they were using all your products. And there was a whole bunch of oils that they used in the massage. But when I got done with the massage, I was sitting on the beach, and I had this thought in my head, which was I think I am the most relaxed I may have ever been in my entire life. Every cell in my body felt at peace. And so I went I actually went back to the spa. And I was like What did you rub on me, and this is my favorite product of yours. And I want to talk about how I’ve used it because I think it’s really revolutionary in the in its use and that that’s your cavus serum. And so what I’ve done with the Cava serum, and I can tell you as a 53 year old woman, is I actually rub it on my sacrum at night before I go to bed because the sacrum is the is the root of parasympathetic, the parasympathetic nervous system and it has been a major tool in helping me Sleep throughout the menopausal journey which so many women struggle so talk a little bit about what the when we put something topical as opposed to breathing smelling something as opposed to drinking something is that when we like I drank kava from for a while for a long time. What is it about topical versus ingesting it that’s different,

Doug Wolkon  

you know, we just drive so much of our nutrition, toxicity, medicine, all of it comes to our organs and it’s like you know, so much on our liver and gallbladder and pancreas and stomach and it’s just a lot and so so when we have to like address an acute issue to address it through the organs becomes really taxing on your on your mental and emotional health. So if you can address an acute issue for you, it sounds like potentially it’s you know, asleep or restoration, a restoration concept and you can do it without having to go through your mouth which is what we all immediately do take a pill or take a you know, drink of something it’s all like I can only fix myself I put it through my mouth. But once you once you realize your third you know your third long is your is your skin and it’s the largest organ in the body and you realize it through through profound medicine right that’s how you learn or or jumping in a epically Cold Spring you know like a beautiful spring or waterfall that will literally detox you from the outside in. And you can do it through meditation and breath work to when you realize that you’re you are this pulsating being and and the idea that you can take in medicine through your skin assuming that the medicine is is on point, right so then then we’re talking about a whole nother dimension of relationship between plants and people when you can access plant medicine through your skin. It’s just a whole nother dimension. So that’s an amazing feat, you know, and you’ve realized that feat. There’s just different ways gentler ways to treat and what you’re doing with that Kava Kava grows. It takes three years to grow kava Oh, wow. That’s what’s in that that oil that you have. So we infuse it over a three day process at a very low heat 140 degrees and this macadamia nut oil that is that is just luxury. And and so medicinal in its own right. And so the kava going in is extremely grounding. And you know, to me, I think that’s what you’re feeling is how grounding the Kava is, and what the what the serum does, as opposed to taking it internally where it you know that kava will go, in my opinion goes right to your head, but it also goes to your body I mean, Kava is known to address the physical body in a kind of in a in a more profound way and leave the mind alone for the most part. But then as you drink more and more, which I find happens a lot of times when you drink kava, you end up drinking more and more, it does start to seep into, into the mind. So with the serum, with a serum, which is amazing as it stays in the body, and, and grounds. And it’s amazing that you’re tapping into the way you are

Dr. Mindy  

and you’re kind of bringing your body back into homeostasis. And I think that’s what we’re what we are missing in treating symptomatology is all symptoms are as a body out of balance. So what I’ve heard is a general theme not only in what you’re saying today, but what I heard when I was on kawaii was that it’s we’re bringing the body back into balance using the using plants to do that. So it’s such there’s always a gentleness and that whereas a lot of detoxing is is still a lot of extreme energy that’s pushing toxins out. That’s not what I’m witnessing from being on your farm and actually using your products is it just feels more like a gentle hug that brings you back into balance. And I love that and appreciate that it feels really nurturing. I think it’s actually a really brilliant idea. In fact, I’m even wondering if that it could be used as what I would call transitional medicine. Meaning that when you’re transitioning out of the stress of the day, could you put it on the bottom of your feet and just take 1020 minutes and just to sit in a in a peaceful place before you go into your evening routine. Maybe you do the same thing in the in the morning, but you actually had told I clued into something you had said when we were there, which is you put the one of the SAVs on your face, and then you go into meditation. And, and it’s a beautiful way to use the plants to assist you in that spiritual healing, is that just something you’ve intuitively come up with? Or is there anything that we should know about the spiritual part of these plants and how they can really shift us not only on an energetic level, but on a spiritual level,

Doug Wolkon  

they will certainly are hydrosol. So we have a steam distillation of the Spirit water of the plant that called hydrosols. And like our Tulsi hydrosol, we could spray on your face, that’s going to be an awareness experience, you know, it’s a, it’s a beautiful perfume, but also is an antidepressant, it has a happiness vibe to it. And, and certainly the oils are gonna are gonna help with circulation so that when you, you know, through meditation and breath work, you know, you’re only going to drop in, in my opinion in a deeper place, by you know, burning that sage stick or, or rubbing, you know, plant medicine on you. And, you know, all the plant medicine is a component like in my coaching practice. You know, what I teach is, and also practice is the five components, which is plant medicine, nutrition, you know, in the plant medicine is going to call in, you know, more watery foods, more slippery foods, foods that are easy to digest, it’s going to call so nutrition, so herbal medicine, nutrition, it’s going to call in the yoga, the stretching, you know, the expansion of the physical body, to be more, you know, more postural and more in tune with mother nature in its posture, and then meditation and breathwork so, all five all five of those, you know, herbal medicine, in my opinion being a for me, it was it was the interceptor, it allowed me to intercept my nutrition and once I got those under wraps, you know, once I could get those under control, because I was out of control. And so I switched up my, you know, pH, I got my alkalinity, you know, flushed out and kind of under control. And then I was able to just start moving into, you know, my breath, work and yoga.

Dr. Mindy  

Yeah, yeah. And I love the idea of calling it in that was so well said. And I think, you know, a big summary of everything you’re saying is with each move towards a healthier body away from a polluted body, the body craves another move, and then it craves another move. And when we’ve become so disconnected from our body, when we go to get healthy, we don’t it’s hard for us to intuitively know what we want. But we’re using something as beautiful as comfrey salve on your on your on the bottoms of your feet, or my one of my favorite teas that you have is the green energy tea, drinking that in the morning, and I feel like all of a sudden, I know what’s best for me. Whereas the every other like even a cup of coffee, or getting up and rushing to my day. Now I’m disconnected. And I don’t know what’s best for me. So what I’m hearing you say is that the plants have a way of calling in the other pieces as you use them more frequently. Would that be accurate?

Doug Wolkon  

Yeah, I mean, like, yeah, so accurate. The foundation you’re talking about Foundation, right? And, and versus like a compulsive being, right, where you’re just going from place to place to place and, you know, you might be like, creating, you know, adding more money or adding more houses or making more friends. But it’s like, what, what’s the intention? And you know, what’s, are you truly in alignment? You know, yeah, what level can we get to as far as control and herbs really help support that awareness? Thoughts are great. Yeah.

Dr. Mindy  

So great. Well, I just love the way you speak of plant medicine because I feel like experiencing your farm also sort of solidified for me the power of the right plants grown in the right soil in the right environment and how healing that can be. So I just really appreciate you I appreciate what you all have done there. I do want to end on on two of my favorite questions this season. And I really have been focused on teaching people self love this year. You know, especially women as we go through our menopausal journey, we need more self love. So do you have a self love practice that you I mean, it sounds like everything you do The farm is self love. But do you have a self love daily practice? And my second part of that question is, what do you think your superpower is that you bring to the world,

Doug Wolkon  

my self love practice at this moment because it does change. I am loving my meditation. You know, it’s, for me, it’s a way that I close my eyes. And I work on the two things that are basic principles of being a human being, and that is, breath and posture. And as I as I work on my breath in my posture, I, I fall into alignment with, you know, with me in the universe, and it’s just, it’s so simple. And yeah, so that’s the self love. Although I do a lot of other things, too. That’s my day to day alignment. And then other what was the other question? Bring to the world. Yeah, the idea of, of sharing my wife and I have been on a journey, my wife and I have a lot to share and, and we’re excited to do so. And you know, the plant medicine but also our experiences in education. So at the moment, it would be the experience that we’ve had, and and be able to share it and hopefully, you know, provide some some knowledge for people to help heal themselves.

Dr. Mindy  

I think that is such a profound answer because experience doesn’t get enough credit in this world at life experience and I would agree, you know, the moment I stepped on your farm, not only could I tell there was a vibrational difference, but you and I chatted about this when I was there, it was like I was drawn to you as drawn to your energy and what you were sharing and and your energy today is an accumulation of all of your experience. So I love that that very well said and I loved this conversation and it makes me want to go downstairs into my kitchen and start rubbing all your products all over me again. So where can people find you so that they can experience this as well?

Doug Wolkon  

Yeah, so the the hub is at kawaii pharmacy.com. So we are on Garden Island of kawaii and that’s k au AI kawaii and then pharmacy is with an F so f a r m acy.com. And that’s the hub and and we have Instagram at qui pharmacy t.com And we have a youtube so there’s lots to learn on our YouTube. And yeah, those are the basics. Those are the big spots and then we we do have visits to the farm. If you ever come to kawaii you can visit the farm at the moment. And you can come for tea and we have a retail store there as well. So we have an apothecary if you will, there but on our website this is all explained and all of our products are on our website. And there’s a ton of information we blog every week we have a newsletter that comes out every week. Do a lot of effort in that everything we do has a lot of intention all the way from so

Dr. Mindy  

can tell and and I really recommend people go visit you because that that is will solidify everything that you’ve learned today. So amazing. Amazing. Thank you, Doug,

Doug Wolkon  

and thank you so much.

Dr. Mindy  

Thank you so much for joining me in today’s episode. I love bringing thoughtful discussions about all things health to you. If you enjoyed it, we’d love to know about it. So please leave us a review, share it with your friends and let me know what your biggest takeaway is.