June-October 2017

The October CSA package included a Clearing Ritual for seasonal release.
Smudge spray from the October CSA packages.  For clearing spaces when burning sage isn't an option.
CONGRATULATIONS, LAURA!  My student, Laura Kolb, received her Ayurvedic Wellness Coach certification in August!
As part of Laura's graduation ceremony, we chanted Vedic mantras and made this grain/bean mandala.  When it was finished, we mixed it all up and took the blessed ingredients home to feed our families!
In August, I picked blackberries and blueberries for my CSA and began pickling, making vinegar, and infusing honey!
New cards!  By Steve Parke Design
Started my Community-Supported Ayurveda program in August!  The first package included this Manzanilla and Wolfberry herbal tea - so delicious!
One of the August CSA bags: Salve-ation made by Healing Fields and Mint soap for cooling end-of-summer Pitta, custom aromatherapy, cooling mist, medicinal tincture, and a healing stone.
Herbs waiting to be made into tinctures: basil, thyme, and oregano
Fresh lavender for medicinal formulas
Mothewort tincture for women's hormonal health.  Will be done brewing in October!
Seeds roasting - making seasonal masala for my CSA members!
Hand-grinding a spice mix for August CSA members, to support digestion during the Early Autumn transition
Rapid growth requires a space to accommodate expansion!  Moved by practice to Tranquili-Chi Center.  Check out my gorgeous new space!
Above is the waiting area at Tranquili-Chi
September: free shipping added to my online apothecary for orders over $50!
Feathers for smudge kits (humanely gathered from molting birds)
Setup for a Medical Intuitive healing session
Making smudge kits for my CSA members
On-location retreat planning at the gorgeous home of my friend, Tammy Carr! 

May 2017

The waiting area for my practice!  Sacred Space (donation-based) Mini Marketplace, cushy chairs, seasonal guidelines, and distance healing/prayer request ministry book!  I don't overbook my day, so 2 people at most will be here at any given time.

January 2017 - Moved into a new office at Ruscombe, and built my fairy garden!

 2016 - Woah!  Practice filling up fast, and so grateful that most of my patients refer family and friends!  Not much time for website maintenance.  Getting into the rhythm of keeping a healthy work-life balance with this rapid growth!  Thanks to the help of my teenage son, I am now on Twitter and Instagram! 

Ingredients - making custom formulas for my Spring Panchakarma folks!
Spring beauty - love seeing this when I pull up into the parking lot every day!
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to my student Kristen Jarmer - she completed her Ayurvedic Practitioner certification in March!  1,000 hours of study!  I'm so proud of her.  She is a talented Ayurvedic professional and ready to open her own practice!
Spring office floorset
Added Saturday hours in March of 2017, to accommodate my folks whose jobs don't allow them to make a weekday appointment.  Since then, I have taken Mondays off and shifted my work week to Tues-Sat for healthy work-life balance.
February - Lovely to walk into the building seeing this blooming!
Me, making an anxiety-reducing formula for Vata/Pitta

December 2015

Ruscombe is festive!
Eating lunch outside and enjoying some sun
Health professionals don't have to be too serious.  We sometimes like to wear elf socks to work.
It makes me happy seeing this on the front door of the mansion every morning when I arrive!
All the plants are dressed up for winter!
Re-hung all my degrees in my office so they are now visible...and finally got my MPH up!
I love silly socks.  One of my patients gave me these and it made my day!
I love this.
Snowman Selfie!  Me being silly in Ellicott City after the Vedic Spa opening.
My festive getup for Winter Solstice.  Clearly, it's very warm here!
On my lunch break.  Something feels very odd about seeing Christmas trees for sale while it's warm enough for me to wear a tank top!
Our halls are decked!
Went to the opening of the Vedic Spa.  What a gorgeous place!
Admiring the traditional shirodhara setup at Vedic Spa
November 2015
Gifts from Helen at Ruscombe for my office library!  Flower essences and aromatherapy heal the subtle body.
Walking into the sunroom is instantly calming. 
Don't you wish your healthcare provider's office was this inviting?
Quartz crystal brings healing energy into my office. 
I love being in the Mansion in the early mornings, especially on rainy days when it's so cozy in here!
Switched out the electric lights in my lamp in favor of tea light candles. 
There really is so much beauty in this place.
Someone missed their appointment today, but it gave me the opportunity to play with photography and update my website!
A meditative spot in the sunroom

October 2015

Feeling overwhelming gratitude as I realize that my practice is flowing in line with my vision when I first started it.
New meditation cushions!.
Autumn flowers in the Mansion lobby
Offerings to the Divine Mother, in front of Hill House
Little corners of peace everywhere here at Ruscombe, even in the bathroom!
Season of new beginnings, and boy am I blessed!
Sending you all blessings and joy on this lovely morning!
The lovely Kristen Jarmer joined my practice!  She is going to be seeing patients on Saturdays, thank goodness! 
I have my students read this book.  Maya Tiwari teaches us how to heal women's health issues by looking at ancestral connections and incorporating daily spiritual practices into our lives.
The mudra for balancing the flow of Air in the body.  Try it next time excess Air is in the digestion or you're feeling ungrounded.
My favorite lamp, which I "made" from a plant hook and some hanging lanterns.
Loving this cool weather and opening up to new directions in my work!  Stay tuned!
Autumn blooming roses on the Ruscombe grounds.  So pink they look unreal.
Taking a breath and a stretch at the end of a busy work week.  Feels so good.  Working later than usual tonight.  Leading a group cleanse over the next week and that always makes the week before a little crazy.
The kichari I made for panchakarma.  You can find the recipe here at Banyan Botanicals.
Oleation during panchakarma: we take melted ghee in the morning before breakfast to draw fat-soluble toxins out of the body. 
Closing out the work week feeling blissful!  My practice is a partnership with all of you and I am grateful for that. 
Sunroom remodel at the Mansion.  No more leaky roof!
The early morning moon on the last Thursday of the month.  Just gorgeous.  This photo doesn't do it justice.
Joy at witnessing the manifestation of intentions!  Past 3 years: setting intentions, professionally seeking continuing education, preparing to be of service in providing companion treatment to women experiencing breast cancer.  Last 2 weeks: getting to be of service to women experiencing breast cancer by providing companion treatment.  Thank you, Universe. 
Picture
Tempeh with Bragg Aminos and veggie "pasta": one of the meals I ate during my Autumn detoxification.
Pumpkin smoothie, which I also had during my cleansing week.  Recipe here.
Sunflowers on my altar - a loving gift from my student, Cheryl Hicks.  Made me so happy!
Me with my student, Cheryl Hicks.  I am about to certify her as an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach.  She's going to be amazing!
Autumn breeze flowing through the sunroom at the Mansion.  Perfect balance. 
I love that this is by the front door of the Mansion.  I feel like this about my work. 
Ayurvedic massage oil makes a wonderful cleaner for wood surfaces!  Cleaning my office while chanting mantras.
Autumn roses in front of Hill House
Setting up for the Ruscombe Open House
My table at the Open House: mandalas to color for meditation and drawing to win a free 30-minute intuitive reading.
Herbal extract doses for the workday, mixed in organic pomegranate juice.
Something I don't get to see often: the Mansion in the dark.  Turned back to see this as I was leaving one night and wanted to share this beauty with others.
Dinner: Page 202 from the Eat, Taste, Heal cookbook, and some baked tofu.  Delicious!
Healers need healing too!  We have to stay balanced to help others.  Got some first-class energy healing today from Genevieve DiGiovanni!
Purple mums and my business card in one of the waiting areas outside my office.  
September 2015
My air plant.  It's hard to keep a water-hungry plant alive in the hotter weather when I'm not here on the weekends!
Starting to promote the Open House!
Vata-balancing Miso soup.  Yummmm.
Me on a Friday afternoon, ready to enjoy the weekend!
I'm sipping warm lemon-honey water daily through October, to gently support liver and lymphatic flushing.
Registration for my Autum Detox group panchakarma program begins!  We cleanse in one month!
The Ayurvedic definition of obesity, found on page 387 of The Ayurveda Encyclopedia, which was written by my guru, Swami Sadashiva Tirtha (reprinted with permission).  Ideal body size and shape is determined by one's dosha.
Smudging my room with sage and chanting mantras is how I begin each day.  My space needs to feel calming as soon as someone walks in the door.
This poster was made by the incredibly talented Aaron Staengl.  I'm sharing this with the members of my Autumn Detox group as they register.  Looking at the tongue, we can see what's happening inside the whole body!.
My new favourite place at the Mansion
The Guggulu formulas have arrived!  These are powerful formulas for all doshas and body systems.  When healing calls for the "big guns", we bring in these supplements.
Me typing Action Plans for my patients.  After each appointment, I send a personalized Action Plan by email.  The Action Plan outlines the treatment plan we create, including herbal supplements, dietary recommendations, self care practices, exercise, and meditation.  It also provides information about all recommended herbal supplements.
August 2015
Me with Swami Sadashiva Tirtha!  Definitely the highlight of my Summer: camping at Swamiji's place for the weekend!
Swamiji took us all to meet Alberta Hutchinson, the creator of these books.  She is the original mandala coloring book artist.  Her generosity of spirit is unparalleled, and she has created a Buddhist temple in her yard.  What an amazing woman!  Find her books here.
I usually walk in the mornings before work, but it's been too hot.  This was the first morning cool enough for me to go out again!
Kayaking with Swamiji and fellow members of his Medical Intuitive certification program.  Getting the mind out of the way and playing together!
Swamiji and his books!
I love it when people bring me flowers!
Reading Adyashanti for spiritual growth.  My theme for this month is uncovering and eliminating what I call hidden "ego traps": ways that the ego tricks us into believing that we are separate from everything else.
Testing out a new supplement from Banyan Botanicals!  If things are not contraindicated for my dosha, I test them first before using them in my practice.  This stuff definitely works!  This will be good adrenal support for depleted individuals. 
Me in Natarajasana.  Doing Yoga between patients.
Me in my office on a hot morning
Moved my whole office around to get this gorgeous piece in here...a gift from my sister-in-law.  I'm so lucky!
Me creating nature art in the car on the way home from our visit to Swamiji's place.