Explore every episode of the podcast Homestead And Heal Podcast

What happens when you get to step away from your everyday life and experience the life you've been dreaming of?

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, Lindsay and Scott welcome special guest Elissa, a mother, caregiver, and self-proclaimed "country mouse" who has spent her life in Los Angeles dreaming of wide-open spaces, farm animals, and a deeper connection to the land.

After deciding to homeschool her son, Elissa began looking for opportunities to learn practical life skills together. When she discovered the Homestead & Heal Retreat, she knew it was exactly what she had been searching for.

Elissa and her son traveled from Los Angeles to rural Vermont for a week of hands-on homesteading experiences, connection with nature, and meaningful community.

From learning about food preservation and hunting to exploring the land, gathering with neighbors, and experiencing the rhythms of rural life, their stay offered something beyond a traditional getaway. It gave Elissa the opportunity to experience firsthand the lifestyle she hopes to create for herself and her son.

Together, Lindsay, Scott, and Elissa reflect on the beauty of slowing down, the importance of community, and what becomes possible when we step outside our familiar environments and reconnect with what matters most.

In this episode, we explore:

• Elissa's journey from growing up in Los Angeles to dreaming of a homesteading lifestyle
• How homeschooling inspired her to seek hands-on learning experiences for herself and her son
• What it's really like to attend a Homestead & Heal Retreat in Vermont
• Learning traditional skills like food preservation, hunting, and connecting with the land
• The unexpected gift of finding genuine community and connection
• How experiencing a different way of life can bring clarity to the future we're dreaming of
• Finding gratitude in our current circumstances while continuing to pursue the life we desire

Whether you're dreaming of homesteading, curious about living closer to nature, or simply craving a slower, more intentional way of life, this conversation is an invitation to explore what's possible.

About Our Guest: Elissa

Elissa is a mother and caregiver who has worn many hats throughout her 40 years on Earth: daughter, Girl Scout, straight-A student, Marine, college graduate, registered nurse, wife, mother, divorcee, and birth worker.

Through the many versions of herself she's experienced, her journey has ultimately led her right back to who she is.

A self-proclaimed "country mouse" raised in Los Angeles, Elissa dreams of one day owning land, filling it with farm animals, and creating a life deeply connected to nature.

Experience Homestead & Heal for Yourself

Curious about what it would feel like to step away from your everyday routine and immerse yourself in life on a Vermont homestead?

Our Homestead & Heal Retreats offer the opportunity to reconnect with nature, learn practical homesteading skills, experience meaningful community, and create space for rest and reflection.

With personalized experiences and opportunities for hands-on learning, each retreat is designed to meet you where you are.

Explore our Homestead & Heal Retreats and discover what your own experience could look like.

www.homesteadandheal.net

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if becoming a powerful bodywork practitioner wasn't about memorizing more techniques, but learning to trust your hands, your intuition, and the wisdom of the body?

In this episode of the Homestead & Heal Podcast, I'm joined by my dear friend, colleague, and Fascia Alchemy co-teacher, Dani Granaroli, for a conversation about the art of intuitive bodywork, deep inner transformation, and what it means to truly listen to the body.

Dani is a bodyworker and coach whose work lives at the intersection of fascia, the nervous system, and deep inner change. Blending myofascial release, breathwork, intuitive bodywork, and transformational and shadow-based coaching, she helps people connect with the wisdom of their bodies, explore the patterns that keep them stuck, and cultivate greater trust, autonomy, and freedom within themselves.
Together, we explore our personal journeys into healing work, the importance of moving beyond rigid protocols, and how curiosity, intuition, and connection can open the door to profound transformation. We also discuss the power of creating spaces where people can meet the tender, uncomfortable, and often overlooked parts of themselves with greater compassion and radical approval.

We take you behind the scenes of our Fascia Alchemy Professional Bodywork Training, sharing how this unique approach combines hands-on learning, intuitive exploration, community, and ongoing mentorship to help practitioners develop confidence and discover their own art of working with the body.

In this episode, we explore:

• Dani's personal journey into bodywork, coaching, and transformational healing.
• The relationship between fascia, the nervous system, and the patterns we carry in our bodies.
• Why learning to trust your hands and intuition is just as important as learning techniques.
• Moving beyond rigid protocols to honor each person's unique experiences and needs.
• The importance of curiosity, connection, and self-trust in the healing process.
• How personal transformation and professional growth often unfold together.
• Why intimate learning environments, mentorship, and integration are central to the Fascia Alchemy experience.
• What makes Fascia Alchemy different from traditional bodywork trainings and what to expect from the upcoming program.

• April 9–11, 2027
• May 1–3, 2027

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if death isn't the end, love is what brings us back together, and the Earth holds the memories of everyone who came before us?

In this deeply moving episode of Homestead & Heal, Lindsay and Scott welcome Perdita Finn, author of Take Back the Magic and Mothers of Magic, and co-founder of The Way of the Rose, for a conversation about ancestral wisdom, reincarnation, our connection to the natural world, and the extraordinary mystery of being alive.

Together, they explore what it means to remember ourselves as part of the Earth rather than separate from it. Perdita shares stories about the enduring presence of our ancestors, the sacred cycles of life and death, and how our relationships with plants, animals, and the land can reconnect us with a much larger story.

From childhood memories and past lives to motherhood, grief, and the transformative power of love, this conversation is an invitation to embrace mystery, deepen our relationship with the living world, and remember that we are never truly alone.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• The long story of our souls and what reincarnation can teach us about life and death
• Reconnecting with our ancestors through the Earth, plants, animals, and everyday rituals
• How our relationship with nature can transform the way we understand grief, mortality, and belonging
• The sacred cycles of nourishment, death, and rebirth
• Motherhood as an act of nurturing that extends beyond gender and biology
• Childhood memories, ancestral wisdom, and the knowledge we may carry into this lifetime
• The importance of rooting ourselves in place and cultivating generational connections to the land
• How scent, soil, and embodied practices can deepen our connection to the natural world
• Why love may be the force that brings us back to one another across lifetimes

About Perdita Finn

Perdita Finn is an author, teacher, and advocate for reconnecting with the wisdom of our ancestors and the magic of the natural world. Alongside her husband, Clark Strand, she co-founded The Way of the Rose, a spiritual fellowship rooted in the philosophy of "ecology, not theology." Together, they authored The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary and are currently working on Circles Not Lines: Spiritual Community Beyond Patriarchy.

Drawing on years of study with Zen masters, spirit workers, healers, and psychic Susan Saxman, Perdita teaches workshops on Getting to Know the Dead, helping people reconnect with their ancestors and reclaim their intuitive wisdom.

Her books, including Take Back the Magic: Conversations with the Unseen World and Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors, explore our relationships with the unseen world, the enduring power of love, and the ancestral wisdom available to us.

Perdita lives with her family in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where her work continues to invite people into a deeper relationship with the Earth, their ancestors, and the mystery of existence.

Explore Perdita's work: wayoftherose.org

"Love is gravity. Love is how we find each other." — Perdita Finn

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if becoming a good herbalist wasn't about knowing everything, but about slowing down, staying curious, and building a deeper relationship with the plants around you?

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, we're joined by longtime herbalist, educator, and plant enthusiast jim mcdonald for a beautiful conversation about making herbalism accessible, reconnecting with the natural world, and embracing the lifelong journey of learning from plants.

Jim shares how his herbal journey began with a book left behind by a roommate, the plants growing around his Michigan farmhouse, and a curiosity that never went away.

Together, we explore what it means to truly know a plant beyond memorizing its medicinal properties, why firsthand experience is such an important part of herbal education, and how we can release the pressure to know it all before sharing what we've learned.

We also dive into the mentors who shaped jim's path, the importance of learning at your own pace, sustainable wildcrafting, and the ways our relationships with plants continue to deepen and evolve over time.

In this episode, we explore:

• How jim discovered herbalism and developed a lifelong connection with medicinal plants
• Why herbalism should be accessible to everyone, not just experts
• The difference between memorizing herbal information and truly understanding plants through experience
• How mentorship and community can shape our growth as herbalists
• The beauty of wildcrafting and developing an intimate relationship with the land
• Why you don't need to know everything to become a knowledgeable, confident herbalist
• How slowing down and staying curious can transform the way we learn
• Passing down a connection to plants and herbal traditions to the next generation

Whether you're just beginning to explore herbalism or have been working with plants for years, this conversation is a reminder that there's no finish line when it comes to learning from nature.

The invitation is simply to stay curious, trust your experience, and keep building relationships with the plants growing all around you.

Connect with jim mcdonald:

Website: https://www.herbcraft.org

Explore jim's herbal writings, classes, educational videos, and online offerings through his website.

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What does it actually mean to have a healthy relationship with food?

In this episode, Lindsay and Scott sit down with Katrina — farmer, mother, food lover, and the woman behind Meaty Mama — for a conversation about food that goes far beyond what we should or shouldn't be eating.

Katrina shares her journey from growing up between Colombian, Finnish, and Canadian cultures, to studying geochemistry, landing on an organic farm, moving to France, and eventually building a farm and family of her own.

She also opens up about the evolution of her relationship with food — from years of plant-based eating to embracing meat and nutrient-dense foods, experimenting with more extreme approaches, and eventually realizing that eating the “right” foods was only one piece of the puzzle.

Because our relationship with food isn't only about what is on our plate.

It's also about how we feel when we eat.

The guilt. The restriction. The comfort. The pleasure. The stories we've inherited. The signals coming from our bodies. And the amount of mental space food can take up in our lives.

Together, we explore what it can look like to come back into a more connected, nourishing relationship with food — one rooted in quality ingredients, body awareness, pleasure, moderation, family culture, and the land itself.

We talk about:

• Katrina's Colombian + Finnish roots and the food memories that shaped her
• Going from a city girl in Toronto to farming in the French countryside
• Her evolution from plant-based eating to a meat-centered approach
• The difference between nourishing yourself and obsessing over food
• Emotional eating, restriction, guilt + learning to listen to your body
• Why food quality changes the experience of eating
• Raising children with a grounded relationship to food
• Creating a family food culture without perfection or rigidity
• Slowing down enough to actually experience our meals
• Simple “slow fast food” and making nourishing meals realistic
• Fermentation, meat stock + foods that can't simply be bought
• Learning to love the foods that make you feel good
• Why small, sustainable shifts can be more powerful than changing everything overnight

Katrina also shares about her new program, Reclaim Your Love Story With Food, where she'll bring together nourishment, body connection, cooking skills, microbiome health, and family food culture in a small, intimate group experience.

This conversation is an invitation to look beyond the rules and ask a deeper question:

What would it feel like to be truly nourished by your food — without having your life revolve around it?

Connect with Katrina on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/meaty_mama

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What can seeds teach us about our bodies, our relationship with the Earth, and trusting the timing of our lives?

In this episode, Lindsay and Scott sit down with clinical herbalist, integrative health educator, bodyworker, and Herbal Womb Wisdom podcast host Kay’aleya Hunnybee for a winding conversation about plants, womb wisdom, seed keeping, and what it means to live in deeper relationship with the Earth.

Kay’aleya shares the unexpected path that brought her from growing up in New York City with very little relationship to plants, to farming in India, studying birth work and midwifery, practicing herbalism and bodywork, and eventually spending years immersed in the world of seed keeping.

Together, they explore the magic held within a seed, the parallels between seed keeping and midwifery, the wisdom of our bodies and the Earth, and why sometimes the most important thing we can do is slow down enough to listen.

In this episode, we explore:

• Kay’aleya’s journey from feeling disconnected from plants to building a life deeply rooted in relationship with the Earth
• How farming in India transformed her understanding of plants and agriculture
• Her path through birth work, midwifery, herbalism, and bodywork
• Seed keeping as a form of “seed midwifery”
• The ancestral and cultural stories carried through seeds
• Trusting the timing of seeds, bodies, and natural cycles
• Allowing ourselves to experience fallow seasons
• Why observation and listening can be some of our greatest teachers
• Letting go of the pressure to move quickly and remembering that it’s okay for things to take time

Connect with Kay’aleya

Instagram: @herbalwombwisdom
Website: herbalwomb.com
Podcast: Herbal Womb Wisdom

About Kay’aleya

Kay’aleya Hunnybee, M.S., is a clinical herbalist, integrative health educator, and bodyworker whose work centers menstrual, hormonal, sexual, and reproductive health. Her background includes herbal medicine, massage and bodywork, doula work, and midwifery studies. Through her work and the Herbal Womb Wisdom podcast, she helps people deepen their relationship with their bodies, plants, and the wisdom of the Earth.

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this episode, Lindsay and Scott sit down with Adena Rose Bright, an Ayurveda practitioner, educator, and women’s health practitioner with nearly two decades of clinical experience.

Together, they explore what it looks like to live in deeper relationship with the body, the seasons, and the natural world - and how Ayurveda can offer a practical framework for understanding women’s health through every season of life.

Adina shares how her own journey through painful periods, conception, pregnancy, postpartum, and now midlife shaped the work she does today. The conversation moves through digestion, pelvic health, herbal medicine, postpartum depletion, seasonal transitions, and why so many health challenges can’t be understood by looking at one isolated part of the body.

They also talk about the importance of becoming an active participant in your own healing — not rejecting modern medicine, but building enough body awareness, practical knowledge, and self-trust to have more choice in how you care for yourself. 

In this episode, they explore:

•  How Ayurveda approaches women’s health and seasonal wellness 
•  Why digestion is considered foundational to overall health 
•  Simple Ayurvedic practices for transitioning into fall and colder weather 
•  The relationship between digestion, pelvic health, inflammation, and the nervous system 
•  Adina’s experience healing painful periods and reconnecting with her body 
•  Postpartum depletion, anxiety, and the plant medicine that became a turning point for her 
•  Motherwort, herbal medicine, and building relationships with plant allies 
•  The limitations of compartmentalized healthcare 
•  How Ayurveda and Western medicine can work alongside one another 
•  Trusting the innate intelligence of the body 
•  Becoming an active participant in your own healing 

Adina also shares the advice she wishes more women heard earlier: “Let the animal body take over.” Her reminder is that the body already carries an innate intelligence toward healing — and our job is often to create the conditions that allow it to do what it knows how to do. 

Connect with Adena: 

Website: https://www.adenaroseayurveda.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adenaroseayurveda

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What does it really mean to belong....to a place, a community, a family, or even your own body?

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, Lindsay and Scott sit down with author, somatic practitioner, and educator Kimberly Ann Johnson for a wide-ranging conversation about motherhood, embodiment, place, community, aging, and what it means to build a meaningful life.

Kimberly shares how her own challenging postpartum experience and years-long healing journey eventually led to her first book, The Fourth Trimester, and how her work has continued to evolve through pelvic health, the female nervous system, sexuality, grief, elderhood, and the changing seasons of a woman’s life. 

The conversation moves into our relationship with home, land, and belonging. After living and traveling around the world, Kimberly shares why she’s become less interested in asking whether a place feels like home and more interested in what it means to devote ourselves to the places and people already around us. 

Together, they unpack the modern search for the “perfect” community, the homestead dream, and the belief that a better life might be waiting somewhere else. What if belonging isn’t something we find—but something we participate in building?

They also explore the messiness of real community: working alongside people we wouldn’t necessarily choose, developing practical skills, navigating disagreement, taking responsibility, and committing to something larger than our individual preferences. 

The conversation ultimately returns to the body and the different seasons of a life—from motherhood and fertility to perimenopause, menopause, aging, and becoming an elder. Kimberly offers her perspective on respecting biological limits, questioning some of our cultural ideas about freedom, and allowing the experiences of our lives to mature us. 

In this episode, they talk about:

•  Kimberly’s postpartum healing journey and the story behind The Fourth Trimester
•  Pelvic health, embodiment, and the female nervous system 
•  Perimenopause, menopause, sexuality, and aging 
•  Motherhood and watching children enter new seasons of their own lives 
•  Connecting with nature even when you don’t live on a traditional homestead 
•  Homemaking, domestic arts, and the importance of the hearth 
•  Kimberly’s experiences living and traveling around the world 
•  The difference between finding belonging and building belonging
•  Why moving somewhere new doesn’t necessarily create community 
•  The modern “homestead dream” and our search for a better life elsewhere 
•  Why meaningful community requires commitment, responsibility, and practical skills 
•  Staying in relationship with people who have different perspectives 
•  Following what calls you before you understand where it will lead 
•  Motherhood, fertility, family, and biological limits 
•  Our cultural relationship with aging and elderhood

Connect with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Website: kimberlyannjohnson.com
Instagram: @kimberly.ann.johnson

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, we sit down with Adelaide Biggs, founder of Faith in the Body, for a conversation about women’s health, movement, healing, faith, and the wisdom of the body.

Adelaide’s work looks at how the way we sit, stand, walk, breathe, and move can impact pelvic health, nervous system regulation, and whole-body wellbeing. We talk about everything from prolapse, pain, incontinence, postpartum recovery, and structural integration to the deeper relationship between embodiment, suffering, faith, and healing. 

Adelaide also shares how a lifelong relationship with horses shaped her ability to notice movement, pressure, body language, and subtle patterns — skills that later became foundational to the work she does with women today. 

The conversation also moves into her own healing journey after a severe injury, her experience as a home birth midwife, seasons of loss and suffering, and the role faith has played in how she understands the body, healing, and what it means to receive the life in front of us.  

This is a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about listening more closely to the body, understanding our own patterns, and seeing healing as something that can involve both the physical and the spiritual.

Learn more about Adelaide: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithinthebody/

Co

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this episode, Lindsay and Scott sit down with intuitive astrologer Emily King for a conversation about astrology, intuition, spirituality, and what it means to truly root into your life.

Emily shares how her relationship with astrology evolved from curiosity into a deeply intuitive practice, and how she uses it as a lens for understanding ourselves, our relationships, and the seasons we move through — rather than as a tool for predicting the future. Together, they explore the connection between intuition and spirituality, the importance of slowing down enough to hear our own inner knowing, and how reconnecting with the land and our bodies can bring us back to what feels most aligned.

They also talk about Emily’s own season of shifting from seeking and constantly looking toward what’s next to creating a slower, more rooted life centered around home, family, creativity, and presence.

In this episode, we explore:

• What intuitive astrology is and how Emily approaches her work
• Astrology as a tool for self-understanding rather than prediction
• The intersection of astrology, spirituality, faith, and intuition
• Slowing down and creating space to hear your inner knowing
• Reconnecting with the land, seasons, and the natural world
• Moving from seeking the next thing to rooting into the life you’re already living
• Using astrology to better understand relationships and family dynamics

About Emily King

Emily King is an intuitive astrologer devoted to guiding people into deeper relationship with themselves, their families, and the soul patterns that shape their lives. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, tending a home rooted in nature and simplicity.

Connect with Emily:
Website: www.emilykingastrology.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyj_king

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What is modern life doing to our fertility- and what might our bodies be trying to tell us?

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, Lindsay and Scott sit down with women’s health practitioner Kristin Hauser for a wide-ranging conversation about fertility, Chinese medicine, motherhood, grief, and our relationship with the natural world.

Kristin has spent nearly two decades working in women’s health, beginning in birth work and prenatal yoga before moving into acupuncture, Chinese medicine, functional medicine, and somatic sex education. Today, much of her work focuses on supporting women who want to conceive naturally and training practitioners to bring a more holistic approach to women’s health and fertility. 

Together, they explore why fertility challenges seem to be becoming more common, how quickly our environment and lifestyles have changed, and why fertility isn’t solely a women’s health issue. Kristin shares her perspective on stress, environmental exposures, declining sperm health, and the ways our bodies are continually trying to adapt to the modern world. 

They also go much deeper than fertility alone.

Kristin shares how growing up with horses helped shape her relationship with her body, power, and the natural world; what she’s learned from splitting her family’s time between Kansas and Costa Rica; and how motherhood has influenced the way she approaches both life and work. 

The conversation eventually turns toward something we don’t talk about nearly enough in women’s health: grief.

Kristin shares how Chinese medicine understands the connection between the heart and womb, why she believes grief needs space to move through the body, and some of the somatic practices she uses to help women be with grief without becoming completely overwhelmed by it. 

In this episode, we talk about fertility in the modern world, Chinese medicine and women’s health, environmental and lifestyle factors affecting fertility, male fertility and sperm health, grief and the nervous system, somatic healing, motherhood, our connection to nature, and learning to trust the path you’re on.

This is a beautiful conversation about fertility, yes—but also about what it looks like to live, heal, mother, and work in deeper relationship with our bodies and the world around us.

CONNECT WITH KRISTIN

CONNECT WITH KRISTIN:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinhauser

 Website: wombmedicine.com

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if some of the deepest wisdom we need isn't something we have to learn.....but something to remember?

In this episode, Lindsay and Scott sit down with herbalist and teacher Emily French of Sweetgrass Herbals for a conversation about herbal medicine, intuition, embodied knowing, and our innate relationship with the Earth.

Emily shares her journey from growing up deeply connected to the land to apprenticing with herbalist Chris Marano and ultimately spending more than two decades practicing and teaching herbal medicine. Together, they explore what becomes possible when we move beyond simply accumulating knowledge and learn to deeply listen- to plants, to our bodies, and to the wisdom already living within us.

They talk about strengthening intuition, the intelligence of the body, plants as teachers, the ways modern life can disconnect us from our senses, and how returning to relationship with the natural world can help us soften the armor we've learned to carry.

Emily also shares the beautiful story of a plant that has been passed through the women in her family for generations, her reflections on supporting young women through rites of passage, and why curiosity, joy, and our body's quiet yes can help guide us toward the life we're meant to live.

In this episode, they explore:

• Emily's path to becoming an herbalist and her early relationship with the Earth
• Why deep listening can be more powerful than simply consuming more information
• Developing intuition and learning to trust the body's wisdom
• Plant attunement and cultivating relationships with medicinal plants
• How modern life can numb our senses and disconnect us from the natural world
• The relationship between our bodies and the Earth
• Herbal medicine as nourishment, nervous system support, and relationship
• What plants can teach us about belonging, boundaries, grief, and becoming ourselves
• Emily's advice for trusting curiosity and following the quiet whispers within

Emily also shares about Coming Home to Ourselves, her six-week online course exploring the intersection of herbal medicine, somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and learning to listen to the signals of the body, heart, and soul.

Connect with Emily: 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetgrass_herbals 

Website: https://www.emily-french.com/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, we sit down with Kirby Criddle, a spiritual teacher, writer, trauma integration specialist, intimacy educator, and hands-on, hands-in integrative pelvic care practitioner whose work is in service to the mystical and physical forces that bring your highest Self through to this world.

In this conversation, Kirby shares the many threads that have shaped her work- from growing up as a highly sensitive child with an intense spiritual inner world, to discovering language for what she was experiencing through Barbara Brennan’s Hands of Light, to finding refuge and expression through music.

We talk about her years as a touring musician, the decision to pause music after becoming a mother, and the unexpected path that unfolded when she opened a spiritual wellness center in 2019 -only to have the pandemic dramatically shift the direction of her work.

Kirby also opens up about her postpartum experience and the profound disconnection she felt from herself during that season. That chapter became a doorway into a deeper relationship with the body and eventually led her toward trauma integration work, pelvic care, and body-led healing.

She shares what she learned through training with Martin Bauduin, including the importance of listening beyond what the mind thinks should happen and allowing the body to reveal its own pace, wisdom, and direction.

Throughout the episode, we explore what it looks like to trust clinical intuition, stay in beginner’s mind, and resist the pressure to force transformation. Kirby speaks to the difference between chasing dramatic “quantum leaps” and allowing change to unfold through alignment, relationship, and deep listening.

Her relationship with land and nature is woven throughout the conversation as well. Kirby shares about life in Saskatoon, tending a large organic garden, experiencing loneliness and belonging, and serving as a forest chaplain along the city river. We talk about the way nature can mirror our own internal processes and what a garden can teach us about control, surrender, timing, death, and renewal.

Kirby also reflects on teachers, mentorship, and power — including what difficult teachers can reveal about our own discernment and the importance of learning to trust our own inner authority.

We also dive into the work she is offering now, including Vessel, her six-month program for women designed to deepen connection with the body, intuition, inner voice, and relationship with a higher power, as well as Naked Cake, a trauma integration circle.

This conversation is an exploration of what it means to come home to the body, trust what we sense, honor the full complexity of our experiences, and allow life to unfold from a place of deeper alignment rather than force.

In this episode, we explore:

• Kirby’s work in spiritual teaching, intimacy, trauma integration, and integrative pelvic care
• Her six-month women’s program, Vessel
• Spiritual sensitivity and perceiving energy as a child
• Discovering Hands of Light and finding validation for her experiences
• Music as a lifeline and her years as a touring musician
• Motherhood, postpartum disconnection, and pausing music
• Opening a spiritual wellness center in 2019
• How the pandemic redirected her work
• The influence of her ancestors and grandparents
• Trauma-informed touch and the realities of working with the body
• Learning to trust clinical intuition
• Alignment, beginner’s mind, and allowing the body to lead
• Why transformation doesn’t always need to happen quickly
• Gardening, control, surrender, and relationship with the land
• Kirby’s work as a forest chaplain
• The lessons that can come from difficult teachers
• Reclaiming self-trust and personal authority
• Vessel, Naked Cake, and Kirby’s current offerings

Connect with Kirby:
https://www.instagram.com/kirbycriddle

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if healthier plants could lead to healthier people?

In this episode of Homestead & Heal, we're joined by John Kempf, founder of Advancing EcoAgriculture, to explore how regenerative agriculture has the power to transform not only our farms, but our food, our health, and the future of our planet.

John shares the pivotal moments that challenged conventional farming practices and led him to discover how plant nutrition, healthy soil, and thriving microbiomes can dramatically reduce pest and disease pressure—without relying on chemical inputs. Together, we explore the fascinating connection between plant immunity, soil regeneration, and the idea that truly nutrient-dense food can become a powerful form of medicine.

We also dive into:

• Why healthy plants have their own immune systems—and how to support them.
• How soil can regenerate while actively producing crops.
• The relationship between plant health, animal health, and human health.
• The work Advancing EcoAgriculture is doing to support regenerative farmers around the world.
• Kind Harvest and FieldLark, AEA's AI-powered regenerative agronomy platform.
• Why John believes technology should enhance human wisdom—not replace it.
• Growing up Amish, his early reliance on conventional agriculture, and the complete shift that changed the trajectory of his life's work.
• The importance of community, stewardship, and thinking from first principles.

Whether you're a farmer, gardener, homesteader, or simply someone who cares about where your food comes from, this conversation offers a thought-provoking look at what's possible when we work with nature instead of against it.

Connect with John:

https://johnkempf.com/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if we've been taught to fight against the very rhythms that were designed to sustain us?

In this deeply grounding conversation, we're joined by Nicole of The Seed of Joy- a devotional guide and mother of four sons whose teachings are rooted in the divine physiology of motherhood and a belief in every woman's right to live as a vessel for miracles.

Nicole walks alongside women through the art of nourished, primal mothering in the modern world, inviting them to reconnect with the wisdom of their bodies, the rhythms of the Earth, and the sacredness woven into everyday life.

Together, we explore what it means to mother from a place of abundance rather than depletion, how the natural world can become our greatest teacher, and why honoring the cycles of our bodies may be one of the most radical acts of healing available to us.

Whether you're a mother, a father, or simply someone longing to feel more connected to yourself and the world around you, this conversation is an invitation to slow down, soften, and remember what has always been true.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why motherhood isn't something to survive, it's something that can transform us.
• The wisdom our bodies and the natural world offer when we're willing to listen.
• Raising children who honor the rhythms of life, the feminine, and the Earth.
• What the Arizona desert taught Nicole about belonging, surrender, and resilience.
• How to build a business that supports your values instead of competing with them.
• The power of creating family rhythms rooted in connection rather than productivity.
• What it truly means to nourish not only your body, but your relationships, your home, and your spirit.
• Why slowing down may be the very thing that allows us to become more fully alive.

If you've been craving a slower, more intentional way of moving through the world, this conversation will leave you feeling grounded, inspired, and reminded that life becomes richer when we stop resisting its rhythms and begin trusting them.

Connect with Nicole:

Offerings: https://theseedofjoy.mykajabi.com/link-in-bio

Instagram: @theseedofjoy_
https://www.instagram.com/theseedofjoy_/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What happens when the life you've built no longer feels aligned?

In this heartfelt conversation, Lindsay and Scott sit down with Heather McMillan—a mom, partner, homesteader, former sourdough baker, Fascia Alchemy–trained bodyworker, certified Human Design reader, and the creator of Rooted Fascia Human Design. Heather lives on a small farm in Eastern Ontario with her husband, son, cattle, chickens, and a thriving garden. For more than 15 years, caring for the land, raising animals, and living in rhythm with the seasons has quietly shaped the way she approaches healing, embodiment, and life itself.

Heather shares her winding journey from studying human kinetics to cooking, farming, rafting, and building a thriving home-based sourdough bread business that she ran for more than 12 years. While the business was successful, her body was telling a different story. Through chronic pain, motherhood, birth trauma, and a deep desire to live in greater alignment, Heather found herself returning to the body—and ultimately discovering the transformative power of fascia work.

Today, Heather helps women reconnect with themselves through body-based fascia release, both in private sessions and through self-bodywork education. She also blends guided fascia release with Human Design, helping women move beyond simply understanding their chart and begin truly embodying the wisdom of their unique design.

Together, Lindsay, Scott, and Heather explore the connection between our bodies and the land, healing after birth trauma, repetitive movement patterns, entrepreneurship, and the courage it takes to let go of something good in order to make space for something even more aligned.

Whether you're navigating a career pivot, recovering from birth trauma or burnout, or simply longing to feel more at home in your body, this conversation is a beautiful reminder that every chapter of your journey has prepared you for the next.

In This Episode:

• Heather's journey from sourdough baker to fascia practitioner
• How she blends Human Design with fascia work to support deeper embodiment
• Healing after birth trauma and reconnecting with the body
• How repetitive movement patterns shape our physical well-being
• The wisdom of listening when your body asks you to change
• Entrepreneurship, homesteading, and finding purpose through life's pivots
• Why no life experience is ever wasted

Connect with Heather:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/heather.c.macmillan

Substack: heathermacmillan.substack.com

Stan Store: https://stan.store/RootedMFR

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What if true nourishment isn't about following the perfect diet—but about learning to listen to your body, reconnect with the Earth, and trust the wisdom you've carried all along?

In this heartfelt conversation, Lindsay and Scott sit down with holistic nutritionist and mineral balancing practitioner Clara Wisner to explore what it means to nourish the whole person. Clara shares her journey from childhood fascination with the human body, through years of disordered eating and body dysmorphia, to discovering a more embodied, intuitive approach to healing.

Together, they explore the profound connection between nourishment, motherhood, the natural world, ancestral wisdom, and the body's incredible ability to communicate what it needs. They also discuss why healing isn't about fixing ourselves; it's about remembering our place within nature and learning to trust the intelligence of our bodies.

If this conversation resonates with you, Clara's work extends far beyond this episode. Through her Deep Nourishment course, one-on-one mentorship, and writing, she guides women into a deeper relationship with nourishment, mineral balancing, feminine physiology, and the body's innate wisdom.

In this episode, we explore:

• Clara's journey from disordered eating to deep nourishment
• What embodiment really means—and why we're never truly disconnected from our bodies
• The connection between mineral balancing, nourishment, and long-term health
• Motherhood as a catalyst for healing and transformation
• Why our symptoms are often invitations to listen more deeply
• The role of nature, land, and ancestral connection in nervous system regulation
• Orienting to the Earth as "Mother" and reclaiming a deeper sense of belonging
• Raising children with a stronger connection to food, nature, and the rhythms of the Earth
• Why healing begins by learning to stay on your own side

Connect with Clara:

 Website: https://www.clarawisner.com

 Deep Nourishment: https://www.clarawisner.com/deep-nourishment

🌿 Substack (Remothering): https://clarabelize.substack.com

🌿 Instagram: @clarabelizewisner

If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who is longing to reconnect with their body, the Earth, and a more nourishing way of living.

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

Have you ever wondered what it's really like to volunteer on farms around the world through WWOOF? In this episode, Lindsay and Scott share stories from their own WWOOFing adventures across France and Italy, the lessons they learned through cultural exchange, and how those experiences shaped the way they now welcome WWOOFers to their Vermont homestead.

From blueberry farms in the French Basque countryside to permaculture communities in Italy, they reflect on the people, food, farming practices, and unexpected moments that made the journey unforgettable. They also share heartfelt stories about the WWOOFers who have become part of their own homestead community over the years and the lasting impact these connections have had on their lives.

Whether you're curious about WWOOFing, dreaming of traveling through sustainable agriculture, or simply love hearing stories about homesteading and community, this episode offers inspiration, laughter, and practical insight.

In This Episode

• What WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is and why Lindsay and Scott chose it
• Their experience working on a blueberry farm in the Basque region of France
• Learning hugelkultur-inspired gardening techniques
• Navigating language barriers and embracing local culture
• Life at an Italian permaculture community and commune
• Seed balls, vineyards, and creative farm projects
• Memorable meals, family traditions, and slow living in Italy
• Working in olive groves and Mediterranean gardens
• The friendships formed while traveling through WWOOF
• Stories of hosting WWOOFers on their Vermont homestead
• How WWOOF creates meaningful cultural exchange and lifelong relationships
• Why opening your home and farm can be just as transformative as traveling

Learn more about WWOOFING: https://wwoof.net/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

When we first discovered WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms), we had no idea how much those experiences would shape our lives.

In this episode, we're taking you back to our very first WWOOFing journey across the United States. From California and New Mexico to Georgia and North Carolina, we share stories from the farms we stayed on, the unforgettable people we met, and the experiences that have stayed with us for nearly two decades. 

Today, we've come full circle. After years of WWOOFing ourselves, we now welcome WWOOFers to our own homestead. As we reflect on these early adventures, we're reminded of the generosity, hospitality, and unexpected connections that made each experience so meaningful. 

In this episode, we share:

•  Stories from our first WWOOFing experiences across the United States 
•  The unforgettable people and farms that left a lasting impression 
•  What it's been like to experience WWOOF from both sides—as volunteers and now as hosts 
•  How WWOOFing influenced our homesteading journey 
•  Why opening ourselves to new people and experiences has enriched our lives 

If you've ever been curious about WWOOFing, volunteering on organic farms, or hearing the stories that helped shape our path to homesteading, we hope you enjoy this conversation.

Learn more about WWOOFING: https://wwoof.net/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

What does it mean to be truly wild? Not reckless. Not unhinged. But deeply, unapologetically yourself.

In this episode, we sit down with their dear friend Jen Wyatt, founder of Wander Free Wellness, retreat leader, ritual guide, and creator of transformational experiences for women rooted in freedom, wildness, truth, and aliveness.

Together, they explore what it means to return to our authentic nature and how so many of us spend years navigating the expectations, conditioning, and beliefs that pull us away from who we truly are.

Jen shares her journey from growing up in the forests of New Hampshire, to teaching in Boston Public Schools, to experiencing a health crisis that ultimately led her into the world of holistic healing, yoga, ritual, and women's work. She reflects on the role that grief, self-trust, nature, and embodied healing have played in helping her reconnect with herself and build a life aligned with what makes her feel most alive.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What "wildness" really means and why it's often misunderstood
• The influence of Women Who Run With the Wolves on Jen's work
• Freedom, authenticity, and shedding the layers of conditioning
• Nature as refuge, teacher, and guide
• Ritual, myth, archetypes, and the power of storytelling
• Why being fully alive includes grief, rage, longing, joy, and pleasure
• Women's conditioning around self-expression and truth
• Jen's health journey and the turning point that changed her life
• The connection between self-trust and personal freedom
• Retreats, transformation, and creating spaces for women to remember who they are
• Ancestors, family stories, and the people who shape our path
• The advice Jen wishes she had received sooner: trust yourself and follow what makes you feel alive

This conversation is rich with stories, wisdom, laughter, and reflections on what it means to live in deeper relationship with ourselves, the natural world, and the life that is calling us forward.

About Jen Wyatt

Jen Wyatt is the founder of Wander Free Wellness and a guide for women on the path of wild remembrance. Through ritual, retreats, seasonal circles, movement practices, and immersive experiences, she creates sacred spaces for women to reconnect with their freedom, wildness, truth, and aliveness. Drawing from backgrounds in psychology, education, yoga, nature-based spirituality, and feminine wisdom traditions, Jen blends myth, archetype, embodiment, and creative expression to guide women home to themselves.

Connect with Jen:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wanderfreewellness

Website: www.wanderfreewellness.com

Awaken Your Aliveness Retreat: www.wanderfreewellness.com/costarica2026

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this powerful conversation, Lindsay and Scott sit down with Emily Hanger, a dancer, acupuncturist, Holistic Pelvic Care Practitioner, and psychic medium whose work bridges embodiment, intuition, healing, and the wisdom of the natural world.

Emily shares how dance quite literally saved her life more than once. From a young age, movement taught her embodiment, body confidence, and how to read energy in the people around her. After earning her BFA in Dance and Choreography and spending four years immersed in New York City's modern dance scene, a life-altering injury brought her career to an unexpected halt. What followed was a period of depression, a pregnancy loss, and ultimately an acupuncture treatment that changed the course of her life.

That first acupuncture session sparked a calling. Emily went on to earn her Master's in Oriental Medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine and has spent the last twelve years supporting clients through her private practice, where she continues to witness the profound intelligence of the body and the healing process.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Emily reflects on the stillbirth of her daughter Josephine in 2017. Through grief, Emily found herself reconnecting with psychic and mediumship abilities that had been present since childhood. Guided in many ways by Josephine's spirit, she began developing her gifts more intentionally and now helps others strengthen their own intuition and spirit connection through her In Service to Spirit Mentorship.

Emily also shares her experiences receiving messages from ancestors during treatments, her relationship with the powerful plant ally datura, and her emerging work with intuitive voice and sound healing. Through spontaneous songs and tones, she helps clients access deep states of nervous system regulation, emotional release, ancestral connection, and embodied healing.

This episode is a beautiful reminder that healing rarely follows the path we expect—and that some of our greatest challenges can become gateways into deeper purpose, connection, and trust.

In This Episode

•  Growing up connected to nature, spirit, and intuition
• How dance shaped Emily's relationship with embodiment and energy 
•  A life-changing injury, pregnancy loss, and discovering acupuncture 
•  The healing power of Chinese medicine and emotional release 
•  Grief, stillbirth, and the loss of her daughter Josephine 
•  Reconnecting with psychic and mediumship abilities 
•  Ancestors, spirit communication, and intuitive messages 
•  Plant wisdom, including lessons from datura 
•  Voice healing, sound, and nervous system regulation 
•  Following curiosity as a guide toward purpose and healing

Connect with Emily: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taproot.healing.arts/

Website: https://www.emilyhanger.com/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

Have you ever wondered what plants might teach us if we truly learned how to listen?

In this deeply inspiring conversation, we sit down with renowned herbalist, author, international teacher, and founder of Nature Evolutionaries, Pam Montgomery, to explore the profound world of plant consciousness, co-creative partnership with nature, and healing the "wound of separation" that many of us experience in modern life.

Pam shares her lifelong journey of connecting with the intelligence and wisdom of the natural world - from her childhood in Appalachia to decades of teaching people how to cultivate meaningful relationships with plants. We explore what becomes possible when we move beyond seeing plants as resources and begin relating to them as teachers, allies, and elders.

The conversation also dives into the transformative power of plant initiations, including ceremonial experiences with rose and hawthorn, ancestral healing, belonging, and the deep remembrance that can emerge when we reconnect with the living world around us.

Whether you're new to herbalism, curious about plant spirit medicine, or longing to deepen your connection with nature, this episode offers a powerful invitation to slow down, listen, and remember that we are not separate from the natural world—we are part of it.

About Pam Montgomery:

Pam Montgomery is an herbalist, author, international teacher and Earth elder who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for the green beings and has been investigating plants and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than four decades.  More recently she has been working with the plants to heal the wounds of separation from Nature in order to move into co-creative partnership with all Nature. She is the author of three books including Co-Creating with Nature; Healing the Wound of Separation and the highly acclaimed Plant Spirit Healing; A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness.  She teaches internationally and virtually on plant initiations, spiritual ecology and co-creative partnership with Nature. She is the founder of the Organization of Nature Evolutionaries or ONE and was a founding board member of United Plant Savers.

Learn more about Pam's work:

Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pam.montgomery.589/

Her website: https://wakeuptonature.com/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this episode of Homestead and Heal, we sit down with Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association, to explore the connection between soil health, plant vitality, and human well-being. Dan shares his journey from growing up on an organic farm to developing a systems-based approach that helps farmers grow healthier, more resilient crops while reducing costs.

The conversation dives into nutrient-dense agriculture, including soil mineral balancing, biological inoculation, foliar nutrition, and reducing plant stress to naturally improve pest resistance. The hosts also reflect on the dramatic improvements they experienced on their own farm after implementing Dan's principles.

Dan discusses Brix testing, the Brixit Challenge citizen science project, and research revealing significant differences in nutrient density among crops. The episode concludes with a broader exploration of plant intelligence, our relationship with nature, and the Bionutrient Food Association's mission to create a healthier, more nutrient-dense food system for future generations.

About Dan: 

Dan has been an organic farmer for more than 30 years. He grew up on Many Hands Organic Farm in central Massachusetts with his parents, Julie Rawson, NOFA-MA Executive Director, and Jack Kittredge, publisher of Natural Farmer. After working globally in the late 90s and early 2000s with farmers, NGOs, and researchers across India, Russia, and Central America, Dan returned to the U.S. and in 2010 launched the BFA in order to ignite a movement around food quality.

Dan has become one of the leading proponents of “nutrient density,” and works to demonstrate the connections between soil health, plant health, and human health through workshops and speaking engagements around the world, the annual Soil and Nutrition Conference, and an increased presence online through social media, a YouTube channel, and numerous webinars and podcasts.

Dan launched the Real Food Campaign, now the Bionutrient Institute, that, with open-source science partners Our-Sci and FarmOS, are leading the effort to identify and increase nutrition in the food supply. The Bionutrient Institute has engineered and released a hand-held consumer spectrometer, the Bionutrient Meter, designed to test nutrient density at the point of purchase and bring transparency to the marketplace. Via the Bionutrient Meter, the goal is to empower consumers to choose their foods based on nutrient quality and thereby leverage economic incentives to drive full system regeneration.

Connect with Dan: 

His personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/dan_kittredge/

His website: https://www.dankittredge.com/

Bio Nutrient Food Association Website: https://www.bionutrient.org

BNFA IG: https://www.instagram.com/bionutrientfoodassociation/

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In this deeply expansive conversation, Lindsay and Scott sit down with Qiddist;  body-based practitioner, land steward, nonprofit founder, and creator of the God Body Movement - to explore the connection between the body, nature, survival patterns, healing, and liberation.

Qiddist shares her journey from early environmental activism and birth work to experiencing chronic pain, burnout, anxiety, reproductive challenges, and the realization that so much “change-making” work comes at the expense of the body.

Together, they explore:

• Why the body is never working against you
• How symptoms can actually be protective survival strategies
• The connection between fascia, emotions, stress & the nervous system
• Nature as a guide for healing and thriving
• Childhood conditioning, pressure & survival patterns
• The relationship between body wisdom, leadership & intuition
• Farming, seasonality, and learning to move at the pace of nature
• The God Body framework: bridging science, psyche, spirit & the body

This conversation is grounding, expansive, emotional, and full of reminders that healing is not about fixing yourself — it’s about learning how to listen.

Connect with Qiddist:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godbody.movement

Interested in learning more about Qiddists work? Start here!

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

Don't forget to subscribe, and leave us a review/ rating! 

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

We are SO excited to share the very first interview episode of the podcast,  and honestly-  it feels incredibly special that this is the conversation we get to begin with. 

This week, we sit down with - herbalist, storyteller, founder of Mythic Medicine, and host of the Medicine Stories Podcast, Amber Magnolia Hill. 

And yes… Scott was absolutely fangirling a little bit during this episode!  Amber’s work has deeply inspired both of us for years, especially through the long-form conversations she shares on Medicine Stories around nourishment, healing, earth connection, and what it means to live more deeply connected to ourselves and the natural world.

At the heart of this conversation is Amber’s journey; from growing up immersed in processed food culture, chronic illness, antibiotics, low energy, and disconnection from her body… to eventually finding herbalism, nourishment, awe, and a completely different relationship with healing.

Amber shares openly about:

• Growing up in a mainstream ’80s and ’90s culture disconnected from food and the earth
• Frequent antibiotics, chronic pain, low energy, and years of feeling disconnected from her body
• Her early years of veganism and how it eventually stopped nourishing her body
• Discovering herbalism through a Sacramento co-op and meeting herbalist Kami McBride
• The maternal mentorship and “tough love” moments that changed the trajectory of her health
• Building Mythic Medicine with her husband through herbal body oils and plant medicine
• Experiencing a major metabolic crash at 42 and beginning a deeper healing journey
• Her recent focus on women’s metabolic wellness, minerals, nourishment, and eating enough
• The power of awe, ancestral connection, and reconnecting to the earth
• Nourishing children differently and breaking generational cycles around food and embodiment
• The complexity of truth, wellness culture, social media, AI, and modern healing spaces

The conversation also explores Scott’s connection to Amber’s work as an aspiring herbalist navigating Hashimoto’s and his own relationship to nourishment and healing.

At it's core,  this episode is about the long unfolding journey back to the body;  and how healing often begins by reconnecting to nourishment, nature, truth, and awe.

We are so grateful to Amber for joining us for this first interview episode, and we truly cannot wait to continue bringing more conversations like this to the podcast. 

If this episode resonates with you, we’d love for you to share it with someone who may need these conversations around healing, nourishment, and reconnection right now. 

Connect with Amber Magnolia Hill: 

Website: https://mythicmedicine.shop/
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2Jmkm58UgTeAmdjDKrnYmt?si=1d2cf541b6924d58

Support her podcast on Patreon: https://mythicmedicine.love/patreon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mythicmedicine/?hl=en

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

In Part 2 of this conversation, Lindsay and Scott share the story of how their relationship,  and eventually their life’s work, began unfolding through nature, farming, healing, and deep community connection.

After reconnecting with the natural world in college, Lindsay found herself increasingly drawn toward healing the body, while Scott’s lifelong connection to the Earth continued to deepen through ecology education, gardening, and farming. Shortly after meeting at the Ecology School in Maine, the two quickly realized they were meant to build something meaningful together.

What followed was a journey filled with WWOOFing adventures, community gardening, food education, music, herbal medicine, farmers markets, homesteading, and eventually the creation of Alchemy Gardens — the farm and healing-centered life they would spend years building together.

Throughout this episode, they reflect on:

•  what it felt like to reconnect with the Earth after years of disconnection 
•  how growing food transformed their understanding of nourishment and community 
•  the unexpected manifestation moments that shaped their path 
•  their early years learning to farm and live more intentionally 
•  Lindsay’s growing connection to bodywork and fascial healing 
•  creating a family life rooted in nature, simplicity, and purpose 
•  why slowing down and reconnecting to the land feels so important right now 

They also share the inspiration behind their upcoming Homestead & Heal retreats -  immersive experiences designed to help people reconnect with their bodies, the Earth, and a more grounded, nourishing way of living through homesteading skills, herbal medicine, bodywork, healing practices, and intentional rest.

This episode is ultimately about remembering what matters:
 community, connection, healing, creativity, nourishment, and building a life that feels deeply aligned.

Mentioned in this episode:

•  WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) 
•  Alchemy Gardens 
•  Herbal medicine 
•  Fascial healing & bodywork 
•  Homesteading & food sovereignty 
•  Farmers markets & community living 
•  Homestead & Heal retreats 

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!

Hi! Were Scott & Lindsay, were so excited to be on this podcast journey with you. 

In this first episode, we share the story behind the life we’ve built together,  and the experiences that led us back to the body, the earth, and a more intentional way of living.

We open up about childhood experiences, disconnection, healing, nature, family, and the path that eventually brought us to creating a life centered around homesteading, embodiment, and deep connection to the rhythms of the natural world.

Together, we reflect on:

• Growing up with very different relationships to nature and the body
• The impact of trauma, instability, and modern life
• How healing through fascia work, nature, and seasonal living changed our lives
• Scott’s deep ancestral connection to the land and traditional ways of living
• Lindsay’s journey through emotional healing and reconnecting with her body
• The beauty and challenges of building an intentional life together
• Why we believe so many people are longing for a slower, more connected way of being

We also share the vision behind our Homestead & Heal retreats in Vermont and our hope of creating spaces where others can reconnect with themselves, the earth, and what truly matters.

This conversation is an invitation into our world, our story, and the life we are continually learning to co-create with nature.

If this episode resonates with you, we’d love for you to subscribe, leave a review, and follow along for future conversations on healing, embodiment, homesteading, and living in deeper alignment.

Connect with Lindsay & Scott: 

To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.net

Follow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ 

Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/

Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/

If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!