Episode 7: Intuitive Wellness Coach on Healthy and Holistic Living

Cindy Kennedy, FNP, discusses healthy and holistic living with Jennifer Mather, an Intuitive Holistic Wellness Coach.

Jennifer Mather has a deep understanding of the necessity to disconnect from toxic habits and nurture a balanced well-blended, sustainable lifestyle. She will connect you to natural holistic practices and medicine abundantly available to you through food, nature and radical self-awareness. Jennifer will give you the tools to find everyday magic in simple solutions and daily rituals.

Here are two of Jennifer’s recipes: Fiery Cider Tonic and Bone Broth.

Healthy and Holistic Living Crucial for Lyme Disease Patients

You can learn more about Jennifer at her website, enlightenedholisticliving.com, as well as on her Facebook group. You can subscribe to her email list, as well.

Podcast listeners can receive a free 20-minute Detox Strategy Session. Email Jennifer to schedule your session.

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Transcript of Episode 7: Intuitive Wellness Coach on Healthy and Holistic Living

Speaker 1: Welcome to Living with Lyme, the podcast where we educate, advocate and collaborate about Lyme Disease. Hear from experts as they share reliable information about how to live with Lyme Disease, and now here’s your host, nurse practitioner, Cindy Kennedy.

Cindy Kennedy: Hello, welcome to Living with Lyme, and I am your host Cindy Kennedy. I have a very knowledgeable guest with me today who is not only a wellness coach but practices what she preaches. Welcome Jennifer Mather.

Jennifer Mather: Thank you so much for having me, this is very exciting.

Cindy Kennedy: I’m so glad to have you, ’cause you have so much knowledge and I have learned a lot about you because we’ve been sitting here in my dining room and learning about what you do for people out there in all walks of life. So tell me what is an initiative wellness coach?

Jennifer Mather: Well, I work within the health and wellness industry and I help people form holistic connections within their life and I give them the tools with which to eat better, live better, have better self care. I use my intuition alongside with that. So intuition is basically perception beyond the physical and varying connection with my own. So I’m able to perceive a little bit more than what the person in front of me is speaking and I go with that. I go with my gut, my second brain. I’ve perfected that and I use that a lot, it’s very helpful, very, very helpful.

Cindy Kennedy: Jennifer that is a talent.

Jennifer Mather: Thank you.

Cindy Kennedy: That is a talent because we all know that the term, what do we say? We say, go with your gut.

Jennifer Mather: Go with your gut.

Cindy Kennedy: Yes, that’s important because that’s where all of your neuron transmitters come from and that makes you think more and feel more, and so that gut is really important.

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, that’s where your instinct is, that’s where your fight or flight. So that’s been with us since the dawn of human existence. We used to rely on that all the time, and now we’ve kind of come away from that.

Cindy Kennedy: That’s something really cool. This didn’t come natural to you, how did you gain all this knowledge?

Jennifer Mather: Well, I’ve always been passionate about holistic living, about living a natural life, being in connection with nature, not using chemicals. Been very aware of that and how it affects people and so for me it was just this really deep seated desire to learn and be able to teach other people. Something my grandmother always used to tell me, because I’ve been like this since I was 12 years old, like give me a book I need to read and learn, and share. My grandmother always used to say, “Jennifer you have to learn so that you can teach.”

Cindy Kennedy: She knew.

Jennifer Mather: She knew, yeah, she always knew. She would always tell me, and like we were saying earlier she would always tell me, “You’re going to write a book. You’re going to be in service to people. You’re going to help people.” I’d laugh, you know when I was younger, I don’t know what she’s talking about. She was exactly right, I am not fulfilled. My soul is not fulfilled unless I am in service to other people, unless I am helping other people be better.

Cindy Kennedy: Well I’m going to tell you over 300,000 people were diagnosed with Lyme last year, so can you handle that flow?

Jennifer Mather: I don’t know, I might have to hire somebody. I might need a partner.

Cindy Kennedy: There we go.

Jennifer Mather: There we go.

Cindy Kennedy: There we go, well let me ask you then, here I am, I am a typical Lyme sufferer and I am dealing with a infection that has created havoc in my body. I may or may not be on antibiotics, I may or may not be on supplements, but how would you take care of a typical Lyme patient?

Jennifer Mather: So I would, my scope in that area of expertise is to help you detox. Everything is toxic in our world, food, products, products for your home, even furniture. Everything is toxic, everything has toxic chemicals in it. So part of what I do is help you use, give you the tools to be able to know what to use, what not to use, when to make your own product, when not to. What to buy, I will be able to give you resources to supplement companies, or to other people that could help you, natural paths, because I’m not in …
I’m not a physician, I’m not in that field but this is where my expertise is, this is low tox living and no tox living. That absolutely helps your body fight the infection, fight the disease. Then I can help you build your immune system, because that is so important, because I know doctors will put you on a massive antibiotics and then nothing afterwards to rebuild. So that’s where I would come in, and help you rebuild that, yeah.

Cindy Kennedy: Now what’s very interesting is not only the eating diet is the environment we live in, and how do we … Give us some suggestions on how do we clean up our environment.

Jennifer Mather: Oh my gosh, well yeah, so your skin is your biggest organ and that’s where everything gets absorbed. So you can go outside, if there’s smog that can settle on your skin and you absorb that. So there’s no way to be completely no tox, but within your own home environment there are so many things that you can do. Pay attention to what you bring in to the home, aside from food. Look at your home products, like don’t use any chemicals. Literally you can clean your entire house with essential oils, vinegar and water. I mean that is really all you need, oh and castile soap just because I am a huge fan girl of Dr Bronner’s castile soap, I would use that every day for everything. I make everything with it, and it’s no tox.

Cindy Kennedy: Dr Bronner’s, how do you spell Dr Bronner?

Jennifer Mather: B.r.o.n.n.e.r

Cindy Kennedy: Where do we get Dr Bronner’s soap?

Jennifer Mather: Oh well, Dr Bronner’s is getting, but Dr Bronner’s has been around for like 100 years, and it’s trending now, which is excellent. You can actually get it at CVS, and Target carries it now, it’s amazing. So they’re in different areas of the supermarkets and the stores, it could be in with the bath products or it could be in with the cleaning products. ‘Cause it just does so much.

Cindy Kennedy: Since I’ve gotten involved with essential oil and I certainly do have more information about that on my page, and I will be blogging about it. I have learned to make a lot of products. I use my lemon oil in my water for detox, I can create skin care products, and some of the oils are awesome because they actually help with certain problems whether it’s a digestive issue, or a skin issue. So for people who are out there and want more information about that, certainly you can email me. What’s really, really important is finding you, how are we going to find you? We’ll list you at the end of; …

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, well I know you’re going to put everything in the show notes. I would, the best way to get me to say, “Hey Jen, pay attention, I’m right here I need you.” Is to email me at [email protected] That is the absolute best way to get me. But you can go to my website and learn more about me that’s enlightenedholisticliving.com I am all over Facebook. I have groups on Facebook, which I share so much content in. That’s where I gather my community, my people who need my help and who want to learn more, and who I nurture and take care of them, they’re in my groups.

Cindy Kennedy: That’s so awesome, so you’re going to continue to take care of me on my journey here, aren’t you?

Jennifer Mather: I absolutely am.

Cindy Kennedy: Yeah, we all need some help, I’ll tell you.

Jennifer Mather: Yes, we cannot do any of this alone, so find somebody within your community who is either, who either has it or knows more about it and that’s what your biggest resource will be.

Cindy Kennedy: So that is not only for Lyme but you’re talking about people who have Crohn Disease; …

Jennifer Mather: Oh everything.

Cindy Kennedy: Cancer.

Jennifer Mather: Yes, absolutely.

Cindy Kennedy: It’s supposed to be Crohn’s Disease, I lost my s there I’m sorry. But what other kind of people do you take care of? What other health issues?

Jennifer Mather: Right now, ’cause I kind of go with the flow with things, and whoever is knocking on my door that’s who needs help. So I have worked with people who have been diagnosed with cancer, and were diagnosed and said, and they were told you can’t have anything toxic and you have to change your diet and this is what you can’t have. But they never tell them what they can have, or how to change their diet. When you have to change your diet in a way like that, it’s the same thing with people who have been diagnosed with food allergies, who I also work with, when you have to change your diet on such a specific and massive scale like that, you really have to dig deep and change your entire relationship with food.

Cindy Kennedy: Wow, that’s a lot Jen.

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, and you need someone who can be objective, who can nurture you, who can hold you accountable. Give you recipes for none dairy whipped cream, that you will enjoy.

Cindy Kennedy: I want that.

Jennifer Mather: Who will hold your hand, because it’s very scary and there’s not a lot of support given by primary carers or even allergists beyond the diagnosis and maybe hey here’s some pills and some shots. But the thing with that is that you could be diagnosed with a soy allergy and given supplements that are made with soy.

Cindy Kennedy: Jen that’s extremely important because people need to know what do they have to do, read their labels, learn the lingo.

Jennifer Mather: Yes, learn the lingo is huge, it used to just be read your label, nowadays it’s read your label but know what you’re reading because it’s all marketing and it’s really sad, but even when you take corn syrup they’ve changed the name of that to put it on labels now. So people look and they’re like there’s no corn syrup in it, well yes it is, they’ve just changed the name of it and it’s down here now.

Cindy Kennedy: What is the name of it?

Jennifer Mather: Oh my God they’ve changed it around, fructose I think was one of the names, but it was really the corn syrup that was in it, ’cause I had done the investigating and the scolding. But you really do need to know what you’re reading, what you’re looking at, and so find somebody who like me, like I totally nerd out over all of that. But really know what you’re looking at it, take a picture of the label when you’re at the grocery store and then go home and look up all the ingredients and see what they really are. Because even soy is listed as different soy products that people maybe are not aware of.

Cindy Kennedy: Tell me about, we were talking about how do you improve your diet by eating fresh and local? Tell us about that Jen.

Jennifer Mather: Yes, well and seasonal.

Cindy Kennedy: Seasonal.

Jennifer Mather: Seasonal, our bodies naturally are receptive to fresher ingredients, to local ingredients. If you are born in Connecticut you should be eating what is local, because that’s what you were born into. Seasonal, if you want to have a well rounded diet then you eat what’s in season, like don’t eat strawberries in the winter. They’ve been sprayed, they’ve traveled a very long distance so god knows what’s else they’ve been exposed to, and they were picked way to ripe. So they don’t have all of the beneficial qualities that a regular fresh local strawberry would have to you. So it’s really, I mean I can’t even stress that enough when I’m working with people, like find local. You can do a little bit of digging to find local meat, local chicken, but it’s there, it’s available. You just have to be, you have to be committed to it.

Cindy Kennedy: I just want to check again, you said they’re picked too ripe?

Jennifer Mather: They’re picked unripened.

Cindy Kennedy: Oh okay, they’re not ripe.

Jennifer Mather: You’re right, I did say that. They’re not ripe enough, it’s the same with I mean avocados, they’re picked way before they’re even ready and so the flavors not there. Once you get used to eating local and really, really fresh and organic, you’ll never go back to eating out of season.

Cindy Kennedy: Now you said to me that if you have local farmers, check in with them because maybe they are not listed as quote unquote, organic because the ability to label your products as organic means that you have no pesticides being used on that property for, you told me it’s like 30 years, or 25 years.

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, like 25 to 30 years, I had read 30 years and then somewhere else I read 25. But it is around that time, yeah listen the process of becoming certified organic is a very long process and it’s very costly. So if you have a small farm around you and they’re just trying to make it work, they don’t have money to put into that process, they don’t have the time. Ask them, ” What are your practices? Like how are you treating ….” You know ’cause a lot of these smaller farms have organic farm practices but cannot be certified organic. That is great, that is okay, then support that farm, get to know that farmer and support that farm. I mean I can’t even, it’s so important to do that and just to ask questions.

Cindy Kennedy: Now we’re recording here from tick country in Wilbraham, Massachusetts and right down the road is a farm stand and she has it organically grown. Would you see something like that? Would that be a tip off that geez they’re probably not using pesticides?

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, but I would still ask, yeah.

Cindy Kennedy: That’s a great thought, I never did think about it. Is there any difference in the eggs we eat? Sorry I didn’t prep you with that one.

Jennifer Mather: Listen there’s eggs almost being sold on the roadside now everywhere, it’s amazing. It’s great, I think it’s fantastic, but I would still ask, “Where your chickens?” If you can’t see the chickens from the road, some of these places have chickens and they’re just walking to the road, yeah buy those eggs ’cause those chickens are happy. They’re just roaming free, but if you can’t see the chickens, ask, “Where are the chickens? Where are they being held? What do you feed them? Do you give them antibiotics?” Most small places do not, but you still should ask. Be specific when you’re asking even about the plants, do you spray the vegetables, okay do you use anything in the irrigation? Yeah, ’cause those are two different things, but ask … always ask questions, don’t just assume because you never know.

Cindy Kennedy: Now we’re also going to provide our listeners the recipes for three things. Three, two?

Jennifer Mather: Two.

Cindy Kennedy: Two things.

Jennifer Mather: Two but you know if you email me I’ll give you whatever recipe you want.

Cindy Kennedy: So just tell us those two names so we can wrap this up a little bit. What are you going to do?

Jennifer Mather: I gave you my bone broth recipe, which is trending now and I think that’s excellent. I’ve been making it for years and it’s really, a very comprehendible recipe and I left it open for you to be a little bit creative with it too. So make it your own, and then my quote unquote fire cider. I know I’m not supposed to use that term, because it has been trademarked with another company, so I call it my fiery cider tonic.

Cindy Kennedy: A way to get around things, you got it.

Jennifer Mather: Yeah, so I shared with you that recipe because that is something everybody should have in their medicine cabinet.

Cindy Kennedy: Do you use it every day?

Jennifer Mather: I do not use it every day, no.

Cindy Kennedy: Seasonal?

Jennifer Mather: Well obviously during cold and flu season, or even for allergies, if somebody has really bad allergies I’ll give them some of that and maybe some elderberry syrup. But I always have it, I’m always making it so it’s always fresh. I’m always giving it away and whenever I feel like maybe I have something coming on, I’ll take a couple shots, because it boosts your immune system and it also when you see what’s in the recipe you’ll understand it will kill everything that is trying to attack your immune system.

Cindy Kennedy: That is awesome, so I have a couple of questions before we end here. All right, so we’re dealing with Lyme, we’re dealing with ticks. What ticks you off?

Jennifer Mather: Whoa, okay, yes so what ticks me off, immediately my thought is all of the incorrect information that is available via the web. The web is a great place for information but you can’t assume that what you’re reading is absolutely correct, do your own investigating. Find one source that says one thing, then go find like three or four other reputable sources that say that thing, then maybe you can start to trust it. But the biggest thing that you should do is find somebody within your community, or if not in your community reach out to them online and work with that person. If that person is suffering from Lyme as you are, or maybe that person is a little bit more ahead of the game. Then you can share information, ’cause that person is going to have the best information, ’cause they’ve already been there, tried that, read that, did that. That’s where you come in; …

Cindy Kennedy: That’s where the purpose of this podcast is, to bring credible resources to my followers out there.

Jennifer Mather: Necessary, yes.

Cindy Kennedy: One other question, I got a bunch of lemons and so I’m making my lemonade, and so what in your life is your lemonade?

Jennifer Mather: Well let me say that my life has thrown lemons at me consistently and I just keep making lavender lemonade with it.

Cindy Kennedy: I love lavender lemonade.

Jennifer Mather: My children who are, I feel weird calling them children because they’re adults now, they’re 20 and 21. But they keep me going, I want them to see me thrive, succeed, I was a single mom for so many years. Well I guess technically I still am, but I want them to see this is what you can do when life gives you lemons ’cause they’ve seen the lemons. This is what I’ve built, this is why I continue and just being able to transform peoples lives, like I said before my soul is not in sync with happiness unless I’m helping people.

Cindy Kennedy: That’s so good.

Jennifer Mather: That keeps me going.

Cindy Kennedy: Oh my goodness, thank you Jennifer Mather’s.
Jennifer Mather: Thank you so much for having me.

Cindy Kennedy: My new found friend.

Jennifer Mather: This is so exciting, I’m so happy that you’re doing this, this is so necessary.
Cindy Kennedy: Thank you.

Jennifer Mather: I will do whatever I need to do to support you.
Cindy Kennedy: Wonderful, ah thank you. Thank you all my listeners out there, this is Cindy Kennedy signing off with Living with Lyme.
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Thank you so much and we’ll be back soon with a new episode.