Welcome to the Postpartum University podcast, where we support you and your provider in understanding the science, the art, and the sacredness of healing after birth. I’m Maranda Bower, your host, your Postpartum Nutrition Specialist, and homesteading mom with four wild kids. It’s time to get you the holistic, whole-body healing that works.
Maranda: Hello, everyone. Welcome to Postpartum University Podcast. I’m Maranda Bower of course, and I have a very special guest. I invited this guest on, and I will tell you I was so excited that she actually said yes. I was absolutely just over the moon excited because I have been following her for so many years. So everyone, you’re going to meet Cindy Collins. She is the owner, founder, creator of Euphoric Herbal’s Apothecary. She’s been serving the community and beyond. She serves over 40,000 customers in 59 different countries. Absolutely love your work, Cindy. And you actually started your work in a completely different field. And so I’m very excited to hear from you. your story ’cause you’ve got quite a bit to share.
Cindy: Yeah, so I’ll thank you so much for having me on here. I really appreciate it. I do have quite a bit of a diverse background and sometimes I’ll forget that ’cause people are like, how did you do all those things and you’re only 42? And I’m like, I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived three lives already. It was all the things that I’ve done, you know? So, but yeah, my field, you know, I’ve been involved in internal health. and wellness and fistpartum since 2006. But before that, I was actually in the military and I worked in restaurants as a professional baker and chef. So I did that before I got into maternal health and wellness.
Maranda: That’s incredible. And from my understanding, you actually have a background as not only in maternal health, but also in the doula world, which is something that you are no longer longer doing.
Cindy: Yeah, so after I got started, what kind of started me to get interested in becoming a birthable was I used to work at hospitals doing lactation on postpartum course and was then I was super passionate about and still very much in lactation and helping people in their breastfeeding and lactation journey. And so it was through that experience I realized I’ve seen the very tragic situations, you know, on the the end result that people were coming through their post, they’re starting their postpartum journey very locally unprepared and educated and empowered and it really just broke my heart. And so I started doing my birth goal because I really want to be part of that solution instead of seeing the problem on the talent and thinking how could I help just a few people have a better birth and pregnancy experience that way they’re starting off postpartum in a better situation.
Maranda: Yeah, yeah, for sure. And this is something that we’re seeing pretty significantly still even to this day. And I think we’re finally starting to recognize that, hey, wait, there’s a problem and we need to do more than just talk about how there’s a problem.
Cindy: Yeah, yeah, 100%, yeah. And I, you know, I was a board school for several years. I didn’t attend a ton of works, you know, and before I started. got to be able to, in that short time that I was a doula, and the number of times that I had, I think there was about a dozen, you know, I was able to experience birth and, you know, hospitals, birth centers, comberts, and even a surprise and assisted birth, you know, and so that was a really, you know, great experience, you know, for me as a, as a, as a doula to be able to experience work in all these different settings and environments, you know, with my clients. I am really excited to have a conversation with you about your business because what we see on the outside is this incredibly successful business. You have an online shop, you have physical locations across the US, you’re opening up more and so on the outside, we see somebody who is incredibly successful but we know as successful business owners, like that is not the, like, that’s true. didn’t happen, right? Like you have all of these other things and this is kind of personal for you. And I’m hoping you’re willing to share, how did you get such a successful business? What did you have to go through to make that happen?
Cindy: Right, well, you know, they say that, you know, overnight success takes, I think they say 20 years and I’m about like halfway there. I’m like 10, a little bit more than a decade into this journey. So I’m, yeah, I’m getting close to my overnight success. success, they say. You know, so it’s, it’s been a while, you know, I’ve had to, from all the different industries that I’ve touched on between, you know, lactation, hospital screening in Bortula, I was a maternity birth at, you know, newborn photographer as well. So those felt like really helped prepare me for what I’m doing now. And of course, when I, you know, started creating interval products, you know, so these stores came, this apothecary came out of the birth of my product. products and creating a product line that was really focused on women’s health and wellness, pregnancy postpartum, lactation.
Cindy: And it was through that product line and development that people in my community in Delaware would often ask me, they would ask the theme for resources, for herbs, for ingredients and living in a rural state. Me, Delaware’s rural, usually coming from the San Francisco area, it’s a rural state. You have to drive an hour to get anywhere. So you have to drive an hour to get anywhere. to order online and sometimes you often, you know, go to places and you really can’t find what you’re looking for. It’s not the resource you hope you were going to be or the quality that you’re looking for. So opening the herbal coffee fair in Delaware was really as a means to serving my community. You know, going from in commerce to retail seems backwards nowadays because more retail places are closing and people are going online, you know, but we really feel like especially when it comes to herbal coffee fairs, you know, it’s really important to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to and anything called this, we really need to be in the community and we really need to get to know people and what their needs are and what, how we can serve them best, you know, and I’m really on this burning, especially opening my second with Fusion in Maryland, it’s a different community, it’s not my community and what their needs are and how I can serve them is going to be different than how I should go with, you know, and what things they’re going to ask of and me from, you know, me and my team. you know, so, you know, building this business, this, you know, serving customers in every state and 59 country is something that I never dreamed, you know, and I, you know, thought was possible. And I’m really glad, I believe ignorance is bliss, and I’m actually quite grateful for that. Because if I had any insider inkling that what I would be doing now, I’d be like, there’s no way that’s possible. There’s no way I can do that. I am not, well, I’ve got no MBA. I’ve got, you know, know, I’ve never even ran a retail store, you know, who am I to be opening retail stores, let alone in the process of franchising our herbal coffee carrier? Like that’s bananas. There’s no I’m going to do that. So I’m glad ignorance is bliss. And I’m thankful for that.
Maranda: I feel you so much, right? Like the imposter syndrome, we now have a name for it, right? That didn’t exist 10, 15 years ago, when I was starting my business and my company. But, you know, talking with so many professionals like yourself who are incredibly successful, y’all, if you’re listening into this and you’re wanting these kinds of businesses and you’re wanting to serve at this kind of level, know that we don’t know what we’re doing. The only difference between those who don’t know what they’re doing and who are successful is that we’re doing it anyway and we’re failing a lot. the way, but we’re learning our lessons and we’re continuing on. And I think that’s so important to, we’re all looking back at ourselves thinking, oh my gosh, what am I doing?
Cindy: Yeah, yeah. You don’t know what you don’t know. You just don’t. And until you’re–
Maranda: And that’s good, sometimes.
Cindy: Yes, ’cause otherwise it would be absolutely terrifying to know all the things that are ahead of you. You know, so I’m trying to take– you know, take it one step of one day and when we get a time in in my journey as you know, being a being an entrepreneur and building this business and trying to make it work so that way it works for my life and my personal life and my family and consider all of those things as well.
Maranda: Yeah, so true. Let’s change the conversation a little bit and start talking about herbs. So herbs, I’m I’m fascinated with. I just launched my own course on herbs for postpartum. And it’s really one of those, it’s the most sought after medicinal. It’s one of the only medicinal that is heavily pushed by the general public. Why are herbs so popular, especially in pregnancy and postpartum?
Cindy: I think they’re so popular because they’re accessible, right? And they’re approachable. And I think because it’s it comes in so many different forms, you know, depending on whether someone likes a tea or a supplement or an extract or a topical application, I think it’s just, it’s accessible and you can approach it to based on your needs at that time. You know, I’m sitting here thinking, when I finish the spot guest interview, I’m going to go grab some Tulsi extract because today feels crazy. And I think I need to have that in my purse to deal with all this mayhem and this craziness. You know, I think I need to have that in my purse to deal with all this mayhem and this craziness. like there’s and there’s so many, they’re so versatile, and we can definitely find different botanical remedies to suit us depending on our season of life and know that there’s always alternative options. So sometimes somebody might find an herbal remedy, but they realize, oh, it’s contraindicated during pregnancy, and that’s okay, there’s another alternative remedy that is sacred pregnancy that’s going to get the same result or similar results that someone’s looking for.
Cindy: So I think that’s why there are so many incredibly popular. And you know, it’s like we have a connection to plants and that’s where our medicines started, you know, so I think it’s really gravitate towards herbs and botanical remedies, because that’s how medicine began. And I’m finding so many people have so much success with it, it’s like one of those things that spreads via word of mouth, right? And we all know about herbs, we all in some form or fashion, we know somebody who’s taken herbs and has benefited. Our herbs grow in our backyard. It’s so versatile. It’s so available to everyone. And it’s so inexpensive, I find, compared to the other medicinals that we have access to in our world, maybe some of us don’t have access to. We have even more access to herbs than we would otherwise. I think that is very helpful, especially in pregnancy and CMF. and postpartum, when we are begging for more support, we’re needing that so much. And so we’re seeking it elsewhere. And I’m, and I’m loving that.
Maranda: Me too, me too. And I appreciate that. That’s one thing that’s really neat about being having the apothecary community is that, you know, we have a lot of healthcare practitioners that will be a referral source for them, which is something I was not anticipating. But we’re talking about Western medicine type of protection. who were very introverts. And so it’s really neat to be that bridge in that community and people especially when they’re just beginning their journey and holistic and natural health to introduce them, you know, like let me show you all the different options that are available depending where you’re at. One thing that I feel like I’m seeing from parents and birth and postpartum professionals, especially right now, I don’t know what it is that is bringing this up even more, but there’s there’s like this fear of herbs that’s coming up. And we’ve got to admit, there is a lot of controversy in terms of what is safe and what is not. We have herbalists and providers who are saying, “Oh, you can use these.” And we have another group of herbalists and providers who are saying, “No, these are not safe.” And so there’s kind of like this back and forth. And one thing that I see is this unknowing of like, “What should I do?” I don’t know what is safe and what is not, ’cause I don’t know what is not. there’s so much controversy in the field. How do people navigate this? How do you navigate this? And should we actually be afraid of herbs?
Cindy: So I don’t think we should be afraid of herbs, but I don’t think we should be ignorant either about, you know, herbs are natural, and 100% they are, but they’re not always safe. And they’re not safe for it to be equally. And so I think we just need to go and make sure the eyes are wide open, that, you know, you know, not everybody in their season of life. And there might be some contraindications, especially if they’re taking any type of medications or supplements, they need to be aware of that and do their own research and be empowered to do that. You know, so I think that, you know, that there are definitely resources available where you can find about what’s safe, you know, so like the Botanical Safety Handbook, there’s a great guy, they have an online PDF. that you can purchase as well as big textbooks. And so when people come into our store, we’re not staffed with panels for herbalists. So that’s what we have a lot of us in textbooks. And we have textbooks that help them guide based off of what’s reported contraindications and adverse reactions based on medications or what somebody might take along with an herbal remedy. So just knowing that you have to do your research. And sometimes I think it’s a I do talk to people when they come into apothecary, especially if they are very concerned and worried about adverse reaction side effects. If they’re very sensitive to remedies for medications in general, they just start off with just one, or one botanical remedy, even if it’s a tear and extract, and introduce that one herb or that one remedy. And I used to start it earlier in a day time. So that would be stand monitor for adverse reactions, contraindications, even though it’s they might be taking help with optimizing sleep, if they’re taking it late at night, right before bed, if they do have a contraindication of adverse reaction, that’s a really awful time to be going to the ER in the middle of the night. So I always tell them, just make sure you’re not taking the same kinds of medications, whether they’re supplements, make sure you talk to your healthcare provider or providers about it, about using these remedies as well, and that we have to be informed to consumers. about our own health and wellness and make sure you know we’re consulting with you know our healthcare providers but ultimately we have to make the decision that’s best for us because it is our body. And that sounds like any sort of medical treatment whatsoever anything that we’re doing to our body really these are pretty much the standard guidelines make sure you’re communicating make sure you’re educating yourself make sure you’re listening into your body and your needs right like.
Cindy: Like that’s the basis of everything that we should be doing for ourselves, no matter what it is, whether it’s exercising, taking a pharmaceutical medication, right? Whatever the case may be. So I’m so glad that you shared that because that is so important to know. And I wanna speak a little bit on listening into your body because I think oftentimes we don’t necessarily use our body as the compass. Oftentimes, I see like, oh, well, we’ll need these medications and tests, and then that’s what we’ll do without taking a step to step back and say, okay, let’s see how this is interacting with us and how we feel in our own bodies with this. So I’m so glad that you are saying take this during the day and connect in with yourself and pass attention.
Maranda: If you’re a birth and postpartum professional who wants to give the families you serve some solid holistic evidence-based information regarding nutrition, repletion, and nourishing your body after baby, this is for you. I have 18 beautiful pages in a handout form that is complete. free. Free full guide to nutrition completion, common misconceptions, supplement support, favorite recipes, 30 healthy and quick snacks, and so many more. You can download your free collection with handouts at postpartumU, that’s the letter you .com /handouts. So when people come into our apothecary, you know, it’s really important when they’re starting to take a new botanical remedy. We often recommend, regardless of what type of, regardless of what type of their therapeutic objective is, we want to recommend that they take it sometime during the daytime, just so they’re awake, they’re in tune with their body, how their body is feeling, they can monitor for any adverse reactions or side effects. You know, and so that’s really important. You always tell them, you know, don’t take it with any other medications or supplements as well. You know, of course, they should be discussed. any, you know, natural supplements and remedies they’re going to be taking in conjunction with their healthcare provider or their naturopathic physician if they should have one. But it’s really important that we’re tuned into our bodies during that time to see how it makes us feel. And if it’s something that we’re getting the results that we’re looking for as well during that time, you know, so maybe if we’re taking, you know, a remedy to help with, you know, maybe anxiety or exhaustion, you know, know, and maybe it might be ideal to take at night time, but taking it during the daytime lets us be able to be awake and attuned to see, you know, am I responding to this the right way? Am I feeling, am I getting the results that I’m looking for? Or if I’m not, maybe this is not the right remedy for me, or maybe it’s not the right dose or the right form as well. I love that. So I appreciate you just like honing in on that and helping us like really understand that this is about our bodies and how we’re feeling. And it’s so important, again, to have that conversation with our providers and to really do our own research and use your body as a compass. So thank you. Okay, I have to ask, what are some of your favorite postpartum herbs?
Cindy: So I have a couple of postpartum herbs, you know, and some that I’ve used personally postpartum after my own pregnancies. So I can definitely speak to my personal. personal experiences to those. One of the ones that I really like that I felt that really helped after the birth of my third son was Makarut. So Makarut is a really great herb because it does so many things for so many people, whether you’re male or female, right? And but I really liked it postpartum. And it should be known that it does help use fertility. So just FYI, if you’re thinking about using that herb, take that into consideration. But it really, I felt like it really helped me with the energy and the endurance. It helps with mood as well, which is really important postpartum. It helps with energy, endurance, mood. It helps with vitality. It helps with libido. It has so many great uses. So I really love makarut for postpartum. If you’re ready to take that, and I just would take it with capsules, two capsules with a double shot of espresso in the morning. And I was like, all right, let’s do this. Like this is I’m ready to survive the day. So that was how I would take it very consistently, probably after six months, you know, because I had a, you know, a last born, and he’s last born for a reason, ’cause I called him Silas the sleepless sadist. And he just sucked the life out of me. So I really needed espresso and macarote to survive that. One of the other ones that I really like is motherwort extract. Do not recommend it as a tea because it’s really bitter tasting, but motherwort is a great herb because it’s very nurturing and it’s very calming, especially for someone sometimes if you’re an anxious person or you’re suffering with a little bit of anxiety or you’re feeling like you’re on the edge as well. Sometimes that might induce the heart palpitations you might experience.
Cindy: So I really liked motherwort extract to kind of calm me down and take me down to the next notch and that kind of seems counteractive to use makarut, which is energizing, but motherwort as well. So it really depends like where you’re at in that season of parenthood, which herb you really need, you know, and obviously knowing how your body’s going to respond to it. And lastly, I really love red ballast really because it does so many things regardless of what season of life you’re in, whether you’re new to menstruating, whether you’re pregnancy postpartum lactating, or whether you’re you’re into the season of metapause. I feel like it does so many things for the female reproductive hormone and has so many benefits and so many minerals and vitamins that our bodies can really use. I have loved it for every season of my life. Being a woman, I found it very helpful in healing into menstruation, into lactation, into pregnancy and postpartum and just in helping my body. So I feel like that’s kind of like my go to herb, you know, regardless of what season I’m at, you know, and now that my kids are older, yeah, I use it a lot for menstruation. It really helps, you know, during, during my menstrual cycle of the time of the month. And so it’s fantastic for that. But that’s another herb that I really recommend. It’s a great and it blends with everything. It’s fantastic as a tea. So that’s how I prefer to take it because I feel like it blends really well with herbs and herbs. very hydrating as well, you know, but obviously when you’re taking it prenatally, you just have to be conscious of because it is a uterine tonic that, you know, what, what trimester you’re taking it in, that you’re not taking too much of it. It’s going to induce Brexite, it takes contractions, which most people don’t like, you know, so making sure that you’re not taking too much too soon, you kind of use your weight into red raspberry throughout pregnancy, but, you know, any other time I take it in an abundance, can drink it iced as a cold brew infusion and throw some rose hips in there and it’s fantastic. I totally agree. It’s my absolute favorite in all things related to women’s health care. It is like the go to herb when we’re starting out on anything. It’s like the one thing that I make sure to include with all my client packages like that. And we’ll talk about other herbs, but it’s always like that one. one and the others right depending on your specific needs but that one’s like the one that like 100 % of everyone needs. Yeah and I love it because it is such a safe herb and it has been proven safe for such a long period of time so I feel like most people can benefit from that and have very few adverse reactions or contraindications you know it’s great for varicose veins it’s great for you know somebody if they’re having you know late cramps in middle of the night it’s really in magnesium. So it does so many different things. Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum lactating, wherever you at, most people can benefit from a raspberry leaf.
Maranda: Cindy, I appreciate your knowledge and expertise so dang much. I’m so glad that you are here. And for everyone listening, and if you are wanting some herbs, if this is a space that you really wanna dive into, I highly recommend looking Cindy up, go check out. her apothecary, where can people find you?
Cindy: So people can find us online at https://www.euphoricherbals.com/. And so what you’ll find on our website is that we have a lot of our own proprietary formulas which I started out with and then slowly during the pandemic, we moved everything from our store apothecary retail in Delaware online. So we grew from 30 to like 800 products. So you can find a lot of things there now that were not available two years ago. So you can find us online at https://www.euphoricherbals.com/. shop our website. We ship everywhere to have questions. You’re looking for a resource. We have a really robust blog over 300 articles of resource education information about natural remedies, about specific herbs, you know, common questions that people might have as well. If you’re looking to open a public carry or looking to become an herbalist and, you know, maybe start making some herbal teas or salves, there’s kind of some resources as well for that person there. So check this out. We’re on, you know… know, all the socials, you know, except for Twitter, but we’re not there. But you can find us at Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Gorgeous. And of course, all of those links will be provided for you here in the show notes.
Maranda: Again, Cindy, thank you so much for your wisdom. I’m so glad that you are here and sharing. I’m just in awe of everything that you have created here. And I can’t wait to stay in touch. All right. Thanks so much.
Maranda: Love this episode. Let us know by leaving an amazing review. Your support is everything. Want more? Head over to postpartumU.com. That’s postpartum, the letter u .com and explore how we support moms like you in holistic whole body healing that’s specific for the unique needs of mamas in the years postpartum. See you there.
