The Healing Power of Medicinal Herbs with Dr. Erin Stokes

# Deeply Well Podcast Transcript
## Guest: Dr. Erin Stokes, WishGarden Herbs

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### Chapter 1: Welcome to Deeply Well

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** You can always come back to nature. It can be a moment of sitting in a patch of grass in your backyard and looking up at the stars after a really long day. We come back home to ourselves.

Yeah. And words have been written about these plants, uses of how the plants were utilized and how people existed with the plants and they're in poems, they're in literature, they're in science, and is validating what the traditional use of a plant was. And so plants can really be our allies in this work.

**Devi Brown:** Welcome to Deeply Well, a soft place to land on your journey. A podcast for those that are curious, creative, and ready to expand in higher consciousness and self-care. This is where we heal. This is where we transcend.

Welcome back to Deeply Well, everyone. Of course, as always, I'm your host, Devi Brown. I am always so honored and so grateful to be here with you, whether I am coming into your ears or you are watching us on YouTube. Thank you for letting me and this beautiful work into your space.

On today's episode, we are exploring how returning to herbal wisdom can help us reconnect to our authentic selves, our most authentic selves, which means restoring balance, bringing calm, and really amplifying the resilience we have for our everyday life.

Joining me today is Dr. Erin Stokes, a naturopathic doctor and medical director at WishGarden Herbs, who's passionate about helping people live healthier, more vibrant lives through the healing power of plants. So excited for this one, and I am so delighted to announce to everyone on the show today that we are in partnership together. So thrilled to be working with WishGarden and to share more throughout this episode of all the ways that the beautiful work that they do, their creations, just the way that it has really aided and supported me on the health journey that I know everyone who listens to the show has really been hearing from me for the last couple of years. So, I'm so excited to dive into the crevices and bring out the tools for all of us.

So, let me introduce our guest. Dr. Erin Stokes, ND, believes that transformation begins when we reconnect with the healing power of nature. As a naturopathic doctor for 20-plus years, Erin has dedicated her career to translating complex health concepts into actionable insights that empower individuals to be active participants in their own healing. Her journey into natural medicine began early, planting her first herb garden in high school while growing up in a family steeped in medical tradition.

Dr. Erin has remained true to the foundational principles that drew her to this field: honoring the body's innate healing capacity, treating the whole person rather than isolated symptoms, and serving as both doctor and teacher. Currently serving as medical director at WishGarden Herbs, Dr. Erin Stokes is at the forefront of innovative herbal education. She is a media spokesperson and frequent podcast guest, being featured in Forbes, Well and Good, Eating Well, Medium, Brit + Co, and the Every Girl podcast. Dr. Erin is known for her engaging personal style and deep scientific knowledge to create an environment where learning becomes both inspiring and actionable.

Welcome to the show, Dr. Erin. Thank you so much.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Thank you, Devi. You just read that so beautifully. I don't know that I've ever heard my bio read with such grace and passion, and so thank you. I'm just delighted to be here. Thank you so much.

**Devi Brown:** Oh, thank you so much. I know, like, I think the thing that I'm most excited as a lifelong learner about this episode—and I want to let everybody know, get your notebooks, get your pen. This is a learning and teaching episode. There will be things that you will want to write down and places that you'll go and tools that you'll get.

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### Chapter 2: Coming Back to Our Authentic Selves Through the Wisdom of Nature

**Devi Brown:** So, Dr. Stokes, you know, I love the theme of this conversation that we're going to have. There are so many pathways and crevices and places that we can go. But coming back to our authentic selves through nature and the wisdom of herbs—like, wow.

You know, I think something that I share on this show a lot is that even in some of the challenge and hardship around all the stresses that our body goes through in today's day and age, both environmental stresses to the actual stress of being alive and the challenges that are happening around us. You know, this idea, especially now, of connecting with your authentic self, I think for some people, feels both really inspiring and also feels really out of reach because you say, "How do I even kind of get into that gooey center when I have to fight through all the walls that I'm building up just to get through my day?" What is the pathway to that?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** You know, I believe the pathway is always found through nature. And no matter where you live and who you are, you can always come back to nature. It can be a moment of sitting in a patch of grass in your backyard and looking up at the stars after a really long day. It can be a walk around the block where you hear the birds singing or you maybe notice a plant blooming or this time of year the leaves changing. But we are part of nature. We have co-evolved in the natural world with plants forever. And so when we come back to nature, we come back home to ourselves.

And so it doesn't have to be too complicated. And I get that like coming home to your authentic self—that could feel a bit overwhelming. It feels like big work.

**Devi Brown:** It feels like big work.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And I think it is. And it's big opportunity. And I would say the place to start is getting grounded with who you really are and just returning to the natural world and returning to nature in whatever way that looks like. And I do believe that no matter who you are and where you live, you can find those small moments to do that.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Truly. I mean, even in cities like New York, right, it may be like a much smaller park, but it is access to green. It is access to soil. It is access to even the scent that plants make when they're, you know, breaking down on the ground and everything else around it.

Something you said I find so fascinating because I don't know if I've ever really looked at evolution in those terms.

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### Chapter 3: The Intimate Connection and Evolution of Plants and People

**Devi Brown:** You know, like I think about how humans evolve and we've been taught that in school. Sure, we think about how different species of animals have evolved over time. We've learned that. But this idea that also plants—like the actual earth, the green, the soil—it's been evolving next to us at the same time. What does that mean? And how has that worked and like what are plants becoming?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Well, they've been evolving next to us. An excellent question. And we've been such a part of it. And so you can look at ancient texts from literally all over the world. It's one of my favorite things to learn about and also talk about—this ancient wisdom and how it applies in modern times.

And so when you look at writings, you'll see that whether it's Hippocrates or whether it's Ayurvedic medicine in India, words have been written about these plants, uses of how the plants were utilized and how people existed with the plants. And they're in poems, they're in literature, they're in science. And so people were intimately connected with these plants in the past. And often what we find is that modern science is validating what the traditional use of a plant was. And so people were aware of that long before now.

And so it's almost really a return to plant wisdom. And I really like to look at plants on the continuum. I think it helps people understand—all of us are really familiar with nutrition, and we know, for example, blueberries are very healthy for us and blueberries have that beautiful blue color from a compound called anthocyanins. And so we know about things like that—nutrition, phytonutrients, certain plants are high in vitamin C.

And so when you look at the continuum of plants as nutrition to really plants as herbal remedies—it's still plant power. And one of the things I really return to is I believe in the power of plants. I mean, I believe in the power of people. And I think that the power of plants and the power of people can come together. And it's like this really exciting, largely untapped world that some people are utilizing on a regular basis, but many people aren't. And so that's this opportunity through a podcast like yours where you're reaching so many people to share this.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. And I think that's something I really love and find sacred about doing this show. And definitely when I hear back from the audience, it's we are creating the new recipes of our lives, you know, through tools, through process, through self-evaluation, and through really learning what our body needs and how we can find more supportive structure for those more heart-centered goals you may have in the world.

I really want to know because this work is so fascinating, and even feeling your energy and your reverence for the work, I think, is so deep. How did you decide that this was your path, especially coming from a household where you easily could have gone maybe the surgeon route?

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### Chapter 4: How Dr. Stokes Became a Naturopathic Doctor

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes. But you had both, and this was where you felt most led.

I really—I think again it goes back to nature. I just kept getting drawn towards nature and the natural world and learning from a really young age about other alternatives. And I have deep respect for the legacy of medicine and surgeons—my dad, my grandfather—and I was different. And I think I knew that from a pretty young age, talking about planting my first herb garden and growing echinacea. I was just fascinated. I just kept being drawn in that direction.

And I think that sometimes we pay attention to where we're being drawn in life. And there are certainly times when I have not paid attention. But in this case, I did, thank goodness. And I knew that there was a different path for me when I discovered that I could sort of bring both together and also use my voice.

I love the education part. I love "doctor as teacher," and it doesn't even have to be doctor. It's just people as teachers, well-being educators as teachers. Like I think that there's so much power. You know, I talk about the power of plants, but I also believe that knowledge is power. And when we can help give people tools and information, there's actually nothing that gets me more excited because it's just like this metamorphosis that can happen in people.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah, totally. Totally. You know, so as we're kind of really moving into some juicy parts of this interview—you know, something that we have talked about and that you talk about is returning to authenticity requires both inner work but it requires outer support.

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### Chapter 5: Nervines, Emotional Ally, and How to Use Herbs to Support the Outer and Inner Work

**Devi Brown:** I think, you know, without having a lifestyle that really holds up those deeper goals and desires we have for ourselves on these journeys that we take ourselves on, the work remains incomplete. We have to bring it into our bodies. Can you share what it means to you to have outer support to that inner work and how do herbs play a role in that?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes. Well, I'll give you an example if that helps. So, I think that plants can really be our allies in this work, and it can be through a single herb and it can also be through a blend.

And so one of the things that I love to talk about are nervines. And they're a whole category of herbs that help to calm and soothe our nervous system. And believe it or not, milky oat tops—so, milky oats—oats are what's called a nervous system trophorestorative. And what that means is it really helps both calm and soothe and restore the nervous system, because I think there's this element of calming and also restoring.

And so you could be someone that's doing the work of meditating and yoga and some of these practices that you talk about in your book and that both you and I do on a daily basis. And then the plants—like a plant like milky oats, milky oat tops—can really then soothe and nurture your nervous system.

And then there's a bigger formula that contains that and more called Emotional Ally. And Emotional Ally is just that. It's an ally in those times of stress or duress that can really help you and help guide and soothe your nervous system while you're doing that inner work. So, it's kind of like that idea of you don't need to go it alone.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** That really applies of course to other people in our community, but you don't need to go it alone. Meaning you have—like one of the sort of subheadings of Emotional Ally is "a big herbal hug" because that's literally what it is. Those nervines help to soothe and ground, and it's not like it takes something away. It's not meant to numb or change. It just helps you to feel a little bit more like, "I can do this. I got this."

**Devi Brown:** I really want to ground in this for a moment because this is the piece where a lot of people perhaps make choices that take them away from what their desires are for themselves. Right? Like when we are just feeling sometimes—like for example myself, and I've shared this on the show and I think in my book—but you know, sometimes I'd be going through so many things and I'd have so much stress and my body was just having such strong reactions that you just try to even go take a class, like a meditation class, a yoga class, or sit down in your house to do it alone, and it's like you can't get your body or your brain or your heart to calm down enough to get into your practice.

So then you tell yourself things like, "Okay, well, so then I'm just not going to do it." Because you don't know how to get past that part of the limit. And usually that limit is so triggering, right? Like when you're in process with yourself and you don't yet know or understand that you have to build tolerance for peace.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes.

**Devi Brown:** You have to build—you have to practice what it feels like to relax, that all of that is not innately natural, especially in today's day and age, to just be kind of your through-line feeling. But when you have a companion for the journey, when you have an ally on the path with you—really, like through tinctures, through herbs, through getting into nature, through these things that have existed as long as we have—that's what keeps you in the room. That's what keeps you in your practice. That can keep you showing up as the truth of who you are, not the dysregulated version of who you are in each moment. In a natural way, you know, in a way that is not habit forming, in a way that is really heart-opening. And also teaching you—you're learning, you're learning how to meet your needs.

I think to me that's one of the most remarkable parts of the journey when you get to this stage where you're able to start working with herbs, where you're able to start creating your own little cocktails in the moment of what you need. You start to feel so powerful.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** You do, because I think part of it is acknowledging yourself and where you're at. And for example, I talked about Emotional Ally and that sort of overwhelm or grief or stress. But another blend—and these are masterfully crafted herbal tincture blends that our formulator, our founder Katherine Hunziger, she put these together.

And I, as a naturopathic doctor, I can say that when I first learned about WishGarden Herbs—which I want to tell you actually just about real quick—the very first tincture I took from WishGarden Herbs, so as a naturopathic doctor, I've known them for over 20 years, was the Postpartum Emotional Baby Blues tincture. My son is 19 and I took that after he was born.

**Devi Brown:** Wow.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And it really met this true need of—it's sort of like an acknowledgement of what is there. It's natural, you know, when those hormones really drop after childbirth to have some of those feelings and feeling on this wave of hormones and emotions and all the things. And so it's meeting you. These blends can meet you in these moments of your life, and there's different ones for different times hormonally in life, and then different times in kind of more what we're talking about today—your nervous system, whether that's overwhelm.

Or Liquid Bliss was one that came to mind because it has these heart-centering and opening herbs. And when you were talking about that feeling of "I've got so much going on, like I don't even want to go to yoga class"—like that's where some people are at, or like, "I don't even want to show up for this dinner party tonight." And of course you need to check back in with yourself and decide what's best for you. And sometimes it's just about feeling—like we talked about Liquid Bliss a little bit before the podcast—those heart-centering herbs and that sense of giving you a feeling of groundedness and safety to go out and do maybe the things you want to do.

And so it's like, how can these blends meet you in these different moments of your life to support you in being your highest, most authentic self?

**Devi Brown:** Yeah, absolutely. What is happening in that moment? Like, you know, some terms that a lot of us are used to hearing now are things like fight or flight that happens when stress happens, or you know, your cortisol levels rise. What is happening in your body and what is the herb doing to your body to create a different experience?

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### Chapter 6: Reframing Fight or Flight, Cortisol, and Respecting the Stress Response

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Great. That is a great question. So, first I kind of want to reframe for a minute—our stress response is intended to protect us, because not all stress is bad necessarily or good. It's just we have an innate stress response. It's hardwired into our system.

And fight or flight, which we often talk about as a negative thing because in modern times we experience it over and over, but really it's intended to save us. So, we all have probably had a moment—actually I just had one the other day where someone was merging onto the road and they just didn't see me, and all of a sudden they were sort of merging into my car and I just moved really quickly without even thinking about it. I just moved immediately. My heart was pounding and all the things. I got really sweaty, but I did exactly what I needed to do and there wasn't a car accident and thank goodness everyone was fine.

So, we can all think of a moment or many moments where our stress response has protected us.

**Devi Brown:** Thank you for explaining it like that, because yeah, there is—like, let's have some respect for the way our body is meeting that need.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yeah, you got it. Because we're really elegantly designed to do those things. So what happens in modern—and I keep saying modern times—but we're not facing a tiger. I mean, these kind of like the proverbial fight or flight where there was a true real threat.

**Devi Brown:** You're going to get eaten.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes. Some things that happen. So that's not happening. But what we don't do is—you are supposed to ideally go into fight or flight and then come back to not exactly homeostasis but a more relaxed rest-and-digest state, and that's why parasympathetic mode is called rest and digest.

If you're in that fight-or-flight state over and over—it gets triggered about, you know, I just was lucky enough to fly here today to be with you, but it could get triggered by I'm late for my flight, or my appointment, or I've got a work deadline, or I just had a fight with my significant other. And we just trigger it over and over.

And what happens over time is that we go even beyond the adrenaline of fight or flight to cortisol. And so cortisol—a lot of people know about cortisol, but they might wonder what exactly is going on. This is when really our stress response is activated long term and we have high cortisol, and it leads to a whole host of issues that we could talk about now and maybe even its own podcast, but it really relates to our immune system not working as well as it needs to, sleep issues, poor concentration, it really messes with our energy levels.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** It affects our cardiovascular system. I mean, really, Devi, the list goes on. And so I want us to respect our stress response, but I also want us to take it seriously because I think a lot of times we almost override ourselves. We override our nervous system. We just say, "I got to get this done and then maybe I'll rest next week, next month, next year." But our invitation now is to really say, you know what, we can do this better today.

**Devi Brown:** Oh, that's so—I mean, it's just so deeply true because that piece especially of like, "I can get to it next year," or "I'll get to whatever it is when the stress comes down." And I think something that we're all as a species learning to navigate is, well, stress may be the constant, you know? It really may be. And in this world that we're all trying to—we're living in two worlds. We're living in our technology world. We're living in kind of our natural life. But that's going to stress our, you know, absolutely highly intelligent, genius, miraculous human bodies and brains out.

You know, we weren't designed to do as much as we're doing right now. So, I really love that. I love the framing of that, because again, like, these are the things that we do have control over, and these are the ways we can really develop profound learning about our own bodies—like studying how your body responds and then knowing how to meet the need and what to meet the need with.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes. And it's both. And I think it's a combination. Yeah, I do soft belly, you know, deep belly breathing to try to really activate the vagus nerve and bring that parasympathetic mode. I do that really intentionally on a daily basis.

And so it's not—you know, as a naturopathic doctor, I'm always thinking of the whole picture. So the herbs are such valuable allies.

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### Chapter 7: Turmeric, Ashwagandha, and the Phytochemical Level of Constituents and Compounds

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And I think you were asking about, you know, they have really specific constituents in them that can help calm the nervous system. Sometimes there's an interplay with neurotransmitters even, like GABA or serotonin. I mean, there's really these profound ways that they're helping our system on a phytochemistry level. And so there is science to it.

I think sometimes people wonder, how are they working? Well, they all—the different plants have constituents. What does that mean? It's sort of like, okay, I'll think of one that a lot of people know. So, turmeric.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Turmeric is this gorgeous orange root—really rhizome—that's related to ginger. And so, you've probably heard of curcumin.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** But curcumin is not turmeric. Curcumin is a part of turmeric. It's a compound in turmeric. So all of these plants have different compounds in them.

**Devi Brown:** Does that mean—so there's the plant itself and then there's all the pieces of the plant, all the parts of the plant?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** It's a little bit analogous to there's broccoli and then there's vitamin C actually in broccoli. There's also folic acid in broccoli. The herbs are similar. It's just some of their constituents—like curcumin, or some may not be as well known—but they have, like, holy basil has ursolic acid. Ashwagandha has something called withanolides that—it's kind of like a marker.

And so these are different parts of the plant, and some of the parts, like curcumin in turmeric, is very widely studied. The withanolides in ashwagandha are very highly studied. And some of them are more studied than others.

**Devi Brown:** Well, it's interesting too, because especially the last handful of herbs you named, you've been seeing those names since antiquity.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes.

**Devi Brown:** You know, like holy basil, like ashwagandha especially—in my background, dating back, that's such a useful tool for the human body. It's been very documented.

Are we seeing, you know, what is it that's happening right now? Or even in the last maybe 40, 50 years where it almost felt like there was a pushing away of like, "No, all of that stuff, no, go this way," you know, go into more of the industrial complex of medicine. And then now we're seeing like, "Oh my god, no, all these things—they've always worked, they still work."

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### Chapter 8: Connecting with Resources for Taking Back Your Power, Health, and Well-Being

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** So, what I'm really noticing is that people want to be more connected to what they're taking in their bodies. And so, if we even just look at the resurgence of farmers markets, right?

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Yeah. I was just talking about that. That's so funny.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** You are. Yeah. It's happening because it's exciting to know these carrots were grown at a farm 10, 15 miles from here. I'm meeting this farmer. These are local to me. People are—I think in this era of technology and always being connected, ironically, people are feeling more disconnected than ever and also just wanting to get back to understanding both where things are coming from and taking back power.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** I mean, that's honestly sort of almost the bigger picture that even connects with knowing your farmer or knowing where your herbs are coming from. You know, we work with these amazing organic farms and wildcrafters that are sustainably harvesting the plants. That knowledge—again, going back to that theme of knowledge is power—there's also just taking back power for your health and your well-being.

And so if you know, for example, like the other day I ate something that just didn't really agree with me, and so my GI tract was feeling a little off—and this is going somewhere. So, in addition to taking probiotics, which I do every day, I reached for my Digestive Rescue from WishGarden, and I know it has peppermint and ginger. And even as I was taking it, I thought, "This is going to help me." And it did. "This will help soothe whatever is going on."

And so, it's part of that taking back power. So, if you're in that state of overwhelm—like I know a lot of people that carry Emotional Ally in their backpack or their purse or their bag or pocket. It's that idea of "I have a resource" and "I can do lots of different things"—whether it's the deep breathing, taking the tincture, doing the thing—"I can take back power for my health and well-being."

**Devi Brown:** Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Gosh. I think it's just so important for people to hear that, because this is a time, this is an era where we have to learn how to care for ourselves, and we have to learn how to take our emotional power back. You know, how to be with just whatever is true and real about our lives.

And this piece of it really—I can't understate how much it excites me, and I feel a very emotional connection because a lot of people know who listen to this show I have been on a health journey my whole life, but especially this last couple of years.

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### Chapter 9: Devi Shares Her Journey of Building Her Apothecary with WishGarden Tinctures

**Devi Brown:** And so I first got connected to your products as I was in Sprouts, like, looking, trying to find things to help me.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Oh, I love that. I didn't know that actually. You were in Sprouts and you just saw WishGarden tinctures.

**Devi Brown:** Absolutely. I was starting my journey with tinctures, and I was starting—I'm such a nerd. I love to learn. I'm a meta-learner. And so I was studying a few years ago herbs, and I was studying how, as I was building my garden that I have, what kinds of things I could plant that my son and I could learn how to use over time.

And so I started planting some different herbs for teas and berries and things like that. And the garden is expanding, but I knew it would be—you know, I didn't have to figure it all out in one weekend. And I didn't have to read one book and know how to do all of it. But I was like, how can I slowly learn to really give my unique body, my son's unique body, our brains, what they need?

And so we were at a time where I was traveling so much for work, which for those that travel a lot, whether work or pleasure, you know, you have to protect your immunity. Like, you got to fight for it.

And then having a young elementary school child—when I kind of started this journey, he had started kindergarten. And when you put your kid in school, oh, the whole house is getting sick.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** It's real. It's real for them, you, and everybody. I mean, it's—

**Devi Brown:** Oh, I was getting knocked down like full-blown flu symptoms once a month. You're out for a week, and that's hard with your travel and everything you're doing. I mean, it's hard for anybody, but—so, I was fed up. I was like, you will learn how to care for yourself, woman.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** So, did you take Kick-Ass Immune?

**Devi Brown:** Yes, I did. Yeah. And I found Daily Immunity. And so using those—and I then, you know, now I know gratefully how all the products are working, and that you have products for kids, which have been really wonderful for Quest too, because Lord knows they're not going to take what you take, but if he has his own kids' one, it's good.

So, I was just sharing with you—inside my house we have an apothecary. And so he has his little station. He has his WishGarden products. He has his own magnesium and the things that he does. And then I have my little section.

And part of our ritual every single day in our home is we start our morning there and we end our day there, and we give ourselves what we need and we do a body scan. We check in with our body: "What do I need today?" You know, for me sometimes it's immunity, or I'm feeling a little grief from my lived experience, or I know I'm about to get on a plane and I'm going to move through a couple hundred people in a few hours. So, let me have a little bliss in my cup.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And I love that.

**Devi Brown:** So, it just, you know—I know we're giving everyone so much information. But know you don't have to figure out all the perfect ways to care for yourself, but by connecting with true companions for the journey, true support as you learn yourself. And then notice the nuance, you know? Notice that when you did feel at a high and then maybe you did have a couple pumps of the bliss in your water—what did it feel like afterwards? And how soon did you feel a difference? And then at the end of the day, did you feel a difference?

And notice for yourself, "Okay, that worked. That's going in my kit. That's in my arsenal for how I care for myself." Or, "Hey, maybe I'm going to try this one next time because maybe I was actually experiencing this."

But one of my teachers said many years ago—I say this quite a bit, but—be a scientist in your life. Be a scientist of yourself. And I think working with products like this, it really gives you that opportunity to start learning yourself, to start knowing how that inner space really works, what's going on in there. And then how to develop.

Because I think with anything new that we try—and I hope I'm drilling this home in the right way for whoever needs to hear it to really hear it—know that it can absolutely be valid that it feels overwhelming to learn how to care for yourself and care about yourself. That is a big part of what the journey is, what the work is. But especially when you're noticing pains or discomforts or anxiety in your body, that can be really challenging, and it can bring up a lot of judgments.

But I think it's so important for us to know that when you start this journey, you have the rest of your life to learn it. You don't have to figure all of this out. You don't have to know every name for everything and where it goes and what it does in a weekend, in a day. Like, let yourself have some creative fun with this process, too.

And know, you know, it's going to take a little time, but once you do, you actually develop relationship with whatever is in front of you that is meeting your need, that's your companion for your body, for the journey. You're developing your own personal relationship of knowing when to take it. Knowing how much you need. Knowing, hey, like myself personally, I know I always have immunity and bliss in my bag every time I travel for work. It's packed. It's ready to go. I would love to bring the whole line. I don't always have that much room, but I know if I have those two things, that's what I need.

And that allows me to continue to be who I really am as I'm moving through the world and just navigating the very honest and true natural stressors of my life and of being alive on Earth in this year.

So, it's going to be a special process figuring out what helps me be my most ideal authentic self. And it's going to be unique for each of us. So wanted to make sure that I shared that, because that is also part of the joy of the process—when you gather this info and then how many of us learn these things and then we teach them and we share them and we give that kind of inner freedom to another person.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** I think you touched on something so important—just that it can be really overwhelming, and it's also this great opportunity.

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### Chapter 10: Devi and Erin Share Their Travel Tincture Favorites and Break Down Sleepy Nights

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** So, I think at this—like we're sort of just hopefully opening the door and to kind of find some joy and have some fun with it of just finding what works for you. Like you were saying, you always travel with Kick-Ass Immune and Liquid Bliss. And for me, like, I will not walk out the door for a trip without Sleepy Nights, which we haven't talked about yet, but for me sleep is so important, and sleeping when I'm traveling is not always the greatest.

But with Sleepy Nights, it's just an ally for me. Again, going back to just knowing that I have it—it just provides this sense of ease of, "Okay, I've got this blend I can take right before bed," and even if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can take it.

**Devi Brown:** What's happening to your body when you take it?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** So, it's a really gentle formula—gentle and effective formula of three herbs: skullcap, passionflower, and hops. And you may know, like, hops is a tradition for sleep, and it's in beer.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Yeah. That's how I remember hearing it.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes, for sure. And those herbs just kind of help you—Katherine, who is our founder and master formulator, talks about just sort of going over, almost like the bridge from wakefulness to sleep, just kind of like walking over to just a calm. It sort of helps your nervous system calm, those three herbs in particular.

And so it's soothing without sedating. And so it doesn't have any melatonin in it, which I know some people like to use, but that's just a totally different thing. It doesn't have any valerian, which is sort of a heavier plant with a stronger energy that may—and not just energy, but constituents again—that may make someone feel a little groggy the next morning.

So, it's just this elegant blend of just three herbs. And I mean, I have it right now for being here. And so it is just that idea that we're all individuals and we'll each find our own path and find some joy in really realizing what you need.

I know other people that will not leave without Digestive Rescue. For me, I'm okay—I mean, but I have it at home in my medicine cabinet. So we all are so unique, and there's such opportunity with plants and plant medicine to sort of find your path. Whether, you know, your stress, however it manifests—like for example, in the musculoskeletal realm, we have a blend called Serious Relaxer that's more about the physical realm.

So we just really find our way, and I just invite people—it's to enjoy the journey and recognize that there are teachers on the path, and to find resources. And hopefully, one of the things I try to do is not make it too overwhelming, because you really want it to be accessible for everybody.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. And feel fun. And feel creative fun. And fun to be like, "Wow, that helped me. That really—" You know, that's one of my favorite parts of what I do is when someone goes, "Wow, that really made a difference."

Or I had a friend—he's like an editor, lives in the South—and I sent him Sleepy Nights, and he texted me and he said, "Gosh, you know, that's the most—" And he didn't even say best. He said, "The most restful sort of calming night's sleep I've had in a long time."

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Wow.

**Devi Brown:** And it was—I think it was just because it actually just helped him calm a little bit.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yeah. So he could get the rest that he needed.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Yeah. And we deserve it.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And we deserve it. We deserve to sleep well, to eat well, to do all the things, you know, move our bodies, sit in the sun. It's all good medicine.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Truly. Listen to good music. Put on a good playlist. Everyone knows that is my jam. Go out, ground your feet, feel the sun on your face, feel the freedom in your body.

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### Chapter 11: Fully Woman-Owned and Family-Run: The Story of WishGarden

**Devi Brown:** You know, WishGarden—so I am so very, very pristine and strict I feel like about what I put in my body, like where, you know, what I choose to even physically be around in the world. I think we have to really think in those terms.

And I think one of the things I was so excited when I first discovered your company and then when we were starting to begin our relationship together was—this is a fully woman-owned business.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** It is.

**Devi Brown:** You all are based out of Colorado. It's woman-owned. It's family-run. And it's about what is real, which is—that level of authenticity is extremely important to me. Because now wellness is this massive multi-trillion dollar industry complex in its own right, and we have to be connected, I think, to the best ingredients, especially in the space of homeopathic, of organic—the best ingredients and a high level of integrity of product and mission and intention.

So I was thrilled. I was like, "Woman-owned, family-run, in Colorado." So I was just imagining you all. I'm like, they're probably sitting outside listening to the trees developing formulas.

What first connected you with WishGarden, and if you could please share with us just a little more background about the company, how it came to be, and what is the mission?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Absolutely. So really I think the mission is around empowering people with herbal remedies. And Katherine is our founder. I met her over 20 years ago, and she's a really special person. And WishGarden Herbs is 46 years old. So that gives you a sense of the history and tradition.

And I met Katherine and she was talking with me about her formulas, me being a naturopathic doctor in Boulder, Colorado. And I knew right away what a special person she was and is. And she really started as an activist. She's deep in the midwifery tradition and all about empowering people and especially women, because we have a long history of tinctures both for pregnancy, postpartum, different hormonal phases and stages. And that's really a passion of hers and who she is.

She also is a master formulator. I mean, every time I look at these blends, I just think how elegantly and honestly smartly designed they are. And so, it's really a privilege to be a part.

When you said "real"—the words that were coming to mind is like, WishGarden is the real deal. I'm fortunate to get to work with them. It is Colorado-born, woman-owned, family-run, and I get to work with Katherine's son and daughter on a regular basis.

And so, I just feel blessed, honestly, to be a part of it. And I think it's part of a bigger movement to bring these herbal remedies in these fast-acting liquid herbal tinctures.

And that's the great thing about them—I'm just going to bring one up here. This Daily Immune is the one I happen to have in my hand. But we have this pump top, as you know well, Devi, because you take these. But you can just take it right in a little bit of water, and you just put it directly—you know, the directions are right on the label—in a little bit of water and you take it. It's easy. And easy is important, honestly, to work on our health and wellness. It can't be too complicated or too hard to do, because then people aren't going to have the opportunity to do it.

And so these fast-acting liquid herbal tinctures, these plants that are grown with the highest integrity—it's about the best ingredients. But we're also recently B Corp certified, which is honestly just really making official what WishGarden's been doing all along—working with our people, like the farmers that grow the plants, the wildcrafters, that they're earning a fair and living wage. I mean, it really goes out into the whole world that they're being grown and harvested sustainably in a way that honors the earth.

And so, it's really from the very beginning to what is actually in the bottle. And I can just say that Katherine and her whole family—they have the highest standards.

And I feel really lucky because living in Colorado, I get to work a hybrid model, which I really like. So I'm home working a few days a week, and I'm in the office two days every week. And the tinctures are being made in the same building. We're all in the same building together.

**Devi Brown:** Wow.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** So the plants are all coming in and the tinctures are being made, and the people—like me—are doing work on the computer, and it's all in the same—

**Devi Brown:** I can't wait to take a tour. I'm like, I need to see all of this magic happen.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** I can't wait for you to come and take a tour. And we all actually meet daily in the kitchen, you know, and see each other and talk. And so it's the real deal, and it's a special place to be a part of. And I think that the collection of tinctures that we have to meet real life moments make it special.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. Wow.

Well, I am just so honored and I'm so thrilled to be in partnership with you all. I believe in this so deeply, so much. And you know, I really know and understand my life's work to be about helping people alleviate internal suffering and find the tools that work best for their unique bodies, brains, and hearts and lived experience. So, I'm just really honored to be with you all.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** We're really honored to work with you, Devi. And I think it's just such a powerful partnership because the practices that you're bringing into the world through your voice, through your book, through your work—I feel like it's just a great collaboration. I mean, they come together.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** And I think you and I are both living that. And all we would like to do is invite more people to do that. Just to share.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah. To heal, to share, and to feel like—truly, and not in the kind of cheesy new year way—but to feel like our best selves. Whatever that best can be for each moment. Can we rise to the heights of whatever each unique moment can bring us inwardly and outwardly?

Dr. Erin, I love how your work reminds people that healing is not about fixing. It is about remembering what's already inside of us and then finding the support and the companion in all of our allies in the earth and in nature that bring everything else to bloom inside of us.

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### Chapter 12: Dr. Stokes' Soul Work: One Practice, One Plant for Well-Being Today

**Devi Brown:** Before we wrap up this beautiful episode, what is one practice or plant ally that you think everyone could begin incorporating today to help them feel more grounded, authentic, and deeply well?

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Wow, that is an excellent question. So, it's interesting for me because the nature of the work that I do is not really one-size-fits-all. And so, it's hard for me to say one thing.

But I will say—I'll say first a practice, and then I'm going to say a plant to answer that question.

**Devi Brown:** Perfect. Yes. Give us the soul work.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Yes. Okay. So, for practice, I was tempted to say meditation, but I'm going to say something different. For practice, I would say to really make your sleep a priority.

**Devi Brown:** Yeah.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Now, which means making some kind of shift—just some shift, like going to bed earlier or maybe taking a bath before bed. Just doing something to honor and sort of, what you say, create a soft space. Is that the right word? The right phrase? A soft space around sleep. So something softening around sleep. It could even be like buying new sheets or something that really makes you feel good about sleep.

And then for the plant—I do believe that part of changing our relationship with plants and honestly just strengthening our relationship with plants is finding a plant ally. I like this idea a lot.

And so, to explore the idea—and I mean, WishGarden Herbs is a good resource, wishgardenherbs.com—of finding a plant like holy basil. But I can't say one-size-fits-all. Or motherwort. These are the two that are coming to mind.

Motherwort is this really beautiful herb, especially for women. It is a classic nervine that helps really calm and ground the nervous system. It's really good during times of transition—like, for example, perimenopause, menopause. But it doesn't even have to be that. It could be like a transition to a new home or a new job.

So motherwort—Leonurus cardiaca—lion-hearted herb. It is literally the lion-hearted plant. So that's one that could be a single ally.

Another could be holy basil. Holy basil is a little more just for the uplifting. It's an adaptogen that helps the body adapt to stress.

But I see this unlock happen around plants. We've talked a lot about combination formulas, which are amazing. But when somebody finds a plant—skullcap could be another—frazzled nerves, kind of wired caffeinated energy even if you haven't had caffeine.

But the plants—they're really unique, as you can hear me saying. And as a naturopathic doctor, I will actually pair people with a plant. And then when someone starts taking a single plant like that, it sort of opens up their whole world to more—to even more of some of these other blends that I love.

So, we have those singles. You can check them out and find the right one for you. And if a blend is calling you instead, go for that. But finding a way to connect to the plants.

**Devi Brown:** Amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you for that soul work.

And Dr. Erin Stokes, thank you so much for joining us. Again, Dr. Erin Stokes is the medical director at WishGarden Herbs. So excited for everyone to be on this journey with me, with us. And thank you so much for coming to the show.

**Dr. Erin Stokes:** Thank you for having me, Devi. It was great to sit with you, and I hope we'll be able to do it again sometime.

**Devi Brown:** Yes. Thank you. Yes.

Thank you everyone. Catch you next week. Namaste.