Welcome and Origin Story

“Change is sustained when paced, mindful and natural.” - Sara Gottfried MD

Hello dear friends and welcome to my very first newsletter!

For those of you who may not recognize me as Forest & Fern, you may know me as The Coaching Lady, SharmAlchemy or Sharmil Elliott Reclusado. 

I am the creator, coach, and founder of Forest & Fern : Potions With Purpose. Quite a mouthful, I know!

It brings me so much joy to connect here with all of you wonderful beings and you can expect updates, tips, recommendations and resources for all things wellness from recipes to books and beyond.

You are receiving this email because I wanted to reach out because we are friends, you have purchased my products, have been a coaching client or, I just thought you may like the content.  But if you don't find the content enjoyable or informative, then please unsubscribe with no hard feelings. I want this to be a pleasurable and interactive connection for those interested in the same. 

With that out of the way, I have a story to tell followed by a big announcement!

As this is my first newsletter, I want to start by filling you in on the rollercoaster journey that led me to create Forest & Fern in the first place. It’s a long one so settle in with your favorite mug of tea. ;-)

It all started about 9 years ago around the age of 34, after reaching an edge of burnout from a long period of pushing hard in many aspects of my life. You see, I now realize that I was a workaholic who only knew one way of being in the world and I was exhausted.  

Exhaustion, however, was just the beginning of the issues. Over the next couple years, symptoms ramped up stronger and stronger. I was having panic attacks, nausea & night sweats (waking up in a puddle), and soon led to monstrous head and body aches, incredibly painful periods that had me in tears (doubled over and not able to walk to the bathroom), vomiting, hair loss and mood swings, topped off with heart palpitations and perioral dermatitis. Even when I wasn’t bleeding, I could hardly muster the energy for a walk around the block. It took everything to be able to function on a daily basis; I felt like I was losing my body and my mind. I couldn’t “find myself” or the energy to push any further at all...which was the only way I knew how to keep going in the past.  

I did the only thing that I could think to do. I went to my doctor for a slew of tests only to have her come back with confusion and distress saying that my blood work looked like that of a woman in her 50’s. I was still only in my mid 30’s at this point! She couldn’t explain what she was seeing and referred me to an endocrinologist. I was devastated and felt completely powerless.

Finally, I was diagnosed with premature perimenopause (stress induced) and learned that I had certain genetic variants that were compounding the issues. I felt like the rug had been ripped out from under me and, at the same time, I was given a lifeline to grab hold of, if only I could. 

It shocked me to my core, but as I began investigating my options, I realized that I desperately needed to make some big changes in my lifestyle, food, environment, stress levels AND the products I put on my body. It was a non-negotiable reality that every aspect of my life was impacting my hormones, emotional balance, wellbeing and total health so I began to move the needle little by little. 

However, the premature aging caused by my physical and mental burnout had become visible by this point. Without knowing what the heck I was doing, I started making DIY skincare for myself. It was overwhelmingly difficult at the time to find products that I could trust in and understand the impact the ingredients would have on my system, so I went rogue. The more I made, the more I wanted to learn about how to create better, nicer and more effective products. With the encouragement of some close friends and family, I followed my deep need to know more and pursued an education in Natural Skincare and Haircare Formulation… I found that I loved it! This was the genesis of the products many of you have used and (I hope) loved.  

Yet, while the journey of my internal health was underway, it still seemed that my skin health journey was somehow separate, despite a deep, intuitive feeling that there was a strong internal correlation to the perioral dermatitis, age spots and premature wrinkles that had crept up on my face. They were the canary in the coal mine, so to speak.  Unfortunately, even my beloved Naturopath who I had been working with didn't provide any guidance on what was going on externally. I continued feeling that there was something missing, and I began to seek an understanding of the connection between skin health, internal health, and mental health.

And the fates heard my plea! I found a new modality called Nutritional Aesthetics, and it was clear right away that this was my missing piece. Nutritional Aesthetics is Health Coaching which looks at the whole body through the lens of the skin and how our vitality reflects our internal wellbeing.

Questions were answered like:

How does hormonal imbalance cause liver struggles that lead to hyperpigmentation? How does consistent road rage lead to fine lines and wrinkles? How does blue light exposure at night cause hormonal imbalances that show up as inflammation on the skin? How do gut and digestive issues contribute to dermatitis? How does adrenal fatigue and cortisol imbalance impact midsection weight gain? And on, and on, and on…so many connections that I suspected now had tangible connecting lines!

Through this integrative framework, I have found the clarity I was seeking. I continue doing deep work mentally, physically and emotionally to improve all aspects of my life, and I only keep feeling better, happier, and healthier.

Do you ever feel like the spark of life has just been sucked right out of you? Do you feel like there is another way out there and you just haven't found it?

Drum roll please! After the hard work of this last year I am excited to announce that I am offering this same knowledge in service to others on their journey.

If you would like to explore how Nutritional Aesthetics could benefit you from the inside out, you can set up your free consultation via this link (https://forest-fern.com/pages/consultations). 

I am so excited to talk about all things well-being and the wondersI have learned on my journey, so I very much look forward to speaking with you!

Do you know anyone else who might get value from this newsletter or who would be interested in a consultation? Please forward this to anyone who might be interested!  They can sign up for a consultation and future newsletters here.

https://forest-fern.com/pages/consultations

And, as promised, a recommendation:

The Hormone Cure, by Sara Gottfried, MD

https://www.amazon.com/Hormone-Cure-Energized-Naturally-Gottfried/dp/1451666950

“Change is sustained when paced, mindful and natural.”

I’ve recently picked this up on audiobook from our local library, and while I’m just getting started, I’ve already gleaned a delightful vision of what good health in mature years can look like: her great-grandmother, warm lemon water in hand, yoga body at 90, dancing at her great granddaughters wedding!

Dr Gottfried’s idea that we find health & harmony when we are closest to our natural way of being truly resonates with me and speaks directly to what the heart of Nutritional Aesthetics is all about.  

If you find this as purely delightful as I did, you can pick it up on amazon at the link above or wherever you get your books.  I don’t have any affiliation, just a great book (so far) that I hope you will enjoy. 

Nutritional Aesthetics is accredited through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and has an advisory board of some of the top Integrative and Eastern Medicine Drs as well as Naturopaths, Dermatologists, Dietitians, Nutritionists & Estheticians leading their fields!