We were lucky to catch up with Reginé Bumper recently and have shared our conversation below.
Reginé, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)
Every encounter with a client is unique and over the years I’ve grown and learned something from each of them. If I had to pick only one piece of advice I’ve given a client, it would be that ‘you have to do your part; the plants/herbs are always going to show up and do their portion,’
I consider this one of the best pieces of advice I’ve given because it reminds clients that they play a vital role in their wellness. The power to heal and be well does not fall outside of themselves. I believe as a society, we often succumb to believing and giving our power away to beings or things outside of ourselves, shortchanging our natural and innate capabilities.
By reminding clients to do their part to achieve their wellness, means they must do the work to eat clean, be diligent in consistently communing with their herbs, clean up their environment(s) to reflect the people, places, and things that align with their wellness goal(s), and much more. Optimal wellness and healing require work. ‘Work’ is a point of emphasis because wellness goes far beyond the moment, short-term, or even aesthetic. It is a lifetime, marathon commitment.
Ultimately, clients come to realize that ‘doing their part’ is simply showing up for themselves.
The end result is the client becomes empowered. They become confident in their knowledge to make choices that will best benefit the version of themselves today and later down the line They realize and accept their role in their wellness and become more proactive instead of reactive pertaining to the necessary steps to upkeep their wellness. They reclaim their power.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For the beautiful people I haven’t had the pleasure of crossing paths with, name is Reginé Bumper, MPH, herbalist, educator, author, sound healer, and cancer survivor.
About five years ago, the best and worst thing happened to me: I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Experiencing cancer was by far one of the worst and hardest time of my life. For obvious reasons I won’t go into the depths of that, but the balance to that experience was it signified a major turning point in my life. It led me to discovering a life purpose of mine: herbalism.
I am the proud founder and owner of EyeRmbr (pronounced Eye Remember), which is a wellness company enriching the mind, body, and spirit through high quality herbal teas, tinctures, plant medicine education and sound healing. Every product offered by EyeRmbr is hand-crafted and made with intention and love. Our products are primarily tailored towards women’s health and mental health, such as the Good Sis herbal tea blend for nourishing the uterus and the Peace of Mind herbal tea blend for calming the mind and nervous system. There are other top-selling products that fall outside of the women and mental health sector, such as the Soursop tincture and full body detox kits.
With every person’s path I cross, the reason or purpose for our crossing is different. But something I’ve noticed that tends to be consistent amongst people I meet and work with is everyone has some level of desire to learn about plant medicine deeper so that they can strengthen their practice of herbalism. Noticing this, I began to shift EyeRmbr from being solely a product-based business, to integrating more educational offerings through workshops, virtual and in-person, and even social media content. There is a huge and growing issue in the West within the healthcare system of treating the symptom(s) and not addressing the root problem(s). Through my workshops, I am able to provide a solution to this ever-growing issue within Western health and care. I teach and speak to the healer that resides in each of us. I believe this is a major aspect that sets EyeRmbr apart from other wellness companies and brands. Because sure, I can provide a customer with an infinite number of herbal teas, tinctures, and detox kits, but at the of the day, the customer lacks the full potential of knowledge and empowerment by solely just communing with the herbs. However, when I’m teaching and speaking on how emotions are connected to the manifestation of conditions/dis-eases in the body or the connection between plant energetics and the constitutions of bodily conditions/dis-eases for example, it is not only just the customer that is being empowered. It now becomes a family, a community, a generation that becomes empowered because that knowledge and information is going to be passed down.
Additionally, EyeRmbr takes a holistic approach to health and wellness by looking at the whole and not solely just parts: mind, body, and spirit. I offer one-on-one herbal consultations where I provide a personalized evaluation of tissue and energy states, herb recommendations, and additional holistic practices. This is another aspect I believe sets EyeRmbr apart and an area I’d like to expand most because it is a small yet mighty effort that changing and shifting the perspective and definition of health, wellness, and healing. This change is not one that can be sustained solely by myself/EyeRmbr. It requires community, which is another pillar EyeRmbr is constantly growing and looking to expand.
So, I say all that just to say, if our paths crossed through this interview (or in another way), it was for a purpose. Let’s connect, get into and remain in community with one another, and let’s work together.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Truthfully, the lesson of releasing perfectionism is one I’ve unlearned and am constantly continuing to unlearn. Growing up, it was instilled in me that everything I do much be done to my highest and best ability. I strongly believe the military background of my parents and being raised in a military household played a huge role in this. I’m never going to deliver, nor have my name attached to anything subpar or ‘mess.’ From making my bed to turning in assignments from elementary school through college, I have always made sure that my best is given and that it is shown. Having such a high standard for myself (and others and things), has set me up to maintain such a high standard for my business.
And while perfectionism has been useful to creating and developing high quality products, services, and events, it has been my downfall. There has been plenty of times where I’ve created a blend or outline for a workshop but did not ever release it because it was not ‘perfect.’ Now, this may seem like a small lesson, but it has some depth to it:
– In herbalism, nature is perfect just as it is. No enhancements, no nothing. If I’m working with the plants – a perfect byproduct from the earth – then why do I feel it is not enough? Herbalism is not about what “it” looks like, but rather how “it” feels, and the intention(s) set forth behind it.
– Perfection is a shield from criticism and judgement. Letting go of perfectionism signifies my release of fear, which opens the window of freedom to shine my light to its fullest potential.
– Perfectionism can lead to inactivity or no progression. The comfort of remaining in a familiar space can outweigh the desire to explore a new and unfamiliar space. Once again, there is a connection to fear here.
A supervisor once told me, “Don’t let good be the enemy of great.” I think about and replay this proverb often in my mind. At times I’ve been so hyper fixated on achieving perfectionism, that I end up not producing or making progress at all.
I haven’t completely mastered letting go of perfectionism. I battle that fear of judgement every day. In fact, I’m actively trying to find balance between perfectionism and excellence. This way, I can leave room for continuous improvement, growth, and grace on myself.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Let me first say, I’m constantly and continuously working to build my reputation. Up until this point, I believe my transparency about my own health journey, down-to-earthness (definitely not a word, but it will be for now), and commitment to continuously learning and sharing educational sources has been key to the growth of my reputation within the market.
It’s important to me that EyeRmbr is not solely known as a business, one that exchanges products and services for currency. I want EyeRmbr to have a personal feel and unique connection to each person I cross paths with. This is one reason why I chose to share my story and journey with cancer. Also, with the intention to [hopefully] help someone learn my journey so that they do not have to experience what I did. At the end of day, strip every title away from my name and I am a human being. Just like everyone else. I believe the purpose for my health journey was bigger than myself. It was and still is for communal learning and healing. The raw and real emotions I share is an opportunity for people to get to know me as a person and hopefully see some part of themselves in my reflection.
On top of my transparency and being relatable, I am constantly reading, updating my knowledge on subject matters within holistic wellness and herbalism and then sharing that information back with my community has supported my reputation. I am a nerd at heard and in spirit. Reading scientific journals, books, articles, and listening to oral history excites me. I love learning. Then sharing my knowledge, via TikTok, Youtube, or newsletter, just increases my excitement exponentially. The different perspectives and richness of information within the educational resources and sources I share strengthen my creditability as well. The outcome of this is the development of a reliable and trusted reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eyermbr.com
- Instagram: @eyermbr
- Youtube: @eyermbr
- Other: TikTok: @geeeniegene
Image Credits
ECO Photography by Sajillah Gadson