Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rekara Gage. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Rekara, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Risks are important–They are turning points. I’ve learned a lot about myself via the risks that I’ve taken and the experiences that resulted from them.
Coming to Los Angeles from Maryland, where I’m from, was a big risk. I’ve been here for 6 years. I was living with my family after college trying to figure out what my next steps were. As much as I love my family, I’ve always had a wanderlust that kept me on the move and at this point, I was itching to leave the nest. I had my high hopes set on leaving the country and I was trying to find a job that would give me that opportunity. But that was a long game and after some timely setbacks, like settling into a rut for a few months, I knew that something needed to change. So I re-committed to moving but on a smaller scale. After talking to one of my best friends, she threw out the idea that we knew someone from school who lived in LA and might be looking for a roommate. Since I was eager to go, it didn’t take me long to consider it and then actually follow through.
The rest happened quickly. My new roommate was planning to move within a month or so after the end of their previous lease. I put in my 2 weeks notice at work and started making arrangements, watching apartment walk through videos, and making my rounds to see loved ones before I left. I had maybe two suitcases and definitely not enough money saved. It was scary and kinda sad but really exciting. It was also the path that worked out smoothly, which made it feel somewhat meant to be, especially after so much time spent looking for a next step. It felt like momentum, which was progress. Totally worth the risk.
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?
I make potions for a living!
Part of me moving to a new place gave me the opportunity to breathe new life into the parts of myself that I needed to reconnect with. My professional experience has always followed my interests. When it comes to wellness, I started my journey with food–working as an assistant in kitchens and culinary schools, learning about whole foods, recipe building and eating patterns. Then I tapped into my curiosity for mental health and love of writing to support nonprofits and facilitate workshops on self-expression and communication. From there, I learned and taught yoga and breathwork to help calm down the nervous system and ease emotional and physical trauma in the body. But I was still looking for a way to unify these skills that I was gathering and help people heal and better engage with the world around them. Upon moving to LA, I jumped at the opportunity to get into the cannabis industry, based on my experience with it both recreationally and medicinally. I enjoyed learning about it: the science of how it interacts with your body, the growing process, the politics, etc. It made me curious about what other plants and practices we could turn to for support. I immediately looked up how to learn more about plants and other forms of alternative and ancestral wellness, finding a lot on botany and herbalism and witchcraft. Once I looked up herbalism programs and classes around me, Green Wisdom Herbal Studies & Apothecary was one of the first ones that popped up. I ended up studying with Julie James, the owner and head teacher, a year later and working as an herbalist a couple years after that.
I’m an herbalist at Green Wisdom and have branched out to start my own businesses. Ewe Remedy & Ritual is my herbal brand and practice. I make my own products including tea blends, extracts, face masks, smoke blends, whipped body butter, etc. I also teach classes and offer herbal consultations for people who want to work with someone one-on-one about how herbs can support their personal health. Unbalanced Hybrid is a cannabis lifestyle brand that I’ve been building that aims to bring a wholesome, educated and creative approach to engaging with and creating community around cannabis consumption.
My main focus with this work is helping people set functional and intentional wellness routines for themselves. I want plant medicine to be respected and accessible. I love diving into the story behind plants and teaching about medicine making, in hopes that it will inspire people to learn more about what agency they can take with their own health. It’s fun and creative and therapeutic work. Just remember to do your research, ask questions, and seek reliable sources. I can help with that.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Yes, ofcourse. Recently, I’ve been building new practices around where I put my energy and time. I’m a high achiever and I’ve always wanted to make sure that I could hold my own. I often had multiple jobs, took on extra shifts and somehow found ways to balance that with my family and social life. I was eager to do it all. Fast forward to now, I’m leaning into the idea of “doing less” in a way that leaves room for creativity and wandering. Younger me was all about saying yes, because she could do it and was glad to be busy and moving and checking things off the list. But right now, having a better understanding of what can get sacrificed at that pace and knowing what a burnt out nervous system does to the body, I choose to split my time less. I’m focusing on putting my energy into meaningful things, things that I love and that make me happy. There’s a time and a place for hustle mentality/culture but it’s important to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing and try to get back to that initial sense of curiosity and excitement.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Presence and boundaries. My job is very forward-facing; I meet a lot of people on a regular basis. In order to help, I need to listen and speak intentionally. Herbalists are a resource of wellness & plant knowledge and that comes with making yourself available to help and share from experience. There’s a level of openness that comes with sharing your latest herb discoveries or talking about the latest batch of a face oil that you’re formulating. It’s allowed me to make more genuine connections and it takes you beyond just spouting herb facts but creating space for better healing and learning and growth. I learn things all the time from people and get inspired to try new things and look at the herbs with new eyes. You have to be open to new information and a lot of the information comes from learning hands-on and in community.
On the other side of that, it’s important to take care of yourself and reserve your energy. I find that with herbs, people get excited and they want to share their concerns and learn all the things about their new plant allies–and that’s great! But there are going to be times when you don’t have the answers or the bandwidth to address a more complicated case in the moment. Knowing when to say, “I don’t know much about that” or “my plate is full, let me refer you to another herbalist or this book/video to learn more” is important in finding balance and not overextending yourself. I can’t be present and open and connected if I’m not keeping myself together and showing myself that same level of attention.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.re-ngage.com
- Instagram: @rekaraneal
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eweherbals
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rekarag/