holistic wellness | Natural Alternative Specialist

Now There’s a Certification for It.

You know who you are. Somebody mentions that they haven’t been sleeping well and your brain immediately starts turning. Magnesium? Stress? What are they eating before bed? Are they getting sunlight in the morning? What medications are they taking? When did this start?

You don’t necessarily tell them any of that. But you’re curious.

Someone complains about their stomach and instead of immediately thinking: “What makes stomach pain go away?”

you wonder: “What’s making their stomach hurt?”

Someone tells you what worked for them and you go home and research it. Then you find six other approaches. Then somebody tells you about a seventh. Before you know it, you’ve fallen down another natural-health rabbit hole and it’s two o’clock in the morning.

Welcome.

You may already be a Natural Alternative Specialist.

You Don’t Need to Know Everything

Let’s get this out of the way immediately. You will never know everything about natural alternatives. Neither will we.

That’s actually one of the ideas behind the new Natural Alternative Specialist Certification.

There isn’t one book containing all the answers. There isn’t one perfect protocol. There isn’t one herb. One supplement. One diet. One practitioner. Or one philosophy that owns wellness.

Spend enough time in this field and you’ll discover:

There are 200 ways to do a thing.

Maybe not literally 200. Sometimes there might be 2,000. The point is that our job isn’t to memorize every answer. Our job is to become better at finding possibilities.

From Kitchen Cabinets to Controversial Alternatives

We’re going to cover a lot of territory. Some weeks we’ll investigate things so ordinary that they’re probably sitting in your kitchen right now. Other weeks we’ll venture into areas of natural and alternative health that generate considerably more debate. Good.

We don’t need to be afraid of controversial information. We need to learn how to examine it.

Over ten weeks, we’ll explore areas involving microbes and contamination, magnesium, DMSO, Silver Water, castor oil, parasites and deworming, supermarket remedies, nutrition, lifestyle, and much more.

But here’s an important distinction:

This isn’t going to be ten weeks of product pitches.

Each featured natural alternative is a doorway into a much larger conversation.

If we’re talking about magnesium, we’re really talking about things like muscles, nerves, relaxation, sleep, nutrition, and the body’s need for minerals.

If we’re talking about castor oil, we’re opening conversations about digestion, elimination, topical traditions, and natural body rhythms.

If we’re talking about Silver Water, we’re entering a much larger world involving silver, microbes, historical use, contemporary research, field experience, and differing preparations. The product is the starting point.

The human body is the subject.

We’re Going to Ask Better Questions

This may be the biggest difference between collecting natural remedies and becoming a Natural Alternative Specialist.

Someone tells you: “My hip hurts.”

You don’t immediately reach into your bag and announce:

“I HAVE THE THING!”

Slow down.

When did it start?
Was there an injury?
What makes it better?
What makes it worse?
What else changed around the same time?
What’s happening with movement?
Nutrition?
Sleep?
Inflammation?
Medications?
Previous diagnoses
What has already been investigated?
Is there something here that needs professional medical attention?

The goal isn’t to demonstrate how much you know.

The goal is to become curious enough to discover what you don’t know.

Your Experience Counts—But It Isn’t Everybody’s Answer

Natural-health communities are filled with extraordinary stories.

Somebody was terribly sick. They discovered something. Their life changed. Naturally, they became enthusiastic. Personal experience matters. But we’re also going to practice humility.

If something changed your life, tell your story. Just remember:

Your testimony is an invitation, not an obligation.

Someone else may choose another path. Let them. Someone may trust their physician more than they trust natural alternatives. Love them anyway.

Someone may ask one question about what you’re doing. Answer one question. Don’t chase them down the driveway with seventeen supplements and a three-ring binder.

We’re here to help people. Not convert them.

Natural Wellness Requires Participation

We’ll also talk about something natural-health advertising doesn’t always emphasize: This can take work.

Changing the conditions surrounding health may involve persistence.

Different food.
Different habits.
Different schedules.
Movement.
Rest.
Supplements taken consistently.
Tracking results.
Research.
Testing when useful.
Changing course when something isn’t working.
Sometimes even changing significant parts of your life.

Because if you improve your health and then rebuild precisely the same conditions that surrounded the old problem, you shouldn’t automatically be surprised if old patterns return.

Natural wellness isn’t always about finding something magical to swallow. Sometimes it’s about becoming somebody who lives differently.

And Sometimes the Grocery Store Is Enough

Not everything we’ll study is exotic. In fact, one of the classes I’m particularly looking forward to is what we’re calling:

Supermarket Medicine

Walk through an ordinary grocery store with enough historical and natural-health knowledge and it starts looking very different.

Foods.
Spices.
Herbs.
Salts.
Oils.
Teas.
Minerals.
Honey.
Ginger.
Garlic.
Baking soda.

And dozens of other ordinary things people have used for generations.

You don’t necessarily need an obscure website and a $129 bottle to begin learning about natural wellness. Sometimes you need a grocery cart.

We’re Building This Together

The Natural Alternative Specialist Certification is being developed now as a 10-week program. And the goal isn’t simply to add another certificate to someone’s wall.

We want to develop people who are:

Curious enough to investigate.
Humble enough to keep learning.
Wise enough to recognize their boundaries.
Careful enough to consider risks.
Confident enough to share what they know.
Compassionate enough not to force it on anybody.

That’s the kind of Natural Alternative Specialist we’d like to send into the world.

Maybe you’ve been one for years. You just didn’t have a name for it. Now you do.

Natural Alternative Specialist

And soon, you’ll have an opportunity to become certified.

Stay close.

We’re just getting started.

Growing up, I watched my mother, a revered Curandera in our local community, work tirelessly to help people who came to her with all kinds of ailments—body, mind, and spirit. She never turned people away. Her healing hands and heart were in constant demand, and although she loved helping others, she still had a household to run, children to raise, and her own life to tend to.

When the demands got overwhelming, she had a beautiful way of creating space—without turning anyone away, and without compromising her healing work.

That’s when she would offer what she called “The 7-7-7 Formula.”

What Is the 7-7-7 Formula?

It was simple. She’d say: “Drink seven ounces of fresh carrot juice, seven times a day, for seven days. Come back after that, and if you still need me, I’ll see you right away.”

That was it. No complicated mixtures. No high-cost remedies. Just pure, vibrant, life-giving carrot juice.

And you’d be amazed. About five out of ten of the people who came to her—some with serious complaints—got better just by doing that one thing.

I always believed it would’ve been more like nine out of ten, if they had actually done it. But like many natural remedies, the effectiveness came down to the person’s willingness to follow through. My mother’s instructions weren’t hard—but they required consistency. And consistency, I’ve found, is something folks often struggle with, especially when the solution seems “too easy.”

A Sacred Pause Before the Deeper Work

The 7-7-7 Formula wasn’t just a carrot juice cleanse. It was a filter, a kind of sacred pause. It gave people a chance to slow down, reset, and get in tune with their own bodies. It also gave my mother time—to rest, to nourish our family, and to focus her energy where it was most needed.

And for those who truly needed her help after the 7 days, she would give them her full attention, knowing they were serious, and that their bodies had already been primed for healing.

Why Carrot Juice?

Carrot juice is rich in vitamin A, antioxidants, and natural detoxifiers. It nourishes the blood, supports the liver, cleanses the skin, and strengthens the immune system. But more than that, it’s alive. The life force in freshly juiced carrots is like sunlight in a glass. It brings clarity, energy, and a kind of cellular joy that I still turn to when I need a reset.

A Lesson in Trusting the Simple Things

Looking back, I now see how wise my mother was. She knew that the body often just needs a break from the noise and clutter we feed it. She knew that nature already gave us what we needed. And she knew that healing could be triggered by something as simple as seven days of intentional nourishment.

So now, when someone asks me what they can do first, before diving into more advanced alternatives or complex protocols—I remember my mother’s words. I smile and say,

“Try the 7-7-7 Formula. If it worked for half of the people my mother helped, it might just work for you, too.”

And if it doesn’t? You’re still more prepared, more open, and more aligned to receive the next layer of help—just like Mama taught us.

🌿 In loving honor of my Curandera mother, who gave so much, with so little, to so many.
– Juanita Holaday, NAS