Meet Mena

If you have ever sat in a doctor’s office feeling unheard, holding a binder of your own research because no one else would connect the dots, I already know you. I have been you.

My path here started in my kitchen over twenty years ago, doing dietary & lifestyle detective work for my oldest daughter’s severe corn, dairy, egg, peanut, rice, soy, & cod allergies plus celiac. We were told her crying was just colic. We were told her diet could not be sustained by nursing her. Then the allergist who diagnosed her corn allergy prescribed a formula with corn syrup solids as its first ingredient. Nobody was wrong on purpose. They just were not reading the label as closely as I would learn to.

Since then, I have navigated skin cancer, an autoimmune eye disease, spondyloarthropathy & my own iron deficiency, alongside my daughter’s Crohn’s diagnosis & her iron deficiency anemia. I know what it is like to hold more than one diagnosis at a time & still need a plan that makes sense across all of them. That is the root-first approach I built my practice on: real food, real rest, real support, before reaching for a supplement bottle or an herbal remedy. It worked so well for my own family that I turned it into a career, moving from educator to clinician so I could hand other Mamas the map I wish someone had handed me.

Today

I hold a Ph.D. & I am a Clinical Herbalist, Functional Nutritionist, Wellness Coach & Certified Laughter Yoga Leader. I have spent 15+ years teaching health & wellness at the collegiate level, working 1:1 with clients navigating complex, chronic & hard-to-diagnose cases, & writing books on food, healing & holistic living.

Outside the clinic, I am a homeschooling Mama of four, married to a supportive, funny husband who embraces this lifestyle along with me & our girls & our two cats who keep us company as they entertain us. Together, we share a passion for nature-based, toxin-free living.

Why “The S.P.A. Life”

My mother used to say, “With one’s health, one has everything.” That stuck with me. I built my practice around it: Saúde (health) creates room for Paz (peace) & Amor (love). I call it The S.P.A. Life & every plan I build starts with roots, not quick fixes.

Let’s Get to the Root of It

If you are exhausted, dismissed, or just done guessing, you are in the right place.

Ready to start? Book a complimentary Roots Roadmap Session & let’s talk about what is going on.

 In wellness, Mena

Saúde, Paz, Amor! (Health, Peace, Love!)