You're listening to Only the Best Herbs.
I'm back and welcome back to Only the Best Herbs, the podcast where we dive deep into
the world of natural healing, wellness, and the power of plants.
I'm your host and let me tell you it feels incredible to be back here with you all for
the start of season 3.
If you don't know who I am by now, my name is Ryan Boulda.
Feels like I'm returning home after a long journey finding everything just as warm and
welcoming as I remembered.
This season, we're reigniting our passion for herbal wisdom, sharing stories that comfort
the soul, exploring remedies that nurture the body.
It's a journey we are thrilled to embark on once again with you, our cherished listeners,
right by our side.
What a way to kick off the season.
Today, we have a very extraordinary opportunity.
We're going to talk with Lori Smallwood.
She's an inspiration for those in the realms of business and wellness.
Lori coaches business owners, has developed a line of her own health and wellness products
that encompass natural healing and empowerment.
So grab your favorite herbal tea, settle in and let's embark on this season's journey
together, exploring the profound connections between nature, wellness and our daily lives.
Welcome to season 3 of Only the Best Herbs.
So tell me about you, tell me about your business.
I've been wanting to get you on here for a minute so I'm excited to hear what you do
and how you help people.
I know you do like massages.
Well, no, it's funny.
So I'm glad you asked.
I am.
Wow.
I'm a former owner of a day spa, a full service day spa.
So I opened this spa, like right before the COVID epidemic, the pandemic, whatever it
was, COVID mess.
And I recently closed.
I don't do massage, but I had a team that did, you know, we did massage facials, hair,
everything, self care.
I spent over 20, almost 25 years in corporate America as a director in GlobalTelcom.
And spending 25 years in corporate America, I will tell you, if you ask me how old I am,
I am 29.
You ask me 10 years from now, I am 29.
With that, you know, after being a stressed out corporate professional, one of the things
I was afforded the opportunity was travel, global travel.
So I've been Europe, I've been to Brussels, I've been to Asia, Hong Kong, Philippines.
And one of the things that I did, whenever I went on travel back then, we didn't have
all the, you know, Google and whatnot really giving you my real age.
I would just find the hotel concierge and ask for a spa.
So on my downtime, I would have spa time.
And so my best favorite one was the hotel Shangri-La in the Philippines.
So that's something that I enjoyed doing as a stressed out corporate professional.
And I'm going to be very honest with you, in my career in tenure, sometimes I was the
only me on these business trips, meaning I was the only black female on these business
trips.
So I didn't do all the bar and beers and all that type of stuff with the rest of the team.
I would just kind of go on my own and go have a spa day.
That's what the black chick did.
You know, it's not even, it's all that stuff, like you said, is like completely unnecessary.
Like, you don't need to go do that to have fun, you know, you don't need to go drink
that have fun.
Right.
So, so then fast forward, I created the spa, the pandemic happened.
I'm a very, you know, in tune and to everything going on around me.
So now, so when I had this, I have a skincare line, I have my own skincare line.
My signature product is region 29 again, and that's how I keep my skin looking 29.
And you struck my interest because I do have a CBD vitamins and supplements.
And I've also always been into a more holistic approach.
So remember 25 years doing tell calm.
I'd say probably 10 or 15 years ago, what is it called?
Carpal tunnel.
They wanted me to have the carpal tunnel surgery.
I'm not a surgery girl.
So what do you take for tightened wrists and muscle damage?
What do you take for carpal tunnel damage?
Well, probably like topicals most likely would probably be the best option.
And then it depends if you're like, if you're using isolate or if you're using full spectrum,
kind of depending on what you're trying to do.
People like to use the oils a lot like sublingually, like a really fast way.
The holistic approach, glucosamine supplements.
What was that?
Glucosamine is a supplement that helps with joint and pain.
It's a, it's ingestible.
So it's, you can find it in your vitamins and supplements.
So anything that has glucosamine in it is going to help with arthritis.
It's going to help with joints.
It's going to help with your muscle damage.
Turmeric and vitamin D. I also learned back then that I have vitamin D deficiency.
So that causes issue with your bones and muscles as well.
So now fast forward about the CBD.
I also have in my line CBD, the non-THC.
I don't, I personally don't subscribe to the THC, which we know has more of the, the
get high, the drug effect.
I don't personally subscribe to that, but for like a person who like me, sometimes anxiety
or, you know, I'm like, Ooh, I got this going on.
This going on.
I will take the CBD gummies to kind of USA, bring it down a bit.
And it goes with, it really does go with like, um, massages and facials, like the whole
relaxing vibe to it and feeling like, yeah, it's, it's hard to get some people to make
that switch from a weed to medicine type of thing.
Right.
So I personally don't subscribe to weed because I feel as though they haven't done enough
mind altering studies.
And I don't know if, you know, I don't know about you, where you live, but in my area,
I'm outside of Washington, DC.
And the, the crime and the car accident.
So the car accidents to me are off the charts.
And when I'm on the road, I see people just whizzing and they're just doing dangerous
things.
And I pull up to the light and what do I smell coming out of the car windows?
I smell that I call it the skunk weed.
I don't know how it smells out there.
But I don't think enough studies have been done to compare.
And you may be too young to know about mad mothers against drunk drivers.
For sure.
Okay.
So people being killed in automobile accidents due to the negligence of a drunk driver.
I don't know if enough studies have been done to say that automobile accidents and fatal
automobile accidents are due to the mind altering substance of legalized marijuana driving under
the influence.
So that's why I haven't really subscribed to the whole notion of, Oh, it's legal.
So I can pull up next to you in my car.
And that's all I smell.
Yeah, there's gotta be a lot more restrictions on it and education and people who are, everything's
just crazy because everything can be abused.
There's benefits in every single thing.
But when things are taken to the tenth power and you're not being safe and you're driving
around like not cool.
It's not.
It's really not.
It's not.
And I think that's where weed has gone.
So when I saw, you know, what you're doing and what I'm doing, I'm also, I'm also a
mindset.
I'm a, I'm a rights coach.
I'm a professional coach and I teach people, I teach busy professionals how to de stress
and to live a stress and abundantly stress free life.
You don't want to just be stress free.
You want to be abundantly stress free.
Right.
Those are my coaching programs.
So again, back to the mind altering, the mind is so powerful.
Why do you want to alter it with, you know, marijuana?
Although depression is real anxiety or is real these things, these components are, are
these mind issues like depression, anxiety and whatnot.
Yeah, they are real and that's why they've created, you know, psychotropic drugs and
they even say on some of the drugs, if you're taking antidepressants and, and what is it?
I'm just trying to think offhand like prozac and things like that.
Heart medication.
I'm sorry.
Like heart medication blood pressure.
Right.
The warning labels say don't drive.
So why don't we have those same warning labels on marijuana?
So if you are suffering with anxiety and things of that nature, try the non-THC, the CBD that
doesn't have the THC, try it and see how it works out for you.
I mean, I completely agree.
I completely agree because that's, that's kind of a word of like what this podcast specifically
is, that is what we are trying to instill, you know, being responsible, being educated
and there's so many things that are going on and so many things that can help you too
and a lot of us know about because what, what was that again?
The, the glucosamine, what would you call it?
Glucosamine, which, you know, again, it's, it's, it's dear to me whether you're talking
cultural, ethnic or even, you know, religion.
There just should, I just feel like there should be no bias because it's just such a
big world out there.
Right.
So, and, and we were just all made to think different, move different and be different.
So you have to be able to just expand your differences.
I kind of, I agree.
So another question I have.
So like, you had, you had told me a little bit about how you kind of got to this point.
What is your business kind of explained to me a normal day for you?
Wow.
A normal day for me.
It's so funny because now post spa, so I now, I do have a small studio that I meet clients
in.
So a normal day for me, I start my day with prayer and gratitude.
Like I will not get out of my bed and sometimes I'm like, Oh, I got to go, you know, when
you get up in the morning, you got to go.
But I make sure that my day starts with prayer and scripture.
So I don't know what all your viewers, religious beliefs are, whether they're, you know, Christian,
Muslim, Buddhist, whatever.
Start the day with honoring the Lord, God for waking you up.
So that's the first thing I do.
I start my day with honoring God.
Thank you for waking me up.
Another 29th year.
My birthday was just two weeks ago.
So I turned 29 again.
Happy, happy late birthday.
So what would you be?
Are you, you're not an Aquarius.
What would you be then?
Um, I was a Cavers morning because you are Aquarius, right?
Yeah.
No.
I was with the Capricorn team, team Capricorn.
So, so, I mean, that's pretty much the first thing that I do.
And then the, as much as I personally don't like it, and again, it could be because of
my real big old age, uh, social media.
Sometimes I really, I look up, it's like, I've been a whole hour on social media.
It's crazy.
It sucks me in.
So, but I find great people like you, um, surfing social media, and I promote my business,
um, on social media.
And then I do just a lot of my, um, working with my clients and or building some of my
programs and workshops I have.
Um, I'm doing a workshop next Tuesday and Wednesday called, um, setting boundaries like
a boss.
So, it's, it's virtual so anybody can join.
Um, and if you want, if it's okay, I could put it in the chat box.
Yeah.
What I'm going to be doing is teaching you to how to set boundaries and, you know, forgive
my language, but bitchless boundaries.
Like, you don't have to set boundaries and be this mean, evil person, right?
You can set boundaries like a boss and still be a likeable person.
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It'll be a sign.
It's not, it's not easy day to day because people try to test you.
Yes, they do.
People do try to test you.
So boundaries are reciprocal and boundaries are an inside job.
So I teach you all about boundaries because what I find a lot of people, um, they say,
you know, like my adult children, they push the boundaries, my job, um, my in business,
my clients, my customers.
So again, you want to have healthy boundaries.
So I will be walking through how we got programmed to be people, please.
And how we unprogram ourselves from that or how we respect each other's boundaries.
And or again, you want to set boundaries where you're not alienating yourself and being, oh,
she's got her boundaries and her walls up.
So she's a mean, evil person.
No, I'm not a mean, evil person.
I'm a really nice person.
I just need you to respect my bound.
Yeah, we all got different stuff going on.
You don't know what someone else is going through for, you know, or where they're at
mentally.
That's big, big, big with me because I think sometimes people are where I'm at mentally
and it comes and bites me.
You know, I just have to remember we're all some, some were different in life.
So it's, it can be hard.
Exactly.
And that's the biggest thing, Ryan, to remember that each and every one of us is somewhere
different in life.
We may be the, you know, you may be in a room full of people your age, but you're all not
on the same 29 pass, right?
You may be in, you know, in an environment, let's just say at work, you guys are all working
on the same project, but everybody working on that project thinks differently and has
a different approach to how they would handle the desired outcome of that project.
For sure.
I notice it all the time as well.
I like so.
I'm going to include the link as well on how to join your boundaries course is how long
is it?
Two evenings, it's Tuesday and Wednesday, 90 minutes.
And the, the first night, we're going to kind of really go over, you know, boundaries and
what your challenges are, what your struggles, and then we're going to go into really how
to set and navigate them.
And, you know, some things do come from our childhood.
If you, it's a lot that comes from our programming, our mind from the day from how we were raised
onward to put us in a position where we either don't set boundaries, we let people walk all
over us because we're people pleasers, or when we do set boundaries, we're just so, you know,
we're just so mean about it that nobody even wants to deal with you.
Black or white.
Black or white, purple.
Yeah.
Male, female, other.
No, I meant like people are on one extreme or the other.
I don't think it, because no matter what box you check, we're all human is where I was
going.
Right.
For sure.
Right, right.
So I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
No, I'm sorry.
So I get it.
Sorry about that.
No, you're good.
Don't worry about it.
Because then makes sense, too.
So let's say that I wanted to get in contact with you personally, and we wanted to start
working out something.
Right.
Are we reaching out to you on Facebook?
Facebook is good.
I have the self-care self-love group, where I just keep it positive and I embrace the
all things self care and self love. And again, I don't know what your philosophy is, but in order to
love others, you have to love yourself. In order to take care of others, you have to take care of
yourself. So how you love and you equates to how you love and other people. And it also equates to
how other people are loving you. That's a whole nother topic about, you know, abuse and things
of that nature. That's a whole nother topic. But he told me, because since he's been able to count,
he said, grandma, no, you're 32. And now he says, because he does, it's been a couple years,
but now he knows my real age, right? I've been 29. And he says, grandma, no, you identify as 29.
And it's okay. Stop. He's eight, so. That's funny. It's a great year. You are in the greatest year
of your life because you are coming from, I'd say, a young adult. Like you've already, like,
physically you've entered your manhood. I don't know if you're married or have kids or whatever.
But so physically, yeah, you've entered into, but 29 going into 30, you're like at the middle
peak of your life. And like, you've got so much, you know, you came out of being a kid, a teenager,
and a young adult. Now you're like a real holodrome adult. It's a hard transition because you can get
stuck. I don't think I knew what growing up, I don't think I knew what like growing up and like,
and trust me, I've been through quite a bit in my life. Like, like, you know, being from Detroit,
there's just like a lot of negativity gets sucked into. So I had been down that road. And
coming back to this road, I know I thought getting a job and like trying to be responsible was like
part of growing up and like becoming an adult. But it's really not like that's just kind of the
first step. Because then you have to take control of your own life. Yeah. And some people don't do
that. They kind of just go day through day to day. It's just another day. Not only do you have to
take control of your life, you have to take control of your brain. And what does that mean? That means
the decision making. Like I could tell you stories like we, you know, with my son, I have a son and
a daughter. And so a lot of it is what you, the decisions you make, the decisions you make determine
your outcome as well. You have to manage you, you have to manage you. It's hard. You can manage
everything else. And sometimes it is. And that's that's what I, you know, again, my clients, even
myself, that's why my, you know, I help busy, stressed out professionals to live abundantly
stress free. It's like I guide you and coach you into your desired outcome for a life without
all of the hustle. I noticed you said hustle. We weren't meant to hustle. I wish. I wish. I wish.
We're not meant to hustle. I agree. I agree. I wish I didn't have to.
Yeah. So that's, that's pretty much it. Definitely look up the glucose. I mean,
we're going to see back on here too. We're going to, because I like, I like, that is my audience
pretty much a lot of stressed out professionals because a lot of people are following what I'm
doing right now. A lot of them are professionals. I talked to many people like yourself throughout
the week and I guarantee you people will get a lot from what you have to say and will value that as
well. Well, thank you. Thank you. So yeah, so that's my whole thing is to give people the tools to
avoid burnout, avoid self-sabotaging, avoid mental and physical stress, and avoid derailing their own,
their own destiny. Because you can, you can, the only way your destiny is derailed is by you.
I can agree with that. It always comes back down to you, right?
It always. It really does. It really does. So that's what I work on teaching people now is,
and I love it. I love serving busy professionals and letting them glow and walk into the positiveness
of their destiny. I love doing that. I know. I can tell. And I like talking to you about it too.
So bodyessentials.com. That's for the supplements. Yeah. But like I said, that site is still under
construction. And then for my self-care and coaching business, it is the Biz Oasis.
The BizOasis.com. I am the Oasis for busy professionals. Feel free to reach out to us
with your experience questions or even just to say hello. Until next time, take care of yourself
and one another. Embrace the power of nature. Stay curious, stay inspired, and most importantly,
stay connected. It's been a pleasure to be part of your day today.
If you think you have what it takes to be only the best, reach out to us operations at surgeonsolutions.org.