Healing With Martha

07/13/2026

There's more to oral health than brushing and flossing your teeth.

One of the simplest wellness practices I've adopted over the years is the Ayurvedic practice of oil pulling. As I age, I'm more consistent in and diligent with my practice.

Every morning, on an empty stomach, I swish oil in my mouth for 10–20 minutes while I make my bed, journal, prepare breakfast, or get ready for the day. It's a small habit that supports much more than a healthy smile. Sometimes I also do it after brushing my teeth before bed.

As we age, our mouths become even more important to our overall health. I learned about oil pulling during my Ayurvedic medicine training. Research reveals the connections between oral health and the health of the entire body.

Some of the potential benefits of oil pulling include:

🦷 Helping reduce harmful bacteria in the mouth

🦷 Supporting healthier gums

🦷 Helping reduce plaque buildup

🦷 Freshening breath naturally

🦷 Supporting a balanced oral microbiome

🦷 Moisturizing the mouth—especially helpful for people experiencing dry mouth as they get older

🦷 Complementing good brushing and flossing habits, and

🦷 Encouraging mindful self-care before the day begins

Why does this matter?

As we age, gum disease, chronic inflammation, dry mouth, medication use, and changes in the oral microbiome become increasingly common. Poor oral health has also been associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes complications, cognitive decline, and respiratory infections.

While oil pulling isn't a cure or replacement for dental care, it can be a gentle addition to a healthy daily routine.

For me, it represents something even deeper.

It's a reminder that small, consistent acts of self-stewardship create the conditions for long-term flourishing.

Health rarely comes from one dramatic intervention.

It grows from the quiet things we choose to do day after day and year after year.

There's more to health than symptom management.

There's stewardship. And remembrance.

There's the daily choice to care for the one beautiful life entrusted to you.

Have you ever tried oil pulling? If so, what changes have you noticed?

Note: Oil pulling is generally considered a complementary wellness practice—not a replacement for brushing, flossing, regular dental checkups, or professional treatment for dental problems.

07/06/2026

Remaining curious while caregiving for an elder with dementia is a must. Caregiving for one who is also experiencing the disease of addiction requires a thick skin and daily prayer! I hope this helps.

06/27/2026

I don't know if it's all water signs or just Cancerians, but this last year has been %@&*'ed up! 😬

Today, however, the energy feels like we're coming upon a threshold of ease, grace and manifestation. Can you feel it too?

The last 12 months have taken me to depths that I've never experienced before—even when I developed the chronic illness in 1996 that came with non-stop, head-to-toe itching for 9 months before it was diagnosed as an allergy to dust.

That illness, and my decision NOT to be on a lifetime of medication, was the initiation into my health coaching career. I am VERY grateful for that.

In addition to cleansing my body, healing my mind, and connecting with my spirit, I took time to examine and unwind the trauma I experienced in childhood and made peace with it.

To be fully cured, after being told I'd have to be on medication for the rest of my life, felt so empowering that I wanted to share it with as many people as I could. Showing people, by example, that there's more than one way to relate to illness in the body-mind, felt like a natural path to follow.

The healing invitation emerging now is more about spiritual grounding and visibility. I used to say I was shy by nature but, honestly, it's more about feeling vulnerable and being self-conscious.

Unless I know who's who, being visible to a group of strangers still feels a bit risky sometimes.

It's time to change that narrative. Beyond time!

The first 6 months of 2026 were definitely about Being and Cocooning. My happy places!

I don't know what this next stage of Becoming is going to look or feel like, but I'm willing to take the leap. Not necessarily off the boat into the ocean right away, but definitely off the diving board into the pool. 🤣🤣🤣

Anyone else picking up that energy for themselves? Do you feel like it’s beyond time to transform old, limiting narratives so you can be who you came here to be and do what you came here to do?

06/24/2026

Remember the version of yourself that existed before you became responsible for everybody else.

Before you became the fixer. The peacekeeper. The overachiever. The caretaker. The one who carried what no one else would.

Before your worth became tangled up in what you could do for others.

That version of you isn't gone.

She isn't buried beneath the responsibilities, the heartbreak, the caregiving, the people-pleasing, or the endless to-do lists.

She's waiting to be witnessed.

Not judged. Not rushed. Not "fixed."

Just witnessed... and held.

I've come to believe that so much of healing isn't about becoming someone new.

It's about remembering who you were before fear, trauma, obligation, and old stories convinced you to abandon yourself.

That's why I'm creating The Story Changers.

A community for women who are ready to courageously rewrite and embody the next chapter of their lives.

A place where you'll be witnessed and held as you reconnect with your voice, reclaim your sovereignty, and come home to yourself.

Because the story doesn't change the moment you have an insight.

It changes the moment you stop abandoning yourself and begin living from the truth of who you've always been.

Maybe your next chapter isn't about becoming more.

Maybe it's about remembering.

To join us in The Story Changers Skool community that will be opening soon, comment "Story Changer" to be notified. Because stories that are witnessed can evolve. Stories that remain hidden tend to harden.

And no one should have to rewrite their story alone.

04/26/2026

How are you being, and what are you feeling and doing, when you come home to yourself?

04/22/2026

Here we go! This has been a long time coming.

When I lived in Boston I had my own wellness studio. I'm so grateful to be back in New York where space is available as needed. Goodness knows, chillaxing is most definitely needed.

Please like and share. Feel free to ask questions.

Hope to see you soon!

03/29/2026

This!

Scientists just mapped nearly 7 million cells across 21 organs. What they found about aging changes everything. We've always assumed aging is a slow, steady decline. Like a car gradually rusting. But a massive cellular atlas published in February 2026 tells a different story.

Researchers analyzed nearly 7 million individual cells across 21 organs and discovered something fascinating: your organs don't age at the exact same speed. Your liver might biologically be 10 years "older" than your heart.

But here is why you need to care about this: they are constantly talking to each other.

The study showed that aging is synchronized through your bloodstream. If your liver is aging rapidly because of a highly processed diet, it doesn't just suffer alone. It releases inflammatory signals into your blood that travel up and literally tell your brain and your heart to start aging faster, too.

This means you cannot isolate your health. You cannot out-exercise a terrible diet. You cannot supplement your way out of chronic sleep deprivation. Because the moment one organ starts rapidly aging, it pulls the rest of your system down with it.

The habits you build today (eating whole plants, walking daily, prioritizing sleep) don't just protect one part of you. They silence the aging alarms across your entire body.

11/22/2025

I asked ChatGPT to create this image depicting one of the scenes I experienced during an ayahuasca journey in Ecuador; the day before I left my body for several hours (sans ayahuasca).

I had 4 distinct scenes during the journey, but this was the one that has stuck with me.

As "I" sat at the opening of the cave on top of the mountain surveying the people below and then watching the condor flying so gracefully, I could feel myself sitting up a little taller. I felt great peace in my Being. I don't know if it was a past-life remembrance or a nod to the role I'm supposed to fulfill in this lifetime.

The next night, I didn't feel the need to partake in ceremony. I felt like I received what I needed. Little did I know.

The following night, instead of doing ceremony in the cleared-out dining hall space, it was done in the jungle around a tree. The tree had "sections" at the base that acted as dividers. In one section, sat a person from a new group that had arrived that day. In another section, sat 2 people from my group. The 3rd section was reserved for myself and my friend St. Suzan Baltozer, who is a shamanic healer. We both communicated that we weren't doing ceremony, but we were told that Don Augustin wanted us to sit there and hold space for the people who were.

So there we were, sitting on logs, unable to see our hands in front of our faces because it was so dark! I had thrown my hip out during the hours-long hike through the jungle to the compound. Needless to say, sitting on a log was extremely uncomfortable. And then . . .

One second I was there, and the next second I couldn't tell where my physical body began or ended. I experienced waves of pure bliss coursing through "me". The intensity of the love was out of this world. I could hear an ecstatic cry coming from within the depths of my Being. Long story short, the love transmission lasted for 3 hours. I was cured of 2 chronic health conditions and became sensitive to sending energy.

I share this as a personal reminder, as well as encouragement to others. There's more to life than meets the eye. Whatever difficult circumstances you may be experiencing, know that there is an inner agency available to you in a split second and, despite outward experiences, Love IS the energy that runs this whole show.

Our possibilities are endless!