Alyson Maier is a passionate Naturopathic Herbalist, Mother and Shamanic Practitioner with a desire to have a positive impact on our external and internal environments – this means not just what we eat, drink or medicate our bodies with, but how we cleanse our minds, hearts and souls and our interactions with the natural world. With a lifelong passion for natural living, she wants to help others reach this goal too, to live in balance and harmony with the world around us. At Green Heart Herbals, she aims to inspire others to make the necessary positive changes towards a life of great health, happiness, joy and love. Here she talks to the Natural Parent Magazine about what inspired her to start her business, how she balances work and family, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I have always held a passion for natural living and helping others reach this goal too. Living in harmony and balance within myself and the world around me has been a strong foundation throughout my entire life. Helping others to see that this world is an incredible living being that requires our respect and our partnership inspires me every day to offer what I do.
The busy world we live in today has created a false separation from all that is and the importance of understanding how much our thoughts and actions influence all life on Earth. I am inspired every day to remind people how magnificent they are, and how powerful they are! Something that has been long forgotten, however it is very true. Each and every one of you hold immense power and have the capacity to shine your light so brightly that this world will shine with you. At Green Heart Herbals, I am here to reconnect people with this inner-wisdom and to inspire them to make the necessary changes to birth a world of great health, happiness, joy and love.
The busy world we live in today has created a false separation from all that is and the importance of understanding how much our thoughts and actions influence all life on Earth.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
When I graduated with my Naturopathy qualification, my family and I relocated to Germany. I was just stepping out of a corporate healthcare job (in Australia) and Germany was the perfect place to immerse myself in the natural wonders of the herbal medicines I had learnt all about in books whilst in Australia. I wasn’t fluent in German, so my launch into business was actually a slow and steady reach into the natural world, sharing my wild-crafting and foraging experiences with my online audience, as well as offering after-hours online consultations with my clients in Australia. This allowed me the balance of both worlds, helping those who needed it and receiving the teachings of the magical German forests as I rode my bike through the fields discovering magical plants and connecting with the voices of my ancestors.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Stepping outside of the norms of how a business “should” be run, and letting my heart speak more openly.
During the lockdowns of the pandemic, homeschooling became about full immersion in nature, and my son led the way on our foraging hikes, making videos for his classmates to teach them about the medicines growing in the wild!
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
The lifestyle we create blends my work with my family life. They are symbiotic. In Germany, we would hike and go on family bike rides through beautiful lush forests, discovering new plants and wildlife. My son loves foraging and tasting all the plants. During the lockdowns of the pandemic, homeschooling became about full immersion in nature, and my son led the way on our foraging hikes, making videos for his classmates to teach them about the medicines growing in the wild!
Now, back in Australia, my son helps me create herbal products to sell at markets. He, and our herbal adventures together, are the inspiration behind the Herbal Adventures Series of Books for Children that I have written.
My lifestyle just happens to be my job. I have created a job that blends our values as a family into our offerings for our community. We grow our own food and are establishing our own herbal medicine garden, similar to what we had in Germany. My husband is incredibly supportive and we hold the same visions for living a life in harmony with our surroundings and building a better world for our next generation.
