The “How” and “Why” of HoliHub
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give – Winston Churchill
Creating a holistic health collective is what HoliHub’s vision is about. To create optimal experiences for ourselves and others by sharing multifaceted wellness practices and therapies that are just as effective and have exponentially fewer side effects than the one-dimensional, profit led “take 2 pills and call me in the morning” approach. We are not selling anything nor trying to convince anyone of anything. We are here to share our stories and create a resource for those who are interested in learning new ways to heal and be healthy. HoliHub was created as a non-profit to ensure that we stay true to this mission and remain uncompromising on our values.
Growing up in the 90’s my mom was ahead of her time in embracing alternative pathways to wellness, including focusing on nutrition (non-processed foods, no dyes, healthy mealsetc.), play therapy, naturopathy, and energy healing in order to keep her children healthy and strong. This was the foundation upon which my sisters and I began to build our repertoire of holistic information and practices.
Despite the wisdom and knowledge I had on living a healthy lifestyle, it did not prevent me from abusing drugs at a young age. The knowledge learned from my own experimentation, paired with an interest in researching, led friends to ask my advice on illicit substances: dosage, interactions with other substances (e.g. sugar will help mellow your ketamine high and orange juice will assist your flight on certain psychedelics), what to expect, and how to be safe, etc. Now that I have been in recovery from opiate addiction for the past 12 years and live a more balanced healthier lifestyle my friends often ask my advice for alternative and holistic remedies or cures to common ailments (Covid, flu, heartburn, cuts, etc. – did you know that a sprinkle of ground cayenne pepper will help a wound clot quicker – and contrary to what I assumed, doesn’t burn at all).
I kept thinking, there must be a centralized hub for this type of information that I can direct my friends to. To my surprise, I discovered that a high-quality, central hub for holistic health and wellness information does not exist (not surprisingly WebMD, although helpful at times, mostly pushes pharmaceuticals that advertise on its site).
Upon identifying this gap in accessible information, we decided to research, list and aggregate my family’s knowledge and that of my teachers, friends and network of healers and offer it to the world as an open-source website. The hope is for HoliHub to make this knowledge more accessible to anyone who is curious about learning new ways to heal and be healthy. We will also create a directory of holistic practitioners for people to connect with in their area.
Because addiction and recovery is part of my story, there is also a focus on Holistic Recovery. I escaped the despair of addiction with rehab, 12-step, sponsors, and sober-living while maintaining a holistic approach to healing and health and a regiment of wellness practices. The single most important factor to my continued recovery is being of service to others; the mindset of service snaps me out of my own ruminations about what is lacking from my life. Ruminating on the negative is a major symptom of depression (which I was diagnosed with at 27 years old) so breaking the cycle of my compulsive self-loathing by thinking of others is always a welcomed distraction!
I’ve always wanted to be of service to those still suffering from addiction and now is the right time to do it for so many reasons that I will get into if you stay connected. I have come to embrace “recovery” through SAMHSA’s definition of “[a] process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential” and to this end HoliHub leads weekly Holistic Recovery peer groups in Denver, CO and via zoom. Thank you for joining us on this journey and we hope you help spread this knowledge far and wide.
-Shimi
I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver – Maya Angelou
