Pull It Together Alex Matteo

Arpana Rayamajhi is a Nepalese artist, jeweler + actor currently creating in New York.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Arpana during a pivotal moment in not only her career, but her life. Arpana vulnerably shares the many lessons and hardships of this past year and how she’s working through it all. We chat about her upbringing, what it was like to be raised by artists while also growing up in a country where the arts are valued culturally but not seen as a viable means of income. We explore what happens to creativity when it collides with grief. And Arpana expresses how getting to know herself better allowed her to know the world better. 
This is an incredibly special conversation and is perfect for anyone who’s going through one of life's many transitions.

Tonya Papanikolov is the magical human behind my  absolute favorite medicinal mushroom company Rainbo. Rainbo is inspired by a reverence for nature + its healing properties and a desire to reconnect people back to this innate wisdom.
Tonya has been on a healing journey since she was 16 years old and has devoted her life’s work to helping people become healthier and more vibrant versions of themselves through functional nutrition, lifestyle and mycotherapy.
Today Tonya opens up about her own healing journey with fungi. She shares how we can begin incorporating fungi into our lives and reveals how mushrooms are saving our planet.

Jenna Levine turned a childhood passion into a career when she started her line of non-toxic skincare, LINNE Botanicals. Today she shares how following her curiosity led to discovering her true calling. What makes Jenna’s approach to skincare stand out to me is her mindset about feeding your skin like you would feed your body. She focuses on promoting your skin’s health while also promoting the health of our planet.
In our conversation We discuss the science behind the botanicals she uses,  how they have impacted her life and her career, and why it’s so important for city dwellers to have natural touch points in their daily lives. Jenna also debunks some common skincare myths and helps  educate us on sun protection.

 Laura Silverman is a creative director and the founding naturalist of The Outside Institute - a gem located in the Catskills that connects people to the healing and transformative powers of Nature through guided hikes, foraging, wildcrafting workshops and botanical mixology. 

Laura’s desire to share her deep love of Nature inspired this venture. By nurturing humanity’s innate affinity for the wild, she hopes to inspire joyful awareness and an essential reciprocity between all beings. The Outside Institute, has published two volumes of its Field Guide to the Hudson & Upper Delaware Valleys and is about to release their third.  
In today’s conversation Laura shares her personal relationship with Nature and what we can gain by embracing our childlike exploration of the natural world. We discuss nature as our biggest mirror and How to be in a reciprocal relationship with the land.

Alyssa Benjamin Is a writer, brand strategist and host of Our Nature. As Alyssa describes it….We have a biological need to connect with our environment. And yet, so many of us, have distanced ourselves from nature, favoring the comforts that technology and modern culture bring us.  
She began to notice the further we are from the natural world, the further we are from ourselves, and in turn, the less healthy, less happy we are in general. She created Our Nature to change that.  

Today Alyssa shares her experience of returning to nature or what she calls “The Great Remembering”. We chat about the importance of experiencing nature in community, and the difference between being in nature and being connected to nature . We also explore how the natural world is our greatest teacher, and Alyssa expresses how challenging her ego allowed her to feel the truth of her aliveness.

Tara Thomas is a chef + consultant working to decolonize food systems. Tara is a true believer that food can be our greatest catalyst to combat social, environmental, and health issues. 
In this conversation Tara shares how investing in a culinary experiences at its core is investing in culture and helps clarify the difference between inspiration and appropriation. She speaks on the importance of food sustainability and how we can move as a society away from wealth to balance and equity. 
Though this year has been full of challenges, it has helped Tara unlock her souls purpose - to nourish people, and inspire people to eat.