About Me

I help women who feel stuck-struggling with sleep, stress, or gut issues-find balance, reclaim their energy, and move through what's holding them back -so they can live the life they truly desire.

Hi, I am a nationally recognized Holistic Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Community Herbalist helping women across the country heal their digestive systems and have rested sleep to feel light, confident, energized, and uplifted.

I went through an entire semester of college without sleeping—literally. I was so overwhelmed by anxiety and stress that I began hallucinating. I just didn’t have the tools to quiet my mind or regulate my nervous system. I wasn’t connected to myself or aware of my needs. I was running on empty, and it was affecting everything—my mood, my digestion, and my sense of self. As symptoms crept in, I did what many of us do: I changed my diet, tried all the “right” supplements, and chased answers from doctor to doctor. It helped some of the digestive issues, but something deeper was still off. I wasn’t living in alignment with myself. I was always rushing, serving, working, pushing myself to the brink. I was out of sync with my body, my emotions, and the world around me.

In 2007, after a four-hour surgery to remove a large fibroid, I left my life in New York City and enrolled in an herbalism program abroad. I landed in a refurbished chicken coop (no chickens—just people!) with a compost toilet, no internet, and acres of healing land. It was there I began reconnecting—with myself, with nature, with the plants. I was finally tapping into my body’s healing potential.

And still… I wasn’t fully thriving. What I had yet to uncover was the emotional and energetic piece—the internal landscape that no supplement or perfect diet could reach.

So here I am now, with the tools to sleep better, have more energy, increased focus, and understand what foods to eat to feel good in my body. I finally understand that healing isn't just about food. I transformed my inner ecosystem by going beyond diet and addressing my thoughts, routines, relationships, lifestyle, and using the right herbs and supplements as supports. I began shifting my inner dialogue from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What am I needing right now?”

My healing journey has led me to deeper training

in herbalism, nutrition, breathwork, and Ayurveda. I also explored self-taught emotional techniques like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT™), parts work, Nonviolent Communication (NVC™), and compassion work. These tools, along with vagus nerve practices and plant wisdom, became the foundation of my approach to achieving balance and healing.

In our Root 2 Rise Program, we go beyond food to uncover and address root causes so you experience lasting change. My goal is to educate, support, and guide you to your highest potential—providing you with the tools and knowledge to restore balance , face life's challenges with confidence and prevent you from developing more serious conditions in the future. Together, we’ll re-discover what you need right now to achieve inner peace and joy and have fun doing it! Welcome to our conscious community—your journey to thriving starts here.

Melanie’s Core Beliefs

  • Diseases that present themselves are a result of how we digest life.

  • Chronic issues all carry an emotional component that needs to be addressed, and we need the tools to learn how to tap into these emotions.

  • It isn’t the stress or the disease that is the problem, but rather our reaction to it that is most important.

  • Plants and nature have much wisdom and hold a lot of the answers for feeling whole.

  • The body knows how to come back into balance when provided with the right supports.

  • The mind is a powerful force for healing as long as we know how to use it wisely.

  • My role is to support you in being your own healer, by providing you with the tools and guidance for you to help yourself.

  • Daily routine practices we put in place for healing the mind, body, and spirit will be more important than any single diet or supplement because these are grounding practices.

Melanie's Trainings Include

  • Masters in Speech and Language Pathology from Teachers College, Columbia University (May 2007) - Pediatric Speech Pathologist for 16 years

  • Integrative Health Coach training completion by the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (January, 2013).

  • Israel School of Herbal Medicine: 5-month live-in training in foundational herbal medicine. (Aviezer, Israel, 2014).

  • Moondance Botanicals: 3 month training in apothecary natural product making. (Denver, CO, 2018)

  • Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism: certificate in Botany completed including skills in positive plant identification, wild-crafting ethics, sustainable harvesting and preservation techniques 68 hours (Lafayette, CO, June 2019).

  • Twin Star Herbal Apothecary Apprenticeship and Mentorship. 6 month study (600 hours of study) including apothecary work, product and medicine making and class attendance in various herbal medicine preparation and training courses (New Milford, CT, December 2019).

  • Twin Star Training in Shamonic Healing and Spirit Medicine. 75 hours earned in practices of ancestral connection, primitive skills, and the five directions (north, south, east, west, and the above) (New Milford, CT, December 2019).

  • Twin Star Flower Essence Practitioner Certification: (Connecticut and Punta Uva, Costa Rica, March 2020).

  • Northeast School of Botanical Medicine Weekend Herbalism Program: 7 intensive weekends (100 hour program) focused on plant identification and clinical herbalism skills (Ithaca, NY, November 2020).

  • Completion of Shift Network Course on Ayurveda for Strengthening your Immune System, Mind, Body, and Soul (September 2020)

  • Completion of Shift Network Course on Tap into Your Vagus Nerve's Healing Power To Rewire your Nervous System for Optimal Health (September 2021)

  • Body By Breath Immersion Course (18 credits of vagus nerve education and breath work) provided by Jill Miller from Tune Up Fitness (November 2023)

  • An Integrative Approach to the Digestive System Course by Thomas Easely from Eclectic Botanica (10 hours) December 2023

Now it’s my turn to share the secrets from what I have learned with you!

Click the link below and get our training to activate the vagus nerve so you can feel relaxed, improve elimination, decrease inflammation and more. Available for a LIMITED TIME!


Ready to apply to join our Root 2 Rise Program? 

We've Moved to a New Location and Continue to Work with Clients Virtually and in Person

410 Millstone Dr, Hillsborough, NC 27278

© 2020 by Root 2 Rise Wellness LLC. All rights reserved

© 2020 by Root 2 Rise Wellness LLC. All rights reserved