When was the last time you stopped to really think about what it means to “be a man”?
In today’s world, masculinity is being reimagined—and not a moment too soon. On the latest episode of The Wild Sage Society Podcast, Marcie Walker sits down with regenerative farmer and father, Jesse Carstairs, to explore how farming, family life, and emotional growth are all connected—and why that matters more than ever.
Whether you're a parent, a partner, or someone on a healing journey, this conversation offers fresh insights into living with intention, leading with love, and reconnecting with what really matters.
From Soil to Soul: What Regenerative Farming Taught One Father About Life
Jesse’s journey into regenerative agriculture began with a desire to nourish—not just the land, but his family.
Regenerative farming goes beyond “organic.” It’s a holistic, sustainable approach that heals the soil while supporting long-term health for people and the planet.
“Regenerative practices take us back to our roots.” – Jesse Carstairs
Through farming, Jesse found a deeper connection to nature—and to himself. He quickly noticed how soil health and family health are more connected than we think. The more intentional his farming became, the more grounded and present he felt as a father and partner.
Rethinking Masculinity: Presence Over Performance
Let’s be honest: traditional masculinity hasn’t always made space for vulnerability. But Jesse believes the tides are turning—and that’s a good thing.
“There’s nothing toxic about masculinity,” he shares. “But leadership is missing in the household.”
For Jesse, healthy masculinity means showing up fully—emotionally, physically, and relationally.
Gone are the days when being a good dad or partner just meant “providing.” Today’s real leaders in the home are those who:
- Are emotionally available
- Take responsibility for the tone of their household
Lead by creating emotional and physical safety
Emotional Safety Is the New Superpower
One of the most powerful takeaways from this episode is the idea that vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s strength.
Jesse believes that healing masculinity means learning to truly listen, especially in relationships. Not to “fix” or defend, but to hold space.
“Communication should prioritize listening to understand rather than responding to defend.”
This shift creates room for trust, healing, and real connection. It also teaches our children—especially sons—that feelings matter and that leadership includes compassion.
3 Practical Ways to Redefine Masculinity in Your Own Life
Inspired by Jesse’s story? Here are a few small, meaningful shifts you can start making today:
1. Step Into Conscious Leadership
Ask yourself: How can I be more present and intentional in my household? Leadership starts at home—and it looks like presence, empathy, and follow-through.
2. Listen First
Next time you’re in a tough conversation, pause before you reply. Try validating your partner’s emotions before offering a solution. (It’s a game-changer.)
3. Reconnect With Nature
Whether it’s through a backyard garden, shopping local, or simply learning where your food comes from—get curious about sustainability. What’s good for the planet is good for your body and your family.
Final Thoughts
Masculinity is not broken—but it is evolving. And that’s something to celebrate.
By leaning into presence, emotional safety, and sustainable living, men like Jesse Carstairs are showing us that real strength is rooted in self-awareness, not stoicism.
It’s time to redefine what leadership and love look like in modern families—and to cultivate the kind of emotional intelligence that nourishes everyone around us.
Resources:
We live in an age of unprecedented connectivity. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, Bluetooth earbuds, smart home systems, and WiFi routers allow us to work, play, and communicate with remarkable ease. But all this wireless technology comes with an invisible cost—one that many women are only beginning to recognize.
Electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) are a form of non-ionizing radiation emitted by electrical devices and wireless networks. While these frequencies are invisible to the naked eye, their effects on the body—particularly in sensitive individuals—are increasingly difficult to ignore. For midlife women experiencing hormone imbalances, autoimmunity, or neurological symptoms, EMFs can be a significant and often overlooked stressor.
The Hidden Toll of Constant Exposure
Emerging research links chronic EMF exposure to symptoms that mirror those experienced in perimenopause and chronic illness, including:
- Insomnia or disturbed sleep patterns
- Fatigue and low energy
- Headaches or migraines
- Brain fog and poor concentration
- Heightened anxiety or irritability
- Hormonal imbalances and thyroid dysfunction
While regulatory agencies maintain that EMF exposure within current safety limits is harmless, growing bodies of independent research raise concerns about oxidative stress, disruption of melatonin production, calcium ion channel interference, and blood-brain barrier permeability—all of which impact women's physical and cognitive health.
Women Are Uniquely Vulnerable
Women are more likely than men to report sensitivity to EMFs. The hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause and the neuroimmune complexity of conditions like fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, or mold illness may amplify this sensitivity.
Additionally, the pineal gland—which regulates melatonin and circadian rhythm—is highly sensitive to EMFs. Disruption to this gland can interfere with sleep quality, mood regulation, and detoxification, creating a cascade that worsens other symptoms.
EMF Hygiene as a Holistic Strategy
At The Wild Sage Society, we don’t promote fear—we promote informed awareness. EMF exposure may be a modern inevitability, but your response to it can be intentional and empowering. In our Women’s Holistic Health Coaching and Mentorship Program, we teach EMF hygiene as a core pillar of wellness.
Simple yet powerful practices include:
- Turning off WiFi at night: Your body repairs and detoxifies during deep sleep. EMF-free rest supports hormonal balance and brain regeneration.
- Using airplane mode: When not actively using your phone, keep it on airplane mode to limit EMF emissions.
- Hardwiring devices: Whenever possible, opt for Ethernet cables over WiFi and use grounded power strips.
- Shielding your space: EMF-blocking fabrics, paints, and bed canopies can protect highly sensitive individuals.
- Grounding regularly: Walking barefoot on earth, using grounding mats, or sitting near natural bodies of water helps neutralize the electrical charge in your body.
Creating an EMF-Safe Sanctuary
One of the most transformational steps we guide our clients through is creating an EMF-conscious sleep sanctuary. This means removing electronics from the bedroom, placing your phone in another room, using analog alarm clocks, and ensuring complete darkness and silence. The shift in sleep quality alone is profound.
Clients often report improvements in:
- Sleep depth and duration
- Morning energy and clarity
- Emotional resilience
- Nervous system regulation
- Hormonal consistency
You Are an Energetic Being
Your body is not just biochemical—it’s bioelectrical. And when your energetic field is constantly disrupted by synthetic frequencies, the result can be subtle but cumulative dysfunction.
Our mentorship program integrates modern science with ancient wisdom, helping you reconnect with your natural rhythms and restore the sacred balance between technology and biology.
Empowerment Through Education
You don’t have to give up your devices or move off-grid. But you do need to understand how these frequencies affect your system—and what you can do about it.
This June, join us for a deep dive into invisible stressors like EMFs. Learn to support your brain, hormones, and energy field with strategies that are rooted in the earth, supported by science, and guided by your inner knowing.
Visit www.thewildsagesociety.com to enroll or explore our free EMF hygiene checklist and low-tox living guide. Reconnect to your vitality, starting with the frequencies that surround you.
Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why? Struggled to find the right word during a conversation? Or stared at your to-do list and felt paralyzed by overwhelm? These aren't just symptoms of a busy life—they may be red flags of cognitive disruption.
Cognitive health is influenced by far more than age or genetics. For midlife women navigating hormonal transitions, chronic inflammation, and environmental stressors, cognitive function becomes a critical pillar of overall well-being.
At The Wild Sage Society, we look beyond quick fixes and explore root causes—one of the biggest being the hidden world of cognitive disruptors.
What Are Cognitive Disruptors?
Cognitive disruptors are substances or lifestyle patterns that impair mental clarity, memory, focus, and emotional regulation. They interfere with neurotransmitter balance, mitochondrial function, blood sugar regulation, and gut-brain signaling. The most common disruptors include:
- Heavy metals (lead, mercury, aluminum): Found in water supplies, dental amalgams, some medications, and even makeup.
- Artificial additives (aspartame, MSG, food dyes): Interfere with neurochemical balance and contribute to excitotoxicity.
- Processed sugar and refined carbs: Cause insulin spikes and crashes that destabilize energy and attention.
- Chronic stress and sleep deprivation: Deplete neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.
- Mold exposure and mycotoxins: Trigger inflammation in the brain and impair oxygenation.
Layer in hormonal fluctuations, and the result is often described by women as “losing my edge,” “feeling scattered,” or “not recognizing myself anymore.”
The Gut-Brain Connection
What happens in the gut doesn't stay in the gut. Over 90% of serotonin—your feel-good neurotransmitter—is produced in the intestines. When the gut lining becomes compromised (often due to toxin exposure, antibiotics, poor diet, or chronic stress), inflammation and permeability ensue, allowing harmful substances to enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain.
This phenomenon, sometimes called “leaky brain,” mirrors leaky gut and contributes to brain fog, poor concentration, mood swings, and even autoimmune activation in the central nervous system.
Root-Cause Recovery Through Holistic Coaching
In our Women’s Holistic Health Coaching and Mentorship Program, we don’t medicate away symptoms—we explore what’s driving them. Our approach integrates nutrition, lifestyle, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation to help you:
- Identify and reduce exposure to cognitive toxins in your home, diet, and environment
- Restore gut health with strategic nutrition, prebiotics, and probiotics
- Rebalance neurotransmitters naturally through movement, light exposure, and amino acid support
- Use tools like clinical hypnotherapy, breathwork, and somatic release to calm an overactive mind
- Rebuild cognitive stamina through cyclical living and aligned rest
We help you reconnect with your inner compass so you can reclaim your brilliance—not just manage symptoms.
From Fog to Focus: What’s Possible
Clients in our program often report dramatic cognitive improvements within just a few weeks:
- Sharper memory recall
- Clearer decision-making
- Improved verbal fluency
- Reduced anxiety and mental chatter
- Greater creativity and focus
The truth is, your brain is resilient. It wants to heal. It just needs the right inputs—and a pause from the chaos.
Your Brain Is Sacred
You were never meant to live on overdrive, disconnected from your body’s signals. You were meant to think clearly, speak powerfully, and feel rooted in who you are.
Join us this June for an immersive journey into reclaiming your cognitive vitality. Our mentorship program is here to help you untangle the overwhelm, nourish your nervous system, and return to the centered, focused woman you truly are.
Visit www.thewildsagesociety.com to enroll or learn more about our resources and offerings. You deserve to feel clear. You deserve to thrive.
Hormones are the body's messengers—governing everything from energy levels and sleep patterns to mood, metabolism, and reproductive health. But what happens when outside forces mimic, block, or scramble those messages? That’s the insidious work of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
EDCs are synthetic or naturally occurring substances that interfere with our body’s endocrine system, hijacking hormonal function and causing widespread disruption. For women in midlife, already facing the hormonal shifts of perimenopause or the compounding effects of chronic stress and inflammation, these disruptors are especially harmful.
Where Are They Hiding?
EDCs are everywhere. Found in plastics, pesticides, flame retardants, personal care products, and even the lining of canned foods, these compounds include well-known offenders like:
- Bisphenol A (BPA): Found in plastics and food packaging, BPA mimics estrogen and has been linked to infertility, PCOS, breast cancer, and early puberty.
- Phthalates: Common in fragrances and vinyl, these chemicals suppress testosterone and disrupt thyroid function.
- Parabens: Preservatives in many cosmetics that act like weak estrogens and are detected in breast cancer tissues.
- Atrazine and Glyphosate: Pesticides that interfere with endocrine and immune function.
- PFAS (forever chemicals): Found in non-stick cookware and stain-resistant fabrics, these are linked to liver damage, thyroid disease, and hormone disruption.
Even low doses of these chemicals can have profound effects—especially when exposure is constant and cumulative. The endocrine system operates on extremely sensitive feedback loops, meaning even tiny disruptions can tip the balance.
The Midlife Vulnerability
During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate wildly. This natural transition is already a dance of recalibration, and when EDCs enter the scene, it becomes a hormonal battleground. Women may experience amplified symptoms, including:
- Severe PMS or irregular cycles
- Insomnia and night sweats
- Fatigue and brain fog
- Weight gain, especially around the midsection
- Increased anxiety or depression
At The Wild Sage Society, we understand that these symptoms are not random—they are signals. Your body is not broken; it’s responding to internal and external imbalances.
How We Support You
In our Women’s Holistic Group Health Coaching and Mentorship Program, we guide you in understanding how to:
- Identify the most common sources of EDCs in your environment
- Reduce exposure through food choices, household swaps, and lifestyle upgrades
- Support detoxification with targeted nutrients and herbal allies
- Heal the hormonal system with whole-body care: nutrition, rest, movement, and emotional processing
You’ll gain access to curated resources, product recommendations, and actionable weekly practices—all within a community of women walking the same path toward empowerment and clarity.
Small Shifts, Big Wins
You don’t need to live in fear of every plastic bottle or food label. But you do deserve the education and tools to make informed choices.
Choosing glass containers, switching to fragrance-free and paraben-free skincare, using organic produce when possible, and avoiding processed foods are powerful first steps. We’ll help you build from there.
The body has an incredible capacity to heal when given the right environment.
Claim Your Right to Balance
Hormonal chaos is not your destiny. Our June program is designed to help you decode your symptoms and support your body with science-backed, soul-nourishing strategies.
You are not alone. You are not broken. You are awakening.
Join us at www.thewildsagesociety.com to learn more, join our upcoming mentorship cohort, and begin a journey to reclaim your hormonal sovereignty—rooted in nature, community, and deep self-trust.
Every morning, before you’ve even finished your coffee, your body may have already absorbed dozens of chemical compounds—from your shampoo and deodorant to the plastic cup holding your beverage. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the average adult uses nine personal care products daily, exposing themselves to over 100 unique chemical ingredients. Most of these chemicals have never been tested for long-term safety, especially when it comes to chronic exposure in midlife women.
For women in the throes of perimenopause or dealing with autoimmune issues, these compounds can act as stealthy saboteurs, disrupting hormonal balance, overburdening detoxification systems, and compromising immunity. The body becomes overwhelmed not only by the sheer volume of chemical inputs but also by their synergistic effects—meaning multiple toxins can work together to cause greater harm than each would individually.
The Silent Burden of Modern Living
Let’s take a closer look at three major culprits:
- Phthalates, often found in fragrances, plastics, and nail polish, are known endocrine disruptors. They’ve been linked to fertility issues, thyroid dysfunction, and early menopause.
- Parabens, common preservatives in lotions and cosmetics, mimic estrogen and are detected in breast tissue and tumors.
- Synthetic Fragrances—a vague label that can encompass hundreds of different chemicals—are associated with allergic reactions, hormone disruption, and neurotoxicity.
When these compounds enter the body through inhalation, absorption, or ingestion, they accumulate in tissues and organs—especially fat cells, where toxins are often stored long-term. This is where the health impact becomes both systemic and insidious.
Toxin Load and the Female Body
The liver, lymphatic system, and kidneys are our primary detoxifiers. But they aren’t meant to handle a daily barrage of synthetic inputs. In midlife, liver efficiency can slow, especially in the presence of hormonal shifts and chronic inflammation.
What happens when the liver becomes sluggish? Estrogen may not be properly metabolized. Toxins recirculate instead of being eliminated. Methylation, a key detox pathway that affects everything from mood to DNA repair, can become impaired—especially in individuals with genetic polymorphisms such as MTHFR.
This cascade can result in symptoms that many women accept as “normal” or “aging,” such as:
- Brain fog and poor concentration
- Chronic fatigue or burnout
- Digestive distress and bloating
- Mood swings, anxiety, and irritability
- Irregular periods or worsening PMS
From Confusion to Clarity: our Holistic Approach
At The Wild Sage Society, we believe knowledge is power. And when paired with strategic action, it becomes transformative. In our Women's Holistic Group Health Coaching and Mentorship Program, we don’t just tell you to “live clean”—we teach you how.
We start with education. Our participants learn how to read labels, identify red-flag ingredients, and understand where toxins hide—in places like:
- Non-stick cookware and food containers
- Artificial air fresheners and candles
- Tap water with pesticide and pharmaceutical residues
- Cleaning agents labeled “green” but still chemically dense
Then, we take practical, manageable steps together:
- Detox your home: Swap out conventional cleaners, plastics, and synthetic air fresheners for safer alternatives.
- Rebuild your body’s defenses: Support liver, gut, and lymphatic health with nutrient-dense foods, herbs, and targeted supplements.
- Upgrade your beauty rituals: Discover clean skincare and makeup brands that nourish without harm.
- Create daily rituals of renewal: Integrate breathwork, hydration, dry brushing, and other gentle detox methods.
Why This Matters Now
We’re living in a time of cumulative exposure—what researchers call the “body burden.” The average woman carries over 200 synthetic chemicals in her bloodstream, including flame retardants, pesticides, and plasticizers. These toxins don’t just impact us today—they affect our fertility, our mood, our cognition, and even our legacy through epigenetic changes that pass down to our children and grandchildren.
Detoxing isn’t about fear—it’s about freedom. When we reduce our toxic load, the body has more capacity to heal. Energy returns. Skin clears. Mood stabilizes. Hormones rebalance. Clarity sharpens.
A Personal Invitation
This June, we invite you to join us on a transformative journey. Our 12-week mentorship program begins by guiding you through a comprehensive chemical detox—aligned with the rhythm of nature and the wisdom of the body. You’ll gain community, accountability, and access to deeply researched, holistic tools to support long-term well-being.
You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. You simply need to start. And we’ll be with you—step by step, breath by breath—as you reclaim your health and honor your sacred biology.
Visit www.thewildsagesociety.com to learn more, enroll, or explore free resources to begin your low-tox living journey today.
