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This is a podcast for anyone feeling stretched thin by work, activism, caregiving, or just surviving under systems that weren’t built for our thriving. On Balm in the Burnout, we speak with artists, organizers, and community builders about what’s helping us stay grounded and resourced in the face of burnout. Together, we reclaim our right to soothe, heal, and make hopeful, sustainable action.
[00:00:00]
Megan: We are here again at Balm in the Burnout. I'm Megan Hadley, and I have with me an old friend and sweet, sweet human, Romina Takimoto, and I'm gonna read her bio so I can share in her words the incredible things that bring her here today. So after eight years as a hospital-based occupational therapist and eight years of herbalism study, Romina Takimoto began crafting herbal skincare that is sold across the country.
Her interests live at the intersection of biology and spirituality, self ceremony, and co-ritual, waking and [00:01:00] dreaming and daily human and non-human interactions. As a forever student of life, wisdom seeker and deep observationalist of the world we live in, Romina has evolved in the past five years to explore teachings and practices like animism meditation, reiki, Umbanda spirituality, forest bathing, incense ceremony, plant medicine ceremony, esoteric anthropology and intuitive mediumship. Currently she works remotely full-time in corporate med tech, navigating data governance and omni-channel orchestration while traveling and committing to exploring her passions to the fullest extent outside of the work that pays to fund her fun.
So Romina is calling in from St. Paul and [00:02:00] I'm in Minneapolis and I'm just so grateful to be with you on the line today.
Romina: Yes, thank you so much for inviting me. I'm excited to see where our conversation goes today and yeah meet your followers and your audience.
Megan: Absolutely. I would love to hear to just start us off a moment when you felt really present lately.
Romina: Yes. I was really craving. Presence. Um, and I found it yesterday was like after many several days of rain and gray weather, I found myself outside in a park underneath a big willow tree, and I left my phone in the car. I took out a blanket, I took off my socks and shoes, and I just laid on the grass looking up at the willow [00:03:00] branches, sway in the wind, the clouds passing by in the sky and feeling the sun on my skin. So yeah, that's. and that brought me back to what I needed. 'cause the whole week I was feeling like I was swirling up in my head. so, yeah, just those 30 minutes out in nature brought me back.
Megan: And thank you for bringing that back to us. I could even feel the nourishment of those branches in the wind, as you described it, you have a way with words that really communicates feeling. And so I appreciate you and all the energy you bring to that.
Romina: Oh, thank you.
Megan: Well, I would [00:04:00] love to talk a little bit about health and wellbeing. As you know, I'm a coach, health coach and something that comes up a lot, there's a lot about wellness culture that maybe is or isn't in alignment with the work you and I are doing. So. What feels important to share about your frame on health and wellbeing?
Romina: Yeah, you said it. There's so much out there. There's so many trending things. There's so many so many things to pay attention to or dig into. And what brings me back is that health and wellbeing is. It should be just simple and what works for you.
And I think the science is undeniable for the top big three, and that's sleep, nutrition, and physical exercise. Now, within each category, [00:05:00] you can do a deep dive in all of those, but for me it's almost like what can I do every day that. Is laddering up to those big three and I try to use the 80 20 principle in all areas of my life, work, productivity, and health and wellbeing. Like what can I do just 80% of the time?
And if I don't do it every day or if I miss a day, I can always begin again. And so even with exercise today, I only had 15 minutes, so I did a free 15 minute workout video on YouTube other days. I have a lot of extra time. I will go out on a run and I have it's taken me almost, I'm 39 years old.
It's taken [00:06:00] me 39 years of age and time to understand that I gotta do what works for me and if it's a trend or if I'm paying a. A lot of money for it. It's probably not something that I can sustain for the long term.
Megan: I am hearing a lot of your values pop up. I'm hearing your own framework that works for you and is in alignment with science, and I'm hearing that sense of flexibility and grace and capacity to come back to your values and come back to what works for you over and over. And I feel like. Often that frame is what's missing for people.
You know, when I talk to my clients, it's that black or white dichotomous all or nothing. Thinking instead of that 80 20. So thanks for giving voice to that. Do you feel like you [00:07:00] have always kind of felt that way or what like led you to that level of understanding in your own practices?
Romina: I definitely did not always think that way. I was kind of, um. Growing up, I always wanted to do what was expected of me. I wanted to be the straight A student. I wanted to be the good daughter. I wanted to be the good friend, putting, always coming up with an expectation of what I thought others wanted me to do, and trying to change my behavior and actions to meet that expectation. It was only after many years of therapy and self exploration and trial and error that I've come to this point in my life where. I am the master of me. [00:08:00] I am the only person that can, that knows who I am and knows what I need, and therefore I need to take charge of my own health and wellbeing. And so part of.
My journey of discovery was very much working with professionals, working with coaches, working with psychologists, working with, um, many different teachers from different backgrounds, clinical and nonclinical. Holistic or maybe non-traditional. A lot of it was trial and error, trying that me Mediterranean diet, trying the vegan diet trying, you know, this, um, luxury yoga studio membership and adjusting as I, as I learned lessons.
And [00:09:00] it also took constant reassessing. It's a running joke between me and my husband. It's like, oh, Romina's going through her life crisis again. And it's about every quarter or so I start getting this feeling of restlessness, of am I doing okay? Am I where I am supposed to be? Can I be better? And I think there's an inherent. Engine in me that is always reassessing who I am, where I wanna be, and I think that has kind of fueled this process of discovery.
Megan: Thank you. Yeah, I can sense there's so much wisdom in that exploration that you've done. Understanding of yourself, even the language you're learning of internal engine. I'm like, I wonder what piece of Romina is, is running that forward and continuing your [00:10:00] spiritual growth, I would love to talk too, just kind of what led you down all these paths to doing what you're doing now.
Romina: Yes. Uh, at this point in my life, I feel like I've had. Maybe four career pivots, you know? So just a quick summary, you know, I my undergrad was in theater and dance specifically. site specific performance, and then. And then I found myself as an occupational therapy specializing in neuro rehab and also doing some clinical research.
And then on that eight year. Journey of being an OT and working in the hospital. I started my own skincare business, Romi Apothecary. It was a moment where I was truly burnt out, like the [00:11:00] namesake of Balm. The namesake of your podcast and the topic, I was so burnt out. I was at that moment of realizing if I don't do something different.
I feel like I will die. It was that critical and that led me to discover the world of herbalism, of plant spirit connection. I started creating recipes out of a book. I had to Google where to find herbs in Minneapolis. Like that's how beginner I was. And I. It was through just discovering the world of herbalism, that it was a lifeline to me, it was a connection to the natural world, that the world outside us the plants on the street in our backyards or [00:12:00] by our garage arage, holds this wisdom and biochemistry of medicine that can help our bodies.
And by making skincare products, I was just naturally, drawn to topical applications of plant medicine and using them on my skin. I started to feel an inner transformation. After I came home from an entire day at the hospital. I would get into the practice of cleansing my skin physically and metaphorically cleansing.
My day away leaving whatever happened during the day at that moment in time and starting again. So cleansing my skin, nourishing my skin back with loving touch, and just the intention of [00:13:00] rejuvenation and then that moment of presence. So I love that you. Started this episode asking me about my, my last time where I felt like I was present because that, that, that was a key factor in being able to connect with myself again, connect with my priorities and, and being in the moment so that I can move past whatever.
Was challenging me or bothering me or causing me pain. So yes, so that was my journey into skincare. And you know, you don't, it just doesn't stop with herbalism, I feel like herbalism is connected to so many things in human history and human culture. It's a core. Component of [00:14:00] ritual. It's a core component of ceremony.
It's a core component of medicine. And so from that, I was just opened up to other realms of, I think this, this natural human question of, of. Purpose, why are we here? What are we doing with our lives? And plant medicine is a facilitator of finding the answers to those questions. yeah. And then fast forward now I'm finding myself in a, a remote position for a full-time corporation and in med tech.
This is like my fourth. Career now. Um, I still have my skincare business, but I've moved into the role of founder and new product formulator. I still forage some of the wild [00:15:00] crafted herbs that we use in our formulations but I've really tried to just take a step back. Let the people who are smarter than me run the business.
And now I am, I'm doing full-time work in corporate med tech, doing data governance, master data management, and omnichannel orchestration, which is another fascinating world. And I never honestly thought that I would be. In this role or position, but I can see how my continuous process of evolution, of problem solving, of seeing, of going between big picture and small picture and trying to solve all these little problems in my life have led me to this position.
Yes, that was a [00:16:00] lot. But as the person who went through those experiences, I can also say all that journey was a lot to live through.
Megan: And it sounds like following the thing that you need, the thing that lights you up and being unexpectedly surprised at where it lands you.
Romina: Yes.
Megan: And going with that creative flow, that creative energy. You know, I'm even hearing with the med tech job, there is that piece around like honoring the science and the data behind things and almost like doing your own kind of harvesting of information. And you can continue to have this incredible skincare line that still, you know, supports you and supports your community that you've built over so many years.
[00:17:00] So you've already kind of talked about that burnout level in healthcare. What do you think people need to know about burnout right now?
Romina: Yeah. There's so much, and I really feel for the people in healthcare and actually all areas of life that are experiencing burnout because it's unfortunate that our modern society and culture has created a system where we naturally, if we are a part of the system, we feel burnout. I think people need to know that it's temporary and you can become an agent for change in your own personal life to overcome the challenge of burnout [00:18:00] and that. Burnout is experienced by everyone. And so for me, even the fact of knowing that I wasn't alone and that I was in this collective solidarity of experiencing burnout with others helped me and it helped me to keep going because if my friend is, is. Experiencing burnout or my coworkers experiencing burnout, or the person on the other side of the screen I know is experiencing burnout.
I can also sit with the challenge and keep going and strive to figure out a solution.
Megan: Yeah, that it's so unfortunate that these systems are actually created to keep us [00:19:00] separate and unwell and how there's grief in that and how there's. Hope in collectively recognizing then the possibility of shared experience, like you're saying, and when you're open to having that community building, being vulnerable about how you're actually doing that can create that bridge and that support network.
And it sounds like you're in a place emotionally, spiritually, where you can be supportive to other people who may need it.
Romina: Yes. I also feel like nature is the biggest teacher,
and so when I say burnout is temporary, I look at the cycles of our planet that we can see, the sun rises and sets the moon rises and sets the phases of the moon, the ocean tides, [00:20:00] the seasons of spring, summer, fall, winter. There are cycles that are continuously moving forward on a much greater scale than our lives, and when we look at it from a point of view, from nature, and then compare it to what we're going through, we as humans are a part of those grand cycles, and we as humans also have our own cycles that we go through. And knowing that the cycle will. Continue to evolve and continue to go forward. That, that gives me solace in knowing that what I'm experiencing will pass as well.
And, and the, the next season or the next point of the [00:21:00] cycle is coming soon.
Megan: That's so important to hear. Even for me to hear, I'm just like, yes. What a balm. Oh, and Romina, I just have to say, I know I emailed this to you, but as I was dreaming of this podcast and the name came to me, I just immediately thought of you and how your alchemizing of plant medicine and your own burnout into something that could literally soothe and nourish your skin and feed it and give it water, and how you notice that internal change just felt like such a big metaphor that I've.
Obviously held with me. and I've been, you know, the incredible recipient of ritual offered by you, facial rituals and things like that. And I just think there's something so special about having that skincare ritual, having that practice where [00:22:00] you are alchemizing something and you are saying, this is where I have a need.
And you literally are the person caring to that, tending to that. And so I would love to hear from you just what you notice. What are people tending to? What needs a little more tending these days? I.
Romina: Yeah. First of all, thank you so much for sharing that. That was so beautiful. And how, you thought of me and the skincare that I make as you were forming the idea of this podcast and the name the Balm for Burnout. Um, so the, what I'm noticing that people are tending to is, is that the question?
Yeah. What. The biggest trend that I'm noticing is this need for real connection, and I think humanity [00:23:00] is in a really. Strange time right now with the rise of technology and the rise of ai. I use AI every day in my job. AI is used every day when we Google something or do a web search. It is something that is becoming a part of our lives. And I'm really a proponent of evolve or die. Maybe that's too Darwinistic, but, um, if we don't embrace the speed and the new technology that is coming forward, we can quickly be left behind. And so. But then that, that creates an environment now where everything, every, a lot of the interactions that we as humans do, are done through [00:24:00] our phones.
A computer digitally. And so we're, we're in a sense getting more isolated and, the need for human connection is stronger than ever. The need to return to what it means to be a human in this body, in the environment outside, and i'm hearing that a lot, that people are needing to tend to that overall sense of what really is it like to be a human?
You know, what is it like to get out of our minds and into our bodies? What is that relationship? That we need to tend to is it that relationship to ourselves and our bodies? Is it the relationship to other people in a real face-to-face [00:25:00] human connection sort of way? Is it the relationship to nature that we have to tend to and, and how do we balance that with. Staying, staying in the game of, uh, this continual evolution that we find ourselves in.
Megan: Yeah, so wisely put to notice the evolution of consciousness and technology and culture. And how that quick evolution can kind of cause a, a gap area in our needs for how we used to be. How, and I'm definitely seeing that when I meet with people and I just connect with my community and say like, what are the needs?
What's missing? What are you thirsty for? I am hearing that in-person connection, intentional. [00:26:00] Community building, you know, and, and that's why I've started now a, a monthly ritual with a friend of mine just to say, Hey, this isn't happening much anymore. And, our lost ways of culture and the way that whiteness has come into erase so much of our capacity to have those healing containers and have safe and sacred land.
That was stewarded by native people and then stolen, and now privatized, and suddenly we're so separate and there's a, there's a grief and a loss there. And so providing that space for people, providing that in-person connection, providing those opportunities to reconnect with nature, even in something as simple as your chapstick that you make right in the, in the bar of face wash and your.
Nightly ritual and your lotions. Right. And I love that you mentioned the plants in our yard and back behind the [00:27:00] garage and things like that. I, I, that's where my interest in. Herbalism really began to, you know, my, my plant medicine experience kind of starting at most invasive with essential oils and feeling empowered that, oh, I could make my own products.
And then recognizing that is a very highly concentrated version of plant medicine. So how do we get back to like least invasive medicine, method and whole plants. Learning to get to know the plants around us and why, why coming up and making violet simple syrup out of the violets in my yard and dandelion honey and all of that.
You know, it can be really special to just alchemize those simple things in our own space.
Romina: Yes. It's joyful. It's joyful to notice. [00:28:00] Plants that we haven't noticed before, and then commune with them and then bring them into our homes and, and, um, transform them into something that we can ingest or put on our face or share with our friends. And this is a practice that humans have been doing since the beginning of humans.
And so, and somehow we have, forgotten that we can do that, or somehow we have forgotten that we, we can give ourselves permission to do that. That we've been told, this is how we get our food, or this is how we get our skincare. And we've come away from the empowerment of, of procuring that for ourselves.
I also wanna mention something that I thought of when you were talking is this as something of like [00:29:00] things that are, uh, a trend or, or something that I've been noticing that people are. Tending to is this mastery of self. Because of all the distractions in our world today, people are not understanding who they are.
Who are we without the music or the TV on or our phone? Who are we when we sit in silence alone? Who are we when we go and hug a tree? What is the tree experiencing as we're hugging them? Because there's an energy exchange and oftentimes people and me, myself, we've come away from knowing who we truly are without the distractions or without comparing ourselves to [00:30:00] others.
So I see a lot of these practices of presence as the practice of returning to understanding and knowing who we are.
Megan: Yes. Yeah, in health coaching, we call that building self-awareness, building body awareness. Just like you said, there's so many distractions out there and so many messages that we don't know that we need to look outside of ourselves for the answer. And doing that work to internally look and trust is so important.
Romina: Yes. Yes, very much
Megan: so one more question before we go about just something simple that people can do to ritualize their self-care or even their skincare. [00:31:00] Given your expertise in crafting elixirs for the body, what would you say people could do to begin that ritual experience?
Romina: Yes, I love this question. I think first it is starting the process off with gratitude. Gratitude for your body, gratitude for your skin, gratitude for the space and time that you have to be able to connect with yourself through skincare. So I always love picking up a bottle, holding it to my heart.
I know this sounds cheesy, but like thank you to the plants and the people that somehow made this product, and thank you to this body who has skin and a heartbeat and is breathing this air, uh, to be able to make [00:32:00] this moment happen. And then sometimes I like to create a nice environment. Say I light a candle, or I dim the lights, or maybe it a door can be locked for at least 10 minutes to have this alone time with intention of.
Cleansing your skin, metaphorically cleansing your skin, and then nourishing your skin topically, and then also metaphorically nourishing your skin. So number one is starting in gratitude. Number two is the intention that you bring to that time, no matter how long or short. And then number three is the practice.
And you can do this with any product. It doesn't have to be Romi. But the product itself doing everything that you can [00:33:00] to be present in that moment. So paying attention to the texture of the product, the texture as you take the product out of the bottle or the jar are at the texture of how it feels on your
Taking in a huge breath to take in the scent. Of the product, if it is a natural product like Romi, where we use plant infused plant infusions in the oil and small concentrations of essential oils. These are smells that are very close and derived in the. Right outside of our doors or from small farmers or the, I would say the footstep between how it grows in nature to how it gets in the bottle is very small.
So if you have a product that is intentionally crafted like that and is safe to [00:34:00] smell in that way, take a beautiful deep breath of that product and. Pay attention to what that evokes. In your mind, do you, are you transported to a field of lavender? Do you feel the sunshine that made its way as nourishment into the plant?
Can you feel the rush of water that went into making the product? Or helping the plants grow so. The smell, the texture, paying attention to what happens in your mind as you apply these products, and then always using a gentle and loving touch your hands. On your skin. This is a way that you can physically give love to yourself.
And then also the thoughts that you [00:35:00] tell yourself as you're applying these products. Why not tell yourself you are beautiful? Why not tell your skin that it is glowing or radiant or, I am going to. Give you this beautiful treatment so it becomes more beautiful or radiant. So the loving touch and the loving thoughts that you tell yourself while you're in the process of applying your skincare also matters a great deal.
And this explanation was long, but you can literally do this in two minutes or you can take hours to do it. It's just a matter of how long and how meditative and how much time you have.
Megan: Yes. Ooh. And it, you just described it so well. I just wanna go and do that for myself right now. I'm like, [00:36:00] I wanna feel that on my face and, and I know how your products feel on my face too. I was like, I need to go get more of the Earthly Cleanser, my favorite makeup remover of all time. The exfoliator, remind me the name of the exfoliator.
Romina: Yes, it's called Ma'ema'e Cleansing Polish. Ma'ema'e is a Hawaiian word to cleanse.
Megan: My absolute favorite and it lasts so long. I think the last bottle I got from you was like potentially two Christmases ago at a Christmas market, and I use a little bit every couple days as I notice my skin needs a little exfoliating and it's just. So luxurious.
Romina: Yes, I love that product. It's, it has really high value because it will last forever if stored in cool, dark storage and yeah, a little goes a long way. So I love that you're still using [00:37:00] it from two Christmases ago.
Megan: Yes. It stays, stays good for so long too. You know, it's, it's very well made. And the smells, I can just smell like your North Woods oil and your what's the one queen of the winter? Ooh.
Romina: Yes. Thank you. I will say that being a cosmetic formulator and having a business of making manufacturing, skincare, and selling it. Not all skincare is created equal. And so if you want to make conscious choices in your life and you have you, you have made conscious choices about the food you eat or the cleaning products that you use in your house, really also take a look at how your skincare is made.
We have big beauty and little beauty. And Romi falls into of course, the little beauty [00:38:00] category where we are creating relationships with small farmers who love their land and tend to their land. With loving practices that are sustainable for the earth and we're getting these beautiful herbs, sometimes fresh or sometimes freshly dried.
And then we take that directly under our ROY Lab roof and we process these herbs right away into oils and the products. And I often tell, um, our. Our fabulous ROI team. Please don't make ROI products or bottle ROI products if you're having a bad day. Take the time to nourish yourself and come to work or the task at hand when you're feeling good, because I truly believe that energy transfers into the product.
And so. [00:39:00] By the time someone receives a ROY bottle of product, that what is in that bottle is the love that the farmer had for their hers, the love that our team put into. those herbs into skincare. And oftentimes the retailers that we work with are small retails that, retailers that are family run or women run and they are sourcing products with the same values and ethos as them and also us.
If we talk about conscious products and skincare, that's what goes into the process of selecting a product that you wanna put on your skin.
Megan: Yes. I love hearing that background and from you as founder, [00:40:00] to have made and forged these partnerships with people who are tending for the land. I mean, what a perfect partnership for them, right? To know that their plants and the land that they're tending is being crafted into something that's full of love for someone else.
That's just incredible, and to know that you can make those choices and infuse your values into the choices that you make, so wonderful example.
Romina: Yeah. Great. Well thank you so much for prompting me to think about that. 'cause sometimes when, um. After eight years, you know, of being in the midst of it all. I, I tend to forget like the true magic of what I get to do with Romi. So I really appreciate you prompting me to talk about it. It's inspiring me.
I wanna go and cleanse my face right [00:41:00] now.
Megan: Let's go do that. Everyone ritual
Romi style. so much.
Well, we have covered so much ground today, Romina. I wanna round us out by just asking you if there was one takeaway that our listeners could hold with them after hearing this, what might you hope that would be?
Romina: I would say that there is an infinite amount of love and forgiveness out there for yourself and your process and who you are. Even if that love and forgiveness doesn't come from another person or another being, you can provide that for yourself. And there's an understanding that we're all part of this greater universe, [00:42:00] call it spirit or light or God or supreme consciousness.
There is. That capacity for greater love and forgiveness that we can always tap into whenever we're feeling down, whenever we're feeling burnt out, whenever we're feeling alone that is available for us.
Megan: So powerful. Thank you so, so much Romina. Oh, just soaking that in.
Romina: Yes.
Megan: well, we will be sharing your incredible Romi Apothecary website and your Instagram handles where they can follow your herbalism work
and your work in community at relax and recover.
Any final thing you wanna say today?
Romina: Uh, I just wanna say thank you so much, for inviting me onto your [00:43:00] podcast and being able to talk about these ideas and concepts. I think just keeping these conversations going is so important and you are doing the work to bridge connection and self discovery. So thank you for the work that you are doing.
Megan: Thank you so much. Ditto. I'm just so, so glad to know you and be in community with you and to then share this with whoever wants to find it.
We take such good care.
Romina: yes, you too.