Hi, I’m Leah
And if you're reading this while holding a cold cup of coffee you made two hours ago — welcome.
You're in exactly the right place.
I See You
I know what it feels like to be exhausted.
Not the kind of tired that a good night's sleep fixes.
The bone-deep, where-did-I-go kind of tired.
The kind that sneaks up on you while you're busy taking care of literally everyone and everything else.
I also know what it feels like to go looking for answers and end up more overwhelmed than when you started.
To open another wellness article and close it feeling worse.
To wonder if maybe you're just not trying hard enough.
Or doing it right.
Or built for this.
You are.
And it was never supposed to feel this hard.
How I Got Here
My path into wellness didn't begin from some perfectly curated place.
It began from necessity, and honestly, a fair amount of frustration.
I was born with chronic health challenges and spent years trying to figure out why I felt the way I felt, why wellness always seemed just slightly out of reach, and why every "solution" seemed designed for someone with more time, money, and mental bandwidth than I had.
That search eventually led me into the world of:
Holistic nutrition
Functional medicine
Genetics
Nervous system health
Movement
Epigenetics
Which is a lot of words that basically mean:
I've spent a ridiculous amount of time learning why our bodies do what they do, and how to actually support them in real life, not just in ideal conditions.
Today, I work as a DNA-based health coach, certified holistic nutrition consultant, and functional medicine health coach.
But more than any of those credentials...
I'm a mom.
And motherhood has a way of making everything feel simultaneously more important and more impossible. I do not parent elegantly. There have been snacks for dinner, screen time I'm not proud of, and at least one school pickup where I forgot which door. It's messy and loud and humbling and also the most love I've ever felt in my life, sometimes all in the same ten minutes.
Real Wellness Looks Like...
I know firsthand that real wellness doesn't always look like a slow morning with herbal tea and a journaling practice.
Sometimes it looks like:
Drinking your tea cold because you reheated it three times and forgot again
Trying to remember your supplements between school drop-offs and answering seventeen texts
Sitting in your parked car for five quiet minutes before going inside, pretending you didn't hear anyone call your name
Rebuilding your health slowly, steadily, while still carrying the full weight of a very full life
This is the wellness I understand.
And this is the wellness I write about.
Why I Built This
I created River and Root because I wanted to build the kind of place I needed during my hardest seasons.
Not fantasy wellness.
Not performative perfection.
Not hustle healing.
A place where:
Wellness could feel safe instead of overwhelming
Science could exist alongside compassion
Mothers didn't have to become perfect versions of themselves to deserve care
Healing could happen slowly and realistically
Nourishment, nervous system support, and emotional safety mattered just as much as discipline and productivity
Together, that's what this whole space is about.
Helping overwhelmed women and families come back to themselves gently. Not through perfection. But through small, sustainable shifts that actually hold.
Why River & Root?
The name means something to me.
River
Flow.
Gentleness.
Restoration.
Nervous system softness.
Movement instead of force.
Root
Foundations.
Nourishment.
Grounding.
Stability.
Returning to what truly supports health.
River & Root is the reminder I once needed. That wellness doesn't have to be rigid or relentless. It can flow. It can be rooted in what actually matters. It can feel like coming home.
When I was in my own stormy season, burned out and running on empty, I kept searching for something that felt sustainable. Something that didn't ask me to be perfect before I could feel better. I needed a softer way back to myself.
The river was the first part of the name that came to me. Because life is always moving. It speeds up and slows down. There are rapids and chaotic stretches, and there are long, quiet passages where the water runs smooth and clear. Some seasons are rocky. Others feel like drifting gently in the sun. The river doesn't fight its own current, and during my hardest seasons, I was learning that I didn't have to either.
The root came next. Because strong things grow slowly. Before a tree reaches toward the light, it first grows down. Deep into the earth. Quietly. Where no one can see. It pulls in nourishment. It anchors itself. It prepares for the next storm, not by becoming rigid, but by becoming steady.
That is what I was trying to do. And that is what this space is for.
Not perfection. Not another wellness protocol to follow. Just the gentle, ongoing work of coming back to yourself, softening what has hardened, nourishing what has been depleted, and building the kind of roots that hold you when life gets hard.
My Studies
(The Official Version)
For those who like the specifics, here's where I've spent my time:
DNA-based health coaching
Holistic nutrition (CHCH)
Functional medicine health coaching (FMCHC)
Personal training and movement (PFT)
Nervous system health and regulation
Genetics and epigenetics
Holistic family and children’s wellness
I bring all of it together here.
Not as a clinical practice.
But as an educated, lived-in, real-life resource for women and families who are done being overwhelmed by their own wellness journey
A Few Other Things About Me
I answer to a lot of names around here.
Officially, it's Leah.
But depending on the time of day and who's asking, I also go by:
Mom
Mommy
Bro
Hey You
I Need This
And Liz. A long standing family nickname from the days I was a gymnast (Leaping Leah Lizard…it’s a whole thing. Don’t ask haha)
I deeply believe:
Cold coffee is still coffee (even when it’s reheated for the umpteenth time)
Five minutes alone in a parked car counts as self-care
You can be deeply educated about health and still eat pancakes for dinner sometimes
The most powerful thing you can say to an overwhelmed woman is simply:
You're already worthy of care.
No earning required.
What River & Root Offers
Whether you found your way here through a blog post, a Pinterest scroll at midnight, or a friend who said, "you need to read this", here's what's waiting for you.
The Journal
Real, researched, honest writing on nervous system wellness, holistic health, nourishment, calm living, and realistic motherhood.
No fluff.
No shame.
Just good information, warmly delivered.
Resources & Shop
Printables, guides, and tools made for real life.
The kind you'll actually use, not just download.
Children's Corner - The Rooted Grove
A separate woodland-inspired space for calming kids' resources, books, and family wellness tools.
Because your kids deserve softness too.
The Email List
A warm, unhurried note in your inbox when it feels right.
No spam.
No noise.
Just good things.
Favourite Resources
Trusted supplements, books, and products I genuinely use and recommend.
Because you deserve trusted sources, not sponsored guesses.
Ready to exhale?
Start wherever feels right. Browse the journal, grab a free resource, or just stay a while.