Kula Q+A with Angie Starn, Consultant for Wellness Businesses
Kula Q + A
featuring
Angie Starn
our kula contributor Angie starn is a digital nomad based in north london. She met merilyn, founder of Keskula Digital, over a cup of matcha immediately following a morning at Morning Gloryville. Since then she's given administrative support, while providing Consulting and Support for wellness Businesses. today angie shares her incredible reading list and passion for permaculture, inspiring us to deepen our connection to the earth and all living things.
What's inspiring me now
I'm increasingly inspired by the principles and core ethics of Permaculture. They incorporate nature's living intelligence, teaching us how to survive in a regenerative and sustainable way. And more than that they inform how we can better live our own lives. The deeper I go into my studies of trees and plants the more I discover how much we can learn and heal from their wisdom. If you are curious and want a dose of inspiration, check out Geoff Lawton's free videos on permaculture or google Principles of Permaculture. Think care of the earth, each other and fair share.
current reading list
Sometimes the best therapist is a book. And here are a few I would prescribe: In our late 30s, it's quite human to re-evaluate our life and relationships. For lack of a better term, the mid-life crisis is an opportunity to become the real you. It's about transformation and alignment with our true self. The book that resonated with me at this time was Jitterbug Perfume. It's a wild ride about living authentically, unconventionally and by the heart. I love Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic and The Signature of All Things. With the benefit of hindsight, I'd definitely prescribe Big Magic to anyone in their 20s or someone with a passion to pursue. The perfect college graduation gift. A totally different type of book... following a bike accident where I flipped 360 degrees over a bike at 25 miles per hour down hill with a young son and 200 more miles to cycle, I'm not sure I could have embraced this 'adventure' and pain without Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. The heroine harnessed the qualities I needed to inspire me through 5 more days of cycling - unconventional, heroic and dedicated to name a few. Getting lost in the intelligence of this book and character helped me forget about the pain. And finally, there is an emerging field called Ecopsychology and for me nature (and a bicycle) is the best therapist and inspiration to living sustainably. On my home alter, I often pick-up and carry with me Mindfulness and the Natural World, a beautiful book to bring you closer to the natural world. One final bit of therapy - The Hidden Life of Trees. I have personified trees so much that they have become my mentors and role models.
In our late 30s, it's quite human to re-evaluate our life and relationships. For lack of a better term, the mid-life crisis is an opportunity to become the real you. It's about transformation and alignment with our true self.
Mornings are generally filled with
Mornings for me are about movement, meditation and nourishment. As an early bird I've always started my day by 6am. Thankfully, my son has consistently slept until 7am. I went back to work when he was 1 and ran along Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park every morning. That was a lifesaver. Now my mornings start with lemon, ACV, water, strength, yoga and meditation.
most treasured health ritual
Tea, I absolutely love tea, especially green tea, only loose leaf. Once I started connecting with the tea leaf, where it's from, who picked the leaf, the colour and specific feeling each variety gives me, my connection to the natural world, self and people deepened. This practice helps me integrate this connection into how I aim to show up in daily life.
Must see travel destination
I love week-long self-guided cycling tours and will go on my 6th one this summer from Innsbruck to Verona. Cycling Puglia, the heal of the boot in Italy, is a gorgeous experience. The landscape and charming villages change from day to day and the entire route fills you with a sense of joy, wonder and appreciation. Giolibero is one of the best reasonably priced organizers out there.
