#40: Rebecca Spitaleri

“If I am conscious of changing my habits and thought forms fundamentally, then I am back at zero point: to serve.”

Feb 02, 2025

Rebecca Spitaleri (@seeri_koko) is an artist, postpartum doula, and maternal educator. I first found her work soon after talking with a friend about our desire to read an earnest ‘mommy blog’ — less focused on product recommendations or maternity style, more on motherhood’s profound initiations. After reading some of her writings, I knew I had to invite her on.

Health Gossip #40: Rebecca Spitaleri
Black Mountain, NC
Aries/Cancer/Virgo

What does health, or being healthy, mean to you?

Health is a form of wealth to me. Being healthy dictates how well I can move throughout the (sometimes) chaotic moments of my day-to-day and in turn, years to come. How I can better hold onto this moment or simply let it go is reflected in my capacity to feel in tune with my body vessel...my health reflects this mission. I’ve alway been fascinated by the intelligence of the body, and for that I am constantly crediting this life.

How would you describe your current lifestyle?

Non-traditional, I guess. However, I do prioritize slow living and purposefully moved to a rural part of Western North Carolina when I was 21 years old to drink spring water running off the mountain, heat my home with wood, and keep chickens on a dirt road. I adore the country, the simplicity of primitive ways, and truly hold value in nourishing my family through this lens. My lifestyle isn’t that off-brand from a postcard you see of that “way back when” scene, although I am guilty of romanticizing a time when traditional values held up a higher purpose matched with full integrity and the experience of time. I very much enjoy minimalism with a hint of structure.

Today, my lifestyle is a bit more streamlined as I enter a new phase of mothering a pre-teen. I have been called ‘easy going’ and I think that reflects my lifestyle. I am very fluid natured and often use my feeling sense first, trusting in the alignment of opportunities that present themselves instead of aggressively forcing an outcome because I want it to be that way.

“Learning to regulate and cope with the impermanence of beauty and the fragility of living through the age of information has been a process for me in relating and therefore, responding.”

How do you start and end your days?

Always with water. I wake up with my beloved and drink to my health, stretch my neck, move with the Big 6 lymph work and breathe out my sleeping breath in front of my red light device, especially in the winter months.

All movement is followed by a hearty breakfast (my favorite meal of the day) which ushers in the actual flow of my day at best, for how I tend to the morning is how I deal with the rest of the day.

I respectfully despise being rushed in any form, and always give myself two whole hours before I leave for work. Everyday I make a cappuccino from scratch (mainly because I was utterly sick of purchasing to-go drinks that are lacking...): a spoonful of collagen, chaga, reishi and something even better, homemade whipped cream. Beauty and presence always, and this includes sipping on your favorite warm beverage in the mornings.

These days typically end with a shower or bath (I feel most grounded in water) and/or a ritual of smoke. But tea is always in order. Right now I’ve been enjoying Cool Winter Herb Tea by the Republic of Tea. Sometimes I’ll read a few pages out of a book or dabble in bibliomancy, gua sha with local tallow or simply dive into the dreamtime. I prioritize rest and I mean that. After dealing with sleep deprivation when I was on-demand breastfeeding an infant, I learned to train myself back into proper sleep mode. I love to rest, knowing this is when aging happens, so I don’t take it for granted. My bedroom is treated like a palace: no food or screens allowed (unless it's too cold in the living room to watch a film), colors of white and soft pink, dark wood and candle glow; cave-like. My bedroom is my second favorite place in the home, the kitchen being the first.

Was there a specific moment when your relationship to your health changed?

When I was in my final year of high school, I went through some deeply personal and psychological shifts which stemmed from mineral deficiency. I realized then that food can also be found in other forms (media intake, the visceral need ‘to know,’ our environment, emotional binging and boundaries) and that I had better take care of myself before I lose myself. Learning to regulate and cope with the impermanence of beauty and the fragility of living through the age of information has been a process for me in relating and therefore, responding. Overconsumption is actually depleting in the end.

“If I am conscious of changing my habits and thought forms fundamentally, beyond the superficial level, then I am back at zero point: to serve.”

Are there any mantras or principles that guide you?

When I studied energy healing in 2016 I learned about esoteric anatomy. The statement, “form follows thought,” stuck with me. Not sure about you, but I take in a lot of collective feeling as an empath and have to constantly check myself to purify negativity from my body, hence the self-care rituals and so on. This is not to say I am negligent or pushing back the pain-body of the world, I just have to remind myself that if I am conscious of changing my habits and thought forms fundamentally, beyond the superficial level, then I am back at zero point: to serve.

I believe in karma and the reconciliation of that matter lives in the caretaking of our flesh-filled bodies. When I worked in a Waldorf classroom, every day my co-teacher and I would recite this poem in front of a candle together. I still keep to it because I believe words are power and service can be incredibly arduous to the spirit even if it appears to come with ease or some sense of humility.

That poem went like this:

May wisdom shine through me
May love glow in me
May strength penetrate me
That in me may arise
A helper for humanity
A servant of sacred things Selfless and true.

The feminine principle is also very close to my heart as I learn to navigate life in a decentralized model that keeps women looping and maintained by our emotions, but not our visions. “In the beginning was blood and the moon..” all comes from a deeper knowing.

I’ll admit I have a special connection to the womb, which is probably where my postpartum work began taking form. The ‘healthy feminine’ from a place of self-love and self-worth is an archetype I strive to embody daily.

How do you reset?

I practice cycle syncing and follow a rhythmic dieta. This means I am staying nourished with specific foods/herbs according to the phase of my cycle. Sometimes I’ll increase protein when I am feeling depleted, or supplement with adaptogens when I am stressed out. I utilize cupping when I feel illness coming on and do scalp massages daily. I love self-care rituals and developed a love for this when I became a mother. This may sound cliche but lovemaking also feels like a sacred practice that has proven health benefits, for that I am also grateful. Time in nature is first and foremost.

When I feel unhealthy, I will do a Kitchari cleanse to help my gut “digest” life. This naturally stirs up around seasonal shifts. Movement is life, and any part of me that needs a break from the mind usually resolves quickly through free-form dancing. Highly recommend it.

“The ‘healthy feminine’ from a place of self-love and self-worth is an archetype I strive to embody daily.”

What’s your relationship to self-healing?

I got to the point recently where I was done guessing and self-diagnosing some physical symptoms I was experiencing and decided to reach out to a professional for help. Normally, I deal with various ailments from the comforts of my home. I’m pretty well versed in herbalism, and several other healing modalities that would be filed under “home remedying” which are quite reliable. The last time I went to a doctor was at my 6-week postpartum check-up 12 years ago, no joke. I knew it was time to get proper bloodwork and testing done, which required reading the charts. Otherwise, I work at an acupuncture office so acupuncture is likely where I’ll turn.

Are there any interventions that have really moved the needle for you?

Ironically it wasn’t acupuncture; it was aquatic bodywork. I can offer a whole in-depth podcast on this topic if needed because I am still integrating the work. It’s been, by far, the most holistic method of bodywork that I have found. Though, I say this with conviction and as someone who would rather live in water than on land.

As far as texts go, one cannot go wrong with this bible: Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford.

Do you have a favorite meal? What do you like to keep stocked in your kitchen/pantry?

I love orange foods...warming, spicy...butternut squash, apricots (stuffed with goat cheese), anything with turmeric and ginger… If I had to choose a meal per say, I’d have to go with an herbed lamb and tzatziki dish with all of the flavors, followed by a cup of cardamom and rose rice pudding.

I always try to have good quality dairy, kimchi and lately homemade jello on hand. Oddly, I didn't take to it as a child, but that’s different now that I have access to pasture-raised beef gelatin and can craft this snack to my liking... My son also approves.

When do you feel the most nourished?

Winter is my most nourishing season, luteal phase is my most nourished time in my menstrual cycle, and nightly when I am cozied up with my sweetheart in our sanctuary. Nourishment is sensational.

What advice would you give to your past self?

I would offer some solace for the often radical and impatient emotions that I experienced growing up as the eldest of four. Probably would’ve skipped high school and retreated to learning a trade or studying abroad. I would make sure to tell my past self to embrace my inner-voice and knowing, and to not hold back from speaking up. I would also guide her to end things a bit differently when the time came to do it. She knows...

To the person reading this?

Trust your instincts. Remember to laugh. Move slow and make art about it.

What would you like to see or create more of in the world?

I would like to see more people thriving instead of merely surviving. Leading with their innate gifts and not by the books. Would be nice to witness a shift in the powers that be, then there would be a decrease in the amount of victims of propaganda and more authenticity all around. The centering of Mothers feels important and well, a total re-balancing of our value system as a whole, more cohesion and truth instead of lies and facade. That way people don't have to spend their later years recovering from it.