#97: Rachelle Robinett

"At first it felt like rebellion, and then I realized that it’s the point."

Health Gossip and Rachelle Robinett, RH (AHG)

Apr 19, 2026

Rachelle Robinett, RH (AHG) is an herbalist and the author of Naturally (2025), a beginner-friendly guide to herbalism and beyond.

I’ve found Rachelle’s approach to living — and, by extension, health — to be truly refreshing, an example of how, today, living “alternatively” doesn’t necessarily mean living in rebellion, but living in truth. As she wrote in a recent post, “When we’re brave enough to act according to our convictions, I believe, we end up resembling our truest selves.” She continues:

“What I want to see more of in the world…is an example of how to live differently. How to leave a life, for more life; how to leave a marriage, when nothing exactly is wrong. How to change radically and honestly, despite every pressure not to do so.”

You can find more of Rachelle on Substack and Instagram.

#97: Rachelle Robinett
Costa Rica

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

I have come to know the deepest state of health as one that requires, and results from, our living the lives we are meant to live. Meaning that no amount of biohacking can compete with existential misalignment.

To me, health is a state of aliveness — body, mind, and spirit.

How would you describe your current lifestyle?

Beachside-jungle, pleasure-seeking, surf-addicted flowing. Which could not be more different from the lifestyle I maintained until about two years ago.
I’ve been studying health my whole life, which means I know how to push my body (and brain) to the limit. I did that, working essentially nonstop from the time I was barely an adult. Through my move to New York (no money, no friends, no job, etc.), and many wild years in the fashion industry, through building my own businesses (herbal product lines, herbal cafe-apothecary, a private practice, classes and workshops, endless amounts of content…), and writing my book (Naturally). Then, suddenly, I stopped.

I had reached a place — the place — I’d always aspired to be. The one that little-girl-me had dreamed of.

I found myself on the kitchen floor, crying with relief, amazement, and grief. I booked a vacation to Costa Rica. I knew that I was done.

But, I thought I was just finished with that phase of my professional life — that my future would be writing books.

Turns out, I was also done with my marriage, my home, and NYC — the place I never thought I’d leave.

I live in Costa Rica now, and here, life centers around things like pleasure and leisure, community and family, adventure and nature — and never, ever making plans. I’m outdoors, in motion, and immersed in the elements for most of every day.

I have never been happier, or healthier.

How do you start and end your days?

People are always asking me, “What do you do all day down there?”

Every day is different because things have a way of flowing into each other here — the boundaries are very porous (which is something I’m fascinated by, and writing about).

I wake up to the sounds of the jungle — monkeys, birds, frogs in the rainy season — and the heavy warmth of my boyfriend, wrapped around me. I make coffee, love, and then check the waves because surfing is my main priority every day. Why that sport is so life-changing, I’ve yet to fully understand — IYKYK — but I’m as addicted as it gets.

On a good day, I’ll surf for a couple of hours in the morning surrounded by friends, schools of fish, cruising pelicans, and the occasional lost butterfly. Afterward, I usually need two breakfasts: a smoothie I prepare in advance, and a gallo pinto, which is a traditional Costa Rican breakfast of rice and beans, eggs, sweet plantain, fried cheese, and avocado.

(Runner up: An açai bowl. I fell in love with açai in Brazil last year and they do it well here — no added sugar, tons of fresh fruit, and locally made peanut butter.)

Thereafter, I’m with the wind. I’ll ride my bike home to nap, write, make more love — or hop on the back of my boyfriend’s motorcycle in search of a deserted beach, where we read poetry or play fútbol, hang a hammock, get naked, swim, talk, nap, exist. And this — this “doing nothing” — has changed my life. For the first time ever, I am unproductive. I play and I forget the time, the day, the month. At first it felt like rebellion, and then I realized that it’s the point. This isn’t nothing, it’s living.

People are always asking me, “What do you do all day down there?”

By late afternoon, it’s time to check the waves again for the possibility of a sunset surf, which is actually a psychedelic experience here. The sky explodes into color and the sea becomes the sky — a single expanse of fire and light that we all fall silent for, bobbing and drifting in sublimity, together and alone.

Lie long on the beach while the moon rises and Venus appears and then flow into the night, which may involve salsa dancing (I'm taking lessons), cooking dinner at home, or happening upon a beach or backyard barbecue which certainly involves chicharrones (deep-fried pork belly cooked in a cast-iron pot over an open fire and stirred with a piece of driftwood, say).

Somewhere in there, I also manage to write and text my mom.

Can you recall a moment when you became more aware of your health, or your relationship to it changed?

My parents both worked in health (my dad was a doctor and my mom is a functional health practitioner), so I've also been health-conscious. I also studied it from the time I was very young, was always experimenting with my own health, and have extensive experience from my work with clients, which is all to say that most of my health evolution has been gradual and progressive. However, I would call out a couple of pivotal moments:

The first was when I decided to give up alcohol. I was in my late 20s, and at that time, the non-alcoholic industry didn’t exist. Everyone thought I was either pregnant or sick. Obviously it improved my health, but what I loved most of all was that it created more time in every day — more time to live, and to live more healthfully.

The second has been my move to the jungle. I've always said that the pillars of health are simple and more or less unchanging; now I live in a Blue Zone and see the truth of that all day long. And the simplicity point is huge, as it’s in such stark contrast with the state of the wellness industry today. I have exactly zero gadgets, hacks, or stacks here and am definitely adding years to my life.

Lastly, though not of least importance, was when I encountered herbalism and realized how brilliant and truly holistic it is. I firmly believe that it contains essentially all of what we seek in terms of how to be healthy naturally.

What’s your relationship to self-healing?

None of us are experts in all things. I love handing my body (or mind) over to an expert. It's a balance, of course, but working with well-informed practitioners who share our values is one of the most efficient ways to both learn more about our health, and improve it.

I’m especially in favor of experts who guide us to greater self-awareness, which then supports our ability to self-heal in the future.

Do you work with any practitioners, texts, or modalities on a regular basis?

Herbalism. (I put just about everything I know about it in my book.)

Do you have a spiritual practice?

I write.

When do you feel the most nourished?

At the end of each of these days, when I return home sea-and-sweat-salty with sandy legs, sore muscles, and the bodily hum of having been a creature in the wild. When I feel loved, and in love. And when I witness beauty that challenges my ability to comprehend it.

The sky explodes into color and the sea becomes the sky — a single expanse of fire and light that we all fall silent for.

How do you reset?

Exercise, or sleep.

Do you have a favorite meal? What do you keep stocked in your kitchen?

Always in stock: Protein powder (I use NOW and Garden of Life, which are the best I can get here. In the states, I recommend FORM), psyllium, fresh fruit, and coconuts for smoothies. Fresh local fish (especially red snapper), fresh local meats, farmer’s market vegetables, and locally made nut butter. There’s some pretty incredible chocolate here, too, which is pure cacao sweetened only with cacao juice (brilliant). If I still had my apothecary, I’d stock it.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

She believed she'd make it, and her mantra was always “onward,” so I'd say, “A dream beyond your wildest dreams awaits.”

What advice would you give to the person reading this?

From my book, “Venturing toward our true nature can be one of life’s most meaningful undertakings, and some of the work’s greatest gifts are its realizations — those luminous occasions of recognizing a constellation after enough stars have revealed themselves — moments in which we meet ourselves anew. It’s seeing, after which there is no unseeing — some aspect of our relationship to this experience of being alive is forever altered. Realization is a reward for persistence, and inherent in persistence is hope.”

In other words, life is short — don’t wait. Choose courage — the reward is more life.

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

More art, less content. More living, less consumption. More love, less fear.