Magnolia was born from a deep love of meaningful living and connection. In a world of mistaken wellness identities (intermittent fasting, paleo diets, hot saunas, ice baths!), it’s hard to know what to eat or drink or how to sleep or think. I blame Huberman! And capitalism!
In contrast, Chinese Medicine is a most gentle philosophy. It encourages us to tune into our inner voice, to learn to hold difficult emotions (rather than hide away from them), to enjoy everything in moderation. It’s founded on balance, harmony, Oneness with nature and acceptance of self within a complicated world. That all sounds pretty lovely to me.
For now, this store and Magnolia’s spirit live online – but I’m always around if you feel like a chat. Besides study, I work as a copywriter, digital content creator and strategist in the health, lifestyle, travel & loving humanity spaces.
You can reach me at sarahfrish@gmail.com
Why Magnolia?
My work has always felt dedicated to the subtle strength and softness of yin. It’s considered feminine in nature (when compared to the upright, masculine, unyielding yang). We live in a very yang world, with forces of capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy defining much of the 21st Century. It’s more of an effort to find the softness and stillness that make yin so juicy, beautiful and strong.
Magnolias bloom at the end of Winter, a season of utmost yin. The colder months are a time of reflection, contemplation and resonance – they ask us to turn inwards, in order to burst forth in Spring.
I think it’s so beautiful that a flower chooses this season to make itself known. To say, Hey, you too can bloom if you slow down, take care and eat lots of stew. Maybe not the latter, but you catch my drift.
Henri Matisse ‘Still Life with Magnolia’ (1941)
* An important note
It’s challenging to write about these concepts with any degree of authority or knowing. I’m only a student – and barely that – of a lineage that exceeds 2,000 years. There are phenomenal practitioners out there who have paved the way for this study through struggle and triumph, particularly in the face of a patriarchal, colonialist Western medical system. Russell Brown, a most thoughtful acupuncturist in L.A., writes beautifully on this here.
Big ol’ shoutout to my own practitioners, Ross from Bright Cottage Acupuncture & Yanan from Project Dao, who hold space for every season of life with the utmost grace, intelligence, wisdom and boundaried compassion. I wouldn’t be here without them.