I’m so happy you are visiting Plant Bellies! This is an inclusive space for resources for a natural and holistic lifestyle and parenting style. This blog is my view of how God intends me to live. I know it’s usually more politically correct to keep things secular, but my God is a God of acceptance of all as they are and as they were created by God, so I personally do not ascribe to any intolerant religious beliefs or ones of exclusion. I acknowledge that many people have been harmed by how people portray and teach religion (not by God) and I want you to know this is a safe and inclusive space.
I will cover topics such as my views on natural pregnancy and childbirth, plant-based whole food nutrition, sustainable, mindful mental wellness, non-toxic cleaning and body care, and natural and traditional methods of child education, particularly unschooling. I will also point out my views and understanding of how systemic racism and other systems of oppression affect all of these areas and provide my POC point of view on the previously mentioned areas. If you are tired of accepting the norms of society and have started to notice all the holes in the system, this is definitely a place to come and learn some different ways to live life!
A little about my journey
My name is Pooja Haney and I am located in the Midwest (Illinois)! I have not always known about living a holistic life and I’m no expert now, but I definitely want to share what I have learned along the way to help others who are interested learn and little something and possible come down the path if it looks right for you :). I grew up in a pretty privileged situation and it wasn’t until high school and college that I learned how differently people live in the same country as me. I had seen poverty first hand on family trips to India, but I really didn’t understand how much disparity there was within our own borders. This topic is the first thread that will loop through this blog.
The other major threads that will loop through the blog are food systems, the education system, the Western medical system and sustainability all of which I started questioning at various points in my adulthood. I am grateful to have been raised knowing there is more than one type of medical system in the world, which I believe really helped me question the things I was learning when I attended pharmacy school. I never fully bought into Western medicine before and after actually learning about it within the system, I absolutely knew there were major holes in its ability to provide wellbeing the way I view wellbeing.
The education system was easy to see the holes in when I attended school with people from different backgrounds and learned the vast disparities people has in resources and opportunity. Having my own child taught me SO much more about what I view as a true education and I was able to see the the mainstream school system is not capable of providing this to most children.
Learning more and more about where our food comes from allowed me to realize that I could definitely not support the commercial meat or dairy industries. I grew up vegetarian, but definitely had a dairy heavy diet and considered dairy to be far less harmful ethically and nutritionally until I educated myself and realized commercial dairy animals live just as inhumane lives as meat livestock, if not more. I also have been educating myself on where all my food comes from not just animal products which has led me to have the goal to grow my own food in a regenerative manner (a manner that adds to the ecosystem and environment rather than depleting it).
And finally sustainability which really threads though all of these topics, because in order to be a sustainable society we need to live in a selfless way that has a value and place for all beings: humans- however the are born and choose to live and love, animals and the planet. We need to raise children who know how to think and learn, not copy and seek praise. We need to make sure our practices do the least amount of harm that we can manage with the goal of further educating ourselves and integrating practices as we can. I know and understand not all things are accessible to everyone and not all choices are ones people are ready to make, so I hope this blog can be a first step in sharing some new (but really very old!) ways of thinking. The actions we each will choose to take will vary, but the mindset we live in is what is most important!
Bonus: Here are some pictures of the angels that inspire me daily:
My husband, who pushes me beyond what I think I am capable of.
Me, yeah ok I can be my own angel; we all can 😉
My sweet daughter, with the happiest, most joyful and God-loving heart
