“The Adeptist” was originally published in the Summer + Fall 2020 issue.

Walk into any bookstore in America these days and you can find a wellspring of titles imploring women to take control of their hormones. Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten and WomanCode: Perfect Your Cycle, Amplify Your Fertility, Supercharge Your Sex Drive, and Become a Power Source by Alisa Vitti have practically developed cult-like followings. Hordes of young women who have grown up on birth control are now learning more about their cycle and how to live within it naturally.

Elizabeth Peterson is the owner and creator of The Adeptist, a company out of Boulder that brings customers herbal elixir blends, expertise from holistic practitioners and online content related to all things female and hormones.

Peterson graduated from Bauman College where she studied holistic nutrition and wellness. Coincidently, just as she was ready to lead others on their paths to wellness, she herself was not feeling that great. Earlier in her life, Peterson did not have the best relationship with her body; she thought she was being healthy, but she was actually being super rigid and had a lot of negative self-talk. When she was in college it was a wake-up call when a teacher actually said that Peterson looked “deficient.”

Peterson knew something had to change. She began a healing journey by getting her hormones tested and, just as she had suspected, her hormones were depleted and her cortisol levels were super high. She felt like her body was turning on her. The “inner drill sergeant” she said she had been living with for years had to go. She realized it didn’t matter how in shape she was; if she didn’t feel good there was an issue.

Peterson took several measures to bring herself back to health, such as seeing an acupuncturist and incorporating different herbs and adaptogens into her daily routine. She started making blends and sharing them with her clients.

One day in meditation she had an epiphany. She describes it as being completely intuitive, almost “choice-less,” like the thought came and it was never a matter of if she could or should do this; in fact, she went straight to the kitchen to start playing around. She would do this.

These days Peterson’s health is vibrant, and her elixir herbal blends recently went through a re-branding. Now, in addition to selling her popular elixirs, there will be “expert holistic practitioners and healers” featured on her site, as well as more recipes and online content coming soon.

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Peterson

When asked what is the one adaptogen/herb that she recommends for most women, she says Shatavari. Across the board in Ayurveda, it is recommended for women of all ages, no matter where they are in their menstrual or life cycle.

Peterson says there isn’t one magic thing out there that can just heal everything — humans and hormones are complex. And it’s important to note that her herbs and elixirs work beautifully in conjunction with other wellness modalities.

“Your hormones are dictating everything,” Peterson explains. “They’re dictating the expression of your mood, your digestion, your blood sugar, your appearance, your skin … and what’s underneath all that on an even more foundational level is your nervous system. I like to think of addressing these different layers. The nervous system directly interacts with everything, and the nervous system and the endocrine system dictate what your sense of wellbeing and vitality is, so that’s where we want to go to work. And adaptogens help us do that.”

Find Peterson online at theadeptist.com.

Lead photo by Tamara Muth King.