Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariah Bottomly. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mariah, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
There are many intricacies to this answer! I think that I’m on a continuing quest to realize my purpose while simultaneously living my life’s mission/purpose. It has taken a long time to step into my purpose. I started my life’s journey and work very young without having any true focus or guidance. I started approaching my life with a holistic lens in my late teens/early 20’s. It started off with the understanding that herbs and homeopathic medicine and remedies were much better for my family and I, than pharmaceuticals. Now that I’m older, my semblance of purpose is much more concrete. I have incorporated so many modalities (and continue to do so) into my practice.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a practitioner of Curanderismo, ancestral Mexican Folk medicine, gifted to me by both my matriarchal and patriarchal lineages. I have learned and incorporated much of this beauty work into my practice. I have also intertwined and incorporated my Celtic/Irish ancestry into this work. I am a birth and death keeper, full spectrum doula, and through the many intricacies of this particular work, there have been so many amazing, transformative moments in people’s lives, including my own. It helps to bring much needed support to our communities. I have stepped away from birth work due to patriarchal, white supremacist ideations and paradigms that are no longer aligned with my purpose. I love postpartum care, and focus on the cuarenta or “the first forty days” and help navigate the birthing person through ceremony, ritual and a “closing of the bones”. I also help steward people through many of life’s transitions like, abortion, miscarriage, fetal demise and death.
This “work” is very multi-faceted. I quote the word work because it’s truly my life’s purpose and my soul’s assignment.
I have an office that I share with another practitioner of Curanderismo that also incorporates other modalities into her work/practice. She is one of my most favorite humans/sister-friend. Her name is Naomi Ochoa and she has cultivated a very beautiful office home for us, at Gebhard Mansion in 5 Points, Denver. I work there Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. On Fridays, I offer my CommUNITY Care Clinic or, CCC. This offering is only available on Fridays and only available for those who are struggling due to financial hardships or that need consistent, quality care. I accept a sliding scale, minimum suggested donation of $44. I also work once a week, on Thursdays at Alchemy Ritual Goods, a BIPOC, women owned, magic shop. I have worked there for 2+ years. It is an Ancestral Medicine Clinic that is also donation based with a $44 minimum suggested donation. I LOVE working at these places and am always profoundly impacted at the amount of healing that happens during these sessions, in these beautiful spaces.
I just finished getting certified as an auricular acupuncture technician or, AAT through Black Mesa Remedios and the Peoples Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA). We use the 5NP or 5 Needle Protocol in the ears using acupuncture needles. This medicine is used to help people who are having issues with things like addiction, cravings, PTSD, anxiety, withdrawals from addictive substances, trouble sleeping as well as a plethora of other issues. I’m super excited to add this modality into my practice and consider this revolutionary work that has been brought to communities to help with harm reduction.
I also volunteer at Servicios de la Raza along with the Strawberry Moon Community offering free limpias or “cleansings” on an occasional Tuesday. You can also find me offering 5NP acupuncture there, as well.
I am a danzante or, an Aztec dancer with Kalpulli ColorAztlan Quetzalcoatl, a Denver based group that has been around for over 40 years led by Debora Montoya and Phyllis Cano. I help with administrative duties and help facilitate classes for the 6th Sun Calmécac, which is a community organization or a “higher learning” with the mission of creating and growing a safe, inclusive environment to teach, uphold, and honor our ancestral traditions, also founded by Debora Montoya.
Needless to say, I do a LOT of commUNITY work and am heavily invested in many different communities.
After the blessing of my own spiritual council, mentors, elders and after the ask from community, I have started my own mentorship program that began at the end of January, 2024. It is a year long commitment in which I will help support and steward participants on their own journey through their own ancestral practices and connections. This mentorship is intended for all who are interested and willing to work on the many aspects of the four manifestations (mental, emotional, physical and spiritual), intersecting them, and working individually and collectively to create a remembrance of our DNA, reconfigure and heal lineages of ancestral trauma while remembering our ancestral joy, connection, and ritual ways. I’m so excited to embark on this newest iteration of my soul’s work and am excited to see the way that it unfolds.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am a forever student. My 4 year apprenticeship with Natalie Cruz of Strawberry Moon Energetics has now turned into a 9 year journey. This has been the foundation and basis of a lot of the work that I do today. Working with her and the Strawberry Moon Community has really helped to hone in on a lot of my gifts and become a better practitioner. I’m always continuing my professional development by learning from others. I continue to deepen into my learnings so, I will always continue the REMEMBERING.
Next, is my connection that I have made with Tonja Reichley another ancestral medicine keeper of Irish and Celtic origin. She helped steward me for over a year in practicum, rituals, learnings and reverence of my Irish heritage. This year long journey ended in a pilgrimage to Ireland for Samhain, the ritual that marks the beginning of winter. I was able to develop a relationship with my Irish ancestry, Celtic manifestations and work with unseen energies in a way that was profoundly new to me yet, feels so ancient. It was much like an initiation to incorporate and intersect all of this ancestral , indigenous knowledge. On this pilgrimage, I also visited Scotland and England to connect deeper into my lineages and found myself impacted so greatly with the ancestral remembrance of trauma that I need to go back and reconcile with some of the energies that I witnessed while I was there.
I have been fortunate to have had many mentors, scholars, fellowships, teachings and learnings by so many impactful elders, teachers, councils, individuals and amazing humans. I am always looking to expand and strengthen my tool belt and deepen into my practices so that I can be best of service to myself, my family and my communities.
My recommendation is to continue to keep learning, stay humble, kill the ego, and have faith and trust that you were put on this planet during this time, in this multiverse to complete your mission, to live in your bliss and be an advocate for humanity. There is an awakening and awareness that is so palpable and we need all of our best spiritual warriors to the front, to be able to uplift, uphold and heal humanity. This is not light work but, is “light work” and spiritual bypassing otherwise known as “love and light”ing it away is only going to derail the mission whatever that may look like. There’s much to be said about working in dark places and getting to really know yourself truly, deeply and honorably. I am here to help support others and be supported on this journey.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I’ve seen the most improvement in my connection to community and my confidence in my practice. Community can be messy at times and a little complicated. I know that I stand strong in my integrity and I strive to be my most authentic self. I have had to navigate through some complicated relationships on a personal and professional level. Some of these relationships have sloughed off and I have seen some friendships dissipate because of miscommunication, or lack of it. I have gotten better at communicating in an authentic way and standing up for myself and others when I feel there is an injustice . It’s still a practice but, it’s something that I find that I’m getting better at. This practice has also strengthened my friendships and professional relationships and even relationships within my family dynamics because as we know, those can be complicated too!
Contact Info:
- Website: Sacredexpansionwellness.com
- Instagram: Sacredexpansion
- Facebook: Sacred Expansion Wellness
- Other: Link tree: https://linktr.ee/sacredexpansion
Instagram: 6th Sun Calmecac
Image Credits
Anthony Maes Simone Rodriguez
