Crunchy Meets Christian

I’m sure ‘crunchy’ means different things to different people.  To me, it means someone who leans toward a more natural or holistic lifestyle – choosing things like herbs over prescriptions or over-the-counter medications, eating whole foods instead of fast foods, utilizing practitioners like chiropractors, and taking other steps to achieve true health rather than always chasing symptoms and simply trying to take a band-aid approach to cover them up.

But what does a crunchy lifestyle have to do with being a Christian?  If you’ve been on this journey for awhile, you know that there are A LOT of different approaches out there with practitioners having all sorts of backgrounds and beliefs – some that do not align with Christianity.  Working with me allows you to be open about your faith and gives you the confidence to know that I won’t lead you down any paths that might make you feel uncomfortable.

On the flip side, there are a LOT of Christians who could benefit from a crunchy approach to healing and life!!  The Lord has repeatedly been pointing this out to me for nearly a year – by nudging me to step out and start my own business.  When I was sharing this with a friend, and she so eloquently responded, “The Christian community could definitely use a little more crunch!”  And with that, The Crunchy Christian was begun!

My Story

Meet Denise Brusveen, MS

Hello!  I’m so happy you found your way here.  My story starts back as a child, really.  I grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota.  I would often sneak into the barn and watch cows give birth quietly from a distance.  My older sister made fun of me and told me it was gross, but something about it captivated me.  I went on to attend college at UW-Madison where I majored in Dairy Science and Ag Journalism, but as my 4 years drew to a close, I decided I wanted to stay for more.  That interest in dairy reproduction didn’t go away.  Instead it increased. So? I completed my master’s degree through the Dairy Science department focusing my research on reproductive physiology.  During that time, I unexpectedly was “forced” to learn about human reproduction.  At first, I was not excited that I had to also take all of those classes, but in hindsight, what a blessing!

My desire to work with people instead of cows was solidified when my husband and I were blessed with our first baby.  We enrolled in the most comprehensive childbirth classes I could find (Bradley Method), and I knew from that point on that I would work with women some way, some how, for the rest of my life.

I became a birth doula a year later and got certified to teach Bradley Method childbirth classes the year after that.  Since 2010, I have given birth to two more babies of my own, attended 69 births as a doula, and have taught dozens of couples through my childbirth classes.

It hasn’t all been roses though.  In 2017, I got lyme disease and was later diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumoniae.  I also discovered that we were living in a very moldy rental.  And I was dealing with several other life stressors.  Needless to say, my health bottomed out.  I was frustrated beyond belief that a) mainstream medicine let me down in a major way and b) I didn’t have lots of money to go see the “best of the best” functional medicine doctors.  So what did I do?  I got to work on my own health!  I enrolled in courses, joined groups to learn from educated individuals, and chased leads on new ideas for what could help heal me.  After two years, I finally took some major leaps forward.  I’ve continued to heal more during this past year, but I’m still not 100%. 

I wish I could say that I leaned on the Lord through all of this, but that would be a lie.  When I first got sick, I was more worried about missing church (and communion) than I was about reading my Bible.  I put ALL the burden of healing on myself.  I forgot one major piece – the most important piece.  I have put all my faith in God, and he has led me to start this business.  I want to be for you what I wish I had for the past three years.   So here I am, and here you are.  I don’t believe it’s by coincidence.  And I cannot wait to work together!