My Story and How Harbin Hollow Came to Be

Becoming a mother changed me...
for the better.

I became more aware, more knowledgeable, more cautious, caring, and loving. I embarked on a personal health and fitness journey because I knew I couldn't pour from an empty cup. I had to take care of me in order to take care of them. From there, the rest fell into place. 

Hi, Y’all! I’m Michele Harbin, a semi-crunchy mama and certified nutrition coach filled with passion for promoting natural health and wellness solutions. 

I believe in the medicinal properties of whole foods and think we could all use a little more purposeful movement, nourishment, and sunshine in our lives. Getting outside with a healthy picnic lunch in yoga pants with my kiddos on a sunny, breezy middle Tennessee day puts my soul at ease. It’s my happy place, and when I can’t go there, I seek solitude from stress with natural remedies, whole foods, meditation, and exercise. 

In 2012, I was a wreck. I was on a cocktail of prescription drugs for anxiety, supposed back pain, and sleeplessness. I had to take a pill to wake up, one to get through the day, and one to sleep. Partner that with alcohol abuse, and I was all aboard the hot mess express! It was a viscous cycle I wasn’t able to break until I became a mom. Motherhood changed everything.

It didn’t happen overnight, and the first couple years of motherhood were rough, but it finally clicked. I finally listened to what therapists had told me and to what I was reading in all the health magazines. Exercise and a clean diet partnered with a healthy sleep schedule started to reverse my blood sugar issues, lower my blood pressure and cholesterol, boost my immune system, increase my energy levels and focus, and best of all, rid me of depression and anxiety which ultimately led to sobriety. I felt like ME again. (Bonus: I was as small as I was in high school and down nearly 50 pounds!)

I was so over the moon with the improvements in my quality of life and overall health that I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! I became a coach and started sharing my journey. Accountability groups and building new relationships with like-minded people kept me on track.

I love to inspire others and found that offering real, tangible solutions like our handcrafted elderberry syrup, superfood preserves, or local bee pollen gives folks the tools they need to heal from the inside out.

That is how Harbin Hollow (the business) came to fruition. Harbin Hollow is actually the nickname for the nearly 9-acre plot of land shared by three Harbin families in Portland, TN complete with dogs, chickens, deer, turkeys, ATVs and a whole lotta love.

Thank you for stopping by the Hollow! While you are here, I’d like to invite you to join my FREE online community, Healthy in the Hollow. We have fun sharing recipes, fitness tips, triumphs, and struggles, and we’d love to have you. The more the merrier!