From therapeutic principles of holistic herbalism and how to address specific conditions, to tips and tricks for assessment, formulation, and other nuggets of clinical gold, these posts are all about supporting your work with people.
Ginkgo is famous for its ability to boost your memory, focus, and concentration . . . but if thatโs true, why didnโt I feel any
We’ve all seen it before. You get super excited about a new herb and want to learn more about it. So you pull your herb
I always tell my students that for the client that is stressed and exhausted to give them herbs for the nervous system before even thinking about touching the adaptogens which are typically administered for these common complaints.
When we talk about โantiโ herbs โ antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial โ itโs easy to imagine plants acting like tiny soldiers fighting pathogens. But in this
Whatโs the most common mistake most people make when they start using herbs? After years of teaching and traveling across the country, Iโve seen people over and over make the assumption that if theyโre using herbs, theyโre holistic. Itโs actually not true! Many herbalists and naturopaths actually practice what I like to call โgreen allopathyโ โ using herbs just as replacements for drugs. Instead of thinking of herbs in a โuse this for thatโ kind of mindset, I break down how to see herbs in a truly holistic way.
Vitalism is an ancient principle found in the western traditions that recognizes the life principle within plants and people. This vital principle is what gives everything life, and while the biochemical attributes of an organism are important, it is not all there is.
All herbalists have one fear in common, and thatโs accidentally causing harm to someone using herbs. However, the likelihood of this occurring is lower than
I believe the respiratory system is of the most important organ systems to know how to treat with herbs because itโs one of the primary systems consistently and commonly afflicted in modern life- especially during this time of year; the โcough, cold and flu season.โ From an allopathic perspective, a cough is typically treated with an anti-tussive, like Robitussin, the primary purpose of which is to suppress the cough. This ultimately prolongs the duration of the cough by preventing the bodies ability to cleanse the mucosal membranes (by coughing up the mucous) and enable them to lay down a fresh layer of antibody rich mucous.
โDetoxificationโ is a term that gets used a lot in alternative medicine. Perhaps itโs become a bit of a fad to cleanse or detox, trying to purge the body of toxins that shouldnโt be there by using specific herbal medicines to assist the process.
With all the overuse of antibiotics and leaky gut syndrome, we all tend to focus on probiotics and fermented foods to restore the bacterial ecology of the GI- but what about prebiotics? These are important polysaccharide compounds are the food for the microflora in our intestines, helping them to continue to thrive and flourish. Whenever Iโm helping a client re-establish their microflora and gut health Iโm always thinking in terms of not just probiotics, but the prebiotics as well.
One of the key distinguishing characteristics of the practice of true holistic herbalism is the understanding of herbal energetics juxtaposed with the human constitution.
Most herbalists begin with books, teachers, and tradition, but genuine clinical mastery comes from organizing what you know into something you can actually use. In