School of Botanical Medicine
From the category archives:
I believe plants have amazing stories to tell by way of their experiences and their journey through time. Weather it is St. Johns Wort, a plant that withstood the test of nearly being lost as a medicine due to an ego battle between herbalists and homeopaths, or yarrow, a plant that has been to war [...]
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Anxiety has been around for centuries. It has been referred to as nervousness, hysteria or panic attacks, but it is all the same to the sufferer. And as our world spins, instances of clinically debilitating anxiety are occurring at a record pace. In part one of this series, Plants for Anxiety, the chemical triggers that [...]
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(Note: These recommendations are for acute illness. If you have a chronic lung condition, please seek the advice of a trained practitioner or physician.) Before the leaves turn and fall, the first little tickle begins in the throat, and a cough erupts. The season for respiratory illness is here. While the country struggles to understand [...]
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Anxiety is a body-wide response to a perceived threat. An event or situation fuels a chemical reaction in the endocrine system. Combined with personal history, spiritual wounding and the power of the mind, one is left feeling compromised, vulnerable and in danger. For those who experience anxiety regularly, our emotional reaction to the world around [...]
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Plants soften the heat of summer. They create a more cooling environment as they don’t absorb and emit heat the way concrete does. And they cool us through our senses. It may be the color of a flower that cools and calms, or the look and texture of the leaves. Perhaps it is the song [...]
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Transition is change on a life bending scale. The act of it, and the passage it requires, reshapes our lives, as well as parts of who we are. To struggle against it is normal. But the goal is to pull it into our being and honor the passage. To truly grow from the experience is [...]
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Healing is subjective. What each person needs cannot be dictated by some predetermined formula applied to all. It is dictated by the nature of the person in need of healing. This process involves asking questions. And as a practitioner, I ask many questions. But we must personally turn our energy inward to listen to what [...]
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Madison’s Farmers market arrived with spring. The community flocked to greet vendors whose freshly grown food and plants reflected a new and warmer day. Though my trip to the market on the second Sat. of its opening was far from warm, the colorful flowers looked healthy and happy, the herbaceous plants smelled heavenly, and the [...]
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Magic is an important element in healing. It is as important as the clinical. As humans, we need to believe in our capacity to heal on a magical level, to break the boundaries of the linear and the expected – whether it comes from insight or life’s experiences. Experiencing magic shows us a place where [...]
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Before I began my studies as an herbalist, I learned a lesson about treating ailments through the feet. One hot summer night, I played an outdoor concert with the orchestra. The temperature outside that night was in the low 90’s, and it was over 100 on stage. By the end of the evening my head [...]
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