The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

Katja's daughter Amber is about to turn 15 years old, so this week Katja reflects on her birth experience and offers up some herbs to help mamas in the last stages of pregnancy, and Ryn shares one of his favorite Mama-support formulas. Herbs discussed include lobelia, ginger , betony, ghost pipe, chamomile , kava, & vanilla. Mentioned this week:  Herbal Medicine for Beginners , our first...

We say it every week: we are not doctors, you are responsible for your own good health. This week, we wanted to expand on that a bit more, explain the philosophy behind it, and the reasons we think it’s so important to our practice as herbalists. We discuss the differences between conventional and traditional systems of medicine, and look into the legal issues surrounding “the practice of medicine...

This week, in honor of International Women's Day, Katja shares some of her thoughts and experiences with adult daughters who became caregivers for their elderly parents. There's a particular pattern of compromised lung health she's seen emerge in these women, which has been tightly tied to the complex stresses and emotional challenges of the role. Fortunately, she's found an he...

This week, Ryn shares some strategies he turns to when (as frequently happens) he recognizes that he needs to sleep, but can't quite convince himself to go to bed. Katja relates what happened earlier this week, when polyurethane fumes from a home improvement project in our apartment building gave her a massive headache and made it hard to sleep - both what she actually did to cope in the mome...

This week, Katja discusses several herbs to help support mothers and teens who are coping with the difficulties of the adolescent years - especially in the face of the stressors unique to today's world. Herbs discussed include motherwort, rose , hawthorn , yarrow , tulsi, milk thistle, and st john's wort. Mentioned in this podcast:  Herbs for Psychological First Aid - Katja's free v...

This week, Katja describes a way of working with herbs to reduce the harm done when lifestyle factors like diet, sleep, and movement are less-than-ideal. (Because really, how often is everything in your life perfectly "right"?) Ryn identifies a mental blind spot in the course of "discovering" that aswhagandha is in fact native or naturalized in large parts of Africa and has a l...

Adaptogens are marketed as a solution to stress, burnout, hormonal imbalances, and a lot more. They can help a lot! But they’re not always appropriate. Today we discuss a few cases in which adaptogens might not be the best solution for feelings of burnout and exhaustion, and offer some alternative herbs you might consider instead. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses a...

We moved! We made it with just a few bumps & bruises and some sore muscles. That was no accident - we thought ahead and stayed mindful with some mental, physical, and herbal supports to make our moving week as smooth as possible. Mentioned this week:  Kings Road Apothecary - maker of the lovely kava & vanilla massage oil, among other wonders. Atlantic Holdfast - highest-quality seaweed str...

This week we’re sharing a class Katja delivered recently about basic applications of herbal remedies to improve digestion and relive digestive discomforts. Enjoy! We’ll be off next week as we are moving from one apartment to another. We’ll return the following Friday, don’t worry! Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This weekend we kick off the year for our Advanced Studies Program , so we invited our students to participate in the podcast. Somehow, without any prior coordination, everyone seemed to have linden on the mind! Listen in and hear a few different formulas and perspectives on this helpful friend. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Katja shares three simple ideas for integrating some herbal self-care into your life, especially during the work day, which have helped us a lot during the writing of our forthcoming book. Ryn's taking a MovNat certification course this weekend, so he offers a formula for supporting joint health. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com...

As 2017 draws to a close, we look back over our year and some of the herbs who helped us get through it. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Katja draws parallels between the Hanukkah story of unexpected abundance, and the gift of goldenrod for helping us persevere through adversity and exhaustion. Ryn shares this year’s solstice elixir formula and the medicine of captured moments. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Ryn talks about the yaupon holly, a caffeine-bearing plant of North America, as well as a few ideas that apply to caffeine herbs in general. Katja is happy to be reading The Wee Free Men again, and tries to come up with a boring formula for everyone, but it turns out to be awesome. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week, Ryn notices he’s been getting stuck in the same sitting positions too frequently while working on the manuscript, and talks about different ways to avoid getting sedentary at home or in the office. Katja shares her enthusiasm and recipes for working with cranberry, one of our local “superfoods”. Support the show You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherb...

In this episode, Ryn tells you about the herbal strategies he's been using to cope with a respiratory infection for the last few days. Katja shares some thoughts spurred on by the creation of her Herbal Oracle and Study Cards , about the parallels we find between physiological and psychological effects of herbal remedies. (Katja wanted to call this episode "No Goldenseal Was Harmed In Th...

We love books! In this podcast we discuss a few of our absolute favorite herbal books for everyone from beginners to experienced practitioners. Here are the books we mentioned:  Practical Herbs & Practical Herbs 2 , Henriette Kress - you can also pre-order her Practical Herb Cards ! The Herbal Medic , Sam Coffman Icelandic Herbs , Anna Rósa Robertsdottir Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast , Pe...

Katja stands up to proclaim the strength and potency of the “pretty little flowers” chamomile and self-heal, and reminds us that gentle doesn’t mean weak. Ryn muses on the many applications for herbs that have little or nothing to do with “treating” a “condition”, and some of the ways this ties in to our evolutionary history of exposure to lots of plants in lots of ways. Support the show You can f...

In our second episode, Katja gives you her take on adaptogens and their propensity for overuse, outlining her preferred way to work with this category of herbs and offering a favorite recipe: notCoffee! Ryn works through some thoughts on the resonance between the physiological activities of herbs and their impacts on mental and emotional patterns, highlighting the category of lymphatic herbs, in w...

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our podcast! In this episode, Katja talks about her new strategy for herbal self-care: taking home a bit of each tea or tincture blend she mixes up for a client (within reason, of course). She describes a current favorite, a formula for building mental & emotional flexibility while lifting the spirits. Ryn discusses some experiences which reminded him once a...