The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

When you’re using your herbal skills to help others – whether you’re doing that as a Clinical Herbalist in private practice, volunteering in your community, or even just caring for your own family – it becomes obvious pretty fast that your herbal knowledge is only part of the skillset you need. You also need to creatively adapt what you know, so that it will actually work in that person’s life. Si...

On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #19-21 were Tribulus terrestris, Pycnogenol (an extract of Pinus pinaster), and garlic. Today we continue our series on commercially popular herbs, and share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these ones. The pine extract is an interesting item, given that it’s not an entry for the...

Mutual aid projects are a natural place for herbalists to gravitate, and setting one up in your community is easier than you think! Our mutual aid startup guide is a free resource we offer you to help with this. You can download it right here: Mutual Aid Startup Guide In today’s episode we want to emphasize two key things about this: First, it doesn’t have to be an enormous undertaking. You can st...

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now! For the entire month of July, use code hawthorn at checkout to take 20% off all our online courses! Sussing out herb-drug interactions is complicated! In this episode we take the example of Celexa + skullcap, and demonstrate the process of investigation we’d use to sort out whether a proposed risk is real. We start with the Botanical Safety Handbook, bec...

Our semi-annual 20% off Sale is active now! For the entire month of July, use code hawthorn at checkout to take 20% off all our online courses! On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #16-18 were saw palmetto, cinnamon, and echinacea. In today’s installment of our best-sellers series, we share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applicat...

Bandaids are undeniably handy, and there are plenty of situations where they do the job that needs doing. But there are also lots of times when a wound is too big, too irregular, or too sensitive for a bandaid to be the best choice. That’s where bespoke bandaging comes into play! You can learn bandaging basics really quickly – yes, even through podcast audio – and that’s what today’s episode is al...

When putting together a bug-out bag in case of emergencies, don’t forget your herbs! Just like a first aid kit, a go bag is best when you construct it according to your specific needs, and the needs of people you’ll be with. This isn’t a “one size fits all” situation! The same goes for circumstances when you need to shelter in place. A ‘stay-in stash’ is just a go-bag without the go. It’s an order...

Just like checking your stock of remedies in the apothecary, herbal first aid kit maintenance is one of those things you need to carve out time for – at least once a year! It’s June, which is the kick-off to summer adventure and here on the east coast, also hurricane season. In other regions, wildfire season is already started, and even without a disaster, summer means more bumps & bruises – s...

This is the second half of the Disaster-Proofing your Herbal Business theme. Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to make sure your business stays strong throughout the ups and downs. In the previous episode, we covered the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal busines...

Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to disaster-proof your herbal business and make sure it stays strong throughout the ups and downs. This episode is the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and also your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing! We’re focusing here on how to shift your marke...

In our fifth installment in this series, we address the facts & fictions about ginkgo, guarana, and maca supplements in commerce! These were #13, 14, and 15 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data). This series is all about sharing an herbalist’s understanding of herbs very popular as commercial supplements and other mass-market products. We want to share perspectives of b...

What does it mean to heal? When are we “healed”? Are there some wounds that can’t be healed? If we can’t heal – in the sense of achieving “perfect health” – are we failures, as people or as herbalists? In this episode, Katja shares her thoughts on the words and ideas “healing” carries in our culture, offering a critique of their common (and commercialized!) semantic and emotional baggage. Transcri...

We discuss green tea, fenugreek, and ivy leaf in this, the fourth part of an episodic sequence about the best-selling herbs in the US . Our primary purpose for creating this series of episodes is to share an understanding of these herbs from the perspectives of traditional and contemporary herbal practice. Frequently, the high-volume sales of these herbs comes along with oversimplified or diminish...

In part three of our series on the top-selling herbs in the United States, we cover wheatgrass, beet root, and ginger supplements. As we share our opinions about these popular herbal supplements, our primary goal is to help you understand these herbs in their breadth and depth. They’re too often pigeon-holed into limited ranges of application – the usual answers to “what is it good for?” are too s...

If you’re trying to decide whether you need adaptogens or a nap, well, the answer just might be both! But you can learn how to combine your adaptogens with other holistic interventions for better effects. In this episode we’re talking about choosing the best adaptogens to work with when what you really need is rest – a super common situation we all find ourselves in from time to time. We talk abou...

This episode continues our series covering the top-selling herbs in the United States. As we give you our thoughts about these popular herbal supplements, we’re hoping to help you break out of the box. These herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the answers to the question “what is it good for?” are usually very limited! There’s more to say about them than thei...

Katja writes… Today a student sent me a question and it was so important, i asked her if i could (anonymously) share it, because i know other people are wondering this too. She wrote: "I wanted to ask for any advice or your thoughts on how to handle being a plus size herbalist. I am plus sized. Though I am currently in working on a healthier life style that includes using herbs, I feel like w...

Talk of herbal detox comes up every spring – some years, earlier than others. We field a lot of questions from people asking our opinions on detox protocols, bowel cleanses, liver flushes, you name it. So, in this episode, we’re giving you our fundamental thoughts on the topic. Ryn wrote you a poem that sums up our perspective. Here it is: The Don’t Ox if you think you need a detox, hear & hee...

When you think of UTI and herbs, you probably think of cranberry and uva ursi first. You’re not wrong to do so! They’re reliable and effective remedies. But if you stop there, though, you’ll be missing out on some herbs who can also do the job, and do it well. In this episode we outline two herbal UTI formulae we work with ourselves, and explain why and how they’re helpful. We also take this oppor...

This episode begins an intermittent series we’ll be doing this year, covering the top-selling herbs in the United States and giving you our thoughts about them. From the perspective of a practicing herbalist, these herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the “what is it good for” answers are quite limited!  The Herbal Market Report from the American Botanical Cou...

Welcome to 2025, everyone! Let’s give the year a bitter start – that’s better than a bitter end, right? If you don’t think so yet, listen to this episode and by the end, we’re sure you’ll agree! Bitters are a truly indispensable piece of an herbal toolkit. They – like demulcents, adaptogens, and alteratives – can achieve things in the body which pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, and other healing moda...

A brief update this time, to let you know about some herbal holiday gifts we’ve put together for you & yours! Herbal Activities Calendar The best way to learn herbalism is to do a little bit every day – so we’ve built you a whole activities calendar that will feed itself automagically right into your own calendar of choice (Google, Yahoo, Outlook, etc). You can even set notifications so that y...

We’re still making the podcast! We have not abandoned you, dear listeners. 💚 We’ve been busy producing material for our online courses – especially the Accessible Herbalism and Clinical Skills courses. We’ve also been enhancing our student experience and building up our student community, so that learning with us is more enjoyable and cooperative. You’re not out there in the world on your own, wh...

This week we’d like you to meet Ashley Bissonnette-Murphy, who is one of our Clinical Mentorship students. Ashley is advanced in her mentorship, and she’s been seeing her own clients in our Student Clinic and Free Clinic for a year. She does great work! You can find Ashley at hwapothicaire.com and on social media at @hwapothicaire . Definitely jump on her mailing list to get her excellent monthly...

This is the fourth in a series about herbal businesses. These videos cover what each kind of herbal business is and what kind of work you’d be doing, what kinds of education and experience you’ll need to get it started, and a few tips to help you along the way. This video focuses on building a Compounding Herbal Apothecary – but as you’ll hear right up front, part of this now involves avoiding cal...