The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

The pandemic has got all of us in a heightened state of alert. The news changes fast, stories come and go before we can fully process them, and every day there’s another set of statistics that are hard to mentally translate into real human lives. It’s stressful. Even if we’re not actively doomscrolling through Twitter, this background noise of fear and worry is elevated. So, this week, we’re shari...

Last week we urged you to look at learning herbalism like learning a language or instrument – something that requires daily practice. This week, we’re sharing some specific practices you can do to build your herbal skills on a daily basis! You can take lessons in herbalism, and study to learn – but the key here is, a little bit each day is better than “a lot” which happens only rarely. Building a...

Herbalism is experiential: you have to DO it to KNOW it. It’s like learning to play a musical instrument – you’re going to sound bad at first! That’s necessary. If you refuse to play anything that isn’t perfect, you’ll never play anything. In herbalism, if you wait until you know everything there is to know, or until you’re 100% sure “it’s going to work”, you’ll be waiting all your life! Learning...

It’s not just coronavirus, there’s a lot going on right now! Between the usual circulating strains of flu, some spring colds, and the stirrings of allergy season, plenty of folks are feeling rough. But it’s up to all of us to reduce strain on the medical system right now, so it’s more important than ever that we learn some herbal home nursing basics. These skills can help us to deal with minor iss...

Whew! There’s a lot going on right now. Between coronavirus, the election cycle, and the approach of spring, we’ve been extra busy and under more stress than usual. This week we wanted to share with you some of the herbs we’ve been relying on to get through. It’s a bit of a smorgasbord! First up, a friend of ours is undergoing laser eye surgery, and we have some herbs to help make the healing proc...

The new pandemic coronavirus, COVID-19, is on everyone’s minds lately. As herbalists, we’ve been asked a lot about our thoughts on working with herbs for coronavirus preparedness, so that’s our topic today! First, we try to understand the virus and some facts about the illness it causes. How does it compare to “normal” flu, to H1N1, to SARS? Estimates and projections are in flux and will continue...

Join us for a discussion with our friend Rebecca Altman about the importance of self-awareness in the practice of herbalism – but also an exploration of vulnerability and in rebuilding our connection to the natural world. Some of the things we discuss are what it means to take responsibility for our health, how to build trust for experimenting in our lives, and the trouble with living in a society...

This week we took a trip to New York City, because we were invited to teach a workshop on formulating cocktail bitters for our friends at Kindred , a restaurant in the East Village. Our social media posts about it were popular, with lots of commenters saying that they would love to learn how to make their own bitters. Well, you can! The process of making herbal cocktail bitters isn’t too complicat...

It might seem difficult to grow your own herbs, but like so many things in herbalism, it’s all about being open to experimentation and maintaining good observation. And for the herbalist, there are great reasons to do it! Not only will you be sourcing your herbs as local as it gets, you’ll learn a lot about the plant from tending it, supporting it, and nourishing it as it grows. Then, when you mak...

Pain is complex. Many factors can contribute to pain, or worsen it, including the food we eat, the sleep we do or don’t get, and the stresses we experience in our lives. When pain is chronic, we need to think outside the “painkiller” box and think more broadly. This is also the best method of working with herbs for chronic pain conditions. Herbs with anti-inflammatory effects might achieve this by...

There are a lot of myths about herbal aphrodisiacs – they don’t make you into an irresistible sex monster, let’s get that out of the way right up front! But they do help you release tension that can distract you from your partner or from the present moment. And they do help you feel more comfortable in your own body, so you find & share enjoyment with yourself & others. In this episode we...

It’s really hard to really take a break these days – with smartphones and connected devices everywhere, the pressure to use our time “productively” is pervasive. But that doesn’t mean humans can actually keep up that pace, and it has all kinds of health effects to try! So this year one thing that we’re doing to stay centered is building a New Moon tradition. The idea came out of the way that we ce...

There are many facets to sustainability for herbalists to consider, from maintaining your personal energy reserves to establishing sustainable working conditions for the workers who bring herbs to us.  Today we’re focusing on direct sustainability of the plants themselves. How can we make sure that, as interest in herbalism and demand for herbs grows, we’re not exhausting our plants and soil? We s...

It’s 2020, we don’t need to convince you that bone broth is good for you! But in case you’ve been living under a rock, bone broth is awesome for your digestive health, immune defenses, musculoskeletal resilience, and plenty more besides. So all on its own, it’s great – but you can add herbs to supercharge bone broth into something even better! Our favorite herbs to enhance bone broth come in sever...

The Whole30 is one of our favorite diet plans – or, as we prefer to call them, food experiments! It’s a great way to reset your eating habits, change your relationship with food and cooking, and discover your own personal food intolerances or sensitivities. As herbalists, we’ve seen it accomplish amazing things for our clients – but we’ve also found ways to make it more enjoyable, efficient, and e...

What do you want to bring into the new year with you? Our first piece of advice is to be specific with your intention – envision how this change will happen in your own real day-to-day life, in detail. This helps you make sure it really happens! Intention is key also in transforming our relationship to Stuff. Many people feel like their Stuff owns them instead of the other way around, and being in...

Anxiety is a feeling of exposure, a feeling that one is without protection. The much-maligned ‘safe space’ is in fact a necessity for all humans. (Those who malign it tend to be speaking from a place of unchallenged safety.) But how to create that for yourself, in an environment that feels hostile? Herbs can help, and in more than one way! Working with the principles of holistic herbalism for anxi...

The hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) are some of our most generous and protective herbs. Hathorn offers abundant berries, rich with heart-supporting medicine – but its thorns mean you can’t just come and take everything in one swipe. Hawthorn demands a careful and respectful approach, and it can bring all these qualities to our physical bodies and – our emotional ones, too! An ally for everything from h...

It’s easy to get caught up in your to-do list and everything you “have to” do. Sometimes, it’s ok to not. This week we’re modeling that behavior, with a micro-cast just to prove we mean it! We’ll be back next week with an episode about hawthorn and getting through difficult times. Until then, take care of yourselves, take care of each other, drink some tea, and remember – sometimes, you don’t have...

As a brand new student of herbalism, you might think there are a lot of herbs to learn. As an experienced herbalist with decades of practice under your belt, you’ll DEFINITELY KNOW there are A LOT OF HERBS to learn!! That’s one of the things we like best about herbalism – there’s always more to explore, a whole world full of plant potential. Having a strategy for how to learn a new herb is helpful...

Herbs differ from pharmaceuticals in important ways. Understanding how they’re different helps us make better choices about what to take, and how to take it, to get the effect we’re looking for. It also helps us avoid common misunderstandings about herbs and herbalism – like thinking that the effect of an herb can be reduced down to the action of its “active ingredient”. And, knowing how herbs are...

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were one book you could read, one teacher you could study with, one website you could scroll through – that would tell you everything you need to know about herbalism? Sometimes it seems like there ought to be a definitive guide to herbalism – and for our 100th episode, we’d love to give it to you! But the thing is, there isn’t one. There’s only the hard way. But don’t...

Our ideas about health are often context-dependent, and clinging too tightly to rules about what is “good” and “bad” can really get us into trouble when context changes. It can also get in the way of communicating and sharing knowledge with people who live in contexts that are different from our own. Like many herbalists, we teach and practice the avoidance of sugar in most situations. Most… but n...

Yes, there are herbs for joint pain, and they really work! But when we’re working with this problem, we like to pile on – lots of herbs (in lots of ways), plus some changes to the diet, plus gentle movement, plus better sleep & stres management. This is what holistic herbalism looks like: combining strategies for maximum effect. For joint pain, herbs can help very directly. Decoctions and lini...

Everyone gets stressed out sometimes. So if you’re among “everyone”, you might like this herbal stress remedy formula! It’s one of our favorites and we turn to it again and again. Like all our formulas, this one can be customized to meet your own needs & personal taste. In this episode we describe what each herb is doing to contribute to the overall impact of the blend, so that you can choose...