Newsletter Signup »
HERBSTALK
  • Home
  • Mission + Values
  • Event Info
  • About
  • Press
    • Kind Words
  • Blog
  • Community Partners
  • Contact

Ecological Herbalism

3/4/2020

 
Picture
Photo by David Cooper on Unsplash

by Tony(a) Lemos


There are many ways to practice herbalism, and many different types of apprenticeships and trainings.


Some people are teachers gifted in the art of inspiring people to love plants and healing, others make medicine so potent it vibrates with energy and beauty, others are blessed with the ability to treat the sick and work through complicated constitutions and pharmaceuticals, while others write books, books that are deep and thoughtful that influence the way we practice. Some herbalists show up at the front lines ready with medicines to share, offer first aid for the body and soul while fighting for for societal change, while others dream with plants, and vision our way forward. Some tend to and grow gardens so sensory and rich that stepping into them is healing, others are wild-crafters and know where the partridgeberry is most abundant and gather just enough to keep the stand strong…however most often the lines blur, and we walk several herbal paths.

For most of us herbalism is a lifestyle, not a hat we wear from 9-5 but how we chose to live our lives, close to nature, knowing the season of the plants, knowing our regional plant allies, and respecting the elements. Herbalism takes place in our bedrooms (self-care, clearing with herbal smoke sticks, spritzers, and even lubes!), our kitchens (teas, spices, nourishment, fermentation, bone broth), our bathrooms (toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, luffas), our gardens (food plants, medicine plants, spirit plant, bees), our libraries (journals, books, tarot cards), our community spaces (seed sharing, plants swaps, classes, conversations, meals).  

As herbalists we are always practicing, and in practice, learning new ways to be with the plants, new ways to slow down...and listen so that we can truly listen and understand the language of the plants. Those of us who are called to study herbs know it is a long slow path...a lifetime of study but also a life time of joy and deep connection.

Back in 1991 at the first International Herbal Symposium, attending as a brand new herbalist, having just completed my Diploma in Natural Therapy at (the now defunct) Raworth College of Natural Medicine and Sports Science in the UK,  I was lucky enough to attend a class by a follow Brit David Hoffman. I do not remember the class title but I do remember writing down David's words verbatim: 

“Herbalism is ecology in practice.” 
- David Hoffman


It was not until that moment that I made the connection;  yes, I had considered myself an environmentalist from a young age becoming a member of “Friends of the Earth” when it was still a young grassroots organization, and attending rallies at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park as soon as I was old enough to get there! But that I had chosen a career path that was deeply linked. Herbalism IS ecology in practice.

That line has shaped the way I have practiced herbalism and taught in the years since then. As all my apprentices have heard me say you cannot become a good herbalist until you are a committed environmentalist. The health of Earth’s ecosystem is the foundation of all health. Individuals cannot live fully healthy or happy lives in poisoned ecosystems and unhealthy communities. Plant life cannot thrive and become healing remedies when the environment is toxic.

Human impact in various forms (rising population, resource abuse, greed, and inappropriate technologies) is fast degrading the environment. This impact creates new patterns of human and ecosystem poverty and disease creating a breaking point, elemental imbalance, and the environmental crisis we are facing. 
Picture
Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

Key Concepts of Ecological Herbalism:

Interdependence
Each of us is deeply connected with Earth's ecosystems. Ecological Herbalism is a way of studying and understanding where we live and learning about the ecosystem around us. We are nature.


“The universe is a continuous web. Touch it at any point and the whole web quivers”
 - Stanley Kunitz

Resilience
Health in humans and ecosystems is not a static, stagnant state but a dynamic one, one which flows…. marked by resilience, flexibility and adaptability. The World Health Organization defines health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.' Health is not about the absence of anything; it’s an active state which we have to work at it.


Health without Harm 
Health care should not undermine the environment or public health. I believe that every practitioner should be familiar with the “Hippocratic Oath.” Hippocrates counseled physicians to “revere the healing force of nature.” Just because we are herbalists does not automatically mean that we are “not harming."


Appropriateness
"Medicine" in its Greek origins, means "appropriate measures.” The goal is to achieve maximal health with minimal intervention! 


Diversity
Health is served by diverse and integrated approaches, including many traditional healing systems, indigenous medicines, local medicines, and modern medicine in a thoughtful manner.


“Diversity creates harmony, and harmony creates beauty, balance, bounty and peace in nature and society, in agriculture and culture, in science and in politics.”
-Vandana Shiva

Reconciliation 
Individual health care services should be economically sustainable, equitable, modest in scale, of high quality, noncommercial, supporting values and principles which put the earth health first. Herbalism is the medicine of belonging, the direct experience of the whole healing the part. Recognize & understand how all forms of oppression exist in the realms of herbalism & natural medicine, continuing to harm individuals and communities. The relationship between healing plants and people can be seen as Gaia in action.


Community/Cooperation 
In order to gain knowledge and improve practices, relationships, connections and alliances of mutuality must be built between all life forms and disciplines.



The climate crisis should be an urgent call to action individually and collectively. Understanding the ominous changes in the biosphere compels us to act, individually and collectively. Whether it is in the way we create more free clinics, make medicines, plant gardens, or choose the means of maintaining our own health, we need to do so with a commitment to enhancing life on Earth! It is impossible to be a good herbalist with out first and foremost being an environmentalist. We need clean water, clean air, healthy soil in order to make vibrant herbal medicines.  We have to care for, protect, and step out of our comfort zones to work for the elements. Without a healthy planet there is no true health! Our wellbeing is ultimately dependent on the wellbeing of our environment.  Living locally, eating local foods, protecting the waters and using the medicinal plants of our region will help to keep us healthier as individuals and also help us to re-inhabit the place we live with a more physical, cellular, and natural connection.

Picture
For 20 years Tony(a) Lemos has been running Blazing Star Herbal School offering a year long apprenticeship for both first and second year students. Tony(a) is a well-known lecturer on plant medicine, a published writer, community herbalist, ecological activist and beloved mentor. Past apprentices use their training for their own health and well being but an unusual number of her apprentices have built practices based on the knowledge they gained at BSHS which has changed the healing landscape of Western Mass.

Blazing Star Herbal School is dedicated to teaching traditional herbal medicine in a way that supports a more sustainable future for all members of the green world and shows respect for the integrity of nature. We offer a unique perspective on herbalism, weaving social and political aspects of health and healing through the study of medicinal herbs and food practices. We inspire students to find their own healing path by creating a personal relationship with the plant world. Learn more on Blazing Star's website and Facebook page.


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Angelica
    Anxiety
    Aromatherapy
    Artichoke
    Autumn
    Ayni Institute
    Ayurveda
    Bath Salts
    Becoming An Herbalist
    Beltane
    Bitters
    Black Cohosh
    Blue Vervain
    Botanical Crafts
    Botanical Dyeing
    Cacao
    Calendula
    Cancer
    Canine Nutrition
    Cannabis
    Chaga
    Chamomile
    Chickweed
    Chinese Medicine
    Cleavers
    Climate Change
    Community
    Connection
    Cultivating
    Curandismo
    Dandelion
    Deserts
    Digestion
    Doshas
    Earth Healing
    Ecological Herbalism
    Eco-printing
    Educational Gardens
    Elder
    Eleuthero
    Elixirs
    Energetics
    Essential Oils
    Ethnobotany
    Events
    Evergreens
    Fall
    Farming
    Flax
    Flower Essences
    Folk Traditions
    Food Plants
    Free Clinics
    Fungi
    Gardening
    General
    Gentian
    Ghost Pipe
    Gifts
    Goldenrod
    Groundwork Somerville
    Growing Herbs
    Guide To Herbstalk
    Hawthorn
    Healer's Path
    Herbal Education
    Herbal Energetics
    Herbalism
    Herbal Marketplace
    Herbal Oils
    Herbal Salves
    Herbs For Pets
    Herbs Of The Enneagram
    Hibiscus
    History Of Herbstalk
    Holidays
    Holy Basil
    Honey
    Imbolc
    Immunity
    Interviews
    Lammas
    Liver
    Living With An Herbalist
    Local Classes
    Local Plants
    Lyme
    Marshmallow
    Meadowsweet
    Medicinal Mushrooms
    Medicinal Uses
    Meet The Herbalist
    Meet The Herb Farm
    Menstruation
    Milky Oats
    Mimosa
    Mint
    Motherwort
    Mugwort
    Mullein
    Mutual Aid
    Natural Dyeing
    Nettles
    New England
    Nourishing Herbs
    Oat
    Passionflower
    Permaculture
    Phytochemistry
    Pink Lady Slipper
    Plant ID
    Plant-of-the-year
    Plant Profile
    Podcast
    Poisonous Plants
    Psychological First Aid
    Queen Anne's Lace
    Recipes
    Reciprocity
    Reishi
    Rhodiola
    Rose
    Rosemary
    Russian Herbalism
    Samhain
    Schisandra
    Seasonal Cycles
    Seasons
    Seeds
    Shen Tonics
    Skullcap
    Snow
    Social Justice
    Spring
    St. John's Wort
    Summer
    Survival Herbs
    Tea Blends
    Tincturing
    Tonics
    Traditional Chinese Medicine
    Trauma
    Travel
    Tree Medicine
    Tulsi
    Urban Gardening
    Urtication
    Vata
    Vervain
    Violet
    Water Hemlock
    Wheel Of The Year
    Wildcrafting
    Wild Edibles
    Winter
    Wintergreen
    Yarrow
    Yule

    RSS Feed

Copyright © Herbstalk 2021