|
by Patrice Green We are just a few days away from the next Herbstalk, arguably one of my favorite weekends of the year. If you’ve never been to this wonderful event I ask, “What are you waiting for?” The classes are wonderful, the sense of community created by Steph, Henry and Catherine is unlike any other, and the marketplace is filled with fabulous herbal products made by some of my favorite people. In its sixth year it now feels more like a great herbal reunion, a chance to catch up with old friends and former classmates. It’s an opportunity to learn, explore and experience herbal medicine in a fun, friendly, warm environment.  This year I’m honored to teach about one of my dearest plant allies, the beautiful rose, in an experiential class. There are many ways to learn about a plant. You can study it through the writings of other herbalists. You can research its historical use. You can learn about its constituents, and read about any clinical studies done on the plant. All of that information is wonderful to have and certainly will give you a great body of knowledge about any plant, but my feeling is that the best way to really, truly know a plant requires that you get your hands dirty. Buy some seeds or a plant from a reputable grower and plant it in your garden – even if your garden is a pot on your front steps due to space limitations. Tend the plant, watch it grow. Observe how it responds in sunlight, extreme temperatures, and the blooming cycle of its flowers. Learn about how the doctrine of signatures might apply. Take notes on it, sketch the plant. To fully know someone is to know all aspects of the person. Plants are no different. They can be used medicinally in a variety of ways. Here are a few: teas, tinctures, elixirs, glycerides, essential oils or absolutes, and flower essences. Spend some time making medicine with the plant. If you’re using a plant like Tulsi/Holy Basil, which has a few varieties, make a tea with each and work with them one at a time. In the case of Tulsi, I recently did just that with the Krishna, Rama and Kapoor varieties. Working with each separately was a revelation: I found that the Krishna variety has a real edge to it, an aggressiveness, while the Kapoor is very light, gentle and uplifting. Rama sits somewhere in between. At various times, you might need something a little edgier, so would benefit more from using Krishna or Rama than Kapoor, but you wouldn’t know that unless you’d tried all three individually so you’d know how their energetics differ.
Choose various menstruums. Make a glyceride, a tincture and a vinegar. Experience the differences of each. Experiment and take notes. Use the essential oil of the plant in a diffuser or aromatherapy blend. Use the flower essence. Observe how you feel when you use it, what parts of your body or spirit respond to the plant. Meditate or journey to the plant. Ask what lessons it has for you, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Wait for the answers. Take notes on your meditations and journeys, then work with the plant to deepen your understanding of its myriad gifts. While there is a left brain component to herbalism, I prefer to learn about plants from a right brain perspective, as to me, herbalism is an experiential process. Studying a plant energetically, through meditation and journeying offers direct access to the spirit of the plant itself. A skillful teacher, books, studies can all give you great information about a plant, but the best teacher is the plant itself, with the human teacher acting as a mediator or facilitator to the student’s relationship with the plant. This requires the student’s willingness to go on an inward journey, to be still and wait for the lessons the plant has to offer to be revealed. I hope to see you at this year’s Herbstalk, and maybe even to have the good fortune to share class space with you! Until then, many blessings!   Patrice’s holistic journey started in 2010 when she began a mentorship practice with master healer Catherine Miller. Within six months, a transformative experience among the coastal redwoods of Muir Woods and its beach inspired further studies, eventually leading to the foundation of Green Aromatics, a holistic practice offering education and consultations in many healing modalities. Patrice is a cum laude graduate of Boston College and received her herbal training from The Boston School of Herbal Studies. A certified aromatherapist, herbalist, and flower essence practitioner, Patrice also incorporates reiki, energy healing and shamanic techniques into her work. She is a regular contributor to the Herbstalk blog and teaches at various locations in Eastern Massachusetts.
 by Ryn Midura Don’t let the diagrams scare you! Don’t let the long names drive you away. Phytochemistry can be intimidating at a first look, but it does have some useful insights to offer even the most folksy of healers. The best parts of it are those that bear directly on your practical experience working with herbs. Let’s take an quick look at the salicylates, those famously anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving constituents found in willow (Salix alba) and other herbs, as an example. First, aspirin: it’s acetylsalicylic acid, a synthetic derivative. Both natural salicylates and aspirin are pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing; however, as it turns out, it is the acetyl group there which provides the blood-thinning actions. So, the natural salicylates found in willow and friends do not thin the blood. (Though admittedly, you may occasionally read otherwise! This seems to be one instance, among many, of back-forming conclusions about the activity of an herb based on assumptions about the activity of its constituents. Be wary!) Second, we have the natural salicylates which we find in our herbs. There are many different forms. Two of the most common: Methyl salicylate is volatile – that is, it evaporates and travels through the air – and lends the distinctive aromatic scent to the wintergreen plant (Gaultheria procumbens), as well as birch (Betula lenta) and meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria). It is rapidly and readily absorbed by the skin. Salicin is slowly metabolized into salicylic acid after you consume it. This conversion isn’t completed until the constituents pass through the intestines and liver – which, on the one hand, means that willow usually isn’t as fast-acting a painkiller as aspirin can be. On the other hand, this delayed conversion is a good thing for your GI tract! It is the exposure to free salicylic acid, released during the relatively rapid metabolism of aspirin, which leads to its notorious gut-irritating and ulcer-forming effects. For this reason, willow bark and meadowsweet are much safer: they don’t cause potentially serious damage the way aspirin can. Plants generally contain a blend of salicylates; wintergreen has lots of methyl salicylate, and willow has lots of salicin. That means, if you’re looking to manage topical pain, wintergreen might be a better choice due to the benefits of rapid absorption. As part of a formula to mitigate an arthritic condition over the long term, however, willow might be a better option. Constituents work more effectively in their naturally occurring mixtures than they do when isolated or synthesized – synergy is a key factor in herbal medicine. So, of course we don’t reduce all the actions of a plant down to one constituent! However, it is handy to know a little phytochemistry to help you sort through claims made about herbs, and also make better choices about which plant to apply. If you’d like to learn more, join me for my Practical Phytochemistry class at Herbstalk!  Ryn's first forays into healing came by way of martial arts, where he saw the difference movement and discipline could make for a person’s health. He found plant medicine as a path to deeper engagement with the balances and rhythms in body, mind, and environment. Ryn has been teaching herbalism, and practicing as a clinical herbalist, since 2011. With Katja Swift, he founded the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism in Boston, MA. There they both consult with individual clients, run a three-year clinical training program, and offer community classes and workshops. Ryn has written for Plant Healer Magazine and the Northeast Herbal Association Journal, and taught at the Traditions in Western Herbalism conferences, the American Herbalists Guild symposium, IM4US, and Herbstalk. He is also a board member for Health Freedom Action Massachusetts, a coalition working to pass "safe harbor" health freedom legislation to protect the rights of unlicensed practitioners, including herbalists. He is trained as a street medic and Wilderness First Responder.
The weekend we have all been waiting for is almost here! Below are all the details you need to know to have a great time at Herbstalk...
by Katja Swift This year at Herbstalk, I'll be talking about Herbs for Psychological and Emotional First Aid. Here, I want to share a somewhat different formula: herbs for people ASSISTING people who need psychological and emotional first aid! Whether you're responding to a local disaster or supporting a friend experiencing trauma or distress in their life, you need support too, especially if you're in it for the long haul. Here's a formula I love for just this type of work: Aid Worker’s Elixir ("keep going and keep it together")  Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosis) Eleuthero is an adaptogen, which means that it helps the body manage stress in a fairly generalized way. Recently, adaptogens are starting to be defined as herbs that have explicit action on the HPA axis or on the stress-response functions of the endocrine system as a whole. In other words - adaptogens can help you keep going. Eleuthero is stimulating, but it has a somewhat different quality than caffeine. You definitely get the uplifiting action, but it's not quite as much of a spike as caffeine can be, and it doesn't have the tendency to cause "jitters" or upset digestion. Eleuthero is fantastic when you need to keep working even in extreme conditions without enough resources - and in fact, that's how a lot of the studies on this plant were done!  Angelica (Angelica archangelica) Angelica is a plant of extremes - it lives most happily up near the Arctic Circle, where it's either all day or all night. Even in the summer, though the sun is out 20+ hours a day, it's never really warm. Angelica is a tall plant with a large, heavy flower head, and yet it's stem is a strong spine that can support that weight even in forceful winds. Angelica can give you energy to last through extremes without losing your balance, and to support others even when you're feeling tossed about.  Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) Rhodiola is another Arctic Circle plant. It thrives on extreme rocky outcroppings and can hold things together. Often this plant is touted as an "anti-depressant", but traditionally it was thought of more as an endurance plant. Imagine Vikings rowing in open boats across cold seas - physically, that's a tremendous feat. When you can't see the shore (and might not for a few days), everything is grey and damp and cold, and you just have to keep moving without losing your internal compass: that's Rhodiola!  Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Yarrow is a battlefield plant - traditionally it was an ally to wounded soldiers. And of course, with its strong ability to staunch bleeding, it's easy to see why. But the protective qualities of Yarrow were so strong that in naming the plant, botanists reference Achilles, who was protected (or "armored"!) against all harm except for the place on his heel where his mother held him to dip him into the magic river. Physiologically, we work with Yarrow for bleeding, and emotionally that can be true too - to prevent your own resources from bleeding out of you while you're supporting others. But the mythology behind Yarrow - though we haven't invented the microscope that can explain it yet - also plays a part: Yarrow is like "emotional armor". When you need to be strong in difficult situations, when you need to put on your armor and head out to the emotional battlefield, Yarrow has an amazing shielding quality. Blend a strong decoction or make a tincture of these plants in equal parts. I like to add something sweet – maple syrup would be my first choice, or molasses, because of the mineral content and nourishing aspect, though honey is also a good choice. Just like chocolate helps you recover from the emotional onslaught of the Dementors in the Harry Potter stories, there's something particularly magic about the ability of sweet things to feel soothing in difficult times! Consume freely as needed. And of course, once you and your community are safe, let yourself sleep for a week! This formula is fantastic whether you're working in a first aid tent after a natural disaster, supporting a loved one through hospice care, or even "just" supporting your teenager as they navigate the pits and falls of high school!  Katja has been teaching herbalism and practicing as a clinical herbalist since 1996. For ten years she owned and worked a 150-acre certified organic farm in central Vermont. During this time she taught monthly at the local coop, and as a guest lecturer at Dartmouth Medical School and the UVM Medical School. In 2011, she and her husband Ryn Midura founded the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism, a vitalist school with a three-year clinical training program. In addition to this program, they offer a one-year community herbalist program and community classes and workshops. Katja serves as adjunct faculty at MCPHS University and Northeastern University, teaching vitalism and Traditional Western Herbalism to 100 PharmD students each year. Katja is also trained as a street medic and Wilderness First Responder, and has run in the streets or coordinated dispatch for actions in Boston, New York, and Ferguson. Katja writes regularly for Plant Healer Magazine and the Journal of the Northeast Herbal Association, among others. She has presented at the Traditions in Western Herbalism conferences, the American Herbalists Guild symposium, IM4US, and Herbstalk.
 by Jenny Hauf I’ve spent much of this May feeling out of place, with a scarf around my neck and a breath that turns white before disappearing into the early evening. Don’t get me wrong: as a farmer, gardener, and fighter for New England’s ecological health I am relieved that we’ve finally gotten enough rain to sate Massachusetts out of a devastating drought. However, I’m also anxious for soil that is dry and warm enough to start our field work. Despite the nippy weather and sunless days I’ve recognized this sweet month for its heavy blossoms, breezes that smell like pine and lilac, and the annual tradition planting the Herbstalk Community Gardens. For four years Steph and I have been joined by a group of lovely women who have helped us design, create, and tend tiny herb gardens throughout the Boston area. A few of the gardens live in full raised beds lovingly built by members of our crew while others consist of a few terracotta pots and window boxes. Regardless of size each plot is unique and jam-packed with dearly loved medicinal (and often delectable) plant friends. Elissa’s raised bed at Saint Mary’s in Dorchester is calm and simple; a reverie nestled into a corner of the church’s stone walls and elegantly planted with lavender, calendula, chamomile, and mugwort (which found its own way into the garden on its own). Maggie’s garden is in the playground across from Chilacates in Jamaica Plain, packed with seedlings from calendula, feverfew, and marshmallow mothers planted years ago that keep on providing us with leafy daughters. My own garden at ZAZ in Hyde Park consists of a collection of two window boxes and two wide and elegantly squat terracotta pots, brimming over with culinary herbs used by ZAZ’s chef, Olrie Roberts, in his new American fusion dishes. This year we set him up with ginger mint, lemon and English thyme, holy basil grown from seed, lemongrass, and other deliciously healing plants. While the women of the garden crew each have our “own” gardens we are merely stewards of plots that we maintain for the greater Boston community. We welcome visitors and passersby to harvest handfuls for their own use—a wee sprig of tulsi from Mal’s vertical garden at Somerville’s Bloc 11, say, or some anise hyssop from boxes and barrels at Gail Ann’s in Arlington Center. Soon the chamomile flowers in JP and Dorchester will be ready for the plucking, and in about a month Maggie’s Stonybrook garden (our flagship bed) will have lemon balm that’s big enough to start pinching for the iced teas of summer. Whether you are new to herbs, a practicing herbalist, or a dabbling cook or tea maker, we hope that you visit our gardens this year and take some time to smell their sweetness and perhaps take a little souvenir home for your teapot, saucepan, or salad bowl. For more information on the Herbstalk Community Gardens Project, including ways to volunteer, please visit our gardens page.
 Jennifer Hauf, grower and owner of Muddy River Herbals, is a farmer and writer living in Boston. As part of our Herbstalk garden team, she also ensures that pockets of herbs thrive around the city. A transplant from the rustbelt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she grew up in love with the life around her, especially as seen in her father’s and grandparents’ gardens. She began using herbal medicine a decade ago, and has been tending to herbs on farms and gardens since 2006. When not elbow-deep in the dirt she writes about urban ecology at her blog, Spokes and Petals, spins wool and bicycle tires, and occasionally hammers out a tune on her banjo. She is available for gardening consultations, workshops, and freelance work.
|
Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed