Commonwealth Podcast For Holistic Herbalism

This week we’re talking about something a bit different for us. If you’re a regular listener, you know we’re very interested in science and in the historical & traditional ways of working with plants. But there’s a side of plant medicine we don’t talk about too often, and that’s the spiritual & ritual side. The truth is, we do actually think a lot about these elements when we work with herbs! But perhaps not in the way you might expect… and that’s where herbal awareness rituals come in.What we like best is to present a method for working with or taking the herbs in a manner that has ritualistic aspects. By stepping aside from the hustle & bustle of life, taking a moment to engage all your senses and all your attention & intention with the remedy, you enhance its effects manyfold. It is truly astounding how much this kind of practice enhances the work of the plants.An herbal awareness ritual can be presented to the client, or person asking for help, in a variety of ways. Some of these will emph

Coffee is surely America’s favorite herb. So many people rely on it as part of their morning ritual, and it’s easy to see why! The aroma, the flavor, the stimulation – there’s a lot to like. But what if caffeine gives you the jitters, or rumbly guts? You can go with simple decaf, but even better is an herbal coffee replacement – and Katja’s got a recipe we think you’ll love.This “notCoffee” blend incorporates adaptogenic herbs along with plants that support circulation & fluid movement, digestion, and other critical processes for good health. It can give a boost to your energy levels, but not at the expense of your nutrient stores, and not in the “credit card” way that strong caffeinated drinks can do.notCoffee is a flexible, customizable formula strategy you can alter to your own needs and tastes. We like it way better than the store-bought herbal coffee replacements. Learn all about it in this episode!Herbs discussed include: angelica, ashwagandha, reishi, codonopsis, spikenard, rhodiola, dandelion, bur

The lymphatic system is criminally underestimated! It’s intimately tied to the function of your circulatory system, your digestive function, your immune responsiveness – pretty much everything. Conventional medicine doesn’t have much to offer in the way of pharmaceuticals to alter lymphatic activity, but fortunately there are a number of excellent lymphatic herbs that can do the trick.In this episode we’ll lay out some of the many reasons why lymph is so important, how to support lymph circulation & combat lymphatic stagnation. We highlight seven of our favorite lymphatic herbs and give you the rundown on their specific talents regarding lymph movement and disorders of the lymphatic system.Herbs discussed include: calendula, self-heal, ground ivy, red clover, violet, chickweed, cleavers.We’re All In This Together Sale! Listen to the end for a discount code that will get you 15% off any of our courses or programs! This offer is good for the month of July 2019, so don’t delay – get your herb on today!As alw

An herbal smoking blend may not sound like your cup of tea – and it isn’t! – but it’s still an effective method of working with medicinal plants. When smoked, herbs have rapid effects on the lungs and the central nervous system, including antimicrobial, astringent, relaxant, and nervine or anxiety-reducing activities. This traditional practice is still relevant today.But of course, some people need help to quit smoking, not reasons to start! And herbs can help here as well, by reducing cravings and addressing the original reasons one started smoking in the first place. They can also help one cut down on smoking tobacco or cannabis by enhancing the desirable effects of those plants and reducing their undesirable ones.In this episode we’ll talk about all these aspects of smoking, share some of our favorite plants to include in herbal smoking mixtures, and guide you through some practical considerations when trying this on your own.Herbs discussed include: mullein, lobelia, skullcap, evening primrose, vanilla, u

If you’re an herbalist and you marry an herbalist, well, you’re going to need some special wedding herbs! We sure did. We loved the idea (and the herbs themselves) so much, we got them tattooed on us right after our honeymoon!Not all herbalism is about what you drink & “take”! In this episode we’re sharing our most personal experiences and feelings with these herbs which we carry with us everywhere, inked into our arms. Our wedding herbs help us stay balanced, focused, grounded, resilient, flexible… and so much more.We also have some quick tips for herbal tattoo care!Herbs discussed include: tulsi, sage, betony, yarrow, elder, pine, bladderwrack, & marshmallow.If you’re a regular listener, by now you’ve heard us talk about our podcast supporters – and maybe you’re wondering how to become one, yourself! Well, let me make it easy for you – all you need to do is click this link to support us at $5/month, or this one to support us at $10/month. At either level you’ll get immediate access to our weekly sup

Cancer is not as rare as we once thought. Recent research has discovered that even healthy cells can contain potentially cancerous mutations, and that this is a normal occurrence in healthy individuals. As holistic herbalists, this conclusion doesn’t actually surprise us much! We’ve long taught that precancerous changes in cells are a normal part of life and that the body has mechanisms to cope with them. When those break down or are overwhelmed, that’s where cancer can come in. And that’s why common herbs and cancer aren’t strange bedfellows after all, too!Working with cancer doesn’t have to mean finding the “strongest”, most exotic herbs or medicinal preparations. Sometimes it means calling on the fundamental nutritive, circulating, and supportive functions of our “everyday” plants. In this podcast, we’ll explain why this is the case, and share a few examples of some underappreciated herbs to consider when cancer’s a part of the story.Herbs discussed include parsley, rosemary, eleuthero, astragalus, codonop

Boston’s homegrown local herb conference, Herbstalk, is next weekend, and the plant of the year is stinging nettle! In honor of this, we wanted to make an episode focusing on this keystone plant. In this episode we share some of our favorite ways to make simple nettle herbal formulas, starting by pairing it with a single other herb to make a tasty tea.Nettle has a number of important medicinal effects. It’s a nutritive, a diuretic, an anti-inflammatory, and so much more. Pairing it with other herbs is a way to emphasize specific aspects of its medicine. For instance, nettle and rosehips are each nourishing herbs, and when taken together they cover more bases than either one could do alone. This is one of the basic goals of herbal formulation: to selectively enhance a particular facet of the herbs’ activity.Other times, the goal in herbal formulation is a matter of counterbalance. Nettle is a very drying herb, and for some constitutions it’s not a good match. But what if you still want its nutritive and kidney

When we talk about “heroic” medical interventions, we mean the high-potency, high-risk (and potentially high-reward) tools that define conventional medicine. Pharmaceuticals, surgeries, cutting-edge experimental procedures – that kind of thing. While these treatments tend to get all the credit, they depend for a large part of their success on unglamorous, workaday support. A well-nourished person is more likely to survive and respond well to intense treatment. So is one who is well-slept and has the support of a caring community. A recent experience with an end-of-life client case brought this home for us.Skillful care can be the difference between a successful experimental treatment case and one that goes poorly. Herbalism is like this! When we work with clients undergoing palliative care or those in hospice, our intention with herbs is not to “cure”. Instead, it’s to help become more resilient, build endurance, and enable the body to cope with the stress of the illness itself and the harsh treatments conven

Mother’s day can mean different things for different people, but whatever your situation is, Motherwort can be a supportive friend. Physiologically its effects are to soothe and relax the heart and arteries, but this crosses over into mental and emotional effects too. Those are what we find most interesting in connection between the herb and its namesake.Motherwort helps you establish and defend your boundaries and needs, gently but firmly. That’s important for a mother, because so often those boundaries get loosened or blurred between mother and child. Boundaries also change as kids grow, and sometimes the readjustment is difficult. Motherwort can help there, too! (If that’s feeling relevant to you, you may also be interested in our previous episode about Emotional Support for Mothers & Teens.)This lion-hearted little herb also helps you become “bomb-proof” – able to put up a strong front when you may in fact be feeling a bit shaky inside, so that your kids (or other people who depend on you) can be reas

When it comes to chemical-free cleaning, there’s a lot of good stuff out there – but it can get pricey. And there’s a lot of “greenwashed” stuff, too – products that look “natural”, but really aren’t. But the good news is, you can make your own herbal spring cleaning products, and they’re not only effective, they’re inexpensive!In our home, we don’t use any chemical cleaners. Most of our needs are met with water, vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils. This is one place we really do work with EOs regularly! They’re quite potent – they’ve even been shown to inhibit MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant microbes. So, they’re definitely good enough for wiping down the countertops and sinks. In this episode we share with you all the herb-powered cleaners we make for ourselves and use in our own home. You can do it too!Natural cleaners require a little more elbow grease, but we don’t think that’s all bad. After all, chores count as movement! In the effort to break ourselves out of the “exercise is the only movemen

It’s springtime! The plants are popping up everywhere in their colorful displays. This time of year, we always start to get more questions about wildcrafting and foraging, so we wanted to share some thoughts on the subject in this episode. Living in a city can make gathering your own plants seem more difficult, and there are indeed some special considerations to make if you’re going to harvest wild plants in a city environment. But more important than specific plant knowledge are the urban wildcrafting ethics you bring to the task – and these almost all apply no matter where you live.We break down city foraging guidelines into three key areas: (1) know the plant, (2) know the land, and (3) know the community. With these principles in mind, you can apply them to whatever specific environment you’re working in.It’s important for all of us, as herbalists, to be aware of our impact on the plant world. After all, if we don’t sustain and regenerate our plant populations, we’ll be out of herbs & out of luck! Whe

Is Easter really the best time to give up sugar? Well, given that there’s always another holiday around the corner, there’s never really an objectively better or worse time to try it. So why not try it now? You don’t have to do it alone – herbs can help! In this episode we’ll talk about some of our favorite herbs to control sugar cravings and help you change your relationship to sweet treats.We always combine our herbalism with rational lifestyle interventions, so we’ll also discuss holistic strategies to cope with an oversized sweet tooth. Establishing a “sugar budget”, identifying your favorite low-sugar treats, keeping dessert close to mealtime, and finding ways to treat yourself that don’t involve food are all key here. Beneath that, there’s also value in recognizing what a sugar craving really is: a communication from the body, letting you know about an unmet need. This helps stave off guilt and shame!Mentioned in this podcast:How To Minimize Hyperglycemic Toxicity – this post discusses the ways in which

Everyone is different, and healthcare should be individualized for each person – especially when it comes to herbalism! But, on the other hand, people are also quite alike in many ways, and it turns out that there is in fact a general approach to building health. That’s what this episode is about: foundational health strategies you can turn to in any situation.Conventional medicine hinges upon a diagnosis. Without knowing precisely what’s wrong, you can’t proceed with a pharmaceutical solution. Herbalism is different, and especially holistic herbalism. As herbalists, we can absolutely help with specific complaints and health issues – matching the right herb to the right person at the right time. But we also can help even when “nothing’s wrong”! We can look at a situation and say: hey, your digestive system (or cardiovascular system, etc, or even the body in general) just isn’t really functioning well right now. Let’s think about a total overhaul. How can we rebuild this system so that it works well and stays

When choosing herbs for a health issue, herbalists like us use a system of organization called energetics. In this week’s podcast, we have an excerpt from our Energetics & Holistic Practice course about a key component of herbal energetics: tissue states. This term refers to the quality and activity present in a given organ or tissue of the body, and is based on three pairs of opposites: hot & cold, damp & dry, tense & lax.When we have an injury or dysfunction somewhere in the body, herbalists ask: How much heat (or metabolic activity) is present in the area? How much moisture is flowing through (or stuck within) the tissue? How tight or loose is the organ, or muscle? These fundamental qualities are what help us match herbs to health problems more precisely – hot states call for cooling herbs, tense states need relaxing herbs, and so on. Learning to identify these states, and learning which herbs counterbalance which states, is an important part of your herbal education.In these excerpts, we d

Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory skin problem. Problems like this are complex, because they don’t hinge on a single genetic anomaly or chemical imbalance in the body. This makes them difficult for conventional medicine to solve, but holistic healing methods are exactly what’s needed here! We can work through multiple interventions, including diet changes and herbs for psoriasis, to reduce inflammation and restore healthy skin.In this podcast we talk first about major contributing factors to psoriasis (and inflammatory skin conditions like it, such as eczema). Then we discuss some simple supplements, diet additions, and eliminations that can make a big difference in your overall inflammatory burden. Reducing this means your skin doesn’t get so irritated! Finally we talk about herbs you can work with, topically on the skin as well as internally, to reduce inflammation, move lymph, and relieve the itching too.Herbs discussed include kelp & other seaweeds, licorice, violet, & chickweed, alo

This is one of our favorite herbal formulas for endurance situations, whether that’s physical, mental, emotional, or all three. These herbs help build up your resilience, in part by improving your ability to clear the system of wastes and irritants. (Call it “detox”, the body’s daily action to process and eliminate such things.) Herbs can help that action in lots of ways, and an alterative herbal formula like Rooted & Ready will do just that. Oh, and did we mention it tastes like root beer?But the key to this formula is the combination of alteratives with adaptogens. Adaptogens make us better able to adapt to stress of all kinds, so they don’t cause us so much trouble. And believe it, stress causes real, physical health troubles! Because adaptogens support this function, and because stress is so pervasive and destructive, these herbs can be helpful for a surprising range of imbalances. When their influence is in the system, returning to baseline balance is a smoother transition. You don’t waste resources

It’s just about time for seasonal allergy … um, season … to begin here in Boston! Sniffy noses and red eyes are peeking around every corner. So let’s talk about some of our favorite herbs for seasonal allergies, and see if we can get you more comfortable outside.We lead with a brief discussion of the allergic response and a holistic view on the process. We teach you about the useful metaphor of the Stressor Bucket, and how this guides our herb & holistic lifestyle choices to dial back hayfever and other pollen-based allergic reactions. As it turns out, it’s about more than just the daily pollen count!Then we get right into the herbs! We highlight plants & home remedies to reduce overall inflammation, stabilize mast cells, support the kidneys, move the lymph, astringe the mucous membranes, and decongest the sinuses.So if thy nose runneth over, listen in and meet some herbal allies who can help you keep contained!Herbs mentioned include nettle, goldenrod, red clover, eyebright, yerba santa, marshmallow,

This is what we say at the beginning of every episode:We are not doctors. We are herbalists and holistic health educators. The ideas discussed in this podcast do not constitute medical advice.No state or federal authority licenses herbalists in the US; these discussions are for educational purposes only. Everyone’s body is different, so the things we’re talking about may or may not apply directly to you – but they will give you some information to think about and research further.We wish to remind you that good health is your own personal responsibility: the final decision in considering any course of therapy – whether discussed on the internet or prescribed by your physician – is always yours.Each of the many issues raised in this statement is very important to us, including but not limited to: the legal definition of the practice of medicine, scope of practice for holistic health professionals, individual biological and situational variation, rights as necessarily intercausal with responsiblities, and other

Just going to the internet and searching for “herbs for sleep” isn’t very effective – how do you know the right one for you? First, you need to suss out why you can’t sleep – not all insomnia is created equal! In this podcast, we break sleep problems down into a few basic categories and teach you the best herbs to choose for each one.We discuss both herbs to take during the day, as well as for bedtime itself. We also provide specific instructions for taking bedtime herbs to make them the most effective they can be. So whether you’re struck with anxious rumination as you lay in bed, or unable to sleep because of pain and tension in the body, or if your circadian rhythm has drifted away from the sun’s path – or some mix of all three! – this podcast is for you.Herbs discussed include: chamomile, betony, blue vervain, passionflower, skullcap, wild lettuce, California poppy, kava, ginger, crampbark, milk thistle, st john’s wort.Mentioned in this podcast:Herbs for Birthworkers – a great course for pregnant moms &am

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but it’s stressful to be a teen! Sometimes, that stress shows up as heartburn. As herbalists, we can help out! Here’s a discussion of some of our favorite herbs for stress-induced heartburn in teens. Some are for directly addressing the burning pain and discomfort; others are for reducing the stress itself, because it really does trigger the reflux events. Changing your relationship to stressors makes a big difference, and herbs can help you do that. All this is part of a holistic framework including simple changes to diet, sleep habits, and alignment / movement patterns – that makes the herbs much more effective! (But don’t worry, our number one remedy will work even if you can’t convince your teen to do the whole protocol.)Mentioned in this podcast:Mega-Mag, our favorite magnesium supplementConcentrace,a multimineral supplement from the same producerDaylio, a mood/health-tracking app we’ve been playing with latelyClue, a menstrual cycle tracker appHerbs discussed includ