Commonwealth Podcast For Holistic Herbalism

This week Katja had a bit of back pain, and has some thoughts to share with you about how this can happen an what to do about it. From mindset management to gentle movements for the release of tension and improving alignment, of course with the support of herbs, here are a few quick tips to get you bending and flexing again. Ryn shares a couple ideas for herbal liquid extracts to combine with sparkling water in a bit of delightful herbal indulgence - that's herbalism too! Herbs discussed this week include kava, lobelia, chamomile, sage & mint, elderflower, and nori & other seaweeds. (Seaweeds were our #herboftheweek on social media this week and last - follow us on social media or check out our blog for more!) ~ Our book Herbal Medicine for Beginners is available now on Amazon! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Katja this week reflects on a bit of wisdom surrounding downtime, and on the ways in which stress management can sometimes be the most difficult of our fundamental pillars of health, or the one that gets sacrificed first. Ryn shares his love of jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), a particularly excellent adaptogen for the dry and tense people in your life. Herbs discussed this week include our Wedding Tea blend - wood betony, tulsi, rose, spearmint, & violet - along with jiaogulan, goji, & kelp (which is our current #herboftheweek on Instagram & Facebook!). ~ Our book Herbal Medicine for Beginners is available now on Amazon! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Katja shares a hard-fought lesson: that health is not equivalent to merit, and that as herbalists it's important for us to stay away from idea that there is A Right Way and We Know It. Instead our role should be to offer a wide variety of tools to try that can help build greater resilience, and provide guidance on those the client is most interested in. Herbs help out in a variety of ways to compensate for the impacts of a suboptimal situation. Mentioned in this podcast:The Twenty-Four Hour Mind, Rosalind D. Cartwright - An elucidation of the mood-regulating functions of dreaming and the importance of dreams in our emotional lives.Behave, Robert Sapolsky - A cross-discipline deep dive into the current best scientific understanding of the complex web of interactions we call human behavior.Four Keys To Holistic Herbalism - our free mini-course outlining the fundamental determinants of health and the basic philosophy behind our approach to herbalism.~ Our book Herbal Medicine for Beginners is available now

Since it's Herbstalk's 2018 Herb of the Year, Katja wants to finally give Tulsi its due with a quick monograph for you today! As promised last time, Ryn shares an exercise in herbal formulation: attempting to re-create the actions and qualities of an herb you don't have, by mixing together several other herbs. We each sketch out a couple of formulae to be "chamomile" and "tulsi". Herbs discussed include tulsi, chamomile, jiaogulan, tarragon, & dandelion. Mentioned in this podcast:Herbstalk - coming up tomorrow, Saturday June 2nd & Sunday 3rd! ~ Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available now on Amazon! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

After seeing Rising Appalachia the other night, Katja wanted to sing! She sang so much she gave herself a sore throat. So today she'll tell you all about her favorite herbs for soothing sore throats! Ryn breaks down a couple of "classic cancer cure-all" formulae you may have heard of: Hoxsey and Essiac. He talks you through a way to deconstruct these, so you don't let an old formula be a black box or a magic potion - instead, break it down and analyze it! This helps you find a middle way between the "skeptics" who call everything herbal "quackery" and the uncritical superficiality of internet memes. Herbs discussed include calamus, marshmallow, linden, & cinnamon. Mentioned in this podcast: Rising Appalachia - music to heal your heart!Herbstalk - coming up June 2nd & 3rd! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available now on Amazon! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism cou

Katja shares her thoughts on herbal supports for those who are coping with eating disorders. Herbs can help reduce anxiety, center us in the body, stimulate appetite, and make it easier to manage cravings. Ryn gives you some guidelines for building a warming, relaxing herbal muscle rub. This will help speed recovery after an intense workout and reduce discomfort from delayed-onset muscle soreness. (Here's the basic ingredients list: 2 oz ginger-infused oil, 2 oz goldenrod-infused oil, 2 oz ginger tincture, 2 oz meadowsweet tincture, 80 drops each peppermint & cinnamon essential oil.) Herbs discussed include ashwagandha, calamus, betony, catnip, chamomile, pothos, ginger, goldenrod, meadowsweet, cinnamon, peppermint. Mentioned in this podcast: Nettle & Friends Don't forget!  Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available now on Amazon! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthh

Ryn describes a method you can use to expand your understanding of energetics by comparing ailment profiles and the herbs recommended for them in our book. If you love lists, this is for you! Katja shares her best strategies for getting through a day when you wake up feeling zonked - from uncoffee to yerba mate formulation to settling-in at bedtime. Herbs discussed include betony, catnip, chamomile, linden, yerba mate, tulsi, ashwagandha, & rosemary. Mentioned in this podcast: Katja's very own Herbal Oracle Cards are a great way to start and end your day with inspiration and contemplation. Don't forget!  Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon! - Ships May 15th! Our theme music is "Wings" by Nicolai Heidlas.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week Katja has some thoughts about the number of syllables in neuraminidase and what it means to be a woman in science. Ryn tries to keep it simple with a basic protocol for heartburn. Mentioned in this podcast: Behave, Robert SapolskyStudent-faculty research suggests Oreos can be compared to drugs of abuse in lab rats, Connecticut CollegeWhat Happens to Your Body If You Drink a Coke Right Now?, Wade MeredithHerbs discussed include marshmallow, meadowsweet, calendula, plantain, licorice, & calamus.   Don't forget! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon! - Ships May 15th! Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Turmeric is a great herb and an effective anti-inflammatory, but it's not the be-all end-all it's sometimes made out to be, usually by folks who want to sell it to you! This week Katja shares some other anti-inflammatory herbs you may not have considered. Meanwhile, Ryn's been thinking about dreaming - or dreaming about thinking? - with the help of mugwort, a city-dwelling weedy friend who is very talented when it comes to deepening the dream experience. Mentioned in this podcast: If I Read One More Post About Turmeric Being Anti-inflammatory, My Head Will Explode!, Tammi SweetMugwort for Dreaming, Ryn MiduraThe Twenty-Four Hour Mind, Rosalind D. CartwrightHerbstalk - Boston's homegrown herbal conference, June 2nd & 3rd!Herbs discussed include turmeric, ginger, rosemary, ginkgo, peppermint, tulsi, ashwagandha, rose hips, hibiscus, elder, calendula, self-heal, red clover, and mugwort.   Don't forget! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on

This week Katja talks about the herbs that defined taco seasoning in her Texas upbringing, and their qualities when as medicinal herbs. Along the way, she takes a moment to appreciate the life of World War I herbalist and author, Maud Grieve. Ryn goes over an important lesson in phytochemistry - that no one compound accounts for all the observed effect of an herb - considering this today as it applies to specific qualities: so demulcency & astringency aren't reducible to mucilaginicity & tannicity. Herbs discussed include fennel, cumin, coriander / cilantro, cayenne, onion & garlic, marshmallow, cinnamon, & hibiscus. Don't forget! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon! Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

No, that's not an herbal tea pairing suggestion! This week, Katja sets off on a 100-day experiment with schisandra berries, and Ryn discusses the nuances of peppermint's energetics - is it warming or cooling? Listen in and find out what we think! Don't forget!  Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon!Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week Ryn walks you through a short movement sequence he finds helpful when his low back gets tense, and Katja shares (most of) a recipe for a tincture blend that also helps tense muscles - the rest is to be found in our book! Find the video of the kneebend sequence here! And while you're at it, feel free to follow us on Instagram. ;) Herbs discussed include ashwagandha, solomon's seal, ginger, and mullein. Don't forget! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon! Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week Katja shares some allies who've helped out with the (several!) kinds of pain which accompany her braces - gentle vulnerary astringents for the cuts in the mouth, anodynes for the bone pain, and a special guest to help drain fluids from the sinus. Ryn talks about one way we try to understand herbal constituents, the chemicals which contribute to an herb's medicinal effects - by trying to learn how they work in the plants who produce them. Herbs discussed include meadowsweet, goldenrod, self-heal, calendula, plantain, chamomile, kava, & ground ivy. Don't forget! Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon! Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Katja's daughter Amber is about to turn 15 years old, so this week Katja reflects on her birth experience and offers up some herbs to help mamas in the last stages of pregnancy, and Ryn shares one of his favorite Mama-support formulas. Herbs discussed include lobelia, ginger, betony, ghost pipe, chamomile, kava, & vanilla. Mentioned this week: Herbal Medicine for Beginners, our first book, is available for pre-order now on Amazon!Lavandoula - herbalist & full-spectrum doula Emma O'Brien is a graduate & friend of ours. If you need a doula in the Boston area, contact her!Kings Road Apothecary - maker of the lovely kava & vanilla massage oil, among other wonders.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

We say it every week: we are not doctors, you are responsible for your own good health. This week, we wanted to expand on that a bit more, explain the philosophy behind it, and the reasons we think it’s so important to our practice as herbalists. We discuss the differences between conventional and traditional systems of medicine, and look into the legal issues surrounding “the practice of medicine”. This is also an issue of empowerment: the flip side of a responsibility is a right, and it’s your right to make informed decisions about your own health. We believe it’s the herbalist’s job to help you claim that power!Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week, in honor of International Women's Day, Katja shares some of her thoughts and experiences with adult daughters who became caregivers for their elderly parents. There's a particular pattern of compromised lung health she's seen emerge in these women, which has been tightly tied to the complex stresses and emotional challenges of the role. Fortunately, she's found an herbal ally - pleurisy root, Asclepias tuberosa - who's been especially helpful to them - and may help you or someone you love, as well! Mentioned in this podcast: Health Care? Daughters Know All About It, Roni Caryn Rabin (NYT, May 2017) - "As Washington debates the relative merits of health care legislation, many families have already come up with what is arguably the most reliable form of care in America: It's called daughter care.Dementia Care, Women's Health, and Gender Equity, Bott et al (JAMA Neurology, July 2017) - "The best long-term care insurance in our country is a conscientious dau

This week, Ryn shares some strategies he turns to when (as frequently happens) he recognizes that he needs to sleep, but can't quite convince himself to go to bed. Katja relates what happened earlier this week, when polyurethane fumes from a home improvement project in our apartment building gave her a massive headache and made it hard to sleep - both what she actually did to cope in the moment, as well as what, in hindsight, would have been more effective. Herbs discussed include mugwort, wild lettuce, hops, ginger, chamomile, linden, mullein, marshmallow, st john's wort, and milk thistle.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week, Katja discusses several herbs to help support mothers and teens who are coping with the difficulties of the adolescent years - especially in the face of the stressors unique to today's world. Herbs discussed include motherwort, rose, hawthorn, yarrow, tulsi, milk thistle, and st john's wort. Mentioned in this podcast: Herbs for Psychological First Aid - Katja's free video class on working with herbs for acute mental and emotional difficulties.March For Our Lives - On March 24th, 2018, in DC and throughout the country, kids and families will take to the streets to demand real change to end gun violence and prevent mass shootings. Sign up for more info or to find a local event!Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week, Katja describes a way of working with herbs to reduce the harm done when lifestyle factors like diet, sleep, and movement are less-than-ideal. (Because really, how often is everything in your life perfectly "right"?) Ryn identifies a mental blind spot in the course of "discovering" that aswhagandha is in fact native or naturalized in large parts of Africa and has a long history of use there. (Did you, too, think of it only as an Indian/Ayurvedic herb?) Mentioned in this podcast: Ashwagandha monograph from the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa projectAshwagandha monograph from the PlantZAfrica project at the South African National Biodiversity Institutethis Global Mapper from Discover Life can display worldwide plant distribution maps!Krystal Thompson's ashwagandha monograph at HerbRallyProduction dynamics of Withaferin A in Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal complex., Kaul et al (Nat Prod Res. 2009;23(14):1304-11. doi: 10.1080/14786410802547440.) - one investigation into the di

Adaptogens are marketed as a solution to stress, burnout, hormonal imbalances, and a lot more. They can help a lot! But they’re not always appropriate. Today we discuss a few cases in which adaptogens might not be the best solution for feelings of burnout and exhaustion, and offer some alternative herbs you might consider instead.Support the showYou can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!