The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
Practical herbalism from practicing herbalists. Conversations, botanical deep-dives, Q&A with clinical herbalists Katja Swift & Ryn Midura of CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism.
Episodes
Economic uncertainty is part of business – but there’s so much you can do to disaster-proof your herbal business and make sure it stays strong throughout the ups and downs.
This episode is the first three steps in the work of diversifying your revenue streams and also your product/service offerings to make sure that your herbal business keeps growing!
We’re focusing here on how to shift your marketing so that your products/services r...
In our fifth installment in this series, we address the facts & fictions about ginkgo, guarana, and maca supplements in commerce! These were #13, 14, and 15 on the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data).
This series is all about sharing an herbalist’s understanding of herbs very popular as commercial supplements and other mass-market products. We want to share perspectives of both traditional and contemporary her...
What does it mean to heal? When are we “healed”? Are there some wounds that can’t be healed? If we can’t heal – in the sense of achieving “perfect health” – are we failures, as people or as herbalists? In this episode, Katja shares her thoughts on the words and ideas “healing” carries in our culture, offering a critique of their common (and commercialized!) semantic and emotional baggage.
Transcript
Lately, in conversa...
We discuss green tea, fenugreek, and ivy leaf in this, the fourth part of an episodic sequence about the best-selling herbs in the US.
Our primary purpose for creating this series of episodes is to share an understanding of these herbs from the perspectives of traditional and contemporary herbal practice. Frequently, the high-volume sales of these herbs comes along with oversimplified or diminished ideas about what they can do. If w...
In part three of our series on the top-selling herbs in the United States, we cover wheatgrass, beet root, and ginger supplements.
As we share our opinions about these popular herbal supplements, our primary goal is to help you understand these herbs in their breadth and depth. They’re too often pigeon-holed into limited ranges of application – the usual answers to “what is it good for?” are too small! There’s plenty more to say abo...
If you’re trying to decide whether you need adaptogens or a nap, well, the answer just might be both! But you can learn how to combine your adaptogens with other holistic interventions for better effects.
In this episode we’re talking about choosing the best adaptogens to work with when what you really need is rest – a super common situation we all find ourselves in from time to time. We talk about ways to get rest – even if you don...
This episode continues our series covering the top-selling herbs in the United States. As we give you our thoughts about these popular herbal supplements, we’re hoping to help you break out of the box. These herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the answers to the question “what is it good for?” are usually very limited! There’s more to say about them than their most effective selling points or ...
Katja writes…
Today a student sent me a question and it was so important, i asked her if i could (anonymously) share it, because i know other people are wondering this too.
She wrote:
"I wanted to ask for any advice or your thoughts on how to handle being a plus size herbalist.
I am plus sized. Though I am currently in working on a healthier life style that includes using herbs, I feel like when people see me or see...
Talk of herbal detox comes up every spring – some years, earlier than others. We field a lot of questions from people asking our opinions on detox protocols, bowel cleanses, liver flushes, you name it. So, in this episode, we’re giving you our fundamental thoughts on the topic.
Ryn wrote you a poem that sums up our perspective. Here it is:
The Don’t Ox
if you think you need a detox,
hear & heed the Don’t Ox –
When you think of UTI and herbs, you probably think of cranberry and uva ursi first. You’re not wrong to do so! They’re reliable and effective remedies. But if you stop there, though, you’ll be missing out on some herbs who can also do the job, and do it well. In this episode we outline two herbal UTI formulae we work with ourselves, and explain why and how they’re helpful.
We also take this opportunity to demonstrate our method of ...
This episode begins an intermittent series we’ll be doing this year, covering the top-selling herbs in the United States and giving you our thoughts about them. From the perspective of a practicing herbalist, these herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the “what is it good for” answers are quite limited!
The Herbal Market Report from the American Botanical Council comes out every year, with data...
Welcome to 2025, everyone! Let’s give the year a bitter start – that’s better than a bitter end, right? If you don’t think so yet, listen to this episode and by the end, we’re sure you’ll agree!
Bitters are a truly indispensable piece of an herbal toolkit. They – like demulcents, adaptogens, and alteratives – can achieve things in the body which pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, and other healing modalities simply cannot replicate. Bitt...
A brief update this time, to let you know about some herbal holiday gifts we’ve put together for you & yours!
Herbal Activities Calendar
The best way to learn herbalism is to do a little bit every day – so we’ve built you a whole activities calendar that will feed itself automagically right into your own calendar of choice (Google, Yahoo, Outlook, etc). You can even set notifications so that you don’t forget to try fun new h...
We’re still making the podcast! We have not abandoned you, dear listeners. 💚
We’ve been busy producing material for our online courses – especially the Accessible Herbalism and Clinical Skills courses. We’ve also been enhancing our student experience and building up our student community, so that learning with us is more enjoyable and cooperative. You’re not out there in the world on your own, when you study herbalism with us!
Today...
This week we’d like you to meet Ashley Bissonnette-Murphy, who is one of our Clinical Mentorship students. Ashley is advanced in her mentorship, and she’s been seeing her own clients in our Student Clinic and Free Clinic for a year. She does great work!
You can find Ashley at hwapothicaire.com and on social media at @hwapothicaire. Definitely jump on her mailing list to get her excellent monthly newsletters!
We mentioned our free Her...
This is the fourth in a series about herbal businesses. These videos cover what each kind of herbal business is and what kind of work you’d be doing, what kinds of education and experience you’ll need to get it started, and a few tips to help you along the way.
This video focuses on building a Compounding Herbal Apothecary – but as you’ll hear right up front, part of this now involves avoiding calling it an “apothecary”, because tha...
Discomfort and evasion are natural responses to our world. Our ancestors, from a single-celled organism up to Mitochondrial Eve, all survived only because they had strong drives to avoid uncomfortable and dangerous situations. But in our modern world, avoiding all discomforts can stunt our growth, or make us seem more fragile than we really are.
This is not about “grinding through” difficulty, or hurting ourselves in an effort to be...
IF YOU'RE SEEING THIS IN JULY 2024, USE CODE "LAVENDER" AT CHECKOUT TO GET 20% OFF ANY OF OUR COURSES OR PROGRAMS!
This originally aired as Episode 188 of the Holistic Herbalism Podcast.
All herb schools are different, in their focus and their style. When you’re choosing an online herb school, whether for a short course or a long program, here are some key questions to consider:
- How can you ...
IF YOU'RE SEEING THIS IN JULY 2024, USE CODE "LAVENDER" AT CHECKOUT TO GET 20% OFF ANY OF OUR COURSES OR PROGRAMS!
This originally aired as Episode 139 of the Holistic Herbalism Podcast. We're replaying it in June 2024 because of the increase in interest in cognitive troubles associated with COVID. Don't despair - you can take steps to protect your mind!
Here' s the study mention...
With heat waves hitting heavy, and hurricane season on the move, we’re thinking about disaster preparedness – again! In this episode, we’re covering an aspect of disaster preparedness we haven’t discussed on the pod before: food. Whether you’re putting together a bug-out bag, or building up a bug-in bag (or box, or cabinet, or whatever), you’ve got to have food.
What’ll matter in this context includes protein, fiber, calories, flavo...
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