If you read my recent post on nurturing the senses, you’ll know about the release of the updated version of Herb Energetics, the multi-media course I created with John Gallagher of learningherbs.com teaching my take on the essential elements of sense-based herbalism. The course details have now been released and signup is open over at the Herb Energetics site.

In case you missed that post but are interested in the course, here’s a quick definition of energetics from my perspective:

Herbal energetics are generally defined as a framework of understandings of how to best match herbs to the individual and/or situation. Spectrums (such as cool/warm) and properties (such as astringent) are associated with herbs based on our observation of their effect on the body. For example, when we choose the moistening, mucilaginous root of Althaea to treat a dry, hacking cough where there is a burning pain in the chest, we’re using basic herbal energetics.

I consider this topic fundamental to the skillful and effective practice of herbalism, whether we’re just trying our immediate family and friends or working in a full time clinical practice. Learning the subtle (and not so subtle) nuances of how a plant can tend to work in the human body can greatly enhance our existing studies or understandings of herbalism.

Systems of herbalism such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani tibb, and Ayurveda can offer an existing and well-developed approach to herbal energetics but for some of us, the concepts may seem out of context or difficult to understand if we weren’t raised in those traditions. Herb Energetics is my attempt to pare energetics down to an easily understood system with familiar terms and concepts that give us the ability to deepen our intimacy with the plants as well as giving us tools to better understand human constitutions and patterns of pathology.

To me, herbal energetics are all about recognizing the the wisdom of our bodies and our ancient relationship with plants as medicines as well as food, poison and beyond, in a way that allows us to have a greater understanding of how to help each other through hands on experience – through tasting the plant, understanding what it does organoleptically, with our sensorial bodies – and then directly applying that knowledge. This isn’t just head knowledge, it’s whole body knowledge that results in an ever more whole and effective approach to healing and herbalism.

Herb Energetics 2.0

“The simple act of nurturing the senses might well do far more for healing of the world than all our programs and inventions.” ~ Cheryl Sanders

Being an herbalist is a constant exercise in balance – with so much being given out in the work of helping others we also need the pleasure of finding and settling into our own nourishment. Because after all, if we can’t take care of ourselves, how can we possibly take care of others? Part of the joy of my work is in the sensory intimacy I have with the plants, the close-up looks at buds and rhizomes via sight, scent, touch and taste. On one hand, this is an absolutely essential way of understanding the nature of the plant, and on the other hand, it’s pure fun for me and my seeking senses.

When I find myself burned out from too many hours of website design, clinical case notes and pharmaceutical research, I unconsciously move toward more sensory centered activities involving the plants. I climb Juniper trees in the snow to get closer to the translucent ivory globes of Mistletoe fruits and rub Cypress resin between my fingers and revel in the spiced wood scent of it. I’m grateful that this sensual immersion in all things Plantae are an integral part of my work. I cannot imagine practicing herbalism without being grounded in the energetic tendencies of the plants communicated through the senses.

Herbal energetics are inherently sense-based and common sense  while being clearly tied into the scientific perspective of plants that tells us that when plants have certain constituents as part of their overall makeup, they’re more likely to act in certain ways on the physiology of the human body. I’ve talked about this in more detail in my previous post on herbal energetics that you can read right here: Defining Herbal Energetics.

In this vein, I’ve created a curriculum that helps students to understand the tendencies and actions of the herbs directly through their senses. I primarily teach this in person, because hands-on workshops are much more effective at facilitating sensory immersion than words on a screen. However, so many people asked for a more accessible way of learning this curriculum that last year John Gallagher and I put together a multimedia online course for those can’t attend such a workshop. And now, thanks to the many requests, we’ve decided to relaunch Herb Energetics for a second round. I’ve also taken into consideration the feedback I received with the first round and created a whole new module based around constitutional theory to help bring the entire course more into focus and make it more applicable in the real world.

Below is more information on the original inception of Herb Energetics, or, you can head right over to the Herb Energetics site to check out the first module for free to see if it’s something that might fit into your practice. If you like what you see, please share with your networks and friends!

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The Sensory Language of Life

One of the most fascinating aspect of working with plants is the how and why of what they do in the human body. I’m the sort of person who is endlessly (and perhaps annoyingly) curious, like an eternal four year old asking everyone –why– about even the most obvious aspects of the world around me.

For this reason, I spend a significant amount of time reading medical and botanical research. It’s the same reason I spend even more time up close and personal with plants and people. All the research in the world can’t begin to replace personal experience and the knowledge that stems from it. Herbalism is, by it’s very definition, a healing art comprised of many overlapping and complimentary fields. From the essential knowledge of how to identify each plant to knowing how and when to harvest to how to prepare medicines to client assessment and diagnostics, herbalists tend to be flexible and broadly knowledgeable folks.

When I first began studying herbalism, I was particularly fascinated by Traditional Chinese Medicine and the way TCM practitioners could match plant to person in such specific and accurate way. Which led me to an extensive look at the energetic systems of many traditional forms of herbal medicine around the world. Which brought me right back here, to my senses and the plants around me. Looking at the underlying principles of all forms of herbal energetics, we can easily see that it is our senses that inform of us of the basic nature of each plant. Feeling and understanding what the plant communicates to us through our bodies (energetics, herbal actions etc.) is a foundational element for the practicing herbalist, just as a working knowledge of botany, diagnostics, harvesting and medicine making (among other things) are also essential.

The way I understand, practice and teach herbalism is simple, common sense and experience-based. I don’t know any other way of doing it. Human physiology and the plants themselves are so incredibly complex and intricate, that it makes sense to me to approach both elements in as practical terms as possible. This means learning what works and passing it on while adapting to the current context and needs. No extraneous fluff or hubris, no bullshit, just what really works for herbalists, the plants they ally with and the folks they help.

The more I’ve written about herbs and their energetics the more emails I’ve received asking for ever more detailed articles about how to understand and use herbal energetics. For many people, reading is a less than ideal format for comprehending and integrating such experiential lessons. I’ve found that teaching energetics/actions tends to be much more effective in person and yet, living in such a remote location I have limited chances to work with people face to face.

So when John Gallagher of Learningherbs.com proposed that we put together an online course focused on sense-based herbal energetics I jumped at the opportunity. John, with his genius for bringing together many elements into an integrated and interactive whole, has made it possible to make a truly multi-media and multi-faceted way of learning widely available. The format he’s created is amazing and really fits into my emphasis on simple and straight-forward, making the information that much easier to learn and utilize.

John traveled all the way to southwestern New Mexico from Washington state to film and record the course so it could be based right here in the Canyon, on the land that has inspired and fueled so much of my teaching and work. In fact, nearly all of it was recorded right on our cabin’s back porch. We even had a little help from Rhiannon in showing us exactly how energetics work and how easy they are to understand and learn.

After many months of work creating and producing the course, I’m very excited to finally announce the release of the new Herb Energetics course, offered by Learningherbs.com. Everything you need to know about it is right here: http://HerbEnergetics.com and we’re even offering the first module, “The Sensory Language of Life” as a free gift.

I hope that if you’re interested in learning more about sense-based herbal energetics you’ll take the time to check this out and PLEASE pass on the information through your blog, facebook, twitter etc., to anyone else you think might benefit from the course! Many thanks in advance for your assistance in getting the word out!

~Kiva

For those of you interested in gaining real life experience and intensive training in herbal medicine in a clinical setting that is overseen/taught by several great practitioners and teachers, this is truly an amazing opportunity.

The faculty includes Paul Bergner and Tania Neubauer of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism. The training will take place on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua this coming July. And amazingly enough, no clinical experience or previous knowledge of Spanish is necessary!

Here’s a few highlights from the site:

“Participants in this course will work in a primary care setting under the supervision of licensed naturopathic physicians and will observe all phases of the clinical visit – interview, physical exam, differential diagnosis, and preparation and administration of integrative treatments, which may include herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage and bodywork, flower essence therapy, counseling, and pharmaceutical medicine. You can expect to see a vast range of conditions during the clinic time. Many ask, ‘Is this course relevant to my practice in the Global North?’ The answer: a resounding YES!  A recent clinical course included attention to colds/flu, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, COPD, parasites and infectious diarrhea, malnutrition, diabetes, hypertension, bladder and kidney infections, kidney stones, cancer, scabies, eczema, psoriasis, allergies, wounds, depression, anxiety, all manner of musculo-skeletal concerns, STIs, Pap smears, acute abdomen, and many more. See a link to some case summaries here.  You will collaborate with NDI physicians, NAIMH herbalists and Nicaraguan holistic medical practitioners to interview patients and form treatment plans for any number of conditions common wherever you may practice. You will practice thinking on your feet. This course will help you develop flexibility in your treatment approach, as we work with an extensive but largely donation-based natural product pharmacy, where medications available may change daily.  We provide translators, either the physician herself or an NDI staff translator will translate everything that happens in the visit. Beginning students or practitioners will find this course gives you an enormous head start in your learning and your practice. Practitioners with many years’ experience will find the opportunity to flex your clinical muscles, seeing a wide range of health concerns far more diverse than often encountered in most holistic medicine practices. “

Go to the site to learn more!

One of the most fascinating aspect of working with plants is the how and why of what they do in the human body. I’m the sort of person who is endlessly (and perhaps annoyingly) curious, like an eternal four year old asking everyone –why– about even the most obvious aspects of the world around me.

For this reason, I spend a significant amount of time reading medical and botanical research. It’s the same reason I spend even more time up close and personal with plants and people. All the research in the world can’t begin to replace personal experience and the knowledge that stems from it. Herbalism is, by it’s very definition, a healing art comprised of many overlapping and complimentary fields. From the essential knowledge of how to identify each plant to knowing how and when to harvest to how to prepare medicines to client assessment and diagnostics, herbalists tend to be flexible and broadly knowledgeable folks.

When I first began studying herbalism, I was particularly fascinated by Traditional Chinese Medicine and the way TCM practitioners could match plant to person in such specific and accurate way. Which led me to an extensive look at the energetic systems of many traditional forms of herbal medicine around the world. Which brought me right back here, to my senses and the plants around me. Looking at the underlying principles of all forms of herbal energetics, we can easily see that it is our senses that inform of us of the basic nature of each plant. Feeling and understanding what the plant communicates to us through our bodies (energetics, herbal actions etc.) is a foundational element for the practicing herbalist, just as a working knowledge of botany, diagnostics, harvesting and medicine making (among other things) are also essential.

The way I understand, practice and teach herbalism is simple, common sense and experience-based. I don’t know any other way of doing it. Human physiology and the plants themselves are so incredibly complex and intricate, that it makes sense to me to approach both elements in as practical terms as possible. This means learning what works and passing it on while adapting to the current context and needs. No extraneous fluff or hubris, no bullshit, just what really works for herbalists, the plants they ally with and the folks they help.

The more I’ve written about herbs and their energetics the more emails I’ve received asking for ever more detailed articles about how to understand and use herbal energetics. For many people, reading is a less than ideal format for comprehending and integrating such experiential lessons. I’ve found that teaching energetics/actions tends to be much more effective in person and yet, living in such a remote location I have limited chances to work with people face to face.

So when John Gallagher of Learningherbs.com proposed that we put together an online course focused on sense-based herbal energetics I jumped at the opportunity. John, with his genius for bringing together many elements into an integrated and interactive whole, has made it possible to make a truly multi-media and multi-faceted way of learning widely available. The format he’s created is amazing and really fits into my emphasis on simple and straight-forward, making the information that much easier to learn and utilize.

John traveled all the way to southwestern New Mexico from Washington state to film and record the course so it could be based right here in the Canyon, on the land that has inspired and fueled so much of my teaching and work. In fact, nearly all of it was recorded right on our cabin’s back porch. We even had a little help from Rhiannon in showing us exactly how energetics work and how easy they are to understand and learn.

After many months of work creating and producing the course, I’m very excited to finally announce the release of the new Herb Energetics course, offered by Learningherbs.com. Everything you need to know about it is right here: http://HerbEnergetics.com and we’re even offering the first module, “The Sensory Language of Life” as a completely free gift.

I hope that if you’re interested in learning more about sense-based herbal energetics you’ll take the time to check this out and PLEASE pass on the information through your blog, facebook, twitter etc., to anyone else you think might benefit from the course! Many thanks in advance for your assistance in getting the word out!

~Kiva

P.S. If you’re interested in hands-on herbal energetics, you’ll also be wanting to check out herbalist and teacher Rosalee de la Foret’s totally free The Taste of Herbs webinar, which you can sign up for right here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/223964474

Hello folks, here in the Canyon, the Wild Roses (Rosa woodsii) are just beginning to bloom, the Blisswort (Scutellaria potosina) is flowering beautifully (more on those very soon) and the land is green and lush with such an abundantly rainy Spring! I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus, and my time’s been consumed by working on many big projects, not least the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference but also on several other exciting things I can’t really talk about just yet. What I can tell you is that I’ll be back to writing on a more regular basis very shortly, and that I’m putting together even more herbal, healing and related online goodness for ya’ll. To help make up for the lack of Kiva words lately, I want to announce a great new opportunity to get a big earful of my herbal ramblings in one concentrated dose.

Many of you know that I’m a big fan of the work of John Gallagher over at Learningherbs.com, who provides an amazing amount of free herbal information and opportunities as well as through his ongoing and interactive homestudy site/course over at Herbmentor.com.  John recently invited me to do a special FREE teleseminar for anyone who wanted to join in. Now, living out the sticks as I and my family do, seven river crossings from the nearest road on an 80 acre botanical sanctuary set within the Gila National Forest, you have to understand that I have no phone and only limited satellite internet running on a small system of solar panels. So it’s generally difficult for me to manage any sort of audio interviews of any kind. But I was so very excited about the particular subject matter that John proposed to me and the wonderful audience of this teleseminar that I really wanted to make the extra effort to do a live teleseminar.

This has all come together to become The Wild Remedy: Grassroots Herbalism from our Backyards & Beyond, a 60-90 minute free teleseminar. We’ll be talking about hands-on, down-home herbalism for everyone, including tips for beginners and for working with the wild and weedy plants all around you, including those in your own backyard! Additionally, we’ll be discussing working with common kitchen remedies, and even a bit about the energetics of foods and how you can create healing for your family through your meals every single day. I’ll also be sharing some details about the upcoming (and oh so exciting) Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference. Overall, we’ll be digging into the marrow of traditional herbalism, herbwifery, community-based healing and the many accessible ways we can each work with plants for greater health. You can find out all about the teleseminar right here, and also sign up (completely free) to participate next week.

And if that wasn’t enough, we’re also giving away some really great prizes during the teleseminar, including a free one year subscription to HerbMentor.com, one free ticket to the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference and multiple copies of the Wildcraft boardgame.

Sign up now at http://WildRemedy.com to join John Gallagher and I on Wednesday evening, June 9th, at 6:30 Mountain Time for a great conversation about hands-on herbalism from the grassroots!

~~~

All Photos ©2010 Kiva Rose & Jesse Wolf Hardin

At long last! –– the release of the greatly anticipated

COURSE 1

of a 5 course program for the village herbalist:

From the Ground Up: Grassroots Training in Traditional Western Herbalism

FOUNDATIONS IN TRADITIONAL WESTERN HERBALISM

Written & Taught by Kiva Rose Hardin

After years of preparation, the essential first course in Kiva Rose’s comprehensive 5 course program has just been released, with openings for a select number of committed students.  Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism provides information and tools that are important for understanding and getting the most from the 4 other courses in this groundbreaking series.  Kiva’s attention to the basics makes the practice of herbalism comprehensible for a beginner, while her unconventional perspective and innovative approach ensure that even experienced herbalists will find themselves learning new concepts, in lessons that not only inform but stretch and challenge, inspire and delight.

Lessons arrive as PDF files, with beautiful, illustrative color photos scattered throughout.

To register, go to the bottom of this post and click on the Application link.

The Course Work

Each lesson consists of a core topic, accompanying definitions and terms, a section on Materia Medica with an in-depth profile of a single herbal ally, and another featuring a description and complete directions for foundational medicine making techniques, with questions and assignments for every section. Course 1 includes 4 lessons:

• Lesson 1: The Roots of Traditional Western Herbalism
  Materia Medica: Nettles (Urtica spp.)
  Medicine Making: Tisanes, Infusions & Nourishing Infusions
• Lesson 2: Healing as Wholeness & The Tonic Approach
  Materia Medica: Mullein (Verbascum spp.)
  Medicine Making: Infused Oil
• Lesson 3: Vitalist Herbalism & The Anima
  Materia Medica: Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp)
  Medicine Making: Decoctions
• Lesson 4: The Matrix – Healing & the Material World
  Materia Medica: Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
  Medicine Making: Herbal Baths & Hydrotherapy

Students can take as long as needed to complete work, which includes studies and readings, the answering of questions and the fulfillment of assignments.  It is these assignments that are in some ways the most crucial of all, placing the focus on the immediate, practical utilization of each idea and skill that we learn here.  “This is not so much about memorizing information,” she explains, “but about experiencing the plants and their effects, and learning to understand and integrate those effects in a practical and effective way.”  Once the coursework is completed and emailed back, Kiva reviews it and then writes a single detailed, personal response providing any helpful clarification or correction, further suggested assignments and advice where needed.

Once your Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism questions and assignments are complete, you may then want to enroll in each of the following, soon to available courses:

• Course 2: Elements in Energetic Herbalism
• Course 3: Human Ecology: Physiology & Organ System Energetics for the
  Traditional Herbalist
• Course 4: Reading the Terrain: Practical Diagnostics for the Traditional Herbalist
• Course 5: Restoration: Pathophysiology & Diagnostics for the Traditional Herbalist

Course 1 will provide the groundwork for beginning or furthering herbal healing practice, and anyone taking all 5 courses can be confidant of having been given the essential information, means and tools needed to be a highly effective herbalist… whether treating one’s self and family, or giving one’s life to helping heal others.

About Your Instructor

Kiva is the cofounder of the distinctive sense and common sense based Anima Tradition of Herbalism, author of the acclaimed Anima Healing Arts Blog (formerly the Medicine Woman’s Roots), and the village herbalist of the rural community near her lush botanical sanctuary in the wilderness of Southwest New Mexico.  She’s become known for her intuitive understanding of plants and their properties, leading her to discover – or in some cases rediscover – novel uses and treatments, as well as for her evocative, easily understood explanations of energetics, and she and her school’s bioregional emphasis.

Kiva writes: “My focus is firmly on accessible, grassroots herbalism that educates the individual and serves the community, both the human component as well as the larger earthen community. I strongly believe in restoring health at all levels and approach healing from the understanding that the body is a diverse and intelligent ecology, integrally connected to the planet as a whole.”

As her partner in this life and work, I couldn’t be more proud of her efforts, or more impressed with this life-empowering and life-enhancing course.

Donations

All courses are offered on a donations basis, with a $350 to $700 suggested sliding scale depending on your ability to contribute and how much you value what is offered.  Those unable to donate the complete amount at once, are invited to contribute over time as able.

Apply Now

To apply, click on the link below, then download, fill out and return the:

Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism Home Study Course Application

Spread the Word

And please make the time to spread the word about this exciting series of courses, by pasting and forwarding this message to your mailing list, or reposting this announcement on your blog or in  appropriate forums you frequent.  Thank you for your patience in waiting for this course to be released, and for your commitment to healing, the plant world and this School.
-Jesse Wolf Hardin

Anima Lifeways and Herbal School
www.AnimaCenter.org and www.AnimaHealingArts.org