I'm happy to say the most frequent question I get off the back of my podcast is how do I study as a herbalist? This podcast, and final episode, aims to answer that question for anyone in the UK and gives some online options too.
The information in this podcast was true in 2018. Please check the course websites below to ensure nothing has changed since then. You’ll see from the list I’ve placed below how incredibly varied the courses are now but generally last 3 years. Although this is aimed at people wanting to practice as a herbalist you’ll find that almost every institution offers courses which suit those of you with a casual interest in herbal medicine for home use too.
Visit our website for the full list of courses.
http://foragebotanicals.co.uk/forage-botanicals/how-to-become-a-herbalist
Belle Benfield shares with us her deep rooted connection with Elecampane. She became a herbalist after years of studying on an apprenticeship with Karen and Fi from Sensory Solutions and now works side by side with them.
Elecampane is a root which is harvested in Autumn. I have grown this herb and candied it in the past for coughs but Belle raised other uses with me. Such as, it's amazing ability to kill MRSA! She also spoke about its associations with Helen of Troy and...
Amparo is a Spanish born Scotland based herbalist. She learnt Herbal Medicine in the UK and is currently training to become a doctor. She brings a fresh look at Marshmallow using her wonderfully in-depth and colourful knowledge of phytochemistry.
Marshmallow gave it's name to the sweet. It's wonderfully softening and soothing properties most commonly used for digestion. Amaro explains how she likes to prepare and use it. It's a herb I have a lot of but don't use much.
I'd like to apologise for the late publishing of this podcast. I had to take my sweet time on the sound levels in post-production and well, it was a right FAFF!
Sarah Smith is an old friend of mine. She qualified from Lincoln University just a couple years after me. Since then she's gone on to qualify in massage, and as a doula. I have to say, Sarah gives the best deep tissue massage I've ever had!
She loves women's health as much as me and we talked about Shepherd's purse as it is a traditional herb to stop excessive menstruation. But from there we go down all kinds of conversational rabbit holes involving clinical trials and ending with pornography. Tune in to hear the madness!
Vivienne Campbell is an herbalist based in Ireland. She is passionate about Rose. I'm sure drinking rose tincture whilst recording helped a little with that too. She uses roses as a wild food, natural cosmetic and in her herbal medicine clinic. She's created an amazing online course in which she teaches how to use local plants as herbal medicines and nutritious wild foods. In this episode we talk about the medicinal value of Roses which she says she couldn’t do without in her clinic. We talk mostly about the wonderful uplifting properties it has for emotions. It's famous for its association with love but that's often seen as a romantic thing when in fact there is a lot of depth to the healing properties of the love.
In this episode I talk about the common Peppermint with Erika Galentin. We discuss how Peppermint is not just cooling but also potentially irritating and heating to the body. How information about herbal medicine can be pretty unreliable online. Why it's important to use essential oils safely and how different herbalism is in the UK vs. the USA where she's based. Erika is a wonderfully inspiring herbalist who has successfully transitioned from one form of herbal medicine to another. She is the course development director for the wonderful Herbal Academy.
In this episode I talk about 2 herbs! Cowslip and Primrose, with Fiona Heckles. She is part of a herbal company called Sensory Solutions which is made up of Karen Lawton and Belle. Karen has already been on the podcast and Belle is going to be on later this year. So I'll have collected all 3! Like pokemon.. They run an incredible course and it was a pleasure to speak to Fiona about these two herbs. They are so closely related but one is endangered in some areas where the other is not.
Links:
In this episode I talk to Alice Bettany about Catnip (Nepeta cataria) a herb which is often associated with children as it is so gentle. But gentle doesn't mean it isn't effective! We're so used to hitting things with a sledge hammer now a days we've lost respect for the gentle things in life. We also talked about she sheds and the comfort of a big bosom.. as you do.
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In this episode we talk about a lesser well-know herb, Sweet Violet, with Kate Scott. Kate has a rich history of female herbalists in her family dating as far back as the 16th century. It was especially nice to speak about herbs which grow readily in the UK but have become forgotten, native adaptogens and more. You'll find her website and other things we spoke about listed below:
I've known Marcos Patchett for a long time. I knew him before I was even a herbalist. He has always inspired me with his blend of science and astrology in equal measure. There has recently been a voluntary ban taken by some, but not all, professional associations in the UK affecting a long list of herbs. Some of the herbs which many herbalists have chosen to stop using include Borage and Comfrey. It all comes down to the fact they contain pyrolizzidine alkaloids. In this podcast Marcos explains why voluntary bans based upon the toxicity of isolated chemical constituents could be a dangerous path to walk down. The thoughts of Marcos in this podcast are his own and do not represent any other organisation he works with. They also do not represent my own thoughts on the matter. I hope you will join us in a discussion using the comments below this podcast.
I was lucky enough to visit Cristina in person to record this episode and we had great fun enjoying a cup of Passion flower tea while we chatted. Passion flower is most commonly used to help with sleep and you'll find it in a lot of over the counter sleep tea mixes. But it's got so much more going on than its sedating properties. We talk about where the name comes from, its association with Jesus and how it has a kinda trippy vibe.
In this episode I talk to Nathaniel Hughes about Mugwort. This wonderful herb is associated with magic and witchcraft. Nathan explains to us why that is as we delve into the world of Mugwort. We look at how it helps us to journey into our dreams and subconscious. How it helps to increase creativity and even helps us create life by treating some types of infertility. We speak about the 3 cauldrons and some other cool traditional Chinese medicine stuff that was new to me. We also got chatting about the virtues of studying herbs slowly and taking the time to get to really know them.
In this episode we talk about Yarrow with Kathie Bishop. Kathie is a friend of mine who just happened to have written her dissertation on Yarrow! A happy discovery on my part. She taught me about some interesting folklore I didn't know about and we ended up talking a lot about vaginal steaming as Yarrow is so good for some women's health problems. She specialises in the subject of thrush and I really enjoyed talking to her. Hope you enjoy it too.
In this episode we're talking about Lady's Mantle with Marie Reilly. A fantastic herbalist who knows SO much when it comes to women's health. We talk about her training in western herbal medicine, endobiogenics and Ayurvedic medicine. Marie explains why Vitex agnus cactus isn't always the answer to infertility problems or other hormonal imbalances and what herbs might be better. She helps me understand the causes of PMS among other problems like; thrush, fertility, leucorrhea, and cervical dysplasia. Tune in guys, this is a fact-packed episode on my favourite subject; women's health.
Links for this episode:
This month we look at Elderberry with Karen Lawton from Sensory Solutions. Elderberry is an amazing anti-viral herb used to battle colds and flus. We discuss the best syrup recipes, what the Elder would be like if it were human and more.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast should not be used as medical advice. Please consult your medical professional before taking any advice given.
Our very first episode looks at the medicinal, emotional and physical uses of Chickweed.
Natasha's introduction - 1:28
Chickweed - 5:20
This podcast was recorded as part of a home-study herbalism course that ran from 2016-2017. Please note the podcasts contain out of date information about this course but the interviews remain full of enough wonderful content that we wanted to keep them up for people to listen to. Feel free to skip to the interviews and let us know what you think.
You can find us at www.foragebotanicals.co.uk
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.
In this episode we look at the medicinal properties of Calendula with Darcey Blue from Arizona. She tells us how Calendula can be used for so much more than a skin remedy.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.
Today we look at Sage, a common herb from cooking but also valuable in medicine. Brittany Nickerson tells us about it's uses for the throat and much more.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.
Lime Blossom is best known for helping the heart with high blood pressure, insomnia and stress. Lucinda takes us through some less well known uses and preparations.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.
This episode looks at the properties of Hawthorn with Alexis Cunningfolk from LA. Hawthorn is best known as a remedy for high blood pressure but Alexis takes me through how she likes to use it.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.
Dandelion is a traditional remedy for liver and kidney support. Fiona takes us through her favourite uses and we talk about her interesting background growing up with herbs.
Disclaimer: The information given in this podcast is not intended to be used as medical advice. Please seek help from a medical professional before using anything mentioned.