The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
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Top 10 The Holistic Herbalism Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Holistic Herbalism Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Holistic Herbalism Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Holistic Herbalism Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Herbs A-Z: Elettaria & Eleutherococcus
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
02/18/22 • 36 min
This week we’re talking about cardamom & eleuthero!
About Elettaria cardamomum, cardamom, we actually do have “one weird trick” for you today! Here it is: get yourself a cardamom-crushing stone. It is so much easier than using a spoon to crush the pods and release the pungent aromatic seeds. Cardamom is great to “ground” a very aromatic formula, and of course it’s also excellent in foods of many kinds.
Eleutherococcus senticosus, properly called eleuthero although sometimes referred to as “Siberian ginseng”. It got that name for very capitalist reasons, you know. And indeed it’s possible to use eleuthero in a rather capitalist manner, as a stimulant to improve work output. But we prefer to work with it for marathon-style stressors as a resilience-building herb.
These quick plant profiles were done off-the-cuff & on-the-spot. If you enjoyed them, we have more! Our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.
If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
DIY Herbal Spring Cleaning Products
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
05/04/19 • 39 min
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 movement that counts for health” paradigm, an important step is recognizing the things we do that inherently require movement. That, and the ways in which our culture has chosen “convenience” at all costs – including costs to our health. Reframing your house-cleaning as movement or exercise is a great way to help yourself feel better about it. And of course, good old elbow grease is still the cheapest, most effective cleaner we know.
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We have a new mini-course, all about stinging nettles, available now! We produced this in honor of the upcoming Herbstalk event – it’s Boston’s home-grown herbal conference, and the Plant of the Year for 2019 is nettles. For only $10, you get a full rundown of nettles’ amazing medicinal powers, along with a virtual herb walk so you can positively identify it anytime in the growing season, along with some quick-guides, recipes for tasty nettle foods, and more! Check it out here: All About Nettles!
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Equinox Thoughts On Balance & Amphoteric Herbs
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
03/20/21 • 67 min
We’re discussing the notion of amphoteric herbs today, because it’s the Spring equinox and we’re thinking about balance. The term amphoteric is orginally a chemistry term meaning “having characteristics of both an acid and a base”. Herbalists use the word to mean an herb that has a balancing activity, one that is capable of acting in ways that seem opposite, depending on the context in which it’s taken.
But to understand how amphoteric herbs could be balancers in this way, first we need to investigate the concept of balance a little bit. What does it mean to find balance, or stay balanced? What does it mean that we’re all seeking balance? How can the experience of building physical balance skills teach us about finding mental & emotional balance? And of course: how can herbs help us find it, and maintain it?
Herbs discussed include: tulsi, bladderwrack, nettle, chamomile, solomon’s seal, ashwagandha, licorice, calamus, hawthorn.
We’ve been thinking about balance a lot lately – not just because of equinox, but also because we’ve been working on our Musculoskeletal Health course. If pain, tension, or stiffness are inhibiting your balance, herbs can help! This course covers our favorite herbal musculoskeletal remedies and strategies for combining herbalism and movement practices to get results. You also get access to our twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, so you can connect with us (Ryn & Katja) directly!
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Herbs and Grief, at the Death of the Year
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
11/01/20 • 76 min
Samhain, Halloween, the death of the year – this is a good time to talk about grieving, and about how herbs and grief can go together. It’s a universal human experience, but one we don’t often allow ourselves to experience and explore, because it is painful and difficult. It can often seem like there are only a few ‘approved’ ways to move through a grieving process, but everyone grieves in their own way. Learning how to respond, rather than react, to our grief is something we must each navigate.
A Halloween that is only about sugar and sweets doesn’t teach us these skills. But the plants are there to remind us: this is a time to die back, to go underground, to process the deep dark parts of ourselves. This is what allows transformation, new growth. When we work with herbs and grief rituals, the focus is on letting go of what’s no longer serving us: allowing death to what has run its course. That includes our own ideas of ourselves which are no longer serving us, too.
There are a lot of places where herbs and grief come together. Some herbs help us get into that introspective place, some help us feel protected while we’re there. Some herbs protect the heart, or circulate our inner waters, or open up our lungs – traditionally associated with grief in many cultures. Other herbs help us move through liminal spaces like dreaming, or to access our own inner wisdom from those realms. Whatever kind of support you need, there’s an herb who can help you.
Herbs discussed in this episode include: calamus, rose, hawthorn, linden, heather, self-heal, elecampane, lungwort, catnip, chamomile, yarrow, st john’s wort, vervain, goldenrod, jiaogulan, mugwort, bittergrass, bittersweet nightshade, vanilla.
This material is part of our Neurological & Emotional Health course! It’s a user’s guide to your nerves & your emotions – including the difficult and dark ones. We discuss holistic herbalism strategies for addressing both neurological & psychological health issues, and it includes a lengthy discussion of herbal pain management strategies, too! This self-paced online video course includes access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions so you can connect with Katja & Ryn directly.
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
How We Make Our Winter Elixir
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
08/23/19 • 58 min
This winter elixir is our #1 cold & flu remedy! We make a big batch every year around this time, when most of the plants that go into it are fresh and ready to harvest. They need about a month to extract fully into the elixir, so we can’t wait until we’re already sick to start putting our elixir together. Preparing it now means it’s ready for us when the first respiratory infection of the season strikes. Holistic herbalism means thinking ahead sometimes!
Our herbal elixir is designed to be general-purpose, to cover all the most important bases. When you have a cold or the flu, you don’t only need to “kill” the virus. You also need to keep your inner waters flowing, help fevers be effective & efficient, maintain mucous membrane function, and provide your immune system with the support it needs to function optimally. From the marrow on outward, our winter elixir is a full-spectrum solution to respiratory infections.
PS: If you don’t have all the ingredients we discussed in this episode, work with what you’ve got! Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 🙂 And remember that you can work with what the landscape gives you in your own bioregion – wherever you are, there are herbs that can do these jobs.
Herbs discussed include: loosestrife, elderberry, ground ivy, mullein, boneset, sumac, goldenrod, st john’s wort, japanese knotweed, catnip, & blue vervain.
If you want to learn more about how to manage cold & flu with herbs and holistic strategies, our newest online course is for you! Herbal Remedies for Cold & Flu teaches you everything you need to know to conquer a cold or fight off the flu. We teach you how to work with herbs that are safe and effective for all aspects of the illness. Throughout, the focus is on finding ways to support what your body is already trying to do as it works to restore balance. Winter is coming, so get ready now!
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
On Discomfort, Evasion, & Challenge
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
07/22/24 • 42 min
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 “good”. After accounting for one’s own personal state of ability/mobility/resilience, and after accommodating one’s needs, and after receiving adequate nourishment and rest – then it is good to challenge ourselves, to face some discomfort and move through it.
Here are the key principles:
- Each step forward makes the next one easier.
- Choose your battles.
- Do this work from a place of strength.
And of course, herbs can help us along the way! Herbs can boost our endurance, settle our anxious minds, fortify our nerve[s], or help us enter and maintain the state of flow. Adaptogens, evergreens, yarrow, st john’s wort, solomon’s seal, kava, and calamus are some of our allies for this, and may serve you as well.
Mentioned in this episode:
- 190: Herbs A-Z: Glycyrrhiza & Gynostemma
- 014: Alternatives to Adaptogens for Burnout
- 072: Rooted & Ready Alterative/Adaptogen Herbal Formula for Endurance, Resilience, & Detox
- EVRY DAY YEAH: Herbal Tea for Workouts & Recovery
Ready to do some evasion-evaporating work, but want to line up some herbs for backup? Check out our Neurological & Emotional Health course. This course is a user’s guide to your nerves & your emotions – including the difficult and dark ones. We discuss holistic herbalism strategies for addressing both neurological & psychological health issues. It includes a lengthy discussion of herbal pain management strategies, too!
Like all our offerings, this is a self-paced online video course, which comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!
If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Four Herbs for Moms
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
05/09/20 • 55 min
Happy mother’s day, 2020! The truth is, any herb could be an herb for moms, because not all moms are alike, in their needs or their preferences. These four, though – linden, dandelion, yarrow, and violet – are really worth knowing and sharing with the mothers in your life.
These plants are abundant, so you know you’re being sustainable and responsible. They’re resilient, and can pass that resilience on to us when we work with them. And they’re especially relevant to a mom’s life in the world today, too! Linden can help us release tension in the body and in the mind, and soothe frazzled nerves. Dandelion is irrepressible and sunny, and provides rooted nourishment when you’re feeling trampled. Yarrow is a warrior’s herb, and sometimes moms need to put on their armor and go to battle – whether that’s for the kids, or against them! 😉 And violet helps you soften your heart, remember yourself, and take delight in simple pleasures.
Whatever kind of mother you have – or whatever kind of mother you are! – we’re sure that one of these herbs for moms will be a welcome gift and become a lifelong ally.
Mentioned in this episode:
- The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 079: Motherwort for Mother’s Day!
- The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 016: Emotional Support for Mothers & Teens
One thing most moms could use help with is getting more sleep! Whether it’s worry keeping you up at night, disruptive midnight waking, or a mismatched circadian rhythm, our newest short course Holistic Help for Better Sleep has solutions for all your sleep troubles. Get some Zs and rest easy!
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Herbal Home Nursing Basics
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
03/22/20 • 69 min
It’s not just coronavirus, there’s a lot going on right now! Between the usual circulating strains of flu, some spring colds, and the stirrings of allergy season, plenty of folks are feeling rough. But it’s up to all of us to reduce strain on the medical system right now, so it’s more important than ever that we learn some herbal home nursing basics. These skills can help us to deal with minor issues on our own, so the health care workers can focus where they’re really needed.
Staying hydrated is super important, and herbs can help the water to “stick” much better than plain water on its own. Managing fever is another key function that herbs can support – and these don’t need to be “fancy” herbs, either! Garlic, lemon, ginger, and thyme are enough to cover a lot of bases. A dry cough with a hot fever might mean COVID-19, or it might not, but either way, common herbs and kitchen items can help to relieve the symptom and address the root cause of it.
The core of herbal home nursing basics is to keep vigilant, or attentive to the needs as they change and evolve over time. That, and some simple, easy-to-forget stuff like changing the sheets! Knowing all about these likely needs ahead of time will enable you to prepare with what YOU have for what YOU need. Nothing better than that!
Mentioned in this episode:
- The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 108: Herbs to Supercharge Your Bone Broth
- Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing & Notes on Hospitals – Two excellent & essential books – and not merely for “historical interest”, either! We think every herbalist should read these.
Herbs discussed include: hibiscus, marshmallow (and common mallow and hollyhock), lemon, ginger, elderflower, lemon balm, mint, skullcap, yarrow, pleurisy root, wild cherry, garlic, onion, & thyme.
You can learn more about supporting sick people with herbs in our Immune Health course. Get beyond echinacea and learn the full complement of herbal actions and nutritional strategies that can build immune resilience, fend off pathogens, or reign in an overactive system.
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Working With Herbs For Chronic Pain
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
02/09/20 • 75 min
Pain is complex. Many factors can contribute to pain, or worsen it, including the food we eat, the sleep we do or don’t get, and the stresses we experience in our lives. When pain is chronic, we need to think outside the “painkiller” box and think more broadly. This is also the best method of working with herbs for chronic pain conditions. Herbs with anti-inflammatory effects might achieve this by nourishing, improving digestion or circulation, or supporting specific needs in a particular body. To choose the right one for the person in front of you, you need to know their whole context – more than “where does it hurt?”
Moreover, from the perspective of your cells, pain itself is not a single state with a single cause. A sprained wrist may involve tissue swelling, stagnation of fluids, nerve impingement, and of course, inflammation. Awash in this complex context of states, the nerve sends a pain signal to the brain. If all we do is “kill the pain” at the nerve, without correcting any of those other states, the pain will come back as soon as the herb wears off! Instead, we can combine analgesic or anodyne herbs with others that address stagnation, tension, and agitation; addressing both the superficial symptoms and the fundamental causes at once.
All that and more, in this episode!
Herbs discussed include: cayenne, goldenrod, kava, ginger, chamomile, tulsi, kelp, meadowsweet, willow, alder, birch, wild lettuce, passionflower, Jamaican dogwood, clove, & ghost pipe.
As you can see, so much of your success when working with herbs for chronic pain effectively depends on your familiarity with a diverse array of herbs to help you target the specific tissues and states contributing to the pain. So you’ve got to really know your herbs – and our Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course can help with that! It includes 89 video plant profiles, along with printable monographs and quizzes to check your learning. Plus, you get access to our twice-weekly live Q&A sessions so you can get direct contact with Ryn & Katja. Dive in and get to know these herbs personally!
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
Emergency Readiness Needs A Meal Plan
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
06/21/24 • 64 min
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, flavor, and – believe it or not – sugar. Since environments and emergencies differ, what you pack yourself might be a little different from what we do. We’ll give you some principles to start with and an example of our own preparations, and you can customize that to your own needs!
Here’s your “homework” – previous material from us on the topic of emergency readiness:
- First Aid Kits for Everyone
- Episode 064: Herbs for First Aid & Disaster Response
- Episode 066: Herbs for Psychological First Aid
- Episode 166: Herbalism & Climate Change: Heatwaves
- Episode 167: Herbalism & Climate Change: Flooding
- Episode 168: Herbalism & Climate Change: Fires
- Episode 187: Herbalism In A Time Of Collapse
If you want to go a lot deeper into emergency readiness training, our Emergent Responder program is a complete guide to holistic disaster response & preparedness. Learn how herbal first aid, long-term care strategies, and emergency clinic management unfold in austere environments. Get the skills you need to be confident and ready to care for yourself, your family, and your community – even if help never comes. Once enrolled, your access never expires, and you get any updated material we add in the future free of cost!
Like all our offerings, these are self-paced online video courses, which come with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!
If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Holistic Herbalism Podcast have?
The Holistic Herbalism Podcast currently has 247 episodes available.
What topics does The Holistic Herbalism Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Herbal Medicine, Herbalism, Podcasts, Alternative Health, Self-Improvement, Health & Fitness, Education and Holistic Health.
What is the most popular episode on The Holistic Herbalism Podcast?
The episode title 'Herbs A-Z: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi & Artemisia vulgaris' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Holistic Herbalism Podcast?
The average episode length on The Holistic Herbalism Podcast is 54 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Holistic Herbalism Podcast released?
Episodes of The Holistic Herbalism Podcast are typically released every 7 days, 2 hours.
When was the first episode of The Holistic Herbalism Podcast?
The first episode of The Holistic Herbalism Podcast was released on Nov 3, 2017.
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