In this 4 day course, you will deepen your understanding and connection to the plant world around you, and its relationship to your body. This series will help you gain life skills that will allow you to tend to personal, professional, family needs with plant medicine. We explore modern applications of a timeless tradition of working with plant medicines through presentations, tactile learning, case-study assignments, and hands-on experience in our working herbal apothecary and medicinal garden. This series focuses on embodied learning, exploring the understanding of herbal medicine through patterns that evolve in nature and our own bodies. Instructor is a graduate from the first Masters program in the US for herbal medicine, the Tai Sophia Institute, and is a practicing Clinical Herbalist & founder of Gaia Botanica

The class is taught over two weekends from 10am to 4pm. There is a one 30 minute lunch break and two 15 minute tea breaks during the day. The levels may be attended in any order as these are stand alone classes. The instructor will provide a recommended reading list, and targeted case study, experiential assignments, or medicine making projects after each level.

Level 1: Healing with Roots

Learn about the functional role of roots in a plant, and how that becomes medicine for our body. We will explore the nutritional and medicinal benefit of powerful roots that are frequently used in modern western herbal medicine today.

A brief introduction to the five element model of medicine will be explored, with a deeper study of the role and function of the Earth energetic, and how that applies to root medicine. The application of this philosophy to modern physiology will focus on skeletal and gastrointestinal systems. Use of root medicine in form of powder will be explained as a mode of herbal medicine, along with the pros and cons of this form. Students will have hands-on study in the Tulsi Herbal Garden, and take home herbs to use for experiential homework will be distributed.

Level 2: Healing with Shoots

Learn about the functional process of sprouting shoots for a plant, and how it becomes medicine for our body. Basic nutritional and a deeper medicinal understanding of early spring greens and young bitter plants that are primarily used for liver medicine will be explored.

We will look deeper at the role of the Fire element in five element medicine and how it applies to fire organs and the transformation processes of the physiological body. Common household herbs and local plants will be discussed, and the use of tincture medicine will be explained as a mode of herbal medicine, along with the pros and cons of this form. Students will learn technique for tincture medicine making, and gain a greater understanding of the variations of tinctures through use of the Deep Green Apothecary.

Level 3: Healing with Flowers

Learn about the functional role of flowers for a plant, and how flower medicine influences our mind, body, and spirit. Basic nutritional and a deeper understanding of flower medicine will be explored.

We will look deeper at the role of the Air element in five element medicine, and how it applies to expanding the plant as well as our own physical and emotional fields. Influence on physiological functioning of the body will focus on the respiratory and circulatory systems, and investigation into how plant medicine can have extreme physical and spiritual impact on these systems in the living organism. Medicine making of flower essences and essential oils will be discussed.

Level 4: Healing with Fruit

Learn about the functional role of fruit in the plant world, and how fruit medicine nourishes and heals the fluid human body.  Basic nutritional and detailed medicinal understanding of particular fruits will be discussed.

We will look deeper at the role of the Water element in five element medicine, and how the fluid human body is greatly influenced by plant medicine. Influence of physiological functioning of the body will focus on endocrine (primarily reproductive) and immune systems. Students will learn technique for making basic salves and oils, and the role of medicinal tea therapy will be discussed as a mode of herbal medicine, along with pros and cons of this approach.