Herb Mentor Radio

Charles Garcia is a third-generation curandero and practicing herbalist. He is the founder and director of the California School of Traditional Hispanic Herbalism. Charles has worked in law enforcement, special education, lectured at many schools and was a contributing author to the book, Wilderness Emergency Care. He taught herbal first aid to the Red Cross and also volunteers many hours helping the homeless population of his hometown of Richmond, CA. Chuck considers his style of teaching and philosophy of herbal healing as minimalist. If you can make a fire, get a pot of water simmering, find herbs in your back yard, your neighbor's lawn, a city park, an empty lot, in a mountain meadow, or in the middle of the desert, you can aid the sick. The unofficial motto of the school is, “Is est non silicis scientia.” (It is not rocket science.) This interview focuses on Charles’ unique brand of grassroots herbalism. His story is like no other. You can visit Charles at http://hispanicherbs.com

Demetria Clark has written one of the best books on using herbs with kids we’ve seen: Herbal Healing for Children: A Parent’s Guide to Treatments for Common Childhood Illnesses. Demetria is a North American herbalist specializing in herbals for pregnancy, birth, postpartum, nursing, and children. She is a traditional family herbalist. She has worked with families for over 20 years as an herbalist, aromatherapist, midwife, doula, and traditional medicine maker. She works extensively in the US and Europe, blending the two traditions. Demetria lectures extensively on herbal care for sexuality, pregnancy, and woman’s health. Demetria believes in families having options to self-empower and have health and wellness options. She is the Founder and Director of Heart of Herbs Herbal school and the doula training program, Birth Arts International. In this interview, Demetria discusses her top 10 choices her an herbal apothecary for kids, tells her story and answers HerbMentor member questions. Here is a link to “What are those herbs in the pregnancy tea blend?” she mentions in the interview: http://www.birtharts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/pregnanctea.pdf Visit Demetria at: http://www.heartofherbs.com http://www.birtharts.com/

Isla Burgess, DipPE DipTchg DipHerbMed MNZAMH MNHAA, has been an educator for the past 40 years, currently, the Director of the International College of Herbal Medicine, was the founding Director of the Waikato Center for Herbal Medicine in New Zealand, and is a convenor for the International Research Group for the Conservation of Medicinal Plants. Isla is a graduate in Education of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. She established the first four-year Diploma in Herbal Medicine in Australasia at the Waikato Centre for Herbal Studies and has been largely responsible for training medical herbalists at the Center over the last 10 years. She developed a practical, innovative course drawing on 25 years of practice and investigation in the field of medicinal plants and their therapeutic uses. She has presented papers at conferences and seminars both nationally and internationally and is the author of Weeds Heal: A Working Herbal. A gardener at heart, Isla continually delights in the potential of unopened packets of seeds. You can visit Isla at http://HerbCollege.com

Jim McDonald joins us once again on HerbMentor Radio for a double-length episode focused on herbs for back pain. Jim covers nutrition and bodywork as well as the major categories of how to look at and treat back injuries, such as muscle pain, spasm, inflammatory pain, and nerve pain. Also, lubrication of joints and tissue, fluid stagnation, structural integrity, how to customize a treatment, and more. Jim adds a new section on topical applications as well. This nearly 2-hour presentation will bring to life his popular web article on herbs for back pain. Jim is an herbalist based in Michigan. He teaches many classes locally and also teaches at major conferences such as the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference and Rootstalk. Visit Jim at http://herbcraft.org Here is a direct link to his herbs for back pain article that this HerbMentor Radio is based on: http://www.herbcraft.org/backpain.html

Author and naturalist Jon Young takes you behind the scenes of Wildcraft! and LearningHerbs.com in a special episode called “Mentoring Kids & Nature Connection.” Why are relationships with nature more important than information? What is Nature Deficit Disorder? Does your child have it? What is the number one secret to nature's connection? How do you share curiosity with kids? What are “kid trails,” and how can we bring them back? This interview covers how to discover your child’s passions and connect with them in nature. Jon’s world-acclaimed Art of Mentoring curriculum is the engine of LearningHerb’s teaching methodology. You get a first-hand glimpse under the hood to not only see how and why we do what we do but also how you can empower yourself to mentor others. Jon Young is the author of Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature, Animal Tracking Basics, Advanced Bird Language, Seeing Through Native Eyes, Reclaiming our Natural Connections, and the Kamana Naturalist Training Program. He is also the founder of Wilderness Awareness School and creator of the Art of Mentoring workshop series, which is offered by wilderness schools around the world. Visit Jon at http://JonYoung.org

J.T. is a Seattle-based herbalist and mom. She’s an old friend of mine who started the same herbal apprenticeship that I did in 1998 before my son Rowan was born. Since she started learning about local plants and how to use them, J.T. has come up with creative ways of gathering herbs and using them to nourish her family. Like myself, J.T. is a family and community-centered herbalist. Not only does she keep her family healthy and help them when they are sick, she also shares her knowledge of herbalism with others in her community. This has led to her teaching classes at local herb shops. I join J.T. in this interview live at the Northwest Herbal Fair. J.T. had just finished teaching a class on tincture making. This fair was very special since LearningHerbs sponsored it, J.T. was teaching, and our mentor Eaglesong was even teaching there and was honored at the event as a local herbal elder. We all had come a long way since our journeys began together nearly 13 years ago. There is often talk on the HerbMentor forum on “what herbal school have you gone too?” or lots of detailed discussions on some pretty complicated stuff. Though we need to have these discussions, I wonder sometimes if it’s intimidating to folks who just want to being natural medicines to their lives in a simple and fun way. It’s always challenging on HerbMentor to strike a balance between simplicity and those who want advanced knowledge. J.T. is the archetype of the family herbalist who kept it simple. I wanted you to see the natural progression of starting out to helping others, which can often lead to opportunities to teach others. There is power in simplicity, and I hope you all get something out of this “home herbalist profile” if you will. She also shares some of her secrets in urban wildcrafting and other cool tips. She’s figured out quite a bit like someone who has ever stopped harvesting herbs and making remedies. It’s a change from our usual interviews, but y’all know I like to change it up every so often. Seriously, if you have ever felt overwhelmed at the prospect of learning about herbs, please listen to this interview. If you live in Seattle, you might catch a class with J.T. at Dandelion Botanical. She also has trained and works with EarthWalk Northwest with Karen Sherwood.

Karta Purkh (K.P.) Singh Khalsa, L.M.T., N.C.T.M.B., D.N.-C., R.H., C.C., is one of the foremost herbal experts in the field today. He is one of the very few practitioners with over thirty-five years of experience in the natural healing field. He is a senior editor for The Harvard University Natural Standard and a professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Bastyr University’s College of Naturopathic Medicine. K.P. Khalsa is on the Board of Directors of the American Herbalists Guild. He has spoken in hundreds of venues, including many professional herb conferences. With a long career as a consultant in the natural foods sector, he is employed as Senior Research Scientist for the Yogi Tea company and is the principal formulator for Yogi Tea products. Khalsa is the author of over 1,500 published health articles. He has authored or contributed to more than 30 books. His most recent book is The Way of Ayurvedic Herbs, which completes the “Way of” trilogy, started by Michael Tierra with the best-selling American herb book of all time, The Way of Herbs. In this episode of HerbMentor Radio, K.P. answers many member-submitted questions on herbs and health. This is a fantastic interview that everyone interested in natural health should hear. Visit K.P. at http://kpkhalsa.com

Todd Caldecott is a Medical Herbalist and practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine, author of the textbook Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life, Food as Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food and an editor of a text on Nepalese ethnobotany called Ayurveda in Nepal. Todd teaches and practices in the Vancouver, BC area in Canada. He also works as a consultant in the natural products industry. Todd was also the Director of Clinical Herbal Studies at Wild Rose College and is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. Todd’s practice integrates Western Clinical Herbalism with Ayurveda and the synthesis results in an insightful look at Western herbalism from a unique perspective. In this interview Todd and I discuss Ayurveda, the state of traditional medicine in modern times, food as medicine, and he answers member questions. You can visit Todd at http://toddcaldecott.com Food As Medicine is available on Amazon or http://foodasmedicine.ca

Phyllis Light is a fourth-generation herbalist and healer and has worked with herbs and in natural health for over 30 years. Her studies began in the deep woods of Northern Alabama, and now Phyllis lectures in herb schools, universities, medical schools, hospitals, and health conferences. In addition to Traditional Folk studies, Phyllis has studied Traditional Western Herbalism, Nutrition, Exercise Science, Body Work, and Energy Medicine. She continues to maintain an active herbal practice. Phyllis is also a consultant to business and physicians, a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, director of herbal studies at Clayton College, and is working on a new book The Geography of Health: Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine, which explores the medicine that is at the heart of her personal herbal traditions. You can visit Phyllis and learn about her herbal studies programs at http://phyllisdlight.com

Roy Upton, RH, DAy has been working and practicing professionally as an herbalist since 1981. Trained in ayurvedic, Chinese, and western herbal medicine traditions Roy is the founder, executive director, and editor of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, is a co-founder, past president, and vice-president of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), and serves on the Committee of Revision for the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and botanical expert advisory committees of AOAC International, the American Botanical Council, and NSF International. Roy is also visiting faculty for the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program at Tai Sophia, Laurel, MD, and the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program at the University of Southern California, School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, CA. In addition, Roy is the staff herbalist for the California-based herbal supplements company, Planetary Herbals, is a member of the Standards Committee of the American Herbal Products Association, and is an internationally recognized lecturer and author of numerous popular and peer-reviewed scientific publications. Over the years, many HerbMentor members have asked questions about regulations regarding herbs, information, and products. We collected member questions, and this interview is based on those questions. You can visit Roy at the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia: http://www.herbal-ahp.org