Why Herbal Medicine?

Herbal medicine is the original medicine. Our ancestors ate herbs such as nettles, dandelion, burdock, and wild mushrooms as food for sustenance; and reaped the benefits of these amazing health tonics. Nourishing our bodies with plant medicine allows them to more effectively do what they are made to do - to heal themselves.
Unlike pharmaceuticals, which are isolated constituents with a specific intended effect (and various unintended effects), herbal remedies are made with the whole plant, not just one "active constituent." The variety of constituents in herbs helps to not only heal your body more effectively, but to counteract the "side effects" common in pharmaceutical counterparts. For example - a common side effect of diuretics is potassium depletion. Dandelion - nature's most famous diuretic - is loaded with potassium, so drinking dandelion tea leads to a net gain in potassium despite its diuretic effect.
This is not to say that herbs are completely safe and pharmaceuticals are evil - some herbs are very strong, even poisonous, and should only be used with extreme caution under professional supervision. And some pharmaceuticals save lives. I would certainly rather go to a hospital if I were experiencing a heart attack, ruptured spleen, or broken leg! I prefer the term "integrative medicine" rather than "complimentary" or "alternative," because I believe that the individual and community are better served by getting the best of both worlds. By using herbs first, before a chronic condition appears or gets out of hand, we can avoid much of the need for pharmaceuticals, which are costly to the individual, society, and the earth. Rather than funneling resources up into a few pharmaceutical companies, we can disperse resources back into the community.
Unlike pharmaceuticals, which are isolated constituents with a specific intended effect (and various unintended effects), herbal remedies are made with the whole plant, not just one "active constituent." The variety of constituents in herbs helps to not only heal your body more effectively, but to counteract the "side effects" common in pharmaceutical counterparts. For example - a common side effect of diuretics is potassium depletion. Dandelion - nature's most famous diuretic - is loaded with potassium, so drinking dandelion tea leads to a net gain in potassium despite its diuretic effect.
This is not to say that herbs are completely safe and pharmaceuticals are evil - some herbs are very strong, even poisonous, and should only be used with extreme caution under professional supervision. And some pharmaceuticals save lives. I would certainly rather go to a hospital if I were experiencing a heart attack, ruptured spleen, or broken leg! I prefer the term "integrative medicine" rather than "complimentary" or "alternative," because I believe that the individual and community are better served by getting the best of both worlds. By using herbs first, before a chronic condition appears or gets out of hand, we can avoid much of the need for pharmaceuticals, which are costly to the individual, society, and the earth. Rather than funneling resources up into a few pharmaceutical companies, we can disperse resources back into the community.

Herbal medicine is people's medicine. It has existed for as long, if not longer, than humans themselves. Edible and medicinal plants abound in nature, and the most common weeds are often our best medicine. With such potent medicines growing in our own backyard, the only thing keeping us from taking our health into our own hands is knowledge. I believe that herbal medicine is a strong tool for individual and community empowerment. Elise places a strong emphasis on using and teaching about local herbs that people can gather themselves. Of course, there are some remote herbs that are just too amazing to not know about. But, using abundant local herbs before rare or foreign herbs is smart for your wallet and the environment.
Elise focuses on healing through nourishment. You are already perfect, and healing happens when you step into your wholeness. By nourishing your perfection, you can come deeper into who you really are. Part of this process is paying attention. Paying attention to your body - its natural cycles, what it wants, how it feels. Paying attention to your mind–noticing without judgment what your mind says to you regularly. Is it true? And paying attention to your emotions – how do you feel right now? There is no need to change anything about these parts of yourself, just to acknowledge them.
Notice the patterns and cycles that make up the wonderful beautiful you!
Elise focuses on healing through nourishment. You are already perfect, and healing happens when you step into your wholeness. By nourishing your perfection, you can come deeper into who you really are. Part of this process is paying attention. Paying attention to your body - its natural cycles, what it wants, how it feels. Paying attention to your mind–noticing without judgment what your mind says to you regularly. Is it true? And paying attention to your emotions – how do you feel right now? There is no need to change anything about these parts of yourself, just to acknowledge them.
Notice the patterns and cycles that make up the wonderful beautiful you!

Just as it does us well to pay attention to our own cycles, it does us well to pay attention to natural cycles. The moon waxing and waning each month has a profound effect on each of us, but often we do not notice because we are distracted by our daily life. More noticeable is the movement of the earth around the sun, creating the four seasons, and the rotation of the earth which creates day and night. Our bodies are attuned to these natural cycles, whether or not our lives are. Wouldn’t it be lovely to integrate our personal cycles with the cycles of nature? Whether it looks like going to sleep when we get tired at night, sleeping in darkness, or allowing ourselves to slow down in the winter-time, each time we integrate ourselves with nature’s cycles we align ourselves with the universe, allowing life to flow with more ease. When we follow our intuition, we step into our wholeness.
Herbal medicine is much more than a way to heal the body. I strongly believe that the state of our physical body reflects and affects not only our mental and emotional states, but also the state of society. Communing with the earth through herbal medicine allows us to find connection where there is isolation, to find joy where there is despair, and to find love where there is fear because nature only knows love. Through empowering individuals to find healing and compassion for themselves, we open space for them to find compassion and acceptance for others. Through healing ourselves, we heal the world.
Herbal medicine is much more than a way to heal the body. I strongly believe that the state of our physical body reflects and affects not only our mental and emotional states, but also the state of society. Communing with the earth through herbal medicine allows us to find connection where there is isolation, to find joy where there is despair, and to find love where there is fear because nature only knows love. Through empowering individuals to find healing and compassion for themselves, we open space for them to find compassion and acceptance for others. Through healing ourselves, we heal the world.

Herbs can boost the immune system, increase resilience to stress, lift the mood, brighten the spirits, ease pain, and aid sleep. From a cup of chamomile tea to a custom made tincture blend or wild green salad, herbal medicine works, and it works deeply. Herbs can tonify and strengthen the cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive, nervous, immune, reproductive and lymphatic systems of the body. By doing so, herbs can get to the root cause of a 'problem.' Often, herbal medicine helps where modern-industrial medicine has failed, because an herbalist sees the whole person, not just a "problem" part.
Wild plants have more vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals than farmed plants. Wild plants are grown without pesticides, irrigation, or tractors. Wild plants are free! Gathering wild plants is good exercise, lots of fun, and a great way to get to know the plants that grow around us. Children naturally love to explore and learn about nature, and by teaching ourselves and our children how to identify the food and medicine that grows around us, we are building a more empowered future.
Wild plants have more vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals than farmed plants. Wild plants are grown without pesticides, irrigation, or tractors. Wild plants are free! Gathering wild plants is good exercise, lots of fun, and a great way to get to know the plants that grow around us. Children naturally love to explore and learn about nature, and by teaching ourselves and our children how to identify the food and medicine that grows around us, we are building a more empowered future.
Bowl image used with permission of Ryan T. Perry