Fading into A Real Day of Rest

Today, I hope to inspire you to step away from your productive-to-do's and fade into your dreamy-to-do's <3 <3

Summer is sneaking up on Ithaca, although, the mornings and evenings are still cool. The Finger Lakes are a delight.

My classes have picked up, so time is slim and my brain is full by the end of most days. There are thoughts and theories on how the body work from skin to cell...

The adrenal glands, nervous system and herbal actions swarm through my days and dream states!

I am thankful for the gift of such an intensive and thorough learning program. And, I am also thankful for the surprise two days in a row off to simply rest my body and mind.

By creating space between our "go" stages, we allow all the information that we absorb and so dearly want to retain to soak in.

Sometimes mindfully mindless time is just what we need. It offers us time to reconnect with our senses, to experience and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

Really.

And, sometimes, these little breaths of fresh air are all we need to create such space.

What is an Herbalist?

What does an herbalist do?

Well, first and foremost, we try to help restore health to those in need with the use of plants as medicine. 

One of the most beautiful things about being an herbalist is working with so many amazing people. 

Through these relationships, we quickly find how vital it is that every person be treated as the individual they are.

Today, while working at the free clinic, I was reminded of this very aspect.

Modern medicine is beautiful in many ways; It can offer us a quick fix, surgery when needed, and pretty astounding advances in technology, among many other things.

Although, what it does not offer quite often is the time and depth needed to understand the state of an individual's symptoms and the relationship these symptoms have to the medicines shared. 

 I find that we as a culture have a very difficult time releasing our expectations of a quick fix.

Let the Wisdom and Voices of our Ancestors Empower Us

Today was officially our first day of classes at the botanical medicine school.  

Though it is mid-May, it was SNOWING! Nothing major, but, still...I had on many layers and my fluffiest sweater.