Herbal Apothecary

I have been studying herbs for the last 20 years. I had to study them in acupuncture school but I wasn’t that into them. I need to understand how things work and not just memorize things to really be into them. There was just not the time then for me to really learn them so I memorized for the tests and did fine. I didn’t feel like I really was learning. Over the last 20 years, herbal medicine has been my main form of medicine personally but I didn’t really use them for work. I used some patent formulas, which are pills, teas, capsules ect with my patients but honesty, that only takes so much thought. I went to my acupuncturist/herbalist for help with herbs, mostly for my lungs, which are an issue. I havent taken a western med, had a lung X-ray or a sputum sample for years but I have taken herbs, which makes me better a lot faster than Western Meds ever did. I used formulas for some of my fertility patients, when they were not going through IVF or IUI but if someone is going through them, they cannot takes herbs through the process. I taught people about vitamins and herbs that helped support immunity too.

In this time, it was always in the back of my head that I wanted to study the herbs in a way that really felt like I was getting to know them. I wanted to grow them and feel like I had a relationship with them. Over the last couple of years, I have been reviewing my Chinese herbs and have been studying with Chestnut School of Herbs. I am forming a deeper relationship with the herbs and they are becoming allies I can use with my work and not just personally. With Chinese medicine there are often really complicated formulas with a lot of herbs. As a patient, I have often not responded well to this. With western herbalism it is more common to use one or 2 herbs which are way easier for sensitive people to process. Since I am very sensitive, that’s just the kind of people I generally work with. That’s why I opened my Apothecary. It is just the beginning. I started with a few things and will be expanding soon. In the early spring, i will come out with a more curated shop that will have some other things too. I will have a monthly tea subscription that can be customized to your needs. It’s pretty exciting and I think you will love what I’m up to. I know I do.