Throughout history, humans have formed a long-lasting bond with Plant Medicine. For many centuries, people have sought comfort and healing from the bountiful offerings of Nature. Going back to ancient times, we meet the famous Chinese sage Shen Nung, revered for his deep understanding of plants. It is said that Shen Nung, driven by an endless curiosity, carefully tried out many herbs, organizing their properties and sharing his wisdom with farmers. This important moment gave birth to herbal medicine, which has since evolved from a simple empirical practice to a sophisticated and organized system of categorization and treatment. Today, we reap the benefits of our ancestors’ tireless quest for knowledge and their commitment to unlocking the mysteries of nature’s medicine cabinet.
When I mix an herbal formula, I use a combination of different medicinal plants that I blend together with the purpose of counteracting undesired effects and enhancing intended results. I invite barks, flowers, seeds, spices, and sometimes minerals to enhance your body’s own natural capacity to restore health. Many herbs are nutritive and cannot be distinguished from food; for example certain mushrooms, Chinese berries and yams or licorice. In general nourishing herbs taste rather “sweetish”. Herbs that clear heat, on the contrary, tend to taste bitter. Medicinal plants that have a diuretic effect in our bodies tend to be bland tasting.
How will I take the herbs?
There are different ways to administer Chinese herbs:
Decoctions. You will cook raw herbs and drink as a tea
Powders. I will mix powdered herbs and you will dissolve a certain amount in a cup of water.
Patents. These are pre-made formulas that usually come in pill form.
Herbal Tinctures. This is a concentrated liquid form of one or more herbs.
Cultivating the Herbalist within…
As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, I was taught to cultivate wellness as well as to help correct ill health. As your partner in health, I will invite you to explore different dietary and life style adjustments sometimes before and/or together with the prescription of herbal formulas. I firmly believe that healthy foods are the best medicine. Herbal formulas will help you correct imbalances. My main intention, though, is for you to understand how certain nutritional habits and food choices may be creating your present health imbalance in the first place. In other words, we will work together for you to learn to combine foods to eventually make your own “herbal formulas” and achieve optimal well-being.
Healing Cycles 