Herb Mentor Radio

Lesley Tierra, L.AC., AHG is a California State and nationally certified acupuncturist and herbalist. In her practice, she combines acupuncture, herb, and food therapies along with lifestyle and inner growth counseling. She is a founding professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. Lesley is the author of Healing with the Herbs of Life and Healing with Chinese Herbs. She collaborated with Michael Tierra to produce the East West Herb Course and is its dean. She also co-authored Chinese-Planetary Herbal Diagnosis with Michael and Chinese Herbal Medicine. She has also co-authored with Michael a two-volume text on Chinese Herbal Medicine, published by Lotus Press. In addition, she has written a special herbal for young children called A Kid’s Herb Book (for children of all ages). Lesley and Michael Tierra run the East-West School of Herbology. You can visit them at http://PlanetHerbs.com

Will Endres is an herbalist, wildcrafter, and outdoor guide with more than 40 years of experience. Originally from West Virginia, Will studied 28 years with herb doctor and healer CF “Catfish” Gray. He has had many herbal elders and has been deeply influenced by the traditional Cherokee approach to plants and medicine. Will runs “Will’s Wild Herbs” in North Carolina, and has been in business for 37 years. Living and working in the woods has given him a uniquely intimate knowledge of the natural world. He offers year-round walks, talks, classes, and apprenticeships. In this episode, we hear about the unique way Will was mentored, and how this affected his relationship with plants. There is a lot of wisdom to be gained by listening to our herbal elders, including Will’s mentor Catfish Gray. Will is one of these elders, and his story is incredible. This HerbMentor Radio is sure to give you a new perspective on the way you learn about herbs. You’ll learn about some plants close to Will along the way. You can learn about Will’s classes and private consultations at http://WillsWildHerbs.org

Sandor Katz returns to HerbMentor Radio in celebration of his new book, The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World. This nearly 500-page volume gives practical information on fermenting vegetables, fruits, grains, milk, beans, meats, and more. It has a forward by Michael Pollan and is published by Chelsea Green. Sandor is also the author of Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movement. Starting with sauerkraut, Sandor has been fermenting foods for years. As an avid cook, gardener, herbalist, and nutritional enthusiast, his interests have led to a life of spreading “culture” wherever he travels. He refers to himself as a "fermentation revivalist."

Rosemary Gladstar covers the importance of wild greens, both nutritionally and energetically. Dandelions, plantain, nettle, chickweed, and many more favorites will be covered. In addition to her favorite ways to prepare wild greens, Rosemary will also cover ethical wild harvesting. It’s time to clean out the closets and leave the winter blues behind! Rosemary Gladstar is the author of many books, including Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide, Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, and Herbal Healing for Women. Rosemary has been inspiring herbalists for nearly 40 years with the herbal schools, conferences, organizations, and companies she has founded, which include the California School of Herbal Studies, Traditional Medicinals, the International Herb Symposium, and United Plant Savers.

Dr. Patrick Jones is a veterinarian with a passion for herbs. He grew up close to the land, and his interest in herbs eventually led to him treating animals with herbal remedies. He has a private practice and is also does formulation, support, and training for Silver Lining Herbs. Patrick's wife LoriAnn is also an herbalist, and together they have raised 15 children. Patrick practices veterinary medicine in Twin Falls, ID. Patrick is also a long-time HerbMentor member and a regular presence in the forum. In this episode of HerbMentor Radio, Dr. Jones answers many questions that HerbMentor members posted about herbs for dogs and cats. We cover basic herbal nutrition, delivery methods, common pet issues, what not to give your pets, and the truth about catnip.

Chanchal Cabrera, MSc, FNIMH, (RH)AHG is a medical herbalist whose clinical specialty is helping people manage cancer and chronic disease. Chanchal has held the faculty chair in Botanical Medicine at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster since 2004. She serves on the board of advisors of Dominion Herbal College in Burnaby, on the editorial board of Medical Herbalism clinical newsletter and she publishes widely in professional journals and lectures internationally on medical herbalism, nutrition, and health. Chanchal is the author of the book Fibromyalgia – A Journey Toward Healing. published by Contemporary Books. Chanchal is a certified Master Gardener and a certified Horticulture Therapist. Chanchal has been a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in the UK since 1987, wherein in 2009 she was honored with a Fellowship for service to the profession for over 25 years. She lives on Vancouver Island in BC where she and her husband farm 7 acres. This interview mostly focuses on HerbMentor member-submitted questions, which focus on using herbs for chronic illness. Chanchal reviewed the questions before the interview and answered them in a way that could help as many people as possible as to how to approach their health conditions with natural medicine.

Gail Faith Edwards is an herbal educator with more than 30 years of experience as a community herbalist. She runs Blessed Maine Herb Farm, where she runs many herbal programs, a correspondence course, tours, and handcrafts beautiful herbal goods. Gail is the author of Traversing the Wild Terrain of Menopause; Herbal Allies for Midlife Women and Men. Gail’s Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs is one of our absolute favorites. Her forthcoming book Through the Wild Heart of Mary; Teachings of the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary and the Herbs and Foods Associated with Them comes out mid-November, 2009. In this engaging interview, we discuss Gail’s unique way of learning about herbs, what important lessons the plants taught her, details on a few key herbs, and she answers HerbMentor member questions.

Christophe Bernard is a clinical herbalist from France who was born and raised in Provence. He spent 15 years of his life in the U.S., studying medicinal plants and running his first clinic in San Diego. While mostly self-taught, Christophe found great inspiration in the writings and teachings of Matthew Wood and the late Michael Moore. Upon returning to France in 2010, he opened a clinic in a small village located in the hills of Provence, where he spends his time consulting, teaching, picking, and growing plants from around the world. After exploring how Christophe learned about herbs, he takes us on an herb walk in Provence. Christophe shares some unique ways herbs are used in France while exploring linden, fumatory, lavender, and rosemary. He even shares an “off the beaten path” herb for men that will also blow out your tire should you bike off the path in Provence.

David Winston RH (AHG), is an herbalist and ethnobotanist with over 40 years of training in Cherokee, Chinese and Western herbal traditions. He has had a clinical practice for over 30 years and is an herbal consultant to physicians throughout North America. David founded an herbal manufacturing company called Herbalist & Alchemist as well as David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies. David is the author of many books including Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief. He is also a founding member of the American Herbalists Guild and a founding advisory board member of United Plant Savers. In this episode of HerbMentor Radio, David explores adaptogens and their importance in this day and age. Adaptogens help the body adapt to stress and increase health. David also answers questions on adaptogens submitted by HerbMentor members.

Guido Masé is a clinical herbalist, educator, and garden steward specializing in holistic Western herbalism. He is a founding co-director of the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism in Montpelier, VT, and a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild, the American Botanical Council, and United Plant Savers. He has worked extensively in the herbal products industry, with a focus on local and sustainable growing, harvesting, and production. Guido is the author of the new book, The Wild Medicine Solution: Healing with Aromatic, Bitter and Tonic Plants, published by Healing Arts Press. In this interview, Guido discusses how the Wild Medicine Solution is the antidote to “Plant Deficiency Syndrome.” As modern culture moved further from nature, humans lost their cultural links to the plants and the health they brought us. Guido makes it super simple to reconnect to the herbs by exploring three classes of plants… aromatics, bitters, and tonics. Learn how to connect to herbs and easily enhance your health. Guido also shares how his unique upbringing led to this unique way of approaching herbalism.

Dina Falconi returns to HerbMentor Radio to give us a great foundation in harvesting wild edibles and preparing them into delicious dishes. Dina is the author of the new book, Foraging, and Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook. We start the interview with the fascinating way Dina self-published this book under her own publishing company. This is informative to anyone who might have an herbal product idea. Then, Dina gets into the basics of wild foods foraging, such as plant ID, where and when to harvest, safety, how you can get started. Then Dina shares some amazing tips for turning your wild foods bounty into amazing meals, appetizers, and beverages. Dandelion root bisque soup sound good? How about garlic mustard horseradish? Looking for more creative ways of using all that lemon balm? Learn how to be a “plant detective” and turn any recipe into a wild foods delight.

Henriette Kress is a clinical herbalist and author from Helsinki, Finland. She is the author of two herbal books, Practical Herbs 1 and Practical Herbs 2. Henriette has been publishing herbal content since the early days of the internet, now runs an amazing website called Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, and has wide respect across the herbal community. Her books are available in English, Finnish, and Swedish. In this interview, Henriette shares her fascinating story and brings us on a practical herb walk, where she covers horse chestnut, juniper, willow, ground ivy, elecampane, and thyme. She mentions a few herbal tips from Finland I’m quite sure you’ve never heard before. Her new book picks up where her last one left off, with more hands-on remedies and nuts and bolts information about even more amazing herbs.

Darcy Williamson is an herbalist, author, and educator from the Rocky Mountains in Idaho. She is the founder of From the Forest, an herbal products and education business whose mission is to provide education on identifying, sustainable harvesting, formulating, and using medicinal plants found throughout the Rocky Mountains. Darcy is the author of Healing Plants of the Rocky Mountains & The Rocky Mountain Wild Foods Cookbook. In this interview, Darcy shares her unique perspective on sustainable harvesting, the key to knowing what herbs are safe to harvest, and gives us an incredibly rare look into some of her favorite Rocky Mountain healing herbs, such as willow, chokecherry, avens, lomatium, arrowleaf balsamroot, western mugwort, and Brown’s Peony. Darcy also runs an herbal apprenticeship program like no other I’ve ever heard of. It helps her offer herbal remedies that few other, if any, websites offer. My favorite part was when she shares how she knows when a tree is ready to harvest.

Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, Yogaraj (Ayurveda), DN-C, RH, LMT, NCTMB, CC, NAMAPM, has over 40 years of experience in holistic medicine and is one of the foremost natural healing experts in North America. He is the president of the American Herbalists Guild and is a respected teacher, writer, and lecturer. As the author of over 3,000 published health articles, K.P. has written or edited 30 books on a variety of health topics including major works on massage, Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and physiology. His latest book, The Way of Ayurvedic Herbs, co-authored with Michael Tierra, brings to life Ayurveda in an understandable and practical way. K.P. is also a frequent contributor to mainstream and professional publications in the natural healing field, including The Herb Quarterly. K.P. is a professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, and a founding faculty in the Ayurvedic Sciences program at Bastyr University. For 30 years Khalsa served as Senior Research Scientist and Chief Medical Formulator for Yogi Tea. In this interview, K.P. answers HerbMentor member questions, including advice for beginners, K.P.’s personal daily herbal routine, supplements, and how to address chronic health conditions with herbs. This episode is jam-packed with incredible information. Please do not miss it. Visit K.P. Khalsa at his website: http://www.kpkhalsa.com/

Leslie Alexander, Ph.D., RH (AHG) is a medical herbalist and co-author of the new book Dental Herbalism, Natural Therapies for the Mouth. Leslie is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild and co-owner of Restoration Herbs in Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health and the American Botanical Council. In this interview, Leslie discusses the ecology of the mouth, how the mouth is a microcosm of the body, how stress affects our dental health, natural oral hygiene, and some of her favorite dental herbal recipes such as tooth powder and herbal rinses. In addition, she discusses the most important herbs to know for excellent oral health, including thyme, cinnamon, turmeric, and many others.

John returns to HerbMentor Radio in a conversation with one of his first herbal mentors, EagleSong Evans Gardener. Go beyond “this herb is for that dis-ease” and body systems healing and journey into the garden, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. EagleSong starts with the most basic question, “What is good health?” Along the journey, she shares her unique perspective on herbalism and reintroduces you to some of her botanical friends, including the hawthorn and linden trees. Get a new perspective on healing the heart as John takes you back to his herbal learning roots. EagleSong Evans Gardener is an American herbalist, lifelong gardener, teacher, and visionary who hails from the great Pacific Northwest. For over two decades she has directed RavenCroft Garden, where she specializes in herbal classes and apprenticeships. She has been the Director of Natural Beauty at the world-famous Willows Lodge in Woodinville, WA, where she designed sustainable landscape management systems. Herbalists in the Seattle area have been trained by EagleSong for over four decades. Her latest endeavor is the new Pacific Women’s Herbal Conference, featuring many local practitioners of the botanical arts. It is happening September 25-28, 2015 in Monroe, WA. Save $35 on pre-registration before August 31... http://www.pacificwomensherbalconference.com/#!product-page/c6nb/8e12b7cf-1bde-2ffd-8acf-1b5888d3eba3 Visit… Pacific Women’s Herbal Conference http://www.pacificwomensherbalconference.com/ RavenCroft Garden http://ravencroftgarden.blogspot.com/