All levels
This class asks you to go deeply within yourself and inquire the motive and meaning for what you do with your heart and soul in your practice of herbal medicine. Together we will explore the highest purpose of our calling and potential when we relate to plants and to our patients. The goal is to assist our community and culture in overcoming a materialistic and limited view of how we engage with our physical lives and the true “goals of the soul”.
The Materia Medica: What makes it medicine?
-Examine the potentials and purpose of plant human relations
-Explore the motive and meaning behind studying herbalism and prescribing remedies
-Discuss the definition of medicine, healing and disease
 

This class will provide a review of upper respiratory tract disorders commonly observed in clinical practice, including viral rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, snoring and sleep apnea. The underlying causes of each condition will be examined, and specific remedies with regard to diet, lifestyle and herbal therapy will be provided, drawing from the Western, Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal traditions.
 

 
This class will show you how to create your own herbal journal to record your journey with herbs. We'll talk about why it's important to keep notes of your herbal experiences, how to sketch plants and more basics of journaling. Bring a blank journal with you (the Canson Multi-Media Paper Pad 7 x 10"/60 sheets is a great size) and begin your journaling journey. We will be doing several drawing exercises to learn how to draw as well as how to capture the essence of the plant and take important notes for future identification and usage. A limited number of journals will be available for purchase for $10 (including a pen) but to assure you have a journal, please try to bring your own.

Herbalism is many thousands of years old and now well documented by science. Both traditional herbalism and scientific methodology give us toolsfor understanding.Explore how to apply both viewpoints and maintain balance between seeminglyopposite practices. Learn the herbalists’ secrets for finding scientificresources and techniques in using intuitive and traditional practices. Thiswill include case study stories whereevidence based methods and folk healing have been successfully applied togetherand where intuition is confirmed by science.

An examination of the kind of daily routines, study habits, and practice that lead to a high level of mastery of medical herbalism over a career.

In this workshop we will learn about the thirty estrogens that all women make, including estradiol, the estrogen that feeds cancer. We will learn about xeno-estrogens in the environment and how to protect ourselves from them. We will learn about the many pharmaceutical forms of estrogen. And we will learn about phyto-estrogens and phyto-sterols, the hormonal precursors found in plants. We will run a race between the short-path estrogens and the long-path estrogens and see who gets to the indiscriminate receptor site first. Don’t miss the fun.

Hand tools for wildcrafting, growing and processing medicinal plants. Michael harvests and processes tons of medicinal plants every year, almost exclusively with hand tools.  He will show and demonstrate many of the tools he uses.

Spagyrics is the practical application of the ancient philosophy and spiritual science known as alchemy. It is one of the great contributions of Paracelsus to natural medicine and especially to the herbalist. In this class, we will discuss what spagyrics is, how to prepare them, the alchemical cosmology of nature, alchemy as a universal science, medicine and spirituality, and how this tradition greatly enhances ones understanding of plants and how they heal on the physical, energetic and spiritual levels. We will also discuss the art of calcination and crystallization of the mineral salts in plants, as well as preparing the Spagyric Essence, fermentation, and distillation techniques.
An astrological understanding of health, medicine and plants was a standard part of training in the ancient days of herbalism. It is an aspect of practical medical herbalism that has been forgotten over the years, and yet was one of the most valued skills of the ancients. In this class, we will explore the relationship between plants and planets, and how a basic knowledge of astrology can greatly enhance ones understanding of herbs, their properties, constitutional affinities, energetic and spiritual qualities, and ideal timing of harvesting and medicine preparation.  This is one of the primary aspects of spagyric philosophy and is Part II of the spagyrics class.

At some point in your life, your child, a friend, a lover, or you yourself has been effected by the Varicella Zoster virus.  In this class on VZV, we will discuss herbal protocols for helping prevent outbreaks as well as heal them. From the physical side of these "dis-eases" to the emotional, we will discuss the health of the body from the immune system to the nervous system. I encourage people to feel empowered and educated, not afraid. Learn the ancient wisdom of creating healing preparations for home treatment of viral infections such as these.

Description We’ll discuss how oils can be used by both the lay person as well as a practitioner.  Updated research, quality analysis and safety will be covered as well as blending and formulating.  We’ll discuss sourcing in detail and some of the key issues and oils with sustainability issues, like Sandalwood and Rosewood.  Yes, the popular oils will be covered but we’ll also discuss less common oils and briefly get into oils that might become more popular and available in the future.
 
All Levels

People around the world have used plants as talismans, baths, and smudges to clear unwanted energies and to protect themselves and their homes from pernicious influences.   In this workshop we will look at the relationship between the medicine and the magic of the plants people have used for clearing and protection, look at how old concepts of clearing and protection translate into our lives today, and talk about some of the wild and cultivated plants around us that we can use in these ways.  (All)
 

Learn how to use a plant flora for your state. I’ll bring copies of Vascular Plants of Montana and some plant loupes (10x lens) to borrow.  Books and lenses will be available for sale at the market. Learn the parts of a flower and how to use a plant key/flora to identify any vascular plant.

It can be easy to feel disconnected with the plant world anytime you are feeling too busy and when you are in urban, less than pristine, or unfamiliar settings. But the connection is there, every day, no matter the season or where you are on the planet. We will discuss ways to stay rooted in our calling as 'plant people' anywhere we might be, and will practice intentionally deepening that connection.
All levels.

Linwood will discuss the Native American uses and beliefs of the healing mineral hot springs and of the water element in general.

Join Pam for an active Yoga practice to get your day going.  This class is for people who have a yoga practice and for those who are new to yoga.