The Holistic Herbalism Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism

Health & Fitness

Education

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/11d. Total Eps: 299

Practical herbalism from practicing herbalists. Conversations, botanical deep-dives, Q&A with clinical herbalists Katja Swift & Ryn Midura of CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism.

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🇬🇧 Great Britain - alternativeHealth
21/08/2026
#78
🇨🇦 Canada - alternativeHealth
11/08/2026
#42
🇺🇸 USA - alternativeHealth
11/08/2026
#88
🇨🇦 Canada - alternativeHealth
10/08/2026
#42

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https://online.commonwealthherbs.com/
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https://online.commonwealthherbs.com
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https://online.commonwealthherbs.com/collections
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Score global : 47%

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Just Press Play

Episode 237

Friday, November 22, 2024 • Duration 35:34

We’re still making the podcast! We have not abandoned you, dear listeners. 💚

We’ve been busy producing material for our online courses – especially the Accessible Herbalism and Clinical Skills courses. We’ve also been enhancing our student experience and building up our student community, so that learning with us is more enjoyable and cooperative. You’re not out there in the world on your own, when you study herbalism with us!

Today, though, we wanted to hop back on the pod feed and convey this simple message to you: just press play!

Lots of our students get caught up in feeling like everything needs to be perfectly aligned before they start studying. The right quite comfy place to study, the right amount of private time, no distractions, a new notebook and a fresh pen – all those things are great! But they’re not essential, and if you only study when everything’s perfect, well, you won’t study very much! So just press play, and let’s get at it. 🤝

When you sign up for any of our courses – including our FREE Herbal Study Tips, Four Keys to Holistic Herbalism, and Herbal Business Productivity courses – you get access to twice-a-week live Q&A sessions, integrated discussion threads on every lesson, and a vibrant student community. Our courses are centered on video lessons you can watch at your own pace, and once you’ve bought a course you retain access to it (and any future updates!), forever.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

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Starting An Herb Shop

Episode 229

Monday, February 19, 2024 • Duration 37:11

We continue this week with Katja’s series: Starting Your Herbal Business! Today the focus is on an herb shop or herbal apothecary, with or without a tea bar for tastings and treats.

Running an herb shop involves a fair amount of administrative work: ordering, stocking, inventory, payment processing, taxes, etc. Sharpen up your spreadsheets, folks! That’s not all there is to it, of course – there’s a huge aspect of community-building involved. Talking to people, planning events, and serving as a hub for your herbal community are also part of the gig.

In fact, if we can give only one piece of advice, it’s this: think of your herb shop as a community center, first and foremost. The stronger you can make that community connection, the stronger your business will be. Listen to the episode for more insights and tips as you build your business!

Would you like to know more? We’ve got just the thing! The Herbal Business Program has all the nitty-gritty details about setting up your herbal business – whether that’s products, clinical herbalism, or another variety of herbal pursuit. From GMPs and labeling laws, to marketing, to taxes & insurance, to the technology you’ll need to make it all happen, this course has everything. You can do this!

Like all our offerings, this is a self-paced online video course, which comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

If you enjoyed the episode, it helps us a lot if you subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

COVID Revisited

Episode 144

Friday, December 11, 2020 • Duration 01:04:31

This week we take another look at COVID-19 and its long-term effects.

First, we check in on what have been our top 5 herbal interventions for COVID:

Herbal steams – with aromatic herbs, to fight infection and stimulate local immune activity in the respiratory tract
Garlic & thyme tea – for a strong immune-stimulating and lung-warming effect
Elecampane decoction – an ounce or two every hour during acute illness, or when lungs are phlegmy
Ginger (& chamomile) tea – for anti-inflammatory and circulatory warming actions
Marshmallow root cold infusion – to maintain hydration and healthy mucous production in the respiratory tract

Those all still hold up! They continue to be important in acute, recovery, and long-haul cases. We go on to discuss those long recovery periods and lingering symptoms, and describe how we approach them as holistic herbalists.

Herbs discussed include: thyme, oregano, monarda, rosemary, sage, lavender, peppermint pine, spruce, garlic, elecampane, ginger, marshmallow, reishi, lobelia, pleurisy root, mullein, codonopsis, nettle, hawthorn.

Want to make sure your immune system is in fighting shape in case you get exposed? Looking for ways to rebuild immunity to make sure you’re back to full power? Our Immune Health course has everything you need to understand, protect, and strengthen your immune system. The course features all our best holistic strategies to boost immune responsiveness, and to corral unhelpful inflammation too. This self-paced online video course includes access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions so you can connect with us directly!

As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!

A Case Study: Herbs and Nightmares

Episode 143

Friday, November 20, 2020 • Duration 01:19:43

Dreaming matters: it’s a critical part of our identity-building and experience-processing work, and vital to our ability to regulate our emotions. But not all dreams are good. When nightmares happen, especially if they happen chronically, they can make dreaming itself feel unsafe. But never fear: when we need help we can always turn to herbs, and nightmares are no exception.

In this episode we present a very personal case study about working with herbs and nightmares to improve one’s relationship with dreaming.
This is katja’s story, and it’s a story involving trauma from assault, which led to nightmares for more than a decade. It was exacerbated by an abusive living situation – as Katja puts it, “like microdosing the original traumatic experience”. The work she engaged in, with the help of plants, was about building agency in dreams. This effort paralleled work she did in waking life, building healthier boundaries and developing her own empowerment. These efforts supported each other – each one helped the other proceed.

Of course, nightmares and poor sleep are connected – nightmares lead to dread of sleep, poor sleep worsens nightmares. So the approach is to combine herbs for dream work – cultivating feelings of safety, lessening fear of dreaming & dread of sleep – together with a comprehensive sleep protocol, plus herbs that helping her build agency in her waking life.

Herbs discussed include: mugwort, motherwort, ghost pipe, yarrow, blue vervain, ginger, chamomile, skullcap, passionflower, linden, hawthorn, tulsi, wood betony, rose, nettle, elecampane, st john’s wort, sage, elderflower, calamus.

Interested in deepening your dreaming? Want to explore herbs who can help you dream more vividly, or achieve lucidity in your dreams? Our mini-course on is for you! Learn key herbs from across the world (and probably in your backyard!) with oneirogenic activity.

4 Medicinal Mushrooms: Shiitake, Maitake, Reishi, Lion's Mane

Episode 142

Friday, November 6, 2020 • Duration 01:16:10

Yes, they are herbs too! Medicinal mushrooms are an important part of our herbal practice, but it looks like we haven’t profiled them on the podcast before today – so it’s time to correct that lapse. In this episode we’ll look at some of the key activities of four of our favorite fungi: shiitake (Lentinula edodes), maitake (Grifola frondosa), reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), and lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus).

Essentially all medicinal mushrooms share some features of interest to the herbalist. Famously, they can modulate immune responses – boosting immune surveillance and efficiency, while reducing excessive inflammatory or autoimmune expressions. Some mushrooms can also have adaptogenic activity, improving our endurance, resilience, and fluidity of response to stressors. And some mushrooms (more than you might expect, actually) can even help regenerate damaged or diseased nerve tissue, and protect the nervous system. Sounds pretty good, right? Listen in for the full story.

Mentioned in this episode:

Herbal Revolution – our friend Kathi Langelier’s new herbal recipe book – you can pre-order your copy today! Also check out all her excellent herbal remedies & delights.
Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy is an excellent and down-to-earth book on all things fungal.
Neuronal Health – Can Culinary and Medicinal Mushrooms Help?, Sabaratnam et al, J Tradit Complement Med. 2013 Jan-Mar; 3(1): 62–68. doi: 10.4103/2225-4110.106549 – This is the review paper showing neuroregenerative activity from lion’s mane, reishi, maitake, and cordyceps, among others.
Antitumor Effect of Ganoderma (Lingzhi) Mediated by Immunological Mechanism and Its Clinical Application. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1182:39-77. doi: 10.1007/978-981-32-9421-9_2 – This is the paper Ryn quoted an excerpt from, about the anti-cancer activities of reishi.

Herbs and Grief, at the Death of the Year

Episode 141

Sunday, November 1, 2020 • Duration 01:16:49

Samhain, Halloween, the death of the year – this is a good time to talk about grieving, and about how herbs and grief can go together. It’s a universal human experience, but one we don’t often allow ourselves to experience and explore, because it is painful and difficult. It can often seem like there are only a few ‘approved’ ways to move through a grieving process, but everyone grieves in their own way. Learning how to respond, rather than react, to our grief is something we must each navigate.

A Halloween that is only about sugar and sweets doesn’t teach us these skills. But the plants are there to remind us: this is a time to die back, to go underground, to process the deep dark parts of ourselves. This is what allows transformation, new growth. When we work with herbs and grief rituals, the focus is on letting go of what’s no longer serving us: allowing death to what has run its course. That includes our own ideas of ourselves which are no longer serving us, too.

There are a lot of places where herbs and grief come together. Some herbs help us get into that introspective place, some help us feel protected while we’re there. Some herbs protect the heart, or circulate our inner waters, or open up our lungs – traditionally associated with grief in many cultures. Other herbs help us move through liminal spaces like dreaming, or to access our own inner wisdom from those realms. Whatever kind of support you need, there’s an herb who can help you.

Herbs discussed in this episode include: calamus, rose, hawthorn, linden, heather, self-heal, elecampane, lungwort, catnip, chamomile, yarrow, st john’s wort, vervain, , jiaogulan, , bittergrass, bittersweet nightshade, vanilla.

Herbs As Mantra - Mental Reset & Redirection

Episode 140

Saturday, October 24, 2020 • Duration 50:58

This week we listened to a talk by a Buddhist teacher about mantra chanting practices, and one particular facet of their purpose: to be a mental reset or redirection, a way to get a hold of your mind when it’s spun up & agitated. It inspired us to think about herbs as mantras, as mind tools – which herbs are, just as much as they’re physical supports. Herbs can help us introduce new mental patterns and change the way we relate to our minds.

People have been working with mantra and other meditative practices for a long time. That means people have been seeking ways to calm and direct mental patterns for a long time – it’s not new! If you feel this way sometimes, you can rest assured that it’s not just you; it’s everyone. You might say that it’s a natural consequence of having a brain that can do all the complex & amazing things our brains can do. Sometimes that complex computer gets stuck or spinning, and you need a reboot.

That’s where meditation comes in, traditionally – and that’s also where herbs as mantra come in! These plants can slow down the spinning so you can step off the mental merry-go-round. They can release tension that stops you from being able to identify what you need, or express it. They can bring in some sunshine and get your inner waters moving smoothly. Whatever pattern you find yourself falling into in those moments, there are herbs that can help!

Herbs discussed in this episode include: hawthorn, linden, sage, mugwort, juniper, cedar, pine, st john’s wort, yarrow, calendula, heather, kava, pedicularis, solomon’s seal, crampbark, orange peel.

Six Herbs for Cognitive Decline Prevention

Episode 139

Saturday, October 17, 2020 • Duration 58:23

Maintaining a sharp & healthy mind has always been one of the things people ask us about most often. Whether it’s a nagging difficulty recalling words, or a tendency to forget why you walked into a room – or more seriously, a relative showing early signs of dementia – lots of folks are wondering if there are herbs for cognitive decline prevention. And here’s the good news: there are!

When we’re trying to diminish the risk of dementia, herbs can help in a few different ways. For one, they can improve circulation to the brain, bringing in fresh oxygen and nutrients to keep the nerve cells well-fed. They can also protect those nerves and thus stave off senility, by reducing inflammation and improving nerve communications (both chemical and electrical).

But keeping your mind agile and avoiding Alzheimer’s isn’t something you can accomplish just by taking some supplements or drinking some tea – even with the best herbs in the world. You’ve got to feed your brain – get those omega-3s! And perhaps most importantly, you need good restful sleep, and plenty of it. Lack of sleep is probably the single biggest contributor to diminishing mental acuity; good quality sleep is the best guarantee of a healthy brain & mind. Herbs can help here, too – to ease the transition into sleep, to deepen sleep, and even to help you dream.

Herbs discussed in this episode include: rosemary, sage, tulsi, ginkgo, gotu kola, & lion’s mane.

Our Neurological & Emotional Health course includes more material about preventing cognitive decline, as well as a whole host of herbal and holistic strategies to support healthy nerves, brain, mind, and emotions. This self-paced online video course includes access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions so you can connect with Katja & Ryn directly. It includes a lengthy discussion of herbal pain management strategies, too!

Accessible Herbalism for Respiratory Ailments

Episode 138

Monday, October 12, 2020 • Duration 01:15:10

When thinking about how to start working with herbalism for respiratory ailments, you might get really focused on WHICH ailment it is, and which herbs are “good for” that ailment. As herbalists, though, we don’t work with diagnoses; we work with what we see. So whether it’s a cold, bronchitis, or asthma, we’ll respond to what we see, hear, and feel by choosing herbs to match the current state of the body. It’s not difficult once you start working with the plants!

Some conditions are dry: think of a racking, rattling cough, or just dry red sinuses. Those need moistening herbs, like the mallows and seaweeds. Some troubles are more wet in nature – like a really phlegmy cough – and they need drying herbs like sumac, thyme, and garlic. Can you see how just looking at “herbs for cough” wouldn’t sort those differences out for us? That’s the key!

In this episode we’ll discuss various presentations of respiratory ailments & herbs to address them. We’ll share a couple key formulae (one’s for a tea with garlic in it!) and a brief discussion of breathing exercises, too.

Herbs discussed in this episode include: sage, thyme, sumac, goldenrod, oregano, peppermint, pine, cedar, common mallow, marshmallow, hollyhock, lavender, chamomile, mullein, ginger, garlic, onion, cayenne, black pepper, horseradish, lemon, rosemary, seaweeds (e.g. Irish moss), & purple loosestrife.

The Holistic Herbalism Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Holistic Herbalism Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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Amazon58

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Publication history

Latest published episodes

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Amazon58

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