Results for Category: We’ve Come To Know
Seed Cycling For Hormonal Balance
While there are countless advantages to being alive today, there are influences we must contend with in an industrialized world. Electric lights interfere with our sleep cycle hormones. Women long ago had children earlier and breastfed longer, which decreased their exposure to natural estrogen. We spend less time being physically active than our predecessors. Xenoestrogens and…
Herbalists Are Academics
Herbalists are life-long learners. Our journey of knowledge never ceases, and we’re not afraid to put in the hard work that come...
4 Natural Allies for Allergy Season
With the recent passing of the vernal equinox, we have now officially entered the season of spring. For many of us, this time of y...
Bitter Integrations! Part 2: Making Bitters
In my previous article, Bitter Integrations! we saw how humans adapted to some bitter plants to not only attain precious plant vitamins and minerals, but also improve our digestion and lower organ performance of processing, elimination, and detoxification. Part 2 will discuss making bitters, the health benefits of bitters, and specifically how bitter herbs assist…
Bitter Integrations! Part 1: History and Benefits of Bitters
Though bitter tastes are never our first choice on the menu, they are often the first choice in our survival. In the history of human evolution, we have created an on and off relationship with bitters that continues until today. In this article, the intriguing history and benefits of bitters is summarized, but I highly…
Sheltering with Valerian
In January, I wrote about medicinal herbs in England use during World War II, and this month I would like to follow-up up with a b...
Firsts For Spring
To our dearest friends, The promise of spring is plip-plopping from our roof as icicles melt into puddles below. With spring comes...
Three Reasons to Eat Ginger During Wintertime
What is it that pops into our minds when we associate ginger with the wintertime? Perhaps baking gingerbread people and gingerbread houses with gumdrop trim. But these uses barely scratch the surface of ginger’s value during the coldest time of year. As an herb, ginger’s tongue-tingling zest can help us stay warm and healthy throughout…
Meditation And The 2013 Winter Solstice
This article is written by Lena Yakubowski, yoga teacher and communications assistant at the Herbal Academy of New England. This time of year is busy for many of us. The stores are busting at the seams as people try to get their items needed for holiday cheer, and the roads seem more congested than ever….
5 Steps to Increase Activity with Sun Meditation
Soon, daylight savings time will be ending for most of the country. This little tweaking of our schedules began in the 20th centur...
Your Solution to the Winter Blues
With the coming of winter, many things will change. The days will be shorter, and the weather will be colder. But perhaps most sig...
3 Easy Steps to Fix a Bad Day
All of us have bad days. Whether we’ve been overwhelmed at work, had a frustrating conversation with our significant other, had to deal with a problem at our child’s school, or some other source of stress, each of us has gotten to the point where all we want to do is veg out in front…
Stop and Smell the Cultivars
These days, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all of the stimuli around us. We might have a particularly stressful day at work, be dealing with a health issue in our family, or even just get overwhelmed by a dozen honking horns on the way home from picking our kids up from school….
Five Kitchen Herbs for Cold Season
Tucked away in our kitchen pantries and cupboards, in our windowsills and gardens, are familiar and friendly herbal mainstays that...
3 Herbs For Anxiety
Anxiety can be a problem for many of us. Sometimes, we feel anxious and stressed after a particularly busy day of deadlines, erran...
Licorice and Ginger: Herbal Decongestants
For many of us, the worst thing about getting a cold is the seemingly interminable congestion that takes over our respiratory system. It’s distracting enough to make us miserable, but isn’t enough of an issue to allow us to call in sick from work or school. And not only does the offending mucus seem to…
Herbs for Prostate Health
It’s a scenario familiar to many aging men: he goes to bed, much as he has for decades, only to wake up two, three, or even four times to go to the bathroom to urinate. It’s difficult for him to urinate regardless of the time of day, for the urine dribbles out and is hard…
An Introduction To Phytobiophysics ®
Our good friends at Mossop Natural Remedies put this video together for our students and readers! Sit back with a cup of tea and e...
Teacup by Teacup
Turn up the flame, wait for the teapot to heat and whistle. Pour hot water over the jar of dried leaves and flowers. A slow stir w...
Get Healthy The Write Way!
Clinical trials have shown that journaling boosts your immune system, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, increases feelings of happiness and diminishes symptoms of depression and anxiety. Indeed the Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA) reports that writing about stressful experiences reduces physical symptoms in patients with chronic illnesses. There are those that suggest journaling prolongs…
Signs Of Spring
I had the most wonderful surprise on my afternoon walk yesterday. The snow is melting, the breeze is warming and the flowers are starting to break the soil. The seasons are changing and signs of spring are all around us. What a beautiful time of year!
Very Common Herbs To Try
We recently posted the article, Cup In Hand, which is an introduction to tea with a good mention of herbs. We created an infograp...
See The Flowers
I often have to pause and ask myself, what are my eyes fixed upon? It is usually a pretty straightforward answer. Being a doer, a ...
Tommy Priester
Tommy Priester is a well-known practicing herbalist in the Boston area. Often times he will guest speak on topics, including his most popular, Lyme Disease. We were grateful to have him visit our academy this fall for a talk during our October Guest Speaker Series with the Reisens and Jovial King. Read a brief excerpt…
Jovial King
We thoroughly enjoyed Jovial King, herbalist and founder of Urban Moonshine, when she came to visit our cottage last October. She is a sweet soul with a passionate spirit. We deeply respect those herbalists who find a vision and go after the dream! Here is a little bit about Jovial and Urban Moonshine. From their…
Andrea and Matthias Reisen
It was a joy to have the Reisen duo make a trip to our school for a talk on “Herbs and Their Many Healing Properties.” Andrea ...
What is a Weed? Finding Appreciation
By Kerry Maegan Hughes-Rico, M.Sc. – Herbalist and Ethnobotanist What is a weed? There was a time in my life when weeds were sim...
Urban Moonshine on Finding Joy
This last week Jovial King, founder and CEO of Urban Moonshine, came to visit the Herbal Academy of New England to teach us about bitters and tonics. Learning about her journey was a delight, to say the least! While she shared with us a wealth of information, from history to benefits of bitters, perhaps the…
Plantain For Bee Stings
By Nina Katz – Herbalist After gathering oodles of wild amaranth, purslane, lamb’s quarters, and gallant weed (galinsoga), Barbara and I headed back to the parking lot with some of them, and her CSA share, before moving on to gather wild grape leaves. As we walked, we talked about the bees on the farm, and…
