Biography

Jillian Carnrick first became interested in plants in high school where she took her first botany class. Jillian attended Maine Central Institute, an international boarding school in Central Maine. There she was not only introduced to many international students from Asian countries but also became deeply involved in the schools Russian Ballet Academy and environmental science program. Being inspired by these three communities, she became a Biology Major with Asian Traditions and Dance Minors at Muhlenberg College. Completing a capstone project on Chinese Medicine she was introduced to the East West School of Herbology. Under the guidance of Michael and Leslie Tierra she began her studies of herbs. After college she moved to attend classes at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. There she studied under herbalists such as Bevin Claire, Camille Freedman, Kevin Spelman, James Snow, James Duke, and Simon Mills and graduated with a Master’s of Science in Herbal Medicine in 2012. During graduate school, Jillian continued her studies of dance and became a Certified Personal Trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine. Upon graduating from MUIH, Jillian opened The Dancing Herbalist, LLC. This topical products company combined Jillian’s passion for dance and movement, her skills as a Certified Personal Trainer, and her love of crafting high quality products. In this company Jillian is continually researching the best herbal extraction methods as well as new modes of herbal absorption through the skin. Her desire to find the best traditional herbal formulas with her knowledge of scientific developments has led to many successful products including her Ylang Ylang Rose Geranium Cream, winning an award at the 2012 American Herbalist Guild Symposium. Jillian has been continuing her research on various traditional uses of herbs and now works to relate this information to modern clinical research being done on these herbs. Most recently Jillian presented two posters at the American Herbalist Guild Symposium in 2014. Jillian’s poster ‘Arnica: Friend or Foe’ received the award for ‘Most Clinically Relevant.’ This poster broke down the traditional uses of non-homeopathic arnica and looked at the modern research on how this plant extract works in the body. Jillian also searched for the safety indications that traditional herbalists were using. She was able to relate these indications to modern clinical trials to determine a safe and effective way of using arnica both internally and externally. She now continues to research herbs used topically to find new and interesting ways of making topical products for healing support. Feel free to follow Jillian on the following social media platforms: Twitter: @DanceHerbalist Tsu: Jillian Carnrick Facebook: The Dancing Herbalist, LLC Jillian publishes a free monthly wellness newsletter listing her classes and upcoming events. You can sign up for this by visiting her website at www.thedancingherbalist.com