Building Your Herbal Apothecary: with Clinical Herbalist Mary Colvin, RH (AHG)

I had the pleasure of chatting with Mary Colvin, a clinical herbalist, mama, new grandma, and owner of Ancestral Herbology. Mary shares her journey into herbal medicine, from her early days in gardening to overcoming debilitating back pain through plant-based remedies. We delve into the significance of clinical herbalism, the role of sustainability in herb harvesting, and Mary's new book, 'The Herbalist's Guide: How to Build and Use Your Own Apothecary.' Tune in to learn about the magic of herbs, the importance of proper training, and how you can become empowered to take control of your own health with natural remedies!

Get all the show notes, links, and further breakdown of this episode here: www.theherbalistspath.com/blog/mary-colvin-ahg 

02:16 Overcoming Health Challenges with Herbalism

05:15 Educational Path and Herbal

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Chapters

• 1:44 Herbalist Path Podcast Conversation
• 13:44 Healing Journey Through Herbalism
• 19:08 Herbal Conferences and Clinical Herbalism
• 34:51 Exploring Herbs and Gardening With Family
• 41:58 Herbalist Guide to Plants and Sustainability
• 54:11 The Herbalist Path

Transcript

Mel: 1:45

Hello and welcome to the Herbalist Path, a podcast where you'll discover how to make your own herbal remedies at home so that you can take better care of yourself, better care of your family and better care of our planet. I'm Mel. I'm a clinical herbalist, environmental educator and mountain-l living mama with this crazy passion for teaching more mamas and their little loves how to use plants as medicine in a safe, effective and tasty way, so that there can be an herbalist in every home. Again, it's an absolute honor to have you on the journey down the herbalist path with me, so that together we can make herbalism Hashtag spread like wildflowers. Hi Mary, oh, how are you? I am doing well. How are you?

Mary: 2:42

Oh wait, I'm not started there, hey.

Mel: 2:47

I'm like wait a minute, where did I go? I think I'm supposed to be in there. How?

Mary: 2:52

are you doing? It's good talking to you again. I'm doing okay. I feel like I'm running off on the races. You know I'd taken off and just got back from Ireland, ooh, lovely. Yes, that was wonderful. And had a granddaughter while I was over there, oh, how exciting.

Mel: 3:13

Congratulations.

Mary: 3:15

Yeah, and just been like hitting the road and running. Basically. You know, yeah, I don't even have my vegetable garden planted yet, so I had all the beds cleared out, you know, before we left and when I came back, little did. I know. It was almost raining every day and like warm, so everything just grew back. So I gotta start over.

Mel: 3:39

But we just did stuff in our garden yesterday, but living in Oregon like if we do it any earlier than that it's a wash. So yeah, hopefully everything does its thing as magically and lovely as it's supposed to. Yeah, I bet you're bonkers with the whole release of a new book and everything oh gosh, yeah.

Mary: 3:58

yeah, I've been going to doing some book signings and how's it going? It's going well. Yeah, it is very exciting yeah that's great.

Mel: 4:11

Well, we'll definitely be talking about your book. Are there any other particular things you want me to organically bring up throughout our conversation?

Mary: 4:21

You know one of those I think you brought up on one of your questions. You know it was like anything else you'd like to add just that with the book.

Mary: 4:31

There's a website, a new website that I have. It's called herbalist mentorcom. I still have my ancestral herbologycom, but that's more for like the consultations and events. The herbalist mentorcom is training resources and mentorship. So it mentions that in the book and I do have a free membership that anybody can join and so far I've got like four different PowerPoint presentations on there that are completely free for them to listen to. Eventually, I will have demonstration videos on all of the exercises in the book, and that's just for you know. The visual learners.

Mel: 5:16

Yep, it's so important to hit all those teaching points for sure.

Mary: 5:21

So I'm planning on expanding on that website I just haven't gotten a chance to. It's a lot of work.

Mel: 5:29

Yeah, it is Cool. Yeah, that'll be fun to chat about, for sure. And just so you know, like those questions are just kind of a guideline, we really just have a very casual conversation, so I will make sure I have enough lighting for you. Yeah, you look fine, fantastic. And I rarely get these actually out on YouTube. I have not published a YouTube video in almost two years. So so there's that. We just have it recorded for Justin's case. That's what I like to say with Justin Justin case. So we'll see. I'd love to get my YouTube back up and running, but I just I do too many things, so it's more work. I'm trying to stop doing too many things, and too many things for free all of the time, like no, I put a lot of time and energy into what I do and I'm happy to offer free things. It's beautiful, I do that, that's okay.

Mary: 6:26

But also, yeah, TikTok is taking up a lot of time. I haven't been able to keep up on that.

Mel: 6:32

Yeah, I haven't really paid much attention to TikTok in a long time, it seems, but I did just get a new student who, like I, was like where'd you find me from? Because she wasn't in my email system. And she found me from TikTok and I'm like well, there you go.

Mel: 6:45

Right, tiktok. That's where a lot of my students come from. I just repurpose my content all across the board, like if I have a video but I have to be in that inspiration mode and I've got so much freaking content but to post it like that's like at least an hour of my day, every day.

Mary: 7:04

Absolutely, and that's where I'm at. You know it's just thinking up something else to put up there. And on top of I'm writing for Plant Killer magazine and my own writing projects. And you know I've got teaching four different herbal conferences because of the book you know. That's exciting. There's so much to prepare for.

Mel: 7:25

And, yeah, it's easy to overwhelm ourselves in this world. That's kind of what I'm working on this year and I'm terrible at it, but my like mantra for the year at the beginning of the year was peace, simplicity and ease. And nice.

Mary: 7:38

Well, yeah, nice when it actually comes to fruition, but it's nice when you get it.

Mel: 7:44

Yeah like I started the year with a summit and then, a week before the summit, I got COVID. So I got to host this live summit where I was talking live like two to three, four hours a day oh my gosh, with COVID aftermath, so that was rough, but I love the process of putting together a summit and I loved connecting with everybody. I look forward to doing another one, with my immune system being on high alert that it's not time to get COVID.

Mary: 8:14

Yeah, that would be lovely, wouldn't it? Can you hear me okay?

Mel: 8:17

I can hear you fantastically Perfect, perfect. So let's dive into it. If you're ready, are you Okay? Great, dive into it if you're ready, are you Sure? Okay, great, hello, hello and welcome back for another excellent episode on the Herbalist Path.

Mel: 11:17

I'm really, really excited for the guest I get to bring to you today. She is a mama, and a brand new grandmama. It's Mary Colvin. She's also a clinical herbalist and owner of Ancestral Herbology. She's registered as an herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild. She's a member of the American Botanical Council and United Plant Savers, which are all such really important organizations. I highly encourage you to check all of them out.

Mel: 11:45

She's certified in nutritional therapy, which is fantastic, because if you're not taking care of what you're eating on a regular basis, the herbs are going to have a really tough time doing the magic that they really can for you. So I love that she brings that into play, along with our mental health. So Mary has so much to talk about. She's also the author of a brand new book, the Herbalist Guide how to Build and Use your Own Apothecary, which I'm sure we're going to chat about in this conversation today. So I am beyond excited and honored to have you here, mary. Welcome to the show. Oh, thank you, mel. I'm so happy to be here. Oh, I must say that I forgot that you're also the host of Herbology Talk podcast, which I've been a guest on, so it's great to have you on my show as well.

Mary: 12:32

So yeah, recifrication, I love it.

Mel: 12:35

Yeah, absolutely. I love the way the beautiful herbal world goes round and round. It's really nice. Mary, you've done so much in the world of herbal medicine. I'm so curious what brought you to this world of herbal medicine? How did that happen?

Mary: 12:54

Well, I think the plants called me at an early age to begin with. I've been a gardener probably all my life. My grandparents started teaching me and I went to college for floral design and marketing. Originally I wanted to go to be a horticulturist or a botanist but the funds just wasn't there financially and I took a technical like a two-year school at Ohio State University it's the agricultural technical institute Went there and I love anything to do with plants.

Mary: 13:31

But as I got out and you know marriage and children and you know you get busy and I didn't really have a whole lot of time at that time to sit down and study. But basically my body made me. You know, when I had some serious back issues and I was probably 36 years old and it was debilitating, you know you couldn't sciatica and you couldn't move around or sit and ended up. I did everything the doctors wanted me to do and the insurance of course, and I ended up having to have surgery called a laminectomy because I have heard I had herniated disc and degenerative disc. So they went in and shaved the disc because that is what was pushing on the sciatic nerve, and the sciatic nerve pain was relieved but I was still in pain and I was just beside myself because I was like I just want to feel good and I just want to, you know, move around and I have children to raise.

Mary: 14:36

And finally I went to the pain specialist because I was still in pain after that surgery and he said that because they cut into my fascia that's where my pain was coming from. And of course they they've been learning more about fascia and all the nerve endings. You know that come with it too. So he says I would be in pain the rest of my life and I just didn't want to accept it. I, you know. I just told him no, I I'm not going to be in pain the rest of my life and I don't want to take your pharmaceutical medications anymore, cause I was on Vicodin before the surgery for a long time and then they switched it to. I can't remember what the name of it Tamoxin, is that the one? Yeah, that they switched it to. And they're like, oh, it's non-addictive. And now they found out you know it's addictive.

Mary: 15:29

But, at the time when it first came out. That's why everybody was switching over to it. But I didn't want to cover the pain anymore, I just wanted it, and I don't know what made me think of plants again. But I was just like I'm going home, I'm looking for a course and I'm starting today, and at that time there really wasn't a whole lot of online schools and I'm in Ohio. There wasn't a lot of physical schools here either.

Mary: 15:56

And I couldn't find anybody and this is Facebook was just getting started, but I couldn't find anybody in the area that I can learn from either. So I found the School of natural healing with Dr Christopher, and that was the only course at that time that allowed you to purchase one class at a time, also because as a young family finances was a little difficult too.

Mary: 16:22

So I was able to purchase a class at a time and it was a two year course and by that time at the end I had to go there to Springfield, utah, and for a week and do the certification. And we made it a trip with the whole family, you know, around to the Grand Canyon and up to Utah and then Yellowstone and yeah.

Mary: 16:46

So by then I was certified and I had my diploma there and I just didn't feel like I knew. I didn't feel complete. I didn't feel like the knowledge was complete. I'll write it down.

Mel: 17:00

Isn't ever an herbalism yeah.

Mary: 17:02

Yeah, but more so. I mean, they really didn't talk much about energetics there. It wasn't a school that was big into talking about clinical herbalism or you know, they didn't go further. Dr Christopher was a naturopathic doctor, right, you know, and he was fantastic, but yeah, so I just I needed to find more information and get more schooling. So I just went from there and kind of I call it an eclectic education.

Mel: 17:33

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, especially when we're learning from, like, the historical uses of the eclectic physicians, it really makes sense, absolutely. Yeah, I think that I think that might be common with herbal knowledge addicts I'm going to call that self-proclaimed herbal knowledge addict. Right here is like we start getting into it and then we're like whoa, what a big, amazing world this is and how much there is to learn about it Overwhelming, not even just the herbs but the human body like.

Mel: 18:09

The better you know about the human body, the better you are able to use herbs, Right, I think that's. That's really great. So what did you do once you realized like okay, this, Dr Christopher's, that's really planted the seed for this journey. Where did you go next? What did you do?

Mary: 18:27

Well, you know, during that course period we were playing around with formulations and I developed a couple of formulas that actually benefited myself. So all that back pain, all the muscle spasming, and you know I used some cell proliferance to to help in the repair of the tissue and, yeah, I'm no longer in pain. So it's not like an everyday 24 hours Now. If I overdo it, obviously you know I could feel some pain, but who can't? You're?

Mel: 18:58

still human.

Mary: 18:59

Yeah, absolutely 53, just I had that. And then after I did that two year course, I looked at different herbal conferences and that's because I found there were some in New England mine and that's where I met Margie Flint and she ended up becoming very influential in my training.

Mel: 19:37

Yes, awesome yeah, there's something magical about herb conferences and I am currently feeling a great need to have some more herb conferences like what a wonderful way to not only like increase your knowledge, but really it's all about that connection with incredible people that have this common bond and love and calling from the plants love for the plants. It's really a magical experience and I need one.

Mary: 20:10

And I think that's the first place where I found that connection and I found I love how Jesse Wolfharden called it, his tribe, and you know, that's where, that's how I felt I'm like I'm not alone in my feeling about plants. You know this. These are my people.

Mel: 20:26

Yeah, my people.

Mary: 20:27

Exactly, these are my people and it was. It was great, and then I could find it. You know, you're introduced to other herbalist and you find other avenues of training, you find new classes and it's just an experience.

Mel: 20:42

It is. It's an ongoing experience. I think there's so much value in learning from so many different people and different plants, because the plants will also be your teacher, not just the people. So, yeah, I think that for me, that's been one of the greatest benefits of my life, Like when I was going through more formal studies I just say the more formal studies because it's always learning right but I was really really blessed to have so many different teachers to come about and share what they were a real fantastic expert in the field of herbal medicine, because it's big and it's wide and it's exciting and that is so much fun. So today, now you practice herbal medicine with people as a clinical herbalist. How is that for you in life?

Mary: 21:35

I love it. I feel like I'm on the path that I'm supposed to be on. You know, it's one of those things that you just know you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, and and I know that, as I've gone along, I'm helping my clients, but I'm also wanting to help students and you know I'm kind of expanding in that area also. But I've been doing clinical herbalism since about 2012, I think. Yeah, and I became a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild in 2018. Yeah, and I became a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild in 2018. So, really, from the time I started learning herbs to the time that I actually applied, it was like a good 10 years, right.

Mel: 22:14

Yeah, yeah, I actually I have still not registered herbalist guild. I went on the path of running a product line for quite a long time and still help people and ran an apothecary and all of that kind of stuff and I was just like I just didn't have the time or the desire to do that, I do want to say that you don't have to.

Mary: 22:33

it's nothing that's necessary in order to be a good clinical herbalist. You know, personally, I chose to do that because I wanted to have my clients feel like I had that certification, so to speak, you know, and it's something that they could physically look up see the definition what kind of training they're needing. And that's why I did it, because there's no licensing, and I did that to make my clients feel more comfortable.

Mel: 23:01

Yeah, absolutely. I totally get that 110,000%. Can you explain to our listeners? A lot of people don't quite grasp what a clinical herbalist does. How is that different from other herbalists?

Mary: 23:15

Well, there's so many different aspects you can get into in herbalism. You can be the grower, you can be you have a shop and sell products. You can just go out there and you know, take care of your own family and friends, just wanting to garden it and make some products for yourself Myself because I got into. I met Margie and she wrote the book the Practicing Herbalist. So that's where I got into it and she had a class, like a one week class with Matthew Wood and Kay Parent and we sat down at their feet basically, and it's all about being there for the clients.

Mary: 23:53

So you have to study a lot more you know in courses than just herbs and their benefits. You're looking at anatomy and physiology. I went to the nutrition aspects also because I wanted to understand the nutrition, the nutritional and how it affects the body and disease. And then you look at you know, assessment skills. There's so many different things. You got to have clinical training and mentorship and you know, have so many hours, um, but yeah, there's so much more and I do have, um. I taught a class called navigating the study of herbalism and it was all about the direction. You know the type of courses you need and then I expand on clinical herbalism too and talk about the different courses that you can use there. I think that was on the American Herbalist Guild. If you are a member of the American Herbalist Guild, you can see that there. The other place, you can see it as my other website and we'll talk about that later, but it's herbalistmentorcom, so so yeah.

Mel: 25:09

So if somebody were listening right now and really wanted to work with a clinical herbalist to help get through whatever, I mean, this is kind of like what a clinical herbalist does is helps you get over whatever chronic ailments you may have or also just feel healthier and more vibrant and alive. If somebody were to want to work with you in that realm one, what areas of specialty do you love to work in? And two, how can they get in touch with you in that realm?

Mary: 25:41

I really love the nervous system and digestive system and I work with women's health. So as a clinical herbalist we work with the health situations of our clients and there's many different reasons why somebody would want to come see a clinical herbalist. We do work in conjunction with the medical field. Not necessarily does the medical field like to work with us, but that's not always the case. But we can read you know, I read blood work, you know lab reports, and so there's every clinical herbalist is different in some of what they can specialize in, but I personally love reading the blood, the CBC and all the different labs and I've been studying up more on understanding the patterns within them.

Mel: 26:40

Yeah, there's a lot of pattern understanding and just yeah, there's so much that goes to it. So if somebody is listening and wants to work with you, how can they?

Mary: 26:50

They can go to ancestralherbologycom and there's a contact tab on there and there's also one about consultations and explains my price and what's involved.

Mel: 27:03

That sounds good, thank you. Thank you so much. Before we started recording for this podcast episode, you had told me about something very, very exciting. You were in Ireland recently and you have a new grandbaby. So this podcast is really for moms who are curious about using herbs and, of course, grandmoms, because they're the grandest of them all, right, yeah, so I just love for you to just share a little bit of your journey as a mom using herbs with your family and how that has gone, and then we'll talk a little bit about this precious grandbaby too sure.

Mary: 27:47

So my children were younger when I first started taking the courses and immediately they were my guinea pigs.

Mel: 27:55

Anytime they got sick.

Mary: 27:57

You know I I was giving them all my different concoctions and bruise and um, but you know they did not have to go to the doctor often. And I remember my daughter came home from school and she was sick and you know we used some diaphoretic herbs and, you know, kind of worked with her immune system and she was much better the next day. And her friends always said how come every time you get sick you can come back to school the next day? You know we were sick for days. You know we were sick for days. You know we were sick for the same with the same thing and it was days.

Mary: 28:32

And she goes, my mom would give me this tea. She started telling them you know what I would do. You know it's it was a joke with the kids, you know when I because there weren't a lot of parents at that time that were giving their kids herbs but my children realized at a young age how beneficial the plants could be and you know, did they always like all the taste? No, to this day my son will not drink fire cider unless it is absolutely necessary.

Mel: 29:10

And you can always find a workaround, oh boy.

Mary: 29:13

You know, he, and then my other, my other daughter. She says I spoiled her with garlic, so she doesn't even like the smell of garlic. No, she, she wasn't sick and they got better. And I even had a doctor who dropped us because we weren't going once a year, or you know we didn't. He wanted to see us more often when it came down to and and when we didn't, they took us off their roster and we were no longer their patient. It didn't hurt my feelings.

Mel: 29:46

I don't want you to have any independence or empowerment in your family's health.

Mary: 29:50

Yeah, and you know that's a great word empowerment and that is something that I want every household to have an herbalist because it is empowering to be able to take control of your own health, and so I love that word, yeah.

Mel: 30:09

Yeah, it's a perfect word for it. It really is, and we do need an herbalist in every home. Again is kind of what I love to say on this show. That's the whole mission, because, for reasons just like that, you're getting dropped from your doctor because you don't go enough.

Mary: 30:24

I was.

Mel: 30:25

I was really fortunate.

Mel: 30:28

I was really fortunate. I remember one time my daughter was about two and it was her first time like getting sick and I was like you know, she was my only child and I'm like, hmm, should I be freaking out about this? Okay, I'll freak out for a second. And I call my doctor and tell the symptoms and things. And she was like Mel, you know what to do, you don't need me. They knew I was like studying clinical herbalism at that time and they knew what I was all about. Like they were also teachers at the naturopathic college and midwives and um wives and they were magnificent. I still go to them, so that's really nice. But yeah, it was something magical when I hung up that phone and I was like she's right, I don't know what to do and I think, just as you're new in that phase of motherhood which are we always new in motherhood? I don't know, but mine's almost a lot.

Mel: 31:30

There's always a new situation, absolutely. But I just remember a moment of panic and a moment of doubt, and then this like oh right, the plants. Have you ever had that happen, mary, where you create an amazing formula or something like that and and it does the trick for you or for a client, and then you just kind of forget about it or maybe take it for granted. And then you come back later and you're like oh, that's why that's amazing, that's why that works so well.

Mary: 32:05

The plants amaze me all the time.

Mel: 32:08

Yeah.

Mary: 32:08

You know, even when you think you need this complex formula, just a simple, simple herb. You know one herb can do the trick when needed. It's just as long as you pick the right one for you. But as far as taking, as a mom, you know I'm definitely not against doctors, because there is a time and a place for them. And some people think that because you're an herbalist or you're in clinical herbalist, you're totally against all doctors and that's just not the case, Right?

Mary: 32:40

You know there's been many times my son has chopped his finger off and you know we have had to go to the emergency room. And you know, especially in emergency situations, they're fantastic, but there are situations where a doctor is needed, and but a lot of the times. As a mom, how many times do you run to the store to get something over the counter? How many times do you call the doctors or want to get a doctor's appointment because your kid has a temperature or sniffles? And you know, if you have the basic training on there and you know, just know, take steps and know what to do when your child gets sick, it's so empowering, you know, to be able to help you and see your child start feeling better because of what you've done to help them and what the plants have done to help them.

Mel: 33:35

Yeah, it's, it's the best feeling and that's why we need that herbalist in every home. Again, like you're right, doctors do have a time and a place, but to have to go see them every single year why we all feel great, everybody's thriving. Thanks, like. I've got a scale. We've got like the markers on the wall in the hallway. I know how tall they are, so that's really really funny.

Mary: 34:02

So now that you're a grandma.

Mel: 34:04

That's really really funny. So now that you're a grandma, how tell me your dreams for this beautiful grandchild of yours in relevance to the plant world and their future and the planet?

Mary: 34:17

This is my second grandchild, so her sister is two and a half years old. So I'm now, I have a toddler running around after me and I get to show her my garden. And are they in Ohio as well? Yes, they are. Yes, they're about 30 minutes from me, so not very far, and so I get to see them when they're not working, you know. Or sometimes I'll just say I'm going to pick her up from daycare, I'm taking her with me, my mom needs some time. So, yeah, I just love start.

Mary: 34:51

She's at the curious stage now, so this is when I am introducing different things. I just bought her a little gardening kit too, with the little kids gloves and the little hands and shovel, and, um, I took her out last fall and showed her some. Uh, I was picking some autumn olive berries and she saw me do that. It never dawned on me at that point in time to tell her do not pick these or pick any berries without your grandmother next to you. This is the next time my daughter yelled at me because, uh, they were at another house and she saw some red bears. They didn't know what they were and she started picking them because grandma was picking. So so I do have to be careful and make sure I explained to her that only with me. But yeah, it's so much fun, there's just so much joy, you know, grandchildren period, but to have them, you know, be interested in what you're doing, that's, that's exciting.

Mel: 35:52

Absolutely I. I don't know if I'll ever be a grandma. I sure hope at this moment that I will. But either way I'll. I'll love my daughter no matter what she chooses, but I look forward to that. I think it's I have only one child, so it's like that will be my. It's I have only one child, so it's like that will be my. Yay, I get to do it again help out and also pass them back later.

Mary: 36:14

Yeah, we were in Ireland for our 25th wedding anniversary and we planned it a long time ago, so my daughter wasn't even pregnant, you know, when I had it planned and then she came and told me she was pregnant. Her due date was well, you guessed it when we were in Ireland. So, teacher the teacher, the doctor, wouldn't um take her c-section any any sooner, because she was a c-section baby. And um, so was her sister. And yeah, I had to find out through facetime. You know, I was able to be there in the room, so to speak, you know, right after she was born and she was a healthy 10 pounds, six ounces, and yeah.

Mary: 36:58

So yeah, she's a joy, and what's really crazy is one has blonde hair and the other has is a brunette, so isn't it funny how that can work.

Mel: 37:16

And some of my daughter's best friends are two young boys who are just about two years apart from each other, and one is blonde hair, blue eyed, light skin, the other one's black hair, brown eyes, dark skin. And yeah, it's how it works.

Mary: 37:33

I just can't wait to see the different personalities, because that's the fun stuff. That is what's fun.

Mel: 37:39

Yeah, that's what I missed out on with having just one child Like I'd love to see the personality differences. I'm sure they'd be dramatic.

Mary: 37:50

Sorry about that, I didn't realize that it's okay.

Mel: 37:54

It happens Well. That's fun and exciting and beautiful. Are you using any herbs or offering your daughter any herbs as she's going through her postpartum recovery time?

Mary: 38:06

No, she chooses to follow what the doctors do right now and you know that's a choice, Right. But she does know that she can come to me if something doesn't work or, you know, if you know she's nauseous, she definitely knows what to do. You know she's. She's been raised. She definitely knows what to do. You know she's. She's been raised with these, so she knows what she can do, you know. But yeah, she'll come to me for supplies, that's for sure love that, I love that.

Mel: 38:36

Amazing. So let's talk about herbs. Let's talk about herbs, let's talk about plants. Baby, you've got one, one herb to pick, mary, that is unfair. Mel, I know you see the way I did it in such a challenging tone. All right, it's darn near impossible. We all know that. Okay, if I could pick one and sometimes it depends on the day and what's happening in life.

Mary: 39:06

So I have more than one favorite, but I'll just say in this time, right now, violet, violet is I'm. I'm so in love with it and I'm really hoping I have time, since I was in Ireland and I came back. I'm hoping I have time to pick some more right now. But yeah, there's so many different applications.

Mel: 39:26

Yeah. I love that, especially being that you love working with the nervous system. I used violet in one of my teas when I ran my product line, and I rarely hear anybody talk about violet, so I'm excited to hear you talk about it, absolutely.

Mary: 39:43

I love making an oil with the violet and I use the leaves and the flowers and, um, I dry them and it's it's such a lovely display with the, the bluish, purple flowers, you know, that are dried in there, um, but I make a tincture I, I make warm infusions with them, baths. I'll do, obviously, ointments if you're making the oils too. But I use it for so many different applications and coughing, you know, for the respiratory system, and it's cooling and moistening and it's just nice and soothing, both with the nervous system and with irritated tissue. So it is anti-phlogistic or anti-inflammatory, you know. So there's a lot. It's a lymph herb, you know. I love it as a lymph herb too, with hives. I've used it so many times. Somebody breaks out in hives or has a rash that's really itchy. I'll use that oil as well, and I do use flower essences with those also.

Mel: 40:49

Nice. Yeah, I don't know Like. I've used flower essences over the years, but I would definitely not consider myself an expert in that. I have a really dear friend, dr Orna Isaacson. She's a naturopath in Portland and also in Alaska and she does a fantastic job teaching about flower essences and I just love them. They're beautiful and we've been using quite a few with my daughter. I'm curious about violet as a flower essence.

Mary: 41:21

so I use the blue violet and it helps to release anger and frustration. Um, so I have a lot of people that maybe they had a trauma, you know from years ago, or a situation. They just can't let that anger go, and we all know that that can be damaging to our body as well. So I use the blue violet for that and it just it's very well rounding and it helps with strengthening the aura, I think, as well. Nice.

Mel: 41:58

I really love how much magic and power plants have. It's incredible, you know, when you hear about these things, yeah, they're just so powerful and also gentle, yes, and spiritual and beautiful, and I'd have to say that one other thing that I love about violet is its abundance, yes, and I wonder if we can have a little chat and then, and maybe this you don't want to go in this direction, so if we don't want to, we don't have to, um, but I think that's one of the things that needs to be talked about a lot throughout this world of herbal medicine and as we do help create a world where there's an herbalist in every home. Again, just the respect and understanding and boundaries of plants and ones that are not particularly widely available versus ones that are, and how we can navigate that as we're sharing these beautiful things with the world, absolutely.

Mary: 43:01

And you know, in my book and we'll talk about the book in a minute I do talk about sustainability. I talk about the harvesting rules because it is so important. I once heard an herbalist say that they were teaching a class and they did like an herb walk and they pointed out this section of a plant and when they went back it was completely gone, yeah, decimated. You know, because if you don't talk to people about sustainability, about some of those harvesting rules, those are there not to irritate you.

Mary: 43:35

They're there to help and make sure that these plants are here for future generations to help and make sure that these plants are here for future generations, and so that is a real important aspect, which is why I love being a business member of the United Plant Savers.

Mel: 43:49

Absolutely so important. I love their whole mission. So, for those of you that are listening, united Plant Savers was actually founded by Rosemary Gladstar and is all about educating people and raising awareness of different plants that may be at risk, or very vulnerable species to being over harvested and perhaps even no longer present on our precious planet, and we want to make sure that these plants are here for our kids and our grandbabies and great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandbabies right, we need them. Great, great grandbabies, right, we need them around forever and ever. So sustainability is a huge thing.

Mel: 44:26

It's actually how I got into the world of herbal medicine is because I wanted to save the planet and I did. It's great. Oh, this is much better for the planet than all the junk that you, we're told we need in the pharmaceutical industry and what have you. So just kind of how my path happened. But you know you started to speak about how you talk about sustainability in your brand spanking new book. It's been released for one week as of the time we are recording this, and it's the herbalist guide how to build and use your own apothecary, which I mean. Can it get any easier on the title of what it's about, but I still want to hear what it's all about and what you got going on in there Originally.

Mary: 45:13

So I started it about nine years ago because there's so many students came up to me and they said, hey, what books would you recommend for a beginner? And you know, usually you can't narrow it down to one book, you have to say multiple different books, and then they don't have the guidance, especially if they're studying at home. They are looking at all this information and it's so overwhelming and you could start on one that you know. Then it starts talking about another thing and you're confused and you got to go back to that. So I decided to write this book. It's like an at-home course and it's really the foundational skills in herbalism. But I did it here. You're going to learn this section first. Here's an exercise to really fully understand what you just read, and then we can go on to the next section, and so there's exercises for hands-on training throughout and if you complete all of the exercises, you have built your own apothecary. But not only have you built your own apothecary, you're going to understand and know how to use it safely and effectively. And you know cause.

Mary: 46:21

There's a lot of herbal remedy books out there. They're great, they have great herbal remedies, but they're like cookbooks, you know, and that's kind of what some of the publishers really wanted. But they're just here, follow this directions to make this medicine and of course, everybody wants to jump right into making the medicine and that's I understand that. But you really need to know some of the basics first and know why those herbs are in there and who they're best used for and what situation. I mean, there's so much to learn about an herb. I have 35 herbs in the book, so with all of the herbal medicine in the apothecary, you're going to be working with those 35 herbs. Then there are also some other herbal remedies that I added in there for you to learn more about some other herbs maybe.

Mary: 47:12

But it's all about the individual who's reading and studying. I want them to understand how to research. I want them to be able to get trusted information. So I do have some research guidelines in there too, and even though I got about two pages for each of the 35 herbs in there and it's just basically how I use these herbs and you know I talk about their taste and energetics and I talk about, you know their medicinal actions, of course, and you know what the taste, but also cooling or moistening, or you know all the energetics. So that's in there. But it's still going to take some time for the reader to do some more research on that herb and I suggest that they do that before they work with that herb in that exercise, that they do that before they work with that herb in that exercise, so they're going to get in the habit of doing their research and knowing where to get that information.

Mary: 48:07

And also there's a resource section in there. And then there's the help with my extra website that I have that I included in the book and it's called herbalistmentorcom. So if you're just getting into herbalism and you bought my book and you have questions or you know you need some extra advice, I have mentorship packages available on herbalistmentorcom and you can choose from. Just hey, I want three hours, you know, to talk to you and you could split those up. You know, in our increments it doesn't have to be in one sitting, um, but then there's case reviews. So if you are maybe a clinical herbal you know clinical herbalist or you're studying to be um, I can look over your cases. You can sit in on one of mine, um, I also help anybody who's wanting to fill out an application as a registered herbalist, and then I do have the herbalist mentor membership, which is free for anybody who wants to join.

Mary: 49:08

And there I've got four different PowerPoint presentations. One of them is that navigating the study of herbalism. There's another one, I think fatigue and insomnia. One that's called building your clientele. So I can't remember the fourth one right now, but yeah, it's.

Mary: 49:26

I will be adding more to that down the line. But and then anybody who did buy the book and they've done those exercises or they want additional help in that I'm going to be putting together some demonstration videos and adding those on there of all the exercises in the herbalist guide.

Mel: 49:43

So fun that sounds so exciting, so many things going on. I really love the point of the research factor, like as somebody who's also an educator and I love to teach people about different plants, but like there is forever learning about these plants and so much research to dive into it, so that's a really, really important thing and so many people today don't know how to research and it's easy to get overwhelmed in the world of Dr Google and really get spun down and TikTok yeah and TikTok yeah and tick tock oh my gosh.

Mary: 50:21

Yeah, don't get me going on that. Yeah, that's actually the reason why I came up with those research guidelines, because I was getting I was hearing some scary misinformation. That was quite dangerous.

Mel: 50:35

I mean, that's exactly why I do what I do as well, why we are. We do this right so that people do get safe and effective information.

Mary: 50:44

And I do talk about energetics also in the book. So if you were confused why I was saying cooling and moistening um, or about energetics period, that's in the book. So I really give every information you need, all the information that you need to get started into herbalism.

Mel: 51:02

I love it, it's so good. So where can people find your book?

Mary: 51:06

Well, you can find it online. It is on Amazon's, at Barnes and Noble Books a Million. There's a lot of different places. Some libraries have it also if finances are an issue or a problem for you too, so I just want the information in the hands of people that need it.

Mel: 51:23

Yeah, and we all need it.

Mary: 51:25

Yes, yes, and you can go to ancestral herbologycom or herbalist mentorcom, and I do have a link there for the book, if you'd like that.

Mel: 51:36

I love it. We'll definitely link to it in the show notes as well. Thank you, yeah, of course, and you and I connected on TikTok. I believe that's where we first initially connected. Where else can people follow you if they want to learn with you?

Mary: 51:50

I'm on Instagram and that one there is Ancestral Herbology. I'm on Facebook and it's Mary Colvin, clinical Herbalist on Facebook, and it's Mary Colvin, clinical herbalist.

Mel: 52:10

Amazing Mary, what other words of wisdom would you like to share with everybody listening to the show today? They're mamas.

Mary: 52:15

Yeah, you know, even if this is your first, you're just beginning to get into herbalism. I want to speak to those beginners and I want you to take it one step at a time, and I want you to know that we all did not learn this in a short amount of time. This is information that you're going to use the rest of your life, and there's no hurry. Just start with five different herbs right now would be a great way to do that, and definitely start with my book, the Herbalist Guide, because that's going to help guide you through the whole process.

Mel: 52:50

Yeah, I love those pieces of wisdom. It's so exciting getting into the world of herbalism right when you see something work and you're like, oh my gosh, I just want all of the information right now. I definitely went through that phase and I still find myself in that phase. But you know, here I am 25, almost almost 25 years into like learning, we're still learning.

Mary: 53:15

Yes, we're still learning.

Mel: 53:16

Yeah, and you're so right. It's like each little piece is another addition to your toolkit of knowledge and wisdom for life to carry with you. Absolutely Beautiful, amazing Mary, thank you so much and congratulations on getting this book out to the masses and doing incredible work for people and the plants and the planet. So grateful for you and what you do. Um, yeah, thank you so much for being here and thank you, mel.

Mary: 53:47

I'm very grateful for what you do as well. I think, uh, you know there's more teachers that are needed in the world, and you know. Thank you for what you do. Yeah, all right, take care you too.

Mel: 53:59

Bye, I will Thank you for what you do. Yeah, all right, take care you too. Bye, I will. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of the Herbalist Path. Being on this journey with you is absolutely incredible.

Mel: 54:25

If you dig this episode, please leave me a review on your favorite podcast player and share it with your friends so that, together, we can make herbalism hashtag spread like wildflowers. On another note, I must mention that, while I know you're getting some good info here, it's important to remember that this podcast is purely for entertainment and educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. While the information in this podcast is absolutely relevant, herbs work differently for each person and each condition. That's why I recommend you work with a qualified practitioner, whether that be another herbalist, a naturopath or your doctor. So, thank you again. I am truly honored that you're tuning into these episodes and on the path with me to make sure that there's an herbalist in every home. Again, don't forget to share this episode with your friends so that we can make herbalism Hashtag spread like wildflowers.