The Herbalist's Path
If you’re a mom who loves having your own natural medicine kit, filled with herbal remedies & ingredients you know, love, trust, & can pronounce, then this podcast is for you!
Hosted by Mel Mutterspaugh, a clinical herbalist, holistic health & environmental educator, natural medicine maker, and a mountain livin’ momma on a mission to help more moms learn how to use herbs and plant medicines in a safe and effective way.
In this show, you’ll hear tips and bits on how you can take better care of your family, & better care of our planet, naturally.
We approach herbal medicine by dancing the science, with a bit of the folksy woo stuff too! You’ll hear interviews with other herbalists, naturopaths, doulas, midwives, herb farmers, product makers, holistic healers, and moms of all kinds sharing their wisdom on their journey down this herbalist’s path.
We’re all about inspiring a movement where there’s an herbalist in every home… AGAIN! And that starts with YOU! So, be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss a show, and share it with all your momma friends so we can make herbalism #SpreadLikeWildFlowers
Learn more and check out our classes at theherbalistspath.com
The Herbalist's Path
Adaptogens & Nervines: My Go-To Herbs for Stress, Anxiety & Immune Support
If your nervous system has been feeling fried lately — you’re not alone.
In this episode of The Herbalist’s Path, I’m sharing the herbal allies that have truly carried me through this season of uncertainty and overwhelm.
We’ll chat about my favorite adaptogens and nervines for calming anxiety, easing tension, rebuilding resilience, and supporting the immune system when stress takes over — including Linden, Tulsi, Milky Oats, and Ashwagandha.
You’ll also hear a little peek into my summer in Oregon — from camping and rafting adventures to teaching in-person herbal classes — and how these plants helped me stay grounded, centered, and strong through it all.
Whether you’re new to herbal medicine or just need a reminder that nature’s got your back, this episode is full of practical herbal wisdom to help you calm your nerves and care for your family — naturally.
🌿 Listen in to learn about:
00:42 – Life lately & why I pressed pause this summer
04:15 – Herbal highlights from rafting trips and campouts
07:20 – My go-to herbs for wound care and outdoor adventures
10:45 – Linden, Tulsi & Milky Oats: top nervines for a frazzled nervous system
16:30 – Adaptogens: Ashwagandha & Tulsi for long-term stress & immune balance
20:15 – How to know if your nerves need nourishment vs. stimulation
23:30 – Finding calm, connection, and purpose through herbal practice
Now more than ever, we need a healer in every community. If you’re feeling called to step into that role, now’s the time to check out the Community Herbalist Certification Program — a deep dive into herbal wisdom, science, and healing for yourself and others. www.theherbalistspath.com/communit
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Are you ready to use more plants as medicine within your family???
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Disclaimer:
*The information I’ve provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbs.
Welcome to the Herbalist Path, a podcast that's all about helping herbalism spread like wildflowers. I'm Mel, a clinical herbalist, environmental educator, and a mama who's been walking this path for well over 20 years. I created this show to help you feel confident with herbal medicine. You're gonna get a blend of how-to episodes, incredible guest experts sharing their wisdom, and real talk about using herbs every day. All to help you care for your family naturally, take better care of our precious planet, and maybe even become the trusted herbalist in your own community. You see, this work isn't just about the herbs, it's about healing ourselves. It's about caring for each other, and it's about living in deeper connection with the earth. So whether you're blending your first tea, making your first tincture, or feeling called to be the go-to herbalist in your community, welcome. You belong here. You are right on time, and you are on the herbalist path. Hi, hello, hello, welcome back to the Herbalist Path Podcast. I feel like I haven't been here and talked to you in so long. It's kind of crazy. And really, it it has been long. I haven't published an episode since May, and I had intentionally kind of decided to back off and take the summer off and spend more time with my family and enjoying life and all the amazing fun and activities that summertime in Oregon brings. So I totally did that. And then I was gonna come back in September and share about like all the herbs that I used most over the summer and how I use them and why I use them and those kinds of things. But then like September hit, and even more crazy started happening here in the United States, and I just didn't really uh have the bandwidth or the mental capacity to come on here and just be like, yay, herbs, which like, yeah, during times like this, I definitely do need to be like, yay, herbs, because that is fully how I feel about things in life. If you haven't gathered with a podcast titled The Herbalist Path, and if you've ever listened, you know I love to gush about herbs. So, anyways, I'm really, really happy to be back. I hope that you're happy to have me back. I am going to aim for two podcasts a month. I have some pretty amazing guests I've been chatting with, and I can't wait to share episodes with you featuring them coming up really, really soon. So definitely stay tuned for that. And, you know, since I was planning it in September, I'll give you like a brief rundown of how my summer went. Uh overall, it was really, really good. Like I really got to spend a lot of time with Anira and my daughter and go outside and play a bunch and raft down the river, which is one of my favorite things to do. I got to go to herb camp down at Oshala Farm. If I saw you there, hi, thank you so much for just saying that you recognize my voice. That was like such a joy to hear people like, hey, don't you host that podcast? And I'm like, yay, other herbalists listen to me. I love that. It was so darn cool. So if that was you, one of you, thank you so much. Um, I love that. What a beautiful way to be connected. And just so many lovely herbalists. And if you haven't heard me gush about Oshala Farm, they are down in Southern Oregon and run by Jeff and Elise Higley. And they are just amazing people. Their herbs that they grow on their farm taste and feel and smell like love you've never imagined. Like the only way you're ever going to get better herbs than what they produce on their farm is if you're growing them yourself with your own love and intention. So they do this super rad herb camp every summer. I was really fortunate to get to go and connect with some of my students, even, which was super neat. Um, and yeah, other great, great herbalists and hearing their stories and listening to their lessons. Like, what an incredible honor to be able to do out in the middle of this loving herb farm. So, anyways, they usually do it at the end of June, beginning of July, which is kind of a hard time for me because June is Chris's birthday. It's our anniversary, it's Father's Day, it's the end of the school year, followed by July. My daughter's birthday is July 2nd, and we usually go all out for that. But I actually pushed her birthday celebration back a week because she decided she wanted to have a birthday campout for her 12th birthday, which was so much fun. Like Chris and I were in charge of all these 10 to 12 year old girls. There was like eight of them at max at one time. And I knew a couple of them. One of them we take to all of our family adventures. So, like, she's she's been with us rafting and camping and all the stuff for quite a few years. But the rest of them, it was kind of like, hmm, I wonder how they're gonna handle camping. And truth is, they were all amazing. It was so much fun, and I really, really hope that Anira chooses to do that again next year because that is my kind of way to throw a party. Like it was such a good time. And Chris and I handled it like absolute champs. We had all the kayaks and canoes, and um, our dear friends Darnell and Jeff are actually the grandparents of the young girl who comes with us on all of um our adventures, and they brought out their motorboat to take the girls out in, and it was just so much fun. And that brings me to like some of the herbs that I used over the time. Nobody really got hurt, but there was a girl there that had some type of open wound on near her mouth. And so I had some honey that I had infused with cottonwood buds and some Yarrow tincture and some plantain and some echinacea. And I just kept having her put that on there because I wasn't fully aware of like where this sore came from. So if it were any type of viral type of thing, I wanted to make sure that we could try to kill that off, or even if it were a bacterial bacterial infection, we were out there for three nights. So I wanted to help keep it clean and I also wanted to help it heal faster. So that's why I chose all of those herbs, the cottonwood, the yarrow. Yarrow is a great wound healer as well as a great antimicrobial herb. The cottonwood just really helps to ease the pain as well as as having antimicrobial properties. I believe it's antimicrobial, all three of them: viral, fungal, and um bacterial, I think. Don't quote me on that on cottonwood because I'm just kind of riffin here. I don't have any show notes or anything. Um, but I do I do believe that is the case. Um, anyways, I like to do that in a honey. It's nice and sweet. And then the honey is also antimicrobial and just kind of gonna protect it and help somebody who might be a bit more adverse to taking herbs, like be like, oh, Anira's mom's crazy herb stuff isn't that bad after all. So that was definitely a big hit uh for the campo. I was really, really grateful I had that on hand. And other than that, not much for injuries or anything happened at the campo. Maybe a little start to some sunburn, but um nothing too severe. So I was just grateful to have those. Those are absolute key essentials I like to keep with me for those cases. And then beyond that, I mean, we really didn't need much for this summer. It was a pretty, I mean, it wasn't mellow. We went rafting multiple times and we went camping multiple times, and it was really great. Really, really great. I was so grateful to spend that time with Anira. Like she turned 12 this summer, and I swear that after this summer, she just came out a totally new person after her 12th birthday. I mean, still the same Anira, but just like, wow, she just really matured really quickly, and suddenly she was more willing to do all the fun, adventurous stuff that Chris and I like to do, which has been a battle for most of our life. Like she is very stubbornly resistant. If she says she does not want to do something, there's not much for bribery that can change this young girl's mind. And I'm proud of her for that. But gosh, it got really frustrating. You know, everyone's like, oh, reward her with MMs to go skiing. Oh, use peer pressure, blah, blah, blah, all these things. And we'd be like, oh, well, your friend loves to go skiing. And she's like, I don't care. Like, I am not going to succumb to the peer pressures or the pressures of anyone else. So I guess I just have a real strong-minded young lady, and I know that that is a personality trait that can really come in handy later on in life. Okay, so that's a little bit of a rundown on like what I was really uh using a lot of this summer. Of course, like all your standards, I'd go out and you know, gather all my other plant friends, like St. John's Ward and Calendula and all the mints. So how can we forget mint? Oh, yeah. And and um, at one point in time, Chris and I were playing, we play softball in the summer, like in an adult rec league, and it's so much fun, but he injured his knee pretty badly. It's actually kind of like a re-injury from an old skiing gig. And so uh definitely had him using some of my bobcat balm, a product I made when I ran Mountain Mouse. Only we added some hemp to it as well. So some really good quality full spectrum hemp with some Arnica and cayenne um and ginger, comfrey, St. John's Wart. Like it, it's a pretty powerful thing and just really helps alleviate all the pain and like kind of takes the chronic ache away really, really quickly instead of just trying to hobble along with that. So yeah, I'm pretty sure he was grateful that we had that on board. And yeah, I made my normal like facial oils with the comfrey and the plantain and all those friends. And then I was delighted with a neighbor who had harvested branches and branches of linden. And I don't know if you've ever heard me talk about linden, but I have such a deep love for this tree. And it has been really, really a helpful plant to even be able to think about. This whole year has been nuts. I am not a fan of what's happening in our country right now, and I'm not gonna go too deep into it, but it really upsets me. And um, I am a firm believer that people, all people deserve to be treated with kindness and love and compassion. And I am certainly not seeing that in today's uh happenings here in this country. So um I think like every day there has been something that's like, what in the actual bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, beep, bleep, beep, bleep is going on here? And so, you know, it made it stressful and a really hard thing to navigate mentally. I think a lot of people are feeling that way. And um, gosh, yeah, it's easy to just go down that rabbit hole. But I've also been like in this like, wait a second, I am innately a very positive being. I have very positive intentions in this world and I have gifts to share with this world. So, like, I need to do that. I need to find ways to support and nurture my nervous system as we go through whatever it is we are going through right now. And yes, herbs help for sure. And I'm gonna get back to that herb story, but what is the biggest helper? I mean, I'm gonna give you the two seconds to guess. One, two, going out in nature, taking my walks on the river, meditating, deep breathing. Like without these things, I don't know where I would be. And thankfully, I have like this amazing coach that I've been working with. And she's kind of like a spiritual strategic business and life coach, and she's so rad. Like she takes she takes human design and uh astrology and just like all the factors and puts it together and just helps you see your own shit so that you can get through it. And anyway, she's really helped me in those realms of like how to just kind of maintain in times that are less than ideal. So, back to the herb that is really helping me with that, that my friend um harvested the linden. So, linden is this beautiful tree and it's Tilia species. You can use quite a few different kinds of linden. And when I think of Linden, I think of this beautiful, big loving tree, just like wrapping its loving arms around me to embrace me and hold me and squeeze me and hug me, and to like let me know that whatever I am going through is going to be okay, that we are gonna get through this and everything's gonna be all right. It's basically like squeezing all the stress away. So, this friend of mine invited me over to use a bunch of the linden leaf and flower she had gotten off of this tree. And I still have a bunch left. So I'll be making more tincture of it, and I will also utilize it in some teas as well, which is just sweet and heavenly. It was actually one of the ingredients in one of my teas from my Mountain Bells days called Unfrazle Your Dazzle so your beautiful soul can shine on, um, which is basically an anti-stress tea. Um, so yeah, I can like I can talk about Linden and like feel that love and that nourishment and that care. And it's like what a beautiful relationship uh we have developed. So yeah, I'm super grateful for that. Like just this huge, like rubber made tote full of Linden that was gifted to me and how beautiful is that. So I'm gonna use it with something else that was gifted to me from Organic Alcohol Company. And I got to meet the owners and the people that run social media down at Oshala Herb Farm. And I don't know if you've heard me talk about tinctures and how like I am just not a fan of Everclear because it basically burns your nose hairs off. I am a huge fan of Organic Alcohol Company, and I don't know how they do it, but they have like 190-proof alcohol, which is like pretty much as high as it gets. That's uh 95% alcohol. And like it hardly smells like alcohol at all. It doesn't burn your nose hairs, it is amazing. And they gifted me some pear alcohol, which I'm gonna do with some rosemary and make a nice little rosemary pear tincture. And then they also gifted me some of their lychee and they've got a coconut. Like, if you are into like making tinctures so they're not repulsive and actually taste pretty yummy, definitely go play with their stuff because they are amazing. Okay, what else? What else? Okay, so we headed back to school season in September, and that's when I thought I would get back to podcasting, but I didn't because more insanity exploded in the United States. Um, and I just was not in the mindset. It is hard to be a business owner entrepreneur under such wild and crazy times. So I've like been learning to balance my media consumption so that I can be in this state of awareness and yet also not doom scrolling constantly because that just does nobody any good. Anyways, so the other things that I'm using to like support the nervous system so that I can try and do what I can to be my best human that I can be for my family, for myself, for this planet, for the plants, for you, for my students, for all the people and the things. I guess number one is me. Um, Milky Oat Tops. I've actually got some sitting like right next to me as I am recording right now. And I make my own Milky Oat Tops and I do it in a tincture with the organic alcohol company. And it's what's called a tropo restorative for the nerve. So it helps to restore and nourish and repair fried or frazzled damaged nerves. Now, the gig with milky oat tops is you do need to harvest them while they are in their milky state. So, like the seed pod is like nice and green, and you can squeeze it, and out comes this oozy white latex-y kind of stuff. And that's the magic. That's the medicine right there. And it is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful stuff. I highly recommend trying some. I also just realized that eclectic herb does a freeze-dried milky oat top. So if you can't hang with alcohol, that's fine. I would try eclectic herbs, uh, freeze-dried milky oat tops, because that's going to retain that great tropher restorative property to it as well. So it's not necessarily an herb where I like feel it just squeeze the stress out for me like I do with Linden, but it is very grounding and it is so nourishing and supportive. And then the other one I have been loving hard is Tulsi or Holy Basil. And this isn't one of those herbs that I could like teach a whole class on for like a year or something. But I really love it. One, it's delicious, like it is just a delicious herb to bring into cups of tea or as a tincture or whatever you need it to be. It also actually counteracts the negative effects of cortisol. And I could really benefit from that. I don't know about you, but I definitely can. So I'm so appreciative of it for that. And it is, uh, some say it's an adaptogenic herb, uh, some do not, but I really love the way it just supports me in such a loving way. And what a beautifully tasting, ceremonial herb to bring into your days, just for that grounding, for that loving. It is in the mint family. And when I was at Oshala, um, my friend Amanda Daniel, she is a fellow herbalist who went to my first herb school, Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine, out of Portland, Oregon. And she lives a couple hours away from me now, but she was down at herb farm and she is just this phenomenal gardener. That's her gift. She is a great gardener. She does garden design and makes great medicine and teaches people about herbalism and gardening. Um, but she had some Tulsi starts, and I've tried to grow Tulsi before, but her starts were so amazing. In the past, I haven't had such luck, but I really did with hers, and I'm so darn grateful. So, Amanda, the off chance that you're listening to this. Thank you. I really appreciate you and the great medicine that you grow. So, yeah, those are my primary ones. Ashwagandha, I think I talk about ashwagand a lot, another incredibly powerful and beneficial immunomodulating herb, as well as adaptogenic. And I love my ashwaganda. It keeps me strong through the toughest of times emotionally and um physically and mentally as well. It's just such a beautiful, rooted, grounded, reliable friend for me. And it's one that I like to take for a long time, like it's a long duration herb. And I notice it most when I'm not taking it because that's when I'm like, ah, the world, it's spinning. Help. Um, but then I get my ashwagandha on board and it's like, hey, I got you, girl. We're strong, we're in this together. And like, thank you, I love you. It's so nice. So, so nice. So yeah, and then it was September. So it was like back to school season for my daughter. And what comes with back to school season? Nothing but a bunch of snot and germs and sickness flying all over the place. So we definitely loaded up on the elderberry, and I actually got to teach. That's what I forgot to mention. I got to do some in-person herb classes in my community, which has been so lovely, so good for my soul to have that happen. Like it's really beautiful to be able to connect with so many people and have students all around the country and the world. That is amazing. But there's something magical about being able to pass herbs around a room and let people taste and touch and feel and just nerd out on herbs with people. So I got to teach an elderberry class at my local chiropractic clinic, which was really, really fun. And then I got to do a firesider making class with some folks down in Sandy, Oregon near me. And that was also super fun. It's so empowering to talk about the medicine that comes from our kitchens because it's such accessible medicine for most people. And I'm a big fan of just making firesider actually yummy. So I've got the firesider rolling. It's great for the digestive system, fabulously supportive for the immune system and keeping people warm and cozy throughout the cold winter months. And yeah, such good kitchen medicine, like the ideal folk remedy. So that was really fun. Um, yeah, and and the elderberry. And then I've definitely got a good stock of echinacea ready to rock when we need it. I like to take that the moment I know somebody is sick around me. In fact, last night Chris was like, hmm, things feel funny. And he's like touching where his lymph nodes are under his neck. And I'm like, hmm, here's some echinacea. No funny feeling stuff for you, mister. Um so uh really happy to have that stuff on board. I also like to take echinacea, like if I'm traveling or um back to school season, right? When we're like knowing that everybody's going to get sick in those first three weeks of back to school. Yeah. So those are kind of like the staples that I've been hanging out with. It's really not that many herbs. And I think that's kind of what is really cool is understanding that we don't have to have like all of the herbs. We can just get really good and comfortable with the herbs that work well for us and for our families. And that is the beautiful, beautiful thing. Um, I'm actually, I don't know when you're listening to this, but I'm about to open up a live round of my medicine making mama's program. So if you are wanting to get really good at formulating remedies and making sure that the remedies you are creating are actually going to do the trick for you. So, like you're pulling out the right medicinal constituents and using the right solvents and menstrual, and you really want to make potent and effective remedies, and that's what we do in medicine making mamas. And then I have been plugging away way slower than I ever imagined that I would with my community herbalist program. And I love the content that is in there. I it's just taking me a lot longer than I had planned. But as I like move into the colder winter seasons and I'm uh back to a little bit more rhythm and routine, I'm gonna be trying to crush out those lessons as much as possible. And I'm super excited for that. Thinking of all kinds of neat things for 2026 with that program that I'm very, very excited about. And maybe uh maybe you're excited too, or maybe you just want to jump on board right now. You are welcome to. I would love to have you. So just shoot me a message on any social media platform at the Herbalist Path or email me budding herbalists at the Herbalist Path, or any of those kinds of things. Um, yeah, we can chat about it more. And then last week was my birthday. Um, and I turned 47, which is crazy. I can't believe I'm that old. I don't feel that old in any way, shape, or form. Um, but I had a really exciting week and there's some new exciting things happening in my life that I'm not gonna share yet. But I will say that I will be having another podcast coming out soon. I am going to be co-hosting a podcast with somebody that I have long admired and adored, and I'm really, really excited for the things that we're talking about. So I will absolutely make sure that you know about that podcast when it airs, and hopefully you'll go listen and give us some good reviews. And maybe if you haven't reviewed this one, you'll give me a review now. That would be really rad. I would so appreciate it. That's just one of those great ways that we get to make herbalism spread like wildflowers. And I think that's pretty much why we're all here, right? More herbal medicine for the people. Yay! I know that there's a lot of whack stuff happening in our healthcare system here in the United States right now. And um tariffs and some certain people coming up with their own pharmaceutical industry and completely abusing power, which is unacceptable. Um, many people do need their pharmaceuticals. And yes, many people can get off of said pharmaceuticals. And yes, it's not my favorite industry. I do believe it's a corrupt and broken and uh pretty deceptive industry, but also it's powerful and amazing and can save lives. And um it's okay if you are on medications. That's okay. There's no need to feel guilty or shame around those kinds of things because you're here, and that's the power of what we can do in the Western medical system. And it's not a this or that with herbs. Yes, you can also use herbs to support you. And so, anyways, um, I just really feel like we need absolutely an herbalist in every home again, which is why I have this podcast. But I also feel like now more than ever, we need competent, knowledgeable healers in every community, somebody who can go beyond just our standard herbal, you know, acute situation herbs, like many of the ones I talked about in today's episode, but somebody who can help guide another being in their own body's healing process. And that's why I have been hard at work creating the Community Herbalist program, because there needs to be more of us out there. We are in high demand and it's only going to get more so. So, anyways, if that's you, let's chat. If not, no biggie. If you enjoyed this episode, please do share it with a friend and let them know that you like lips listening to the Herbalist Path as well. And gosh, it feels great to be chatting with you again on this podcast. Uh, let me know if you like the show. Please, please, please. I love to hear it. It makes it worth it for me to sit and talk to a computer but feel like I'm sitting in a cozy room sipping tea with you instead. All right. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. I really appreciate you, and I hope you have an absolutely magnificent week. Take care. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of. Of the herbalist path. If you're loving this journey and learning all about the various aspects of herbal medicine, be sure to follow and review the show. It helps more people find their own path with herbal medicine. And if you have a friend or know a mama or another budding herbalist who could use this kind of support, please share this episode with them. And that way, we can keep making herbism spread like wildflowers. And a gentle reminder: nothing shared on this podcast is intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. All the information is for educational purposes only. And yeah, we throw in some entertainment too. But what it is not is a substitute for personalized care from a qualified health practitioner. Always do your own research. Listen to your body. And when needed, partner with a trusted professional who honors both your intuition and your health. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and keep walking down the herbalist path.
