Learn to Think Like an Herbalist, Not Just Memorize Herbs

There’s a moment in most herbalist’s journey when working with plants stops feeling like a fun curiosity and starts feeling more like responsibility.

Your remedies work. People notice. And suddenly, friends, family, and community members are asking you for deeper help. Not just a salve or a tea, but real support for chronic issues, complex patterns, and long-standing health concerns.

In this episode of The Herbalist’s Path, Mel talks about that pivotal shift. The moment when integrity matters more than confidence, and when memorizing more herbs no longer feels like enough.

You’ll hear why true herbal confidence doesn’t come from stacking more books or collecting more plant facts, but from learning how the body actually works, how to assess what’s really going on beneath the surface, and how to think critically about which herbs, preparations, and lifestyle shifts are truly supportive for the person in front of you.

This episode is for herbalists who care deeply about doing this work well. For those who feel the weight of responsibility when people trust them with their health, and who want to meet that responsibility with skill, compassion, and integrity.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by internet herbalism, conflicting advice, or the pressure to sound confident before you feel ready, this show will feel grounding and reassuring for you.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• The emotional shift from hobbyist to responsible herbalist
• Why memorizing herbs doesn’t build real confidence
• How understanding the body changes everything about herbal recommendations
• What it actually means to think like an herbalist
• Why mentorship and guidance matter when the stakes are real

If this resonates, you’re feeling the call to go deeper, you can learn more about the Community Herbalist Certification & Mentorship here. And if not, trust that your path will unfold in the right timing. The plants will always be here for you.

Wondering how you can use your herbal skills to help people when times are tough?

Grab Medicine For The People - An Herbalist's Guide To Showing Up For Your Community In Times of Need

It's loaded with ideas and resources to help you help others!💚 Click here to ge

Chapters

• 3:27 From Hobby To Responsibility
• 5:19 Beyond Surface-Level Herbalism
• 7:09 Overwhelm In The Internet Age
• 8:39 Confidence Through Understanding The Body
• 10:54 Mentorship And Critical Thinking
• 12:09 Digestive Case: Peppermint Or Not
• 14:19 Individual Needs And Lifestyle
• 16:39 Whole-Person Thinking And Formulation
• 18:09 Become a Community Herbalist

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 1:15

Welcome to the Herbalist Path. If you love learning about the power of plant medicine and how to use it in your life, this show is for you. I'm Mel Mutterspa, clinical herbalist, herbal educator, and your host. In each episode, you're going to hear me sharing herbal insights and knowledge from my 25 plus years of working with and learning from the plants. Plus, I'm going to share interviews with some of the most amazing herbalists, educators, farmers, and healers out there, all bringing their herbal wisdom here for you. Really, this show is all about continuing this movement to put an herbalist in every home and a healer in every community. Again, thank you so much for listening. And welcome to the herbalist path. Enjoy the show. Hello, hello, and welcome to this next episode here on the herbalist path. Today I really wanted to talk about this moment in herbalism or most herbalists' life that a lot of people don't talk about and nobody really prepares you for. And for me, it was that emotional kind of shift and change as I was dabbling in herbs and getting really excited and comfortable with things. But then I started to realize that this wasn't just like this fun hobby, but it became a bit of a responsibility, of a calling, of this role to help other people with their health. And it wasn't really a fear. I feel that it was more of this integrity space. And if you've ever felt that, I hope you listen along. I'm going to share some of my stories with you about all of that. And I would love to hear if you resonate with it. So for me, in my early days, it started with making all of these remedies. And I had collected so many herb books. And I was so darn excited to make these remedies and I'd share them around my community. And the feedback that I got from people was like, hey, this works. This is amazing. And more and more people kept asking me for those remedies. And I was like, heck yeah, this is so cool. These things are working. And it made me just absolutely thrilled, like beyond thrilled. But then as that kept going, word kept spreading. And more and more people started to reach out to me for different things from for things beyond like my first aid salve or my sore muscle salve. They were seeking help for various chronic conditions. And I wanted to help so badly. Like that's all I wanted to do was help, help, help, help, help. But there was something inside of me that was like, uh-oh, like, what if I don't do this right or get it wrong? What if I actually hurt somebody when I'm doing this? And really a big one that hit for me was like, what if I didn't really know what I was doing? Like I didn't know enough. Because the deeper you get into herbalism, or at least for me, I've recognized like the more that I learn, the more I realize that there is so much more to learn, even after like 25 years of playing in this game. And I don't think this is anything different. I think a lot of people recognize that if you're willing or desiring to go beyond surface-level herbalism and you really do truly want to help people with their health and well-being, then you know there's more to learn, right? And some people might just stop here. They might be like, oh, that's cool. I've got my basic remedies. And, you know, or they might stop there not because they're lazy or incapable, but because they don't want to deal with the shortcuts out there, or they don't want to pretend like they're confident, you know, when somebody comes to them and they're like, oh, you know, let me just ignore that message or something like that, because it can be a bit scary, right? Or maybe you're that person that doesn't want to be another big, like loud voice in the social media world that's just giving shallow advice. You want to go really, really deep. And like speaking of the social media world these days, it's really worse than what I had when I first got into this. Like, I am so grateful when I was in the core of my herbal learning. Like, obviously, I'm still learning every single day. I love it. I get to learn from my students, I get to learn from other herbalists. It's it's really beautiful. I get to learn from the plants. But when I was really diving into it and taking the time and money and all of that to invest in my herbal education, it wasn't the internet herbalism heyday, which I can only imagine how overwhelming that would have been for me. Because I know I see it today. Like you go out and you try to learn more, but then you look and you've got like 47 different opinions, or you start seeing all these energy AI-generated herb lists, and you're like, Can I really trust that? Or the people that are like, no, my way is the one right way. And ultimately you end up just much more confused, not more clear. You have a hard time telling what's actually credible, right? Or who do you trust? And really, honestly, when you're working with the human body, the stakes are high to just guess. And if you've ever felt that overwhelm, that confusion, that like, oh my gosh, do I even keep going, or do I put put in this like false level of confidence and it causes you to pause? That's amazing. Thank you for that. Because that means that you actually truly care. It doesn't mean that you're inadequate. It means that you are taking this seriously and you're taking the health of other people's bodies seriously. And the truth is, like, your confidence isn't going to come from just memorizing more herbs. It's not going to come from your stacks of books. And don't get me wrong, I love me some herb books and I dive into them all of the time. But the key thing to start understanding is how the body works. Because when you start understanding how the body works, you start understanding how to assess people, how to recommend herbs that are going to actually benefit them from a much more strategic lens because you're like, oh, this is what's going on with this body system. This may be what their ailment is derived from. You start to really learn how to listen to the story beyond the surface level story somebody might come to you for, right? This is a really, really beautiful state to be in. And oftentimes, what makes you feel more comfortable in those situations as you're navigating it and you've got your stacks of books and you're still scrolling social media or Googling for the answers, you're still getting very, very overwhelmed. And this is where mentorship or having actual feedback or somebody to ask your questions to becomes so incredibly valuable because then you're not guessing alone. You know, hopefully that mentor is able to shhift you into a more critical thinking status, or maybe even challenge you to figure it out beyond what you're seeing in the overwhelming internet age, right? So let me just put an example to this. Let's say you've got someone that comes to you with some type of digestive issue. That's what they give you, right? That's what they tell you. Hey, I have this digestive issue. What herb can help me? And you know, peppermint is good for digestion. So you've got that surface level answer. But when you start to understand how the digestive system actually works, what different parts of the body are within that system, and how are herbs going to impact those various parts of the body in different ways? And how to assess what exactly do they mean by digestive issues, right? We know that there are so many digestive issues and they can all look very, very different. And then you take into consideration, like, what does peppermint actually do in the body? What are their speci what's the specific actions of that herb? What are the specific constituents and how are they going to work within the body? And how am I going to extract them so that they get into the body? When you start to understand those more complex things, that's when you start to get so much better and more confident in assessing whether that herb, whether that peppermint is the right herb for their specific digestive issues. Or do you need to think about something completely different, right? And learning that it's not just the herb that's going to do the thing here. We also need to guide people in the lifestyle choices that they may need to shift. And it's never going to be one way, one right thing for everybody, because everybody is unique and where they're at within their lives in specific space, like, you know, some people are going to have the money to invest in all the organic foods and grass-fed beef and all the supplements, where many people are not, especially today with the rising costs of everything in the grocery store and insurance and healthcare. And you catch my drift, right? So it's all about really meeting people where they're at. Right? Like sometimes you might find that the root of this person's digestive issues comes from the stress in their life. Because we know there's a direct correlation in that within the body, right? But you know that their stress comes from their job and they can't stand it there. And, you know, if that's the stress, then you naturally would want to say, hey, well, quit your job. That's the stressor. But then what happens? If they quit their job, right? They don't have any money. And all of a sudden we have a new stressor. And so it's really about helping people through those challenges in life, right? And helping them to figure out ways that they can navigate those challenges without having to be abrupt and quit things. Some people might be able to quit things like that, right? Cool, awesome. More power to you, right? But then once we help them with those lifestyle shifts, whether it's, you know, eliminating the main trigger of their issues or shifting how they eat in their home, creating and sharing recipes that are approachable for them, not making this this big, huge change everything in your life right away kind of process. This is when you can maybe make a greater difference. And this is where you also get to bring on those herbs that are going to be the right thing for them. Like maybe the peppermint wasn't the right thing for their issues. Maybe that peppermint is too warming or hot for them, right? Maybe they don't need something soothing. Who knows? Maybe they need to tonify the digestive system altogether or move things throughout the digestive system, or just really buckle down and address the core of that inflammation. And this isn't something that you can learn just by memorizing this herb does this, right? Because when we think of the body as this whole being, right? It's the body, it's the mind, it's the spirit, right? The herbs are also whole beings and they have many different actions and many different ways in which you can help people with them. And this is basically the difference between collecting information and learning to think like an herbalist. And that's exactly what we've created inside of the community herbalist certification and mentorship. It's for people that are seeking that kind of support to go beyond the surface level herbalism you've done, or maybe the classes that you've already done that have left you feeling like, okay, I'm kind of getting the grasp of this. I'm starting to get it. But you want that level of support that makes you feel not so alone in this big loud world of internet chaos, that level of support where you've got guidance. So you're not just guessing what to do with other people's health or how to formulate a new remedy or what the next step is for you, or how to guess for your own health, right? That can be a lot of responsibility. And when you have mentorship and guides to support you, suddenly you're not carrying the weight of all of that responsibility all by yourself. And you're learning to think in a much different way than what we're taught in our typical allopathic or Western medical system, right? We're starting to think how we can assess what's going on with somebody in a deeper level, how to formulate with great intention, whether you're formulating for yourself, for one specific client, or formulating a product that you want to share with the masses in your community and beyond, right? Having mentors who have been there and done that, and a community of people walking that path with you can be an invaluable resource. So yeah, that's exactly what we have set the community herbalist certification and mentorship up for. You've got two uh clinical herbalists, both have been playing with herbal remedies and studying in depth and teaching others combined for over 50 years, which is crazy to say. Like, holy cow, that's a big, big number. But um we know that there's a lot to learn through programs and through structured learning and guidance and through books and through classes, right? But when you bring that all together with some extra guidance, that's when things really, really come together, for lack of better words. So we created this program for you, those people that want to do uh this herbalism work with integrity and confidence in their skill set and their knowledge. It's not really for people who are who are looking for the quick fix and herbs who are like, hey, what herb do I fix or what herb is going to fix my GERD, right? What's the one thing that's going to do this all together? We're not looking for those people inside here. This is really for people who feel the weight of the responsibility of being the herbalist in their community, and they want to meet that with integrity, with skill, with depth and compassion and knowledge. So it's really that ever-growing learning system, learning to think like an herbalist, not just memorize herbs, because the deeper you go, the more you're going to realize there is to know. So if any of this resonates with you and where you're at right now, and you're thinking, hmm, maybe I do want to go deeper. I do want that structure and that guidance and somebody to push me to think more critically and on a deeper level, then the community herbalist certification and mentorship just may be for you. Of course, I'll drop the link to it in the show notes for you. And if that's not you, that's okay too, right? Sometimes the plants are going to call you at that very, very perfect time. And that's great. That is great. Listen to those plants. They are also wise beings, just as you are. So if this whole show has resonated with you, or you found yourself or like, this is so cool, these herbs are working. And oh wait, now people are asking me for deeper things and how to really help them on a more um more serious level. I'd love to hear about it from you. So please reach out to me, shoot me a DM at the herbalist path on Instagram or TikTok, or you are, of course, welcome to email me as well. And if you have any questions about being the herbalist that your community needs right now, more than ever, definitely hit me up with those questions. I am here for you. And I hope that this episode was helpful for you. All right, until the next one. Have yourself a mighty fantastic day. Take care. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of the Herbalist Path. If you're loving this journey into herbal medicine, please follow and review the show. It helps more people find their own path with the plants. And if you know someone who could use this kind of support, please share this episode with them. So that way we can keep making herbalism spread like wildflowers. Also, a gentle reminder: nothing shared on this podcast is intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. This is all for educational purposes, and yeah, a little entertainment too. But it is not 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 unique health journey. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and keep walking the herbalist path.