Folk Herbalism for Self and Community care is a three month, 7 class series for folks looking to learn about and strengthen a practice of working with herbal medicine in community with other like minded folks. Every other week, we will meet to talk about a different topic in herbalism, and leave that day with homework to work with the herbs before the next class, so that we can begin with a sharing circle and help learn about the different ways folks can experience different herbal remedies.
This is an in-person class at Milk Thistle, every other Sunday at 5:30pm, starting March 9th and running until June 1st. It is highly recommended that every class be attended in person, but if you need to miss one or two, they will be recorded and available for review on a shared google drive.
Students will learn to make their own formulas, and the final class will be a medicine exchange.
This class is not comprehensive, but a chance to dip your toe into the vast world of herbalism in community with others. Students are encouraged to continue their education outside of class, and enroll in other classes at Milk Thistle or other places if it is of interest to them.
SCHEDULE
March 9th Intro to Folk Herbalism - Introductions, Ethical Considerations, Herbal Preparations and Actions In our first class, we will begin to get to know one another and why we are learning about plants, talk about ethical considerations of working with herbal medicine and administering it to others, being in good relationship with the land, an overview of common ways to work with herbs, herbal actions and more.
March 23rd - Building Immunity & Overall Health with Adaptogens, Immuno-modulators & Anti-virals - In our second class, we will share our experience with the first week homework, plus talk about different ways to strengthen and support the immune system with herbs, and go over the differences and similarities between immune-modulators, immuno-stimulating herbs, adaptogenic herbs and anti-virals.
April 6th - Medicine Making 101- Herbal Preparations (cont.) Anti-Virals (cont.) & Digestive medicine - In our third class we will share our experience working with an immune boosting herb or formula, then together we will make an herbal tincture, review different herbal preparations, and more deeply get into herbal anti-virals and the connection between that and herbs which help promote and improve digestion.
April 20th - Respiratory Resilience & Inflammation Support - We will share experience working with a digestive bitter or tea, then talk about the ways that inflammation shows up in the body, and it’s relationship with the respiratory tract- reviewing herbs that have anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, demulcent, emollient and diaphoretic actions
May 4th - Plant Allies for the Nervous System and the Heart - We will begin by sharing our experience working with a respiratory or anti-inflammatory herb or formula, before getting into herbs that support our mental health- including nervines, sedatives and cardiac herbs, and how to work with them for mental health improvement.
May 18th - Energetic Medicine & Flower Essences - We begin with a sharing circle about the nervine or cardiac we worked with since last class, before moving into to going over the role of energetic medicine and how to work with flower essences. We will discuss spirits doses, plant meditations and essence making. Students will walk away with a mystery essence to work with and share about for the final class.
June 1st - Medicine Sharing Circle & Exchange- We will share our experience with the flower essence in a case study, revealing what the essence is. Then we will exchange the medicine we made and have time for any questions or discussion.
Class series is limited to 10 spots, and it always sells out! Register below, or email milkthistleyuccavalley@gmail.com about other payment options.
TESTIMONIALS from PAST STUDENTS:
This class was magical. I loved being able to sit around the table with everyone and listen to the different input and talk about the plants. There's tons of value in hearing others explanations and combining that knowledge with your own experience with the plants. I learned so much about plant medicine during this course and would absolutely recommend any classes offered at Milk Thistle
Taylor Allan, Fall 2024 Cohort
This series has meant so much to me and has quite literally changed my life. I went into this series very green, I really knew nothing about working with plants, now I feel very comfortable creating various tinctures and salves for friends and loved ones. Once I started working with the plants, it’s so hard to explain but my life completely changed. Corinna is a magical teacher. She runs a beautifully structured class and really creates a container for us during each series that is so much more than a class, it’s a community. I’m cracked open, I’m still integrating my newfound powerful awareness and connection to our plant family, and I’m thrilled to know how to work with plants to heal myself and my loved ones.
Hester Van Hooven Ward, Spring 2024 Cohort
I LOVED the Folk Herbalism for Self and Community course offered by Corinna at Milk Thistle! The class provided so much information, great for novice herbalists like myself and also more experienced herbalists. It was great to learn about the different benefits of immuno-modulators, carmitatives, adaptogens, anti-virals, nervines, sedatives, cardiac herbs, flower essences and the different ways to prepare them. I LOVED making my first fire cider and exchanging with other class members! The classes were also a great way to connect with the local community and share ideas and experiences. So happy to support an amazing small business that provides so much to the community. Highly recommend taking any class offered by Milk Thistle, thanks Corinna!
Lisa Drake, Fall 2023 Cohort