Herbology Classes

Materia Medica - 23 hours
We will be covering more than 100 Herbal Medicines, discussing preferred forms and methods of their preparations, strengths, solutions, and the most common adult dosages. This is the who, what, when, why and how of Herbal Medicine class. Other aspects of this class include: the chemical constituents of these herbs, therapeutic indications, contraindications and application.

Plant Pharmacy - 35 hours
This core course will immerse the student into the world of proper Herbal Medicine making. Students will learn to make herb teas, alcohol extracts, vinegars, liniments and oils, salves, suppositories, cough syrups, body products, use of essential oils and many other practical plant pharmacy techniques. Students will learn which application is best to use depending on the individual and the illness or injury.

Herbal Therapeutics - 28 hours
This course will further the concept of healing the whole person. Herbal Therapeutics is a perspective, which can be used to gain understanding about the integration of spirit, mind, emotions, and the physiological human being. Teaching about whole plant medicines for whole human beings. This includes learning to support and strengthen the whole person according to his or her nature. This course will help the student to identify the nature of disease and injury, their causes and effects upon the human body , how and why they happen and what can be the Herbal approach towards healing. Diseases and injuries to the immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and other systems will be covered. Some of the subjects covered include retro-grade viruses (Herpes, Shingles, etc.) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, HIV type viruses, common cold, headaches, bone repair, and arthritis.

Clinical Herbalism - 35 hours
Students will learn how to interview and assess a client's health problem. Understanding that most health problems are genetic, environmental, mental, emotional, as well as physical, will help the student to learn how to ask the right questions. How much information is enough? Can I ask really personal questions? What are the client's expectations? What does my intuition tell me? Students will learn case taking skills through observation and by practicing on one another, and to explore specific case histories. Emphasis is placed on paying attention to the information given, blending intuition with knowledge, noting the effects, or lack of effects, of the herbs used. The physiologic and psychological aspects will be reviewed as well as goals and intentions of each herb recommended.

Herbal Clinic - 18 hours
After the student has reached a certain level of proficiency in the fundamental basics of Herbal Medicine they will begin to observe a Clinical Herbalist work in our Herbal Clinic. They will learn through observation and discussions with the Clinic Instructor how a Clinical Herbalist evaluates a client's Herbal needs, (without diagnosing) through a series of investigative observations and questions.

Aromatherapy - 36 hours
The use of essential oils in Aromatherapy, when properly practiced, has shown successful in the treatment of muscular, circulatory, respiratory, digestive and reproductive problems as well as skin disorders and stress related conditions. Although rooted in the ancient, pure essential oils offer revolutionary new benefits to the practice and effectiveness of natural care for the body.

Anatomy and Physiology & Pathology - 80 hours
This course presents a study of all the body systems with a special emphasis on the skeletal, muscular, lymphatic, circulatory and nervous systems and how there interrelate when helping the body to heal. Innovative learning methods will be used including palpation, workbooks, and hands-on activities designed to help students understand anatomy, physiology in easy understandable sections and learn to identify the basic pathological processes in the different systems of the body.

Traditional Chinese Medicine - 12 hours
This introductory course will provide basic knowledge of the Eastern philosophy of healing and disease. Meridians and the five element theory as well as energetic functions of organs will be introduced. The concept of Qi, the types of Qi and transformation of Qi will be covered. Students will learn how to incorporate the basic concepts of Chinese Medicine into massage therapy. Students will have a functional understanding of Meridian therapy.

Nutrition - 18 hours
"Food is the best medicine," and the holistic foundation for good health. How we nourish our body plays an important role in our overall physical well-being and how we respond to pathologies in our environment. This course will cover basic metabolism, the importance of food as medicine, organic foods, modern nutrition code, vitamins and mineral supplements, water intake, and the importance of water filtration. We will also discuss nutritional deficiencies and how to correct them through diet.

Hygiene, Sanitation and, Safety - 12 hours
In a massage or bodywork practice, personal health, good grooming and a safe environment are assets that the clients admire and are essential for your protection and that of the client. This course will cover personal health, hygiene, and appearance, sanitation, understanding Aids and Hepatitis prevention, First Aid and CPR.

Professional Practice Management

 Professional and Legal Issues - 12 hours
What are the guidelines for cooperative professional relationships? The student of Herbal Medicine needs to know what constitutes "practicing medicine without a license". What services can Clinical Herbalist legally provide? What are the guidelines of professional behavior? What are ethical business practices and standards of conduct? This course will answer these and many other questions to help the student to develop a standard of professionalism, essential to a successful herbal practice.

Business - 31 hours
Regardless of whether an Herbalist is self-employed or an employee, an understanding of the business practices related to the profession is important. Items covered will include basic advertising, promotion, bookkeeping, resume writing, interviewing skills, business structure, taxes, insurance needs, basic startup needs, and costs. The course is designed to give the students a better understanding of the workings of a small business, from the view of both employee and the owner of your own business. Students will complete their own business plan.

Communication and Healing Across Cultures - 5 hours
In this course we will explore the many ways an Herbalist can communicate to a client. How does one use Herbal Medicine in today's society? What role does herbal medicine play in high-tech medicine? In this fast paced world we all live in, how do you integrate nature, herbal medicine, and dietary change? What are the many ways we communicate with each other? Why don't we communicate what we feel? This course takes place in the classroom as well as our working Herbal Clinic classes.

Confidentiality - 5 hours
While working as an Herbalist you will have many clients who will discuss intimate details about their life and physical well-being with you. The importance of maintaining confidentiality will be discussed. This course will support you in learning to understand the honor -and duty- of keeping a client's trust. What is gossip? What is a health care worker's responsibility in this matter? What constitutes betrayal.

Herbal Intuition - 5 hours
The student is supported in recognizing, developing and honoring their intuitive self. How to combine intellect and instinct, to achieve a better understanding of how to use herbs, will be explored. Noticing our first impressions, checking out our hunches, honoring our feelings and validating our innate power to discern the true nature of a person, plant, or a disease will be discussed.

Holistic Herbal Medicine - 6 hours
Learning to acknowledge, understand, and accept your strengths and weakness. Learning to see the Whole Person the Whole Planet the Whole Plant. This study is about seeing and learning to treat the whole -not just the parts. Emphasis is placed on learning to develop your intuition in your healing approach. Gathering the clues, feeling the plants, knowing the client and making eclectic decisions. Learning to use the least to achieve the most. This class combines information from everything else in the curriculum plant gathering, medicine making, patient evaluation, materia medica and more, from the holistic perspective, to healing with herbal medicine.

Bodywork

Herbal Body - 25 hours
Throughout the centuries essential oils, and herbs have had healing applications in the ancient traditions. Although rooted In ancient history, they can offer revolutionary new benefits to the practice and effectiveness of, natural body care. Lab work will include making natural skin care, body care and hair care products, utilizing essential and natural oils, clays, herbs and salts. Afternoons In Herbal Body will find us immersed in the process of trading the application of our natural products with fellow students.

Reflexology - 20 hours
Students will learn how to access the entire body using specific finger and thumb techniques on the hands, feet and head. Reflexology is based on the belief that certain areas on the feet and hands correspond to different parts of the body. This course includes history, zone theory, contraindications, therapeutic relaxation and self help techniques. Reflexology can be a treatment in itself or used in conjunction with herbal preparations and Aromatherapy.

Hydrotherapy – 6 hours
This course offers an introduction to the history, theory and practical application of water with herbs, salts and essential oils for healing. We will examine water treatments for the body, and whenever practical and possible, students will practice hands-on application of the therapies covered. Philosophy and principles of hydrotherapy, indications and contraindications will be covered. Further application principles will be covered in Herbal Body and Reflexology.

Energy Work - 8 hours
Healing can be assisted by recognizing, strengthening, developing and balancing the body's energy. We will explore techniques of grounding, centering, sensing and sending energy , and emotional and physical body-balancing. Students will become conscious of the energetic space they open in their lives for healing and how they can become responsible for what enters or leaves that space. Healing the evolving emotional body, by understanding the role it has in creating disease in the body , will be one of the focuses of this course. Students will be introduced to a variety of subjects designed to enhance their own personal growth and healing process. The magic of finding emotional and physical balance in our hearts is sought through movement, understanding, sensory awareness, guided imagery, vocalization, group discussion and touch.

Yoga - 12 hours
This course is based on the principle that changes in consciousness can be brought about by setting in motion currents of certain kinds of subtler forces in the physical body. Students will explore yoga as a practice for preventative and therapeutic functions. After completion of this course students will have an understanding of how yoga can release muscle tension, stretch and tone muscles, lubricate joints, massage internal organs and increase circulation. They will also have an understanding of how Yoga can expand and slow the breath and create more balance in the mental emotional and physical bodies.

Body Movement - 5 hours
This course will focus on body awareness so the students will have a better sense of themselves as they massage. Different situations require flexible styles and qualities of movement in the interaction between therapist and client, and therapist to self. You will learn how to build strength and flexibility of hands, postures and stances, exercises for strength, balance and body support, and how to prevent dysfunctions from improper body movement. Self-awareness practices, Structural Integration movement, and other daily movement work covered can be used to balance the emotional and physical bodies, and increase energy while improving body mechanics.

Spinal Release - 10 hours
Spinal Release is an approach to bodywork in which the client is the recipient of gentle, rhythmic, non-intrusive rocking movement with pressure that increases the range of motion and flexibility .The rocking penetrates deep into the mind and body, relieving mental and physical fatigue as well as chronic tension and pain.

Field Time  Field Botany and Plant Identification - 100 hours
Wholistic Herbal Medicine begins in the field. This course is designed to introduce and teach the student the elementals of plant identification, binomial classification, characteristics of toxic plants, plant collecting for identification, and other topics related to field botany. We will enter the domain of the plants, where the student will collect and press ten botanical specimens for the school Herbarium. We spend over 100 hours in the field in this class, learning to property identify and collect many Herbal Medicines. We will travel to a variety of different ecosystems throughout the Southwest, collecting Herbal Medicines. There are many day trips field trips and four overnight trips up to several days in length. The goal in this course is to have the student become familiar with identification, collecting, and field usage of Plant Medicines.

Ethical Wildcrafting will be taught as part of the field program. There will be an emphasis on sustainable and ethical collecting of Wild Plant Medicines. The student will learn when, and how to collect herbal medicines without destruction to the ecosystem from which they came.

Wild Edibles - 5 hours
Students will be amazed at how well they can eat with little expenditure other than a good walk and a little energy spent picking plants. Gathering, eating, proper identification and usage, (raw or cooked) of many wild plant foods will be covered during the field time offered in the Herbal Program. The student can expect to learn which plants make excellent wild foods, and will be encouraged to make their own gourmet wild food recipes. The cooking of these wild foods will be done on our extended overnight field trips. We also will discuss the benefits and the importance of bringing wild foods into one's diet for health and healing.

Cultivation of Herbs - 27 hours
This course looks at all aspects of medicinal herb growing. students will explore organic gardening techniques, soil preparation for planting, transplanting, weeding and cultivation. by hand, monitoring plant growth, foliar feeding, dealing with insects and disease, watering, seedling transplanting into pots and into the field, preparation of potting soil, use of cold frames, harvesting, drying, cleaning and storing, seed saving, and root digging.

Self Sufficiency and Survival Techniques - 8 hours
The student will learn techniques in this course, which will increase their capacity for independence and self-reliance. Students will delve into how to provide for themselves with what they find in nature. You'll explore water collection in the wild, fire making, edible plants, shelter building, and other aspects of self-sufficiency. .

Herbal First Aid - 8 hours
" Surviving an Emergency. " This class will cover the herbs and procedures for using herbs in emergency situations. Included in the topics covered are shock, bleeding, and respiratory breathing difficulties, and how to use Herbal Medicine to address these problems. Students will learn how to create their own Herbal First Aid Kit. This class will show the student how to prepare fresh wild plants, as medicines, in the field. You will learn how to make poultices, how to stop bleeding, treat a cough, and how to use fresh plants straight from nature to address many different types of field first aid problems. This is an exciting and liberating class because it teaches the student that no matter where they are in the world as long as there are plants around and you know their uses you will always have a" green pharmacy" ready.

Shamanism and the Ritual use of Plants - 5 hours
In this course we will explore the exciting world of Shamanic plants and how they can be used to enhance our relationship to nature. We will look at the history of plants in Shamanism from the past to the present and the ritual use of them that supports the health and spirit of the mind, body and the emotions.