Herbal Article

Here is an old article I found on how I use herbs in my clinic. Anyparts in italics I have added recently. I know many people are interested in herbal medicine and hope this sheds some light on how a herbalist works! Jox

Herbal Medicine (From an article by Joanne Oliver)

Herbal medicine or healing with plants is a huge subject and expanding all the time. Just about every country has its own form of herbal medicine using local plants and going back hundred of years. With modern technology all this information is now available at a touch of a button and science of course is always coming up with better ways and more information.
Because of this I can only describe to you how I use herbs in my small clinic with my current level of experience – and as in all things I am constantly learning and growing.

I qualified in 2001 in Natural Healing and Herbal medicine from the Selfheal School headed by Jill Rosemary Davies. This was a part-time course that took about four and half years. I am also a member of the Association of Master Herbalists (AMH).

Both the school and AMH are for herbalists trained in the ‘Dr Christopher tradition’. Dr Christopher was a famous herbalist from America in the early 1900’s. During his lifetime he helped thousands and thousands of people with so called ‘incurable diseases’. He was said to be a mild, modest man who was also very spiritual, but this did not stop the medical establishment objecting to his methods and getting him sent to jail several times!

Dr Christopher’s Method was quite simple, nourish yourself with ‘live’ foods, cleanse the main organs of any toxins and use the plentiful weeds in your back yard to repair and rejuvenate. He is famous for his herbal formulas, some of which he admitted he prayed to God for and some were from the many local Native Americans whom he befriended. But he also practised a form of Zone therapy, which I understand to be an early form of Reflexology as well as Iridology.

Dr Richard Schulze, known as ‘Cayenne’, one of Dr Christopher’s main pupils and teachers, developed the programme to cope with modern 20th century living! So quite a lot of my training is based on the programme Cayenne used in his clinic where again he saw and healed thousands of incurable cases. What he found was that the cleansing and diet were vital, and once this was done, the common everyday herbs could work miracles.
His programme involves a strict vegan diet, organic if possible, with lots of salads, juicing and smoothies. He developed ‘Superfood’ a natural all round ‘live’ vegetable supplement, which he was using 30 years ago but now today you can find similar ones in health shops everywhere. (You can find details of how to order superfood here) Next was the cleansing and he always started with the colon, believing that a properly cleansed and functioning colon could help heal all disease. From this base Cayenne used many natural healing techniques including hydrotherapy (water treatment) and various forms of bodywork.
His methods are sometimes considered quite radical in herbal circles (he is outspoken on many issues), but he was often dealing with people who had only days or weeks left to live.

So in my own practice I start with the Iridology – what has this person inherited, or come into this world with – and just as important how have they lived, diet life-style etc. I work intuitively and often will ‘feel’ that a certain body system or organ is causing their problems, sometimes it is the emotions that relate to the organ that will need working on.
I have about 60 herbs that I use in the clinic. Herbs can fall into broad body systems such as nervines for the nervous system, but many of them can be used for several different systems or organs. Each herbalist will have their own way of working, some working with the more scientific chemical aspect of the plants, but although different we all seem to get the same great results. I prefer to work on one main aspect, such as balancing blood sugar levels, or helping sleep and stress and will blend several herbs together. Through the work I do, I will know if this person also suffers with digestion, anxiety or a sluggish liver and so will also provide support for this through my choice of herbs.

Having chatted to my herbal friends is seems that we all use the herbs that ‘speak’ to us. Sometimes I will read a wonderful report about a herb, but find that it just doesn’t work in my clinic, or that another quickly becomes an everyday favourite. I often work by deciding in my head what herbs I will use for a client, but then, as I pick the bottle up, I will get a definite ‘No’ energy from it.
Equally a herb will seem to shout to me from the shelf. Over the years I have learned to trust this, and feel that my herbs really take part in the whole healing process. Don't worry though I ALWAYS check out any intuitive hunches I receive - so far they have been spot on each time! One very important ingredient I use in tinctures, teas and flower essences is INTENTION. I always focus on my client's needs while making the formula and send this healing energy into each bottle.
I use herbal tinctures where herbs are steeped in alcohol and teas where they are steeped in water. Tinctures are generally stronger than teas and much more convenient to take.
The old fashioned herbalists (like me) feel that by using the herb as nature intended it is far safer and also more in ‘tune’ with our own body’s healing. Like our own bodies, plants have a complex sensitive range of chemicals, some of which are only just being discovered, so to disrupt this balance may not be the best way.
I have also found that quality is very important –and is something that must come with experience. I try whenever possible to use organic herbs – some herbs still only come from soil that has not yet got its organic badge. But even with organic products you have to watch the quality, I now use organic suppliers from this country some of whom make their tinctures with the moon phases and use bio-dynamic gardening techniques that do not use chemicals and work with nature.
I have found that the quality of the herbal product used really does make a dramatic difference to their effectiveness and I don’t mean how strong it is chemically - it should still ‘feel’ live and vital.
Working on my herbal Blossom teas has really introduced the grounding energy of the herbs into my clinic. Even with tinctures it is easy to forget that we are using plants and nature, but with dried herbs you see, smell and taste the flowers, leaves, bark and seeds.
The herbs have been wonderful with the reflex treatments, and I am finding that often the herb teas are all that is needed once the reflex work has been done.
Herbs are not for everyone, and some of my patients can only tolerate drops to start with. The reflex is again very useful here, improving patient’s energy levels so that they are better able to tolerate the herbs.
Once people are on a complex cocktail of medical drugs it becomes less easy to use herbs. Often the drugs are so powerful they shut the body down and the herbs have no effect. In some cases you may have herbs that stimulate organs to work more effectively and this may effect dosage etc of the medical drugs that are being taken.

There is a huge revival for everything herbal at the moment. But the future is still uncertain. New legislation coming in may change herbal medicine into just a weaker chemical form of modern medicine and herbalists as mini GP’s. Did you know that here in the UK herbalists are protected by an ancient law passed by Henry VIII - this is the one that is being challenged. Mass produced herbal products, made by machinery with no thought of the healing intended are readily available from every local supermarket. Pharmaceutical companies are also on the look out for a new ‘wonder’ herb that they can copy or manipulate into a handy sized pill.

But instead we should take a look in our own back garden, for there, in that patch of weeds growing freely and abundantly, nature has already provided for us.

I wrote this article a few years ago, but it is still how I feel and work today. The future of herbalists is still uncertain - herbs will be with us, but much of the ancient knowledge could well be lost. In a recent radio interview I discussed how herbs are the most invasive aspect of my work. This is true. Although not in a negative way. Herbs are a potent healing force, they have an innate intelligence that the body responds to.

But, over and over again herbs have been the best answer for many of my patients. Healing is wonderful and can uplift, inspire and uncover areas that need help. But herbs can provide a day by day support and continue the healing work between treatments. They support, nourish and stimulate the physical organs in the body to work at their optimum level.

Having an individual formula made and working closely with a herbalist is very different from buying an over the counter remedy. I am very proud that I can continue to provide this service, and eternally grateful for the many plants that provide us with such abundant healing and learning.

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Herbal Article