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Herbal Medicine Apprenticeship

Level One Training

with Chanchal Cabrera MSc, medical herbalist

 

An holistic approach to making and using herbal remedies


  • Botany and plant identification

  • Harvesting and processing herbs

  • Plant chemistry demystified

  • Actions and applications of herbs

  • Clinical uses of medicinal herbs in promoting optimal health

  • Pharmacy and medicine making

  • Formulating and dosing

  • Safety issues and herb / drug interactions

  • Essential oils and aromatherapy

  • Plant attunement exercises

  • Essential oils and aromatherapy



5 monthly weekends (February – June)

72 hours of instruction

Full meal plan and medicine making supplies

Cost: $1500.00
$500 non refundable deposit payable by February 1st 2010
Balance payable in two post dated cheques of $500 each for April 1st and May 1st
$250.00 reduction if paid up in full by first day of class
Two or more people registering together will each receive a $100 deduction on the total price.
Also available as single weekends for $350 each
For more information call Chanchal at 250 336 8767

download registration form here

PROGRAM OUTLINE


Who is this program for?

The Herbal Medicine Apprenticeship Program is designed for people who

  • are passionate about natural medicine

  • are passionate about plants

  • want to empower themselves with knowledge about self care

  • want to be able to help their friends and family with simple health challenges

  • want to rely less on the medical system


What will you learn?


Botany and plant identification

Learn to recognize your medicines – and to recognize the poisonous herbs – so that you can safely pick in the wild.

  • plant evolution and taxonomy

  • botanical features of root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit

  • using a plant key

  • family characteristics

Harvesting and processing herbs

Careful harvesting ensures long term sustainability of the plant. Careful processing ensures a high quality medicine.

  • wild crafting in the forest

  • harvesting techniques for barks, roots, leaves, flowers and fruits

  • processing techniques for barks, roots, leaves, flowers and fruits

  • drying and storing botanicals


Pharmacognosy (plant chemistry)

Knowing how the plants exert their therapeutic actions allows us to better understand how to use them in clinical practice.

  • overview of plant metabolism

  • introduction to holistic phytochemistry – mucilage and polysaccharides, phenolics (tannins, salicylates, flavonoids, anthraquinones), bitters, volatile oils, saponins


Materia medica and clinical applications

The core of the program. Taught through a series of monograph reviews as well as through discussions and question – answer sessions, we will consider in detail how the herbs do their work and how to use them effectively and safely.

  • clinical applications of herbs within body systems

  • detailed review of one key, feature herb each month

  • formulating strategies and treatment planning

  • dosing, contra-indications and safety concerns

Pharmacy and medicine making

Make and take home a wide variety of remedies for different ailments and build your own first aid kit.

  • water extractions – infusions, decoctions

  • solvent extractions – oils, tinctures

  • syrups

  • emulsions

  • steams

  • plasters and poultices

  • the herbal first aid kit


How is the program structured?


We will meet one weekend a month from February through June. Classes will be a mixture of hands on (medicine making) and lecture style. There will be an extensive manual of handouts and written materials


Classes will run

Friday 6.30 pm – 9 pm herbal pharmacy and medicine making

Saturday 9.30 am – 6 pm lecture

Sunday 9.30 am – 3 pm practicum


We will provide a delicious, home cooked lunch on Saturday and Sunday and a dinner on Saturday night.


Dates and topics


February 26 / 27 / 28

water based remedies:

mucilage, tannins, anthraquinones

infusions, decoctions, soaks, compresses, gargles


March 19 / 20 / 21

solvent based remedies

alkaloids, saponins and steroids

tinctures, vinegars, honeys


April 16 / 17 / 18

aromatherapy and essential oils in practice

steams, emulsions


May 14 / 15 / 16

formulating and dosing – prescribing principles

safety and toxicology


June 25 / 26 / 27

plant attunement exercises and plant meditations

Plant attunement and plant appreciation

Using a seven step process to study plants first described by Goethe in the 1700’s.


  1. Introduction to Goethe’s botany: consideration of ‘the Archetypal plant’ and the plant as a living, changing being.

  2. Metamorphosis in the leaf realm – expansive phase followed by contractile phase before flowering. The 4 principle formative principles: linear elongation, planar spreading, indentation and shorting or raying.

  3. Leaf, flower and fruit as related stages in plant development – transformation of the leaf organ into the flower and further to fruit and seed formation, with an associated second expansion of the petal, contraction of stamens and pistils and a third expansion in fruit and contraction as seed.

  4. Demonstrating the above making visual leaf sequences by lining up leaves from a plant according to the order they appear on the stem.

  5. Exploring differences and similarities of the above by looking at leaf sequences of the same species growing in different environments.

  6. The pictorial expression of the plant through the flower and the higher formative principle affecting the leaf organs. The flower as the clearest expression of the character of a species or a family i.e. the ‘gesture’ of the plant.

  7. Looking at common themes specific to different plant families: number association with respect to number of petals, compound leaf or number of leaves to complete a 360° spiral rotation around the stem e.g. 5 in Rose family.

  8. Observing processes with respect to movement looking at the different levels: root, stem. Leaf. Flower. Fruit and Seed. Comparison to human morphology.

  9. Seven stage process to interpret the gesture of a plant: exact sensory perception exact sensorial imagination, inspiration, intuition, imprinting, growing and reproduction.

  10. Using different artistic media as expression of plant qualities e.g. drawing, painting, drama, sculpture, voice etc.

  11. Use of range of physical media for making pharmacy preparations e.g. water, alcohol, glycerine, cream, oil, ointment, poultice, liniment, compress etc.

    download registration form here