Recorded Classes
Watch or listen to a recorded class to get a sense of my teaching style and see if we might be a good fit!
Herbs to Nourish Frayed Nerves
Taught at the Blue Hill Co-Op Listen here!
Have you ever brushed past a lavender bush and felt your body react to the smell? The aromatic molecules in plants are some of the smallest active compounds they contain, and are so small that they can cross our blood-brain barrier and affect our nervous system.
In this class, we will discuss two main herbal actions: adaptogens and nervines. Adaptogens are herbs that long-term improve our resilience to stressors, and nervines are herbs that directly affect our mood. These can uplift, relax, stimulate, or sedate. We will explore how stress shows up in the body and how herbs can work with our whole bodies to modulate our stress response.
Come learn the science behind why you should “stop and smell the roses”!
Medicine on the Seder Plate
Taught at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism Watch here!
Bitter herbs, spring greens – these plants contain nutrients and flavors that are essential to our springtime bodies, and hold the wisdom of liberation in their tiny beings. In this class, we will explore the physiological wisdom of the plants Jews place on our Seder plate at Passover, our springtime holiday of liberation. We will delve into the bitter flavor as we discuss why neither horseradish nor lettuce – the foods typically included as “bitter herbs” on the Seder plate – are particularly bitter. We will learn about the vital importance of the flavors on the Seder plate for the functioning of our body systems, and explore what they have to do with liberation.
In this class, we will discuss how our springtime bodies’ needs differ by climate and how that difference shows up in diasporic Jewish traditions. What does your body crave in springtime, and how is (or isn’t) that reflected in the ways you practice? Through exploring the wisdom of the Seder plate, we can embody the liberation of a diasporic Passover this spring.