I started like as a trainee apothecary in a place called Bristol Botanicals in the Southwest of the UK. This this was a place where the old fashioned herbal skills of foraging, correct specimen identification, tincture production and a scrupulous attention to detail when drying raw herbs were considered key. Added to which a kind of crazy wisdom approach, as personified by Chogyam Trungpa, meaning that you always trusted your intuition first, and the data from your left brain second. Heart over heart.
In that place I gained my apprenticeship as a traditional herbalist. I then went to the US where I became an earlier student of functional medicine, as the exciting meeting of ancient and modern natural medicine opened up a whole world of testing and specialised prescriptions based on particular case history.
At last I founded Santa Fe Botanics, which added the third element to my understanding of Healing Plants. Principally this insolved working with an ancient Acoma healer who shall remain nameless but who was, i believe, the last in a lineage that knew things of which our modern herbalists could only dream.
To those of you who know me from Santa Fe, a big hello.
To those of you who have stumbled across me via the web, welcome too. Our paths are crossing for a reason, let us honour those and see where it takes us both.
For now let me leave you with my five top discoveries of the last few years. Despite my grounding in ancient plants with a long lineage, I can still be surprised.
3 Natural Medicines Which Really Impress Me.
Marine Phytoplankton – Who would have thought this humble, microscopic, beautifully simple plant could contain such potency. I classify this more as a food than a medicine but then, ahem, Hippocrates did say they were the same. The market here is still small but the pure Health Factory powder is the best I’ve found.
Nano Minerals – This range of supplements coming out of the Netherlands is truly groundbreaking. Pure minerals at nano size, wow our bodies have never had it so good. I’m using their Nano Zinc liquid myself as a protection for my immune system.
Moringa – I had this in South India once, where they called it drumstick tree. I use the ground leaf as a wonderful all natural mineral supplement, which keeps me alkaline, boosts my mental clarity and even supplies decent amounts of protein. This is the best greens supplement you can find.