Working with Herbs Successfully.

The explosion of the internet makes it appear that herbal expertise is readily available.  It also makes it seem that herbal expertise is not needed.

I used to have a client who came regularly to the store I worked in and was always trying something new.  Week to week.  She was a hard nut to crack in that she did not share much about what was going on with her.  I do know that she frequented the internet as one of her main sources of information and as far as I could tell had few critical thinking skills.

This client changed frequently the herbs she was experimenting with and often didn’t purchase much of the herbs she was working with.  I think money was a concern and I appreciate this.  The majority of us have to prioritize what we spend our money on.  But it’s not for nothing that we have the saying penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I know how frustrating it is to suffer from poor health.  To struggle daily and never feel in tiptop shape, all systems go, 100%.  But there is no savior out there.  With herbs we sometimes need to take a deep dive.  It is true that some herbs will have an immediate and noticeable action upon the body. Ironically, any herb that acts so quickly with a strong action is more likely to be toxic and less tonic.  Other herbs are subtle, their action takes time to manifest and further time for us to appreciate.  Milk thistle is an example.  It heals and restores the cells of the liver.  The average person should not feel their liver.  I can imagine that one might see a reduction in jaundice from taking milk thistle but the dissolution of the bile that is making a person yellow takes time.

I may have said this before, but I say it again – all capable adults can change a light bulb in their house.  To rewire an electrical panel, for the love of the mother, hire a professional electrician before you electrocute yourself.  Herbal expertise costs money.  My expertise has value.  Working with a trained herbalist increases your chances of success.  It sounds strange to say but I often think that herbs are the least of what I do.  The true benefit comes from the lifestyle changes I have my clients make.

Substantive changes put my clients back on the road towards wellness and health.  The herbs support them and help to relieve symptoms while they make the more critical changes to behavior.  I do not know much about sailing, but I am familiar with the term tacking.  To my understanding this is a way of moving a little one way followed by a little another way – all the while heading closer and closer to your ultimate destination.  Herbs help people to tack.