Herbal Jumpstart Part II

Herbal Jumpstart Part II

Slide 1 Slide 5
Welcome to Part II of the Herbal Jump- But that generally only works for the short
start Course where we’re exploring how to term… when we try to think of it later, it’s
choose the best herb for you. gone. Wait, what herb is good for eczema
again? The cure to memorization blues,
Slide 2 lies within your senses.
In our first video you learned that herbs
work best when they’re chosen for the per- Slide 6
son, rather than for the disease. Because It’s about YOU exploring your own senses.
of this, simply substituting herbs for drugs This is about knowing how you interpret
is not always an effective way to use herbs. and interact with the world. Using your
This approach often leads to confusion, senses to get to know herbs is way more
overwhelm and poor results. powerful than simply trying to memorize
something.

Slide 3 Slide 7
But how do we go from memorizing lists to I’m sure you can think of a favorite food,
really getting it? perhaps something you’ve been eating
since you were a child, and how tasting it
can bring back all sorts of memories.
Slide 4
Because, I’m sure, we’ve all been there. Slide 8
Dutifully trying to memorize something, This is often why people feel very particu-
or maybe a lot of something. lar about what kind of cranberry sauce is
served at Thanksgiving!

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Herbal Jumpstart Part II

Slide 9 that you notice every single day. That’s the

Or how you can hear a song and it imme- four qualities of hot, cold, damp and dry.
diately brings you back to a certain era of
your life. I’ve been listening to Tori Amos Slide 17
for over 25 years and I can tell you exactly And people tend to be either cold or hot
what I was doing and where I was living for and then damp or dry. So, the pairings
every album she’s released. might be that someone tends to be hot/
damp, OR cold/dry OR hot/dry, etc.
Slide 10
Of course, there’s nothing more enticing Slide 18
than the smells of home. Did you know Let’s take a look at what I mean when I say
that many hotels now bake cookies at pop- hot and cold.
ular check-in times to help people feel at
home? Slide 19
So, when we’re looking at whether you
Slide 11 tend to be hot or cold, we aren’t talking
Who can forget the feeling of their young about what a thermometer says.
child’s hand in theirs?
Slide 20
Slide 12 Instead, it’s how you feel. Do you frequent-
Or, perhaps it’s the feel of your fur baby. ly find yourself wearing sweaters? Does
huddling up to the radiator sound not so
Slide 13 far-fetched?
Which is all to say that the senses are pow-
erful! And that’s why sense-based learning Slide 21
is more practical and a more sure-fire way Or are you the one who’s in a t-shirt, and
to explore herbs rather than simply mem- turning up the AC constantly?
orizing lists.
Slide 22
Slide 14-15 That’s what’s meant by hot and cold. It’s
So how do you choose the best herbs for how you FEEL.
YOU? It begins with knowing who you are
and in herbalism this means knowing your Slide 23
constitution or your energetics.
Here’s some more specifics…
People with warmer constitutions . . .
Slide 16 Tend to feel warmer than others
The term energetics can sound pretty out They might have a loud voice and loud
there, but they’re actually based on things opinions to go along with it

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Herbal Jumpstart Part II

They might tend to have a red face or a Slide 30

flushed face Whereas people with dry constitutions . . .
Tongue might be bright red Might have rough and dry skin
And they may prefer cold weather Might have a lot of thirst or dry throat, they
might have a dry nose or dry mouth
Slide 24 Their hair and skin might feel dry
Whereas, people with colder constitutions They may not have any coating on their
... tongue
Their skin and scalp might feel itchy
Tend to feel colder than others
And they might prefer humid climates or
They might have a quieter voice
really be bothered when the air is too dry
They might have a pale face, lips, or tongue
They might have lower energy levels Slide 31
And they might prefer warmer weather
Remember:
You are definitely unique!
Slide 25
Let’s look at the qualities of dry and damp. Slide 32
We might say that someone tends to be
Slide 26 Cold and Damp OR Hot and Dry…
Does your skin or hair tend to feel moist?
Slide 33-34-35-36-37
Slide 27 But we always have to keep in mind that
Or do you have lots of dryness… everything’s on a scale. So, you could be
really hot, and just a bit damp. Or you can
Slide 28 have lots of signs of dampness, but just be
a bit warm. You could be really cold and
Even if you are constantly slathering your- dry. Or you can just be a bit cold and dry.
self in moisturizers?
Slide 38
Slide 29 And of course, how you feel changes
Here’s some more examples… through the seasons. Sometimes you can
People with damp constitutions . . . see why you might prefer one season over
Tend to sweat more easily the other. My husband’s very warm, he
They might have a runny nose more often loves these cold winter months. And for
Their arms and legs might feel heavy me, summer can never last long enough!
They might have a thick coating on their
tongue
Slide 39
Their hair and skin might feel oily
And they often prefer dry climates The climate we live in can also affect how
we feel.

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Herbal Jumpstart Part II

Slide 40 cool in nature. You’ve already experienced

Even the time of day plays a role. this.

Slide 48
Slide 41
And again, plants and foods, they can be
As well as different stages in life.
moist or dry too. And I’m sure you’ve expe-
rienced that as well.
Slide 42
As my friend and fellow herbalist jim mc- Slide 49-50-51-52
donald says, “Herbalists have to learn to
think in fuzzy lines.” So, we match herbs to you, by using op-
posites. So, if someone is feeling too hot
Slide 43 and damp, we might use something cool-
ing and draining. I know you’ve already
So, let’s get back to our quest to choosing done this in your life if you’ve ever eaten
the best herbs for you. So, as we went over, a watermelon or had iced lemonade on
first you need to know YOUR energetics.
a hot summer’s day. The same goes for
someone who might be on the opposite
Slide 44 spectrum of feeling cold and dry. We use
To help you explore your own energetics herbs to bring them back into balance. It’s
better, I’ve included a set of quizzes for as simple as drinking hot tea on a cold and
you in your Herbal Jumpstart Handbook. windy day.
These simple quizzes are meant to be a be-
ginning place for you to start noticing and Slide 53
paying attention to how You feel and what
Your constitution or energetics may be. You know you can figure out your own en-
ergetics based on how you FEEL. But, how
Slide 45 do we determine whether a plant is hot, or
cold, or dry or damp?
All right, so now we’ve covered getting to
know your energetics. Next, we need to
Slide 54
know plant energetics.
It begins with tasting the herbs! That’s
Slide 46 right, the secret to knowing how an herb
works often lies in the ways it tastes. There
Plant energetics are based on those same
are five main taste categories and in the
four qualities as your personal energetics.
Hot, Cold, Dry and Damp. next sections we’re going to explore each
of these tastes and then look at an herb
Slide 47 that highlights the meaning behind each
taste.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you which one
of these is hot in nature and which one is

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Herbal Jumpstart Part II

Slide 55
Also, to help you further explore plant en-
ergetics I’ve created a workbook complete
with recipes and you’ll be able to find
those in the downloads on this page.

Slide 56
All right, let’s review. You are unique in
many ways. And You get the best results
when you choose an herb for YOU and not
a disease. Both You (and herbs) have a
unique blend of the four qualities of hot,
cold, damp, and dry. And we match herbs
and people by using opposites. So, a cold
person could benefit from warming herbs.

Slide 57-58-59
So, we began this video series by explor-
ing the idea of what herbs work best when
they’re chosen for YOU, and not a disease.
Now we’ve covered why sense-based
learning is a powerful way to learn about
herbs. In the next set of videos we’re going
to look at five powerful herbs which can
address digestion, inflammation, heart
health and the immune system.