Herbal medicine: an ecological approach to healing

Herbal medicine, also referred to as botanical medicine or phytotherapy, is the practice of using medicinal plants in appropriate preparations and dosages for daily nourishment and cleansing as well as healing during times of illness. Because the potent healing qualities of local plants have been used in some form by every culture of the world for millennia, herbal medicine is a very ancient art and science. While contemporary herbal medicine integrates key insights from modern biology and phytochemistry, it draws deeply from this well of traditional and indigenous wisdom. Herbal medicine has always been, and essentially remains, the medicine of the people.

Herbal medicine operates within a context of wholeness – both the wholeness of the individual and the wholeness of nature itself. This makes sense when remember that, as living creatures, we are essentially porous, open to and continually renewed by the elements that form our bodies, responsive to the energy of the seasons, and touched by the ideas and emotions of those around us. Our deepest wellness - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual - depends therefore on the wellness of the living and interconnected systems of the Earth and our communities. Revealing and strengthening this innate connection is fundamental to our healing journey as a species. 

​Consciously practiced herbal medicine, in supporting the restoration of healthy soils and watersheds, biodiverse landscapes, and empowered, connected communities, offers us an ecological approach to healing, one that nurtures the entire web of life through and as the individual. 

Herbal education

In lieu of offering private consultations, I now focus my herbal practice exclusively on education. By offering experiential, small-group workshops on botanical medicine, organic cultivation and ethical wild-harvesting, I aspire to empower individuals and families to nourish and care for themselves with greater awareness and confidence. As herbal wisdom returns to our communities, I believe we all benefit in countless beautiful ways.  

Ethics

I work actively with conservation groups, community organizations, and students to honour and protect native medicinal plants and their ecosystems while empowering local people. I am a dedicated member of United Plant Savers, and am currently working towards the establishment of a registered Botanical Sanctuary in rural Québec. 

​In my workshops I strive to work exclusively with herbs that are:
  • organically grown on small-scale, family-owned farms (right here in Québec whenever possible);
  • ethically wild-harvested;
  • fairly traded; and
  • abundant in the wild (not identified on the To-Watch or At-Risk List of endangered native medicinal plants of North America).

I also honour and protect my students by upholding the Code of Ethics of the Guilde Des Herboristes du Québec. My classrooms and workshops are safe and positive spaces for all people at all times.
The path of the herbalist is one that can offer a vital link to the natural. It gives us a point of view by which we see ourselves as being connected to the entire process of life.

- Michael Tierra, L.Ac., OMD