What Do We Need In Autumn?Support for Dryness, Immunity & Mental Health
~ November Newsletter ~True to its nature as a transition season, this autumn's wind is
blowing us back and forth. Chilling temps with a few frosts and some morning stepping out the air smells like winter, the dormancy of the earth and a hint of aroma from the neighbors' burning wood stoves. The view from the widow shifting rapidly from a kaleidoscope of foliage color blowing across my view to the starkness of Stick Season. This Sunday's
upcoming time change that brings brighter morning but pitch dark nights, emphasizing rest and coming in to gather around the kitchen stove and to cozy up on the couch after work. Every season provides beauty and lessons, a necessary spoke in the wheel of the seasons that we ride each year. Every season also brings challenges. Three that I see in my own life and those around me this time of year
are dryness, immunity, and mental health. In this newsletter you'll learn favorite lifestyle and herbaltips for all three. New & Seasonal in This Email- What's Happening at Wintergreen Botanicals
- Mental Health and Herbalism - Special Class - don't miss your registration window!
- Tips for Autumn Dryness & Seasonal Energetics
- Darcy's Blue Elder Syrup
Recipe
- Maria's Immune Resilience Class with Video, Notes and Slides!
- Immune Health Hub - lots of great recipes!
- Upcoming November Community Classes
- Supporting Post-Hurricane Relief & Rebuild Efforts
What's Happening at Wintergreen BotanicalsBooks: I just submitted the latest edit round back to the publishers for book #4 and am in the process of setting up the contract for book #5. I'm really excited about our content and the artists Storey has hired for book #4 and can't wait to
share it with you, but it'll be a long time out. We'll likely open for preorders next autumn, which is when I can share all the juicy details with you for book #4! Classes: I just got confirmation on some lingering details that would impact my course lineup today, so this month Dayna and I will begin securing next year's advanced module guest speakers so that we can release 2025 series registration/details hopefully by
December if not sooner. In the meantime, I do have a few community classes, mostly for professionals (but open to others) that are pretty exciting in November outlined below. Clients: I've been able to create a few extra openings in my client schedule for new and current clients, but they're still extremely limited as I divide my time amongst working on two books in various stages, holiday time off, and current
clients. Life: House "surprises" continue to interrupt my flow, but overall are life has been in a better and more balanced place now vs the past year. Enjoying spending time with friends and family around the dinner table, hiking, and with quintessential autumn experiences like live music, apple picking, corn maze, and hay rides. Shout Out: Don't Miss Your Chance! The Herbs & Mental Health class I am teaching in November in collaboration with psychologist Vicki Anderson and is sure to be amazing particularly for mental health professionals
(CEs for psychologists!), but it's also open to other professionals and the public. This is a full day zoom class Fri Nov 14 (recording available after, too) where we will discuss herbs that encourage a healthy stress response, calm jangled nerves, support sleep, uplift mood, and enhance focus. It will include case study discussions and tips for various things such as integrative mental health care and herb drug interactions. It's going to be pretty awesome, but if you're
thinking of joining
please register now to ensure you get a spot! If you wait til the last minute, you might miss your chance.
More details and registration
here Thanks to Vicki and the team, this is a groundbreaking offering for psychologists (and other professionals) to discuss herbs and mental health, cosponsored by the America Psychology Association-approved New Hampshire Psychological Association (NHPA) and The Positivity Company. Tips for Autumn's DrynessAutumn's cold dry wind crisps not only the air but can also affect our entire wellbeing. In Ayurveda, this is well recognized to be part of the dosha (imbalance) of Vata, which is represented by wind and air, tending towards dry changeability and tension, exacerbated by dryness
in our ecosystem as well as stress and overdoing. I'm not an expert in Ayurveda, and these are concepts that cross many systems of energetics across the world because they are true to the nature of human existence and our seasonal planet. But I appreciate the beauty and practicality Ayurveda brings to inform my approach to support us when we feel depleted, tired, cold, dry, frayed, and brittle this time of year by
bringing grounding, soothing, grounding, warming, and moistening rituals and remedies into our daily routines. - Warm and Moisten via soups, broth, warm tea featuring healthy fats, hydration, cozy spices, cooked dishes and warm drinks.
- Mucilaginous Herbs like marshmallow root or leaf, linden, violet leaves, shatavari, maca, or
oats in tea, porridge, and other foods soothes and moistens us from the inside out.
- Topical Oils, Creams, and Lotions after bathing help hold in our moisture, easing dry skin. In Ayurveda the practice of rubbing warm sesame (or other) oil into the feet or body is often employed to "pacify Vata" and soothe nervous anxiety, stress, tension, and sleeplessness. (Gratitude to Ayurveda herbalist Tesia Love for helping me more greatly appreciate this
practice!)
- Calming and Centering Rituals focused on self care, peace, and being cozy are perfect in late Autumn. This may be Yin Yoga, prayer, meditation, quiet walks outside, reading on the couch, deep breathing... Restorative activities that focus inward.
For additional tips, see my blog on Dealing with Dryness here, which also includes links to other helpful offerings from other herblaists including two awesome podcasts with Tesia Love and Amanda Stanley on the season, dryness, vata, and stress/adrenal health. |
Darcy's Blue Elder Syrup RecipeThis recipe comes from fellow herbalist Darcey Blue from Blue Turtle Botanicals in Arizona. Many elder syrup
recipes call for cooking fresh berries, but this handy recipe uses dry berries (easily available in commerce). Darcey feels that heating the berries for a long time weakens the potency of elderberry. It’s a 1:2 infusion of herbs preserved with honey and alcohol. I’ve adapted the original recipe by using the a larger amount of 100 proof vodka to make it shelf stable (for less alcohol, use regular vodka or brandy, half the amount called for here, and store it in the fridge) and cutting it
down by 1/4 to make 8 oz total. You could also substitute sugar (a better preservative) for the honey, same proportion. - 1/4 cup dried elderberries
- 2 tbls dried elderflowers
- 2 tsp ginger chips (or grated fresh ginger)
- 1 tsp cinnamon chips
- 4 oz boiling water
- 2 oz 100 proof vodka*
- 1/4 to 1/2 lemon, juiced
- ~4 oz raw honey or sugar
Mix all the dried herbs together in a jar. Pour boiling water over the
herbs, add the alcohol. Cap and let infuse 8 hours or overnight. In a muslin, jelly bag, or cheesecloth strain the herbs from the liquid. Squeeze gently to get as much fluid from the herbs as possible. Add the lemon juice. Measure out exactly how much liquid you have in a glass measuring cup. Add an equal amount of raw honey or sugar to the liquid. Mix well until sugar dissolves. Bottle and
store. *This is for a shelf-stable syrup. For a fridge-stable syrup, you can use 1 oz of 80 proof vodka or brandy instead. Recommended Dosage: 1-3 tsp per day all season long, or 1/2 tsp hourly in acute illness. If you’re using a dropper bottle, 1 tsp = about 4-5 squirts Watch & Learn More from my Free Immune Resilience Class Here(Class recorded October 2023 in partnership with the Concord Food Co-op) Maria's Immune Health Hub Complete with Immune Tea, Remedy Recipes and more. |
Upcoming EventsNovember Community ClassesNHAND Conference
at Wentworth by the Sea, New Castle, NH Friday- Saturday, November 8 & 9, all day - IN PERSON and ONLINE
I'll be teaching Herbal Support for Menopause as part of the NH Association of Naturopathic Doctors Conference at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, NH. CEs for NDs. This excellent event is geared towards holistic clinicians - other clinicians and the public are also welcome to attend.
Details and Registration Here. Introduction to Herbal Interventions for Mental Health Practitioners Friday,
November 15 · 9 am - 4 pm Eastern Time - LIVE STREAMED ONLINE
This workshop is an introduction for clinicians to some of the herbs mental health clients may be taking or may benefit from. The workshop will explore some of the most common herbs taken for mental health concerns including benefits, cautions, and clinical examples. The workshop will be a collaboration between NH Psychologist Vicki Anderson and Herbalist Maria Noël Groves.
This program is co-sponsored
by the New Hampshire Psychological Association (NHPA) and The Positivity Company. NHPA is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. NHPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This program is geared towards psychologists and other mental health professionals, but it is open to others including the public, herbalists, and naturopathic doctors.
Details & Register HERE. Tips to Support Post-Hurricane Relief & Rebuild Efforts in Western North CarolinaMy heart goes out to the communities of Western North Carolina and elsewhere that experienced damage from Hurricane Helene and other hurricanes. We have a particular focus on the Asheville NC area because this is a hub
of herbal community in our country and because this event was so unusual and catastrophic in its damage for the region. Many herbal companies, schools, organizations, and beloved herbalists have been affected (alongside countless others). (Maia Toll author and co-owner of the Herbiary; Juliet Blankespoor of Chestnut School of Herbalism, Lupo Passero of Twin Star, and various staff and members of the American Herbalists Guild, to name a few.) I'm a bit late in chiming in here, but I
wanted to offer some trusted organizations and efforts to consider supporting during this very long rebuild process, as recommended by my Asheville-area colleagues. My heart is full learning of how the community has come together to support one another throughout the acute and post-disaster situation and as they rebuild. These are strong, amazing, resilient people. Here are some ways to help ~ - Mutual Aid Disaster Relief: Respected grassroots organization assisting communities affected by disaster, with the basics of care and life needs, highly recommended by my mutual aid colleagues.
- American Herbalists Guild Community Recovery
Fund/Hurricane Relief Fundraiser: funds will benefit AHG members affected by the hurricane in GA, TN, NC. Sponsored by the CommonWealth Herbs school.
- BeLoved Asheville: boots on the ground origination has been providing hot meals and basics to those affected
- Herbal Mutual Aid Directory and Map: Compiled by my friends, colleagues, and longtime mutal aid activists at Botanica and Herbalista among others, for finding or donating to free herbal clinics, and self-care dispensaries, etc. Plus helpful resource guides.
- Juliet Blankespoor/Chestnut School Team Herbal Relief Fund: Have a project underway to receive, process, and dispurse herbal and financial donations to the community. You can donate herbal goods or money via the site.
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