Breath & Blood
Herbs & Therapies for the Respiratory & Cardiovascular Systems
“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one autumnal face.”
~ John Donne
Autumn guides us into the time of winter renewal with joyful bursts of color, warmth and song. It is a time to breathe in all that life has to offer and set our blood to pumping before the winter chill.
Nature challenges and rewards us with her bounty.
Whether you need remedies for hayfever or suggestions for revitalizing your flow, autumn herbs are some of our favorites. Learn how many of our traditions have both wisdom and science.
Breath & Blood focuses on the plants, practices and body systems aligned to autumn. Rejoice in nature’s grand finale and celebrate the life that runs through you.
You are, of course, welcome to learn about the respiratory and
cardiovascular systems any time of year!
What’s Inside Your Program?
(The next instructor-led version begins September 16th, 2019)
WELCOME & RESOURCES
Spend part of your first week by simply:
- Settling into using your online classroom and introducing yourself to your new community: don’t worry, our online classroom is easy to use and Luddite-friendly!
- Exploring the additional resource library we’ve put together for extra fun & support, get orientated to the weekly question forum, and receive a video welcome from Maia.
- Discovering how to set intentions and create rituals to support your journey in class and beyond.
- Learning how to learn about plants in a way that is probably new to you and is so transformative for many of our students!
- Benefitting from a self-guided mini-course in herbal medicine-making if that’s new to you, of interest, or of use as a refresher (and it’s completely optional!)
MODULE 1: THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Week 1: Get started by doing. Meet your first spring herb and work with it experientially and somatically (using just your five senses!) Begin your readings into the respiratory system.
Week 2: Experience your breath in a focused way, and get acquainted with the herbs that help support this important function.
Week 3: Follow up your somatic discoveries with your first herb by doing a materia medica. Then follow along as Maia discusses the system on video and experiment with a steam treatment!
Week 4: Explore and select essential oils for the respiratory system; then do the same with flower essences. Join Maia for a video lesson about your herb.
Week 5: The best way to learn is to apply! Start practicing by contemplating a case study and then choosing remedies based on the given scenario.
MODULE TWO: THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Week 1: First, pay attention to your own heartbeat. How does it make you feel? Begin to understand the circulatory system with readings, then set off to expand your understanding by working hands-on with your second herb.
Week 2: Deepen your herbal knowledge by learning the herbs that help support the circulatory system. Then learn how to use your powers of observation to guide your own herbal discoveries.
Week 3: Follow up your somatic discoveries with your second herb by doing a materia medica. Join Maia as she takes the class through the circulatory system on video.
Week 4: Explore essential oils and flower essences for the circulatory system, and listen in as Maia discusses this module’s herb.
Week 5: The best way to learn is to apply! Start practicing by contemplating a small case study and then by choosing remedies based on the given scenario. Craft your autumn wellness plan.
MODULE THREE: STAYING IN-SYNC WITH THE SEASONS
Ease into the next season with some tasty bonus materials! You’ll get:
- a winter foods list to further explore supporting your health, body and soul, from your own kitchen
- and suggested readings and rituals that lead you into the next quarter.
SAGE SCHOOL CERTIFICATION
Upon completion of all 4 seasonal modules, we do offer a program certificate to those students who meet certain criteria.
Beyond a sense of achievement, this option is particularly valuable for students who might want to go on to more formal studies or ventures in the herbal wellness world, as this is a professional way to qualify past experience to other teachers, employers, or institutions.
If you’d like to go this route, please read the following requirements to find out how to easily assemble your Sage School Portfolio:
1) Submission of all specified assignments (just look out for the portfolio submission notice in each lesson). The assignments must be completed to a standard of good quality;
2) Completion of all lessons;
3) Contribution in 75% of all discussion prompts/threads;
4) Achievement of a passing mark on an open-book, final exam on body systems and herbs.