Herbs & Therapies for the Digestive & Nervous Systems

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home.”

~Edith Sitwell

 

For some winter is the time to curl up in a big soft chair with a throw, a cup of tea, and a good book. For others it is time to hit the slopes, sled, toss snowballs, glide on the ice and come home to a thick and hearty stew.

The foods and moods of winter are very diverse.

Whether you crave the downtime or find yourself blue in the gloom, you can have a positive impact on your wellness by learning about the Digestive and Nervous systems.

Food & Mood focuses on the plants, practices and body systems aligned to winter. Learn how to use autumn’s stored harvest to nourish and promote winter wellness and restoration.

You are, of course, welcome to learn about the
digestive and nervous systems any time of year!

 

What’s Inside Your Program?

(The next instructor-led version begins January 7th, 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, getting orientated to the weekly question forum, and receiving video welcomes from your instructor and the executive director of Sage School.
• 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 DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

 

Week 1: Get started by doing. Meet your first spring herb and work with it experientially and somatically (using just your five senses!).

Week 2: Dive into the fundamentals: read about the digestive system, 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 join Maia as she discusses your first herb in a video and experiment with eating your first bitters!

Week 4: Explore and select essential oils for the Digestive System; then do the same with flower essences.

Week 5: The best way to learn is to apply! Start practicing taking your herbal work out into the wider world by contemplating a case study and then by choosing remedies based on the given scenario. Test your new skills by creating a Winter Wellness Plan.

 

MODULE TWO: THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Week 1: Begin to understand the complicated nervous system by learning about what feeds it and its alter-ego in your gut. 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 Nervous system. Then further support this understanding by joining Maia as she talks you through the system in a video.

Week 3: Explore and select essential oils for the Nervous system and your own body–and do the same with flower essences. Watch a first-hand account of a serious challenge to the Nervous system and then select herbs to help you with stress and sleep.

Week 4: Follow up your somatic discoveries with your second herb by doing a materia medica. Then join Maia as she discusses your herb in a video and learn how it is harvested from a respected grower.

Week 5: The best way to learn is to apply! Start practicing taking your herbal work out into the wider world by contemplating a small case study and then by choosing remedies based on the given scenario.

 

MODULE THREE: STAYING IN-SYNC WITH THE SEASONS

Ease into the next season with some tasty bonus materials! You’ll get:

• A spring foods list to further explore supporting your health, body and soul, from your own kitchen;
• A springtime reading suggestion that leads 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.

 

Got questions? Drop us a line at [email protected]