Contact herbalists@brighidswellherbs.com to inquire about or register for any of the classes listed below, unless otherwise specified.
The Magic and Medicine of Plants: A Year-Long Online Herbal Course
with Darcey Blue French and Sean Donahue
November 1, 2010 – October 31, 2011
Plants are our ancestors and teachers.
Throughout history, people have looked to them for healing, guidance, and transformation.
In this year long course, herbalists Sean Donahue and Darcey Blue French will help you connect with the wisdom, magic, and living medicine of the plants growing around you.
Through online lectures and discussions, readings, meditations, ceremony, and direct experience, you will learn about:
* Listening to and learning directly from the plants themselves
* The art and ethics of wildcrafting
* Making your own herbal medicines
* Understanding the energetics of herbal medicine and of the human body
* Nourishing the body, mind, and spirit
* Therapies for chronic and acute injury and disease
* Working with plants in ceremony and magic
Students will receive twelve monthly lessons; eight mini-lessons exploring how the Equinoxes, Solstices, and Cross-Quarter Days provide us with opportunities to connect with the life cycle of the plants; and individual support and guidance from Darcey and Sean.
Tuition will be $75 a month (or $750 if you pay for the entire year in advance.) Students will also be expected to purchase herbs and books for the course.
Please register by Oct 25, 2010
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Talking to Trees: Exploring the Medicine of the Tree Nation
Sept 21, 2010 – Nov 15, 2010- 8 week online herbal intensive
$150-$200 sliding scale
• Learn about the major medicinal trees of North America
o Ecology and biology
o Energetic, medicinal and practical uses
o harvesting, preparations, medicine making
o Tree essences
o folklore and more
• Make your own medicinal oils, tinctures, teas and smudges
• Learn how to identify and work with trees unique to your bioregion
• Share experiences and learning with other herb students, herbalists and plant lovers.
Weekly lessons sent via e-mail, and group discussion on an e mail list forum is expected as part of the course. Some additional books and supplies may be needed.
Please register with a $50 deposit by Sept 14, 2010 by e mailing shamana.flora@gmail.com
Payment plans available, please inquire.
LISTENING TO THE WILD: AN ONLINE WORKSHOP
September 1 – October 1
Sliding Scale — $150 – 200
The world is alive and speaking to us. All we have to do is remember how to listen.
We are all born knowing this simple truth, and begin our lives in a world rich with meaning. But in our culture, the voices around us are quickly drowned out by electronic noise, and we are taught to ignore the bits of song we still hear on the wind or risk insanity. Eventually we reach a point where we no longer trust our own senses.
But for some of us the vibrant memory of the world we knew as children is stronger than the fear of madness.
The wildness of our souls can be recovered, just as a forest can grown from an abandoned field.
In this six week online workshop, we will engage in an intense process of connecting with the living Earth and awakening the wildness within themselves.
Through reading, writing, meditation, and direct experience of the natural world, we will explore:
– Our personal, familial, and cultural histories of relating to the land we live on and the beings that inhabit it
– Engaging nature through engaging our senses
– The use of the heart as an organ of perception (drawing from the work of Stephen Buhner)
– Developing and deepening relationships with the plants that grow around us
Participants will share their experiences with each other and build community through an e-mail discussion list.
This promises to be a powerfully transformational, and at times emotionally intense journey. My goal as a teacher is to provide a safe and supportive space for that work. But I am not in a position to serve as therapist or counselor for students. Please bear this in mind as you consider undertaking this work.
Payment for this class is on a sliding scale from $150 – 200. The price reflects the work that I put into preparing and teaching this course. The higher end of the sliding scale is intended for people who can regularly afford things like eating out, going to concerts, and attending workshops and retreats. For those who are deeply committed to this work but are not able to afford even the low end of the sliding scale I am willing to discuss payment plans and partial or full barter arrangements. If enough people pay at the higher end of the sliding scale, I may be able to offer a few partial scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to take this course.
If you are interested in enrolling, please e-mail me at seandonahuepoet@gmail.com.
TRADITIONS OF THE NEW ENGLAND ROOT DOCTORS
with Sean Donahue
Online, October 1 – December 1
$150
In the eighteen and nineteenth centuries, rural New England root doctors blended some of the energetic understandings of British folk medicine with what they learned from Native peoples about the plants around them and developed a system of medicine based on working with and supporting the actions’ of the body’s vital force. Samuel Thomson of New Hampshire condensed this system into a series of easy to understand principles and practices, and launched a movement that sought to empower people to take their health care back from the physicians of the day whose methods relied heavily on bloodletting and the use of toxic compounds like Mercury.
Building on this foundation, a later generation would develop the science of Physiomedicalism which informs many strains of contemporary herbalism. This course will explore the philosophy, energetic systems, and therapeutics of the New England root doctors and the Physiomedicalists, and look at how we can apply their insights today.
July 5- Aug 30, 2010 Conquering Insulin Resistance Naturally with Nutrition and Herbs: Online Intensive
Are you concerned about any of the following modern diseases: Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, trouble losing weight, cardiovascular health concerns, inflammation, cancer. Did you know that all of these are signs and or symptoms of what is called Syndrome X, or Metabolic Syndrome. Underlying the syndrome/symptoms is a metabolic dysregulation called Insulin Resistance. Much to our dismay, this is rampant in the United States, and is causing health problems for millions of people, some without even knowing! Fortunately for us, there are many natural ways of dealing with and controlling insulin resistance through food, nutrition, herbalism and lifestyle changes. Western medicine will tell you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer and throw you a medication to control the symptom, but very rarely does the underlying cause of the symptom get addressed.
Join Herbalist and Nutritionist, Darcey Blue, for an 8 week long online intensive covering all aspects of Insulin Resistance and how to manage it naturally through food, herbs and lifestyle changes. We will cover the following topics.
*Physiology of insulin resistance
*Sugar/carbohydrate cravings and addiction
*Nutrient dense foods and meals that control insulin resistance
*Herbs and Supplements
*appropriate and effective exercise specifically for managing IR
*stress and sleep
*the role of inflammation
This course is specifically helpful for those who are working to manage Insulin Resistance in their own lives, but is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about health and the roots of many of today’s chronic and rampant diseases, or those working with clients or family members with Insuslin resistance.
You will receive bi-weekly lessons and reading material, suggestions for additional resources, assignments which focus on experiencing first hand the ways you can use the suggestions for Insulin Resistance in your own life, personal attention and coaching from Darcey, a supportive group community all working towards the same goal! Classes are run via e-mail mailing list, and weekly computer access is a requirement for the course.
Class runs from July 5- Aug 30
Cost: Sliding scale $150-$200- payments plans are available
Some additional materials (books, herbs) will be needed for the course.
For more details or questions, or to register contact Darcey (shamana.flora@gmail.com or 520-429-2654)
Payments may be made via check/money order or paypal.