First we will learn about the traditional way of looking at how the elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth impact our bodies and look at where hot, cold, wet, and dry live in the body in health and in disharmony. These basic elements that make up our universe, internal and external, are how all traditional medicine people's have viewed the way our body interacts with our environment. We will look from both an Ayurvedic perspective and a Western Eclectic tradition at tissue states, the rhythms and cycles of the seasons, the moon, human development, and internal bodily functions.
Second we will talk about Flavors of plants and taste a number of medicinals. The flavor profiles of the plants tell us a lot about the medicine contained within each herb. We can use Flavors of plants to inform how we treat an illness, by balancing hot, cold, wet and dry of the tissues with opposing plant profiles. This is a great way to utilize our own bodies to understand the medicines on a different level. This tasting and experiential recognizing of the plants is called organoleptics, which is a legally scientific way of proving you have the plant in front of you that you claim for GMP standards of medicine making.
This is a fun hands on class where we will learn to use medicinal herbs and apply their actions based on flavor profiles.