Herbal North Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Out of the Woods Wellness

Bev McLeish, Herbal North, Herbalism, Holistic Healing

Herbalism –A Holistic Approach

Herbalism Aurora - Herbal North Bev McLeish Herbalist Newmarket - Holistic Health

Most modern Western herbalists would say they practice holistically. We hear the term all the time but what does it really mean? First of all, holistic medicine recognizes that it takes more than a pill or cream to improve a person’s sense of wellness.

Traditional Medicine Models

Holistic approaches to wellness look at the entire person and sees physical health as only one aspect of what creates meaningful health. Traditional medicine models are similar in that they take the entire person and their experiences into consideration. They review a person’s mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual state (which includes morality and ethics) in order to determine what the person needs to come back into balance. A main goal is to get a person to a point where they function productively in all of areas of life so they can reach their full potential.

Native American Medicine is a Prime Example

Native American traditional medicine uses what’s called a medicine wheel representing the four aspects of self and of the life cycle. Their definition of medicine encompasses so much more than what makes the body feel better. They believe medicine can include an idea that gives someone a new, more constructive and compassionate perspective on a problem. Medicine is anything that gives you courage, calms you or teaches you something you didn’t know before. Anything that feeds your mind, body and spirit to bring you back into balance is considered medicine.

How Herbalism Fits

Herbalism, as a form of holistic practice, attempts to empower the individual by treating them as an equal and fully participating partner in the work it takes to get results. A thorough intake (or evaluation) is done usually lasting an hour or more. Personal questions are asked about the person’s past; emotional state; body functions and their regularity; a detailed description of current illnesses and what they feel like; past or present traumatic events; diet; family and family medical history; sleeping patterns and their historical medical conditions.

Everything a person does or experiences contributes to or contaminates the whole. Therefore, separating a person’s illness from everything else disregards a crucial part of the puzzle to help a person regain and maintain wellness.

Click here to read the whole blog post over on HerbalNorth.ca…

Bev McLeish
Chartered Herbalist
Herbal North

June 11, 2018/by rosewoodva

Bev McLeish, Events & Workshops, Herbal North, Women's Wellness

Suburban Sage Party

SUBURBAN SAGE PARTY

SUNDAY JUNE 10TH 1 PM TO 3 PM

36 VALHALLA COURT AURORA, ONTARIO L4G 5W4

Women’s Wellness

Empower yourself by learning and experiencing ancient wisdom from both the East and West.

Bev Mcleish, a modern western Herbalist who has a strong drive to share her knowledge of the ever available potent and healing properties of earth’s plant life, will cover multiple plants (many native to Ontario) that have supported women’s wellness for centuries.

Wendy Williams, a tai chi fanatic infuses her calm strength and gentle sense of humour to express and center ourselves through Chinese Martial Arts and philosophy. Wendy will provide simple practices from tai chi and neigong to leave you with an array of personalized tools for your own empowerment.

From novice to dabblers, all are welcome. There are limited numbers so email bev@herbalnorth.ca to find out how to reserve your spot!

Hold your space for $20. Allergy alert, dog and cat on premises.

Bev McLeish
Chartered Herbalist
Herbal Nort

May 26, 2018/by rosewoodva

Bev McLeish, Herbal North

Ethical Wildcrafting: Is There Such a Thing?

We are now at the threshold of summer when the growth in our forests and fields is in full swing and the plants await our picking!

Wildcrafting, or the harvesting of plants from the wild, is becoming more popular as natural health alternatives are shared in social media and do it yourself skin care techniques and raw materials are being sought out.

This is a great sign that humanity is realizing the power of the natural world and that, as part of the natural world, our bodies will respond positively to natural remedies. There is however, a very real danger that we will overharvest medicinal plants that are already facing endangerment or incorrectly harvest a plant (for its bark for instance) and kill an entire stand of trees in the process.

Urban Sprawl

In southern Ontario, we’ve seen the constant and relentless expansion of suburbs in most small towns that happen to be remotely close to Toronto. This population sprawl seems to be never ending and in every direction (except south of course).

More Doesn’t Mean Better

Along with this “improvement”, comes the complete destruction of centuries old forests, fields and wildlife habitats. The waterways aren’t even safe as they must be re-routed or updated to accommodate the new subdivisions being built.

Twice I have moved away from Toronto and twice now I have seen the calm, relaxed and picturesque environment in which I lived destroyed to make room for big houses on small lots, more street lights, stop signs and more traffic that we all say is killing the environment.

Along with this systemic destruction, we’re not only removing crucial wildlife habitat and using up farmland below the permafrost line but we’re decimating the medicinal plants native to Ontario, many of which are already endangered (for those interested visit www.unitedplantsavers.org).