Barefoot Medicine Farm
Hi- I'm Amy
It's been fifteen years since I found myself on the path of herbalism. Many of those reasons might be similar to your own- to find a better way.
The things I struggled with are the same issues I work with for clients- anxiety, sleep, and digestive issues. Sometimes it takes one to know one, and even though we all have our own variations, it helps to have someone who has been there.
Since earning a MS in Therapeutic Herbalism back in 2014, I've been working on balancing the science of plants with the folk understanding and traditional relationship necessary to truly find the right herbs for every body. This has led me to becoming one of Margi Flint's Legacy Teachers, as I sat at the knee and studied the lineage of William LeSassier. I am also a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild. To me, applying the energetic and traditional use of plant medicine is as important as understanding the phytochemistry.
As a practitioner, I work on weaving the two into one beautiful tapestry where the plants can support us most effectively- in body, mind, and spirit.
My Story
There was always an issue.
I didn't grow up a health nut. In fact, I still wouldn't consider myself a health nut, although compared to some-sure. I ate what I wanted, and dealt with any digestive ramifications as part of life. Gas, bloating, all that GI upset- all just part of what happens when I eat.
Until it put me in the hospital.
In my 20s my GI issues, which pretty much ran the spectrum up and down my digestive tract, became intolerable. I sought out GI specialists, underwent tests, and was prescribed medication, and yet I found myself frustrated with my question of "OK but what is causing this?!" without ever receiving a concrete explanation.
That's when a colleague, who probably has no clue how much she influenced me, spoke to me about her mother, a holistic practitioner, and probiotics. This was the doorway which led to my interest in the holistic health approach, medicinal herbalism, and self reliance.
I did some research on my own and altered some of my eating habits, which ended up clearing up most of my GI issues at the time.
Wow.
For me, eating large meals during in the evening was having a disastrous effect on my stomach. This simple change changed my life. I felt frustrated at the time spent trying to figure out how to fix my symptoms, when this seemed so easy.
But, OK. This is not the whole story.
Eating a lighter meal didn't fix my entire life. But it did show me how I needed a new perspective on health, and that there are options out there other than the one I had grown up relying on.
Back to School
I studied at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, first only planning on working towards a certificate in Herbal Studies. However as I dove into the new world of herbal medicine, I realized how powerful these plants are, and how this forgotten knowledge is needed today. As most people might, I gravitated towards areas I personally struggled with- at the time I was called toward anxiety and stress-related issues. I know what its like to experience the disruption of with sleep deprivation and anxiety, and I wanted to help others find safer alternatives than what I had been prescribed. I graduated from the Maryland University of Integrative Health in 2014 with a Masters of Science in Therapeutic Herbalism, and plant medicine has changed my life from the beginning. By giving me healthier options, the medicine we were intended to use, it has reawakened my relationship with the Earth. After a decade of practicing herbalism with friends and family, I decided to open my clinical herbal practice, and have since been accepted into the American Herbalists Guild as a Registered Herbalist. I also spent a number of years studying with Margi Flint and am one of her Legacy Teachers certified in teaching William LeSassier's Reading the Body.
I can help you because I get it.
I know what it feels like to be frustrated with the only options that seem to be presented. I also know the feeling of relief, especially when I was skeptical that these alternatives would even work at all.
I've had students who no longer were coming to school due to their debilitating anxiety, and the intensity of their medications. Yep- been there, too!
I've been a single mom, busy with 3 kids, who was lucky if she could manage to get a healthy meal in her mouth, let alone a full night of sleep!
I keep it real with you.
As a person who feels called to acts of service, first as an educator, now as health practitioner, I strive to help others find options they may not have been aware of, by using the gifts nature has provided all along.