Rachel Deering Naturopathy
Integrative Health Solutions
The Kitchen Witch
Herbalism for Home Use
The Kitchen Witch - 9 week online course
This vibrant multi-media online course is infused with a plant centred approach to herbal medicine. Giving you the foundation, skills and confidence to begin growing and connecting with medicinal plants and creating your own home made remedies and abundant apothecary for the treatment of common ailments.
The course consists of 6 online units; covering 5 major body systems; with a closer look at the various physical ailments and imbalances that effect each system, along with the qualities, actions and therapeutics of the 10 - 12 specific herbs to treat the ailments within each body system.
We will explore the emotional, energetic and magical properties of the herbs.
We will cover a total of 70 herbs throughout the course.
Each unit contains detailed information, through your workbooks and video lessons for you to develop a deep connection with the plants and understanding of their medicinal qualities.
Each unit contains activities for the creation of your own medicinal herb garden and to begin creating your own home made remedies and herbal apothecary.
We will have herbal manufacturing projects within each unit to get creative with remedy making.
By the end of the course you will have created your own home dispensary of key remedies for you and your family. With an emphasis on connection and ceremony for medicine making.
You will understand the main herbal preparations; infusions, decoctions, tinctures, oils, honeys, syrups and salves. Information on safety and dosages.
6 Units covered over 9 weeks commences on;
Friday 21st July 2023 and completes on Friday 22nd September 2023
Course delivery - 6 Herbal Medicine Units delivered over 9 weeks, including:
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Self paced: Video lessons, printable pdf workbook, packed full of information and activities
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7 live Zoom calls - for guidance, Q and As and further learning support.
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Private FB group for us to create community support for our journey - this will be packed full of inspiration, support and guidance throughout
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Access to Samantha and Rachel throughout the course and an extra 3 weeks after the completion of the course for additional support, as you build your kitchen witch skills.
The course will require a minimum of 6 hours study time per unit, to get the most from the course
This educational, inspiring and supportive course will provide you all the information and confidence you need to:
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Build a deep and lasting relationship with the plants
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Understand the major underlying imbalances occurring within key body systems and common ailments and how to treat them with home made herbal remedies
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Knowledge of the qualities and therapeutic actions of 70 herbs
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Grow your own medicinal herb garden and how and when to harvest your plants
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Use teas, decoctions, tinctures, syrups, honeys, infused oils and ointments to address common ailments at home.
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Build up your own home medicine chest filled with home made natural remedies
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Treat yourself and family with home made remedies from your own herb garden
Course content:
Unit 1: Introduction to Herbal Medicine:
Introduction to herbal history and philosophy
Traditional medicine systems: Ayurveda and Traditional
Chinese Medicine
Flower essences
The doctrine of Signatures
Herbal preparations: infusions, decoctions, honeys, syrups, tinctures, infused oils and ointments
The use of ritual and ceremony in herbal medicine making
Building relationships with the plants
Key herbal constituents, their qualities and therapeutic action in the body
Activities; Creating your own medicinal herb garden and connecting & creating activities.
Unit 2 - Women's health
We will be learning about herbs to gently regulate and support a healthy balanced cycle and women's health throughout all of their life cycles. Looking at some of the key underlying imbalances for common female related conditions, such as PMS, irregular bleeding, PCOS and endometriosis.
We will be exploring the importance of connecting with our cycle, cycle charting, connecting our cycle with the cycle of the moon and reclaiming the power of our menstruation and the role of yoni steaming.
The key herbal actions for supporting cycle balance include:
Phyto-oestrogens
Spasmolytics
Uterine tonics
Reproductive herbs
Circulatory herbs
Activities: Creating your own herb garden, yoni steaming - creating your own steam blend, connecting and creating activities
Unit 3 - The Immune and Respiratory System
We will be learning about the common ailments
and therapeutic herbal actions for effective treatment of common respiratory ailments:
Including boosting the immune system
Natural treatment of fevers - The role of fever in infections
Herbal actions and therapeutics for:
Upper respiratory ailments; sinus and ear infections
Throat conditions
Lung conditions and the treatment of coughs
Herbal therapeutics for effective treatment of fevers
to treat fever
Activities; Connecting and creating your own medicinal herb garden, creating cough syrups and lozenges, plus other making acvtivities.
Unit 4 - The Gut
The gut is central to the health of our whole being: all dis-ease begins with the gut.
We will be taking a deeper look at the various layers of digestion and the key aspects of digestive health:
Stomach acid
Gastric secretions
Liver health
Healthy bowel motions
Gut lining integrity
Healthy gut microbiome
Key herbal actions such as: Bitters, ant-acids, liver herbs such as choleretic, chologogue and hepatic, warming aromatics, demulcents, calminatives and pre and probiotic foods.
The gut - brain connection and the important role for
nervine herbs - the relax the nervous system for healthy
gut function.
Activities: Connecting and creating your own medicinal herb garden and the many ways to harvest and work with remedies from the beautiful Dandelion
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Unit 5 - The Skin - The Integumentary System
The skin is our largest organ of the body and a major pathway of elimination and detoxification.
We will be looking at the use of internal herbal remedies that open up the pathways of detoxification and reduce the toxin load from within the body for the treatment of skin conditions, such as:
Alterative, lymphatic, hepatic, diuretic and laxative herbs.
Plus the role of the nervous system.
External remedies; the role of topical (external) treatments such as infused oils, salves and ointments. The key herbs for wound healing, infection prevention and cooling, soothing treatments for the skin.
Activities: Connecting and creating your medicinal herb garden. The skin is a great area for medicine making for external use and the creation of your own home first aid kit. We will be completing our preparation of infused oils, making salves and ointments.
Unit 6 - The Nervous and Adrenal System
Modern living is highly stressful, more than ever our
nervous system needs nourishment and support to
function effectively and thrive.
We will be looking at being in fight - flight - freeze mode and the impact this has on our body.
The nervous system weaves into the treatment of every other body system and is a central area of treatment within holistic medicine.
We will look at restorative, relaxant, sedative, tonic
and stimulant herbs, along with the powerful adaptogenic
remedies for adrenal support.
Herbal treatments and remedies for stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia etc
Activities; Connecting and creating your own medicinal herb garden. Creating your own dream pillow, blending and infusing sleepy and relaxation teas and oxymal preperations.
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Your Facilitators
Rachel Deering Bsc Hons NHAA
A naturopath, herbalist and educator with over 20 years clinical experience, specialising in educating and empowering women on hormonal health.
After completing her studies, Rachel went on to work as an apprentice with 3rd generation herbalist Arthur Hyde in the UK.
She went on to complete her studies in plant spirit medicine and shamanic plant healing in 2009 which brought her into a deeper energetic connection with the plants. This journey was an essential part of coming home to the land here in Australia.
Rachel was a herbal medicine lecturer for 10 years at the Australian Institute of holistic medicine.
She is deeply passionate about exploring and sharing all things plant medicine and healing!!
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