Class of 2020 

Navigating Depression as a tool of Transformation, the Mandala of the Endocrine System and the Tissue States of Traditional Western Herbalism

Dates: June 25, 26, 2022
Time: Saturday, 10:00-5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 10:00-4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kathleen Maier, AHG, PA, and Director of Sacred Plant Traditions
Location: 168 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln, MA

Kathleen Maier will address several compelling topics: healing depression, balancing tissue states, and correcting endocrine imbalances. She will offer a perspective on depression rooted in both Chinese medicine and traditional western herbal wisdom. While hormones and neurotransmitters are a definite part of the puzzle, Chinese Medicine provides us with an amazing way to view our mental health through the seasons. This class will travel through the five seasons and look at how different organ systems and related emotions can play a significant role in anxiety as well as depression. For each condition we will discuss commonly used herbs to help regain balance and greater mental clarity. Plant medicine has so much to offer us through deeply challenging times.

To observe patterns of disease we need to observe patterns in nature first to grasp harmonies and disharmonies. Winds that dry, waters that swell, heat that rises, cold that depresses are all vital expressions of nature that play out in our organs, joints and tissues. After a brief look at the Six Tissue states of Traditional Western Herbalism, we will focus on those imbalances that create the right environment for nervous system disorders (problems, difficulties). For example, too much heat creates excitation and anxiety, cold leads to sluggish mental function and depression. Too dry (not enough oil) leads to brittleness and feelings of vulnerability. Dampness is stagnation and states of tension and relaxation will also be covered.

Through the lens of Traditional Western Energetics, we will look at the magnificence and complexity of the endocrine system and why it is so easy to throw this system off balance. An epidemic of thyroid dysfunction among women is just one reflection of the imbalance. Weight gain, pain, insomnia and reproductive issues can all be tended with a deeper understanding of the messages our hormones are really communicating. Kathleen Maier will discuss a rich array of herbs to address these various endocrine imbalances.

Kathleen Maier, AHG. PA has been a practicing herbalist for over thirty years. She is currently director of Sacred Plant Traditions in Charlottesville, VA where she offers a Three Year Clinical/Community Herbalist training program. SPT’s free clinic was one of the first on the east coast and is still growing strong. She is a founding member of Botanica Mobile Clinic, which offers their services to underserved populations, as well as first responders in crisis situations. She is president of the Board of United Plant Savers and was the recipient of their first Medicinal Plant Conservation Award.

Kathleen’s studies of plants began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile and her training as a Physician’s Assistant allows her to weave the language of medicine we know today with traditional energetic systems. She is co-author of Bush Medicine of San Salvador Island, Bahamas.