How Much Time Do I Need to Commit to Studying Herbal Medicine

People considering joining our intensive herbalism course often ask how much time they will need to commit to studying herbal medicine beyond the course. A very common and classic learning framework is to have lecture content, whether live or on-demand, as well as additional required reading and further exercises/activities/assignments. Suddenly, the commitment balloons beyond the time you are either willing or able to dedicate to a course, overwhelm sets in and the learning experience you wanted to have never materialises. Our course does not follow this traditional academic model. Read on to learn more about how much time it will really take studying herbal medicine with us.

Each year of our course spans 75 live hours of learning together across the four in-person gatherings, live online sessions and closing ceremony. There is no pre-reading needed before any of the sessions (in fact, we often encourage you not to read ahead, as challenging as that is for some!). There is no required reading to be completed after a session. There are no assignments in any form. Everything is done together in an interactive manner. For example, when we get to know each of our twelve herbs, we drink the herb together. If you choose to drink the tea for the whole week we’re focusing on that herb, brilliant! If you only remember to do it for the two one-hour live online sessions where we’re working with that herb and its particular taste, that’s completely fine, as well. When we’re together online, we work through the profile for that herb together, so that’s when you’ll flesh out those pages in your course book, writing down the tastes, the qualities, the impacts on the constitutions, the actions, what forms of herbal remedies that herb is best suited to, etc. Is there room to do a bit more exploring into an aspect of a particular herb that piques your interest? Yes! Is it required? No. And you’ll still develop that depth of knowledge with the plant because everything we do together is designed for studying herbal medicine in a way that is embodied, elemental and experiential, so you’ll know it in your body without spending a lot of additional time and energy cramming facts into your brain.

This begins at the summer in-person gathering once we’ve gotten to know our twelve herbs for the year. This is your time to try, touch, smell, feel, observe all those little nuances of herbal remedy making that bring these processes to life, rather than being sometimes overwhelming instructions on a page. We then weave remedy making into each of our seasonal gatherings for the remainder of the first year - and what we make together, you get to take home with you. Of course, practice makes perfect, but there is no requirement to spend significant time or money outside the course to make more remedies of your own at home. In fact, making lots of things for the sake of it can be counterproductive. You can get burnt out filling up all your counter space and cupboards with all kinds of beautiful things you may never use, which will ultimately go to waste - and nature is not a limitless resource. So release yourself from the ‘have to’ mindset and relax into the ‘want to’, the ‘I feel like’, the ‘I’m curious’, the ‘I’ve got some time now’ flow. 

Studying herbal medicine is acquiring a life skill, rather than memorising information from books. It is knowledge that emerges over time from living it, experimenting with it, having people to share your thoughts, your explorations, your questions, your aha! moments with, rather than late nights by candlelight with your quill in hand, surrounded by stacks of books. Herbalism is nature and nature breathes and lives. Our time together on the course is focused and intentional and deep (hence, it is an ‘intensive’ herbalism course). This focused time together means your time on your own is relaxed and expansive. It means herbalism weaves its way into your life when your child gets a cold and you give them a herbal tea with the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired or when you’ve been out in the garden all day and put a herbal poultice on your blistered hands and nettle stings. It means you can pop a question in the group WhatsApp at any time for some feedback or further information. It means you have the space to follow whatever crops up as most interesting to you. One of our first year students recently shared she usually feels so overwhelmed and bored on a course not soon after it begins, because all additional required reading just sucks the life out of it, but on our intensive herbalism course, she finds she reading more on her own that she’s ever done because she’s excited, she’s stimulated, she’s exploring her own passions - and because she doesn’t have to. Brilliant!

Studying herbal medicine may seem like a huge undertaking, and yes, some say it takes more than one lifetime to learn herbalism. However, our intensive herbalism course is specifically designed to remove all the obstacles that can keep you from getting going and sticking with it - the classic academic required reading and assignments - and covers all the depth, all the nuance (and all the basics) in an interactive format each step of the way. Even if you can only engage with the course during the dates and times when we’re together live in-person and online, you will acquire all the knowledge and skills shared on the course in a way that sticks and is enjoyable, rather than stressful. If you’re wondering about how it works if you can’t make all of the sessions live, have a look here.

If you’re here in the UK, you’re very welcome to take the next step on your journey building your knowledge, skills and confidence as a home herbalist with us on our intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - which spans all four seasons and gets herbalism both deep into your bones and your daily life. Although it is intense, it’s suitable for a wide range of herbalists, including beginners! You can learn more about our herbal medicine course here. Be sure to put your name on the waiting list to see what the current cohorts are up to and get first access to enrolment before it opens.

However you choose to start studying herbal medicine, I hope you enjoy the journey!

At Rhodes Roots & Remedies School of Herbal Medicine, our practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. Through our intensive herbalism course, we facilitate the development of confident, empowered herbalists, attuned to the messages of their bodies and the natural world. Living the deep wisdom of herbal medicine within themselves, their homes and their communities, they uplift themselves and others, creating a stronger society organically. We do hope you'll join us on your journey!