Having qualified as a clinical herbal medicine practitioner and then founding Rhodes Roots & Remedies School of Herbal Medicine, people often ask me why I decided to become a herbalist. Being a herbalist is both my way of life and my vocation, but I wasn’t always connected to the natural world. Read on to learn the three very specific reasons I decided to become a herbalist.
1. I Wanted Natural Solutions to My Own Health Challenges
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but until my mid-twenties, I had challenges with my gut health. You can read about my journey in detail here, but in short, I was tired of allopathic practitioners telling me there was nothing wrong with me and recommending I go home and take a paracetamol. I knew there had to be solutions that didn’t involve any chemicals, that would be able to get to the root of the gut imbalances I was experiencing and that could support my health from all aspects safely and effectively. It took quite a bit of researching different modalities before I finally found what I was looking for - herbal medicine - and immediately I knew I needed to become a herbalist in some form. What I didn’t know at the time was it would take me on a journey all the way through qualifying as a clinical herbal medicine practitioner and completely changing my career and life’s work, but I’m glad it did!
2. I Became a Herbalist to Support My Family’s Health Naturally
I had been exposed to the ‘health food store’ and some holistic remedies through my mum growing up as she explored and learned about different natural approaches, herself, but for the bulk of my childhood, we still used all the classic over the counter pharmaceuticals and prescription medicines from our GP. When I set out to become a herbalist, I had only just met the wonderful man who is now my husband and father of our daughter, but I knew I was acquiring this knowledge and developing these skills for our future family. I didn’t want to feel haphazard or unsure. I didn’t want to feel stuck having to do something I didn’t feel was right because I didn’t have the understanding myself. I wanted to feel confident in supporting my family’s health exclusively with herbal medicine from the start. And that’s exactly what I did. Every cough, cold, niggle we’ve had as a family, I’ve supported us exclusively with herbal medicine, as well as my own pregnancy, birth, postpartum and times of global health challenges. Every step of the way, I’ve been able to be our family’s herbalist - caring, in tune, trusted and effective. If I could only choose one reason - this would be more than enough.
3. I Was Tired of Sifting Through Greenwashing
Before I became a herbalist, the more I tried to make more natural choices when it came to food, medicine, toiletries, home cleaning products, etc., the more frustrated I got. There are a lot of big companies in the world that put profits before people and they put their significant marketing budgets behind what is on-trend and what sells. Unfortunately, this means as more of us are becoming more aware and conscious of what we’re putting on and in our bodies, these companies are changing the way their products look and how they market them so they appeal to our desires for more natural products. And so greenwashing is rampant. This means using words like ‘all natural’ and ‘eco’ on labelling, even using the colour green more prominently on their packaging. (Yes, there has been significant marketing research behind this - and it works!) But I was tired of it. Tired of wasting ages standing in front of a wall of shelves of purportedly ‘natural’ products. Tired of having to choose the relative best, based on label and budget, but still not being completely happy with it or confident in it. I wanted to be able to make my own as much as possible, be confident in all the ingredients and confident it would do what I needed it to do. And I didn’t want to have to read any more labels! I realised becoming a herbalist would help me develop the skills and knowledge to do that - amongst many other things.
There are many more reasons I became a herbalist, many which have only emerged in retrospect as I observe what is happening in the world, but at the beginning of it all, there were three main sparks. I chose to become a herbalist because I wanted natural solutions to my own health challenges. I wanted to become a herbalist to support my family’s health naturally. I became a herbalist because I was tired of sifting through mountains of greenwashing. Now as a qualified herbalist teaching at our school of herbal medicine, I see every student of mine coming with their own reasons why they want to become a herbalist.
If you know yours and you’re here in the UK, you’re very welcome to take the next step on your journey and become a 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.
Whatever your next step is in becoming a herbalist, 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!
