Canyon Spirit Ventures 2024: Western Herbal Therapeutics
Feather Jones, a Registered Herbalist and Certified Clinical Herbalist in Western Herbalism, brings over 30 years of expertise to her role at Canyon Spirit Ventures. Integrating herbal remedies, holistic nutrition, flower essences, and stress reduction guidance, Feather offers a synergistic approach to health and healing. Grounded in Native American (Mandan) tribal teachings and serving as a Botanical Field Guide for the Sonoran University of Health Sciences, Feather's extensive background enriches her teaching and clinical practice. As a former president of the American Herbalists Guild and an animal rights advocate, she is deeply connected to the wild plants and advocates for their preservation. An international lecturer, teacher, and author, Feather's passion for the land keeps her exploring off trail, uncovering hidden ruins, magical side canyons, and red rock overlooks in Sedona during her free time. DeliveryRank has the pleasure.
Feather, what inspired you to create the Western Herbal Therapeutics program, and how does it differentiate itself from other herbal medicine courses?
What inspires me? The plants themselves and helping folks with their healthcare, going from feeling poorly to feeling better to feeling vibrantly healthy is what this is all about. Finding natural remedies with herbal and nutritional support and working with them over a period of time, seeing the changes in their energy levels. This program is about training others to do what I do and using their own instincts and intuition along with a solid education in botanical therapies and strategies.
There is no better classroom than being outside with the plants in their wild and garden places learning in an all inclusive environment, helping us to connections to all natural things. Each medicinal plant has a unique character about it, I always recommend knowing what grows in your environment and using them first. The plants have figured out how to survive and thrive in your personal bioregion and will teach your body how to do the same.
With over 30 years of experience in teaching herbal medicine, how have you seen the landscape of herbalism evolve, and what role do you believe it plays in modern healthcare?
When I first started studying herbs in the last part of the 70s, we were in one of those cyclic renaissance eras where we were reintroducing natural therapies and influences to a world full of pharmaceutical dominance. Folks were looking to find alternatives to drug side effects. Herb schools were springing up. Many of them are still vibrantly functioning. Many new ones have popped up as well. Echinacea, an herb for colds and flus and a myriad of other ailments, is more accepting and common knowledge in the world now.
The biggest evolution in herbal medicine is now herbalists have to interpret medical lab work, understand what the pharmaceuticals are doing for a client and manage their healing recovery, keeping this in mind. Meaning not to discount what the allopathic approach has been and how to harmonize without interfering with the prescription drugs they are on. Many more holistic clinics now are multifunctional in that there may be an M.D., naturopathic doctor, herbalist, acupuncturist, etc. under one roof.
I have seen my graduates moving on and starting successful schools of their own. I don’t just teach the basics of herbal medicine, but also how to work with clients, how to do a proper intake and formulation strategies. How to feel confident and armed with their knowledge in complex case studies.
Another challenge is that we need to take care of the wild plants. Wildcrafting (wild harvesting) is an art that requires patience and thoughtfulness. As more people are using herbs, we have to be mindful on how much we take out of a given area without negatively affecting the size of a stand or area. This is close to my heart and I teach other future wild harvesters. But it’s not just the unethical wildcrafters, it’s climate change, loss of wild habitat and rain forest destruction that makes us more attentive with the herbs we recommend.
The program includes field trips to diverse locations such as the Colorado Rocky Mountains and White Mountains in eastern Arizona. How do these environments contribute to a comprehensive understanding of herbal medicine, and what unique lessons do they offer to participants?
Yes, my program is 93 hours for the first year program and many of those hours are spent outside, how to correctly identify the plants and species, how and when to use the plants, how to prepare them and learn mindful harvesting techniques. Each botanical field trip is specific to different plant zone communities and includes a wide diversity of medicinal plants, that the students can then start to create their own herbal pharmacies. Seeing where the plants grow and their tribe of interrelated species around them contributes to the knowledge of what might grow in a given region. We spend many hours at the picnic tables preparing herbs for tinctures, oils, honeys, drying and hanging for teas, vinegars, etc.
www.canyonspiritventures.com
Your mentorship program is designed for both beginners and active herbalism students. What personal qualities or characteristics do you believe make a successful herbalist, and how does your mentorship program cater to the individual needs of aspiring herbalists?
The Private Mentorship Program is a certified and completely customized herbal training program that includes tailored weekly one-on-one zoom classes, a botanical field trip of their choosing, as well as the on-line 22 hour Women’s Wellness Certificate Program. This is designed for the person who wants a solid herbal education but on their own time. Whether they are beginners needing a solid foundation in western herbal medicine or an intermediate herbalist just looking to fill in missing gaps in their education or even seasoned herbalists seeking support for complex cases, the program is co-designed with the student to empower them to reach their full potential.
https://www.canyonspiritventures.com/private-mentorship-program/
Given your deep connection to nature and the emphasis on preserving the wildness of the earth, how does the philosophy of Sedona Tea Blends align with the principles of herbalism in your courses, and how do you integrate the essence of Sedona's sacred places into the herbal education experience?
This one is easy. Sedona Tea Blends is a selection of self enveloped teas, pre boxed, to enhance the vortex energies and experiences of the vortexes here in Sedona. I have added flower essences that speak to the heart and mind and offer new insights and perspectives to how one processes their thoughts, allowing them to respond instead of react. Flower essences are a part of the course curriculum and are taught how to make them as powerful remedies.
The teas themselves are created around the energies of each vortex. For example Cathedral Rock Blend has botanicals that support the overall experience one would have if they were sitting on the rocks. A calming but grounding experience, refreshed and feeling deeply nourished. The herbs used are licorice root, that supports the adrenals and immune systems, cinnamon that supports the cardiovascular system, astragalus that is considered an adaptogen to help with stress and others. The teas also have vortex essences infused in them for the vibrational influence.
If you would like to find out more about Feather Jones, RH, AHG, please visit https://www.canyonspiritventures.com/ and https://sedonateablends.com/