The Wisdom of Herbs for Healing & Wellness with Matthew Wood

Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist since 1982. He studied botany at the University of Minnesota, receiving his Master of Science degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine. An international lecturer, he has authored ten books on herbal medicine, including The Book of Herbal Medicine (North Atlantic Books, 2017) and The Earthwise Herbal Repertory (North Atlantic Books, 2016). In this episode Matthew shares with us early insights regarding the natural world and his realization that “nature is alive”. An expert herbalist, he walks us through how he works with clients from intake through diagnostic approach and herbal remedy. Matthew shares how as his practice has matured over the decades he has learned to simply “follow the energy”. We discuss the homeopathic principle of treating like with like and what the extracellular matrix is and its role in whole organism communication. He describes the role of constitution in holistic health and gives examples from Ayurveda’s dosha system, Native American animal likenesses, and the modern “body types” idea of endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph. We examine the healing mechanism of adaptogenic mushrooms like Reishi and Chaga and how they fit into a herbalist framework. He also recommends certain sustainable tonic herbs that can have long term benefits and explains the concept of “the green power” of Viriditas, espoused by the middle-age mystic Saint Hildegard. Matthew discusses the growing challenges in people’s wellness in a complex era of experimentation, sharing his vision of our relationship with the planet and Mother Nature in which our hearts are aligned with the love of the Earth. Matthew has helped tens of thousands of clients over the years, many with difficult health problems, and has maintained a practice of traditional Western herbalism during a period when many others have turned to the exotic traditions of India or China. While Matthew believes in the virtue of other healing modalities, he has always been inspired to learn, preserve, and practice the tradition of herbal medicine descending to us from our European, Anglo-American, and Native American heritage. He is a registered member of the American Herbalists Guild and teaches online through the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism.

www.matthewwoodinstituteofherbalism.com