Showing posts with label herb class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label herb class. Show all posts
3.29.2019
3.10.2019
Herbal Arts series
When: Third Saturdays of each month, 1 to 5 PM.
Where: Vita Art Center
Register: $55/ class via Vita Art Center, or contact me
10.31.2018
Past Herbal Classes
Past Herbal Classes
Jiling’s
Botanical Medicine
Classes
Learn to use the natural medicine chest surrounding you: plant identification, medicine making, edible and medicinal properties and usage, and so much more!
Class info
WHEN: Sundays 6:30-8:30 PM, 9/27 - 11/22 (Level 2 classes)
Wednesday 6:30-8:30 PM, 10/14 - 11/25 (Level 1 classes)
WHERE: Out on a Whim Farm
COST: sliding scale $30 - $50 per class (pay as you can)
(Includes tea, samples, projects. Inquire for trades. All welcome.)
REGISTER: ---
(visit www.LinJiling.blogspot.com for more info)
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Weekly schedule
(Schedule may change. Please RSVP for an updated schedule)
“Level 2” Herbal Body Systems and Plant Walk classes:
Plant walks every other week: 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/22
Lectures every other week:
9/27- herbal energetics
10/11- nervous system herbs
10/25- digestive system herbs
11/8- respiratory system herbs
11/22- herbal first aid
“Level 1” Medicine-Making classes:
10/14- Welcome to Herbalism
10/21- Gathering, Processing, and Storing Plants
10/28- Creating Tea
11/4- Oil Infusions and Salves
11/11- Making Tinctures
11/18- Sweet Medicine
11/25- Incense, Dreaming Herbs, and Flower Essences
11/25- Incense, Dreaming Herbs, and Flower Essences
more details on the above:
Autumn 2015 Herbal Classes (level 2) with Jiling
Autumn herbal classes alternate between lecture and field classes.
Lecture classes:
Lecture classes cover a variety of topics, primarily materia medica for different body systems. These classes take place indoors with tea, discussion, and samples. A basic understanding of herbal principles is requested for this class.
Field classes:
Field classes take place outdoors; all are welcome. These classes may include plant walks, botanical field identification, medicine making, sharing herbal projects, and general discussions/ Q+A. Please dress appropriately for walking outdoors, and bring your current herbal projects to share. Please RVSP, as some classes may take place in other locations, and the schedule/ location may shift with the season, and weather.
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Jiling’s Herbal Medicine- Making Classes
Come join herbalist Jiling and learn how to make your own herbal home remedies, with the plants that grow around you. Each class includes a tea party, lecture, and demonstration. Students make and take home a useful natural product with recipes, further resources, and an abundance of information and inspiration.
The Classes
Welcome to Herbalism (Oct. 14)
Come experience and experiment with a variety of herbal medicine making techniques and menstruua (solvents). We’ll introduce making teas, tinctures, vinegars, honeys, and oils. Further topics may include preparing salves, sugars, glycerites, flower essences, elixirs, oxymels, incense, and food. Students are invited to bring their favorite preparations, recipes, stories, and more to share after class!
Gathering, Processing, and Storing Plants (Oct. 21)
Once you know what plants do, how do you utilize their resources? We’ll explore some local edible and medicinal wild plants, then discuss ethical wild-crafting tools and techniques, and plant harvesting, processing, and storage methods and considerations.
Creating Tea (Oct. 28)
Teas are an ancient way to ingest plants, which is still ritualized in many traditional cultures. We’ll share a tea ceremony, then prepare teas, infusions, decoctions, and topical tea applications (washes, compresses, poultices, steams, baths). We’ll discuss some local delicious and nourishing plants for tea, then formulate a useful and delicious tea blend.
Oil Infusions and Salves (Nov. 4)
Our skin is the most exposed part of our physical body. We’ll discuss skin-care, and create a luxurious aromatic skin-healing oil infusion and salve.
Making Tinctures (Nov. 11)
Tinctures are plants extracted in alcohol. They’re easy to make, transport, and ingest. We’ll prepare tinctures with fresh, dried, and other plant materials with the folk method, and scientific method. We’ll discuss formulation, cordials, elixirs, and plant actions. Other possible topics include organoleptics, Ayurvedic constitutional evaluation, vitalist energetics, and balancing the five flavors.
Sweet Medicine (Nov. 18)
A spoonful of sugar truly makes the medicine go down. Sweet medicine is often delicious, as well as medicinal. Just don’t eat it all at once! We’ll make honey infusions, syrups, glycerites, and pastilles. Students will bring home a yummy medicinal honey infusion.
Incense, Dreaming Herbs, and Flower Essences (Nov. 25)
Working with plants on a ritualistic or energetic level can complement any self-care or therapeutic practice, and enhance the process of coming to know oneself, in relation with plants. We’ll discuss plant connection exercises, dreaming herbs, the ritual usage of plants, and how to make flower essences. We’ll make an incense blend in class, for students to take home, and continue the journey.
Jiling’s Spring 2015 Herbalism Classes
Come join us for an empowering, informative, and fun herbal workshop series in Bethany, CT this spring, with herbalist Jiling Lin. These classes provide a solid introductory foundation for the vast world of western herbalism, rooted in hands-on medicine making, plant identification, and other practical skills. Students will learn and explore experientially, making an herbal medicine in each class, and gaining useful tools for self, home, and community.
When: Tuesday nights (6:30- 8:30 PM), and the first Saturday of each month (10 AM- 3 PM).
Come for one, or all, of the classes. Open to everyone.
Where: Out-on-a-Whim Farm
Register: Contact Jiling ---
For more info, visit www.LinJiling.blogspot.com
Tuesday Evening Medicine- Making Classes
When: Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM. March 17 to June 2
Cost: Sliding scale $30-$50 per class.
We’ll share tea, and explore a different topic each week: practical medicine-making skills, formulation, applicable theory, plant identification, local edible and medicinal plants, and more!
Free Tea Party (March 17)
Come join us for a free tea party to welcome the coming spring, and the beginning of a weekly and monthly herbal workshop series! We’ll discuss different approaches to exploring the world of plant medicine, with plenty of open space for collective sharing, asking questions... and savoring samples! Please bring your beautiful self and any interested friends, and a snack to share. Hope to see you there!
Creating Tea (March 24)
Teas are an ancient way to ingest plants, which is still ritualized in many traditional cultures. We’ll share a tea ceremony, then prepare teas, infusions, and decoctions. We’ll discuss ethical wild-crafting tools and techniques, plant drying methods, and storage techniques. We’ll formulate customized relaxing blends for each student, exploring relaxing herbs and nourishing nervines, and how they interact with unique body-types. Other topics we may explore include topical tea applications (washes, compresses, poultices, steams), local delicious and nourishing plants for tea, and powders.
Oil Infusions and Salves (March 31)
Our skin is the most exposed part of our physical body. We’ll discuss skin-care, salve making, oil infusions, formulations, and create a luxurious aromatic skin-healing salve.
Making Tinctures (April 7)
Tinctures are plants extracted in alcohol. They’re easy to make, transport, and ingest. We’ll prepare tinctures with fresh, dried, and other plant materials with the folk method, and scientific method. We’ll discuss formulation, cordials, elixirs, and plant actions. Other possible topics include organoleptics, botany, Ayurvedic constitutional evaluation, vitalist energetics, and holistic health.
Sweet Medicine (April 14)
A spoonful of sugar truly makes the medicine go down. Sweet medicine is often delicious, as well as medicinal. Just don’t eat it all at once! We’ll demonstrate making honey infusions, syrups, glycerites, pastilles, cordials, and elixirs. Students will bring home a yummy medicinal honey infusion.
Aphrodisiacs and Herbal Chocolates (April 21)
Since food is one of our most powerful medicines, let’s begin with dessert. We'll explore aphrodisiac plants, uses, and formulation. Focusing on roses and cacao, we’ll concoct decadent herbal chocolates, and luxurious rose coconut oil.
Incense, Dreaming Herbs, and Flower Essences (April 28)
Working with plants on a ritualistic or energetic level can complement any self-care or therapeutic practice, and enhance the process of coming to know oneself, in relation with plants. We’ll discuss plant connection exercises, dreaming herbs, the ritual usage of plants, and how to make flower essences. We’ll make an incense blend in class, for students to take home, and continue the journey.
Women’s Herbal Circle (May 5)
This class is for the ladies. We’ll discuss dietary, lifestyle, and herbal support for women, and the female reproductive system. I’ll tailor the class to the needs and interests of participants, so please register, and let me know who you are! We’ll formulate a supportive tea for the female system, and create a moon-time medicine kit.
Herbal First Aid (May 12)
Using herbal medicine in acute first aid situations is one of the best ways to learn, through hands-on practice in everyday life. We’ll discuss how to address common first aid concerns with herbs, such as open wounds, infections, digestive disorders, headaches, emotional distress, and more. Students will bring home an herbal medicine to start, or complement, their own herbal first aid kit.
Spring Edibles and Digestive Bitters (May 19)
Many of the first edible plants to rise in the spring are bitter. We’ll discuss the importance of bitters for healthy digestion, identify spring edibles, and make a delicious digestive bitters tinctures blend, and infused vinegars.
Food as Medicine (May 26)
Let thy food be thy medicine... and let thy medicine be thy food! In this fun and delicious class, we’ll demonstrate creative ways to prepare local wild edibles, kitchen herbs, and integrate herbs into food. A few possibilities include making gomasio, pesto, finishing salts, infused oils and vinegars, sauerkraut, tonic soups, adapto-balls, and more!
Free Tea Party (June 2)
Welcome to another community tea party, now at the culmination of the spring herb classes, where all students are invited to share their herbal projects, experiences, plant stories, and more! I’ll share upcoming summer herb class activities, and some spring treats. Please bring a locally grown or wild-harvested snack to share. Let’s celebrate the abundance of spring, and the upcoming pleasures of summer!
First Saturday Botanical Field Days
When: First Saturdays of each month, 10 AM- 3 PM, April to June
Cost: Sliding scale $65-$85 per class.
Field days include plant walks, medicine-making, and more. We’ll explore field botany, ethical wild-crafting, and land stewardship. Please come prepared to be outdoors, learn, connect, and have fun! Please register in advance, for location and other details.
Plant Identification: Intuition and Observation (April 4)
Understanding botany is essential, for conclusive plant identification and safe/ effective medicine making. This class combines intuition, observation, and science to help newcomers learn practical botany skills. We’ll discuss organoleptics and botany basics, then embark on sensory explorations, and practice “keying out” plants using botany tools and books. We’ll discuss ethical wild-crafting tools and techniques, then make a fresh plant tincture and oil.
Experiencing and Creating Flower Essences (May 2)
Flower essences contain the vibrational essence of the plant. They work with people on a subtle yet powerful energetic level. We’ll connect with plants through field botany and a variety of awareness exercises, make our own flower essence, and experience a variety of plant essences.
Herbal Medicine Making Intensive (June 6)
Making herbal medicines involves understanding a simple set of techniques, then repeating and adapting them, under a variety of circumstances. We’ll do a plant walk, botanizing along the way, practice plant connection exercises and ethical wild-crafting, then explore a variety of field medicine making skills, including drying methods, plant storage, tinctures, oils, honeys, glycerites, liniments, and vinegars.
11.20.2015
Botanica Erotica (lube class handout)
Botanica Erotica
Slippery herbal unguents for female sexual health and pleasure
Jiling Lin - 2015 - www.LinJiling.blogspot.com
(Note: This handout combines info from sweet medicine, oils, and aphrodisiacs classes. Just skip over what you know already... and move on to the juicy bits. Enjoy!)
Lube Options
- Water-based lubes (safe, but may need reapplication)
- Silicone-based lubes (unsafe with silicone devices)
- Oil-based lubes (lasts longest, but deteriorates latex)
Water- based lube suggestions
- Aloe vera gel
- Demulcent teas
- Flax seed decoction
Oil-based lube suggestions
See “Oils and Salves” section
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Herbal Lube Considerations
Demulcent
Elm Mallow
Oats Chickweed
Vulnerary (skin healing)
Comfrey Calendula
St. Johnswort Roses
Chickweed Plantain
Gotu kola
Anti-bacterial
Yarrow Mugwort
Wormwood Artemisia spp.
Estrogenic (not for pregnancy)
Wild yam Black
cohosh
Aphrodisiac, and other Actions/ Considerations
(See next section)
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Aphrodisiacs
(Experiment, explore, enjoy!)
Nutritive
Chickweed Elm
Milky Oats Marshmallow
Violets Maca
Nettles Red
Clover
Burdock Raspberry
leaf
Adaptogen
Tulsi Ashwagandha
Astragalus Licorice
Ginseng Eleuthero
Shatavari Schizandra
Mushrooms (Reishi, Maitake, Shitaki, etc)
Warming Stimulant
Cacao Cayenne
Cinnamon Dang
gui
Ginger Cardamon
Aromatic Relaxant
Damiana Jasmine
Rose Vanilla
Nervine
Hawthorne Lemon
Balm
Motherwort Kava
Kava
Skullcap Passionflower
Sends blood to genitals (use with care)
Muira puama Horny
goat weed
Yohimbe
Female Sexual tonic
Dang gui White
poeny
He shou wu Shatavari
Fruits/ Berries
Goji Jujube
Cranberry Strawberry
Essential Oils
Sandalwood Vetiver
Ylang ylang Patchouli
Rose otto Jasmine
Turn it Red
Add 1 tsp Alkanet powder, per 1 C oil
Other Considerations
Lifestyle (ie. diet, exercise, breath, hydration)
Relationship (ie. connection, goals, trauma)
Setting (ie. candles,incense,ceremony,massage)
Flower essences (ie. Bach, Mimi Kamp, etc)
Other oils (ie. Jojoba, Almond, Avocado, Olive)
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Making Oil Infusions and Salves
Oil Infusions
Oil Infusion Methods
- Long/ slow infusion (2 weeks)
- Solar/ Lunar infusion (can do with slow infusion)
- Hot infusion (faster. For mucilaginous, or thicker plant materials ie. Barks, roots, and seeds)
- Crock pot (on low, 2-12 hrs)
- Stove top/ Double boiler (1/2- 1 hr)
- Oven extraction (120 F, 8-12 hrs)
Making Oil Infusions: folk method
1. Prepare the plant. Collect fresh plants. Depending on the plant and your preferences/ access, you will use it fresh, freshly wilted, fresh dried, or dried.
2. Process the plant. Chop it into small pieces. The smaller the better, to expose more surface area to oil. If using dried plant materials, you can even
powderize the plant, though I find that difficult to strain afterwards.
3. Fill a glass jar with your prepared plant material. Leave two inches at the top. Pack the jar so that it’s firm, but not tight.
4. Fill the glass jar again with oil. Completely cover the plant material. Poke it all with a stick, to release any air bubbles.
5. Cap, and use your desired oil infusion method (see above).
6. When finished infusing, strain out the plant material, and rebottle your remaining infused oil. I like to keep old natural-fiber clothing, and cut it
into squares to place over containers as strainers, then just throw away the cloth afterwards.
7. If you infused a plant with higher water content, then let sit for 2-4 days. Any remaining water from the plant will sink to the bottom. Pour off oil
from the top, to separate that from the watery mix. Use the watery oil up first, separately. The “pure” oil will last longer.
8. Label, and store in a cool, dry, dark place.
Oils to Infuse into
(Other oils may work, too)
Heavier oils:
- Olive oil
- Jojoba oil
- Sesame oil (raw)
Lighter oils:
- Almond oil
- Apricot kernel oil
- Grapeseed oil
Solid at room temperature:
- Coconut oil
- Animal fat
(Note comodogenic vs. non-comodogenic oils, for sensitive skin types)
Oils/ Waxes to add
Butters:
- Cocoa butter
- Shea butter
Oils:
- Avocado oil
- Argan oil
- Castor oil
Antioxidant oils:
- Rosehip seed oil
- Carrot seed oil
- Evening primrose oil
- Vitamin E oil
Waxes:
- Beeswax
- Carnauba wax (from the Brazilian palm tree)
Salves
Salve Proportions
Adding more wax creates a harder salve; adding less wax creates a softer salve. Experiment with what consistency you like.
1 oz wax (weight): 4-8 oz oil (volume)
Making Salves
1. Prepare your oils. Measure out how much salve you want to make, and blend our oil infusions and other oils accordingly. Pour into a glass jar with a pouring
spout (I love beakers), and place into a metal pot. Fill water around your glass jar, to create a double boiler.
2. Heat it up.
3. Add wax, at your chosen proportions. It’s easiest to have pre-grated beeswax, and a dedicated grater just for beeswax.
4. Mix it with a spoon. Take out a small amount on the spoon and put into the freezer, to test its consistency texture. Modify as necessary, adding small
amounts of wax or oil, until satisfied. It’s easier to slowly add more wax, instead of oil.
5. Once ready, remove it from the stovetop. If you want to add vitamin E or essential oils, then let it cool a little bit, then stir it in at the end, before
it solidifies. The essential oils can explode, if the temperature is too high.
6. Pour into the awaiting jars.
7. Let cool. You might have to top off the salve as it dries, as it can create a funnel in the middle of the salve, as it dries.
8. Cap and label.
9. Store in cool areas. Enjoy!
~
Some Lube Recipe Ideas
Basic Vag Salve
1/4 C liquid oil ((ie. jojoba, almond, olive, or infused oils)
1/2 C cocoa butter
1/2 C coconut oil
1 T vitamin E oil
2 tsp beeswax
1 tsp lanolin
(optional) essential oils (ie. Lavender, rose otto, rose geranium, chamomile, sandalwood)
Flax Seed Decoction
- 1 T flax seeds
- 1 C water
Boil, then simmer on low heat for ~20 minutes, until it’s reduced by half. Strain, and it’s ready to use! Can store in
the fridge for 2 months.
Yoni Butter (aphrodisiac/ lube, by Aviva Romm)
- ½ C cocoa butter
- ½ C coconut oil
- 4 oz unsweetened dark chocolate
- 2 T marshmallow root powder (or slippery elm root powder)
- ¼ tsp lavender essential oil (or other essential oil)
Ride and Glide (a nourishing lube, by Margi Flint)
- 0.8 oz grated beeswax
- ¼ C infused oil (with black cohosh, comfrey root, calendula, wild yam)
- ¼ C coconut oil
Combine and heat the above ingredients, then add:
- 1 T wheat germ oil
- 1 T vitamin E oil
- 1 tsp emulsified vitamin A
- essential oils of 30 drops lavender, 30 drops rose geranium, 10 drops rose otto
Coconut oil suppositories
Coconut oil with your choice of other oils (ie. Jojoba, vitamin E, wheat germ, evening primrose, borage, black currant seed
oil). Warm and mix the oils together, then freeze in ice trays to harden. Cut each cube into 2-3 sticks. Use a stick before sex or before sleep.
Herbal ointment (a post-menopausal possibility, by Rosemary Gladstar- in equal parts)
Oil infusions, with:
- Comfrey leaf and root
- St. Jonswort
- Calendula
Heat oils, then add grated beeswax (1/4 C beeswax for each C oil), until beeswax melts.
(Optional: vitamin E, cocoa butter, coconut, etc. oils)
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Chocolate
Making Chocolate from Scratch
¼ C cocoa butter 4
T cocoa powder
2 T sweetener ¼
tsp vanilla extract
1. Melt cocoa butter in double boiler on low heat.
2. Stir in cocoa powder.
3. Add sweetener/ vanilla.
4. Add herbs/ nuts/ seeds/ fruits/ etc. (Optional)
5. Pour into molds.
6. When solid, release from molds… and enjoy!
Using Existing Chocolate
1. Melt the chocolate.
2. Add in what you want. Here’s options:
- Add in nuts, berries, solid/ powdered herbs/ tinctures/ sweet preparations, let resolidify.
- Layer herbs (infused into sweet menstruua) onto melted chocolate that has solidified a bit. The herbs can be swirled in lightly, or completely mixed in.
- Use marc from coconut oil infusion to make chocolate. 1 Coconut oil marc : 1 Chocolate. Melt together, and mix. (ex: rose petal marc). Can also use herbally
infused coconut oil.
3. Mix thoroughly, and let resolidify. (Optional: If you have molds, such as ice cube trays, then you can pour into them, and skip the next step.)
4. Score or cut in desired shapes, once chocolate is hard enough to hold its shape.
5. Let dry slowly and completely. Do not refrigerate, as elements of the chocolate may separate.
6. Enjoy.
~
Flying Ointment
(Note: use only under the guidance of a trained herbalist, in small quantities, and well monitored. Not for recreational use.)
Traditional plants:
- Belladonna (Atropa belladonna)
- Datura (Datura stramonium)
- Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)
- Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum)
Traditionally used poisons (do not use):
- Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)
- Death hemlock (Conium spp.)
- Monkshood (Aconitum spp.)
- Foxglove (Digitalis spp.)
Other considerations:
- Poplar buds (Populus spp.)
- Calamus root (Acorus calamus)
- Cannabis (Cannabis spp.)
- Sages (Artemisia spp.)
- Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
- Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
~
Other Considerations
Ingredients to Avoid in Commercial Lubes
benzene derivatives (sodium benzoate, methyl, ethyl, propylparaben, benzoate of soda, boric acid), propylene glycol, parabens,
salicylates, anammic aldehyde, synthetic fragrances, glycerine (for irritation/infection-prone folks)
Food as Medicine
- Essential fatty acids (from fish, olive oil, hemp, flax, walnut, almonds, dark leafy greens, whole grain foods)
- Seaweed (and other iron sources)
- Healthy fats (unsaturated fats, only)
- Phytoestrogenic foods (ie. Soy, beans, flax, etc)
~
Resources
Online
Some simple aphrodisiac recipes
My oils/ salves class handout
My sweet medicine class handout
Past "Botanica Erotica" and "Botanica Aphrodisiaca" class handouts
Flying ointment
Book suggestions
“Herbal Healing for Women,” by Rosemary Gladstar
“Anatomy of Arousal,” by Sheri Winston
“Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health,” by Aviva Romm
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