The roots of herbalism lie in the ancient past. Our ancestors have been using plants for healing as long as humans have walked the Earth and beyond into the misty depths of our evolutionary history. Through millions of years of co-evolution we have developed the necessary biochemical, physiological and energetic mechanisms that allow us to assimilate and benefit from the nutritional and healing properties of plants. At the beginning of the 21st century herbs still play an essential role in our healing traditions as they will continue to on our journey into the future.

Medical Herbalism

The second major trend in herbalism represented in North America is medical herbalism, often referred to as the phytotherapy tradition. This is a more recent approach that is commonly practiced by medical doctors and some herbalists in Europe. Medical herbalists often attempt to incorporate herbalism into a modern medical paradigm, aspiring to be more science-based. This may result in an approach that focuses on alleviating the symptoms of disease; diseases become prominent and the individual secondary. Medical herbalists may also have a tendency to give precedence to knowledge of the individual chemical constituents of herbs, rather than whole herbs.

As with everything in life, nothing is black and white. There is considerable overlap between these two general trends within Western herbalism. The philosophical orientation of individual practitioners and schools can fall anywhere between holism and extreme reductionism. Labels can also be deceptive. There exist degree programs that claim to represent traditional herbalism that are quite reductionistic in their orientation. There are also practitioners who call themselves traditional herbalists who practice within a more reductionistic framework. Similarly, there are degree programs that claim to represent medical herbalism that are very holistic in their orientation. There are also practitioners who refer to themselves medical herbalists who practice within a more holistic paradigm. In short, it is not the label that characterizes the herbalist but rather the path that they choose to follow in their life and work.


Living Earth Herbalism

The philosophy and approach to herbalism offered at Living Earth is firmly rooted in a traditional, holistic paradigm. We recognize that there is an incredible wealth of valuable information that has become available through modern medical science. Some of this information is relevant to the practice of herbalism, but much of it is not as it is based on a fundamentally different understanding of the nature of health and the healing process than that of holistic healing traditions. At Living Earth, advances in medical science that are important to the practice of herbalism are incorporated into a traditional, holistic paradigm rather than attempting to incorporate herbalism into a reductionistic medical paradigm.