The Holistic Herbalism Podcast

By: CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism
  • Summary

  • Practical herbalism from practicing herbalists. Conversations, botanical deep-dives, Q&A with clinical herbalists Katja Swift & Ryn Midura of CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism.
    © 2025 The Holistic Herbalism Podcast
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Episodes
  • Adaptogens, or A Nap To Gen…erate Recovery?
    Mar 8 2025

    If you’re trying to decide whether you need adaptogens or a nap, well, the answer just might be both! But you can learn how to combine your adaptogens with other holistic interventions for better effects.

    In this episode we’re talking about choosing the best adaptogens to work with when what you really need is rest – a super common situation we all find ourselves in from time to time. We talk about ways to get rest – even if you don’t have time to nap! – as well as ways to rest that aren’t about sleep at all.

    How to start? Well, we can choose the least stimulating adaptogens necessary, first. That might mean going with tulsi before red ginseng, or jiaogulan before rhodiola. It might mean combining reishi and lion’s mane with burdock and dandelion root, to keep a grounding influence right there with our adaptogens. It might even mean formulating with digestives and nervines to subtly shift the influences of the adaptogenic herbs themselves.

    We can also be discerning about the type of activation we get – mental or physical at the fore. Tulsi & green tea is a very different combination than is eleuthero & coffee!

    Let’s also consider creating a support blend to go along with my adaptogens. This might include demulcents (marshmallow, fennel), nutritives (nettle), digestives (calendula, plantain, ginger, chamomile), or nervine relaxants & sedatives (skullcap, passionflower, betony, vervain). As always, herbal formulation is a great way to direct & enhance the effects of our primary herbs.

    ​Finally, here are three questions you should ask yourself whenever you’re thinking about adaptogens:

    • What’s going on for me right now?
    • Is there anything I could be doing differently?​
    • What’s the most important thing right now?​


    Interested in learning more about adaptogens, nervines, and related herbs for nerve & mood support? Check out our Neurological & Emotional Health course. This course is a user’s guide to your nerves & your emotions – including the difficult and dark ones. We discuss holistic herbalism strategies for addressing both neurological & psychological health issues. It includes a lengthy discussion of herbal pain management strategies, too!

    Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

    If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

    Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

    Support the show

    You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Herbalists’ Views on the Top-Selling Herbs (Part 2): Apple Cider Vinegar, Cranberry
    Feb 26 2025

    This episode continues our series covering the top-selling herbs in the United States. As we give you our thoughts about these popular herbal supplements, we’re hoping to help you break out of the box. These herbs are frequently pigeon-holed into very narrow ranges of application – the answers to the question “what is it good for?” are usually very limited! There’s more to say about them than their most effective selling points or marketing campaigns.

    If you’re a practicing herbalist, you should be well-informed about the herbal supplements people take most frequently. You should know what’s popular, and why. You should know how to answer people’s questions about these herbs, how to sort hype from health, how to identify better alternatives, and which ones simply aren’t worth the money. This series is intended to help you do that!

    If you’re new to herbalism – we’re glad that we get to help you form your initial opinion of these herbs. More broadly, though, this will serve as an introduction to marketing literacy in the realm of herbal supplements, as well as some good materia medica study.

    In today’s episode we cover apple cider vinegar and cranberry supplements.

    5. Apple Cider Vinegar – Malus spp.

    • jim mcdonald’s Apple monograph
    • Katja’s recipe for Paleo Apple Fritters

    6. Cranberry – Vaccinium macrocarpon

    • HHP 224: Herbs A-Z: Urtica & Vaccinium
    • HHP 006: Dynamic Desk Work + Crazy for Cranberries (discussion of cranberry starts around 25:30)

    Find the first episode of this series here: HHP 240: Herbalists’ Views on the Top-Selling Herbs (Part 1): Psyllium, Elderberry, Turmeric, Ashwagandha


    Whether you’re a brand-new beginner or an herbalist with experience, it’s always helpful to study the herbs in depth! Our comprehensive presentation of herbal allies is in our Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. It includes detailed profiles of 100 medicinal herbs!

    Like all our offerings, this self-paced online video course comes with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

    If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

    Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

    Support the show

    You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

    Show more Show less
    40 mins
  • Can I Be A Plus-Sized Herbalist?
    Feb 25 2025

    Katja writes…

    Today a student sent me a question and it was so important, i asked her if i could (anonymously) share it, because i know other people are wondering this too.


    She wrote:

    "I wanted to ask for any advice or your thoughts on how to handle being a plus size herbalist.

    I am plus sized. Though I am currently in working on a healthier life style that includes using herbs, I feel like when people see me or see that Im plus sized that they may not want to work with me or any of my products.

    I feel like this is my calling I have fallen in love with herbs and how they naturally work with in the body. but I feel like this could possibly hinder me from even opening my own practice one day. I kinda feel alone in this due to most of the herbalist I see on social media are very fit and “healthy”.

    Am I wrong to want to be an herbalist even though I am also going through a battle and journey with my weight?"


    The bottom line is: we need you. We need plus-sized herbalists. We need everyone, no matter where you are in your journey, whether you’re small or big or short or tall or thin or fat or disabled or abled or sedentary or athletic or anything else.

    And the other bottom line is that weight and health are not the same thing. I know that society has all these ideas about what is “good” and “healthy” but that doesn’t mean they’re true. You can be healthy and big! You can be healthy and small! You can be unhealthy and be small or big too!

    We’re all just trying to get through our day, and we’re all in the body we’re in. You don’t have to get thin to get healthy, so let’s make our bodies healthy now, regardless of what size or shape they are. And let’s love them too because bodies are pretty amazing actually!


    If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

    Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

    Support the show

    You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

    Show more Show less
    21 mins

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Great listening

I really enjoy listening to this podcast, they break things down in a very easy to understand way, but still go into quite a bit of depth.

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New to herbalism and you guys rock!!

I’m loving this!! I’ve been making big lifestyle changes for myself and my family recently, and wanted to start 2023 off right. I’ve signed up for your free courses and basically stumbled across the podcast and I’m so grateful that I did. I went back and started at the very first episode, and I’m learning so much!! When I started looking into herbalism and what changes I could bring into my life holistically, I was a little overwhelmed… there’s so much stuff out there! But you guys are so relatable and explain things in a way that makes sense. I’ve gained confidence that I can, at the very least, take care of myself and my family. So thank you for that! Don’t ever stop doing what your doing! Lots of love!

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Very knowledgeable

Wow I have been listening for a very long time. Both hosts are so knowledgeable! I am so impressed with the knowledge they posses about herbs.

You can tell they love what they do and they live the life they preach.

The examples they provide are very relatable. Their programs are also very well put together I highly recommend this podcast and their herbal education courses.

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Fantastic Podcast for learning herbalists

I am so excited I found this podcast it is amazing. The content is exactly what I was looking for and I have been searching the internet for just this. if you are getting into herbalism or just want more information regarding all natural health this is a great listen! Thank you for being here I can't wait to listen to every episode ❤

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The best herbalism podcast period!

This is the best out there! I started listening to their podcast, now I’m taking their classes and I love every second of it. They are funny, smart, honest, and I love their dynamic. I also have their book. Just my favorite herbalist family.

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