Ep. 171 Vitalist Herbalism & Holistic Immune Support with Sajah Popham
In this episode, we have Sajah Popham back on the podcast! Sajah is author of Evolutionary Herbalism and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, where he trains herbalists in a holistic system of plant medicine that encompasses clinical western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy. You’ll learn what is vitalist herbalism and how it’s different from allopathic herbalism. And yes, it is possible to work with herbs in a NON-holistic way!
Sajah gives examples of vitalism through mechanisms of the body, such as a fever, and how to support this natural response with the right herbs at the right time. Sajah’s shares his perspectives on herbalism’s role in self-sufficiency, reconnecting with basic life skills and bringing self-care back into our own hands.
We also look at the immunity from a vitalist perspective and cover the best herbs for specific stages of immune health, including Sajah’s perspective on lung support during COVID and why taking the wrong herb for you can make things worse. Sajah shares how to identify which plants to use from a long list of herbs and what you need to look for in order to match the remedy to the person.
There are so many wonderful and practical pearls of wisdom dropped in this conversation. This is not just for those interested in herbalism, but for everyone interested in holistic healing. This talk invites you to look at what it means to view health, wellness and the world through a vitalist lens.
At the end, Sajah talks about two exciting events:
(1) His (totally free) herbal mini-course Vitalist Herbalism Mini-Course outlining some of the core principles behind how to practice herbalism according to methods that have been used for thousands of years in medical traditions from around the world.
(2) Sajah’s virtual offering Vitalist Herbal Practitioner Program
Show Notes
In this episode, we discuss:
How is vitalist herbalism different from allopathic herbalism
How a fever is an example of vitalism in the body and how to support this natural response with the right herbs at the right time
How to begin a vitalist approach to wellness and herbalism
The importance of experiencing the plants versus just learning about them in a book
Balances the intellectual knowledge with experiential understanding
How to truly “learn by heart” when it comes to plants and herbalism
Sajah’s top tips on how to get started with herbalism
How we’re born vitalists innately
Herbalism’s role in self-sufficiency, reconnecting with basic life skills and bringing self-care back into our own hands
Know your local remedies
How to view immunity from a vitalist perspective and the best herbs for specific stages of immune health
Herbal categories, herbs within each category, and common misconceptions of specific herbs, examples including:
Immune tonics - Astragalus, reishi, cordyceps (most mushroom);
Acute immunostimulation - echinacea (and traditional ways of using echinacea
Core concept of energetics in herbalism: the ecological influence on the body and why understanding the energetics of plants is critical
The body as an ecosystem, inherent bodily polarities and energetics to be aware of
How to address lung support with vitalist herbalism - Sajah does a wonderful breakdown of assessing the respiratory system and which herbs to bring in depending on the energetics
Sajah’s perspective on lung support during COVID and why taking the wrong herb for you can make things worse
How to identify which plants to use from a long list of herbs “good for ____ symptom”
Which herbs are generally good for hypothyroidism
The importance of assessing the person you are working with
Sajah’s breaks down his Vitalist Herbal Practitioner Program and how this was the program he wished he had when he first started
How Sajah’s new baby son is feed his wild, and all the ways think about his child and what kind of person he’s going to be and how important it is to have new humans coming into this world who have reverence, respect and appreciation of the wildness of the world
4 of wands - homecoming, returning home, feeling supported, celebrating rights of passage
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Connect With Sajah Popham
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Sajah’s book Evolutionary Herbalism
Resources + Links Mentioned
Feed Your Wild podcast ep 168 Coming Changes :: Getting Into Alignment For Future’s Sake With Penny Kelly
Plant Path podcast: Becoming a Self Sufficient Herbalist with Lucy Jones