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- A turn in the path
A turn in the path
There are some revisions and new directions happening behind the scenes in my clinical practice, so stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, I want to say hello and share a bit about how I came to Chinese medicine for those of you who may be new to my newsletter.
I first began by studying herbal medicine circa 2015/2016. Within a matter of months, I had gone from a very energetic and vibrant twenty-something to one with serious fatigue and constant digestive issues.
Earlier in the year, I had graduated from university, run a half-marathon, traveled to Europe, and moved to Pittsburgh, where I was working an intense job. I was very active and commuted by bike nearly everywhere around the hilly city. It was a time where I felt I could do anything and was trying to do everything.
By the end of the year, my life took a confusing turn, and I was slowly unraveling. I couldn’t keep up with myself.
It seemed like everything was “off”. My digestion, sleep, emotional regulation, and stamina were a mess.
Do you know the feeling of not even recognizing what is going on with your own health anymore?
I went to see all kinds of practitioners and nobody seemed to be able to pinpoint anything that could be wrong. I often felt brushed off and increasingly worried about what was happening to me. I was so busy with work that I did not have the bandwidth to keep scheduling appointments.
I started to get curious about the potential of herbal medicine, frankly as a last resort, but I didn’t know how to get started. I did not have close relationships with any '“alternative” medicine practitioners, nobody in my family worked with herbs, and I did not know what to trust. So I got a few books and began my herbal exploration at home.
Eventually, I chose to leave my job, but instead of taking a breather, I rushed off to Latin America to run a series of youth education workshops with collaborators in several cities. My health was still at a low point, but I was not ready to admit that I needed to slow down.
Things reached a tipping point when I got very sick in rural Mexico - too sick to work - and my collaborators considered taking me to a hospital. I was scared.
In a particularly memorable moment, one of my older collaborators told me sternly and unwaveringly that I must rest more. It was hard for me to hear. I was stubborn and had immense reluctance to slowing down. But as I sat there convalescing in the back of a van, I knew she was right.
When I came back to the US, I was motivated to start living differently, but I found myself in a challenging situation, without a stable place to live and also without another job lined up.
I decided to get involved as a work-trade volunteer on a small herbal farm in Oregon where I could be housed in exchange for work with plants. Little did I know that this farming stint would redirect my life more seriously towards herbal medicine. 🌿
I learned about medicinal herbs and the importance of rest that summer. I drank nettles for the first time and made herbal poultices for my skin. I also ate fresh butter and went to sleep a lot earlier. (The woman I worked for even sat down with me in the grass one afternoon and told me she had a strong feeling that I needed to go to New Mexico.)
My health improved tremendously during that time. A combination of whole foods, herbal medicine, and proper rest went a long way. I came to understand that I had been running on E for a long time, and at some point, it did not matter how young or capable I was - my body had simply been saying no.
My path continued to weave in and out of academic research and herbal medicine training over the next five years. I went through my first formal herbal apprenticeship in 2018 and took many classes in my spare time alongside my professional academic pursuits. You can read more about my education and training here. I also had the opportunity to be a patient in the clinics of some excellent Chinese medicine practitioners.
When I finally decided to leave academia and turn towards Chinese medicine professionally, I had already lived through many health challenges that the medicine had helped me overcome. My struggles with poor health and my experiences as a patient guided my educational decisions and helped me understand who I wanted to study with. It was through the process of overcoming illness and all-time lows that I started to look at the human experience differently and recognized it was time for a turn in my path.
Today, I feel so much more vital and ready to embrace my life than I did when I was younger. Through Chinese medicine, I learned about the critical nature of rest, the movement of qi, and the nourishment of yin and blood. Rather than being confused and directionless when I feel bad, I now understand how to guide myself toward harmony. It’s a daily practice, but one that I enjoy doing over and over again. You can do this too.
I know it can be very hard when you’ve been feeling low for so long. I also know that it’s possible to make meaningful changes in your behaviors and thought patterns that have big ripple effects across all aspects of your life.
As a Chinese medicine practitioner, I merely help your body help itself, because the medicine is truly within you. 🧡
Warmly,
Artemisia
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Clinical Herbalist | Chinese Medicine
Upcoming Events 🗓️
TEA AS MEDICINE SERIES
I am teaching a series of classes on how to incoporate herbal tea infusions as medicine with a Chinese medicine perspective at Lost Cultures Tea Bar here in Albuquerque, NM. These classes focus on the herbal selections available at Lost Cultures and will include an introduction to foundational Chinese medicine principles in day-to-day life.
Stay tuned to more upcoming classes and offerings!
Tea As Medicine - Support for Women’s Health is on October 19th | 1-2 pm
Tea As Medicine - Digestive Support for Holiday Season is on November 16th | 1-2 pm
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