Pre-Symposium Intensive

Todd Caldecott will explore the roots, mythologies, theories, and practices of Ayurveda, providing examples of its practical utility in everyday life for both practitioners and lay people. He will introduce the 800-year-old Bajracharya Ayurveda tradition practiced by the hereditary Newar Buddhist priests of the Kathmandu Valley. Drawing on clinical experience and a large media library, we will explore pharmacy methods and traditional formulas of the Bajracharya physicians.

All of the world’s great indigenous systems of medicine have two things in common: a system of energetics to understand a herb’s properties and uses and differential diagnostics which allows them to match the herb(s) to the constitution and symptoms of each individual they treat. In Chinese medicine, there are five tastes or flavors. In Ayurveda there are six.

Ozain herbalism is a spiritual and philosophical science born from oneness with the Creative Essence bringing about wholeness in the human spirit. Seekers of Ozain aspire to bring themselves into alignment with a relationship to the divine cause of life. Ozain, (‘Divine Orisha of Plants’) teaches students to condition the body in its entirety so disease won’t attack. Attendees will glimpse the beauty of African Plant Herbology and how it connects to our physical and spiritual world.

We will explore a broader, relational vision of health, that is rooted in collective relationship with the community and extends beyond human relations, to ancestral relationships and Spirit. We will discuss connection to ancestors, plants, community, and ritual as it creates agency and intervention. We will envision what it would look like when a community informs and holds wellness as its responsibility as we reimagine care.

Whether you are an established herbal practitioner or starting on your herbal path, this experiential-learning based workshop introduces you to vis medicatrix naturae (the healing power of nature). You will learn easy-to-grow herbs commonly used in clinical practice as well as a research-based understanding of the benefits about working the land. No matter where you garden, this information will deepen your confidence in the therapeutic alliances between plants and people.