UPCOMING EVENTS
Solid Perfume-Making
with Lakeja Baylor
* New Date *
Saturday, September 27th, 4-5 pm
In this workshop you will be learning how to make your our own solid perfumes. Combining beeswax, botanically infused oils, and essential oils you will make & take home 2 differently scented solid perfumes.
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Fall Ayurveda Gathering & Ghee-making
with Kimber Hyatt
12-1:30pm, Saturday October 11th
Let’s have tea & discuss this most beautiful season of transition, the ups & downs that come with it.
Kimber will share Ayurveda’s perspective & some beautiful ways to stay grounded, nourished, healthy & feeling like your best self as the season brings about its changes.
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Community Medicine Making Circles
withJen Halima
Next one: October 25th
Roots & Broth Blends
Meet the autumn root harvest and the many ways it can be incorporated into healing and immune supporting remedies through infusions into tinctures, cough syrups, teas and food. We will learn how to make a cough syrup and prepare an herbal broth bags for you to take home.
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Plant Allies for Stress, Depression, and Fatigue
with Kat Maier
Saturday January 31st, 2026, 10am – 5pm

Sunday Morning Tea Ceremonies
with Silvy Franco
Join Silvy for a meditative ceremony to commune with Camelia sinensis. Come for quiet reflection as you sip on several cups of tea following Japanese tradition. Ceremony begins at 9:30 am and goes for an hour. Pre-registration is required.
Suggested Donation: $25
Schisandra
/in Herb of the Month /by Ashley Davis(Schisandra chinensis)
Schisandra is a deciduous climbing vine that is native to China & Eastern Russia. It’s a highly prized tonic herb in traditional Chinese medicine, used to promote longevity and overall wellness. Because it contains all 5 flavors recognized by Chinese medicine (bitter, sour, salty, pungent & sweet), its effects on the body are broad, as each flavor is associated with an organ system. The flavors will come through differently for different people, and there is a saying that whatever flavors you taste first are the flavors you need the most to restore balance. Because it contains a balance of all 5 flavors, it is considered safe for any constitution.
adrenal axis (HPA) and normalizes the endocrine and immune systems. It has historically been used as a longevity tonic, a sexual tonic, and a tonic for vital energy. Out of all the adaptogens that exist in the world, schisandra stands out as one that is both calming and invigorating. It can give you sustained energy and endurance while calming the spirit and helping you stay focused. And it is simultaneously nourishing, calming, rejuvenating and detoxifying.Schisandra is also hepatoprotective, meaning that it protects the liver against damage caused by environmental toxins, viruses or alcohol/drugs. In Chinese medicine, it is considered to nourish the liver yin, or the cooling & nourishing aspect of the liver’s functions. Modern research has shown that schisandra increases metabolism of heavy metals, and can help to decrease elevated liver enzymes. This is helpful for anyone with a liver that is overheated and overworked due to high levels of stress, anger, and controlling personalities as well as anyone exposed to a high level of toxins. It can be a useful herb for someone recovering from hepatitis, mono, or undergoing a hepatotoxic drug regimen such as chemotherapy.As an astringent herb, schisandra astringes excess fluid, tightening loose tissues to prevent leaky/boggy/atonic conditions such as urinary frequency, prolapse of the bladder, and diarrhea. It is used in Chinese medicine for leaky chi (involuntary sweating, premature ejaculation and ‘wasting & thirsting diseases’) when vital energy is slowly dissipating from the body.
I think of schisandra as an herb for anyone who is feeling puny or sluggish, with poor detoxification, brain fog, blood sugar lability, and a lot of anxiety/stress/overwhelm. It’s great for type A people who have burnt themselves out and are experiencing signs of adrenal fatigue such as metal fog, low energy, low libido, weak immunity. These people would do well to kick the coffee habit, as coffee depletes the adrenals, and schisandra makes a wonderful replacement for your morning coffee, perking you up while helping you to adjust to the symptoms of withdrawal (keeping you feeling stable and focused, alleviating jitteriness, headache and palpitations).
Indications: tuberculosis, mild asthma with wheezing , diabetes, blood sugar lability, diarrhea, nocturnal emission, involuntary sweating, insomnia, forgetfulness, low energy, chronic stress, brain fog, difficulty focusing, anxiety, palpitations, weak immune system, low libido, bladder prolapse, quitting coffee addiction, hepatitis, heavy metal toxicity, mono, cancer
Contraindications: because the sour flavor can increase gastric secretion, use schisandra cautiously if you have gastric ulcers acute gastric inflammation. Its liver detoxifying actions may affect the metabolism of certain medications (inhibiting CYP3A4). Schisandra has shown no harmful effects to fetal development, but it does have a traditional use of inducing labor (20-25 drops of tincture per hour), so large amounts should be avoided by pregnant women. If you are pregnant, seek the guidance of a professional herbalist or midwife before using schisandra regularly.
Dosage: 3-9 grams daily of powder, or 1 tsp of dried berries to 8 oz of water, decoct for 5 minutes or steep for 30 min. Tincture: 30-60 drops (1.5-3ml) qid
**This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease**
**This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease**