Introducing Erin, a beautiful soul, herbalist, and mentor. I first came across Erin through her first book Plants For The People , the name itself resonated with me in a deep way, its simplicity, beauty and honest connection to the healing plants will always have a place in my reference library. Erin has her clinical herbal practice in Tasmania, is writing her third book, and mentors via her Blossom mentorship guiding her participants through their own plant path. She has also taken part in the most inspiring Ted talk - Herbalism the quiet rebellion , need I say more!
Erin is an inspiration and she does this in her own special love filled beautiful way ..
• Please could you share with us a little about where you come from, and where you’re based now?
I grew up in Sydney, Australia and am currently in a moment of nomadic wonder! Writing this deep from the forest in Tuscany, Italy. Outside of my travel adventures, my husband and I have a home base in the wilds of Tasmania, a little converted church that we call home.
• Do you remember when you first became interested in the healing plants?
I was always so enamoured with nature as a child, it is where I have always most felt at home. I recall being so intrigued by the beauty and seasonality of flowers in particular.
I remember eagerly awaiting our neighbours roses to bloom, and the jasmine to pop to signal spring had arrived.
From a young age I had a real kinship with the esoteric and mystical, crystals, tarot, healing therapies of all sorts… When I first learnt that plants had healing properties it was like a giant invitation into this hidden world I had not known about. I loved reading aromatherapy books and old herbal folklore as a teenager! And really my love of healing plants just continued and deepened from there. It was as if the plant path called me in truthfully.
• What is it that you love about being a herbalist?
Oh gosh where do I even begin?!
I feel a great sense of privilege to do this work. I love being devoted to nature, I love getting lost in the plants, listening, feeling, being with them.
As a clinical herbalist I absolutely adore working with clients and supporting them to shift their health stories with the support of medicinal plants. As a mentor to other herbalism students and practitioners I love to inspire them and support their remembering of connection to the plants (which can sometimes get a little lost in our increasingly hyper clinical training these days….)
As a writer of herbalism books I genuinely adore writing about the plants, and as a teacher there is nothing better than sparking wonder, reciprocity and connection with nature- which is exactly what herbalism is all about!
• Do you have a method within your practice, or is every session different? Could you share withus how a session unfolds?
Absolutely every session is different, as every dear person brings something new and unique! The overarching method in my practice is really to be openhearted, to listen, intuit, connect the dots, get to the root system of it all, hold a warm safe space and support in a session.The heart of naturopathic medicine is entirely based on individualised care, so really I flow with this as my guiding light.
• My tutor Christopher Hedley once told me to always make sure the client had a herb to leave
with after a session and if ever not sure on where to start prescribing from look to Dandelion, as
everyone benefits from this incredible plant! Do you prefer to start prescribing with a single herb
or simple formula or do you look to a more complex one when prescribing?
Dandelion for everyone! I absolutely understand the sentiment of this approach and dandy is such an all round superstar plant :)
I tend to err on the side of more complex prescribing as I am often addressing complex presentations in one tincture bottle, however I find when someone is quite sensitive and or overwhelmed I will absolutely start more gently with one herb, and often drop dose (a very low dose that is more energetic in its nature).
• How do you personally like to use herbs daily?
I love surrounding myself with them, not only ingesting them! I often have flowering herbs in a vase, drying in my apothecary, growing in my garden. I cook with them aplenty, I drink a wild amount of herbal tea (especially in winter) or daily overnight infusions often of nettle and oat which I really adore. I take them in tincture form, or a syrup or oxymel I may have made or sometimes in dried herb capsule form.
I really rotate out what I am taking depending on how my body and being feels and where I feel I need support.
• What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you like to do before bed?
First thing, I make sure I see the sun! I open the blinds and hug my husband. I feel off when I don't start the day with soft cuddles, it is the perfect nervous system reset!
Last thing, I tuck my sweet senior pup into bed and love on him.
I see a theme here! Expressions of love bookend my day.
• Do you have an absolute favourite herb? (A tricky one I know)
This changes for me for sure depending on what chapter I am in but right now it is Rosemary. Here in Tuscany I am surrounded by stretches of robust Rosemary that are so beautiful, fragrant and flowering even through deep winter. I feel instantly relaxed by this gorgeous plant, cheered up and reminded of how we can be tender and tough all in one! Rosemary is such an incredibly versatile plant and I would even go as far to say that if I could only plant one medicinal plant in my garden it would be Rosemary.
• What is your absolute favourite dish?
Well I am having a real pasta love affair here in Italy and pasta is really my love language! A bowl of beef tortellini with olive oil from the farm and fresh garden sage torn up is my current version of culinary heaven.
• Do you have a beauty regime, and do you weave any of this into your practice with your clients?
I am a huge lover of squeaky clean natural beauty practices and always preach on this to my clients for sure, if I would not eat it then I would not put it on my skin- it is that simple! I love infused herbal oils, and as my skin sees more years I feel oils are even more important. In my second book The Plant Clinic, I share a few simple herbal skin supportive practices that are so easy to make, I love a matcha and honey mask every week to brighten and nourish. But I really love to keep it easygoing and fairly low maintenance with my skin rituals.