Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine
with Phyllis D. Light

Greeting Friends, 

This is a very exciting program we are offering this year and hopefully will continue as long as there is interest. If you did not have the opportunity to experience Phyllis and her incredible teaching last year, fear not. These weekends are designed to be taken separately or together. Each weekend we will be presenting a system and the plants that Phyllis uses for health maintenance as well as remedies. What is remarkable about Phyllis’s work is the depth of tradition that she brings to her use of the plants. She weaves Cherokee, Creek, Appalachian and African medicine ways that actually emerged to become the tradition of the American South.

In medicine today there is much emphasis and almost glitter associated with indigenous practices. We are looking to foreign soils to learn foreign practices that really have a different cosmology than we have here in the Eastern U.S. What Phyllis has researched, lived and practiced gives form to what many natural practitioners are looking for in terms of local, authentic medicine. While she will not go deeply into her roots and history of her teachers each weekend, you can be assured that her stories will be rich and inspiring.

July 5 - 6: Mind/Body Systems -
Nervous, Lymphatic, and Immune Systems

Subtle workings of the nervous, lymphatic and immune systems and the interactions between the three systems will be covered. Patterns of dysfunctions associated with the systems will be recognized and discussed including the effects of stress and emotions on the immune system, joint health and the workings of lymphatic system. A discussion of vitamins, minerals, and specific foods that support healthy nervous and immune systems function will be included.

Herbs Covered - Blessed Thistle, Blue Vervain, Lobelia, Mullein, Passion flower, Peach, Pippsissewa, St. John’s Wort, Valerian, Wild lettuce, Ashwagandha, Bay laurel, Black Walnut, Boneset, Cayenne, Chickweed, Echinacea, Cleavers, Poke, Red Root, Sumac, Thuja, Wormwood, White Pine, Shrub yellow Root

November 1 – 2:  The Digestion System

This class includes the subtle workings of the liver, gallbladder and digestive system. Patterns of dysfunctions and ways to keep the digestive system operating at peak efficiency will be covered. Emotional, spiritual and nervous system issues such as Gut Reactions, Courage and Anger will also be discussed.

Herbs Covered- Cascara Sagrada, Barberry, Blackberry, Flax Seed, Rhubarb, Black Walnut, Chickweed, Plantain, Bayberry, Yellow dock, Burdock, Blessed Thistle, Milk Thistle, Artichoke, St. John’s Wort, Dandelion, Oregon Grape, Prickly Ash, Fringetree, Turmeric, Wild yam, Slippery Elm, Marshmallow, Mullein, Cayenne, Black cohosh, Fennel, Licorice, Fenugreek