I am the proud caretaker of the herb garden at the Tivoli housing co-op in upstate New York. And by caretaker, I mean I'm just following the plan of the previous gardener, getting starting on planting and clearing space for cultivated herbs these last few warm weeks of Sprin-winter. 

There are many medicinal plants growing in the "way" of the garden, but the one I was digging up last week first was Yellow Dock. One of my most powerful experiences with herbs involved a 1 week liver detox that included yellow dock, oregon grape, dandelion, and yes, yellow dock. A common field weed, yellow dock is a superior reliever of liver stagnation and deficiency. I had had a rough winter, and the yellow dock helped to jump-start my body and mind - relieving past bad habits and creating space for new habits of health and lightness.  Yellow dock is nutritive and gets things moving, resolving dampness and stagnation in a deficient Spleen/Stomach and Liver/Galbladder meridians. Yellow dock is also a remedy for nettle stings - and often grows close by - but only if you sing the tune "Nettle in, dock out. Dock rub nettle out!"

I've noticed dandelion, burdock, violet and other old friends sprouting up all over the place. Nettles are next, ramps, and the elderflowers! 

Be in touch if you'd like to talk more about liver detoxing - I'm starting my annual one in a week or so and would love to do it with you. 

I found goji berries growing in the Arizona desert - so exciting!

Goji are a blood cleansing, nutrative superfood that have gained a popularity recently in the Western health world. Traditional chinese medicine (TCM) has been using them for centuries. 

In TCM they are used as a cooling Yin tonic - perfect for overworked New Yorkers like myself. I eat them in my oatmeal in the morning, dried. Fresh goji taste like tomato, slightly sweet and bland. 

I also brought back ocotillo, creosote, and sagebrush from the desert. Stay tuned for more on those plants! 

Even as someone who uses herbs every day, I had been resisting trying to manage my (somewhat) frequent stress headaches with herbs. Until I found the "Headache Blend" by Third Root Community Health Center. 

I usually take ibuprofen or drink water. Recently though, I've been reading about how damaging over the counter painkillers can be for your liver and other organs, so decided to give the herbs White Willow and Meadowsweet a try. And can you believe it, my headache went away. Regardless of the cause of the headache - it could have been many things - I felt better and more equipped to go about my day. 

Meadowsweet and White Willow contain salicylic acid which is a blood thinner. Aspirin is a synthetic version of salicylic acid.  I'm excited to work on modifying my life so that stress headaches don't happen anymore - but until then, I'll be using herbs instead of synthetic drugs. 

Thanks for visiting the first incarnation of my site! I'm excited to be able to offer sliding-scale massage for my community in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Take advantage of my opening by signing up for the newsletter and getting a special LOW sliding-scale rate for massage or herbal consult. 

As I'm a new practitioner, and I haven't worked on all my community yet, I want to support you and your work through massage and herbal medicine. 


I look forward to helping to support your health and your body! 

Stephen