Herbal Consultations – Finding the Right Remedy
In herbal consultations a holistic approach is taken to address the health concerns of the client. The detective work begins with the first initial symptom, but it doesn’t end there. An herbalist always wants to get to the root cause rather than give a quick bandaid fix approach. Along with an intake form, many herbalists will check the tongue and pulse and other visual indicators to determine a fully rounded herbal formula.
In pulse testing, the pulse reading goes much deeper than counting the beats per minute. The kidney, liver, and heart meridians run along the wrist. By checking the feeling of the pulse, we have a clear idea of how the organ systems are functioning, the circulation of blood, tissue state, thyroid health, kidney, etc, and it is even possible to detect emotional states such as anxiousness or melancholy thought patterns. Pulse testing is a very valuable tool to understanding the overall health and vital force of a person.Â
The exciting part about reading the pulse is the ability to test herbs on the wrist to decide whether the remedy is the right match for the client.
In a herbal consultation the pulse and our body does all of the communication. There will be changes in the
pace of the pulse, the hardness or softness, etc. The space between the pulse means the space between the thoughts and breath. The kidney meridian communicates how the body detoxifies the blood and how well the individual is dealing with stressors. When feeling the heart meridian, we feel the strength of the heart based on diet lifestyles and emotional pain or excitement. The liver meridian indicates if there is toxicity build up and or liver anger. The pulse is the the first to change which will let us know whether the body agrees or disagrees with the herb. Testing can go as far as to communicate the proper dosage. Our pulse gives subtle hints to us all the time.
If we have a food allergy the pulse will typically speed up and react before any other physical symptoms show themselves.
Along with pulse testing, there are visual indicators to look for in a consultation. The tongue reflects the health of the individual and represents a very accurate picture of the internal health of the client from current and past illnesses. I love seeing a clients tongue change and return to its normal healthy looking self from month to month when we’ve found the right remedy and a deep inner healing is taking place, but the tongue can also make slight changes by the end of a session!
The tongue also helps determine the clients constitutional state to decide whether cooling or heating herbs and foods are necessary. A tongue can show candida, as well as any issues in the organ systems and stomach. Spine, neck, and hip issues show on the tongue as well. People look at me like I’m a psychic if I ask them what happened to a certain part of their body like an accident where their neck or hip was injured.
How the heck did you know that? It was written all over your tongue!
Certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies are also visible by tongue assessment.
A herbal protocol will usually include 3-7 herbs but each herbalist is slightly different. Every herbalist has their own creative way in deciding the formula while achieving similar results. I like to see how each herb works together with the body so the formula is simple and powerful and then build as we go. I will choose herbs that work together to act on the blood, as well as the main concern of the client and any other blockages or health concerns we may find to provide balance in the entire system whether the body requires detoxification, better sleep, or support in organs and tissues.
The client will always be remedied as a whole with a “wholistic approach” in herbal consultations rather than looking at one specific symptom. In a session it is important to come out of the mind-thought space and into a heart space. To be open to the communication from the body and from the herbs. To deeply connect and listen to the body and nature.
To find out more information about herbal consultations with me, click here!
Robyn
