Brooklyn Herborium Philosophy:
The methods we use at Brooklyn Herborium have long been practiced without a name. It is the invisible art of finding equanimity by meeting one’s basic needs which helps the body to function well. It has traditionally been the job of mothers,wives, and other wise women healers. Functional Herbalism has no intention of replacing doctors or using herbs to practice medicine. It avoids using herbs as drugs and instead honors herbal allies as nourishment, management, and gentle guides to nudge us back towards the path of health.ÂÂ
These methods work, but they are not the only methods that work. We recognize that each healing spiral is unique and that there are many lovely ways to move towards health and beauty. This is not meant to replace professional guidance or medication if needed.
“And, In Addition To” Medicine
“Holistic does not mean alternative. What we teach and the work we do is not an alternative to traditional/conventional medicine, but something we can offer as an “in addition to” We don’t need to replace medicine. We need to provide what medicine can not.” -Emma Graves
Functional Herbalism is not a replacement for medicine. It complements necessary medical services and with regular thoughtfulness and keeping an eye on nourishment, makes us much less reliant on medicine (especially that which is being used for the relief of symptoms) so that what is being provided by the doctor is likely to be far more effective.
At Brooklyn Herborium, we meet the body where it at and support it in continuing on the healing path while ensuring that all of its basic needs are being met in order to function optimally.
Rather than trying to work against either a pathology or the body’s immune response, we believe that the body is intelligent and we assist it by giving it what it needs in order to do it better and more comfortably. When all of the needs are being met reasonably well, the body is in balance because it has equanimity.
This type of equanimity is not the same thing as the a back and forth balancing act which keeps you constantly at the edge of imbalance. Equanimity comes from getting all of the basic needs met Body, Mind & Spirit) in order to function properly. You can’t do it in one hour or one day or with one product or lifestyle change. The first step moving in the direction the body is already heading towards, believing that it knows what it’s doing in order to heal you.
Our practitioners do not consider symptoms to be just a sign, or a way that the “body is telling you that something is wrong. We recognize the symptoms as a process that the body–mostly the immune system–is actively (and purposely) doing in order to resolve the problem.
We Don’t Diagnose & We Don’t Prescribe
Two things that Doctors are allowed to do that we are not allowed (and don’t want) to do are diagnosing and prescribing. When you go to the doctor, you are asking for their specialty and what they can do for you that no-one else can do. You will most likely leave with a diagnosis and a prescription to control the problem. They want to provide you the most direct form of relief and don’t have the time in their schedules to teach you the self-care that you can (and NEED) to do in order to simply feel good and get your basic needs met.
This is where Brooklyn Herborium shines. At Brooklyn Herborium, we don’t look at “disease” or skin types or try to change them, but instead examine how someone is functioning from a holistic perspective and seek to uncover the imbalances their personal habits. It is with nourishing the body with a daily regimen that meets our basic needs and implementing pinpointed self-care to normalize basic body function that we break free from control cycles.
