Love Letters to Our Bodies
Conversations on health, healing, and happiness for and by African American women. An exploration of the mind, body, spirit connection. and opportunities to hear from spiritual teachers and holistic health practitioners.
Love Letters to Our Bodies
Herbs that Heal and North American Black Herbalism
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How can herbalism go beyond traditional medicine to meet our needs? During this episode, Gwendolyn Mitchell interviews a guest with rich knowledge about Black North American Herbalism, particularly as it pertains to women going through a health crisis. Shereel Washington is an accomplished herbalist and serves as the principal of Ixalted Natural Body Care and Botanicals, a health and body restorative herbal business that specializes in creating customized herbal formulations to support and restore overall health and wellness. Join us as she shares how her multi-faceted background in dance, martial arts, and herbalism, as first taught to her by her grandmother, has informed her life and work. Next, we dive into the details of how she uses herbalism to support women according to their symptoms, constitution, and needs. Lastly, Shereel offers some pearls of wisdom for women in the middle of a health journey of any kind: start where you are with what you have.
Key Points From This Episode:
• Shereel’s background as a herbalist, martial artist, dance teacher, and performer.
• How she came up with the name Ixalted after running an arts program with her husband, called Ixalt.
• Shereel’s first herbal teacher: her grandmother.
• How Ixalted customizes herbal remedies specific to the symptoms, constitution, and needs of her clients.
• Why it is important to Shereel to preserve the history and knowledge of Black North American herbalism.
• What herbs can offer to women in the middle of health crises that other medicines cannot.
• Herbal remedies to support the cancer healing process.
• How Shereel’s work helps women to take care of themselves productively.
• Limitations that women of color experience when exploring plant medicine.
• Advice for women in the middle of a health journey.
Quotes:
“Herbs are meant to first change our internal terrain.” — Shereel Washington [0:31:01]
“Herbs invite us to – [be] more introspective and say, ‘what change, even if it’s one change, can I make to improve the quality of my life?’” — Shereel Washington [0:43:55]
“Taking care of yourself is productive. Noticing your body so that you can continue to do the things that you love but also to walk in a way that’s going to help you not cross that threshold of harm to yourself and to be able to know when you need to pull back to take care.” — Shereel Washington [0:46:59]
“You have more time than you think. Pay attention to what’s inside you and around you. You have more available than you realize. It’s not over until God says it’s over.” — Shereel Washington [0:55:51]
“Know that you have more time than you think and try [not to] allow fear to be the boss.” — Shereel Washington [0:57:00]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Shereel Washington on Instagram
Shereel Washington on LinkedIn
Ixalted Natural Body Care and Botanicals
Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute
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