CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism

CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism Learn herbalism online with self-paced videos and twice-weekly live Q&A sessions! Ryn and Katja are teachers who are active practicing herbalists.
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Whether you are looking to care for yourself and your family, or become a practicing herbalist, you are welcome here! Our work is rooted in Traditional Western Herbalism, informed by science, inspired by the beauty and magic of the living Earth, and grounded in our own direct experience working with the medicine of the wild, feral, and cultivated plants that grow around us all. See our daily herba

l happenings in photos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commonwealthherbs/

One of the few husband-wife teaching teams in the herbal world, Katja and Ryn find that teaching as a team allows them to dig more deeply into the areas they're each most passionate about, while still providing breadth of learning for students. It's a win-win!

08/10/2026

comment CALENDAR to get herby goodness in your calendar every day, for free!

i’ll send you a link - just click it and it’ll add fun herbal activities to your calendar so that you always have something fun to do - not just work!

08/07/2026

these are the herbs that give you INPUT to support your OUTPUT - and help you feel less tired without stimulants (or if you need the caffeine etc, then take some of these herbs too and make it more balanced!)

this list could be huge but here are my top ones - they're easy to get and not too expensive:

(and, i tried to make this as concise as possible but if you want the full explanation for each herb, comment REST and i'll send you the direct link!)

cinnamon and/or tulsi to improve the way your body handles stress and manages blood sugar: more efficient = less effort expended!

berries & garlic to repair vascular damage so you can turn off some inflammation. (inflammation = workload!)

make digestion work better and more efficiently (digestion is actually a lot of work!):
calendula and/or plantain - repair damage in the GI tract
chamomile - relax tension & cramping, also repairs damage
catnip - relax tension, also reduces stuff moving up (reflux, nausea; also fear and anger!)
ginger - warming, relaxant, reduces cramping and slow digestion
fennel - warming, relaxant, reduces bloating
tulsi - warming, manages blood sugar, mood boost
anything bitter - increases digestive juices so you can break food down more easily

move the lymph = reducing inflammation & stagnation, improve immune function, decrease bloating and "puffiness"

self-heal - whole body boost
heather - lower body fluid retention and heart (also helps emotionally with grief)
red clover - trunk and lower body fluid retention
calendula - trunk bloating
ground ivy/elderflower - stagnation in the head (also helps with headaches and brain fog!)

there's more information about each of these and why they help - comment REST and i'll send you the podcast episode that goes through this list and explains everything!

08/04/2026

listen: if you need some stimulating adaptogens sometimes - no judgement! do whatcha gotta do! but, let's ALSO get some herbs into you that will take some of the workload off your body, so that you don't have so much to do all the time.

(now if they would just discover the herb that will do the dishes for me, i'd be all set!)

comment REST and i'll send you the direct link to this episode, with a list of herbs that are going to help you feel like you have more energy because you have less on your internal to-do list!

07/30/2026

sometimes you grab a coffee or some ginseng because you just have to get going - i'm not judging!

but that's not a very satisfying long term solution!

this week on the , i went through 17 herbs that can help you stop feeling so exhausted - they work by helping your body do internal work more efficiently, so that your to-do list shrinks.

now if only they could also help with the external work - like the laundry, the dishes... 😆

comment PERIMENOPAUSE and i'll send you the direct link to the episode!

07/28/2026

our July 20% off sale is winding to a close - so now's the time to get started!
use code CATNIP :-)

if you're not sure where to start, just comment HELP! and i'll pop into your DMs so that we can find the perfect match for you!

07/28/2026

herbs aren't "magic" - the reason they do stuff in our bodies is because of their chemistry!

when you start to think in those terms, lots of things get easier - for example, if you want to work with a certain herb but you don't have it, you can look for other herbs that have the same chemistry and get the same results. it opens up a lot of options, especially when we're trying to create more accessibility in our practice.

if you’re new here, i'm ryn, co-founder of CommonWealth Holistic Herbalism.
with my wife katja, we teach students from beginners all the way to professional practice - and everything in between!

our school is online, but that doesn’t mean you’re alone!
there are so many ways for you to talk to us directly anytime you want to, and we love when you ask questions! we've got live Q&A sessions weekly, a private student community, we answer written questions every night, and more!

you can grab some free courses and check us out with the link in our bio! ❤️🌿

07/27/2026

this is the last week of the July 20% off sale! use code CATNIP - and if you're not sure where to start, i'm here to help!

comment HELP! and i'll jump in a DM with you and help you find exactly the right courses to make you a confident herbalist!

07/26/2026

eating “healthy” food doesn’t make you a good person. it DOES support your body so you can do more of the things you want to do in life, but sometimes the thing you want to do in life is eat a treat, whether it’s a celebration or a sadness or a stressful situation or whatever.

so yes: eat the healthy food as often as you can, to support your body and to leave yourself room for a treat sometimes. it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

it is a great idea to harm-reduce your junk food - find treats you love that don’t have things you have sensitivities or allergies to, for example. i react really strongly to gluten and dairy, so ok, my treats are gluten and dairy free. the brownie in this sundae is made with almond meal and coconut sugar - a little lower glycemic load.

that way my treat is less likely to cause me discomfort afterwards. i’ll drink a nice anti-inflammatory tea, i’ll get a good night’s sleep (i apparently need it!), and i’ll make sure to take time for some stretching before bed.

but the one thing i won’t do is tell myself i’m a bad person because i ate some junk food. that doesn’t help anything at all.

so if you’re having the kind of day where you just need chocolate and salt all at the same time, then have it. let yourself enjoy it. try to pick something that won’t completely wreck you, and then savor it. tomorrow, eat some kale. it’s gonna be ok.

or, if you prefer, go ahead: say no to the junk food. tell yourself that your body will actually feel better if you eat something really nourishing! sometimes that works and when it does, do it, because every time you do something to support your body, you make a little extra space for when you’re having a hard day.

but whichever one you choose, don’t make it about virtue. don’t beat yourself up because you ate a cupcake, and don’t think you’re “good” if you don’t eat it - that’s a deep dark black hole. you’re already awesome, whether you have the treat or not. it’s only about making sure that most of the time, you give your body what it needs to stay strong, so that some of the time, you can have a little treat with minimal discomfort.

07/25/2026

how do we get the right herb for the right person? well, that's the topic of this week's episode of the Holistic Herbalism Podcast!

we go through five examples of people asking "what's a good herb for [edema, or brain fog, or chronic constipation, etc]" and we work out what information we need to make a good recommendation, and how we make choices between the herbal options for each person.

you can find the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K24MQX41Zvw&t=1980s

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