The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism

Basic Doctrine, Energetics, and Classification

By: Matthew Wood

Narrated by: Chris Sorensen

The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism places the function of western herbs in their true historical context, apart from homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. Recently there has been a revival of interest in western herbalism, but practitioners haven't been able to explore its benefits due to a void of information on the topic - the system of medicine the herbs fit into had all but disappeared.

To remedy the situation, herbalist Matthew Wood has researched the old-time practices and reconstructed them for modern use. In resuscitating western herbal medicine and bringing it up to date, he gives his listeners a powerful tool for holistic theory and treatment. Wood makes the point that plant medicines, because they are made from a broad range of chemical components, are naturally suited for the treatment of general patterns in the body. He argues against the biomedical model of standardization, in which herbs are refined and advertised as if they were drugs suited to an exact disease or condition.

©2004 Matthew Wood (P)2020 Tantor

I didn't care for the reader

The book is very informative and I get something new from it every time I listen to it. The reader is a turn off. So much so that I wonder if it's intentional.

Great book enjoyed delving into Western Herbalism

As a practitioner of homeopathy for 30 years it's great to see a practical herbal tradition which is clearly not a western suppression of symptoms. I wish more practitioners would stand up for the honest benefits of so called anecdotal evidence over theory and symptoms management. It is a great acknowledgement of the value of non-mechanical models and the inherent safety of what Nature brings naturally to our health and vitality. Very practical as an exploration of specific herbs covered as well. First time I have felt I could grasp an energetic use of herbology and possibly make it my own. Thank you.

This book is much more informative than I expected! It's an excellent resource for my herbalist school.

I dislike when it's ended! I felt very attached to this book 📖 as I wish it were longer : )

narrator is a cure for insomnia

the inguinal is excellent but ours do hard to listen to. the narrator had perfect pronunciation, but zero sense of what he's reading. a computer beverage text to speech would be better. at least it wouldn't have an odd accent.

The book is essential for understanding the tissue states.

Appreciate the monographs through experience. Essential for understanding tissue states. The reader had a hard time finding the rhythm in the beginning but ended strong.