Kayla Corona

My lifelong love of herbs and their wisdom has led me down this path of helping others. Herbs really are amazing things that have an innate spirit. This spirit, or intelligence of the plant as I like to call it, works on our mind, body and spirit in ways that we can't fully comprehend. Even simply sitting with a plant can be an incredibly restorative and therapeutic experience. I have a deep respect for the herbs, and I believe that we have lost a lot of the wisdom they home. So many today view herbs as simply being "good for" a problem, but I think they are so much more than that. Herbs help us evolve.

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My journey into herbalism began when I was very young. I would often help my mom in the garden where she would teach me about some of the plants that she grew. My initial approach to herbs was much more from the metaphysical side. I spent a lot of time learning the different spiritual properties and folk beliefs about various herbs. I loved learning what herbs could be used for protection, attract love and abundance, or what plants and trees were considered sacred to traditional belief systems. In my teens I began exploring more of the herbal medicinal qualities. I can remember being told to drink raspberry tea during my cycle because it would help with the cramping, drink passionflower tea to help settle my mind before bed, or how the scent of rosemary could help with studying.

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When I became a mother, myself, I realized how much nonsense they add into so many products. I began making my own soaps, lotions, candles and home good products. In March of 2013, a month after our second child was born and while living in a small apartment just North of New York City, I launch my first Etsy store, selling my candles, soaps and botanical skincare products. I had a dream of one day running a little herb clinic where I could help people. I started doing my own independent research, getting books to learn how to blend teas and make tinctures and recipe books from herbalists like Rosemary Gladstar. My journey through this led me to an amazing pagan community in Orange County, NY. It was here that I trained in Reiki and studied tarot, astrology, alchemy and esotericism.

 

I began formally learning herbalism in 2017. By this point, I had opened my first retail store where I sold my botanical skincare products. I started with Herbal Academy, completing their Introductory program up through their Clinical program. From here, I studied a bit with Commonwealth in their Community Herbalist program, but things still felt very incomplete. I knew there was a deep metaphysical practice with herbs, but it felt so lacking in clinical practice. It wasn't until I found Sajah Popham and the School of Evolutionary Herbalism that everything clicked into place. By this point, we had left New York and moved back to my home in New Hampshire, establishing our small farm here in Deerfield.

 

Through Sajah's programs, I learned how to connect my interests in alchemy, spagyrics and astrology with my clinical herbalism training. I learned a more vitalist approach, which helped fill so many gaps in my understanding of herbs. It was also around this time that I began studying medical astrology with Judith Hill and herbal alchemy with Robert Bartlett and took additional classes in herbalism with herbalists like Matthew Wood and Thomas Easley. Though I had read their books, I wanted to go deeper. To help broaden and deepen my understanding, I also decided to pursue formal training in yoga, tantra, Ayurveda, and pranayama as well as sound healing and somatics. I wanted to create something that wasn't just throwing herbs at a problem. In my own healing journey, I learned that dis-ease is so much more than simply the manifestation on the physical level. I wanted to truly help others regain control of their own health journey, empower them and help them discover who they are. I wanted to help them heal themselves. In learning all these different areas, I was able to find the missing pieces and created a cohesive herbal practice for myself that not only wove together the metaphysical and the clinical views but also created a truly holistic approach. With the help of my mentor, Kara Timmins, a Registered Herbalist in upstate New York, I've continued learning how to apply this Vitalist view towards a clinical setting. 

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I don't view herbs as simply being a more natural version of pharmaceuticals. To me, herbs are our allies, our teachers and our guides. Every herb carries within them a wisdom, and energy of its own. Through working with herbs, I believe we learn a little more about our human experience. To me, herbalism is a lifelong journey, and I will forever be a student of the herbs. They always have something new to teach us.