Kombucha Cultured Tea Class



The wonderful Dori Oliver, who co-led our Kombucha workshop earlier this year, is offering another Kombucha class this weekend.  The workshop will feature techniques to start making your own terrific tasting kombucha tea! If you’ve already been making your own Kombucha, Dori is a wealth of knowledge and can identify ways to continue your skill building.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

10:00 am – Noon

$15

*      Demonstrations of basic brewing techniques & techniques for making flavorful variations

*      The equipment used to make kombucha tea at home

*      Kombucha to drink and sample

*      Starter culture and recipes to take home

*      A chance to win a Kombucha Starter Kit with everything to get started making kombucha in your own kitchen!

Please register before Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Send your name and what you hope to learn from the class to me, Dori Oliver, dorioliver@gmail.com, or call me 503-336-1999.

This class will be limited to 20 people & will be held at my home in Northeast Portland.

class address

upstairs, 832 NE 29^th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97232

Dori is a talented instructor and an extremely knowledgeable fermenting expert. Portland Healing Project highly recommends checking out her workshop this weekend!

WOW: May Day at the Herb Shoppe

The Herb Shoppe is going all out for May Day. Below is a list of events to enjoy. Wow amazing.

11:00 – “Urban Plant Walk” – Angela Levan

Come walk around the neighborhood to see what medicinal herbs are

growing in our area. We will be checking out local plants,

discussing harvesting, processing, medicinal uses, and how to make

medicine from these ever giving companions.

12:30 – “May Day Herbs for Emotional Well-Being”- Missy Rohs

Together with herbalist Missy Rohs, we’ll explore local medicinals

that have long been associated with Beltaine, a holiday

celebrating passion, abundance, fertility, and good will. Our

focus will be on nervines and uplifting herbs that can be found in

Northwest gardens and fields. Feel free to dress for a

celebration!

2:00 pm – “Herbs for Women’s Health “ –Dr. Alice Palmeri, ND

Join The Herb Shoppe’s Dr. Alice Palmeri and explore an array of

herbs for the female reproductive system. The use of tonic herbs

is a key way to nourish all the systems of the body, and can be

key to reproductive health. This lecture will cover herbs that

are both supportive and stimulating to the female reproductive

system. Including Red Raspberry, Vitex and Uva Ursi.

3:30 pm – “Energy Healing Herbs; Palo Santo, Copal, & Sage” –

Christophe Leroy

Learn how to diffuse and shift dense energy we each carry in our

energy fields with the release of smoke from Palo Santo, Copal,

and Sage, three plant medicine allies in extensive use throughout

the Americas. Discover how to access wisdom from each one through

a guided meditation practice and experience their cleansing

properties and healing qualities through specific applications.

5:00 pm – “Natural Perfumes and the Art of Blending Essential

Oils”- with Jess Ring of Green Ring Botanicals. There are few

luxuries as simple and pleasing as a beautiful fragrance. Join

Jess and explore the world of aromatherapy and its many everyday

applications.

FREE SACRED PLANT WORKSHOP WITH CHRISTOPHE LEROY

Sat. May 1st – Working with Sacred Plants – Palo Santo, Copal, Sage

Christophe Leroy has teamed up with the Herb Shoppe for some free workshops. The first is tomorrow and based on working with Sacred Herbs. For more information about Christophe visit his website.

3:30-5:00pm – free lecture at the Herb Shoppe on SE 32nd & Hawthorne

Learn how to diffuse and shift dense energy we each carry in our energy fields with the release of smoke from Palo Santo, Copal, and Sage, three plant medicine allies in extensive use throughout the Americas. Discover how to access wisdom from each one through a guided meditation practice and experience their cleansing properties and healing qualities through specific applications. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED: have your own experience of how these plants can work for and with you

Blog Crush

My friends Aaron & Ayumi of Apak introduced me to a neat organization in Portland called Trackers PDX. They offer low cost workshops on everything great from how to build a boat to how to identify wild greens for consumption. They offer a number of low cost workshops and year round education depending on the course. One of their instructors has a lovely blog called Tracker of Plants. It is super informative and really aesthetically pleasing. I am in love. Do check it out:

Tracker of Plants

Portland Healing Project + The Herb Shoppe

Portland Healing Project is pleased to announce our final installment in the workshop series, HERBAL ABC’s, led by Dr. JJ Pursell of The Herb Shoppe (a favorite on the Portland Healing Project blog). Dr. Pursell will be lecturing on the basics: top 5 herbs to know, herbal preparation, and a tour of the Herb Shoppe. We are so excited to work Dr. Pursell and the Herb Shoppe. We look forward to seeing you there!

Save the date:

Herbal ABC’s +++ Saturday, April 17th +++ 12:00-1:30

@ the Herb Shoppe

COST: FREE!!!

*Door Prize included….

DIY Accupressure

Acupressure

Acupressure is a method of applying pressure (without needles) to acupuncture points in the hand or foot..  Acupressure can improve circulation and may be able to provide mild relief to certain sickness or tensions.  Most commonly,  people their thumb to apply pressure.  You should apply pressure to the point for 1-3 minutes.   You can also “reduce points,” which means giving the spot a firm massage by rubbing the spot in a circular motion.  Like all massages, thinking about creating a relaxing atmosphere can enhance your experience, but is not necessary.  I recommend repeating these exercises over time to see if you can notice different bodily reactions over time.

Please note: research further on acupressure if you are pregnant.  Certain locations over time are more sensitive and/ or dangerous during pregnancy.

There are acupressure points all over you body, but many points are concentrate in the hands and feet.  Here are three different points to begin exploring with.

To fight headaches and sinus infections: put pressure on the top side of the hand in the fleshy area between the thumb and the index finger.  To locate, squeeze together the thumb and index finger.  Put pressure on the highest point of the muscle bulge.

To fight nausea: Apply pressure to the inner wrist, about three fingers width below the bottom of the wrist bone.

To fight anxiety: Make a lose fist  with your hand.  Press on the inside of your wrist,  on the opposite side from your thumb. Feel the edge of your wristbone- it should feel almost like a knuckle or a bump. Move slightly inwards towards the thumb and a press.  You should be feeling the southwest corner of the edge of your wristbone.

Workshop at the Herb Shoppe : Lymphatic Breast Care

Leah Hansen will be discussing Lymphatic Breast Care at the Herb Shoppe on Wednesday starting at 6:15. Hansen will cover preventative self care, soar nipples, breast cancer, and many more pertinent topics. Its a serious subject that is often overlooked by western medicine. I highly recommend attending.

WHEN

3/31/2010 6:15 PM WHERE The Herb Shoppe, 33rd & Hawthorne SE Portland

Making a Castor Oil Pack this week!

I am excited to make a castor oil pack this week.  Here are some encouraging videos:

2 things

1. People’s Co-op

We’ve talked about People’s before.  But really, they continue to be a source of inspiration in both the space they create and their programming. They have a great calendar of upcoming events.  Check it out!  I think lots of them would be highly pertainnet to Portland Healing project readers.  Some of the upcoming free events include: how to plan your summer garden and a workshop on healing cleanses.

2. The Nourished Ktichen

This is a nice blog and email list.  They introduce and feature many of the foods discussed in Nourishing Traditions, the book recommend by Dori Oliver.  Additionally, the blog features many (slightly) thrilling give aways.  I haven’t won yet, but I’m sure one of us will soon.  For instance, the site recently introduced to me to the health benefits of using ghee over butter.

Fermentation

a. The anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast.

b. Any of a group of chemical reactions induced by living or nonliving ferments that split complex organic compounds into relatively simple substances

If you have ever had sauerkraut, yogurt, or kimchi then you have experienced fermented food. Fermentation is man’s oldest system of food preservation and surprisingly one of the best ways to prepare foods to retain the most nutrients. Fermentation is a successful way of preparing food because it breaks down complex foods into easily digested material while maintaining the highest nutrient content. The lactobacilli (bacteria) promotes healthy flora in your intestine, so not only are you eating food that is easier to digest, you are also adding the good bacteria to help you digest more complex foods in the future. Win Win. Below is a list of easily accessible fermented food:

-Yogurt

-Kefir

-Sauerkraut

-Pickled Ginger

-Pickles

-Miso

-Kombucha

More information, check out Wild Fermentation