Kami McBride
From http://www.livingawareness.com/
I went on my first official herb walk when I was 8 years old as part of a nature camp that was held on the creek that I grew up on. There are big gaps in the memories of my childhood, but I remember everything that camp counselor said about the plants that afternoon. Like it was yesterday, I recall being so excited about learning the uses of Bay, Dogwood, and Yellow Dock. Since that time I have always loved learning about and doing things with plants.
From the time that I was a very young child my family would spend the Spring and Fall seasons fishing and diving at the Mendocino Coast. Every Summer we camped in remote areas of the Sierra Mountains. Our Sierra trips involved going into the forest and making our own camp ground. We would spend several weeks fishing, swimming, hiking, and in the evenings we sang and told stories by the fire. From my childhood experiences of harvesting food from the sea and sleeping under the mountain stars, I learned to love the Earth and her abundance.
My Grandfather was an ecologist and the first Parks and Recreation Director in Vacaville. He worked to save open space and preserve the creeks and trees. From him I learned a deep respect for the Earth. Every Spring and Fall after the first rains I would go with my parents and grandparents to the hills above Vacaville and harvest wild mushrooms. I can still smell the pans full of frying mushrooms and onions from this semi-annual family ritual mushroom feast. From those hills and my family I learned of the joy and spirit of hunting wild foods.
While working on my Bachelors Degree in International Relations at San Francisco State University, I made a conscious decision that I wanted to be of service; to help people and make the world a better place. I went to work on Capitol Hill where I thought one could have the most influence in making change. I was a legislative aid intern with Congresswoman Barbara Boxer.
It became very clear to me that I did not want to live the life that I observed there, and at the age of 23 I made the connection that positive change in the world begins with how we live our personal lives. The stress, tension, and unhealthy relationships that filled the lives of the people on Capitol Hill was what was being generated in the world. I made a decision to nurture balance and health in my own life and create change from there.
In the 1980’s I began studying various holistic health modalities. Yoga, massage, meditation, shamanism, clairvoyant studies, Biofeedback and herbal medicine. From spending so much time in nature as a child, I was naturally drawn to herbal medicine. Herbal gardening and wild plant harvesting became my passion. Meditation and shamanic techniques gave me the tools to allow the forest to be my classroom.
I attended my first class on herbs and Women's Health in 1986 with Rosemary Gladstar at the California School of Herbal Studies. I fell in love with the gardens and cabins at her school and the seeds of creating my own herb school were planted.
Issues of Women's Health have been at the center of my teaching and practice. When I was 19 years old I had a tumor surgically removed from my pituitary gland. It was the result of having taken a very strong birth control pill that is no longer used. This personal history has inspired me to continually search for healthier ways to approach the female experience. My deepest ongoing exploration is of issues surrounding the female cycles of menarche, menstruation, fertility, sexuality and menopause.
At about the same time I had this surgery a very close family friend died in her early 20’s as a result of the side-effects of an asthma medication that is no longer on the market. I was young and the tragedy of this experience had a marked effect on me. I made the connection that what happened to her and my surgery were both a result of damaging and needless medications. I started to notice that most of my eld
I went on my first official herb walk when I was 8 years old as part of a nature camp that was held on the creek that I grew up on. There are big gaps in the memories of my childhood, but I remember everything that camp counselor said about the plants that afternoon. Like it was yesterday, I recall being so excited about learning the uses of Bay, Dogwood, and Yellow Dock. Since that time I have always loved learning about and doing things with plants.
From the time that I was a very young child my family would spend the Spring and Fall seasons fishing and diving at the Mendocino Coast. Every Summer we camped in remote areas of the Sierra Mountains. Our Sierra trips involved going into the forest and making our own camp ground. We would spend several weeks fishing, swimming, hiking, and in the evenings we sang and told stories by the fire. From my childhood experiences of harvesting food from the sea and sleeping under the mountain stars, I learned to love the Earth and her abundance.
My Grandfather was an ecologist and the first Parks and Recreation Director in Vacaville. He worked to save open space and preserve the creeks and trees. From him I learned a deep respect for the Earth. Every Spring and Fall after the first rains I would go with my parents and grandparents to the hills above Vacaville and harvest wild mushrooms. I can still smell the pans full of frying mushrooms and onions from this semi-annual family ritual mushroom feast. From those hills and my family I learned of the joy and spirit of hunting wild foods.
While working on my Bachelors Degree in International Relations at San Francisco State University, I made a conscious decision that I wanted to be of service; to help people and make the world a better place. I went to work on Capitol Hill where I thought one could have the most influence in making change. I was a legislative aid intern with Congresswoman Barbara Boxer.
It became very clear to me that I did not want to live the life that I observed there, and at the age of 23 I made the connection that positive change in the world begins with how we live our personal lives. The stress, tension, and unhealthy relationships that filled the lives of the people on Capitol Hill was what was being generated in the world. I made a decision to nurture balance and health in my own life and create change from there.
In the 1980’s I began studying various holistic health modalities. Yoga, massage, meditation, shamanism, clairvoyant studies, Biofeedback and herbal medicine. From spending so much time in nature as a child, I was naturally drawn to herbal medicine. Herbal gardening and wild plant harvesting became my passion. Meditation and shamanic techniques gave me the tools to allow the forest to be my classroom.
I attended my first class on herbs and Women's Health in 1986 with Rosemary Gladstar at the California School of Herbal Studies. I fell in love with the gardens and cabins at her school and the seeds of creating my own herb school were planted.
Issues of Women's Health have been at the center of my teaching and practice. When I was 19 years old I had a tumor surgically removed from my pituitary gland. It was the result of having taken a very strong birth control pill that is no longer used. This personal history has inspired me to continually search for healthier ways to approach the female experience. My deepest ongoing exploration is of issues surrounding the female cycles of menarche, menstruation, fertility, sexuality and menopause.
At about the same time I had this surgery a very close family friend died in her early 20’s as a result of the side-effects of an asthma medication that is no longer on the market. I was young and the tragedy of this experience had a marked effect on me. I made the connection that what happened to her and my surgery were both a result of damaging and needless medications. I started to notice that most of my eld
