Herbal Rhythms & Relationships
Online Class
January-April 2027
With great joy we invite you into our healing circle to spend four months with us and the plants.
Herbal Rythms and Relationships brings you:
Eight hour-and-a-half live classes with Deb and Lauren. Classes take place on Thursdays @5:30 EST. For the full schedule, scroll down on this page
3 monthly Q&A Office Hours where you can make a cup of tea, chat with us and ask questions.
2 Bonus Sharing Circles—join other students in small groups on Zoom to share
We will share how we experience personalities of the plants, their messages, their idiosyncrasies, how they challenge us, and how they are showing up for us on ever-deepening levels to guide us through these times.
A goal of this class is empower you to develop your intuition and “knowing” so that you can trust yourself to work with the plants directly. We will cover basic techniques for plant communication. We will share how building personal relationships with the plants deepens our healing path and invites in the magic of connection that we were born to experience.
We will share stories with you from our work as community herbalists and the incredible ways we have witnessed the plants offer their healing gifts and transform suffering—time and time again.
We will share our love of the plants and the profound joy we carry from walking with these magnanimous, dynamic beings.
Join us!—We will be your guides in the work of weaving herbs back into our daily lives, our families and our communities. We believe that this work is an essential part of healing humanity’s relationship with ourselves and Nature. Together we can create a future where all Beings have the right to thrive.
Class 1— January 21st:
Inner Wisdom, Ancestry & the Sacred Feminine
We open our circle with these questions: What is healing? Who are the plants? Where are we sitting in the arc of time —in the big Earth story? How are we collaborating with the plants to birth a new future? How are the plants guiding us to participate in the tending of the seeds of the Sacred Feminine alive in all beings?
We ground into our intuition and our inner knowing. We open ourselves to the truth of who we are and the work of healing and transformation that we came here for. We turn toward our ancestors to listen for threads in our stories that are giving us strength and support, and threads that need repair and release.
Herbal allies: Rosemary, rose, tulsi, dandelion
Optional: Student Sharing Circle—
Our Ancestral Plants
date(s)?
Join other students in small groups on Zoom to share your relationships (new and old) and learning with a particular plant from your ancestral lineage.
Class 2— February 4th:
Seasons, energetics & formulas I:
Winter & Spring
We explore the nature of winter and spring and how we can shift our habits, diets, and herbal protocols to stay in harmony and balance.
We give you a foundational understanding of herbal energetics: the qualities of warming, cooling, moistening and drying.
We delve into the art of formulation and synergy between the plants. When do we take herbs as a simple and when do they work best together?
Herbal allies: astragalus, ginger, dandelion root,
Class 3— February 18th:
Seasons, energetics & formulas II
Summer & fall
We explore the nature of summer and fall and how we walk through these two seasons in balance. We continue to deepen into understanding herbal energetics, and how our bodies shift in their own energetics in different phases of life.
We continue to share about formulas, discussing formulas for different age groups—babies, kids, adoscents, adults and elders
Herbal allies: lemonbalm,
Class 4— March 4th:
The Art of the Herbal Conversation I:
Holding a container & gathering information
Whether you are new to herbs or a practicing herbalist, a conversation (with others and ourselves!) is how we set herbal care into motion. We will unpack how we hold a container and set up a healing circle, the questions we ask, and the patterns of imbalance we look for. We will set goals and
This class will include a LIVE conversation with a student from class.
Class 5— March 18th:
The Art of the Herbal Conversation II:
Protocols & dosages
We continue delving into the art of the herbal conversation. Once we have gathered information, established our goals and witnessed patterns of imbalance, how do we design an herbal protocol? We will continue our LIVE conversation with the same student to demonstrate this process.
How do we recommend dosages? How long does it take for herbs to create positive shifts? How do we know if the protocol is working or if it needs to be tweaked? How do we follow up?
Student Sharing Circle—
Practicing Herbal Conversations
Join other students in small groups on Zoom to practice having herbal conversations with each other
Class 6— April 1:
Community Care I
Responding to viruses & community health events with herbal allies
The herbs offer powerful support as we navigate both normal cold-season germs and more unusual situations.
We will share how we are deepening our understanding of “anti-microbial” and “anti-biotic” herbs (could you call them “microbially-balancing” and “life-supporting” instead?)
These herbs are allies in addition to conventional medical care, or where a conventional approach is not working, or where access to care is limited, or in circumstances when working with the plants is our first choice for invention.
We will discuss the herbs we have in our apothecaries “just in case”. How the herbs help us stand tall so and be a pillar of support in our communities.
Herbal allies: elderberry, echinacea, baical scullcap, licorice, cryptolepsis, bidens pilosa
Class 7— April 15:
Community Care II
Focusing on the Respiratory System
We focus on this body system that is most vulnerable to external influences: germs, smoke,
We share the physiology of the respiratory systems and the most common imbalances that we We discuss herbal protocols for the respiratory system, including acute sicknesses and longer-term constitutional imbalances and weakness in the lungs.
We tune into the breath as a foundational tool for gathering information from our bodies and aligning the body with the vital force.
Herbal allies: Marshmallow, elecampagne, schisandra, reishi, tulsi, american ginseng, baical scullcap & more
Class 8— April 29th:
Body rhythms, renewal & aging well
We wrap up our time together exploring how herbs support us in feeling stronger, more balanced and finely tuned as the years go by. As we navigate stressful and depleting circumstances, how amazing that we can turn to herbal allies to keep us connected to our vital force and the blueprint of health, even when we have been in a wilderness.
We will explore some cultural beliefs around aging that we believe are no longer serving us, and we will share new beliefs, and our own personal experiences, of renewal.
Herbal allies: tulsi, burdock, solomon’s seal, eleuthero
What does the course cost?
The cost of the course is $360.
We offer a few payment options.
You can:
pay the full amount upfront (this is helpful for us if you can do it!)
Make 2 or 4 payments
We are committed to promoting inclusion, accessibility and equity. We acknowledge that all healing is bound up in our collective liberation, the repair of historical harms and the creation of an equitable, just society where all Beings (human and more-than-human) have the right to thrive.
Please visit the Registration page to access the course at reduced cost.
What Students Are Saying About Beloved Herbs classes
“Deb and Lauren are such good teachers, plant relators, and kind humans.”
“I actually can not imagine life without seeing both of you every other week! As strange as it may be, you have both become such a huge part of my life and learning from you has been one of the greatest joys and honours I've ever had.”
“I see plants in terms of them having personalities now, but it's deeper than that - it's like each not only has something unique to give, but also an important way of BEING in the world. Some plants feel like sisters to me now.”
“One of the things I love the most is the beautiful way you relate to the plants, each other, and all of us. As we progress I am gaining a much better understanding of how to relate to this whole wonderful world.”
“I LOVED the beautiful energy between Deb and Lauren. You both had a gorgeous way of describing these lovely plants in such a deep and meaningful way. I enjoyed the singing from Lauren and the sky reports from Deb as well. It was a very well rounded class and I enjoyed it immensely!”
“This course has given me so much confidence in my own herbal studies and asked me to reach for more, to truly walk this path with confidence & knowing these beloveds are here with & to guide me.”
“This class has brought me much closer to the plants. And I am spending much more time with them…listening. I am experiencing their ability to nourish us on all levels more deeply. I look forward to continuing to deepen these relationships.”
“I have immensely loved the deeper emotional and spiritual work with the plants that you both share. This has made me more confident in "listening" to my own intuition and plant communication.”
“The format was wonderful- the more conversational style of the classes was such a welcome change from the didactic learning/education options out there. I felt like I learned so much more just by listening to you talk about the plants with such love and enthusiasm and care...knowing that everything I needed to 'know' was in the handouts.”
“I loved the flexibility and video options, as I was always working during the scheduled time. Both Lauren and Deb are AMAZING educators, amazing women, and pioneers in the health industry. What a blessing to learn from them.”
“I've used some herbs in new ways because of this course which was been very enriching to my life. It's also made me think more about the path of becoming a community herbalist seeing how Lauren has made it possible. It has made me one to deepen with the plants on more of a spiritual level. I'm so very grateful for the opportunity to have taken this class so thank you both so much. I have to say learning by taking classes is not something I tend to enjoy or find easy as I learn best by doing and being outside but I looked forward to each class on Monday night and it felt like a real treat!”
I liked how comprehensive it was on each herb. And how so many of the plant qualities were covered (TCM, Ayurveda, energetics, temperment etc.) I also liked the Q&A document. I thought other student’s questions and perspective were helpful. I also liked how it was channeled healing…whether you know it or not. I could deeply feel mother earth talking to us through the both of you.”
“You are both such great teachers and because you teach from your hearts, the learning landed in my heart. The plants have become my friends, I talk to them and thank them everyday.”
Who is the course for?
This course is geared toward a wide range of herbalists, herb lovers and gardeners. For new explorers, lifelong learners, parents deepening their herbal toolkit for their families, clinical practitioners and community care workers. Being in relationship with the healing plants is an ancestral memory we all carry in our blood.
If delving into learning about herbs is new for you, we have put together a list of resources & books you can check out to accompany the course.
Our goal is that you walk away from this course with the confidence to work with the herbs in a personal, family or community setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Deepening with Beloved Herbs covers 18 new herbs that were not covered in Forty Beloved Herbs. Deepening with Beloved Herbs offers a more focused approach to anatomy and physiology, as well as more in depth sharing on gardening topics.
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No problem! Recordings of classes and office hours will be posted to our course website by the following day. We have many students who cannot attend live who reported that they still found the class valuable and felt connected.
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Yes! We maintain a community forum on a platform called Mighty Networks specifically for students to connect with each other and share their herbal journeys.
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For our 2026 course we have upgraded our Question and Answer system. You will have access to a Q&A google doc where you can type in questions at any time and we will respond weekly. You can also attend our 5 different office hours to chat with us and ask questions. You can also email us directly.
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You can reach us anytime via our contact form on this website or email.