The Different Types of Herbal Tonics
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 20 August 2020
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
The word "tonic" is frequently used in herbal medicine and in the alternative health world. We hear about health tonics, rejuvenative tonics, nutritive tonics, bitter tonics, and chi tonics. But what does "tonic" mean?
"Tonic" is a nebulous term and one of those terms in herbalism that can use some clarification to make sure that we're all on the same page when we say "tonic." What's the difference between a tonic from the perspective of physiomedicalism versus the way the word "tonic" is used in Ayurvedic medicine or Chinese medicine?
This week's post discusses the importance of knowing what we mean when we use certain terms in herbalism.
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ABOUT SAJAH
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Sajah Popham is the author of Evolutionary Herbalism and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, where he trains herbalists in a holistic system of plant medicine that encompasses clinical western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy. His mission is to develop a comprehensive approach that balances the science and spirituality of plant medicine, focusing on using plants to heal and rejuvenate the body, clarify the mind, open the heart, and support the development of the soul. Sajah's approach honors and acknowledges the chemical, energetic, and spiritual properties of plants for a holistic model that uses the whole herb to heal the whole person. He lives on a homestead in the foothills of Mt. Baker Washington with his wife Whitney where he teaches, consults clients, and prepares spagyric herbal medicines.
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The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.
A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the plant path, your window into the world of herbal medicine, with Saja and Whitney Popham, founders of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:23.6 | Hey there everybody, Sagea Popham here, founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:29.6 | And what exactly does the word tonic mean? |
| 0:33.6 | You know, this is a word that we see used a lot in herbal medicine and in the alternative health |
| 0:41.0 | world, you know, we hear about health tonics and rejuvenative tonics and nutritive tonics and |
| 0:48.1 | bitter tonics and chi tonics and the word tonic gets used a lot. |
| 0:53.8 | And I think this is one of those terms in Western herbalism or herbalism as a whole really |
| 1:01.0 | that can really use a little bit of clarification to make sure that we're all on the same page |
| 1:08.0 | when we use that word. |
| 1:10.0 | So a question came up in a recent Q&A session with my students |
| 1:13.7 | and around, you know, what's the difference between, you know, a tonic from the perspective of |
| 1:21.0 | physiomedicalism versus, you know, the way the word tonic is used in, say, Ayurvedic medicine or Chinese medicine. So that is what the |
| 1:30.6 | topic for this video is and hopefully it provides some clarity for you on what is oftentimes |
| 1:37.6 | a little bit of a nebulous term. Question number one is coming to us from Stephen Roberts in the alchemical herbalism program. |
| 1:47.1 | And Stephen is asking, are the physiometicalist use of the term tonic and the Ayurveda Rassayana, for the most part interchangeable in your view? |
| 1:59.7 | If not, could you share some situations that might highlight |
| 2:02.8 | where they do not correlate that well? That's a really great question, Stephen. And it really |
| 2:09.2 | brings me to the kind of a conversation about the word tonic and what the word tonic means. It's in Western herbalism a pretty loose, nebulous |
| 2:22.2 | term that I find being used in a wide variety of contexts. And depending on those contexts, |
| 2:31.2 | the word has a very different meaning so I'd like to define |
| 2:35.2 | this term tonic a little bit and and kind of elucidate a little bit of those |
| 2:41.1 | different contexts so we can understand what this word actually means so |
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