Willow Bark vs. Aspirin
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2021
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's common for folks to think about willow as an alternative to aspirin. Most people know that willow bark also contains salicylic acid, which is the main compound in aspirin. But if we think of willow just as an herbal form of aspirin, it can oftentimes lead to misuse of this plant, which can lead to possible adverse side effects if you give it to the wrong person.
But I also think that, contrary to popular belief, there are times where aspirin has its place. I have been adopting a little bit more of an open mind when it comes to healing and helping people. I believe that there are certain situations where an aspirin actually might be able to save a life.
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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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ABOUT THE PLANT PATH
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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
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 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. |
| 0:28.6 | And thanks so much for taking the time to watch another video here on our channel. |
| 0:34.6 | And the topic for discussion today is on comparing and contrasting willow bark |
| 0:42.0 | and aspirin. I think it's really common for folks to think about willow really as just kind of an |
| 0:50.3 | alternative replacement for aspirin as most know that willow bark also contains |
| 0:58.2 | salicylic acid, which is essentially the main compound in aspirin. But what we really |
| 1:05.8 | come up against here, and I think this is a great place to illustrate the difference between looking at a plant |
| 1:14.2 | through more of a biomedical or allopathic lens versus through more of a holistic or vitalist |
| 1:21.5 | lens because when we look at willow bark and just see it as an herbal form of salicylic acid, all of a sudden we're looking |
| 1:30.6 | at overlooking a lot of attributes of this plant that are very important to understand in order |
| 1:37.6 | to use it holistically. And if we think of it just as an herbal form of aspirin, it can oftentimes lead to a misuse of this plant, |
| 1:50.6 | which can lead to possible adverse side effects if you give it to the wrong person. |
| 1:55.6 | But more often than not, what that will lead to is it not working in the way that you think it will it's boy |
| 2:03.2 | it really can set people up for disappointment if you think uh drinking some willow bark tea or |
| 2:08.9 | taking uh some willow bark tincture is going to work as well as or you know take your pain away |
| 2:16.7 | or your headache or things like that quite as effectively as popping in aspirin |
| 2:20.4 | But I also think that contrary to popular belief I do think there are times where aspirin maybe has its place |
| 2:28.7 | I have really been adopting a little bit more of an open mind when it comes to healing and helping |
| 2:37.3 | people. And I do believe that there are certain situations where an aspirin actually might be |
| 2:43.3 | able to save a life. So be sure to watch this video to the end to find out kind of what that |
| 2:48.4 | situation looks like. And I hope you enjoy this discussion on some of the |
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