"Herbs nudge the body to better physiological activity"

Simon is the Self Care Lead at the College of Medicine and Herbal Strategist at Pukka Herbs. He has been a herbal practitioner in Exeter for 45 years. He has led the leading professional and trade organisations for herbal medicine in the UK and served on Government and House of Lords Committees. He has authored standard textbooks used by herbal practitioners worldwide, including with Professor Kerry Bone from Australia. He co-founded the University of Exeter's pioneering Centre for Complementary Health Studies in 1987 (building complementary research and postgraduate teaching programme from scratch), then at Peninsula the first integrated health course at a UK medical school, and the first Masters degree in herbal medicine in the USA, at the Maryland University of Integrative Health.

He is fascinated by the insights distilled from the millions of intelligent people who over many centuries needed plants to survive. Mostly he wants to learn and share the old skills, to experience healing plants as characters that can help us fend off ill health. His passion for offering people tools to look after themselves and their families has led to working with the founders of the College of Medicine on pioneering national self-care and social prescribing projects.

Simon talks on:

• Shaping a neglected profession into a real health care option.
• His fundamental love of physiology and pharmacology – how herbs can contribute to the needs of today.
• The loss of human autonomy – returning health ownership and empowerment with self-care.
• A crucial turning point in the awareness and need for herbalism in our society today.
• Fundamental day-to-day health skills – food, sleep, and a connection to nature.
• The language of health - recognising symptoms as signposts, not threats.
• The role of the herbal practitioner today and connecting with communities.
• An intuitive goat called Emily
• Complex systems, the microbiome, and the wisdom of herbalism.
• Making herbalism accessible to all.

Find out more about Herbal Reality on Instagram @herbal.reality or visit www.herbalreality.com 

Herbcast is produced by Decibelle Creative: @decibelle_creative / www.decibellecreative.com