What's in your garden? He aha nga hua rongoa wai rakau ke roto i to maara?
First Workshop - Immune - Held Sunday 28 May in Opotiki
A blend of Maori rongoa and western herbal medicine that can easily be grown in your garden and made a herbal cup of tea to treat basic common illness to for the health and wellbeing of your whanau and family.
There are so many, many beautiful immune medicinal herbs available both in western and rongoa. For the purpose of this workshop and time restraints, to fairly recognise both, I have decided to only teach six immune medicinal herbs in total. Crikey, we would need at least 2 x days otherwise!
When I was a single parent with a young toddler, my life would have been so much easier, less stressful and cost-effective had I known how simple it was to walk out my back door into my garden and pick medicinal herbs (rongoa wai rakau) for a cup of tea to heal common, every day ailments, rather than queuing at the local doctors or pharmacy for antibiotics.
I’ve created this series of workshops to pass on my knowledge to teach others how simple it can be to plant, harvest and use medicinal herbal infusions (teas) rongoa wai rakau.
To empower students (tauira) to take back the responsibility for their own health and wellbeing and in turn, offer healing to their whanau, family and friends.
I take my responsibility seriously, this is not a quick fix “here use this herb for that ailment”. There is so much more kawa (protocol) and magic entwined with herbal medicine (rongoa rakau).
We are all Beings made up of physical (tinana), mental/emotional (hinengaro) and Spiritual (Wairua) with support from whanau, family, iwi, hapu, churches, communities groups.
I believe in holistic health, addressing all areas of your Being to create harmony similar to health models TeWhare tapa Wha and Te Wheke.
“The first teacher of rongoa wai rakau Maori is the ngahere (native bush), te Wao Nui a Tane, the bush itself. It is mostly a matter of quietly and humbly getting to know the ngahere and its offerings of rongoa rakau, listening and watching carefully, noticing all details, and becoming part of the family of Tane” Rob McGown (Pa Ropata).
Medicinal herbs (rongoa wai rakau) have been used since the earliest of times by Indigenous people including Maori and Western Cultures all around the world, with many of their healing actions still used in modern medicine today.
Each medicinal herb (rongoa rakau) can have as many as six to eight key healing actions, they have their own unique magic, energy, spirit, and if you look closely enough, an individual signature and appearance that relate to a person’s need for balance and healing.
Medicinal herbal infusions (teas) (rongoa wai rakau) are a gentle diluted form of medicine for easier absorption into the body immediately through the mucous membranes in the mouth.
Safe for the very young and elderly and extremely sensitive individuals. They are high in anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals and are great for hydration, so are counted as your daily water intake.
Love and Light
Bridgitt The Naturopath and Medical Herbalist