Please note that I am not receiving a commission for this post. Nor have I been asked to promote any of the programs listed here. The opinions expressed are mine and mine alone based on my personal thoughts and goals in the field of herbalism.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my journey with herbal medicine is a long and varied one. Over the years I have done research into various herbal schools and their programs. I have enrolled and completed a few but this blog will mainly focus on programs that I am currently enrolled.

As of this writing, I am enrolled in two different programs at two different herbal schools. The first one, through The Herbal Academy, I began last spring when they offered a discount on some of their courses. So I enrolled in the Introductory Herbal Course and the Intermediate Herbal Course. Right now, I am about halfway through the Introductory Herbal Course.

This school offer advanced herbal courses and some shorter, topic-focused courses. I do plan to complete a few these in time such as the Foraging Course and the Botany & Wildcrafting Course.

I really like the layout of the Herbal Academy’s text and I have to say they have one of the best “online classrooms” I’ve seen in the realm of herbalism. Their programs are loaded with handouts and downloaded files to help you study and improve your experience with herbs.

Plus, the affordability of these programs also stands out! Herbal education can get expensive. Often you have to purchase some books and herbal supplies. This means money can add up quickly. I’m not saying a cheaper program is the way to go, but the cost for the value ratio at Herbal Academy’s courses is quite high!

For a while, this program was fine for me. But, I wanted a more well-rounded education. Something that encompassed more natural healing modalities.

This is where Heart of Herbs Herbal School comes into play.

I have known about Heart of Herbs (HoH) for quite sometime. In fact, it was the first school I learned about when I first began dabbling into the world of herbs. A few years after discovering them, they began offering a Phytotherapy Diploma (PD) program. After looking into the program, I knew that this was the program for me! However, the cost of the program is a LOT to say the least. At the time, I was not in a position academically or financially to take on the commitment of enrolling in the Phytotherapy Diploma program. But, I knew one day I would want to, even if it meant saving for a few years. Thus, the HoH Phytotherapy Diploma became my “dream” program.

Sometime last year, HoH took their PD program offline so that they could update it. At first I was a little bummed even though I’m not really sure why. It wasn’t like I was suddenly able to drop all the money needed to enroll. I guess I just missed the idea of it being “available.” Anyway…the director of the school offered for those interested to fill out a form and she would let them know when it would be available again. So, I filled it out and waited. Ok, to be honest, I forgot all about it! I stilled visited the website every now and then and it still said the program was unavailable, but I forgot that I asked to be notified when it was ready.

That is until last week! I received an email that the program was back online and ready for enrollment. I was overjoyed! Again, even though I knew I couldn’t afford it yet, I was happy that it was updated and available to other herbal enthusiasts. But you know what the best part was? The email had a coupon code for a significant savings!

So, I decided to bite the bullet and enroll. And so far, I couldn’t be happier! I usually have trouble sleep after making a big purchase…I get full of regret and wonder if this was really a “smart move.” But that didn’t happen this time! I’m taking that as a sign that it was meant to be.

I do intend to complete my studies at The Herbal Academy. After all, I am getting something out of it and I don’t want my money to go to waste. I will be completing the HA program in tandem with the HoH one until I finish it. The PD program has some science aspects which, to be honest, aren’t my favorite. I know they are important and provide me with a better education overall, but science can be complicated for me. There’s a lot of words I can’t pronounce and that makes studying hard. But, at least for now, I’ll also have the more herb-focused courses from Herbal Academy to help me get through them!

About once or twice a week, I’ll post herbal updates (I’ll probably come up with a witty title for them at some point). That way, if you’re interested you can follow along on my herbal path.

Until next time…