Stress in its many forms can have adverse effects on brain function and long-term health. Understanding the stress-brain connection and using protective herbs is a simple way to nourish brain health.

You’ll start by learning to connect the dots for cultivating brain health regimens that include herbal remedies to promote resilience, clarity, and optimal function. You’ll explore some of the ways plants can interact with the brain and nervous system on a physical, emotional, and energetic level.

In this session, you will discover:

• How the brain is the “Busy Organ in the Body”
• The Brain-Stress Connection, the Sleep Connection, and the Heart Connection
• Adaptogen herbs for protecting the brain
• Stress-protecting herbs for alleviating brain stress and how to use them
• Herbal brain tonics for daily use, including gotu kola and oats

Discover effective herbal remedies for slowing the mental decline that accompanies aging. Be self-empowered with healthy daily practices for brain fitness, including the use of stress-reducing, brain-benefiting medicinal teas prepared and enjoyed as part of a tea ritual.

In this session, you’ll discover:

• The aspects of brain-aging that can be positively influenced by medicinal herbs and lifestyle changes to promote brain fitness and resilience
• The value of implementing a daily herbal tea ritual for brain health and uplifting your mood
• Hibiscus in an iced tea form as a natural remedy for cooling the fire within
• The many virtues of ashwagandha, known as Sleepmaker and Stress-Protector
• Herbal brain foods: herbs that nourish and restore the brain cells

Memory health is a concern for many, as aging can bring the possibility of memory loss. U.S. scientific reports indicate that close to 50 percent of Americans in their 80s will suffer from Alzheimer’s (and the majority are women).

In this module, we’ll explore the plant intelligence of rosemary, ginkgo, and bacopa, and how they promote recall and slow down memory decline. You’ll also discover the memory enhancing benefits of mushrooms.

In this session, you’ll discover:

• The research behind memory enhancing plants — how they interact with your brain’s physiology and benefit memory
• How to safeguard your memory with bacopa
• The array of actions ginkgo biloba provides for brain health
• Rosemary for remembrance — where tradition and science meet
• User-friendly memory enhancing recipes — from teas to soups

Mental clarity can be enhanced with herbs known as nootropics, a specific group of plants known for their proven role for promoting alertness, cognition, and clarity and aiding in the reduction of mental fatigue and exhaustion. Specific application and daily use of nootropic herbs, as superfoods, beverages, aromas, and extracts, can keep brain synapses firing and brain function optimal.

In this session, you’ll discover:

• The new and exciting world of nootropic herbs and how to use them
• Simple ways to incorporate these power plants into your daily self-care regimen
• Ways to introduce nootropic herbs into recipes
• The benefits of using mint tea as a brain booster
• Herbal remedies that use nootropic plants for mental clarity and sharpness

Staying centered and positive can be a challenge at times, yet your mood can greatly influence your quality of life and outlook on the future.

Cultivating happiness is an ongoing practice requiring mindfulness and intention, and medicinal plants can be of great help in positively affecting your mood and emotional wellness by promoting neurotransmitter function, oxygen supply, and more.

During this last session, you’ll discover several herbs that promote calmness, relaxation, and uplift your mood, including herbal remedies and applications that can be used safely and effectively daily.

In this session, you’ll discover:

• Risk factors that can impact your mood and emotional wellness, as well as herbal remedies to address them
• The mood enhancing benefits of lemon balm, holy basil, and lavender
• Recipes using mood enhancing herbs, including Anti-Depresso Pesto
• Relaxing, calming herbal bath blends
• Aromatic herbs to uplift and calm the spirit

A quick and easy guide to first aid remedies available in any kitchen for fast and effective use for many first aid events, including bee sting, burns, cuts and bruises, earache, and many more. Learn uses for common vegetables such as potato poultice for splinters, onion syrup for coughs, or banana peels for warts.

Herbal medicines can be a safe and effective option for parents seeking therapeutic choices for their children. Join naturopathic practitioner, Dr. Mary Bove, in a discussion on the traditional use of plant medicines along with current research for the safety and efficiency of herbal medicines for childhood health concerns such as insomnia, restlessness, ADHD, and generalized anxiety.

During this helpful and supportive session, you’ll discover:

David Crow, LAc, is one of the world’s foremost experts and leading speakers in the field of botanical medicine and grassroots healthcare. He’s a master herbalist, aromatherapist, and acupuncturist with over 30 years experience, and is an expert in the Ayurvedic and Chinese medical systems. As an educator, he’s lectured extensively in the U.S. and Canada and online internationally; over 5,000 students have attended his courses at The Shift Network in the last three years and he’s the host of their popular Plant Medicine Summit. He’s the author of four books, including In Search of the Medicine Buddha, about his time with traditional doctors in the Himalayas, and Sacred Smoke, about his ethnobotanical research in Ecuador. Along with his wife Sara Crow, he’s the founder and owner of Floracopeia, a company devoted to supporting sustainable ecological agriculture through the production of essential oils.

As part of your participation in the course, you’ll receive 20% off your next order of any Gaia Herbs products. Gaia Herbs is the leading herbal brand in North America with more than 200 liquid extracts, functional powders, teas, and patented Liquid Phyto-Caps®. Since Gaia Herbs was just a seedling in 1987, the company has remained true to its original vision: connecting plants with people to nurture health and wellbeing. Gaia Herbs used only organic methods to cultivate more than 6.5 million plants each year and the plants are tested in their analytical laboratory to pinpoint the exact right time to harvest them and extract and concentrate the plants’ healing power. This leads to products exceptional in their purity, potency, and integrity. Learn more at GaiaHerbs.com.

Note: no product purchase is required for your participation in the course. In addition, it’s not required to use Gaia Herbs products. You may use whatever products you’d like to use for your training.