Born in the early 20th century, herbalist Jan Mikolasek became rich and famous after curing countless diseases with unorthodox means. A true emblem of Czechoslovakia before World War II, the healer became even more appreciated during the Nazi occupation and the communist regime. Each regime appreciates his skill and protects him. But how much will it cost him to maintain his status in a new political change?
Lo Lieh stars as Sima Jun, a killer working for a corrupt lord whose orders are followed without question or hesitation. When the lord suffers from a life-threatening boil on his back, he is told by the Imperial doctor that an herb called "Longevity Rattan" offers the only cure and is grown in a remote village by an herbalist named Tan. Lo is sent on a mission to get the herb and bring it back before it's too late.
In March 2023, despite a flush of police raids and arrests in the struggle against Cop City in Atlanta, the Weelaunee Food Autonomy Festival gathered people for four days of learning and working in the forest. The observational film follows along as participants in the festival plant hundreds of fig, pawpaw, and persimmon saplings, give away fruit trees to neighbors of the forest, graft edible pears onto invasive trees, learn to mix herbal medicines, and restore an area of forest that had been recently disturbed by illegal demolition work.
Shipibo healer Ricardo Amaringo describes how he prepares, teaches, and shares the plant medicine ayahuasca. Olivia and Julian Arévalo sing examples of icaros (healing songs) in the Shipibo language.
Part 1 and 2 contain Matthew’s lecture on the first day. His broad topic is energetics. He explores the four elements and four qualities of the Greeks, the three Doshas of Ayurveda, the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine, the six tissue states of physiomedicalism and the four humours of medieval western Europe. Some of the herbs covered include sweet clover, elderberry, dandelion, rabbit tobacco, hyssop and black haw.
A Chinese herbal doctor trying to heal herself from sickness by making a soup of memory.
Parts 3, 4 and 5 cover a range of topics that came out of the discussion about energetics. Matthew talks about lymphatics, mucus types, the role of essential fatty acids, types of coughs, purgatives, Native American animal medicines and the signs of the Zodiac and the relation of each to an emotion and a part of the body system. It’s a wide-ranging discussion in Matt’s eclectic way. Herbs covered include red root, calendula, cleavers, madder, poke, scrophularia, yellow dock, red clover, mullein, wild cherry, crab apple and more.
Matthew Wood discusses the Wisdom of Nature in presenting us with plant signatures that aid us in understanding the application of herbs as herbal medicines for your the health and well-being. Matthew takes you out into the fields to see the herbs in their natural habitat and explain the magic and the wisdom of nature from the roots to the flowers to the berries.
Herbalist Letha Hadady shares the secrets of her trade in this fascinating lesson in nontraditional medicine, revealing which Chinese herbs help mitigate conventional Western diseases such as high blood pressure, depression and diabetes. You'll also discover certain food products that contribute to overall health. Follow Letha to her kitchen, where she concocts her potent potions, and find out how you can replicate her approach in your home.