Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryn Midura.
Ryn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I first learned about herbalism when I met Katja, my wife and partner, through mutual friends. She introduced me to herbalism when we started dating. At the time, the job I was in was an on-call gig with substantial downtime between calls, so I was able to study intensively while still earning a living. Not too long after, I started teaching classes with Katja, then seeing clients. Meanwhile, she was stepping back from her tech job in stages, and establishing her own herbal practice and the foundations of our center. Ultimately, she was able to transition to full-time herbalism, and after a couple years I was too. We’re one of a very few married couples in the US in which both partners are full-time herbalists!
Our school and clinic has grown since its inception. We started out offering classes in our backyard and living room, now we have a 900 square foot space right near the BU campus. We gradually increased our offerings from simple one-off classes, building up a complete three-year training program in clinical herbalism. Lately we’ve been exploring online class offerings and new ways to bring herbalism to underserved communities.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s not easy to be a holistic healthcare worker and make a living, but we’ve found the community in Boston to be very receptive and hungry for the information we have to share!
We’ve avoided going into debt from the very beginning – we almost never take a loan, and we always pay them off as rapidly as possible. We teach our students to avoid debt whenever possible, because it’s so easy for that to drag you down. This has meant we’ve grown a little more slowly than we might have otherwise, but it’s all been sustainable growth – no overreaching – and we feel like that’s important to maintain our integrity.
Please tell us about CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism.
We teach classes in practical and clinical herbalism, as well as consulting with individuals to improve their health with holistic methods. Our school offers the most comprehensive training in herbalism to be found in the Boston area – we offer more hours of training than any other school here. We’re particularly proud of our classes and mentoring for new herbalists who want to go into clinical practice and need guidance on everything from how to manage a complex herb-drug interactions question, to how to set up a small business in the holistic health space.
If we’re known for anything, it’s probably for teaching together! Katja and I have a good dynamic in which we both emphasize different areas of practice or approaches to a problem, and our interplay helps our students to see the field of potential solutions much more clearly. We always say it’s important to get lots of perspectives when it comes to herbalism, because if you put three herbalists in a room and ask a question, you’ll probably get five different answers back! So we try to present that in every class we teach.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was young my family always spent summers in Wells Beach, Maine. I remember climbing on the seawall, these big boulders piled up into a jetty along the north edge of the beach, and running along the rough uneven surfaces. Sometimes there’d be a patch of seaweed still clinging to the rocks. We’d gather some and burn it in a bonfire on the beach at night, and the little air-filled sacs would pop and crackle. Thinking back on it now, I realize this was bladderwrack, a seaweed that has pretty amazing nutritional and medicinal properties!
Pricing:
- $125 for a private consultation
- $0 (or by donation) to attend our monthly Free Clinic
- $2500 – $3000 for our complete 9-month Foundations in Holistic Herbalism course
Contact Info:
- Address: CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism
25 Saint Mary’s Court, Brookline, MA 02446 - Website: https://commonwealthherbs.com
- Email: info@commonwealthherbs.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/commonwealthherbs
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/commwealthherbs
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/commonwealth-center-for-holistic-herbalism-brookline
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZkDBYcBpka88DSGE3STWg
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
