Lila's Herbal Revolution

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here:
skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

We Took 30 Grams of Ashwagandha a Day for Two Weeks
For Science with Mason Hutchison of HerbRally

Mason Hutchison, founder of HerbRally, joins me for a For Science episode where we both took 30 grams of powdered ashwagandha root every day for two weeks. Mason came into this deeply burnt out and walked away feeling grounded from the very first dose. His health quiz scores jumped across mood, energy, digestion, and strength, and his nightmares quietly disappeared. I share what shifted for me too, and my theory that ashwagandha literally gives you thicker skin. We get into why traditional preparation matters, why tinctures and gummies won't get you there, what's really behind the "dark side of ashwagandha" internet panic, and why therapeutic dosing deserves a comeback in modern herbalism.

What We Cover:
- Why we chose 30 grams of ashwagandha powder, and how to taper down to a maintenance dose
- Mason's instant "grounded" feeling and his before and after quiz results
- How ashwagandha reset my sleep and circadian rhythm in real time
- My theory: ashwagandha builds thicker skin, physically and energetically
- Why we crave what throws us out of balance (and why balance can feel jarring)
- Burnout, entrepreneurship, and learning to embrace slow mornings
- Traditional Ayurvedic preparation: churna (powder), ghee, milk, honey, and anupanas
- Why I don't recommend ashwagandha tinctures or decoctions
- Kyle Denton of Tippecanoe Herbs on ashwagandha as a male tonic (plus his jingle)
- The "dark side of ashwagandha": nocebo, leaf and berry adulteration, and extracts
- Nightshade sensitivities and ashwagandha root
- Ashwagandha for nightmares, PTSD, and nervous system dysregulation
- Sustainability when herbs go trendy, and my Shilajit supplier story
- KP Khalsa's pairing of ashwagandha and shatavari
- Food-like herbs, the food-drug spectrum, and why tonics need bigger doses

Links and Resources:
🪬 pattern assessment quiz
🪷 work together
🌿 Subscribe
🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency
Website: tvnhc.com
Email: [email protected]

Connect with Mason and HerbRally 🌿

Stay connected with the herbal community through the HerbRally newsletter! Founded by podcast guest Mason Hutchison, HerbRally shares herbal events, courses, podcasts, plant monographs, interviews, and other resources to support your herbal learning.

Sign up and unlock a bundle of herbal goodies, including a 91-page Botanical Anthology filled with recipes, stories, and remedies; Rosalee de la Forêt's Calendula for Radiant Skin ebook; and Heather Irvine's full-length audio class on adaptogens. You'll also get your first 30 days free in the HerbRally Schoolhouse.

Newsletters arrive 1-4 times per week.

🌱 Get your freebies
🌱 Check out the HerbRally Website

📚 NEW: Herb-Drug Interactions Masterclass with KP KhalsaIf you use herbs and anyone in your life takes medications, this class is a must. KP breaks down how to think about herbs and drugs together so you have a real framework instead of guesswork.Get the class here:https://buy.stripe.com/dRm4gyfvDcimchAdRT9Ve08🌀Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.Join here:skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445🌀I Let the Pernicious Evils In (Plus My Herbalist Identity Crisis)A bonus episode on fall colds, the six pernicious evils, and what the word herbalist leaves outI got sick, and I'm using myself as the case study of what not to do. I'm a firm believer that coming into contact with a germ doesn't mean you'll catch it, and I still believe that. What gets us sick is when our barriers come down. So I'm walking you through exactly how I let mine down (hello, sundress and Birkenstocks in freezing, windy weather), the six pernicious evils from Traditional Chinese Medicine, and how to stay balanced through one of the hardest seasonal transitions of the year. Then I get honest about something I've been mulling over all fall: why the title herbalist isn't resonating with me anymore, and what it means to practice in a way that's rooted in plants but reaches far beyond them.What We Cover- Why exposure to a germ isn't the same as getting sick- Your barrier systems: skin, lungs, digestion, and the layers of immunity behind them- How I got sick this fall, and the mala bead and bread pudding story from years ago- The six pernicious evils in TCM: wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, and fire/heat- How these line up with Vata and Ayurvedic energetics- Living with the seasons: dressing for the weather, warming foods, abhyanga, and doing the opposite of what's going on around you- The herbs I reach for to build resilience: astragalus, guduchi sattva, and echinacea- Why the title herbalist doesn't feel resonant for me right now- Why most herbal content focuses on the plant instead of the person- "Everybody uses herbs, so why do you need an herbalist?"- Practicing in the space that's herbal adjacent but not quite herbalLinks and Resources📚 Herb-Drug Interactions Masterclass with KP → https://buy.stripe.com/dRm4gyfvDcimchAdRT9Ve08

🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

🪬 pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 work together → https://tvnhc.com/start

🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/

Website: tvnhc.comEmail: [email protected]

On this episode of Lila’s Herbal Revolution I’m joined with Maria, from Green Dragon Healing to get a Bai Zi reading.

I had zero knowledge of what was to be revealed before the episode, and filmed it live for everyone’s benefit to see how a real life Bai Zi reading may go.

Ba Zi is a traditional astrological assessment used to better understand ourselves and our lives. It can help us with relationships, business, our spiritual work and more. It connects to patterns in our being, and helps us bring our gifts to the world.

In this episode we cover 

* What is Bai Zi 

* Traditional vs. Modern Medicine 

* Is it Woo??? 

*  What are the 4 pillars

* Lila’s Very own Chart Reading

*How Bai Zi has helped Maria in her own journey
I hope you enjoy this insight into myself, and this ancient practice. I found it to be fascinating, resonant and an insightful exercise.
Maria was a wonderful guest, and a great chart reader! If you are interested in more of her work you can connect with her here:

https://greendragonhealer.com/https://www.instagram.com/greendragonhealer/
Maria, an Herbalist of Chinese Medicine and Ba Zi  chart reader based out of Toranto Canada. Maria works with the chart and with the life around it: health, habits, the shape of ordinary days. The aim is that you leave clearer, and more at ease in your own timing. She sees clients virtually, check her out! 
I will definitely be back for another reading. Especially when I’m out of this crazy period of my life! 

Links and Resources

🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y

🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start

🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/

🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency (PTPP) →https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about

Email- [email protected]

Website- tvnhc.com

🌀 Ready to go deeper on today's topic? Join Path to Practitioner Potency, my mentorship community for practitioners who want more training, more herbs, and real dosing guidance beyond what a podcast episode allows: https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about 🌀The Lie of SSRIs: A Natural Approach to Understanding and Healing DepressionI have never felt this topic land closer to home. Friends, family, clients, it feels like depression is everywhere right now, and I wanted to give you both the natural therapies that can help and a wider look at what's actually going on, including the real shortcomings of the conventional model. I share my own history with depression, the myth that natural healing only works for "mild" cases, and why I think that narrative is bullshit. Then we go deep on SSRIs, the studies behind them, and the Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine concepts that explain why depression feels like a heavy, stuck fog, plus what actually clears it.What We CoverWhy natural therapies work across the full spectrum of depression, not just mild casesThe difference between situational, mild, severe, postpartum, and seasonal depressionAyurveda's Sampropti, the six stages of disease, and why catching imbalance early mattersAgni and Sadhaka Agni, the fire that processes emotional challengesNon-attachment, the Bhagavad Gita, and not letting external forces control your stateSSRIs: full side effect breakdown, the black box warning, and why we still don't know how they workKirsch's 2008 placebo data and the 2017 study on serious adverse eventsKapha, Tamas, and Mano Vaha Srotas: the Ayurvedic map of why depression feels stuckTraditional Chinese Medicine angles: phlegm in the heart orifice and liver qi stagnationNutrient depletion and the "empty tank" feeling behind depressionSense organ overstimulation, screen time, and losing the ability to process lifeHerbs worth knowing: cayenne, curcumin, albizzia, rose, lithium orotate, shankhapushpi, bacopaLinks and Resources🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency (PTPP) → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/aboutEmail- [email protected] tvnhc.comA Quick NoteThis podcast is shifting from weekly to biweekly to keep the quality high and make room for everything happening in PTPP. I may still release the occasional weekly episode when inspiration strikes, but every other week is the new baseline going forward.Coming Up on Lila's Herbal RevolutionA For Science episode on Bacopa, featuring a therapist trying the herb firsthandA dedicated fall episode with practical seasonal support as the days get shorterThe 30 gram ashwagandha experiment with Mason from HerbrallyA herb-drug interactions masterclass with KP KhalsaSo don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on the fun!

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

Ginseng for Fatigue & Natural Birth Wisdom with Doula Sonny
A red ginseng energy experiment, then a doula's take on birth, fear, and the postpartum void.

This episode is really two conversations in one. First, Lila and guest Sonny Dahood, a doula and herbalist based in New Hampshire, break down a two-week red ginseng experiment Sonny ran for fatigue. She reports unexpected wins beyond just energy, including deeper sleep, fewer sugar cravings, and a "clean" motivated feeling with none of the jitteriness she usually gets from stimulants. Lila explains why ginseng, despite its energizing reputation, can actually be one of the best sedatives in the herbal toolkit when the picture is right.

Then the conversation shifts entirely into Sonny's work as a doula. She and Lila get into home birth versus hospital birth, the fear and stigma around out of hospital birth, the systemic issues baked into modern maternity care, and why the way we're born may shape our health for decades. They also cover placenta preservation, herbs used to support labor like black and blue cohosh, postpartum Ayurvedic care, and the postpartum depression and anxiety that so often goes unaddressed once the focus shifts entirely to the baby.

What We Cover:

Part 1: The Ginseng Experiment

• Why Lila reaches for red ginseng specifically, and how it differs from American ginseng
• Sonny's day by day experience with ginseng: energy, motivation, cravings, and sleep
• The lesser known link between ginseng and better sleep, straight from Michael Tierra's teachings
• Dosing ginseng, from saturation dose to long term maintenance

Part 2: Doula Work & Birth

• What drew Sonny to doula work and her own home birth journey
• Home birth vs hospital birth outcomes, interventions, and the fear narrative around each
• How the medical model designs care around edge cases instead of the average birth
• The push toward more autonomy in hospital births, and what's still stuck in the old model
• Herbs used to support labor, including black and blue cohosh, red raspberry leaf, and evening primrose
• Placenta preservation options: encapsulation, salves, prints, and burial
• Why the generational trauma of depleted birth may be compounding across generations
• Postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and how the system checks on baby but forgets mom
• Ayurvedic postpartum care: warmth, grounding, and why AC and fans work against healing

✨ Want to learn more about Sonny's work? ✨
🌿 Visit her website: https://sonshineraine.com/

Links and Resources:
🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency (PTPP) → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about
🌐 Website → tvnhc.com
📧 Email → [email protected]

🌿Herb Drug Interaction Masterclass with KP Khalsa.

👉 https://buy.stripe.com/aFafZgcjr2HM95og019Ve0bHerb-drug interactions are one of the most daunting corners of herbalism, and the fear around them is almost entirely out of proportion to the actual risk. In this episode I'm breaking down where that fear comes from, why it doesn't hold up, and what I actually do in clinical practice instead.Why herb-drug interaction fear can quietly end herbal practice before it startsThe Western medical lens we've applied to plants, and why it doesn't fitThe garlic-and-dogs study that shows exactly how reductionist science creates false alarmA recent conversation with a nursing student that revealed how this fear gets built into medical trainingThe "5 G's and baby aspirin" video making the rounds, and what the evidence actually saysWhy adverse drug events are one of the top 3 causes of death in America, yet drug-drug combinations barely raise an eyebrow onlineThe compliance question nobody's asking: what happens if people actually took every drug exactly as prescribed?My real clinical framework for working with clients on medication: intake, drug mechanism, dosing strategy, and where the real risk actually livesWhy licorice root's scary reputation doesn't match how billions of people actually use itIf you've ever felt frozen by a contraindications list, or you're a health seeker wondering if it's safe to combine your herbs with your meds, this one's for you.✨ Get the masterclass with KP Khalsa Here 👉 https://buy.stripe.com/dRm4gyfvDcimchAdRT9Ve08Links and Resources:🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency (PTPP) → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about🌐 Website → tvnhc.com📧 Email → [email protected]

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

Sourcing Herbs Is a Nightmare: Out of Stock, Wrong Form, Price Just Doubled
Why "just go buy the herb" is one of the most misleading sentences in herbalism

This week I'm talking about herb sourcing, one of the least glamorous but most important parts of clinical herbalism. I run a fully virtual practice, which means I'm not handing someone a plant, I'm handing them a protocol and trusting them to go find the right herb, in the right form, from the right supplier. I talk through why that's harder than it sounds, what can go wrong between writing a protocol and actually getting herbs into someone's hands, and how I've built my own process after years of six-hour sourcing sessions.

What We Cover

• Why I built my practice virtual from day one, and what that means for how I get herbs to clients
• The real cost of sourcing: budget, supply chain issues, out of stock herbs, and price fluctuations
• Working from a planetary perspective and why that means juggling Western, Chinese, and Ayurvedic suppliers separately
• Apothecary vs drop shipping: the tradeoffs of holding inventory versus sourcing per client
• Why the right herb isn't enough, you also need the right part (root vs seed), the right processing (raw vs processed), and the right extract ratio
• Real examples: butterbur safety questions, He Shou Wu processing, burdock root vs seed, nettle root vs leaf vs seed
• Why I don't forage or make my own medicine, and why that's a deliberate choice, not a shortcut
• What young practitioners need to think through before they ever write their first protocol

Links and Resources
🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 Work together → https://tvnhc.com/start
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🌐 Website → tvnhc.com
📧 Email → [email protected]

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

(For Science)

Fan favorite Jordan, from the lithium orotate For Science episode joins us once again to do therapeutic doses of Shilajit!

This was Jordan's first experience with the black, sticky tar, and we take some live on camera to show you what it's like actually taking therapeutic doses of this very potent, very important Ayurvedic herb. If you want to hear how everything turns out, tune in.

🎥 Watch: How I Like to Take Shilajit → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVA4w66R3B0

What We Cover:

• What Shilajit actually is (a purified mineral resin from the Himalayas, not tar, though it looks and smells like it)
• Why we did 15-30 gram daily doses live on the show, and how that compares to typical internet dosing advice
• Jordan's experience: energy, mood, a surprisingly heavy period, and tongue changes I tracked throughout
• The math on real therapeutic dosing costs versus what influencers are selling as "effective"
• Shilajit's traditional actions in Ayurveda: Rasayana (rejuvenative), supporting kidney function, memory, reproductive health, and enhancing the potency of other medicines
• Why Shilajit can aggravate Pitta in excess, and who should be cautious with it
• A real case: how Shilajit helped my dad turn a corner after a debilitating wasting illness
• Why sourcing and quality matter so much with this herb, and what to watch for

Links and Resources:
🪬 Curious what's actually driving your symptoms? Take the pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 Ready to work together? Book a consult → https://tvnhc.com/start
🌿 Don't miss an episode → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🌐 Website → tvnhc.com
📧 Email → [email protected]

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

There's No Smoking Gun: Symptoms, Root Causes, and How to Approach in Practice

Doctors treat symptoms. Wellness culture blames parasites, candida, SIBO, and mold as "the root cause." Lila argues both camps are making a version of the same mistake, chasing an endpoint instead of understanding the terrain that let the problem take hold in the first place.

In this episode, Lila breaks down what symptomatic treatment actually is, why root cause healing has its own blind spots, and how the three major herbal traditions she practices from, Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, each handle the tension between fast relief and lasting change differently. She closes with her own approach: not a purist on either side, but a blend built around meeting people where they actually are.

What We Cover

• Why Western medicine defaults to symptomatic treatment, and the merry-go-round that creates
• Symptoms as signals, not problems, your body doesn't have another way to get your attention
• Three anchoring concepts: we're all unique, everything is connected, everything matters
• The "smoking gun" myth in root cause culture, why parasites, SIBO, candida, and mold usually aren't the root
• The tree and branches exercise Lila uses in workshops
• How Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine each treat symptoms vs. root cause differently
• Ayurvedic causes of disease: constitution and epigenetics, misuse of the senses, suppressing natural urges, weak agni and digestion, seasonal and circadian timing
• Why genetics aren't a life sentence, the epigenetics piece
• Lila's own approach: blending symptomatic relief with root cause work, and why that's not a compromise

Links and Resources:
🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🌀 Path to Practitioner Potency (PTPP) → https://www.skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445/about
🌐 Website → tvnhc.com
📧 Email → [email protected]

🌀 Come Join us In the Path to Practitioner Potency Community. After multiple requests for mentorship I launched this program to create a space for herb learning. If you are a practitioner, student, podcast fan, this is the place to go deeper, ask questions, get support, join monthly trainings, Q&A's, Learn new materia medica, Experiment with herbs and more! This community is designed to fill in the gaps I see in the natural healing space. The ones that prevent it from all coming together, making sense and applying it IN PRACTICE.

Join here: skool.com/path-to-practitioner-potency-3445 🌀

For Science: Albizzia (Happiness Bark), Mental Health & More with Moe

A week-long Albizia bark experiment turns into an honest conversation about grief, crying, and what it takes for men to finally let themselves feel it.

This episode I'm joined by Forager Moe, who tried a therapeutic dose of Albizia bark (also called mimosa bark, or the "happiness bark") for a week, right alongside me. What starts as a lighthearted compare-and-contrast on taste, sourcing, and foraging turns into something much deeper. Moe opens up about his ketamine therapy experience, his brother's suicide, and what it's been like relearning how to cry as an adult man. We talk about placebo versus real physiological effect, why Western herbalism lags behind Ayurveda and TCM, and how Albizia's reputation as the "grief herb" showed up differently for each of us.

What we cover:

• Moe's experience foraging and preparing Albizia bark versus flower, and why sourcing and growing conditions matter for medicinal potency
• The placebo effect, the nocebo effect, and where Lila draws her ethical line around it in practice
• Why Western herbalism is the weakest of the three major herbal systems, and how Ayurveda and TCM fill that gap
• Moe's ketamine therapy journey: dissociation, neuroplasticity, and processing loss he didn't know he was carrying
• His brother's death by suicide, and what it's like navigating grief and mental health as a man
• Learning to cry, unlearning the "men don't do that" conditioning, and why emotional suppression has a cost
• Albizia's reputation as the happiness bark, and whether that connection to joy and childhood memory holds up

Links and Resources:
🪬 Pattern assessment quiz → https://tally.so/r/n05N1y
🪷 Work with me → https://tvnhc.com/start
🌿 Subscribe → https://tvnhc.com/listen/
🌐 Website → tvnhc.com
📧 Email → [email protected]

Connect with Moe and see all his awesome mushroom pictures!
https://www.instagram.com/moecelium/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581375219113