Open up a new era in your life with an Herbal Education
The Earth need’s more herbalists to steward the health of her land and her people. She needs us to remember her gifts more than any other time in the history of humanity.
Will you be a part of the shift?
In-person Course Containers on Lake Atitlan
WHAT WE COVER
Vitalism -
Alchemy & Spagyrics -
Medicine Making -
Plant ID -
Materia Medica -
Organ Systems -
Herbal Actions -
Foraging -
Vitalism - Alchemy & Spagyrics - Medicine Making - Plant ID - Materia Medica - Organ Systems - Herbal Actions - Foraging -
Upcoming Herbal Intensives
2024 & 2025
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Foundations in Herbalism
December 8-14 2024 | January 3-9 2025 | February 19-25 2025
Join us for this 7-day immersion covering the energetic architecture of herbalism and many ways of making medicine. With this framework, you will gain knowledge of how to choose the appropriate plants and preparations for specific people.
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Wise Womb Way: Herbalism for Women
December 17-22 2024 | January 14- 18 2025
Celebrate and revel in the female form in our 5-day deep dive into the anatomy and lore of the womb space and all the wisdom it holds. We share body literacy, herbal allies, and ceremony ...
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Doula Training
March 5-9 2025
Discover the profound impact you can make by providing compassionate support during conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and pregnancy release.
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Plants & Planets
March 11-17 2025
Dive into the magical world of planetary correspondence, medical astrology, and herbalism. After this course, you will see the patterns of creation that move the plants within the body and our bodies and souls amongst this planet.
Foundations of Herbal Medicine
Join us for this 7-day immersion covering the energetic architecture of herbalism and many ways of making medicine. With this framework, you will gain knowledge of how to choose the appropriate plants and preparations for specific people.
Pick Your Ideal Dates, and click through to learn more !
Wise Womb Way:
Herbalism for Women
Join us for this 5-day immersion celebrating and revel in the female form in our 5-day deep dive into the anatomy and lore of the womb space and all the wisdom it holds. We share body literacy, herbal allies, and ceremony ...
Pick Your Ideal Dates, and click through to learn more!
March 5-9 2025
Doula Training
Transform lives and make a profound impact by providing compassionate support throughout every stage of the journey—conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and pregnancy release. Your guidance and care can help individuals and families navigate these significant moments with confidence, alignment and comfort.
Lets dive in to the course curriculum and what you can expect!
March 11-17 2025
Plants & Planets
Dive into the magical world of planetary correspondence, medical astrology, and herbalism. After this course, you will see the patterns of creation that move the plants within the body and our bodies and souls amongst this planet.
What our students are saying
“This calling of the plants is deeper than a profession or a hobby. The true herbalist is not designated by any certification or degree; our mark is invisible, for it is inscribed into our hearts by the hand of Nature itself.”
― Sajah Popham
Meet Your Teachers
Herbalist, Mother, Teacher, Birth & Postpartum Doula, & Steward of Casa Curativa
Julia Bentley, originally from Tennessee (ancestral territory of the Cherokee people), found her path into herbalism through her own healing journey from eczema and psoriasis. After studying with Sajah Popham, Julia moved to Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, where she founded Casa Curativa, a sanctuary where people from all over the world can connect with the healing power of plants.
A humorous and engaging teacher, Julia blends lightheartedness with deep wisdom, encouraging students to laugh and find humility in their practice. Her lectures on alchemy and the spagyric arts invite exploration into the more mystical aspects of herbal medicine. Julia’s entrepreneurial spirit shines through in her work, as she has cultivated Casa Curativa into not only an educational hub but also a thriving herbal brand, focused on quality, ethics, and community.
Living onsite at Casa Curativa with her son Emmitt, Julia continues to steward the sanctuary, nurturing both the plants and the community that surrounds it. Her teaching inspires students to embrace both the practical and the profound in their herbal practice, empowering them to create their own path in the world of herbalism.
Julia Bentley
Ashley McDonell
Herbalist, Master Natural Builder, Full-Spectrum Doula
Ashley McDonell, a native of Minnesota (ancestral Dakota and Anishinaabe land), has been a dedicated herbalist for over a decade. She studied under Kiva Rose and Matthew Wood, learning to connect deeply with the plants and the land. Ashley is also a master natural builder and full-spectrum doula, blending her knowledge of herbalism with a holistic approach to life and healing.
Known for her engaging teaching style and thought-provoking "soapbox rants," Ashley’s classes challenge students to think critically and connect deeply with the plants, the earth, and themselves. She invites students to see herbalism as more than just a practice—it’s a way of being in relationship with the natural world.
Ashley’s approach to healing is grounded in the belief that plants hold wisdom that extends beyond their chemical properties, and her teaching inspires students to explore both the science and spirit of herbalism.
Lindsay Chestnut
Herbalist, Apothecary Manager, and Astrological Guide
Lindsay Chestnut hails from Michigan, land traditionally stewarded by the Anishinaabe peoples, where her journey into herbalism began. Lindsay moved to the Tzununa valley of Lake Atitlán in 2020, finding both community and purpose during a time of global uncertainty. While studying with Sajah Popham, she quickly recognized the need for help at Casa Curativa and stepped in, bringing her sharp organizational skills and a deep passion for herbalism. Lindsay’s entrepreneurial spirit and talent for creating systems have been vital in transforming Casa Curativa into a flourishing herbal brand.
Her commitment to quality control and ethical practices ensures that the apothecary’s medicines remain potent and reliable. Lindsay has also played an integral role in shaping the apothecary’s production process, learning firsthand alongside Julia Bentley to create standardized, effective herbal remedies.
With a passion for astrology, Lindsay integrates planetary wisdom into her herbal teachings, helping students make connections between plants and cosmic cycles. Her love for permaculture and landscape design also informs her work, finding peace in the daily harvests that fuel the apothecary. Lindsay’s teaching style is animated and engaging, blending humor and structure to help students grasp both the science and the artistry of herbalism.
Our Teaching Philosophy
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History of Herbal Medicine
We always take time in class to dive into the rich traditional history of using medicinal plants with an anthropological view to holistically conceptualize this complex and diverse history.
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Tissue States and Organ Systems
In every course we will cover tissue states and how they manifest in disease patterns, how to pair those patterns with herbs that fit the same profile. Its about using all the tools and unique ways of understanding plant energetics that’ll give you a language for the forest and the body.
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Medicine Making 101
In every course there is a medicine making component where we learn a number of different preparations depending on the theme of the course material. We will have some fun in the lab, and you get to take home with you the medicine you made yourself.
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Herbal Actions and Energetics
Learn how plants express energetic actions and affinities through their taste, appearance, and growing environment. Learn the terminology necessary to speak and think like an herbalist, and see the plant world with new eyes.
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Heart Connection and Talking to Plants
In order to deepen your practice, a budding herbalist does best incorporating a rooted spiritual understanding of herbal medicine. Learn how to sit and connect with plants from a place of humility and respect. Every course we host will explore these connections with plants.
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Responsible Herb Craft
Learn the ethics of being an herbalist. How to best source your materials, wildcrafting and tending wild stands. With this knowledge, you will ensure abundance and contribute to the continued thriving of plant medicines in the wild.
We love teaching people how to use
plants medicinally
As a trifecta of teachers, we have a diverse array of backgrounds, perspectives, and disciplines to offer our students. We share collective knowledge of a wide scope of medicinal preparations, along with traditional knowledge and materia medica, as well as the latest science to confirm ancient wisdom.
The symbiotic exchange of ideas and philosophies is part of the alchemy of teaching, and we experience the fun of learning every time we share our knowledge of herbal medicine. There are always new and exciting connections to be made, as we delve into the rich body of work that is herbalism.
