Willow Esch SUPPORTING IMMUNITY THROUGH HERBALISM

BY PRIYA HUTNER

Elderberry Syrup

From the kitchen of Willow Esch (makes 32 oz.)

½ C dried elderberries

2 T fresh ginger root, grated

2 cinnamon sticks

1 T cardamom pods

2 T fresh orange peel

½ t clove buds

4 C filtered water

1 C honey

1 C apple cider vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

The aroma of cinnamon, cardamom and orange peel is sweet, spicy, strong and rich. These particular spices and herbs evoke memories of holidays or a warm cup of chai served in an Indian restaurant. They also possess beneficial properties for health and support immunity.

Willow Esch is an herbalist who offers classes and workshops about the benefits of herbs, how to use them and create recipes for wellness. Esch has a background in sports medicine and nutrition, as well as being an herbalist.

“I feel really passionate that herbs are for everybody — not only for people with money or people who live in the forest and can spend half a day collecting herbs. There are medicinal plants on every part of this planet,” said Esch. Esch began with a meditation during a recent workshop at Yoga Room Tahoe in Tahoe City. They talked about nutrition and the need for balance in our diets. They were trained in herbalism based on a philosophy called Vitalism. The approach, according to Esch, encompasses holistic health and wellness and exploring herbs for immune health.

“Symptoms of illness or disease are indications of imbalance. How do we bring ourselves back to balance?

Getting back to balance means making some efforts to build up vitality,” said Esch, who pointed out that getting physical, mental and emotional rest is essential. Another way to bring the body into balance is through the foods we eat.

Esch admitted that in our quick-fix world, using herbs and nutrition when getting sick takes time to support the healing process. Esch wants to cultivate the idea that rest and good nutrition are strategies we need to take in order to heal.

“It’s important to give the body, mind and spirit a chance to incubate, assimilate and restore,” Esch said. They focused on 12 different herbs for the class to use to create herbal tonics for healing. They explained how to make an elderberry syrup that can be used as a base and added to a tea tive herb but can also be used for sore throats, coughs and asthma.

“There is a huge component to herbalism that is intuitive. What does your body like? We open the jars, smell the herbs, taste them and see how your body reacts,” explained Esch. They encouraged students to smell each herb. Generally, those herbs can help support a person’s physical constitution. Esch used herbs that are commonly found. Many are used in elderberry syrup recipes for immunity and well-being.

“I want people to feel empowered and understand what it means to use this medicine. I think it’s part of the human experience to understand and interact with our environment in a way that benefits our health,” they said.

Esch is passionate about bringing herbalism back into the modern world.

“I feel there’s a huge disconnect with how our world has evolved in the last 200 years,” Esch said.

Esch wants people who attend classes to be able to make elderberry syrup and teach their friends and kids how to do it. Esch teaches herbal workshops at Yoga Room Tahoe in Tahoe City and Spirit Rebel Collective in Truckee. | @wellness.by.willow, willow.esch@ gmail.com n

Cheese cloth/muslin blend along with other herbs. The herbs used included elderberry, cardamom, cinnamon, orange peel, clove, echinacea, ginger, hawthorn berries, juniper berries, licorice root and rose hips. Esch pointed out that cardamom is a diges-

Combine herbs in a pot and cover with filtered water. Bring water to a boil, then turn down to a low rolling simmer for 40 to 60 minutes or until the liquid is approximately half the original volume. Remove from the burner and allow the tea to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, strain the herbs through cheese cloth. Squeeze the cloth containing the herbs to press out the remaining liquid. Measure the volume of the strained tea; you should have 2 cups. If you have less than 2, add filtered water until you have 2 cups. If you have more than 2 cups, return the tea and the herbs to the pan and continue simmering until the volume is reduced to 2 cups.

Once you have 2 cups of strained tea, discard the herbs and return the strained tea to the pan and re-heat on low temp. Mix in honey, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice and whisk until the honey is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.

Priya Hutner is a food writer, personal chef and owner of The Seasoned Sage, a meal delivery and catering company.

| TheSeasonedSage.com, priya@ tahoethisweek.com

Once cool, pour into containers; label and date them. Store in the refrigerator for up to two months. Use 1 to 3 teaspoons daily for preventative care; 1 tablespoon every 3 hours during illness.