128. Big life changes and looking beyond the latest biohack: Lou Hardwick on Self Care with Herbs

During this episode I chat with Lou Hardwick, a single mother and folk herbalist based on Gumbayniggir country on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Lou’s herbal creations focus on whole-plant, hand made remedies. She orients her offerings, and by extension her business, to the process of making itself. It’s the presence and interaction with the plants and the process of creating that provides her with a powerful sense of self as well as the inspiration to share her love of this ever-evolving relationship with her community. She aims to empower others to lean into their plant curiosities by positioning themselves as the expert in their own senses and experiences while providing inspiration to take that first or next imperfect step towards working with plants in a way that savours both a sense of humour and reverence. In this podcast, Lou reflects on how even though small and consistent acts of self-care can be incredibly powerful, that in her experience its been the bigger yet fundamental decisions and life changes that have been her truest acts of self-care. In her story, it has been the hardest and most challenging turning points in her life that revealed the path to herbalism. Late last year Lou launched her first online education offering ‘Potent Herbal Oils’ to great success, quickly transforming herbal infused oil making practices and results across her community.**SHOW NOTES**Lou shares some of her favourite teachers, including: Kami McBride- connect with Kami hereJacqui Bushell- connect with Jacqui here**CONNECT**Lou’s Potent Herbal Oils Workshop is available to join at any time hereYou can get your hands on Lou’s divine hand crafted herbal folk remedies hereYou can connect with JESS via instagram and facebook here and here,  join her newsletter community here, buy her handmade herbal products here or book an appointment here.**BUY ME A CUPPA**If you liked the episode and want more, a cuppa fuels my work and time, which is given for free. Leave a comment and a few bucks here: https://buymeacoffee.com/theeldertree**THE ELDER TREE TROVE PATREON COMMUNITY**You can join our Patreon ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and gain a deeper connection to our podcast. Pay only $2 per week to have access to bonus and often exclusive resources and opportunities- plus support the Elder tree at the same time! To find out more about The Elder Tree visit the website at ⁠www.theeldertree.org⁠ and donate to the crowdfunding campaign ⁠here⁠.You can also follow The Elder Tree on ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠sign up to the newsletter⁠.Find out more about this podcast and the presenters ⁠here⁠. Get in touch with The Elder Tree at:  ⁠[email protected]⁠The intro and outro song is "⁠Sing for the Earth⁠" and was kindly donated by Chad Wilkins.  You can find Chad's music ⁠here⁠ and ⁠here⁠.