Chamomile with Leslie Lekos

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October 12, 2022

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Episode Summary

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is one of those common herbs that is too easily overlooked. But chamomile deserves our praise and appreciation. Although it’s gentle, this herb gives us powerful medicine for babies, the elderly, and everyone in between. It can be a soothing, yet highly effective ally for sleepless nights, digestive upsets, skin issues, conjunctivitis…and the list goes on!

In this episode, I’m talking about the *many* gifts of chamomile with my fellow herbalist and longtime friend, Leslie Lekos. Leslie shares a wealth of information with us about this gentle yet powerful herb, along with her wonderful herbal bitters recipe for supporting healthy digestion, Chamomile Cardamom Bitters. (Be sure to get the link for your free copy of her downloadable recipe card in the links below.)

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

►Why dosage matters for seeing the results you hope for

►How long to let chamomile tea steep

► Why chamomile is a great herb to work with long-term

For those of you who don’t know her, Leslie is the founder and director of Wildroot Botanicals, a bio-regionally based herbal school located on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples.

The mission for the school is to foster a learning environment where people develop personal connections with plants through wildcrafting, tending to the land, and working towards right relations.

She also has an herbal product line and is known in her region for distilling hydrosols and for her re-wilding project, a monthly offering of wildcrafted and farm-grown herbs to support mental wellness, nutrition, and connection with the land.

In addition to herbal work, she has been a doula, childbirth educator, and prenatal yoga instructor for the past 20 years. She is co-author of the book Yoga for Pregnancy, and is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and the mother of two sons.

Her favorite part about teaching is when she is able to witness students feel a familiar spark within them when they engage with plants, a reuniting with the basic human skill that was a necessity for all our ancestors somewhere down the line in all of our lineages.

Leslie is one of the most heart-centered, generous, and deeply devoted herbalists I know. I’m so happy to bring you this conversation with one of my favorite people about one of my favorite herbs!

I feel like the medicine that our larger culture needs is this gentle medicine. We have so many driving forces, everybody’s so amped up and moving so fast, something to slow us down and get in our bodies and just feel our way through, feel embodied.

Would you prefer reading this episode? If so, click here to download a transcript.

Would you prefer watching this episode? If so, scroll down below.

Connect With Leslie

What You’ll Learn from This Episode

[01:09] Introduction to Leslie Lekos
[03:20] How gardens she knew in childhood introduced Leslie to a love for plants
[06:23] Leslie’s introduction to herbalism
[08:44] How Leslie and Rosalee met and became friends
[11:32] Why Leslie chose chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) for this conversation
[19:08] How Leslie makes chamomile tea for bedtime
[21:18] Chamomile for menstrual cramps, digestive upsets, skin issues, conjunctivitis, and more
[27:00] Chamomile for chronic issues
[27:38] Leslie’s recipe for Chamomile Cardamom Bitters
[29:42] Leslie’s current project, Nourished by the Wild
[33:03] Giving back to plants

Download Your Recipe Card

— TIMESTAMPS —

01:16 – Introduction to Leslie Lekos
03:27 – How gardens she knew in childhood introduced Leslie to a love for plants
06:43 – Leslie’s introduction to herbalism
09:14 – How Leslie and Rosalee met and became friends
12:01 – Why Leslie chose chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) for this conversation
19:38 – How Leslie makes chamomile tea for bedtime
21:53 – Chamomile for menstrual cramps, digestive upsets, skin issues, conjunctivitis, and more
27:39 – Chamomile for chronic issues
28:18 – Leslie’s recipe for Chamomile Cardamom Bitters
30:27 – Leslie’s current project, Nourished by the Wild
33:55 – Giving back to plants