About the Herbalist / Why Work with Madi?
Hi! I’m Madi, aka Flow Wellness.
My calling is to be of service to people through herbal medicine.
Herbalism is, at its roots, a practice for people, by people. Community support is integral to wellness, because we need each other to live meaningful, fulfilling lives. Herbalism can be an effective way to receive complementary and community care.
As a clinical herbalist, I practice mindfulness of people's identities and complex life experiences. In 1:1 consultations, we collaborate to cultivate nourishing spaces of growth. It is part of my mission to help facilitate healing spaces where you feel seen and valued for who you are, without judgment, pretense, or expectations.
When we enter into a therapeutic relationship, I practice being the detective in your health, we work together as peers, and collaborate to discover practical solutions to your concerns. I show up energetically by practicing active listening, refining my awareness of the power dynamics within client-practitioner relationships, and adhering to trauma-informed principles so that you can feel safe to be who you are, however you are.
Flow Wellness was created to serve people who are ready to take the leap into a new chapter of healing, but want to work with a compassionate guide along the way.
When we work together, you’re making a commitment to yourself that you’re ready to look within, meet yourself where you’re at, and move toward deeper self-knowledge and inner harmony in new ways. Plants and herbs are wonderful allies, can aid in preventing illness, and can support a wide range of conditions.
My clinical herbal practice is based in traditional wisdom and science, blending the two through my education and secular clinical practices. My two years of formal Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (TCM) training were with Dr. Bob Linde at the Traditions School of Herbal Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bob’s wisdom, expertise in plants, clinical herbal medicine and acupuncture, and inclusive mentorship laid the foundation for my clinical practice and a lifetime of learning. As part of my training at Traditions School’s TCM student clinic, I worked directly with the community to offer herbal formulas and wellness plans under my mentor’s supervision. The opportunity to learn from elder herbalists like Bob is something for which I am deeply grateful. I continue to receive clinical mentorship from Bob, and I plan to further my education by attending acupuncture school.In my herbal practice, I mindfully engage in healing disciplines, from doing academic and spiritual research with trusted teachers, engaging with nature responsibly, connecting with the land and their histories, continually going deeper in ways that I can honor the lineages and the peoples of the traditions which I practice, to working with clients and making herbal formulas. I am committed to sustainability in herbalism, as well as professional and cultural competence. I am also committed to learning and investing in this work as a lifelong practice.
My values as an herbalist include the following: body and fat positive, disability advocacy, LGBTQIA+ informed, trauma-informed, sex worker positive, anti-racist, anti-oppression, and harm reduction. I believe people are their own experts in their health and trust that they know themselves best. I also acknowledge that individuals and their genetics are not solely responsible for the expression of health or illness, as factors such as white supremacy, colonialism, poverty, the carceral system, social inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and exploitation under capitalism impact people fundamentally.
Being a queer, feminine, white person at the intersection of multiple marginalizations who practices Eastern Herbal Medicine, I recognize the privilege I hold and actively divest from white supremacy culture, advocate for BIPOC liberation and reparations, and recognize the history of appropriation, colonization, and commodification of Chinese Medicine in the United States. I practice intentionality in investing and sharing these medicines in ways that put people first, and are grounded in the ethics which I've discussed here.
To ground these values into reality, I contribute to local and national mutual aid, practice being an entry point to Eastern herbal medicine and use my privilege to redirect people toward East Asian, AAPI, and Chinese practitioners; offer free herbal care in community clinic settings; create my services and herbal products to be accessible and sustainable; practice mindfulness of not entering spaces where my presence could cause people to feel unsafe; and do internal work to decolonize and unlearn indoctrination by white supremacy culture daily. I also cultivate authentic accountability practices through discernment, as well as holding space for open and honest conversations. This is not an exhaustive list, but an attempt to acknowledge the harm caused by colonization in herbalism and what I am doing to contribute to lasting change. Acknowledgement and intentional action are fundamental to reducing harm and creating systemic change. These honest approaches offer transparency in a field where misinformation and cultural appropriation are rampant.
Healing, at best, is empowering and nourishing to the soul. It's necessary in a society that has become so disconnected from authenticity, community, awareness, and so much more. I strive to do my part to help move us toward an equitable world that is based in mutual care, respect, and love.
It is an honor to serve others. I love getting to shining light on ways that people can guide themselves into greater flow and harmony.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and engage with my work. Reach out if you have any questions, or are interested in working with me. I look forward to connecting with you!
