Kim A Jones, Clinical Herbalist, RYT 300
About my path…
I’ve done multiple things in my life; Business Degree from DePaul University, a long career in the marketing research industry, RYT 300 Yoga Instructor, an avid DIY-er and now a Clinical Herbalist. It seems I can’t just have one job but must also have a passion to keep me breathing!
Yoga – my first love. I had started Yoga briefly in High School and even after that it was here and there in between gym memberships. It wasn’t until 2009 that I decided to take the full on teacher training. Oddly enough, I had no intention of teaching, I really just wanted to explore and take a deeper dive into the practice. Even though I had taken classes, done poses, I never thought I really understood it and thankfully it piqued my interest enough for me to take it to the next level of learning.
This practice they call yoga…is way, way beyond what one sees, hears and does during a yoga class. It is a much broader practice and essentially reaches deep into your core to basically wake you up to a completely different life philosophy. If it works... if it sinks in... this new life philosophy is always there inside you and serves as a reminder of how to do better, be better, be grateful and pay attention to the present.
I am so grateful for my teacher Theresa Murphy, Lisa Kanne and others for inspiring and leading me on this path…even still.
Herbalism – my second love. I somewhat fell into herbalism by experimenting with Essential Oils and making cosmetic products out of my home. I fell in love with the process of making and using my own homemade lotions, cleaning products, bug sprays, linen sprays, etc. I found that I truly loved the act of doing, making, mixing, creating. At times I felt like I was my own chef chemist! It finally dawned on me that EOs were actually made of herbs! Who would have thought?!
It was so silly not to realize that! In my mind though, herbs consisted of garlic, thyme, salt, oregano, sage, cinnamon, etc. Just the ordinary culinary herbs that I would grab out of my cabinet and not even think about it (incidentally, even those have medicinal properties!). I truly had no idea how expansive this new herbal world really was nor did I know how many of these unknown-to-me herbs actually grow in the wild and in my very own garden, thanks to the birds! Mother Nature has provided natural healing to all of us and it is right under our noses; we just need to pay attention!
Thanks to my teachers; Nicholas Schnell, Kate Bodman, Rosemary Gladstar and all the others that I happened upon along the way (including fellow students on the path) for opening up this brand new world for me. The study and practice has been long and arduous and hopefully I will never stop learning.
This long winding path has brought me here, offering and introducing the learnings that Yoga and Herbalism can provide to those that wish to experience a new way of existing.
Wishing you Namaste' and Peace wherever your path leads you.