Arielle Hayat is a clinical herbalist with three years of intensive training from Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism in New York City. She apprentices at the 25 year old medicinal herb shop Flower Power Herbs and Roots focusing on the Six Steps of Healing of the Wise Woman Tradition. There she is able to empower and guide numerous people in her community to a healthier lifestyle that focuses on wellness from the inside out. Arielle has a private consult practice, and teaches weekly workshops at wellness haven, The Alchemist’s Kitchen. Her education in natural plant medicine weaves the methodologies of Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Native American folk, European herbalism, and The Wise Woman tradition (the oldest tradition of healing on our planet) to nourish the mind, body and soul of her clientele. Arielle’s specialty lies in protocols for helping the body adapt to stress, healing mental wounds caused by the affects of tension and anxiety. She also sees clients with issues related to gut/ digestion, viral infections, adrenals, hormones and more. Through their work together, Arielle’s clients rediscover their inner peace, and experience profound emotional and physical transformation.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself! How long have your worked at The Alchemist’s Kitchen? How did you find us? What’s your journey with Herbalism been like?
My journey with using plants as medicine began with my own digestive irregularities that were chronic throughout my childhood and adult life. In addition to that I was bit by a tick on my 30th birthday, which lead me to look at alternative health care options to treat Lyme Disease. The current medical system left me feeling incredibly disempowered and separate from my own healing process, which prompted me to finally begin to take care of my own body and wholeness in a new way, one where I had more choices and control. Instead of taking a white pill with some unknown contents, now I was taking an herb. I knew where this herb liked to grow, what it tasted like, and what colors its flowers were. I found this incredibly empowering. At this point in time, I decided I wanted to limit using substances that were synthetic and begin using more natural medicine provided abundantly by Mother Nature and used historically across traditional cultures for thousands of years.
Why use herbs? In short, I use them because they work. Herbs can often take longer than some pharmaceuticals to be effective, but herbs work in a deeper and more curative way, getting to the root cause of an underlying issue, rather than just treating symptoms and remedying things on the surface.
My digestive issues are now so manageable it seems like I’m a different person altogether. Plants have helped me transform physically, emotionally and spiritually. Their healing gifts have truly allowed me to expand my gratitude to the living earth.
My studies in herbal medicine includes three years of education at Arbor Vitae School NY where I became a Clinical Herbalist and focused on all issues related to the gut, immune system, mental health and much more. In addition to my education at Arbor Vitae, I apprenticed at a clinical herb shop under acclaimed herbalist Lata Kennedy in the NYC downtown community for over 1000 hours. I work as an herbalist 6 days a week with a private practice and teach workshops around Manhattan. I live for educating others on the virtues of plants and cherish every moment I am able to guide others on their wellness journeys.
I’ve been working at The Alchemist’s Kitchen since it’s early inception. I was hired by owner Lou Sagar in October 2016 upon returning from the Amazon jungle where I was working with master teacher plants of the indigenous peoples of Peru. The experience with working with sacred plants allowed me to fit right in at The Alchemist’s Kitchen to keep a safe conversation open for many customers wishing to discuss their spiritual experiences with sacred plants.
My favorite herb to use is Skullcap, which is a lovely flowering perennial herb in the mint family. Not only is Skullcap a powerful anti-inflammatory herb that can comfort headaches related to stress, but it has a gentle soothing effect on the mind. I find that Skullcap doesn’t numb emotions, and instead allows us to process them in a calm and healthy way. Many of us just need to “let go” of all the tension and stress we hold before we can drift into sleep or focus on our work. Skullcap is magical at this. I’ve seen Skullcap thrive peacefully in the lower parts of the forest floor near creeks, streams, and small bodies of water. Perhaps that calm peaceful feeling of being by the water is then offered to us when we take the medicine deeply. I love using Skullcap in a tincture form, formulated with other Nervine or Adaptogenic herbs. I prefer tinctures of fresh aerial parts of Skullcap, rather than dried. I find the fresh tincture is less sedative than the dried one, however both may be indicated depending on your intention! I may take anywhere from 1-5 full droppers of tincture diluted in water or tea, depending on how relaxed I want to feel!
- Do you have a recommendation for how others can bring herbalism more deeply into their lives?
I recommend working with the plants themselves. Learning how to connect with them and get in touch with their vital energies is most possible when you are interacting with them. Choose one herb and try working with this herb whether growing it, drinking it in an infusion, or trying it in a tincture extract for a period of time from 1 week to 1 month, to experience the energies of that plant. Is it cooling, drying, energizing, warming, etc? Afterwards, read about the traditional use of this herb and note similarities and differences to your experiences. Always share with others– your experience is a gift to everyone who gets to hear it.
- What’s your sun sign/rising sign/moon in?
I am a Gemini Sun, Libra Moon, and Libra Rising.
