When I was a little girl I was interested in many things but could not nail down what I really wanted to do with my life. When I came to the US from Hungary, I started studying Health Sciences at a community college. I was interested in health but I was not aware that schools even existed for natural medicine at the time but I enjoyed every minute of my schooling. Finally, I got my bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and master’s degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology. After graduating I worked in a hospital that I really enjoyed.

Meanwhile, I had two kids and realized that there were schools I could attend to get closer to what I wanted to do in life. Also, as many others in the herbal field, I had some mysterious health issues and found Chinese Medicine. So when my daughter was little I found East West School of Planetary Herbology and signed up. It has been a great journey ever since. I finished the course a while ago and hoping to graduate this coming spring. I really like that the school teaches the true essence of Chinese Medicine: body, mind and spirit.

I had also embarked on some other endeavors on my path. I studied with Rosemary Gladstar, and local herbalists Lise Woolf and Mathew Wood and now I harvest and tincture my own herbs. My biggest passion is to apply the theories of Chinese medicine to the herbs that I have growing near me or often even in my backyard. This is a great interest I have as I admire the Barefoot Medicine doctors of China. Their teaching is truly inspirational to me: “Use the herbs that grow near you and the plants will give you their wisdom.”

I have heard about my great grandmother who had collected all the herbs her family used from her backyard and dried them up in the attic. They lived on a farm in a little village and the closest small town was a two-hour carriage ride. I never got to meet her unfortunately as she died at the age of 96 shortly after I was born. I have always been fascinated by this family story but I just never knew how to achieve what she had done. Well, I believe I am on the right track. We were on an island in Slovenia a few years ago and while we were walking my leg fell through a gap in a bridge and got badly bruised. I quickly looked for some plants to treat my bruise, applied the crushed plant, rested and my swelling reduced quickly. We were able to go hiking afterwards in the Julian Alps.

My ultimate plan is to open my own little herb store and offer consultations and Reiki. In my free time I still enjoy doing many things. I love to dance, cross-country ski, and bike but I also enjoy crafting, cooking, gardening, writing and reading. My latest business adventure is my blog twincitiesherbs.com that I started a few years ago. I share recipes that use ingredients with the seasons, that is a big theme of Chinese medicine.