About Purple Moon Herbs & Studies
OUR MISSION is to educate veterinarians and allied professionals on the use of Herbal Medicine, Nutrition and Food Therapy, Hospice care, Ayurveda, and more. Our training teaches professionals how to blend a variety of wholistic modalities into a western veterinary practice. We combine traditional knowledge about herbal usage with current scientific studies to enhance understanding of herbal actions and safety. We are well-versed in the use of over 400 herbs, administered by tinctures and extracts (concentrated oral formulas), capsules and tablets, teas, lozenges, ointments and salves, and aromatherapy (inhaled essential oils in baths, candles, etc.). Dr. Laurie Dohmen and her associates provide instruction through our own structured classes, private sessions and at conferences. We provide a more wholistic approach to veterinary medicine and nutrition with our homecooking recipes and alternative treatment modalities for pets. We also provide wholistic self-care training for veterinarians themselves.
HERBAL MEDICINE is the use of herbs as drugs. Most drugs are derived originally from plants, but just the desired chemical is extracted for use as medication. Herbal medicine uses the actual plant - for some, the roots, leaves and/or flowers. Often using the whole plant part is more beneficial due to the synergistic activity of multiple chemical constituents as opposed to single isolated chemicals found in pharmaceutical drugs. In several studies, these chemicals have been found to provide additive effects while mitigating harmful side effects. There are many ways to use herbs: tinctures and extracts (concentrated oral formulas), capsules and tablets, teas, lozenges, ointments and salves, and aromatherapy (inhaled or topical essential oils or hydrosols in baths, candles, etc.). At Purple Moon, we teach herbs from around the world applied in a methodology based on the western medicine paradigm we learned in veterinary schools in the USA.
NUTRITION is, simply put, the adjusting of the diet to relieve or prevent a disease process or enhance optimal health. A common example of this is removing a food from the diet that a dog is allergic to in order to relieve skin and ear infections. Underlying nutritional imbalances are subtle changes that veterinarians are trained to notice. Owners usually see dramatic improvement when dietary changes are made. We always recommend homecooking for pets.
AYURVEDIC MEDICINE Ayurvedic Medicine is an ancient Indian medicine based on supporting the whole being, body, mind and spirit. In Ayurveda, every being is born with a specific dosha, or personality, and living within that dosha is the way to stay healthy. Ayurvedic medicine teaches what causes imbalances from the innate dosha, and how to naturally come back into balance. Ayurveda is as focused as much on sensory input as it is on nutrition, and the 2 types of ingestion are merged in wellness. Diet and herbs, exercise, meditation, and certain lifestyle choices are all part of a healthy lifestyle and can be used both preventively as well as therapeutically.
SELF CARE Nurturing personal well-being is especially important to veterinarians and others who provide care to those in need. At Purple Moon Herbs and Studies, self-care is a part of all our course offerings. Each session of VHAR has a self care component. Additionally, all our students say just being at the beach in the Outer Banks is self care.
BACH FLOWER ESSENCES Dr. Bach believed that all physical problems were actually just physical manifestations of emotional problems or personality disorders. He tried to fix the underlying emotional distress with preparations of flower essences. There are 38 flower essences for 38 different "personality disorders." Each individual animal gets their own specifically tailored combination of 6-7 flower essences suited to its personality. There is also one general remedy called "Rescue Remedy" that is good for any stressful situation for an individual. We recommend everyone have a bottle of this on hand at all times.
