Interview with Juli Burdette, WishGarden Ambassador of the Month

Hi Juli, congratulations on recently being named WishGarden's Ambassador of the Month. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

First off, thank you so much for this recognition. I've been a silent and passionate ambassador of WishGarden's products since we began seeing them here in Arizona years back. It's an honor to support your sweet growing herb company. I'm a grateful mother, yoga teacher, herbalist, sound healer and songstress. My passion is helping people to incorporate sustainable healing rituals into their everyday lives. When I'm not teaching classes, making medicine, or seeing clients, you could probably find me singing on a mountain somewhere, cooking soup, making music and art, or hanging with my family.

You have a great web site, 17 Leaves. Can you tell us a little about the services you offer through the site?

Thanks! My website is a great way to find my schedule, register for workshops and retreats, schedule private or group sound journeys, read my writing, and request an herbal consultation with custom tea or formula.

How is the WishGarden Ambassador work going?

I absolutely love promoting your products! It helps to have such a generous supply of samples to spread the word about WishGarden's creative formulas. Besides talking with family, friends, and students about them, I recently hosted a women's retreat in Oracle, AZ, and gave each woman WishGarden formulas in their gift bags. They were a huge hit! My next workshop is a sound healing/acupuncture experience and each participant will go home with a WishGarden formula. I've just been incorporating them into all the things I normally do!

We are witnessing a real growth in the natural products sector. What do you attribute that to?

Yes! It's so awesome. Humans are becoming more and more conscious of what they put into their bodies and how they treat the earth. There is a shift happening in people's values, inducing them to eat, operate, heal and live differently in accordance with nature. Hopefully, all these changes in lifestyle will include more education and true holism as we move forward, so that our consumption lessens and our self-reliance increases. I truly believe the spiritual revolution is the main reason for this raising of collective consciousness. When we truly practice love, compassion, and understanding in our lives, it is near impossible to not care about the earth and our fellow sisters and brothers. Coming to know and appreciate nature and plants as medicine is an important part of that.

What is your favorite herb and why?

I love hearing herbalists struggle to answer this question because we know & love so many herbs. I'd have to say one my longest standing medicinal plant allies has been Skullcap. About 14 years ago, when I first moved to Arizona, I was struggling with racing thoughts. I didn't know much about herbal medicine at all, but I'd find myself wandering around the local co-op, enjoying the smell, the people, and the herb aisle. There were jars and jars of mystery leaves and roots and each time I'd go, I'd choose what I know now to be a new nervine to bring home and make a calming tea with. I had no idea what I was doing but intuitively knew to let it steep a long time, grateful for the relaxing effect I grew to expect. Skullcap stood out to me then and she's been with me ever since.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.