Women’s Health & Feminine Ecology
The Feminine Rhythm: Herbs, Hormones & Your Changing Body
From changing cycles to perimenopause: botanical traditions, nourishing rituals, and thoughtful testing that begins with your story.
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Botanical wisdom · Everyday rituals
A wilder way
to feel alive.
Plants to know. Rituals to try. A deeper understanding of your body, your inner life, and the natural world.
Meet the doctor behind Medicine WildBotanical wisdom. Beautiful rituals. A curious mind.Return to the elements ↓
My gift to you · A free audio course
Return to the ground
The Foundations
Return to the ground
your body knows.
Before protocols. Before supplements.
Before doing more.
Come back to the everyday essentials: water, nourishment, nature, and the way you live. Join me for a physician-guided audio journey, with beautiful companion guides and simple practices to make your own.
- 16 audio lessons
- 14 PDF guides
- Your own pace
Register with your email. No payment required.
Listen your way back to nature.
Botanical beauty · Oils · Ritual
The Goddess
Apothecary.
Olive oil, botanical infusions, and the beauty traditions carried from one generation to the next. A thoughtful collection for the kitchen, the skin, and a little everyday ceremony.
Enter the apothecary ↗
The woman behind Medicine Wild
take one minute with me.
I’mDr. Michele.
A woman. A doctor. A widow. A mother.
A writer, and a lifelong lover of botanicals.
I originally created this blog in 2011 with a simple vision: to educate people, in a beautiful way, about the healing power of nature.
Now, in the age of AI, that vision has evolved into an invitation to return to the essence of nature. To something easily lost in the flood of information: our own relationship with the living world, and the quiet practice of listening within.
There is room here for science and ancient knowledge, for questioning, searching, and listening within.
Before you read another word,take one minute with me.
The Medicine Wild collections
Follow what draws you in.Seven waysinto the wild.
Plants, water, ritual.
A deeper relationship with life.
The botanical kitchen · A seasonal editA market basket.
A market basket.
A more beautiful week.
One seasonal shop. Three meals worth slowing down for. Follow the food from farm to table, with plant traditions, modern research, and a little pleasure along the way.
Come into the kitchen ↗The feminine editIn your nature.
Explore the journalIn your nature.
In your own rhythm.
Botanical Plant Intelligence
Magical Mugwort
A silver-leafed plant at the meeting place of feminine symbolism, dreamwork, and botanical medicine.
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Women’s Health & Feminine Ecology
Urinary Health: A Functional & Naturopathic Approach
The vaginal microbiome, botanical medicine, biofilms, targeted testing, and the deeper art of caring for the feminine body.
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Women’s Health & Feminine Ecology
Botanical Aphrodisiacs: The Art of Desire
An invitation to your inner Aphrodite: sensual ritual, traditional herbs, emerging research, and a more personal approach to sexual wellbeing.
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Botanical Plant Intelligence
Ten Herbs for Fall & Winter: A Seasonal Apothecary
Roots, berries, fragrant leaves, and warming spices—traditional plant wisdom, natural care, and a thoughtful look at when testing can help.
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Skin, Beauty & Microbiome
Eat Your Way to Gorgeous Skin
Colorful food, the gut–skin connection, thoughtful labs, and a burdock–apple ritual for a more nourishing kind of beauty.
Read the storyMore from the Goddess ApothecaryHolistic beauty stories ↗The rosehip ritual ↗The art of botanical body oil ↗
Among the plantsHer changing body · Her inner worldThe
The
Feminine.
Energy. Pleasure. The wisdom of becoming.
Goddess symbolism and plant traditions. Hormones, nourishment, and thoughtful testing. A place to meet every season of yourself with attention and care.
Enter the feminine ↗Explore women’s health & feminine ecologyTwo guides to come back toRenew your rituals.
From the journal ↗Renew your rituals.
Nourish your nature.
The Botanical Kitchen
The Spring Cleanse Guide: A Beautiful Reset, Inside & Out
Microplastics, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, and the plants on our plate. A seasonal return to nourishment, thoughtful testing, and a little more room to breathe.
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Skin, Beauty & Microbiome
The Ultimate Skin Therapy Guide
The skin microbiome, botanical oils, nourishment, and feminine rituals—with a closer look at functional testing, nutrients, and the beauty of a well-cared-for barrier.
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Beauty, with rootsSkin · beauty · microbiome
Your skin.
A living world.
The skin barrier. Its microbial communities. The botanicals and daily rituals we bring into contact with both. A closer look at skin ecology, with room for science, traditional beauty knowledge, and the pleasure of caring for yourself.
Meet your skin’s ecosystem ↗Explore the whole microbiome collection ↗The botanical edit
A little wild intelligence.
Botanical Plant Intelligence
Magical Mugwort
A silver-leafed plant at the meeting place of feminine symbolism, dreamwork, and botanical medicine.
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Botanical Plant Intelligence
In Praise of Dandelions
Bitter leaves, earthy roots, and the quiet confidence of a plant that grows almost anywhere.
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Botanical Plant Intelligence
Chamomile, the Small Flower with a Gift for Evening
Apple-scented blossoms, a golden cup, and an enduring invitation to soften the edges of the day.
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Water · Hydrotherapy · Nature Cure
Let water
bring you back.
From Kneipp’s water traditions to the philosophy of Nature Cure. Old wisdom, a fresh perspective, and the elemental pleasure of water.
Meet the water rituals ↗The new Nature Cure series
Back to the elements.
Water & Hydrotherapy
The Kneipp Ritual: Water, Rhythm, and Everyday Life
Old-school hydrotherapy, a softer daily rhythm, and the enduring pleasure of coming back to water.
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Energy, Spirit & Ritual
Nature Cure: Returning to the Elements
Fresh air, water, plants, rhythm, and the life of the spirit. Revisiting Henry Lindlahr with a contemporary sensibility.
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Water & Hydrotherapy
Some Like It Cold
A ten-second shower experiment, the old wisdom of water, and a more considered kind of morning ritual.
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A moment in the garden.One minute. Just for you.Take a minute.
Take a minute.
Go back there.
The smell of an old book. Herbs freshly picked. Bare feet on the earth. Let a familiar feeling bring you back.
1:00
Go a little deeper · The Foundations free course ↗A handful of herbs, their scent still on your fingers. Begin whenever you’re ready.
Taoism · Meditation · Inner life
There is wisdom
in being still.
A quieter relationship with effort. A little more attention to the natural world. Explore Taoist meditation, spiritual practice, and the everyday ritual of returning.
The art of returning to stillnessA series from Energy, Spirit & Ritual
Energy, Spirit & RitualFind your
Explore the inner lifeFind your
happy place.
Energy, Spirit & Ritual
Find Your Happy Place: Meditation in Everyday Life
A walk beneath the stars. A meal without a screen. Small rituals for coming back to your own quiet wisdom.
Read the storyOn the table, in the cup
The botanical kitchen.
The Botanical Kitchen
Three Botanical Tea Blends
The original Medicine Wild recipes for skin, a slower moment, and feminine traditions—with more attention to the plants in the cup.
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The Botanical Kitchen
A Greek-Inspired Salad With Purslane, Cashews, and Feta
Peppery greens, juicy tomatoes, and a generous garlic dressing give a familiar bowl a fresh direction.
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The Botanical Kitchen
Carob, the Mediterranean Pantry Favorite
Naturally sweet, warmly roasted, and especially good in a creamy avocado mousse.
Read the storyUntold Medicine · The podcastA conversation
Explore all 14 conversationsA conversation
worth staying for.
Plants, ancient traditions, and the questions science keeps opening. Pull up a chair for a conversation that might change the way you see.
Hosted by Dr. Michele Burklund
Stop Trying to Meditate
A conversation with Alex Feng about Taoist practice, meditation, and traditional Chinese medicine. We explore the teachings and lived practices that shape his understanding of balance and the natural world.
Watch or listen
Plants, Prayer, and a Promise
Rosita Arvigo shares stories of medicinal plants, the Belizean rainforest, and the teachers who shaped her work. We explore traditional knowledge and the relationships through which it is passed on.
Watch or listen
The Medicine of Unlearning
I speak with José Stevens about long apprenticeships, humility, service, and the relationship between spiritual practice and the natural world. We explore discernment and what it means to approach a living tradition with respect.
Watch or listen
Slow living · Village life in Crete
A slower rhythm.
On the island of herbs.
Village paths. Olive trees. A meal that follows the season. Explore the ordinary rituals of slowing down in Avdou Village, Crete, Greece.
A glimpse of life on the “island of herbs,” through my own photographs. The plants, the paths, and the small things that invite us to slow down.
Explore village lifeA little more to knowFind your way
Find your way
into the wild.
The journal, the free course, and the doctor behind it. A few helpful places to begin.
What is Medicine Wild?
Medicine Wild is my journal of botanical knowledge, natural medicine, and life close to nature. I began it as Healthy Fashionista in 2011 and renamed it Medicine Wild in 2018. Here, science, traditional medicine, ancient wisdom, Taoism, plant knowledge, and spirituality all have a place. Read the story of Medicine Wild ↗
Who is Dr. Michele Burklund?
I’m Dr. Michele Burklund—a naturopathic physician, writer, and witch at heart. Botanicals are my enduring fascination: their chemistry, their folklore, and the rituals they inspire. My work brings together women’s gatherings, an exploration of how emotions change our bodies, botanical formulation, and the world of clean products. My background includes national magazines as a former associate editor of Better Nutrition. I also serve on MADE SAFE’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Medicine Wild is my personal edit of a life lived closer to nature—the plants worth knowing, the ingredients worth understanding, and the rituals worth making time for. It’s where I explore the balance between mind and heart, intuition and science, with room for beauty, pleasure, and a little everyday magic. Meet the doctor behind the journal ↗
Where can I read about the gut, skin, and vaginal microbiome?
The Microbiome & Living Ecology collection explores the gut microbiome, skin microbiome, vaginal microbiome, and gut–brain axis. You’ll also find related stories in botanical beauty and women’s health, with references and further reading below the articles.
How do you bring science and traditional wisdom together?
I give space to modern research, traditional botanical use, ancient philosophies, and spiritual practice. References explain where an idea comes from: a clinical study, a historical text, a traditional practice, or personal experience. Each adds its own perspective to the conversation. Explore the philosophy ↗
What is The Foundations, and is it free?
The Foundations is my free audio course on the everyday essentials of health, including nature, water, food, your environment, and daily rituals. It includes 16 original audio lessons and 14 companion PDF guides. Register with your email to access the course and receive Medicine Wild journal notes and course news. Begin The Foundations ↗
Where can I find private care or perimenopause education?
Visit Medicine From the Earth for my clinical practice and private-care information. For women’s health and perimenopause education, explore Rhea Teachings. Medicine Wild is the journal: a place to learn, explore, and find your next step.
Take the next stepA little closer