Anna-Marija Helt, PH.D.

Osadha Natural Health

About the Herbalist

Marija grew up running wild in the woods. (Well, at least ’til sunset.)  She’s a research scientist-turned-clinical herbalist, practicing in Colorado since 2010.  Marija studied botanical medicine in the Bay Area with Pam Fisher, Kathi Keville, and others. She is a doctoral-level microbiologist who worked in cancer- and infectious disease research.  Despite the high tech past, Marija’s focus as an herbalist is a simple approach to health that integrates herbal traditions with botanical research science.  More information on Marija’s training as an herbalist and scientist can be bound at the bottom of this page.  Other interests include wild food foraging, gardening, martial arts, and all things 2-wheeled.      

Marija’s goals as an herbalist, writer, and teacher are to:

  • Promote a low-tech, accessible approach to health and wellness
  • Empower and enable people to actively support their own health and wellness, and that of their families
  • Bridge the gap between herbalism and modern medicine for truly complementary medicine

Marija is also an herbal educator and a freelance writer.  She’s a columnist for Plant Healer Quarterly, was a weekly contributor for 2.5 years for Basmati, a wellness site, and has written for a variety of outlets in the Four Corners Area.  In addition to offering classes through Osadha Natural Health, she’s taught for the following organizations:

    Berkeley Herbal Center, CA

    Albuquerque Herbalism, NM

    The Forager’s Path School of Botanical Studies, AZ

    Fort Lewis College, CO

    The Good Medicine Confluence Annual Conference, CO

    The Discovery Museum, CO

    The Native Plant Society of New Mexico, NM

    The Native Plant Festival, AZ

    WholeExpo, CO

    Blueprints of Hope – Living Fully with and beyond cancer

    Durango Garden Club, CO

    Durango Seniors Outdoors, CO

    Cortez Garden Club, CO

    Pura Vida Healthcare, CO

    The Wild Cooperative, CO

    Natural Grocers, CO

Marija’s Training

Herbalism

Berkeley Herbal Center. Pam Fisher, Director. Berkeley, CA.

  • Student Clinic – supervised clinical practice 
  • 10-month Herbal Therapeutics Program
  • 10-month Foundations of Herbalism Apprenticeship Program

Green Medicine Herb School. Kathi Keville. Grass Valley, CA

  • Herbal Apprenticeship
  • Herbal Medicine and Body Systems
  • Aromatherapy (Level 1 and advanced  training)

Songbird Herbal Co-op & The Green Bough. Dawn Zaft. Sonoma County, CA

  • One-on-one training in clinical Western herbalism and Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Supervised clinical practice 

    California School of Herbal Studies, Forestville, CA

    • A variety of short courses on Western herbalism, medicine making, and medicinal mushrooms

    Other Courses:

      • International Certification Course in Aromatherapy. Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. Kurt Schnaubelt, Director. San Rafael, CA.
      • The Art and Science of Herbology. Rosemary Gladstar, E. Barre, VT.

    Science Training

     

    • Postdoctoral Fellowship. UC Berkeley, School of Public Health. Dengue virus replication. 2002-2005
    • Infectious Disease Fellow. UC San Francisco, Division of Infectious Diseases. 2003-2005
    • Doctoral studies. University of Washington, Dept. Microbiology & Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Molecular mechanisms of Human Papillomavirus-induced oncogenesis. 1996-2002
    • Infectious Diseases Trainee. University of Washington Center for AIDS and STD. 1997-2000
    • Research Technician. Fox Chase Cancer Center, Dept. of Pharmacology. 1993-1996
      Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA.
    • Research Technician. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Dept. of Ornithology. 1991-1993
    • BS in Biology w/ Chemistry Minor. Neumann University. 1989-1993