By Alex Duncan
@anarmyofhearts

I first met Dr. Marisa Marciano in 2010. We were swaying side by side amongst mutual friends at The Sasquatch Music Festival; bodies around us were glittering in an array of lycra and bejewelled accessories—I think someone was playing my recorder from elementary school. The sun was hot and the music was loud and everything felt a bit magical. Fortunately, this whirlwind weekend forged our friendship, which later evolved in Marisa supporting me—as my Naturopathic Doctor—through some of the most treacherous challenges of my life. As her friend and patient, I quickly came to find that the magical energy of our initial meeting is, in fact, a fuel that Marciano cultivates in her life through her commitment to curiously listening and providing nature-based remedies to enhance people’s overall health. As a Naturopathic Doctor and Registered Herbalist, her practice is rooted in methods that are intrinsically in tune with nature, emphasizing the use of herbs, plant medicine and ancient techniques. I have often left her office with a tiny tincture jar or a bag of freshly mixed herbs for a colourful, healing tea that has almost always cured of my aliments.

Recently, Dr. Marciano and I met for tea and sunshine to discuss some exciting new branches in her already blossoming career.

LL: Can you start by telling us who you are and what you do?

 I’m a Naturopathic Doctor and registered Herbalist; I like to think of myself as someone who speaks on behalf of the plant world and also, a bridge between people and plants. I would call myself an expert in how we can apply plant medicine—whether it be herbal or food—to enhance our daily lives and overall wellness. I’m a listener and a teacher.

LL: In being a plant enthusiast and teacher, do you also grow your own herbs and food?

Yes! That has always been a fun journey—even when you f-ck it up. I am not master gardener: I live in the city, have a patio and plant some stuff. But, every year I make a promise to myself to try planting one thing new, something that I’ll use. I have that even if it fails, or, if it flourishes, it has always been a valuable learning experience. Obviously the goal is to have a giant garden…one day. I’ve actually come to realize that my role isn’t to grow the plants. I was recently at a conference in the Kootenays where I met some master growers and it is something else entirely; something I have so much respect for. Some of the herbalists I met that grow the plants live completely off the grid and are fully immersed in the art of growing everything themselves. It’s beautiful what they do but I know that it is not really my path. I am the voice for the plants after they are grown.

LL: They are the growers and you are the educator.

Exactly. I do think it’s really important to learn from growing plants. This summer, I’m taking two weeks to go to my herbal mentor’s farm on the Vancouver Island and have told her to just put me to work. I don’t want to learn to be a master gardener but I was to take time to understand from a different angle: I want to stop talking and just listen. I’m so looking forward to being a student.

LL: You’ve had a recent shift in focus in your career, can you share a bit about what you’ll be doing?

Yes! My skill set is taking me to a new place for a while. I have started working for a company in North Carolina who stumbled upon my website and really love the elements that I share about being a Naturopathic Herbalist. They have asked me to come on board and help them with all kinds of things; the biggest task is creating a herbal training course for medical practitioners.

*insert shrieks of excitement / Mazel Tovs here* 

I’ve never done anything like this before; I’ve never built an online training module but they asked me to and I was like, “Yup! No Problem.” I have the knowledge and now I just need to figure out the other stuff. Easy peasy. This content is going to mostly be going to medical doctors, all over the states. It’s such a dream of mine and I suddenly feel like I’ve stepped into this big new arena and am like—woah.

LL: This is amazing news and leads me to wonder: what is your opinion on the co-existence between naturopathic medicine and traditional medicine?

Ah, yes. Well, the preliminary years of naturopathic school are the same as regular medical school; we learn all of the same stuff in terms of pathology, physiology and physical exams. It’s in the last two years that we get specific into what we call The Modalities, like herbal medicine and acupuncture. Naturopaths are supposed to be viewed as general practitioners. I like to think of what we do as preventative health care. A lot of what medical practitioners do is treatment of acute symptoms. Ideally, there is a merging of worlds. I knew going into the program that I didn’t want to be a medical doctor: I’m much more interested in keeping people healthy than seeing them when they’re really sick.

LL: It’s like you’re enhancing life rather than treating illness.

I find that a lot of people who are generally pretty healthy but aren’t feeling well, then go to a [conventional] doctor to be told, “We’ve done all your blood work and you’re fine! There’s nothing wrong with you.” It can be so confusing because you feel awful and yet you’re being told that nothing is wrong. That is where naturopathic medicine comes in. So much of medicine is thought of as, something is wrong, so here’s this thing you take to make that something go away. Yet for so many symptoms and conditions, that doesn’t exist; it can’t just be about killing a bug. We are taught to think: okay, you’re sick, here’s your answer:___________ but it’s usually not that simple.

LL: It is nice to imagine taking a pill that might alleviate all of my aches and issues though.

If only. I think what [naturopaths] do differently is to try to address to root cause. Rather than examining one thing that’s bother your stomach and then sending you to a specialist to talk about your skin and then someone else to discuss your inability to sleep, we think: All of this is going on in the same body—perhaps it’s all somehow linked. And so we examine the foods that you’re eating and how you’re pushing yourself so hard and the way that it’s all making you feel. Then, we try to find a solution with the hope that you might experience a real shift and continued self-betterment.

That’s what I love the most about being a Naturopath, looking at all the things and trying to find out how it fits together.

Dr. Marisa Marciano currently maintains a private practice in Vancouver, BC. For more information on how to book an appointment with her, please visit www.doctormarciano.com.You follow along with her new endeavours by visiting, https://thenaturopathicherbalist.com/ or @thenaturopathicherbalist on social media.

Alex Duncan is a freelance writer, professional actor and author of the children’s book An Army of Hearts.  She enjoys spending time in the forest with her dogs, Maddie and Scout, and often thinks in rhyme.