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Writer's pictureMelanie Ashley

Exploring the World of Herbalism

with Mary Seacole :A Journey of Healing & Wellness

research and co-written with Kimmy Soko


October is Black History Month in the UK, while February is American Black History Month.

 

As a black business owner of Clarity Yoga Shala, I thought this could be a good time to acknowledge yogies from the Afro-Caribbean community and share their untold stories  and celebrate heroes and heroines.

 

This month at Clarity Yoga Shala we will be sharing the stories of individuals whose existence and contributions to history intersect with different tenets of the yogic lifestyle and philosophy.


Our Heroine

 

Mary Seacole was a herbalist, nurse and surgeon who operated in Panama and in the Crimean War as well as a successful business woman. She paved the way in showing how tradition, spirituality, herbalism and love of humanity can be intricately interwoven into the blessings of humanity.

 

As the heroine of our story her great work is worth highlighting along that of Florence Nightingale for her contribution and support of British soldiers during the war.

 

The Life of Mary Seacole

 

Mary Seacole was born in Kingston Jamaica in 1805, Seacole ( - Grant) was Creole- a person of mixed black and white heritage. Her mother was Black Jamaican and her father was Scottish.

 

Her parentage and upbringing played a big role in the woman Mary became. It was in her nature to be strong and militant in fighting for what she believed in. Her right to belong in all spaces as inherited from her father James Grant, a Scottish soldier in the British army. Her mother - only documented as Mrs Grant - was a businesswoman who owned a boarding house and was known as a renowned traditional healer nicknamed ‘The Doctress.’  She used traditional Caribbean and African herbal medicines passed

down through the generations to treat the sick at her boarding house in Kingston Jamaica.


It is no surprise that Seacole’s prowess as an herbalist and knowledge as a pharmacist and potion maker was the foundation of her becoming.  Oral records of medicine, stories and spirituality were kept alive through this oral tradition as well as connection and celebration to ancestors the land and the land's connection with the human body. This strong and ubiquitous sense of tradition, pride and connection to the divine was part of the African and wider diasporan black community.

 

Overcoming Adversity

 

The most untold part of Mary’s story is her many rebirths in the face of adversity, showing a great sense of spiritual fortitude. She was famously turned away from a ship because of her skin colour despite holding a ticket. This would have disheartened most but an undeterred Seacole bought another ticket, returned and successfully joined the next voyage.

 

She gracefully waded through the sudden and concurrent losses. She faced the loss of her business to a local fire, the sudden death of her husband [Edwin Seacole] and the subsequent death of her mother within the space of a year. Instead of giving up Mary left for Panama where she treated cholera patients and taught hygiene practices to curb the spread of the disease, later running a barbershop and dining hall while operating as an herbalist making potions.

 

Breaking Boundaries in Her Call To Service

 

After hearing of the devastation caused by the Crimean war and Florence Nightingale building a task force, she left for London in 1854. She is said to have faced rejection from Nightingale’s organisation when she volunteered her services, being told that there were no vacancies while other nurses were being interviewed.

 

This did not deter Seacole.

 

She dug deep and pushed through, personally approaching army generals and offering her services. She eventually found herself in Crimea, operating as a nurse and herbalist, using her native skills to make remedies for the soldiers, administering compassionate care and providing care for the military elite as well as convalescent lower ranking soldiers.

 

In modern terms, Seacole is understood to be a nurse though her legacy of compassion is unmistaken, her skillset and job description is. Being Creole, [mixed race Jamaican woman] Seacole’s discipline is said to have been rooted in the African tradition of Obeah.

 

With her upbringing by a renowned healer- her mother - Seacole grew up to become a pharmacist known for her portions and a physician and surgeon whose efforts in the Crimean war made history.

 

Her Legacy 


There are a lot of parallels with the modern woman and Mary Seacole with a beautiful duality of connection to Spirit, a great sense of purpose and service and the ability to reinvent self through adversity.

 

It may not be obvious but this is the legacy of pioneers like Mary Seacole who ran businesses, travelled the world, was a knowledgeable herbalist rooted in traditional and indigenous practices and healed and cared for many. She paved the way for many women today and serves as inspiration for us

 

There is a great awakening and a return to using natural remedies: yoga, ayurveda, traditional African religions, energy work, eastern philosophy and Abrahamic religions all being documented on social media with some amassing huge followings.

 

 

And as the yogic lifestyle is increasingly widely embraced and we strive to apply the principles of yoga off the mat with role models such as Mary Seacole took disciplines and wisdom - once distorted - into credibility and now a common language with the eye of curiosity well and truly opened.


With Your Best Interest At Heart











Melanie Ashley

Your Holistic Health Guide






#breathing #practice mindfulness present in the moment. #overwhelm  #stressreduction #reduceanxiety #meditation #mary seacole

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