Sensory People — Clinical herbalist, Erin Lovell Verinder
Sensory People is an interview series about the specific, sometimes unexpected things that help people find comfort & beauty in daily life. It's the questions I always want to ask — and the reminders we all need.
This week: clinical herbalist Erin Lovell Verinder. With over twenty years of clinical practice, a mentorship program, and two books — she's done it all. But what I love most about Erin isn't how much she knows — it's how closely she pays attention to who you actually are.
I met Erin 14 years ago when she was the herbalist at Orchard St in Sydney, and we became fast friends. When we were trying to decide whether to move to LA, she was the one who believed in it. It was like she had a vision for me that I couldn't quite see for myself. That's just how she is. She finds the biggest, best version of someone and helps them get there.
1. What’s a feeling you're always wanting more of in life?
Joy and spaciousness. Speaking to spaciousness it is the kind that comes with a day of pottering with no rush, nowhere to be, nothing that looms. That feeling you can get lost in, lose sense of time and space. It is one of my most favorite feelings; all the best things come from that for me. I have my best ideas and epiphanies in pottering mode. And joy, well I will never tire of pursuing her.
2. What are your favorite sensory objects?
Elements of nature scattered around my space, the perfectly smooth egg shaped worn pebble from the shores of a wild Tasmanian beach. Fresh cut eucalyptus branches laden with leaves in a vase, I love how the greens are softly silver. Well worn fresh washed cotton sheets. Jars of earth toned dried herbs, roots, flowers, berries and barks. The fresh faced combination of a spritz of damask rose spray on a hot day, followed by a blended frankincense oil pressed into my skin, heavenly. When we are winding down at night my husband often plays the moon drum (aka a tongue drum) which produces the most melodic calm sounds, a grown up lullaby. You can feel your nervous system untangle in an instant.
3. What scents instantly comfort you?
Smells of the earth. As a clinical herbalist my job is super sensory, everything about being with the plants relies on activating the senses and for me this reminds me deeply of the intrinsic message of belonging together- us and the plants.
Pine trees, the forest floor covered in cones and needles heating up on a sunny day, this scent is one of my all times. A lit wood fire, crackling away releasing all the resinous scents. Putting my robe on and it smelling like all the earthy scents I lathered myself in the day before. My mum slow cooking onions to start a dish off. Jasmine when it blooms in spring climbing the walls, I love to get my face deep in the petals and inhale as heartfelt as I can. It feels like the highest vibration. Salty sea skin. Maple syrup. Raw honey. I have a wild sense of smell, so the scents I adore hit hard, in a good way.
4. What emotion or memory would you bottle if you could?
There are so many.. The wintery peace of being tucked away for many months deep in an ancient forest in the hills of Tuscany, the taste of the spring water tapped through the rocks, walking through the vineyards collecting fallen chestnuts in my pockets. Holding my puppies for the first time and then our last cuddles 16 &17 years later before they left the earthy plain as old men. My garden in full bloom, rainbows of flowers, herbs, leafy greens all dancing together. Swaying under the hammock looking up at the trees and slices of blue sky between the canopy. Morning bear hugs. The biggest moon I have ever witnessed. Love, bottle that up, yes please.
5. What words, things, people or places bring you back to yourself?
I have found that in this chapter of my life the things that bring me back to myself are fairly no frills and can travel with me along my way. They are so simple. Walks out in nature together with my love, where I feel I process and digest my day ahead and day passed the best. Bare feet on the ground, a cup of hot tea, a home cooked meal, a warm embrace, connecting with my family, swimming in the sea, lighting incense (Bodha Ground and Tenderness forever) and returning to my breath.
6. What's your favorite BODHA?
Ground incense has been my longest companion for over a decade, I am certain the scent has soaked into every rug, fabric and book in my work space making it an extra earthy scented nirvana. I have been rotating 3 scents lately, Moon which sets into my skin in such a beautifully unexpected way. It has an inexplicable scent which makes perfect sense, given the moon as a muse is such a mystery. Tenderness perfume oil, all the roses, all the roses, all the roses, it is so quiet and gentle you can feel the petals of the roses pressed. I love it. And Beeswax, oh what a scent. I have never smelt anything like it, it feels like honey hives, woods and sunshine. I have been wearing it through winter here in Australia and it has been a sweet remedy on grey days.
You can find Erin at https://www.
— Emily
