Founder. path maker. Herbalist.

Peace

My name is Armand.

Being Black, I find it important when stating where I am from, to name that I was born on stolen Dakota land, here on Turtle Island, in the colonial settlement of “Saint Paul, Minnesota”. 

I love where I’m from, for the spirit of the land, and for my people, so I strive to build and strengthen my communities here. I also realize that this is just a moment in time, where certain agendas have forced people and nations into the positions and patterns we see today. So I live my life for a changing time; instead of defaulting to passiveness within the unsustainable systems of global oppression. I work to both dismantle and to create. I’m making paths, connecting our present to a better future and away from the oppressor’s systems.

I’m especially grateful for the people who’ve enriched my perspective, who’ve helped me to hone my abilities, and who have supported me as I’ve learned and grown over time. I want to show love here for my ancestors, my parents, my mentors, and everyone who has taught me something along the way.

Since a young age I’ve maintained an increasing awareness of the pervasiveness, interconnectedness and the intricacies of the oppressive class’s systems, which hinder our relationship with the planet and with each other while maintaining an extractive exploitative framework governing most facets of society. So my work in response, is to find the connections between liberation and holistic healing.

Through Path Maker Herbs, I connect people to rare information and traditional ways of healing, so that we may grow beyond the perceived/imposed need for the inhumane systems of so called “health care” that our oppressors utilize. Additionally, the food systems and trade systems, many forms of entertainment, our security and our educational systems in this place, are deeply rooted in unhealthy and exploitative practices. So I utilize Path Maker Herbs to continue to speak life to whats possible when we actively strive to move away from these systems. There is so much more to life than we have been afforded here, and there is so much more to create.

I was born to a family where healing practices were commonplace. My mother is a second generation master massage therapist, who also creates healing environments through her work as a gardener and interior designer. My father, who is also a highly skilled massage therapist, provides another crucial aspect of holistic healing, through his work teaching/advising on estate planning and financial literacy. Holistic Health involves one’s material wellbeing, as well as the legacies we leave for the children and all who will go on one once we leave. Holistic Health deals with relationships, internal realities of the mind and heart, our dialogue and narrative.

I’ve come to know many different components required for one’s holistic health and wellbeing over time. Since a youth, I’ve been passionate about martial arts, and have studied various styles. Most passionately I have maintained a practice within Chen Style Tai Chi since 2008. Tai Chi bridges the connections between Mind Body and Soul, through a vast system of practices, including standing meditations, complex martial forms, freestyle and partnered sequences, weapons training, breath-work and more.

Since a child, I have had the privilege and the sacred responsibility of healing myself, and of studying healing methods and cultural health systems from around the world. 

Combining information on the body, food, herbs, movement, breathing exercises, and much more… I’ve been able to cultivate a well rounded understanding of how to address different health goals and conditions. My role as a Path Maker is to have traveled ahead, and to have returned to describe the ways forward to my people. I fulfill my role in part, through Path Maker Herbs.

I see a future where people are free, in good health, and in right relationship with the planet and each other. My offerings are drawn from this vision.

Let me show you all that I have found.