Woods Apothecary Academy of Healing Arts is now open

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA Woods Apothecary – a number one source for natural remedies in South Lake Tahoe – has just opened a new workshop space and storefront at 2264 Tahoe Boulevard Suite #12. Not only does the apothecary sell tinctures, teas, and herbal remedies, but owner Gina Woods also has the space to be able to offer regular workshops in dance, movement, herbal remedies, and more.

“[Moving the apothecary here] allowed me to open the space to many potential performing arts courses,” she says.

Resident Andy Voelkel gives music lessons to the kids next door, complementing the type of atmosphere and energy Woods wants to create in their corner of the Tahoe Keys Center.

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“We can have belly dancing classes, a potential cabaret, and there will be a whole range of healing arts to raise awareness and make connections,” Woods said.

Woods has been studying holistic healthcare and nutritional therapies since age 18 and has owned an apothecary since 2006 (formerly based in Meyers) as well as a farm in Malpais, Costa Rica.

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“In Costa Rica, the food forest becomes self-sustaining because it follows the natural rhythms of the earth,” she says.

“Woods Apothecary evolved naturally as I evolved,” says Woods, who is also a single mother, massage therapist and certified doula.

Woods teaches workshops with names like The People’s Medicine, Herbal Mixology, and Cultivating The Inner Terroir. Her outdoor summer classes on “Materia medica” and foraging, where she introduces bioregional herbs and how to use them, are often packed.

The new Tahoe Keys Center suite allows Woods to do more. The open yoga/movement studio doubles as a botanical laboratory/kitchen, where fragrant masala chai spices flow from a jar. We hope that two small plots of land outside the apothecary will house a place where people can grow their own herbs.

“We are going to rehabilitate the soil over the winter and install a permaculture medicinal garden here for the community,” she says.

She also wants to employ teenagers in the hope that it can become a social gathering place for SLT youth as well. She also wants to run classes for children, the indoor equivalent of the Tiny Seeds Forest School, which focuses on art, ecology, music and movement.

“They can learn how to prepare things with herbs. These kids are primarily outdoor educated, so I would like them to bring what they know here and create,” Woods says.

In how she got the new apothecary space, Woods noticed it while she was working at Zen Massage Studio a few doors down. Post-COVID, it became available for rental and she seized the opportunity.

“During COVID, people felt isolated and all these ideas of having a community hub were pushed aside. Eventually, I started seeing more places like this pop up, because people were yearning for that social interaction, a way of expressing themselves through the arts,” she says.

“‘Go for it’ was the driving force behind this place. People are hungry for earthly knowledge and I think with the current state of the world we need to dig into something real.

Woods held a soft opening in mid-October where she had a fire cider making station and breathing practice. Starting in November, the Apothecary Academy will have a consistent class schedule (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday-Sunday). Classes are the focus of the apothecary, so that’s when Woods will be there selling herbs and tinctures. Right now, as the seasons transition, is a great time to use elixirs, tinctures, and herbal remedies to help strengthen the immune system. Woods also offers private wellness consultations, available by appointment.

“My dream of having a community hub has finally come true and this perfectly meets our goal,” she says.

For more information about Woods Apothecary Academy of Healing Arts curriculum and course products, visit http://www.woodsapothecary.org.