Your plan
What the reading returns.
The intake ends in a document, not just a jar of granules. It has a name for what your body is doing, an explanation of what the formula is built to do about it, a functional-medicine layer keyed to your terrain, and a week-by-week map of what to expect as the pattern moves.
This page shows you what's actually in it — and a sample, so you can see the format before you begin.
What's in it.
Nine sections, in the order they arrive. Each one answers a specific question.
- 01Understanding Your Pattern.
What the configuration is, what that sphere governs in the body, and which layer gets addressed first.
- 02Why This Formula.
The classical action in plain words — which organ systems it's built for, and why it fits your specific configuration.
- 03Your Problem-Specific Focus.
Terrain support aimed directly at what brought you in, alongside the deeper constitutional work.
- 04Your Functional-Medicine Support.
Where to start, and everything after that — organized by sphere and by tier, not a flat list.
- 05Your Step-by-Step Timeline.
Staged, week by week — what to add at each stage, signs of progress to watch for, and what to monitor.
- 06How to Put This Into Practice.
Herb timing, how supplements layer in, where to get everything, and when to check back.
- 07Lifestyle & Diet.
A short list, each item tied to the specific reason it matters for your pattern.
- 08What to Expect.
When the first change usually shows up, what real progress looks like, and what to do if something feels temporarily worse.
- 09Please Note.
Any cautions that apply to you, stated plainly.
A sample plan.
Below is a composite — not a real patient, but the actual format and depth of what a plan contains. The specific formula composition, the supplement products, and the doses are written for your configuration during your intake; they aren't published here.
01Understanding Your Pattern
The reading names a Liver Qi constraint sitting over Spleen deficiency, with a layer of Blood dryness underneath. In practice, that means the body's regulatory system — the one that keeps stress, hormones, and digestion moving smoothly — has been under sustained load, and the transformation system beneath it, which handles digestion, absorption, and the making of Blood, has started to run short.
The two patterns feed each other: a strained Wood sphere burdens Earth, and a depleted Earth sphere leaves Wood with less to work with. Because Earth is the deeper layer, the plan addresses it first.
02Why This Formula
The formula built for this pattern is a Qi-regulating, Blood-nourishing base, warmed to meet the cold signs present in the lower body. Its job is threefold: ease the constraint so Qi moves the way it should, rebuild the Blood that regulation depends on, and support the Spleen's ability to keep making more.
Every real plan names the specific composition and the role each herb plays — that level of detail is written for your configuration, not published here.
03Your Problem-Specific Focus
Terrain support aimed directly at the presenting complaint — sleep disruption, in this composite — sits alongside the constitutional work, addressing the acute concern while the deeper pattern resolves underneath it.
04Your Functional-Medicine Support
The remaining recommendations are organized by sphere and by tier — universal foundation first, then the sphere doing the most work, then anything aimed at a specific symptom.
05Your Step-by-Step Timeline
Stage 1 — Clear (Weeks 1–2)
Settle the acute constraint and ease what's loudest — the sleep disruption calming first. Signs of progress: digestion feels lighter, and the disrupted sleep starts to loosen.
Monitor: a brief digestive adjustment in the first several days is common and expected to pass within a week.
Stage 2 — Build (Weeks 3–6)
The Spleen work deepens and the Blood-nourishing side of the formula strengthens; the functional-medicine layer opens in full. Signs of progress: more even energy through the day, steadier mood.
Monitor: if sleep hasn't shifted at all by week 4, that's exactly what the next re-exam is for.
Stage 3 — Consolidate (Weeks 7–12)
The formula shifts from correction toward maintenance as the pattern resolves. Signs of progress: the original complaint has mostly resolved; what's left is holding the gain.
Monitor: the re-exam confirms whether the pattern has moved, and the plan is revised to match.
06How to Put This Into Practice
- Herb timing relative to meals — when to take each dose and why.
- How supplements layer in — staggered over the first two weeks, not all at once.
- Where to obtain what's recommended — herbs are always prepared by the practice; supplements are recommended by name and dose so you can fill them anywhere, including the practice's own dispensary as a convenience.
- When to check back — the first re-exam after the initial course, then on a regular re-exam rhythm from there.
07Lifestyle & Diet
- Regular meal timing. An unsettled Spleen does better on a predictable schedule than a perfect one.
- Consistent sleep–wake time. The Blood-building work the formula is doing happens overnight.
- Gentle, regular movement. Supports the Qi-moving side of the formula rather than working against it.
- Reduce late, heavy meals. Keeps the transformation system from being asked to do its hardest work while resting.
08What to Expect
- The loudest symptom is usually the first thing to ease, often within the first one to two weeks.
- Real movement in the underlying pattern takes longer — usually somewhere in the six-to-twelve-week range.
- A short-lived digestive adjustment in the first few days is common and not, by itself, a reason to stop.
- Return for the first re-exam once the initial course is finished — sooner if something feels wrong.
09Please Note
- If you're pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription medication, say so on your intake — some formula components are adjusted around that.
- This plan is built for one body, at one point in time. It isn't meant to be read as general guidance for anyone else's pattern.
This is a sample document — a composite presentation built to show the shape and depth of a Rootworth plan. It is not a real patient's record.
A real one, too.
The composite above shows the full shape of a plan. Below is the actual opening page of two real Rootworth plans, exactly as generated — not written for this page. Only the first section is shown, and it's the one part of a plan that was already free of any formula, product, or dose detail; the identifying information has been withheld.
The arc, and why it changes.
The order in the timeline isn't arbitrary. The most upstream layer is addressed first — clear what's loudest, build what's depleted, then consolidate the gain — because working out of sequence asks a body to do more than it can hold at once.
If healing is a process, the prescription is a process.
Most patients move through a re-exam every three to four weeks. Each one reads where the body is now, not where it was at intake, and the plan is revised to meet it there — the formula adjusted, the functional-medicine layer advanced or held, the timeline updated. When the pattern is stable, that re-exam is simply a refill. When it has shifted, the plan shifts with it. A living document, not a one-time handout.
Where the recommendations get filled.
Custom herbal formulas always come from the practice — they're prepared specifically for your composition and can't be sourced elsewhere.
Functional-medicine supplements are recommended by name, form, and dose, the same way any practitioner-grade recommendation would be. You're free to source anywhere you choose — a local retailer, or the practice's own Fullscript dispensary as a convenience, at verified doses without navigating the retail supplement market yourself.
What it costs.
The reading, the plan, and the first stage of the arc are included in the intake fee — there's no separate charge for the document itself. The full breakdown of what's included and what happens at each re-exam is on the intake process page.
Common questions.
- Is this a diagnosis?
- No. It's a reading of your pattern and a treatment plan built from it — the classical assessment and the functional-medicine layer, not a diagnosis or treatment of a named disease.
- Does the plan ever change?
- Yes — that's the point of it. Every re-exam reads where the body is now and revises the plan to match. Nothing runs on a fixed protocol indefinitely.
- Are the supplements only available through Rootworth?
- No. They're recommended by name and dose so you can fill them wherever you'd like — a local retailer or the practice's own dispensary, whichever is easiest for you.
- How long does the whole arc usually take?
- It depends on the pattern, but most plans move through the stages shown above over roughly three months, with re-exams along the way adjusting the pace.
- What if I don't notice anything right away?
- The "What to Expect" section of your plan tells you what timing is normal for your specific pattern. If nothing has shifted by the point it should have, that's exactly what the next re-exam catches.
- How do I get one of these?
- It arrives with your first formula, after your intake is read. See how the intake works to begin.
A note on these statements.
Rootworth herbal preparations and the supplement protocols described here are dietary supplements. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Classical Chinese medicine pattern assessment is distinct from the diagnosis and treatment of disease as defined under United States federal law. Functional supplement protocols are offered as supportive adjuncts to herbal prescribing, not as medical treatment. Individual results vary.