Book excerpt: Traditionally, apothecaries held space for healing within the community. Practitioners considered health from a holistic point of view, and patients received personalized practices to support both body and mind. In The Modern Apothecary, Brendan Murdock and Gabriel Weil of the London-based wellness brand anatome explore significant wellbeing practices of the past through key timelines. They uncover five pillars of wellness - sleep, balance, movement, focus and diet - and reveal how improving these areas can alleviate common concerns such as stress, poor gut health and insomnia. This book spotlights today's wellbeing 'villains', such as workplace anxiety or excessive screen time, and illustrates practices for optimizing wellness. It also demonstrates how to harness the power of 22 unique botanicals for holistic health. By combining nature and science with revived rituals of the past, you can discover how to weave these self-care principles and routines into your lifestyle to support health, improve wellbeing and restore calm.