Visitng Old Friends: Getting to Know Plant Spirits

In the last few weeks I have felt a swell of anxiety begin to stir. This isn't a new feeling to me. In fact, my struggle with anxiety almost two years ago is exactly what turned me to herbalism in the first place. I was trying conventional medications, but I just didn't feel myself nor was I feeling much better. I was struggling with some intense anxiety and needed something in my life to shift.

That's when I found herbalism or perhaps the plants found me. I began preparing quarts of tea every day. My room started to fill with jars of milky oats, lemon balm, kava kava, skullcap, tulsi, borage, wood betony, st.john's wort, reishi, and rose. After a few months of regular teas, tinctures, and flower essences, I began to slowly and subtly feel myself again. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. And in a very powerful way. The plants cleared my anxiety and also cleared a path so that I could do the personal work I needed to do. While I was grateful to have the medications available to control my anxiety when I felt it was at an unmanageable level, I also felt that the medication numbed not only my anxiety, but also my whole self. When I began turning to herbal healing, I felt much more aware of my life and able to actively nurture the person I wanted to become. And I was able to do so safely, naturally, and with no unwanted side-effects.

I have been fortunate enough to feel that my struggle with acute anxiety has passed. After a few months I stopped taking the herbs and have had some downs and lots of ups in the last two years and have felt emotionally balanced and grounded through these experiences. However, in the last couple of weeks I have felt an increase in anxiety due to a few changes in my personal and professional life. In particular, I have had a hard time letting go, relaxing, getting to sleep, and returning to balance after a moment of stress. It was time to go back to my old herb friends that had helped me before.

But this time it was different. When I started drinking a daily tea of milky oats, wood betony, and tulsi it was as if I was being welcomed into a good friend's home. We had built a relationship before, so we just took up where we left off. I felt significant changes in my mood very quickly. I felt very strongly how much these herbs are not just a means to an end. Rather, these herbs are living spirits in a very real and palpable way. In addition to feeling less anxious, I also made some quick changes in my life which immediately became obvious were choices that were best for my health and happiness. Drinking my tea each day didn't feel like just drinking some helpful herbs. I felt much more like I was visiting with a comforting and wise grandmother. Having spent time nurturing a relationship in the past with these plants, they were now my allies. They were capable of strong healing. Their spirits immediately reached out to my spirit. When that happens its hard to tell if what occurs is healing or transformation.

Super Teas for Every Day!

A number of people have asked me what are some good herbs that I would recommend for nurturing general health and vitality. There are so many that it is hard to choose! However, there are a few herbs that are just so nourishing and beneficial, that they are perfect for a daily tonic.

Nettles. I have a hard time not jumping up and down when talking about nettles. It's such a wonderful herb! When I drink a cup of nettle tea I feel as though every cell in my body is being deeply nourished. Nettles are definitely one of the most over looked superfoods...perhaps because they are viewed as such a common weed! Nettles are PACKED with vitamins, minerals,chlorophyll, and proteins which nourish the body and empower all the functions of the body. Nettles have loads of iron, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, silicon, copper, sulphur, Vitamins C, D, and K. Nettles benefit the kidneys, help with any bone issues such as arthritis, alleviate allergies, discourage anemia, and encourage healthy skin and hair. Nettles also help nourish burnt out adrenals. In our high paced lives we certainly need to give our adrenals a little help. Nettles are a wonderful way to heal that feeling of being burnt out and frayed. And they are so delicious! And when I drink a cup of nettles I feel so full of energy and totally ready for the day! Although, a little warning, they are a diuretic so you may be visiting the restroom more often! Be sure to drink some extra water when you have nettle tea. With so many healing affects, and the ability to nourish our adrenals, it is clear why nettles would make a great daily tonic.

Red Clover. This is a wonderfully nourishing tea full of vitamins and minerals. It is very powerfully anti-cancer, particularly in preventing breast cancer and prostate cancer. Red clover helps alleviate any issues with swollen lymph nodes, mysterious lumps, tumors, etc. It is most well known as a great tonic for women, particularly for those going through menopause since it balances hormones and alleviates hot flashes like no other herb. However, red clover is beneficial to everyone. Part of the power of red clover is attributed to the fact that it blocks damaging estrogen-like endocrine disruptors that we encounter throughout our food, water, plastics, chemicals, and other toxins in our environment. As a blood cleanser, it is also a wonderful detoxifying herb, having a nice gentle cleansing affect on the liver. Living in a world with so many endocrine disruptors and toxins it is easy to see how such a wonderful cleansing herb would be a perfect daily tonic.

Milky Oats (aka Oat Seed, Oat Tops). We live in a world where we are constantly inundated with images, noise, demands, and information. We are always on the move. All of this takes a huge toll on the nervous system. Milky Oats is a great herb for totally nourishing the nervous system. It is perhaps the best food for the nervous system. It is very calming and tastes wonderful! An awesome daily tonic!

Some other good herbs! Add Oatsraw and/or Horsetail to a blend with any of the above herbs. Oatstraw is a rich source of calcium and horsetail is full of silicon. If you're a nail biter, be sure to add horsetail! Biting nails and frequent hangnails are signs of silicon deficiency. Raspberry leaf is another great tonic tea. It is fill of vitamins and minerals, and is a great women's herb which nourishes the entire reproductive area.

Feel free to blend all the above herbs together! Making a tea of 1 part Nettles, 1 part Red Clover, and 1 part Milky Oats would be a delicious and super nourishing tea!

Struggles with Sleep: Herbs to Guide You To a Restful Slumber

It's time for bed so you snuggle up with the blankets and wait for sleep to come, but for some reason you just can't get to sleep. You toss and turn, unable to let your body relax into a restful sleep. You can't stop worrying about paying bills on time or you can't forget that little insult someone said. Perhaps you simply feel anxious but don't know why. You're too tired to sleep. You just can't keep your eyes shut, they just keep bouncing open. So...why not have some tea to help bring on a deep and restful slumber!

It is good to prepare for bed time. Avoid things that might get your adrenaline going. Allow the 1 or 2 hours leading up to your bedtime be relaxing. Try to put aside your worries from the day. Do some very gentle stretches or yoga, do breathing exercises, meditate for a few minutes...then make yourself a nice cup of herbal tea!

Here is a list of some beneficial herbs to help you sleep:

Chamomile:

There is a good reason chamomile is such a popular herb for relaxation and sleep! It helps soothe any discomfort from digestion, has a subtle affect detoxing the liver, and brings on a sense of relaxation. Chamomile is specific for someone who feels a bit fussy or moody. I have heard it described as the herb “for the child in all of us.”

Valerian:

Valerian is a very popular herb for those who need a sleep aid, particularly for those experiencing insomnia. You would use the root of valerian as a tea or tincture. However, valerian isn't for everyone. It makes about 75 – 90% of people sleepy, but the other percentage will experience the total opposite affect and feel quite jittery and buzzed from valerian. An herbalist can test the herb on you, or you can try it out and see how you react.

Passionflower:

If you are someone that can't stop cycling the same thoughts again and again, then passionflower isyour herb. It is a very relaxing herb that helps to quiet the anxious mind that just won't let go. This herb has been a dear friend on many sleepless night and during anxious times!

Skullcap:

Skullcap is another favorite herb of mine. Skullcap relaxes the body, particularly in the gut and heart area. It helps you let go of the kind of tension where you feel a pit in your stomach or tension in your chest. I have found it a great herb for letting go of anger. It has a nice action on the liver, which is where we often store anger in our bodies.

Wild Lettuce and Hops:

Wild lettuce and hops are both very powerful sedatives. Wild lettuce can be taken as a tea or tincture. I most like to use hops in an herbal pillow. It is a wonderful way to be lulled to sleep. However, hops are highly estrogenic which means they could be more stimulating to women. I once took a tincture both hops and wild lettuce in the formula and could barely muster the energy to stand afterwards!

Ashwagandha:

If you are someone that tends to stay up very late and wake late, then perhaps you need an herb that can help get your circadian rhythms balanced again. Ashwagandha is a root that not only soothes the nerves, but also nourished the endocrine system. You can take the root as a powder sprinkled in smoothies or food, capsule, tea, or tincture.

Mugwort:

Mugwort is an herb that is somewhat magical. Putting some mugwort leaves under your pillowor taking the tea or tincture will bring you into a dream state. Whenever I put the leaves under my pillow, I have very wild and vivid dreams. It seems to be a plant that brings subconscious messages to people.

There are multitudes of other herbs that could help you get to sleep: lavender, licorice, blue vervain, motherwort, linden, milky oats, lemon balm, etc, etc. It is hard to narrow it down to pick out just a few favorites!

Here is my favorite tea to make when I am having a sleepless night:

2 parts skullcap

1 part valerian

1 part chamomile

½ part licorice

½ part lavender

Allow to steep in water that is just shy of boiling. Cover while the tea is steeping. Allow to infuse for about 15-20 minutes. Sip and enjoy!