herbal medicine

Want to avoid catching a cold or a flu?

The May Tree in the Celtic calendar, Hawthorn is the powerful grandmother of the Rose family and was thought in Europe to be the home of faeries. “Haw” means berry and “thorn”—well, that’s pretty self-explanatory. “Crataegus” derives from Greek…”kratos” means strength and “akis,” sharp.  The thorns can be an inch long. Ouch!

The eyes and our other senses are our windows to the world. Vision is a powerful sense that we often take for granted. And this particular window is sensitive…to dryness, dust and other irritants.  There are some simple steps you can use to support the health of these valuable portals of information and beauty. I’ve found all three to be useful for myself, for friends, and for clients in my wellness practice.

Botanicals have a lot to offer when it comes to keeping our nervous systems healthy and helping with nerve-related issues.  Here are four of my most used allies!

When I first started studying botanical medicine, I was at work and got a call from my then-boyfriend asking which plant in the yard was yarrow.  He had cut his hand and wanted to do some first aid to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. This wasn’t the first time.  Having a garden of first aid plants really comes in handy.  Beyond adding beauty to your surroundings, you have at hand easy and effective remedies for everything from cuts and abrasions to insect bites, burns and digestive distress.  H

Why am I bringing up spring allergies in January??? Because now is the time to start getting ready for them!  Don’t have seasonal allergies but are allergic to Fido?  No problem…keep reading—this is relevant to you, too. 

In today’s modern world, stress is part of our daily lives. We are constantly moving from one task to the next. By the end of the day, our bodies and our minds are exhausted. That kind of stress is causing people to get sick more often and it’s lowering their life expectancy as well. It’s incredibly important that we meet stress head on and not ignore it.

Chronic stuffy sinuses may be due to allergies, diet, infection, or structural issues in the airways. More than one of these may be at play for some folks.  When the mucus is clear, the issue may be related to allergies, diet, or chronic low-level infection. Acute infections are most often viral, which means that antibiotics won’t work.

Before harvesting or using punarnava, please make sure to carefully read the disclaimers below.

Punarnava, the Sanskrit word for the medicinal plant commonly known in English as spreading hogweed, literally translated means “renewer” or “rejuvenator.” Punar- means “again,” and -nava translates to “new.” Punarnava is steadily gaining attention in the expansive world of natural health medicine as a powerful medicinal herb with a wonderful laundry list of health-promoting benefits supporting longevity and youthfulness.

A soothing cup of lemon balm tea at the end of a long day can be a lovely respite. Many commercial herb teas have instructions to steep for something like 3-6 minutes.  This is fine for a simple “beverage” tea, but is inadequate for a truly medicinal brew. By medicinal I mean strong enough to have a desired effect on mind, body and/or emotions beyond simply enjoying a good cup of tea.