plant medicine

When I was 16, I started going to a small Buddhist temple in the city I was raised in. Across the street from the city bus stop that I was deposited at around 3:30 every week day, this small zen center had guided practice for about an hour and a half. I was young and only attended temple occasionally, but my interest in meditation was piqued. A book by thich nhat hanh taught me basic technique and practice. And then I forgot. I never finished that book and I stopped going to temple altogether.

Botanical names of herbs sometimes tell you what the herb does. Motherwort’s botanical name is Leonurus cardiaca, meaning “lion hearted.”  It is, indeed, a supreme herb for the heart.

Here are some of the things Motherwort does for cardiovascular health:

Teas might feel more like a winter drink—something to cozy up with on a cold night, or wake up to on a crisp morning—but they’re just as good in spring as in winter, and sometimes even more beneficial. After several months of less sunshine, less time spent outdoors, and too many tuber and starch-heavy meals, our bodies are likely craving bitter tonics to cleanse ourselves and aid in digestion. Spring teas are often the perfect choice for this, and they offer a wide variety of benefits outside of simply being tasty and comforting.

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!

Ah, winter—the season of retreating indoors, finding every way to keep warm, and snuggling up with your favorite book or Netflix show for a slow descent into hibernation, solitude, and a fair amount of seasonal down time.

While the frigid cold winter weather outside can affect your energy levels and leave you with the sluggish winter blues, there are seasonal winter herbs that can also lift you out of your winter funk to revitalize your well-being and mood with some natural herbal supplements.

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!

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.

Addiction comes in many shapes and forms. It has no prejudices against or for any person. Chemicals and substances take a toll on our overall well-being. They can truly break a person down on so many different levels. Overcoming any form of addiction can be really difficult. It affects the mind, body, and soul, but addiction can be defeated!

Herbal medicine making is a powerful practice rich with intention, connection, and healing. In our modern world, the potency of plant medicine is often overlooked. Yet when we trace its roots, we see that Mother Earth’s remedies are long honored across many traditions and cultures.

So you find yourself unable to sleep at night, and you’ve tried everything. What’s next? How about aromatherapy! But what exactly is aromatherapy you may ask? Aromatherapy uses fragrant parts of aromatic plants to help revitalize and relax the body.