One of the most amazing herbs on Planet Earth has to be the common weed called stinging nettles. I use nettles regularly. It is like having herbal health insurance! Nettle is almost a panacea, with healing benefits for nearly every major body system - lymph, glandular, respiratory, skin, urinary, and cardiovascular. In the cardiovascular system its tonic and rejuvenating effects on the veins and arteries, along with its healing properties for the kidneys…

If you read the last blog post, I talked about my Healthy Heart Blend I. Today, I'd like to share with you my Healthy Heart Blend II. In celebration of Valentine's Day this week, I thought sharing my heart healthy recipes could add to your heart/love filled week. This infusion is useful for an ailing cardiovascular system, or to help maintain a healthy one. The blend of herbs will provide medicinal benefits for the heart …

Some of my favorite cardiovascular-system herbal allies are: hawthorn berries and flowers, rosemary, linden, grape leaves, nettles, seaweeds, parsley, yarrow, violet, and ginkgo biloba. The first herb I think of in connection with the health of our dear hearts is the sacred hawthorn tree, beloved of the mischievous faeries and all who believe that a life devoid of magic is not really worth living. Hawthorn (Crataegus species)…

What does your cold feel like? Do you feel hot and dry, stuffed up and separated from everything and everyone by thick mucus clogging your nose and limiting your sight and hearing? Or is your nose running copiously while you feel chilled and shivery? Treat yourself accordingly by taking care in choosing whether you want more or less warming, cooling, moistening, and/or drying. For example, if you are cold and have chest congestion with a wet, productive cough, you might want to use an infusion of ginger root…

The rose is widely recognized as the inimitable symbol of beauty and love. Its lush petals, majestic arrangement and vivid colors, particularly the classic red rose, evoke sensuality and romanticism, making it a popular ornamental flower and age-old subject of reverence in art, literature, and mythology. The rose is also a highly valued herb in traditional and modern herbal medicine. Rose hips, the fruits of the rose, are significantly high in vitamin C, and can be consumed raw or as teas, beverages, syrups…

Hyssop is my oldest and foremost ally for helping people heal from bronchitis. I've found that it will safely help adults and children to expectorate even the most entrenched phlegm stuck in the bronchia and cilia of the lungs from acute or chronic bronchitis. It is one of the first herbs that taught me that when you need something, it will taste good to you. I couldn't stand the taste of hyssop until I had acute bronchitis - then I couldn't get enough of it! I have seen this response in other people, too…

I use the simpler's method of tincturing healing herbs, perfect for homemade medicines for everyday use or more serious applications. Tinctures are the liquid result of chopping plants up and steeping them in alcohol, which is, after water, the most common menstruum (in herbal terminology) used to extract the medicinal qualities and properties from the plants. After harvesting or buying the fresh herb, tear or chop it up finely and place it in a clean glass jar to the top. Then pour 100-proof vodka over the…

The shortest day and the longest, deepest night just passed on December 21, 2016. Are we here? Take a moment to listen for your true self under all the noise, to hear your heart. Breathe. Amidst the post-holiday running around and all the to-do's and the frightening uncertainties of the dramas playing out in our time... there is an invitation to show up, dissolving the need to know, to be certain, and open ourselves to wonder, to be guided. We dream the world into being every moment…

A couple of friends of mine called me on a Saturday morning when they had bad colds that were getting worse. Her head felt heavy and was hurting badly. She was very congested, and concerned that it might turn into pneumonia, as had happened to her the year before. He was feeling weak and sick, and coughing a lot, which made his chest hurt. They'd been sick for a day or two at that point, and had been "trying everything" as people so often do. Does this sound familiar to you? "Simplify," I suggested…

A mature white pine tree is a magnificent being! Pine's healing effects on the respiratory system are due to it's aromatic, resinous oils and tannins. These and more make it an important herbal medicine for the lungs that can be used on its own to good effect, as a full-strength infusion or a steam, or as a cough syrup. White Pine Infusion 2 cups fresh white pine needles 1/2 gallon water Cut up 2 cups or more of fresh pine needles and the small twigs that they grow on. Use your fingernail or a knife...

Crying is how we feel and heal grief and it's something we all have an innate ability to do. The fact that tears do not come easily for so many people is unnatural and culturally induced. Sometimes nothing feels as good as a good cry. And sometimes our healing tears can be uncontrollable. Perhaps with many of us still reeling with deep concern to downright despair and fear, we need to have mass cry-ins. People could take turns weeping when others are too exhausted from weeping to continue…

When the news of the world, or even the news in your personal world, makes you want to get back into bed and pull covers over your head, forever, or run for “the hills” (that may no longer exist), or eat “comfort food” that will have you feeling very uncomfortable a short time later, it’s time to take an herbal bath. Really. Herbal bathing is versatile. It can be done as a full body bath, ideally, but if that’s not an option, hand and foot baths are surprisingly satisfying…