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…

Here's our newest video in the plant medicine series. We hope you enjoy learning a bit about elecampane, an herbal root medicine root that can come in very handy in this cold, cough, and flu season…

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…

When I met a cinnamon tree in the tropics for the first time, I was so excited that I kissed it and gave it a big bear hug, much to the amusement of our guide...

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…

Mullein is one of my all time favorite herbs for healing the lungs and bronchia. Grief lodges in the lungs. Spiritually, mullein invites us to spiral into the earth to find our deep center of truth and to engage the power of the earth and add it to our own. Mullein also teaches us how to look far over the territory ahead to see what we are working for and walking toward....

Join Robin on The Visionary Activist Show as she discusses how to move on after the election…

Here is our newest video in the Plant Medicines Series: each one features a local medicinal plant and includes tips on identification, harvesting and uses. Wherever you live, there is medicine under your feet...

Here is the latest video in our plant medicine series, featuring the generosity of Elder (Sambucus nigra). Enjoy!! And do share...knowledge is empowering!...