Have you used any of these words to describe how you feel on a regular basis?
When you wake up in the morning do you feel unrefreshed, as if you hadn’t slept at all?
Do you find yourself needing to use stimulants like caffeine, just to make it through the day?…
As a mother of 3 children, who practiced exclusive, extended breast-feeding, ran her own business and went back to school, all at the same time (along with a couple of international household moves), I can tell you that I have experienced plenty of fatigue myself! I can also tell you that there is a way out!…
1. Yarrow is an excellent diaphoretic, so it helps the body to deal with feverish states in a natural way. The tea is especially useful for children’s fevers.
2. Yarrow is also a styptic herb, helping to staunch excessive blood flow – whether it be from a wound, a bloody nose or an excessive menstrual period.
3. Yarrow also possesses anti-microbial activity against a wide range of bacteria, making it suitable for first aid topical applications as well as internal infections.
4. As an anti-inflammatory, yarrow can be used both externally as well as internally to address a range of symptoms, from high blood pressure to digestion to joint pain.
5. Studies have shown yarrow to protect the liver from toxic chemical damage as well as to help in treating hepatitis.
St John’s Wort is blooming all over the Cascade Range valleys right now and it’s the perfect time to harvest some of this medicinal powerhouse herb!
I harvest fresh St John’s Wort blossoms every year and make infused oil and tincture for use throughout the next year. My last post described a few of the medicinal uses of St John’s Wort.
Making infused medicinal oils is deceptively simple and amazingly useful. Here is a short and sweet tutorial of how to make St John’s Wort infused oil:
Ingredients:
clean glass jar
organic olive oil
freshly picked and wilted St John’s Wort blossoms
Harvest the blossoms (or flowering tops) of St John’s Wort and let them wilt for 6-24 hours. This allows some of the moisture to evaporate as well as any critters hiding in the petals to leave…
Place in a clean glass jar leaving some headspace. Pour olive oil over the petals until the oil covers the herb about an inch.
Place the lid on the jar tightly and set in a protected area in the sun, or a sunny windowsill for about 4 weeks. Open the lid every day or two and wipe out any condensation that forms.
Your oil will quickly turn blood red from the medicinal constituents of the herb infusing into the oil. After a month, you can strain out the herb and use the medicinal oil that is the result!
I love using St John’s Wort infused oil straight as a massage oil, or sunburn remedy. But I also like to use it in blends to make healing salves of all kinds, as well as in lotion and moisturizer recipes.
Have you ever infused St John’s Wort in oil? What is your favorite way to use it?
1. St John’s Wort is anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and especially anti-viral. In fact, it has been used successfully for shingles, cold sores and other herpes manifestations.
2. St John’s Wort is a powerful nerve regenerator and can be used for healing injuries, especially in nerve-rich areas like fingers, toes and spinal areas.
3. St John’s Wort is sometimes called “Sunshine in a bottle” for it’s ability to ease symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
4. The herbal infused oil of St John’s Wort is useful for the prevention and healing of sunburn.
5. St. John’s Wort has a sedative and pain reducing effect, which makes it useful for neuralgia, especially facial neuralgia after dental extractions and toothache, anxiety and tension, as well as traumatic shock.
As a tried and true do-it-yourselfer, I am always looking for exceptional skin care treatments that provide excellent results, are inexpensive, and simple enough to do at home.
When my company, Herbs of Grace, was manufacturing skin care products, I spent years researching and developing various facial creams, lotions, elixirs and serums, that provided great results and customer satisfaction. But the treatment that stands out ahead of all the rest, as far as quality of results and simplicity, is The Oil Cleansing Method. It’s fast. It’s easy. And, it makes my skin glow! As a busy work at home Mom of 3 children (2 of whom homeschool) the Oil Cleansing Method fits the bill!
Learn all about the Oil Cleansing Method and how to create your own oil blends in my guest post at Hybrid Rasta Mama today.
1. Hawthorn is one of the most well known, and possibly most valuable, tonic remedy for the cardiovascular system in herbal medicine.
2. Hawthorn is rich in vitamins and minerals. It contains flavinoids, (quercetin, rutin), zinc, Vitamins B and C, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
3. It is not only the berries of the Hawthorn tree that are useful. You can also use the flowers and leaves.
4. Hawthorn is considered to be adaptogenic and especially helpful in keeping coronary vessels dilated.
5. The German Federal Ministry of Health Monograph (after a four year study) concluded that Hawthorn gently increases the strength and normalizes the rhythm of the heart beat, as well as increasing coronary and myocardial circulation, through a dilation of the coronary arteries.
It wasn’t that long ago when every home had an herbal or homeopathic medicine kit filled with natural remedies to treat injuries or illnesses that family members might encounter.
Learn how to craft your own natural home medicine kit and what to stock it with in my guest post at Hybrid Rasta Mama today.
1. Elderberry is an excellent immunomodulator, meaning it can assist the body in regulating it’s immune response to the appropriate level needed for the situation.
2. Elder flowers are a tried-and-true diaphoretic, encouraging perspiration and the release of heat from the body, useful for colds, flus and fevers.
3. Elderberry is a powerful anti-viral. It directly inhibits the influenza virus by disarming the virus of its ability to invade healthy cells and multiply.
4. Elderberry contains anit-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agents, which can benefit a large range of conditions from allergic reactions to atherosclerosis.
5. Elderberries and elder flowers are gentle enough to be used with babies, children, and the elderly, as well as those with compromised immune systems.
1. As well as the seed oil, other parts of Evening Primrose are also used medicinally – namely, the leaves, flowers and roots.
Have you used Evening Primrose herb?
~Heal Your Family with Nature’s Remedies~
