Most of us only notice our immune system when it is working hard. Normally it exists under the radar, removing unwanted guests with every breath. But when germs have penetrated its initial defenses, the immune system kicks into high gear. The battle to restore health leaves us with unwanted side effects that are meant to protect, but often irritate—fevers, coughs, runny noses, sore throats, stuffy heads, aches, and pains.
It is time to nourish our immune system. To build our initial defense so germs can’t penetrate, the best defense is a good offense. Ancient wisdom tells us that health comes when we live in harmony with the cycles of nature. So as temperatures cool, the sun moves north, and we start spending more time in close quarters, it is time to nourish our immune system. Lifestyle and diet are important factors. Get sufficient rest, exercise, and sun each day; increase digestive power with warm, simple, and spiced foods; and support vital energy with proper vitamins and minerals. A daily neti wash and frequent hand-washing will also remove unwanted germs. Another source of immune power comes from our herbal allies—plants that offer their healing powers to support our lives. Three well-known immune tonics include: Elderberry (Sambucus Nigra) This cluster of tiny berries has been used for centuries by cultures around the world to keep people healthy throughout the year. Modern science shows that the proteins and bioflavonoids destroy the ability of a cold or flu virus to infect our cells. Taken daily, it does wonders for keeping viruses at bay. Yet it can also be used at the onset of cold and flu symptoms. A tonic dose is ½–1 Tbs. for adults, ½–1 tsp. for kids per day, but for acute situations just up the serving dose to every 2 to 3 hours. While it is easy to find Elderberry syrup (or Sabuca) at most stores, it is just as easy to make at home with honey, water, and berries.
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9/24/2015 8 Comments Immunity: Elderberry Syrup ELDERBERRY SYRUP
Mix honey with medicinal agent (tincture, powder, decoction) Ingredients
7/3/2015 14 Comments Wise Progression of Health Americans seem to be getting sicker. Over 90% of people say they suffer from chronic digestive complaints. About 35% can't sleep. More employees call in sick due to stress than for the common cold. And antibiotic resistant infections are now the fifth leading cause of death. Our Western technological medical model is great for emergency care. Yet, when it comes to the growing number of chronic conditions, the remedies can carry a lot of unwanted side effects - not only "possible death" as we hear at the end of commercials, but tremendous cost for our pocket book, our health and our environment. Like nations around the world who can no longer afford this westernized approach as their only source of health, many American's are turning to alternative practices.But standing in the health and beauty aisle of your local health food store, or perusing a Google Search for CAM practitioners, it can seem downright overwhelming and potentially expensive. To help make sense of it all, I refer clients to Susun Weed's Seven Steps of Healing, or what I affectionately refer to as "The Wise Progression of Health" (a nod to the yogic tradition.) When you are not feeling well, either down in the dumps, low immunity, fatigued or simple facing a chronic issues, consider the following steps for navigating your journey of healing: 0 - Do nothing. Simply unplug from the world for a while. Radical disconnection from our daily habits. For, as Hippocrates advised, sometimes we simply need to "let thy body heal itself." 1 - Ask meaningful questions. Is there a cause and effect to your troubles? Perhaps certain foods, situations or hormones play a role. 2 - Engage the energy. Consider powerful therapies with no side effects, such as: yoga , homeopathic remedies, flower essences, exercise or moving the energy with conversation, tears, anger or laughter. 3 - Nourish. Commit to getting all of the vitamins, minerals, macro- and micro- nutrients you need through a high-quality diet. When we are malnourished, we can experience anxiety. Low in magnesium, we may experience depression. Utilize foods and tonifying herbs (and know how to use them). 4 - Drive the energy Sometimes we need something more, especially for chronic or acute conditions. So we "drive" the energy in one way or another. Acute acting herbs, essential oils, and more heroic methodologies (like cleanses) may be helpful at this point, though they will draw on other systems of the body temporarily. 5a - Supplementation Synthesized vitamins, minerals and supplements may offer some needed support but will come with more or longer-term side effects. 5b - Drugs Provided by your Doctor and may draw on your system in significant ways as they try to address symptoms and issues. 6 - Break and Enter Including such things as surgery. Too often, American's skip the first layers and jump right to step 5 or beyond. This is great for a motorcycle accident, but perhaps less so for other issues. Wherever you decide to enter the progression of health, always make sure the foundational layers - steps 0 through 3 - are being supported, and know how to skillful incorporate step 4. The foundational layers of the progression of health once infiltrated our lives almost invisibly. Yet our generation has lost much of this wisdom. As chronic conditions continue to multiply in our nation, we must once again learn to art and science of foundational health - diet, movement, rest + relaxation, herbal medicine and more. Weaving the best of our traditional and innovative modalities together, may we find the root of health, happiness and wholeness we seek. I encourage you to re-learn the art of health, and re-weave the foundations back into your daily life. 5/1/2015 3 Comments LambsÂquartersÂopita Recipe: By Natalie Bogwalker director of Wild Abundance, a primitive skills school for adults. This is my personal adaptation from the renowned Greek dish, spanikopita.
Wash the tofu and squeeze in a towel to dry . Heat 1⁄4 c olive oil in large frying pan. Crumble tofu into pan, and sauté until tofu is slightly browned and dry. Add salt, stir. Add chopped lambs quarters and cover. Cook until lambs quarters just become limp. Turn off heat. Add feta, toasted nuts, and almond butter to complete filling. Grease baking sheet with olive oil apply 2 layers at a time of filo dough, lightly brushing olive oil with brush or fingers between sets of filo dough. Continue this layering until you have used 2/3 of the package of filo dough. Apply filling to filo dough. Continue as before layering two sheets of filo dough with a light layer of olive oil between until there is no more filo. Apply a thin layer of olive oil on top of the whole conglomeration. Use knife to cut through first few layers of filo to create a grid that yields pieces of your preferred size. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, or until the top layer of filo has slightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool. The flavors in the lambsquartersopita will continue to meld the longer you let it sit. I like to serve it at least 3 hours after removing it from the oven, though it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. The flavor will continue to get better, but the texture will become more mushy the longer that you wait. 4/13/2015 1 Comment Herbal Resources RESOURCES
WellSpring Pharmacy pharmacy@himalayaninstitute.org 570-253-5650 Jackie Dobrinska ASimpleVibrantLife.com jldobrinska@gmail.com FURTHER READING A Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America (Peterson Field Guides) By Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny The Way of Ayurvedic Herbs By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa Making Plant Medicine By Richo Cech Herb Contraindications & Drug Interactions By Francis Brinker, N.D. HELPFUL WEBSITES Botany Every Day www.Botanyeveryday.com Susun Weed www.HerbsHealing.com Center for Integrative Botanical Studies www.integrativebotanical.com CONFERENCES Florida www.floridaherbalconference.org MidWest Herb Fest www.midwestherbfest.com Southeast www.SEWiseWomen.com Northeast www.womensherbalconference.com ORGANIZATIONS American Botanical Council www.herbalgram.com American Herbalist Guild www.americanherbalistsguild.com 3/9/2015 1 Comment Non-Profit Herbal GardenThe Lord's Acre believes that "everyone is hungry for something and everyone has something to give." They are a community hub that brings volunteers together to grow organic food for those in need and offers garden and food-skills training to all ages. The Functional Herb Garden, a part of The Lord's Acre, is a place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger. Our goal is to empower members of the community through the earth-based healing of herbs and herbal education. We endeavor to:
In this second year of growth, the garden is not only deepening it's perennial roots, but also providing habitat for beneficial insects and offering great beauty to the community at large. We have recently finished a beautifully rendered map of the garden. Also under development, and very close to completion, is an accompanying "Materia Medica" which shows the uses, history and harvesting needs of each plant on the map. This will make the garden more "user friendly" to anyone who stops by. We are also ready for the next stage of development -- to make these powerful herbs available to the community while supporting the mission of The Lord's Acre. Currently we are considering a free clinic and dispensary. More information, Sign-up & Photos The Lord's Acre Website 3/9/2015 1 Comment Adaptogen Ball RecipeTo feel vitalized, clear and relaxed, we need to be nourished at our deepest layers. This is the gift of adaptogens - a category of herbs that help you adapt to stress, build vitality and event build immune, heart and brain health. Traditionally, these were taken with warm milk, because the fat allowed our body to absorb the medicinal components easier. Today, I like to make my medicines taste really good, so I make them into yummy treats like Adaptogen Balls. Check it out...tastes good and good for you! ADAPTO-BALL RECIPE 1 cup of tahini (sesame paste) 1/3 cup of almond butter (or peanut butter) ½ cup of honey 1 1/2 cups of Maha-Root Adapto-Mix (includes: equal parts ashwagandha, eleuthero, rhodiola, astragulus roots) ¼ cup of licorice powder (optional) ½ cup of cocoa nibs (can substitute chopped chocolate chips if necessary) 1 cup of shredded coconut* Mix the nut butter and the sweetener in a large bowl. When they are evenly mixed, begin adding your powdered herbs - add about 1-2 ounces at a time, stir them in, and then add more. After your powdered herbs are evenly mixed in, add some ingredients for texture and added flavor. Sprinkle raw cacao powder until the mixture gets to a formable consistency (remember that you want to be able to form balls). Use your hands to roll pieces of the mix. Once the balls are formed, feel free to roll them in some shredded coconut, hemp seeds, or even dip them in some bittersweet dipping chocolate. Place each ball in a container for storage. In the fridge, these treats will last a few months, so if you prefer making a bigger batch, go for it! 2/25/2015 3 Comments 7 Steps to Loving your bodyPublished Yoga International 10/2014 Bodies. We each have one. According to yogic science, they are rare and precious gifts which enable us to perceive and understand the world, as well as to manipulate and create in it. These vehicles are important tools on the journey of self-transformation and realization. Yet, instead of honoring and respecting the gift of the body, many of us have learned to detest it. Hating our bellies, thighs, breasts, arms, and other features, we turn to restricted diets, obsessive exercise, and even dangerous medical procedures. The unconscious hope is that by fitting into some idealized definition of beauty, we will finally fulfill deeper longings for love, success, and acceptance. The cost is high. Attention, energy, and money, once available to fulfill our passions and purpose, are sacrificed to counting calories, purchasing weight loss products, and engaging in thoughts of self-abuse. Malnutrition from low-calorie, low-fat, processed foods affects our energy, mind, and spirit. We become disconnected from feelings of pleasure and the ability to express joy, and instead experience the body as a source of shame, discomfort, and insecurity. The Cause While placing blame or playing the victim can undermine our responsibility and power, it's also important to understand the backdrop in which we live. Advertising is a $250 billion dollar business. The average American sees 3,000 ads every day. They are in schools, buildings, billboards, buses, cars, elevators, emails, social media, smart phones, and more. The majority of individuals say they feel personally exempt from the effects of advertising, yet the editor of Advertising Age reports that only 8% of advertising is received by the conscious mind. The messages are sent straight to the subconscious, activating latent tendencies and enforcing the belief that we are inherently flawed. They say we're not sexy, thin, young, beautiful, or rich enough, and that to be happy, we must be different. The average American sees 3,000 ads every day. These messages ride on the top of glossy, photoshopped images. Pores are airbrushed, legs lengthened, waists reduced, and different parts of women combined into an unrealistic, exaggerated whole. These images, seen thousands of times a day, weave themselves into the recesses of our mind and shape our subtle thoughts, words, actions, habits, and beliefs about who and how we should be. Yoga + Body Image The practices of yoga can help us unwind unconscious beliefs and habits and resist the powerful forces of media imagery. Yet, as yoga grows into a multi-billion dollar industry, it has adopted the same destructive marketing tactics—impossibly thin, provocative women and strong, powerful men are shown holding ultra-advanced postures. Sex sells, and so do acrobatics. Today, yoga is equated with these images, selling everything from magazines, to classes, to products, to teachers. As a result, new and beginner yoga practitioners often feel intimidated. Teachers who have great yogic wisdom to share doubt their proficiency because they cannot hold the handstand in the middle of the room. Others, caught up in the body-hate paradigm themselves, use fitness, and the fear of fat, as classroom motivation. While mastering a form may be a sign of excellence, when perfecting poses becomes our sole focus, it undermines the deeper teachings of practice, and it may also undermine our health. Health + Body Image Only a small percentage of women naturally possess the body type idealized by both the yoga industry and the culture at large. To obtain this image—tall, lean, with thin hips and large breasts—many engage in disordered eating. Restricting food (from meals to types), binge eating, compulsive exercise, bulimia, and anorexia are all forms of disordered eating that affect women of all ages. Even mild cases of disordered eating result in malnutrition, which impairs one’s ability to think and discern, robs energy and life force, and disrupts hormonal and brain functions, among other problems.Another strategy to obtain this externalized, idealized form is to engage in surgery. Often painful, and sometimes dangerous, cosmetic procedures have increased drastically—over 450% since 1997. Beyond the physical, the quest for “beauty” results in psychological damage such as low self-esteem, increased rates of depression, and an inability to feel free, comfortable, or content in our own space and life. Turning Back to Practice As a yogini and recovering bulimic who threw up 20 times a day, everyday, for over 18 years, I have found several important and basic practices that supported my recovery from both the disorder and the underlying body-hating meme. In the early stages of recovery, advanced techniques like tapas (sense training), brahmacharya (energy management), and abhyasa (applying effort) only added guilt and shame to the disorder that I could not seem to overcome. While these yogic strategies became important tools years later, they were useful only after I had gained a foothold and started to love my body again. I had gained a foothold and started to love my body again. Instead, I turned to practices that fostered virtues such as compassion, patience, and acceptance in the beginning. Turning to what I had deemed “basic practices” and learning self-acceptance led me further down the path of yoga than any of the complex and severe practices to which I had initially been drawn. If you suffer from poor body image, disordered eating, or any compulsive body awareness, consider the following practices: 1. Avoid the trigger The Hatha Yoga Pradipika tells us, “avoid the company of common people to bring success in yoga” (verse 1:16). In this case, the common people are those who propel the illusionary body image. Magazines, movies, TV shows, and hanging out with friends with compulsive exercise or eating habits need to be put on hold for a while. Giving them up during these early stages may seem challenging, but avoiding the triggers is invaluable in healing. It consciously removes the material that feeds the spin-cycle of body-hate. 2. Let asana truly mean “seat” Take the exercise out of asana. Too many people come to yoga for the workout, hoping for the perfect “yoga butt,” “chaturanga arms,” or “crow-into-handstand shoulders.” Those same people rail against their belly fat while practicing shoulderstand. Yoga as exercise keeps us locked in the disordered paradigm. If you need exercise, go swimming. If you want to practice asana, consider a practice that gently invites steadiness, stability, and comfort without the sweat (Yoga Sutra 2.47). 3. Stabilize the mind with the breath Despite our best intentions, sometimes the mind jumps on the merry-go-round of body-hate. To disengage, utilize gentle, easy breath control. Turn your attention inward, and let the inhale be equal to the exhale. A 1:1 ratio of breath for 5 to 15 minutes helps the mind disengage from the spin-cycle of negativity, and brings clarity and ease that helps you navigate with greater self-love. 4. Cultivate compassion Yoga Sutra 1.33 says that we can make the mind fit and clear by cultivating essential virtues, including the virtue of extending compassion toward those who suffer. Whenever we are engaged in body-hate, we are suffering, whether we recognize it or not. Instead of heaping on any more judgment, blame, or hatred, offer yourself compassion. Terrible thoughts may continue to swirl, but when you notice thoughts like, “I‘m hideous,” “I hate my thighs,” “I’m fat and disgusting,” or “I need to lose 10 pounds,” offer yourself some empathy. Tell yourself that you are lovable anyway. This simple process was the key to my recovery. After 17 years of trying to fight my way out of bulimia and failing, I simply started to tell myself, “even though I do this thing I hate, and may have to live with it for the rest of my life, I’m going to love myself anyway.” Three months later, “I love myself anyway” brought me into full recovery for the first time in my life. 5. Make your mind your best friend When the lies scream “you’re fat,” “worthless,” or any number of wicked beliefs, simply remind yourself that you can’t believe everything you think. Then turn your mind to something pleasant (Yoga Sutra 1.39). I made gratitude lists, even when it felt impossible to do so. I made lists of what I appreciated about my surroundings, my talents and gifts, this world, and, yes, even my body. This practice helped me to become friends with my mind and to learn to trust myself again. 6. Build agni Black magic is the act of making someone feel bad so they will do what you want. Similar to media messaging, it hooks our basic fears, aversions, and attachments. We fear being alone, of being kicked out of the tribe and not surviving. We feel a great aversion to pain and the absence of pleasure. We are deeply attracted to being powerful in our world and molding it to meet our whims. These three energies—fear, attachment, and aversion—live in the first three chakras. The root chakra holds the energy of security, the sacral chakra holds the energy of pleasure, and the solar plexus hold the energy of power. The practice of agni sara tonifies these centers. It's almost like it removes receptor sites that might otherwise be hooked by the messages of “not good enough, not safe, and not powerful.” When my inner fire is strong, I can better discern what is helpful and true, and what is painful and untrue. 7. Make the unconscious conscious After we have stabilized the body and mind through regular practice, made the mind our friend, and built our inner fire, it's time to dig a bit deeper. How have you internalized your beliefs about body image, and how does it play out in daily life? Yoga offers a meditation practice known as vichara. The crux of the practice is to take your biggest distraction—for example, “I’m fat,” and ask “why?” Keep asking, and eventually you will get to the root belief, or what my yoga teacher calls “the lies we live by.” Conscious of the lie, we are better able to choose whether to believe it or not. I used bulimia to prove my unconscious belief that I was indeed fat, unlovable, and a failure in every way. How have you internalized your beliefs about body image? Be forewarned, the voice of the lie may not go away. It may, in fact, be with you for life. Battling it will only increase its power, so instead, simply learn to recognize it, offer it understanding (it showed up for a reason), decide if you want to believe it, and then compassionately make a decision to let something else run the show. Body image, beauty, and eating disorders are complex issues facing our culture today. To consciously step away from the cultural memes of thinness and "not-enough-ness," and to decide to love your unique form as it is, in this moment, is a radical act of defiance and self-love. It's a step toward the infinite. And to again quote a master, “whoever chooses the infinite, is chosen by the infinite.” Choosing to nourish and nurture this vehicle of transformation will aid you as you step further into the practice and state of yoga. Organic, slow food appeals to the health-conscious, modern culture. Yet, when it comes to good health, digestion may be a better focus. From metabolic processes to important neurochemicals, the body requires nutrients that don’t just come from the food we eat. They come from the food our bodies assimilate. According to ancient healing systems, good health is linked to good digestion. When the digestive fire is strong, it breaks down food, incorporates nutrients and eliminates wastes, creating healthy tissues while building deep vitality and immunity. When digestion is weak, food ferments in the intestines and wastes accumulate as toxins. We end up feeling fatigued, bloated, gassy, and achy. We get sick more often and live with low-level symptoms of illness. Cleansing is an ancient practice used to reboot the digestive fire. Originally, we cleansed ever night, the twelve-hour fast between the last meal and first, as indicated by the term “break-fast”. Today, we can support digestion by returning to this daily fast, adding a morning drink of warm, lemony, salt-water and gentle liver supporting teas. Yet, given life demands, blood sugar imbalances, and the practice of food as entertainment, twelve-hour fasts may be hard to incorporate as regular habit. In addition, our foods, air and water have more toxins we must process. For such cases, ancient wisdom suggests seasonal cleansing. Both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda recommend cleansing in harmony with the season. Winter cleanses provide simple, warming, nourishing foods that dispel the damp and cold. Summer cleanses incorporate fruit and vegetable juices to rest the digestion and cool the summer heat. Spring is considered the best time to cleanse, in part, because the very season supports it. The first spring greens - chickweed, violet and dandelion leaves - are all gentle cleansing herbs. Chickweed and dandelion leaf cleanses the liver and violet leaf clear stagnant phlegm, often a bi-product of a cold, damp winter. When we lived more closely with the earth, these would have been incorporated into our spring diet, naturally clearing toxins and building the digestive fire. Today, our food is less seasonal, and cleansing is often confused with weight loss and dieting. Though a potential side effect, a good cleanse is more about restoring balance. A simple way to start is to eliminate foods that cause inflammation. Start by removing all processed, packaged and prepared foods. Take out anything with hydrogenated fats, rancid oils, caffeine, alcohol, and sugars. Next eliminate foods that have a high incidence of allergies – wheat, corn, nuts, diary and eggs. For one to three weeks, replace these items with lightly cooked, whole foods you recognize from the garden - broccoli, beans, brown rice, bock coy, beets, and particularly anything in season. Drink nourishing herbal teas and room temperature water, as cold water extinguishes the digestive fire. Supplement your diet probiotics or fermented foods to rebuild gut health. These few simple steps strengthen the inner fire that turns our food into medicine. While it may require support, it is worth the price, as it helps us live with more energy, vitality and clarity. This article contains general information about medical conditions and complementary treatment, and is not to be considered expert advice. Always consult your physician and other qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new treatment, diet, or fitness regimen. Jackie Dobrinska is a wellness coach and owner of A Simple Vibrant Life (asimplevibrantlife.com). You can reach her at jldobrinska@gmail.com or by phone at 828.337.2737. Many herbs possess properties that affect the mind. Simple everyday herbs impact the higher yogas...the plants we work with don't have to be intense or bring intense other-worldly experiences. The more subtly the work, sometime the more profound. 1. HERBS TO IMPROVE PERCEPTION. They are prana moving herbs that open channels, increase cerebral circulation and remove mucus from the head. They increase perception and discrimination, facilitating the process of insight and meditation.
These herbs are taken along with warm water and honey to improve their effects. 2. HERBS TO INCREASE AWARENESS & STRENGTHEN THE MIND Theses are special tonic that increase soma in the nervous system, helping us to gain concentration, contentment and joy and to overcome pain.
These herbs, like the tonics for the body which they resemble, are usually taken along with warm milk, raw sugar, raw honey, ghee and other nutritive items to boost their strengthening powers. 3. HERBS TO CALM THE MIND. These are mild sedative and pain relieving agents, but also slow down the mind for meditation. They are less nutritive than the mind tonics and better for reducing anxiety and agitated nerves.
These herbs may be taken with other soothing agents like ghee to improve their calmative properties. |
Jacquelyn
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