by Marian Brown
Although the gardener and lawnworker would be unhappy to see this plant sprout, the herbalist knows better! The milk thistle, when full grown, is a splendid plant. It can grow several feet tall and top off with a colorful purple-pink pompom-like bloom. However, its beauty is best observed carefully, as the stem and leaves are covered with sharp, prickly thorns.
The Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference:
An Empowering Gathering of Indigenous & Contemporary Healing Traditions
by Jesse Wolf Hardin
As you read this, the older sections of various New Mexico towns and rural adobe villages are host to “Yerberas” and “Curanderas,” traditional healers skilled in the ways of plant medicine, some of whom could be right now preparing a favored mix of flowers to try. South of this Land of Enchantment, their Central American counterparts are seeing to the needs of not only their families but the populations of their neighborhoods, and elder Hourani in the jungles of Ecuador work to ease the pain of childbirth, heal infections and reduce fevers in areas where no other form of care exists. In the San Francisco area, a determined healer keeps alive another Hispanic healing tradition. Meanwhile, to the east, an Appalachian “Grannywife” kneels to tend her garden just as her grandmother and great grandmother did, with her own ever deepening understanding of each species’ characteristic blend of properties and effects, while across the ocean the herbalists of Great Britain draw from both historic tradition and the immediate instruction and example of the fey forest.
Are you aware that acupuncture in Winter Park can relieve stress? In Chinese medicine, stress, anxiety, depression or any strong emotion interrupts the smooth flow of energy throughout the body. According to Chinese medical theory, energy flows through our body through a network of “roads”, almost like a highway system. Stress, anger, or any intense emotion acts like a traffic jam, blocking the free flow of energy in the body. For example, many people who are very stressed out complain of upper back, shoulder and neck pain. This is because stress is causing tension in those areas, blocking the free flow of energy, causing pain, tightness, and often leading to headaches.
At one time or another, all of us experience stress. These feelings are a healthy response to events in our lives that may feel beyond our control. When we are healthy and the stress is short-lived, we are usually able to recover without too much wear and tear to our overall health. However, when the stress is extreme, or if it lasts a long time, our emotional health and ultimately, our physical health begin to suffer.
One of the main forms of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine is acupuncture. It actually involves the utilization of very thin and sharp needles that are inserted in the body’s very specific points. This treatment is believed to alter and adjust the body’s energy flow into healthier patterns and this is used to treat a variety of health conditions and illnesses.
Many people use acupuncture in Orlando to help with specific symptoms or conditions. These might include anxiety states, arthritis, asthma, back pain, circulatory problems, depression, facial paralysis, fibrositis, high blood pressure, indeterminate aches and pains, infertility, menstrual problems, migraines, rheumatism, sciatica, skin conditions or ulcers. Acupuncture is a safe treatment for all. It has proved to be effective in pregnancy management and for the relief of pain in childbirth.
Chinese acupuncture in Orlando is an ancient form of healing that began thousands of years ago. Its philosophy is embedded in the Taoist tradition. During the time when Chinese acupuncture began, the people of that time period would meditate and observe the flow of energy. The most significant milestone in the history of Chinese acupuncture started during The Yellow Emperor’s Huang Di’s period in 2697-2597. There was a famous dialogue recorded between Huang Di and his physician Qi Bo about the whole spectrum of Chinese Medical Arts. The conversations became the monumental test titled The Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine).
Oregano Herb Profile
Also known as
Origanum vulgare, Common and Wild Marjoram, Greek Oregano and Winter Oregano.
Introduction
Oregano is a warm and aromatic yet slightly bitter herb in the mint family. Good quality oregano has a pungency that numbs the tongue. The best quality oregano is grown in a warm, dry climate. The name is derived from the Greek, meaning “mountain of joy”. The Greeks used the leaves as a poultice for aching muscles, and the Romans used it for scorpion and spider bites. Sunlight encourages the concentration of the essential oils that give oregano its flavor. Two other herbs are used in the same ways as common oregano but have different culinary and medicinal properties. Mexican oregano is a plant in the verbena family that has an even stronger flavor, while marjoram is a closely related plant that lacks oregano’s essential oil and has a different, gentler “mouth feel.”
Constituents
Carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, caryophyllene.
Parts Used
Dried leaves and flowering stems.
Typical Preparations
Capsules, tinctures, teas, or essential oil. Most commonly used as a flavor and spice in culinary dishes.
Summary
The leaves and flowering stems are strongly antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and mildly tonic. Oregano is taken by mouth for the treatment of colds, influenza, mild fevers, indigestion, stomach upsets and painful menstruation. It is strongly sedative and should not be taken in large doses, though mild teas have a soothing effect and aid restful sleep. Used topically, oregano is one of the best herbal antiseptics because of its high thymol content.
Precautions
Not known to be safe during pregnancy.
For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Yarrow Herb and Flower Profile
Also known as
Achillea millefolium, Common Yarrow, Milfoil, Soldiers Woundwort, Staunchweed, Woundwort, and Western Yarrow.
Introduction
Yarrow is a long-stemmed member of the sunflower family found in the wild throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It can be recognized by its highly segmented leaves (millefolium literally means “thousand leaves”), and the clusters of daisy-like white or lavender flowers at the top of the stalk. Greek myth had it that Achilles painted himself with a tincture of yarrow to make himself invulnerable to arrows, everywhere on his body except his heel. Native American herbal medicine makes extensive use of yarrow. Among the Micmac people of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, the stalk was chewed or stewed to induce sweating to “break” fevers and colds. They also pounded the stalks into a pulp to be applied to bruises, sprains, and swelling. The Cherokee, Gosiute, Iroquois, and Mohegan peoples used yarrow as a digestive aid. Other herbal healing traditions use yarrow to treat a variety of conditions characterized by swelling, often combined with echinacea, elder flower, ginger, and peppermint.
Constituents
Bitters, chamazulene, proazulene, saponins, tannins, fatty acids.
Parts Used
Dried stems, leaves, and flowers.
Typical Preparations
Tea infusions, juice (from the fresh herb), tinctures, as a compress, and in baths.
Summary
The British Herbal Compendium notes that preparations of yarrow lower fevers, induce sweating, stop cramps, encourage menstruation, relieve inflammation, and stimulate the release of stomach acid to digest proteins and fats. The herb is taken internally to treat colds, fevers, and indigestion, and used in skin treatments of slow-healing wounds. The Complete German Commission E Monographs recommends sitz baths with yarrow added to the bath water to relieve pelvic cramps in women.
Precautions
Use with caution if you are allergic to ragweed. Its use is not recommended while pregnant.
Death by sugar may not be an overstatement—evidence is mounting that sugar is THE MAJOR FACTOR causing obesity and chronic disease.
A weekend for women to learn, connect, and deepen into the Wise Woman Tradition: simple living, earth-based healing, and local plants.
Having grown to over 600 participants over the last five years, this is a much-loved annual tradition in herbal education, nourishing foods, empowerment, and community.
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The New England Women’s Herberal Conference is held at a beautiful retreat center in the Monadnock Region of southern New Hampshire and provides excellent facilities, camping, indoor ccommodations and large meeting rooms. Join us in this special celebration of our radiance, our bodies, and our work as wise women and healers.
Rocio Alarcon, Dona Enriqueta, Ann McIntyre, Kathleen Maier, Kathi Keville, Julie Mitchell, Susan Belsinger, Claudia Keel, Camille Freeman, Peeka Trenkle, Dina Falconi, Kate Gilday, Nina Spiro, Mz Imani, Nicky Scully, Donna Bryant Winston, Trishuwa, Bevin Clare, Rosemary Gladstar, Fearn Lickfield, Amy Goodman, Monica Giacomin , Mary Niles, Betzy Bancroft , Crystal June Maderia, Sandra Lory, Gale La Scala, Maureen Burns-Hooker, Margi Flint, Sylvia Gaboriault, JoAnn Darling, Amelia Hirota, Kay Parent, Lydia Russell and several more still to be confirmed.
Dietary Supplements, Clean Foods
Next Victims of Fake “Safety” Bills
McCain’s “Dietary Supplement Safety” Bill
Joins Fake “Food Safety” S510
Farmers, Food and Your Freedom Under Attack…
02/04/10 – UPDATE: while the fake “Food Safety” Bill S510 remains stalled in the Senate, after our November Blitz sent more than 150,000 emails to the Senate over one long weekend, this week Sen John McCain announced that he was offering another “safety” bill, S 3002. This alleged “safety” bill is aimed at the type of food called “Dietary Supplement” in a blatant attempt to undermine your freedom to access high potency vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements which Americans have enjoyed since a unanimous Congress adopted the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). The McCain bill seeks to overthrow major provisions of the current law and force “HARMonization” with international Codex Alimentarius (so-called “World Food Code”) restrictions on our food and health freedoms.
See our analysis of the bill at: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=4608 and please take the Action below; we’ve modified it to include the new bill; please send this new message to your Senators, even if you’ve already used the earlier version of this Action Item. See also: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=4615 for our Health Freedom Action eAlert eblast on this issue — and please forward that link to all your contacts.
11/17/09 – UPDATE: the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP Committee) “marked-up” S.510, the Senate version of the (sic) “Food Safety” bill on Tuesday, November 18, 2009. This is the last step before a full Senate vote. The Senate bill can be read at: http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.510: — this bill has an even weaker Family Farm and Ranch, Community and Home Garden exemption than the bill (HR.2749) which passed the House at the end of July. Some minor changes were made, as a result of hundreds of thousands of emails to decsion makers generated from this Action Item and other citizen actions — so now it’s time to continue to Push Back! We have until early in the new year to make our voices heard, since the Senators, after considering the nearly 150,000 messages they received from this Action Item, will not vote on the bill until January. For updates: see our blog entry at: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=4014
