The design of the planet is such that in a wild or
natural state, each creature has its food and its medicine surrounding
it. For humans today, this means that most of those
"weeds" we spend all that time pulling and poisoning are more
than likely the best possible solution to that headache or fatigue or
constipation that we've been experiencing lately. Dandelion, for
example, is a powerful tonic for the liver. It can help your liver
better handle the toxins it is assaulted with each day which in turn
greatly reduces the likelihood of that headache or the seasonal allergy
symptoms of even showing up.
Herbs
are so powerful that any one single plant has the capacity to remedy
dozens and dozens of human afflictions. The modest chamomile
plant, so willing and happy to be walked on, has the power to soothe
trauma, to reduce the baby's colic, to heal wounds, to reduce
inflammation, to calm Crohn's disease or peptic ulcers, to eliminate
indigestion or to move the gas caused by indigestion, or to put you to
sleep, just to name a few. The plant kingdom is in service in a
way that humans have not yet dreamed of.
Herbal
medicine crosses many modalities, nationalities, and medical
traditions. Western, Eastern, Ayurvedic, Native American healing
traditions all make use of the plant kingdom, as does Homeopathy, Flower
essences, and Aromatherapy. And the plants are not fussy about the
manner in which they are used: Teas, pills, capsules, tinctures,
glycerites, suppositories, compresses, and on occasion when hiking, just
quickly chewed up and spit onto an open gash will do the trick.
Yarrow,
fennel, milk thistle, dandelion, turmeric, ginger, garlic, peppermint,
chamomile, skullcap, passionflower, hops, usnea, mullein, juniper
berries, hawthorn berries. Like an academy award winner
trying to remember everyone that needs thanking, I can never complete
the list of names of the plants that have contributed so much to my
clinical practice and to my personal life. Bless their great
big souls.
As
a practicing herbalist, I've come to learn that like all relationships,
my relationship with an individual herb can grow and deepen with care.
The five plants listed here have been especially important to me. Feel
free to click on any one of them to get more in-depth information on
why.
