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7/30/2022 0 Comments

How does stress affect hormone levels?

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The female reproductive cycle involves a beautiful orchestration of hormones that rise and fall throughout our monthly cycles. This hormone cycle, when it is functioning well, allows our bodies to mature healthy follicles, release them from our ovaries, prepare the uterus for implantation and possible pregnancy, or shed its lining in preparation for another cycle. In addition, healthy reproductive hormone levels have other benefits for us, including an increased sense of well-being, healthy blood sugar levels, improved sleep, and more. When our hormone levels are good, we experience regular cycles and minimal period discomfort and symptoms. When hormone levels go awry, however, things don’t work as smoothly as they should. The results can be irregular periods, increased pain, too much bleeding (or too little), and eventually, chronic reproductive conditions can develop. And if we are getting close to menopause, the transition can be much more difficult.

Oftentimes, folks know their hormone levels are wonky. They may have had levels tested or they may just “feel” that things are off. Sometimes I get asked about herbs to help with this. Folks will ask, “what can I take to balance my hormones?” or “what herbs will increase progesterone?”. However, as clinical herbalists, we often do not use herbs with the intention of having a direct effect on the endocrine system. Rather, we use herbs (along with diet and lifestyle strategies) to support the body into a more healthy and balanced state so that healthy hormone levels are more likely to result.

There are many possible underlying causes of dysregulated hormone levels. But I would like to talk about one of the big ones here, and that is stress.

The Stress Response

When we are under stress, a chain reaction that begins in our brain and ends with our adrenals releasing cortisol is triggered. This moves us into the sympathetic mode of our autonomic nervous system. This is also called the fight or flight mode because it gives us the ability to more effectively defend ourselves or escape from danger. 

In the short term, the stress response is a good thing. It is a survival strategy that helps to keep us alive. However, if we are in the sympathetic mode too much, or all the time, we start to experience negative consequences. Our sleep can become disturbed, we can have digestive issues, we become more anxious and irritable… Eventually, we can start to develop chronic conditions. But being in fight or flight too much will also affect reproductive hormones as well. 

How does stress affect reproductive hormones

The stress response is meant to be a short-term survival mode. As such, it moves function toward areas of the body we need for immediate survival, such as the muscles, senses, heart, and lungs. Things that are not required for protecting ourselves or escaping danger, digestion for example, are not a priority, and neither are sex and reproduction. Again, this is ok if we are in sympathetic mode short-term, but oftentimes we are in this mode much more than is healthy.

The stress response is triggered whether the danger is real or not. If our lives are in danger now and we can do something about it, the stress response is wonderful. However, if we are stressed by the news, finances, or work the stress response becomes less helpful. If we cannot use it to do something, get out of danger, and then return to rest and digest, then we stay in the sympathetic mode longer than is sustainable. How does long-term stress affect reproductive hormones? Let’s take a look.

Chronically high cortisol levels alter the release of GnRH in the hypothalamus, as well as FSH and LH from the pituitary. These are the hormones that stimulate ovulation, and mature follicles in the ovaries. In addition, high levels of cortisol block progesterone receptors, which affects not only reproductive function, but sleep, inflammation, serotonin levels, immune function, and brain health. Over time, we begin to see things like suppressed ovulation, irregular cycles, a decline in libido, worsening sleep, increased menstrual pain, missed periods, and decreased fertility. Eventually, we can see the beginnings of chronic conditions developing. 

You can see now how important it is to get a handle on stress levels when addressing reproductive health. 
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But addressing stress levels requires conscious effort. Our stressors don’t just go away. Yes, herbs can help us support our nervous system and build resilience. We can use nervous system tonics and adaptogens to increase our capacity to handle the stressors in our lives. But we need more than herbs here. We need healthy boundaries, we need quality sleep, and we need to eat right, exercise, and connect with community. When we combine stress reduction and herbs for resilience with addressing other root causes of hormonal imbalance we often start to see levels normalizing and symptoms improving. It really is about the whole picture.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on my favorite herbs for resilience.

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I am now offering herbal consultations online. For more information, click the button below. I'd love to help you reach your wellness goals. 
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5/31/2022 2 Comments

The Beauty of Hydrosols

I still remember the first time I witnessed a hydrosol distillation. My teacher, Susan Hess, along with Tina Sams and Maryanne Schwartz, had organized a local herb festival at a park in Pennsylvania. I was there teaching a class on root medicine. Tina and Maryanne were teaching a class on hydrosols. They brought their glass still and set up a distillation for all of us to witness as they talked about making and using hydrosol medicine. I was so mesmerized by this process. The air filled with the aroma of lavender, and it looked like something that should be happening in a science lab, with the glassware, hot plate, and tubes moving water through the condenser. Yet, here we were, out in the park on a beautiful day, learning how to do this in our kitchen and unlock the mystery of aromatic hydrosols.

Since that day, I have purchased two stills and made countless hydrosols. I teach hydrosol making in my classes, and I use this medicine with clients. The first year I had my own still I was distilling everything I could think of. It was a magical season of exploration, and I quickly learned that not everything has the same fragrance as a hydrosol as it does when you smell it in the garden (don’t try to distill lilac, I am warning you). Later, I learned from Cathy Skipper that we can also distill non-aromatic plants, not for their fragrance, but for their energetic medicine. She speaks of the “cellular water” of the plant carrying its energetic imprint into the hydrosol. Plants like plantain and nettles are lovely candidates for this type of medicine. But I’m getting ahead of myself. What is a hydrosol anyway?
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distilling honeysuckle flowers
What is a hydrosol?

When we force steam through plant material and then condense the steam we end up with a distillate. If we are distilling aromatic plants, we will have two types of end product as our distillate: hydrosol and essential oil. Most folks are familiar with essential oil. Thanks to multi-level marketing companies pushing oils as cure-alls for whatever ails you, essential oils have become quite popular in the United States. However, historically it was the hydrosol that was the desired product of distillation, and hydrosols were used much more in both cooking and medicine. 

Hydrosols consist of distilled water, along with water-soluble plant molecules that were picked up along the way. Some of these molecules are aromatic, and some are not. Rosewater is probably the most popular hydrosol that most are familiar with. Hydrosols can be beautifully fragrant, mildly so, or not at all. They differ from essential oils (which are not water-soluble and are found floating on top of the hydrosol after distillation) in that these molecules are suspended in water, and so are diluted, making them much safer to work with as a medicine than essential oils (yes, you do need to use caution with essential oils!), which are highly concentrated plant medicine that can irritate tissues and create a body burden when used over time.

But just because hydrosols are less strong than essential oils, doesn’t mean they are not effective. Sometimes the more subtle approach is just the one that is needed. We are used to trying to create big shifts in Western culture, and sometimes big shifts are needed. But not always. Sometimes we need gentle nudges or hints that remind us how we want to feel. Hydrosols can do this. Just inhaling the fragrance or spraying the face and neck can bring the energetics of the plant medicine into our awareness. Drinking diluted hydrosols (only herbs that are safe to ingest here) can bring this medicine into our bodies, nudging us from the inside.  
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hydrosols made from plants in my garden
Some of my favorite hydrosols
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  • Rose hydrosol: astringent and toning, cooling, healing, soothing to the emotional heart
  • Lavender hydrosol: relaxing, cooling, healing to the skin, helpful for stress and anxiety
  • Sage hydrosol: cooling, antibacterial, energizing, helpful for perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes
  • Honeysuckle hydrosol: cooling, antibacterial, healing
  • Witch hazel hydrosol: toning, astringent, helpful for both skin and venous tone
  • Lemon balm hydrosol: cooling, uplifting, relaxing, raises the spirits, helpful for anxiety
  • Calamus hydrosol: warming, energizing, awakens the senses, clears the mind
  • Rose geranium hydrosol: toning and humectant (helps the skin retain moisture)
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essential oil floating on top of hydrosol
A Hydrosol Encounter

A fun way to get to know the energy of a hydrosol, and how its subtle medicine compares with that of other hydrosols, is by doing an exercise that Cathy Skipper calls a hydrosol encounter. I have done this myself many times, as well as with a group of students and it is always fun to feel the energies of the plant medicine within a group setting. To do this, have 3 or 4 different hydrosols on hand. Place a little water in a cup and spray a few squirts of a hydrosol into the water. Sit, and still yourself. Now, start by smelling the water. Notice any changes in the way your feel. After a moment, take a sip. Sit with this and really tune in to your body. Where do you feel the energy? Does it feel uplifting or grounding? Try to describe what you are sensing… opening, energizing, expanding, lightening…? After a moment write down your experience, or share if you are in a group. Now repeat with the next hydrosol. Doing this with a few different hydrosols really helps you feel the contrasts between the subtle medicine of each of them. Another thing I love about this exercise is that it helps us understand the medicine on a visceral level. Knowing something with our bodies is much different than knowing something with our minds. 
Hacking the Still
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Serious hydrosol makers will want to invest in a nice copper or glass still. It makes the whole process so much easier. But this equipment can be expensive. If you want to try your hand at making a hydrosol before spending a ton of money, or you just want to make one or two hydrosols a year, you can easily make a homemade still in your kitchen. Here’s how…
  1. Use the biggest pot you have (canning pots work great for this), but make sure it has a lid with a heat-resistant handle.
  2. Place a fire brick in the bottom of your pot. 
  3. Place a heat-resistant bowl on the brick.
  4. Put water in the bottom of the pot all around the bowl.
  5. Place your chopped plant material in the water.
  6. Turn the lid upside down and place it on top of the pot.
  7. Turn on the heat and bring the water up to a boil.
  8. Once boiling, place ice in the dish made by the lid.
Here’s how it works… As the water heats, it breaks open the cells of the plant and starts grabbing onto molecules. The steam will rise and hit the lid, where the ice acts as a condenser, turning the steam back into liquid. The hydrosol then runs down to the center of the lid and falls into the bowl. 
You will have to lift the lid to check on progress, which allows some steam to escape. You will also need to replace the ice as it melts. Any essential oil that is available will be floating on top of the hydrosol in the bowl. 
I used this process to make rosewater for several years before investing in my own still. 
Final Thoughts
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I do encourage everyone to get to know hydrosols. If you only know herbal medicine through essential oils, at least give hydrosols a try (then move on to teas and tinctures and other preparations). Herbalism is a world vastly more interesting than essential oils alone. Hydrosols are much more readily available these days, with many herbalists making them for the community. Try a hydrosol encounter. Use hydrosols as facial toners, aromatic room sprays, linen sprays, or for their subtle medicine. If you feel adventurous, try your hand at making some rosewater, or lavender hydrosol. 
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There is so much more to say about hydrosols, but that is easier said in a class setting where we can experience the medicine with our senses. Until then, happy medicine-making!

2 Comments

7/31/2021 1 Comment

Herbal Burn Treatments (post from the archives)

The following post was first published in 2012 on my previous blog. I was inspired to share with folks how I treat minor burns in my own family. Enjoy.

Burns can be so painful. And often the way we treat them, including how we bandage and clean them, can lead to even more pain. Herbs can not only help our minor burns heal faster, but greatly decrease the pain involved as well. 
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Minor burns, first and second degree, can be easily treated at home if you are prepared. The first thing to do is cool the burn. This can be done by plunging the burned area into cool or cold water for a few minutes. If you have a bottle of aloe vera juice in your refrigerator, that's even better. Just pour the juice into a bowl and cool the burned area in the juice.

Once the burn is cool, I like to cover it completely with a good burn salve. This will keep the air away from the burn, keep it moist and get those burn healing and soothing herbs right in there to start their work. Put the salve on thick. (Many folks will advise against using a salve, or any oil-based medicine, on a burn. The reason is that oil will trap heat in the burn causing pain and damage to persist. This is absolutely true... if you haven't cooled the burn completely first. However, once the burn is cooled, applying a salve will protect the tender flesh from exposure to the air, thus reducing pain, while at the same time administering healing and cooling herbs to the wound.)

Before I bandage a burned area I cover the area with a wilted plantain leaf. You can do this by picking a large plantain leaf (if you can find some that don't get mown down, they get quite large), putting it in a bowl and pouring boiling water over it. Allow it to soak for a couple minutes. They remove it and allow it to cool completely. When it is cool, wrap the leaf over the wound and then bandage it on. The plantain leaf will keep the bandage from sticking to the wound (which can be painful when pealed off and also undo some of the healing as it rips of newly forming skin), and helps in soothing the wound as well.
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By the time everything is wrapped up, there should be a great feeling of relief. Remove the bandage after 12 hours, now you can use a gauze pad to gently pat the wound if you need to remove dead material or loose skin. Do not rub! Any white, gooey stuff is new skin growing, so let it be. Then re-apply your burn salve, nice and thick, and wrap in another wilted and cooled leaf before bandaging. Repeat this process every 12 hours and your burn will heal up very quickly.

Third degree burns, or burns covering very large portions of the body need to be treat professionally do to the risk of infection and dehydration.

For very mild burns or light sunburn, I like to use a burn spray I make myself and keep in the refrigerator consisting of Aloe juice and lavender essential oil. This spray is so lovely and cooling, and really speeds the healing of sunburn.

My favorite herbs for including in burn salve recipes include...

  • comfrey--cell regeneration
  • lobelia--soothes muscle soreness
  • marshmallow--soothing, anti-inflammatory
  • white oak bark--astringent, antiseptic
  • honey--anti-bacterial, detoxifier, prevents scarring
  • aloe vera--reduces pain, great burn healer
  • St. john's wort--excellent burn healer, nerve healer
  • wormwood--reduces pain, antiseptic
  • burdock--reduces pain, healing

Using herbs in our treatment of burns can go a long way in reducing pain and speeding the healing process. What are your favorite herbs for treating burns? Let me know in the comments below.

If you liked this post you see more content about practical ways to use herbal medicine in your life over at my Patreon page, An Herbalist's Journal. Click on the button below and scroll down to see posts available to the public. Patrons of the page also receive weekly posts send to their inbox, as well as monographs and access to live classes on plant medicine. See you there.
An Herbalist's Journal
1 Comment

7/1/2021 9 Comments

Thoughts on self-worth and valuing what you do

Today I got a phone call from a local customer. This person has purchased medicine from me in the past (though very infrequently). She knows me and what I do. She was looking for a hard-to-find plant medicine for an issue she is dealing with and asked if I had any prepared. I told her that I did, that it was very high quality and stronger than a regular strength tincture (it was a soxhlet extract), so she would need far less for each dose. She asked the price and I told her $15 for a one-ounce bottle. She immediately told me that it was too expensive. I told her that it is more than I charge for a regular tincture, and again explained that she would need less per dose and so the bottle would last her roughly 3 times as long. She did not buy from me. It’s OK. Maybe she will find it elsewhere for cheaper.

There was a time when I would have caved in a situation like this. There was a time when I would have questioned the worth of my work, my products, or if I should even be charging money at all. There was a time when as soon as someone started to say my prices were too high I would immediately jump to lowering them or even just giving stuff away. 
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I don’t do that anymore.

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That is not to say that I don’t give discounts or even gifts on occasion. But here is the thing… This is my work. This is my job. It has expenses, labor, education, plus my heart and soul poured into it. I’m proud of what I do, and I love this work too. (Is it OK to charge money for doing something you love? Hell yeah! I wish everyone could love what they do and thrive doing it too.)

We had new gutters put on our house this year by a local guy. He did a great job and we gladly paid him for his work. We had an electrician come out, and plumbers, we paid them all. They did good work. Herbalism is a skill just like any other skill. It requires education, practice, investment, and a good work ethic. But ultimately, if we don’t value what we do, how can we expect that of anyone else?

Now, the extract mentioned in the story above was made with plants I grew and harvested in my own garden at the peak of vitality. They were processed by hand and carefully dried to preserve quality. Once dried they were ground up into a fine powder. Then they were processed into a very strong extract using organic cane alcohol (that stuff ain’t cheap), using glassware that cost hundreds of dollars. The resulting quality of this medicine can only be found with small scale community herbalists like myself and others scattered across the country (and the world), making good medicine for their local communities.

I’m not writing all this because I am bitter or angry. Quite the opposite. I’m writing this because the interaction I described above made me realize that I have reached a point in my practice where I am comfortable with my own knowledge of the value of my work. I don’t need every other person I interact with to also value it (that will never happen), but I also don’t need the judgement of each person to make me question my own worth.

I am a good community herbalist. I’m still learning and growing (that will never end), but I teach what I know, I make good medicine, and I am confident in my skills. If this is something you value, I am here to serve you. 
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May we all stand in our own worth and power.

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9 Comments

4/3/2021 0 Comments

Pay attention! Here come the nettles

The nettles are coming up!

I love all the spring greens, don’t get me wrong. Late March and early April is the time of year here in the Mid-Atlantic region for foraging wild greens even before the first early lettuces are available at the farmer’s market. Our bodies crave these nutrient-dense foods after the dark, cold winter months. But there is something about nettles that stirs up some extra excitement when it emerges from its underground slumber.

Nettles was one of my first ally plants when the world of herbal medicine was still new to me. In my 20’s I would drink quarts of nettle tea daily. I must have been lacking some vital nutrients back then (too much partying and not great diet, a’hem) because I could feel the effects immediately. It was like I was being energized. I’m serious. I felt like energy was running up and down my arms and legs. The more I drank, the more I felt revitalized. 

We could say that nettles increases our energy because it is so nutrient-dense, and it is. With a nutrient list including chlorophyll, calcium, chromium, magnesium, zinc, potassium, protein, riboflavin, selenium, silicon, thiamine, and vitamins A, C, and K how could it not be? But the medicine of any one herb is always so much more than the sum of its parts. For me, nettles embodies strength and fortitude. Even its sting is full of energy! It gets things moving!

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I love teaching about nettles because many people are actually afraid of this plant. Often, they have had a bad experience, a run-in with a nettle patch (quite literally), maybe as a child. The memory of a plant that did them wrong, causing painful welts on the skin, has stuck with them over the years and created judgements about the plant. I gently re-introduce them to nettles. I talk about all the gifts the plant has to offer. Things like help for our seasonal allergies, strength for our bones, nourishing and toning the kidneys, steadying blood sugar levels, increasing our ability to focus and concentrate, and, of course, increasing our energy! It is safe, I tell them, safe enough for pregnant and nursing mamas to take for its strengthening effect on the uterus, and supportive effect on breast milk. Even the sting is medicine… urtication has been a practice for thousands of years as folks would purposefully sting their arthritic joints to allay pain (I’ve had students do this and report back that yes, it is true!). With all these benefits, nettles begins to look less intimidating. Folks start to become receptive.

Yes, you may get stung. It is true. But nettles is worth it. And, truth be told, the sting is part of the medicine (aside for utication, I mean). Nettles demands attention. This plant teaches us to be in the moment, to be mindful of the task at hand. If we go to the nettle patch with scattered thoughts and our heads in the clouds we will get stung. But if we go with purposeful intention, with our hearts full of gratitude and minds set to the task. If we grasp the tops of the tender plants firmly, make our cut, and place our harvest in the basket with steady hands, then it may just keep its sting to itself. In this way we can gather our harvest with bare hands and brave hearts. We can give thanks for the medicine and tend our patch. We can heal our relationship with this plant that demands attention with every interaction.

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Anyone who works with the healing plants should have a nettle patch. This plant is too valuable, and its teaching too important to not have it as a resident in the garden. Plant nettles along stream banks or in low-lying areas where water tends to flow. Nettles like moist ground. Give it space to spread and even move around a bit (plants like to choose their own locations after all). Go out and sit with the nettles… notice the energy of this plant… open your heart up to the feeling quality of its presence. And then bring it into your kitchen!

You can prepare nettles any way you would prepare a dark leafy green. Cooking, blending, and processing all remove the sting and make nettles safe to eat. I love adding young nettle tops to soups and stir fries. Or throw them in the blender when making a smoothie. The top few inches of new growth is what you want. And you can keep cutting until the plant begins to flower. 

If fresh nettles are not an option for you, you can purchase dried nettles and make tea daily. A few tablespoons in a quart of hot water, steeped for 15 minutes gives you a lovely nourishing tea. Sweeten if you like, or just enjoy the earthy rich flavor of the nettles themselves. 

Nettles are safe to take over time and even more beneficial if used long-term. This building and nourishing plants has a slow and steady medicine that gently guides us back to strength and health. I have seen some folks have reactions to nettles though. If you’ve never used this plant, start slow. Take a small amount and observe. If you feel fine, take a bit more. The vast majority of folks do fine with nettles, and even grow to love this plant for its many gifts of nourishment and teaching.

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I’ll be teaching a free class on all my favorite wild spring tonics on Wednesday, April 7th, at 7 pm. This is an online class hosted by the School of Living. If you would like to join us, you can register using this link… https://www.schoolofliving.org/archives/events/discovering-the-springtime-medicine-in-your-front-yard-and-beyond-with-april-coburn

And for the entire month of April I will be sharing posts about how I am using the spring tonic plants in my own practice for subscribers to my Herbalist’s Journal. You can check out all the subscription levels and join here… https://www.patreon.com/nettlejuice

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3/11/2021 1 Comment

We meet the plants one at a time (post from the archives)

When I first began to study the healing plants, I wanted to meet them all. I was so excited to learn another name I had never heard before, to identify a new friend, to make medicine with a plant for the first time. Soon I realized that there are indeed a heck of a lot of medicinal plants out there. Many tens of thousands in fact. No one can possibly learn them all. One can easily become overwhelmed by this. Fortunately, we don't need to study thousands of plants to be effective herbalists for ourselves, our families, or even our communities. 

I was fortunate to hear very early on in my journey, from some very wonderful teachers, that knowing a great many plants is not nearly as important as knowing a smaller number of plants very intimately. This is so important, and one of the greatest lessons a student new to herbalism can learn. I explain it to my students like this... Imagine you are attending a big party. There are hundreds of guests in attendance. Do you go around introducing yourself to each and every person and try to memorize everyone's name and face before the end of the party? Or do you try to hang out with a few people during the evening, getting into some really good conversations, and maybe making some true connections that may lead to enduring friendships? I don't know about you, but I would rather get to know a couple people more deeply than make surface level connections with everyone.
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Photo by Ed Coburn
The plants are very much the same. They are complicated, multi-faceted, many-layered beings with so much to teach and share with us. If we are used to learning about medicinal herbs through 10 minute you tube videos, or cursory blog posts (A'hem), we may mistake ourselves into thinking we know them... (Oh yes, lavender is the calming herb, and peppermint is for headaches...), but this doesn't come close to the depth of intimacy that unfolds slowly over the course of years working with a plant, growing it, meeting it in the wild, harvesting, preserving, making medicine, formulating, even communicating with the plant (they often say very surprising things). 

This shouldn't surprise us. After all, people are the same way. If you only know someone because you exchange a few words with them once a week, of course you will never experience that person intimately enough to know their joys and sorrows, their history and their ambitions, or even what true gifts they have to offer the world. 

Relationship building takes time. And this is equally true with the plants. 
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After years of working with lavender, I finally understood the subtler meaning of her medicine. She is not just "a calming herb that helps us relax". Her medicine is better defined as Joy. More specifically, she invites a child-like joy. Yes, she can help someone relax. But relax in what way exactly? I've had people come to me and say, I tried to use lavender to settle down the kids at night and it seems to have the opposite effect. I smile, and think... yep, she would do that. Young children are often light and carefree, unburdened by the cares of the world and the stress of daily responsibility. Lavender would only enhance that energy, making it appear like she doesn't actually relax at all. 

However, if someone has lost touch with their inner child, if they have come to take themselves too seriously and become too self-absorbed, then lavender can have an amazing effect, which if often interpreted as relaxing. Think about it. If you are overly serious and never able to lighten up and loosen up, you are usually holding tension in your body somewhere, often all over. If you are like this all the time, relaxing can be very hard indeed. Lavender's medicine is to first connect you back to your child-like nature, that part of you that held less worries and knew how to take delight in the moment. When this happens, we naturally relax. 
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Knowing this more intimate and deeper level of lavender's medicine helps us to more effectively make us of it. We may not reach for the lavender for the energetic child at bedtime, but possibly for the friend going through a tough time, who hasn't been able to ease up and just enjoy herself lately. 

Getting to these deeper understandings with the plants takes time. And we don't stand a chance of having this type of intimate relationship with hundreds of plants. But we can absolutely get to know a few dozen plants on this level. And that can make all the difference. The plants we choose to cultivate a deep relationship with are called our materia medica, they are the ones we draw from in our practice. And every time we connect with them, we deepen our relationship.

I tell my students that their materia medica should not look like my materia medica, or anyone else's. The plants we choose to connect with may be those growing around us, or they may be the ones that grab our attention for some reason. They may be the ones that helped us in the past, and so we have a soft spot in our hearts for them. Or they may be plants that others have brought to our attention. There are many ways in which the plants come into our lives. We can move deeper into relationship from this first meeting. They can become good friends and trusted allies.

We meet the plants one at a time, but we really get to know them over time spent with each one.
This post was first published on my previous blog in 2019.
1 Comment

2/16/2021 0 Comments

Making Herbal Tinctures (Alcohol Extracts)

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An alcohol extraction is just one of many ways to preserve the medicinal properties of herbs in a usable form. It is not always my favorite way to use herbal medicine. I often prefer teas, and sometimes another method is just best for the plant at hand. However, alcoholic extracts, or tinctures, have many advantages over other preparations.

Alcohol is an excellent preservative. As long as your alcohol to water ratio is high enough, your medicine will have a shelf life of many years. For preservation, the alcohol content of the extract should be over 30%. If using fresh plants to make a tincture, the water content of the plants will also need to be factored into this calculation.

Alcoholic extracts are easy to travel with and dose. Those little dropper bottles can be thrown in a bag and taken with you. No additional preparation is required, just take your drops when you need them, either directly or in a little water. 

Also, making your own tinctures will save you a lot of money. Buying those little bottles can really add up over time. If you know you will be using an herbal tincture for an extended period of time, or if there are just some herbs you like to keep on hand in tincture form so that you have them when you need them, then making your own tinctures will be more cost effective.

A Few Different Methods

The Folk Method

Most folks start out learning the folk method of tincture making. I teach this method in my foundations course. It is easy and empowering and gets people making medicine without feeling too intimidated. 

The folk method simply involves filling a jar with freshly chopped herbs (or filling a jar halfway with dried herbs) and then pouring in alcohol (must be at least 80 proof) to fill the jar. This jar is then shaken once a day for 4 weeks. Then it is strained, bottled, and labeled. Easy peasy. You now have a tincture!

The folk method works fine for many plants and gives people a way into herbal medicine making that is practical, easy to fit into their lives, and empowering. You can make beautiful combination extracts with this method, and even sweeten it with some honey for a truly delicious medicine. It does have some drawbacks though. 

It is not great at producing extracts of consistent strength. We are not really measuring anything with accuracy in this method. There is no weighing of herbs or measuring out the alcohol. We are just eyeballing it. And although we do fill the jar to a certain level, the amount of herbs it takes to fill to that level can vary widely depending on how fine they are chopped, or how tightly they are packed. As a result, the required dosage for the finished tincture may be much different from the last batch a person made. 

Another drawback of the folk method is that some herbs are extracted more effectively with higher proof alcohol, or with a higher herb to menstruum (that’s your alcohol/water solution… fancy herbal terminology) ratio.

When someone is comfortable working with herbs and making tinctures using the folk method, but ready to refine their process, it’s time to move on to the weight to volume method of making tinctures.

The Weight to Volume Method

For this method, we will be weighing out the herbs (in grams) and measuring out the menstruum (in milliliters). For most herbs, recommended ratios of herbs to menstruum are 1:2 if using fresh plants, and 1:5 if using dried plants. Recommendations can vary in some cases though, so it can be helpful to research what other herbalists recommend first and to keep notes. 

We also control the percentage of alcohol more closely with this method. If we are using a grain alcohol that is 190 proof, we can add water to get a menstruum with a specific alcohol percentage. In this way we are not confined to the 40% alcohol found in most brandy or vodka. This allows us to use a higher percentage alcohol in cases where that would be more effective for our extracts. 

Once herbs are weighed and the menstruum is mixed and measured, the process is very similar to the folk method. We combine the herbs and liquid in a jar and mix together (a blender is usually needed if using fresh herbs here, as the amount of herbs to alcohol is usually much higher than it would be in the folk method). Then we shake our jar once a day and strain in four weeks. The result, however, is a much stronger tincture that is easy to reproduce the next time we make it.

But what if we didn’t want to wait four weeks for a nice strong tincture?

Tincture by Percolation

Four weeks is a long time to wait for a finished tincture. And while it is absolutely possible to dip into those macerations (another fancy herbal term, meaning extraction by soaking in a solvent) before they are finished, there is a method that allows us to have a completely finished, consistently strong tincture in just two days.

Making a percolation requires the same weight to volume ratios and alcohol percentage measurements as a maceration, but also requires a few pieces of equipment. Instead of letting time extract the medicine from our herbs while they sit in a solvent, we will be using movement as the menstruum slowly moves down through the ground and pre-soaked herbs (percolation). 
To do this we need a percolation cone (I use a glass bottle with the bottom cut off, turned upside-down), a valve for controlling drip flow (this can be the cap of the bottle), a filter (cotton ball), and some way of holding the cone (lab stand or even a large jar works here). 

Before we set up the percolation, the herbs must be ground to a powder and pre-soaked with some of the menstruum (only enough to dampen the powder). After about four hours we are ready to pack the cone. The cone is packed firmly, but not too tightly with the soaked powder. Then, with the valve opened, the menstruum is poured gentilly on top and allowed to filter down through the herbs. At this point we close our valve and let it rest for 12 hours (overnight). In the morning, the valve is opened and set at a slow and steady rate. A collection vessel is placed under the valve to collect our finished extract. Depending on the amount of herb in the cone, this process could take a few hours to all day. But in any case, this is much faster than waiting four weeks. 

If you are interested in a more in-depth, step-by-step walkthrough of the percolation process, I will be teaching an online class about this method on February 28th for all my patreon subscribers. We will go over how to make a percolation cone and valve, talk about the weight to volume method, and then walk through how to set up and run a percolation. To get access to the class, you can join my page An Herbalist’s Journal, at any level (subscriptions start at only $3 a month!). You’ll also get instant access to all previous content at that level, as well as regular posts each month about medicine making, harvesting, formulating and more. Come check it out at www.patreon.com/nettlejuice

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7/31/2020 3 Comments

Sitting with the plants

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I sit myself down with a plant, get comfortable, get quiet. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and another. I let everything settle. I bring my attention to my headspace, acknowledge that this is where I reside most of the time, and then slowly move down into my heartspace. This is where we must come from in our communication with the plants.

In my Folk Herbalism course, I teach students how to open themselves up to communication with the plants. It is a simple exercise, but it can take a giant leap of faith for many people in our society. Ever since the days of Descartes, we have been taught to look at the non-human world as inanimate, soul-less. We alone hold the keys to intelligence on this planet. It is a profoundly lonely worldview, but one that allows us the guilt-free convenience of doing just about anything we please to the rest of life as we know it, or at least as we believe it to be.


This worldview has become so ingrained in our psyche that most people feel foolish and self-conscious just talking to plants. Asking them to listen for a reply is like asking them to say hi to our imaginary friend. It is so far out of their comfort zone that they begin to question our sanity. The exercise becomes all the more difficult when we understand that non-human communication is most often not in the form or words or thoughts, but feelings, images, impressions. How many of us are in touch with our feelings, or trust our intuition? Are we beginning to grasp the size of the leap here?

Back to me and my plant ally... I am now settled into my heartspace. I begin to reach out from there and extend toward the plant being. When I sense the plant's energy I stop and ask permission, then wait. Usually a feeling of welcome lets me know communication is possible. Occasionally an uncomfortable feeling tells me to try again another time. (We need to trust these feelings.) I feel welcome and proceed, opening my eyes and gazing with soft vision, wide to the periphery, and slightly unfocused. I open myself up to receiving whatever is offered. This may come in the form of felt sense in the body, a strong emotion, a memory, a sound, or something visual. It may come in the form of words in my thoughts, but not often. I don't judge. Everything is communication as long as I am open to the plant being in my heartspace.

The first time someone open's themself up in this way can feel very vulnerable. We learn to put up shields and barriers of protection around our hearts, often from a very young age. Letting them down, even for something we are not totally convinced is at all sentient, can feel too dangerous. For some, it may take some practice to get open enough to receive communication. For others, the challenge may be in trusting that what we receive is actually valid, that we are not "making it all up". There is no simple solution here. Just like anything else, the more one practices, the easier it gets, and the more we begin to trust our experience. Our trust is built as we receive validation through future communications, sharing our experience with others, and working with the plants in our practice. For me, the validation keeps coming as I witness folks who never sat with a plant before receive such powerful communications that we are brought to tears. Pleurisy root brings out the grief of a mother who had to flee her homeland and knows her children will never experience the life she knew. Lavender playfully tells a woman that her bra is too tight and she needs to loosen up.

When the communication is received, and accepted as valid, our worldview is forever changed. We can no longer pretend we are alone in our intelligence, or that our form of intelligence is the only form. We have opened ourselves up to what indigenous peoples on this planet have always known, that the earth is bursting with sentient, intelligent life, that we are not meant to be cut off from relationship with that life, and that all of it is just as valid we are.

For me as an herbalist, it means that plants are not taken for their medicine without a deep reverence. Gratitude is offered, sustainable practices are maintained, and the lines of communication are kept open so that relationship is maintained. I tell my students that as plant workers our first responsibility is to the plants. If we are asking to use their medicine, we had better make sure we are operating in right relationship as co-creators and not simply as takers. Knowing that on an intellectual level can help us stay ethical in our practice. Knowing it on an experiential level is even better.
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7/2/2020 5 Comments

Lessons Learned from Compost

Guest post by Tiffany Robbins

A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided it was time to turn the gigantic compost pile that amassed under the Yew tree. Our family has been composting since forever. A few years back, we decided to stop taking the compost to other sites and to keep the compost in our own yard. I always had good intentions to use the compost to fertilize our garden. Each year, time slipped away. It seemed easier just to get mushroom compost, because of our close proximity to Kennett Square, PA, the mushroom capital.

My husband had built a quite large compost bin out of recycled wood pallets. Although, I asked him to divide it into three sections, so that sorting the compost would be easier. He decided one big compost bin would suffice (side eye). It held up fine for many years. This year, when the sides started to collapse, became the impetus to finally turn, separate, and sift the compost. Everyone has their own technique for doing this. We argued whose way was better. In the end, we settled on a fusion of his and my techniques, lol. We purchased a roll of fine, wire mesh from the local big box hardware store. We layered the mesh over the wheel barrel and sifted the compost through it. He liked to hold the wire mesh and shake the compost through the fine holes. I liked to run my hands through the compost and press the compost through the holes. His way was much faster, mine more efficient. With shovels in hand, we had a rhythm going between us and the lovely compost.

I absolutely love the smell of fresh soil! As us Master Gardeners say, “Dirt is what is between your fingernails, soil is what makes your garden grow”. Fresh soil is so primal. I think this must be my Earth element speaking. It is no wonder when you smell fresh topsoil, why writers describe it as the fragrant earth. The cooling, grounding attributes of nutrient rich soil is so appealing to a society much in need.


Ok, you may be wondering, why is she going on and on about compost? Well, I see compost as a metaphor for what is going on in the world right now. Compost is good for what ails us. We are taking old ways and putting them in the ground to be decomposed. It takes a lot of energy for the Earth to do this. It is done through the circular interplay of decomposers and substrate.

As my husband and I separated larger pieces of organic matter to get to the decomposed organic matter, wonderful finds were made. Lost silverware miraculously was rediscovered. Old pieces of the children’s toys turned up and made us reminisce of days gone by too soon. No one owned up to tossing those pieces of nostalgia into the compost bin. Do you have fairies or sprites in your compost bin too? Big, fat, long, well fed earthworms were busy doing their work. There was so much activity going on under that seemingly inanimate pile of compost. In the midst of the compost pile was a sweet potato plant growing. We had done little to facilitate the actions, besides the occasional tossing of brown leaves. Nature just took her course, by offering showers of wet rain and snow, and the ever-warming sun.


As we worked our way through the compost, I kept stopping to pluck out those little annoying stickers that are put on produce in the grocery stores. How many times had I told the hubby and the children to remove them?  A pet peeve of mine. I wanted neat and tidy compost. Just like some people want neat and tidy reform in this country. Well, we all know it doesn’t happen like that.

I have some friends, who refuse to put orange peels in their compost for fear of making it too acidic. If you are growing blueberries or hydrangeas you need the pH of the soil to be more acidic. Don’t be so judgmental of what people choose to compost!

I think how we are gauging the PH balance, parts of humanity, really has to do with what one sees as useful. When amending the soil to grow a vegetable garden, one needs to know what types of veggies need what type of soil. Organic and Biodynamic gardening principles such as crop rotation, amending the soil, companion planting, succession planting and pollinators all become important. Weeding, deadheading, singing and talking with your plants, planting and harvesting with the moon cycles are all practices that we can integrate within societal paradigms. Friends let’s tread softly on the Earth. Let’s make our carbon footprint one that will sustain the next seven generations.


As I write this blog post for Nettlejuice, I am reminded of a class I took with April. In this class she taught about Le Terrain vs. Germ Theory in the science of immunology. It so closely relates to composting vs. the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. We as gardeners know that a soil-based pathogen can wipe out our crops. So true also is that the stronger we make the terrain of the soil, the more resilient our crops become. The correlation is that the stronger we make the moral fiber of our society, the few pests will be outnumbered. It’s like contributing to a critical mass.

The most important aspect of composting to me is that we don’t discard or trash what we no longer see as useful. The apple with the flesh still intact is seen as nutritious. Whereas, just the core is seen fit for the garbage. When in fact, there are still parts of the core that is still have value, such as the seeds and the pectin in the core. We do to our elderly population the same thing. We discard them when deemed no longer useful. They are still integral parts of a society. They hold the memory for future generations.

My favorite, most profound composting example is that of the forest floor. Have you ever dug your hand down under the canopy of a pine tree? The layers of dark, rich earth that lay beneath is spectacular! The aroma, the tactile experience, the sight of unseen life, the stories of mycorrhiza. Nature in her infinite wisdom composts so beautifully, so organically!


We must stop with these foolish notions that humans are superior. We have to challenge our belief systems. Do they align with the good of all the planet? We need to amend our soil, build our terrain and nurture goodwill. Like the companion plants, we ought to be good neighbors. Prejudice has no place in our gardens; learn the usefulness of a weed. Here’s to compost!  



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Tiffany Robbins is a clinical herbalist in Pennsylvania and teaches at Wisdom of the Plants Seminary, and is a Penn State Master Gardener and Tree Tender. She has taught classes at the New England Women's Herbal Conference, the Mid-Atlantic Women's Herbal Conference, the Allies for Plants and People Conference and other venues. Tiffany is an alumnus of David Winston's Center for Herbal Studies and has studied with many other teachers as well, including Rosemary Gladstar Rocio Alarcón, and Pam Montgomery.

Tiffany is a dear plant sister to me and I am honored to thankful to share this journey with her.

You can follow Tiffany on instagram @LadyRaw123

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6/4/2020 0 Comments

Herbs to Nourish a Heart in Anguish

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In a vision I saw a rose bloom in my heart. The soft, tender petals gently softened my own heart, releasing the hardness that had formed like a shield. The rose opened, and invited my own heart to open. But before vulnerability to set in, a wall of thorn rose up around my heart space, protecting the soft center, allowing it to remain open without fear. This is my rose medicine.



In times of great distress, whether it be personal heartache, or greater events that we experience as a people, heart-nourishing herbs can be wonderful allies. The herbs that support our heart centers, both physical and emotional, should be in everyone's materia medica. These plants cannot take away our pain... we still need to move through it, process it, but they can soften the blow, help us feel protected and supported under a weight that bears heavy on the heart.

Our hearts are our primary organs of perception. The felt sense we experience in heart communication, whether that be with other humans, animals, plants, or the land itself, informs us and makes us wiser than our mental communication ever could. But keeping that heart communication open requires keeping our hearts open. When we are hurt, traumatized, or simply living through crisis that seem unbearable, we may wish to close our hearts down to protect ourselves from feeling further pain. But this also serves to close off our heart communication with the living world around us. Keeping these lines of communication open is not only important for our individual health and well-being, but it is essential for the well-being of the planet. For only people with wounded, closed-down hearts can possibly act destructively to the life support system of our living world without inflicting pain upon themselves in the process. For this reason, I consider the heart protectors to be among the most important medicine in herbalism.

Rose
Roses have been a symbol of the heart for ages. We give roses to show our affection for someone. But the heart medicine of rose goes much further than romantic love. Roses help us to keep our hearts open, especially when we are wounded by trauma, so we can stay connected to those around us, allowing them in instead of shutting them out. But rose is also protection medicine (those thorns are no joke). In order to remain open and safe at the same time, we need good boundaries. Rose helps us learn where we need to set our boundaries... who we can allow in, what we will put up with, what we will say yes to, and when we need to say no.

Rose petals can be added to teas, or taken in tincture form (they make an especially lovely glycerite). I love to distill roses into a hydrosol for internal and external use. A cooling spray of rose water can be especially lovely in the summertime.

Hawthorn
Hawthorn is also in the rose family, and also contains thorns. Hawthorn's heart medicine is well-know among herbalists. It nourishes, tones, and supports our physical heart, helping with all manner of cardiovascular issues from heart palpitations, to poor circulation, to high blood pressure. But hawthorn is also medicine for the emotional heart. Hawthorn's medicine can help us through times of grief, stress, and anxiety, holding us in a sacred heart space of healing (again, with strong boundaries of protection).

Hawthorn leaves and flowers can be added to teas. The berries are lovely in syrups and jams, but I usually use them in tincture form, either alone or in combination with other herbs in a formula.

Motherwort
It has been said that motherwort is the plant that mothers the mother. I think all mothers everywhere can relate to times when we've felt that we have given all we have to give, but have not received what we need. Motherwort is the medicine for these times. We are reminded to take time for self-nourishment and self-love, to fill our cups, so that we have reserves to do our loving work in the work, whether that be caring for children, the community, or simply nurturing a project. We all have good work to do in the world, but we need make sure we are not running on empty. Motherwort is all about giving ourselves permission to meet our own needs, with love.

Motherwort is very bitter and not often used in teas. The tincture can be used alone, or in combination with other herbs in formula. This year I made my first hydrosol of motherwort. The fragrance is very earthy and green. Spraying the aura and pulse points gives a subtle and lovely dose of motherwort's energetic medicine.

Getting to know the medicine of these  three heart healers can be so valuable.  We need heart helpers, perhaps in these changing times more than ever.

These statements are not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Please do your own research before using herbs.

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    April Coburn, herbalist and founder of Nettlejuice.

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