lymph, movement and medicine part 1

Greetings Wild Ones, sorry about the lack of action from this herbal corner of the world, I got stricken with a rather nasty cold which although only really took me down for a day or two actually required me to rest and provide full care for about 10. Always hard to do and in fact when a girlfriend called to ask how I was treating myself and I replied that I imagined that steams would be a good we had a deep hearty chuckle. Isn’t it the irony that when you often know whats best to do your the last person who wants to do it. I did however get round to the steams and a lovely mix of osha and usnea tincture to dislodge whatever crud was the cause of a rather nasty unproductive cough at night, the main culprit in the way of easy recovery, lack of complete rest.

Right now the deep greening is happening so I’m going to be spending a minute with some of our gentle giants which is how I refer to these green allies rising up and becoming invisible in the spring growth.

common chickweed, stellaria media

It also amazes me just how much abundance we have around us when we start to align ourselves with the seasons and their offerings. Especially because alot of our medicinals are well adapted to breaking ground and can be found in empty lot, city sidewalk, common lawns as well as lush verdant forests. So I will be spending some time talking about chickweed, dandelion, cleavers, nettles and all the rest of the gang, all of them common as muck and yet completely revolutionary in that to receive the full medicine of these plants you have to be in relationship with them. You have to have time and inclination. You have to give your attention to it, the relationship and this is something we are learning, that our attention is actually one of most valuable commodities these days. Where we turn our gaze.

chickweed part 1.mp3

Here’s starting with chickweed from one of my old herb hunter episodes

What gets you outside wild ones? What prompts you to decide that being in connection with your food, your medicine in a hands on way is worth your time, your gaze? And what holds you back?

More soon on all things chickweed, including part 2 of the audio, how to use it and why and my favorite ways of preserving it.

Love Natasha

lymph, movement and medicine part 2

Movement is life, a ready phrase that is as common as water is life and the two are well suited to each other. As fluid beings, looking after our waters is an integral health practice. Thanking the water we take in, thanking the water we pass through our bodies and reflecting on the beauty and gift of the water as it becomes integral to who we are is one way to practice ongoing support of our well being.

We also get to use herbs that support the waters of the body and these are often ones that I think of as gentle giants. Their medicine is heroic in the soft way that blessing your water is heroic. That reaching out and holding the hand of another is heroic. In how saying a kind word is heroic. The soft gentle breeze that is barely perceptible yet keeps everything moving.

Chickweed is one of the herbs that helps the movement and flow of our waters thanks in part to its cooling properties. This can be best explained by experiencing the herb fresh out in the meadow, dew dripped at the beginning of spring. Not only will it feel refreshing as its inherent coolness brings that awakening to ourselves but it will also feel moistening and replenishing on the palette, and any where there is held heat like computer eyes or stiff joints, dry mouth, you will feel the exhilaration of release and awakening. In fact when I find patches of chickweed to munch on I tend to graze like a horse, dont ask me why but its an incredibly meditative experience and thats what we will enjoy next week as I wrap up this focus on chickweed, a guided meditation inspired by this little star of a herb and some of the ways I like to prepare and preserve this little wonder.

So why is this cooling moistening mineral rich herb good to pay attention to?

Well as we all know movement involves friction which often results in heat which can cause irritation. So just in these simple terms chickweed helps keep the river ways and her tributaries cool and flowing throughout our bodies. And if any of you are familiar brownian physics or even just how to keep particles in suspension with out precipitation or clumping you will remember that temperature often has a key role in fluid dynamics and is not to be underestimated. Just as that river way needs the shade of trees and shrubs to help keep it winding the right pathway our own waterways enjoy the cooling touch of chickweed. Not only does it help with heat and resulting irritation but it can also help with dampness and the resulting stagnation by its ability to get things flowing again and cleansing out stagnant dips and crevices.

In my learning I associate spring with the element of wood, because wood represents growth. It represents also hope and dreams and vision - we are after all celebrating the seedling that has to land in the right place and time and move upward and onward and the trick is knowing when to give way and when to stand strong. Both are resilience and vital for roots to be established and growth to occur. Chickweed is one of the herbs that helps me to move between those two dichotomies, it is lube for my lymph and so much more, helping me stay in motion so I can give way and also push forward. As such I highly recommend finding your patch and gathering in this little giant so that you can have it on hand as part of your wellness throughout the year.

Ideally we are going to be dipping into this herb because we are well and want to remain so. Otherwise chickweed is commonly used for bronchitis and coughs, piles and constipation and for soothing all manner of skin irritation topically. It is used to help us digest our fats so that they don’t collect and also for the heat of the liver.

some excerpts of the classical texts:

https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/chickw60.html
https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/salmon/chickweed-comm.html

and a rather nice Materia Medica:
http://www.herbgirlsathens.com/blog/chickweed-materia-medica

A herb hunter from years ago on chickweed, and you can hear me grazing like a horse throughout.

chickweed part 1.mp3

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