Working with herbs is to enter into a complex relationship. Herbs can be used in so many ways to support our health: as food, medicine, body products and treats. How we interact with them is a daily reminder in a real and applied way about our connection to the earth and how these are reciprocal relationships no different than the ones we have with other people. You know how you have those one or two friends you connect with all the time that you can share everything with…or the friend that, even though you haven’t spoken for a year, you can pick right back up and carry on as if no time has gone by? Developing relationships with medicinal plants is like that. A whole world of personalities becomes available by spending time getting to know them. Some we call on sometimes and some we spend time with regularly.
Herbs have a profound way of helping us wake up all our senses. And they provide a mirror about how conscious we are being. When we can collect them in the wild, it is important that we do it in ways that support regeneration of what we harvest. That directly transfers back to how much benefit we receive in terms of our own rejuvenation when we take the herbs into our bodies. And when we can’t go pick them ourselves, we must be careful to purchase from sources that use good stewardship practices and give back.
When supporting clients, we can use herbs in many forms: Hydrosols, Flower Essences, Teas, Salt Scrubs, Herbal Chocolates, Neutralizing Cordial
Hydrosols:
Hydrosols are flower distillates that come in a spray. Spraying a scent can really help move stuck energy or refresh and shift energy in a room. They are readily available at most apothecaries and are somewhat easy to make. Scent has the ability to evoke memories, calm, energize, sedate, transport you to a different time or place. The possibilities are endless.
Flower Essences:
Flower essences are useful for shifting energy internally and amazing effects can be felt by taking just a few drops. Anne McIntyre, in her book “Flower Power” and David Dalton, in “Stars of the Meadow” both go into great detail about specific uses of flower essences for growth, change and sustained wellbeing.
Herbal Teas:
One of the easiest things we can do for ourselves as practitioners is drink tea after sitting for clients to help relax, calm the nervous system and unwind after a day of giving support. Drinking herbal tea is a great way to stay healthy and work on boosting your immunity when it’s compromised. Tasty and nutritive, it can stimulate digestion and help transition us from being active all day to getting into a more relaxed state that prepares us for deep sleep. A simple blend with equal parts of passionflower, chamomile, stinging nettle and milky oats works wonders. This tea is a nutritive and is calming to the nerves. Passionflower induces deep and healing sleep and is great for any emotional agitation. It’s also painkilling. Chamomile, prepared as a hot tea, is a sedative. (Prepared cold, it stimulates.) Stinging nettle is anti-inflammatory, nutritive and detoxifying. Milky oats is also nutritive and calming to the nervous system.
It works so well I suggest waiting to brew it until after you finish reading this, or you might sleep through the rest of this blog!
Salt Scrubs:
Drink your tea while soaking in a hot bath and using a body polishing salt scrub to remove dead skin cells. This helps replenish lost nutrients and rejuvenates your skin. Salt scrubs can also be used to help relax the body and refresh the spirit. It is important to use organic ingredients for body products because skin is our largest organ, and whatever you apply to your skin will be absorbed into your body and will affect your overall wellbeing.
Organic Chocolate-Orange Salt Scrub
Ingredients:
Fine sea salt, Sweet almond oil, Liquid coconut oil, Cacao powder, Vegetable glycerin, Vanilla extract, Sweet orange essential oil
Use a small amount at a time. Not intended for use on the face.
For questions about pricing, quantities, and to special order your organic, Chocolate-Orange Salt Scrub, send an email inquiry with your request by visiting the “About/Contact” page at JillCunninghis.com.
Herbal Chocolates:
Sometimes during a long client day, it is natural to want a little pick-me-up at some point. Ideally, we want to stay energized while remaining present and calm, right? And, at that point, it’s totally compelling to reach for a piece of chocolate. What we reach for is either going to support our process or deplete us, because not all chocolate is created equal!
The scientific name for chocolate is Theobroma. In Greek, Theo means God and Broma means Food. Chocolate truly is the “food of the gods” and it’s important to remember that it is sacred and should be used as such and in moderation. It has been used in ritual for years. In many traditions, a cacao bean is eaten with honey after taking “magic” mushrooms as an offering to spirit to sweeten the experience. Cacao, from which chocolate is made, has many healthy nutrients. It’s high in antioxidant flavonoids, sulfur and magnesium. It contains a high level of iron. It also has many constituents that make us happy. The beans contain phenylethylamine, which our bodies produce naturally when we get excited or fall in love. It has anandamide, which impacts our blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Our bodies produce this naturally when we feel good. And it contains serotonin and dopamine, which stimulate good mood and feelings of pleasure, as well. Theobromine is one of its constituents that stimulates, much like coffee, but stimulation comes on slower and lasts longer. It dilates the blood vessels, relaxes smooth muscles and aides in moving fluid in the body. So while it’s packed with goodness, unfortunately, most chocolate on the grocery shelves is packed with other stuff that can negate the benefits, like sugar, genetically modified soy lecithin, palm oil and corn syrup. Recently, new studies have revealed that many dark chocolates are also being found to contain lead.
After years trying to find a healthy chocolate that tasted good, I started making my own. These days there are amazing options out there to buy, but when I started my quest, I couldn’t find any. I began experimenting and have always made my chocolate with high quality organic ingredients, to eliminate the pesticides and herbicides and other damaging fillers.
After studying clinical herbalism, I realized chocolate can be medicine, and I started adding herbs so my treats would have added benefits – like lavender. Lavender can balance our emotions and relieve anxiety and depression and it can reduce stress and conflict. The chocolates I make in small batches also have maca root in them, a nutritionally dense food from Peru with a light, nutty flavor that has high amounts of minerals, vitamins, enzymes and all of the essential amino acids. It’s rich in b-vitamins, which are the energy vitamins, and it’s a great source of vegetarian b-12. Maca also has high levels of bioavailable calcium and magnesium. Maca works as an adaptogen and helps balance our hormones. Another ingredient is Lucuma, a distinctively sweet taste that won’t increase your blood sugar levels. It’s a great source of antioxidants, fiber, carbs, vitamins and minerals. It’s native to Peru, Chile and Ecuador. The chocolate contains vanilla bean, which has b-complex groups of vitamins that help in enzyme synthesis, nervous system function and regulation of the body’s metabolism. It also has trace amounts of other minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, iron and zinc. Sweetening the chocolate with honey provides ideal liver fuel.
When buying your chocolate, be sure to look at how it’s sweetened, check that it’s organic look at any added ingredients! I make several different honey-sweetened, organic herbal chocolates that may be special ordered in small batches in the following flavors:
Peace and Calm: Lavender
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Paste, Butter and Powder, Organic Maca, Organic Lucuma, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Passionflower Tincture, Sea Salt, Honey, Organic Lavender, Love
Date Night: Damiana & Rose
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Paste, Butter and Powder, Organic Maca, Organic Lucuma, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Passionflower Tincture, Sea Salt, Honey, Organic Damiana, Organic Rose, Love
Mega Bite: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg and Cayenne
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Paste, Butter and Powder, Organic Maca, Organic Lucuma, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Passionflower Tincture, Sea Salt, Honey, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Ginger, Organic Nutmeg, Organic Cayenne, Love
Oasis Bloom: Rose & Cardamom
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Paste, Butter and Powder, Organic Maca, Organic Lucuma, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Passionflower Tincture, Sea Salt, Honey, Organic Rose, Organic Cardamom Love
Morning Glory: Espresso & Cardamom
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Paste, Butter and Powder, Organic Maca, Organic Lucuma, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Passionflower Tincture, Sea Salt, Honey, Organic Espresso, Organic Cardamom, Love
For questions about pricing, quantities, and to special order, please send an email inquiry with your request of flavor by visiting the “About/Contact” page at JillCunninghis.com.
Neutralizing Cordial:
Another very useful resource for practitioners to use when supporting clients is a neutralizing cordial. A dropperful of neutralizing cordial helps reground and release others’ energies by balancing the gut ph. The word cordial is used interchangeably with the word elixir. It’s an herbal tincture (herb plus alcohol) with honey or sugar. A cordial is otherwise known as a comforting or pleasant-tasting medicine.
This formula has a long history – it goes back to the time of the eclectics. Eclectic medicine was the popular use of botanical remedies in the latter half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It included the use of Native American medicinal plants and Thompsonian medicine – a system of medicine that used less toxic remedies than those that had been used before.
I was introduced to this formula by one of my teachers who passed it on to me, sharing that she uses it between clients when she needs to reground. At the time, the magic it held for me was that, just like its name “neutralizing cordial” suggests, I experienced its effectiveness in shedding the energies of clients and helping me return to my center. It can be even more potent when combined with meditation.
One of the most well respected western clinical herbalists who, sadly, is no longer with us – Michael Moore, (not to be confused with the movie maker Michael Moore) called it, “an elegant pharmaceutical that may be the single closest thing to a universal GI tonic.” What this means is that whatever ails your gut, this tonic will fix. It is now a widely accepted fact that much of our anxiety, depression and lethargy, as well as a myriad of other ailments, stems from lack of gut health. So the power of this neutralizing cordial is that it helps us bring our energy back into alignment by balancing our gut ph.
At one time, this cordial, sold in a glycerin or alcohol base, was so widely used, it was on the shelves readily available in most places people went for their medicine – any pharmacy or apothecary. That was until about 40 years ago. Now you can’t find it on the shelves anywhere anymore, unless from individual herbalists or online from one or two companies, and the original recipe using only a glycerin base is lost forever. There are theories that the manufacturer and alchemist were paid big money to “lose” the recipe because it was so effective and the pharmaceutical companies couldn’t compete with it. But who knows?
I recently had the great fortune to come across Michael Moore’s adaptation of this formula, different from the one I have been using for years. He refers to it as the “Alkalizing Elixir of Rhubarb,” and his is the one mentioned below.
There are seven ingredients in this cordial.
DILUTED GRAIN ALCOHOL (50%)
The formula has grain alcohol diluted with water to be 50% or 100 proof. The alcohol preserves the formula.
RHUBARB TINCTURE (RHEUM PALMATUM, RHEUM RHAPONTICUM)
Rhubarb tones body tissue, assists digestion and relieves constipation. It’s important to note that the Rheum rhabarbarum, the garden rhubarb you use to make pie is NOT the medicinal rhubarb. The medicinal varieties are Rheum palmatum and Rheum rhaponticum.
CINNAMON TINCTURE (CINNAMOMUM)
Cinnamon is what’s known as a carminative. It relieves gas in the body. It also tones and stimulates, prevents the growth of disease-causing microorganisms, and relieves spasms of involuntary muscle.
GOLDENSEAL TINCTURE (HYDRASTIS)
This formula contains goldenseal, as well, which is a highly controversial herb. Somehow it got the reputation in the 1960s that it would mask the presence of drugs in the urine. It doesn’t. And now its wild variety is listed as endangered. This has occurred from both harvesting in the wild where plants are not replaced and the destruction of woodlands through mining and deforestation.
So why use an endangered herb? Because the magic of the alchemy of herbal combinations sometimes cannot be replicated with substitutions. That said, always purchase your herbs from sources known to be ethical and ecologically conscientious.
In large quantities, goldenseal stimulates menstrual bleeding, so it shouldn’t be used during pregnancy. It is also contraindicated for mothers who are breastfeeding. That said, it is used here primarily because it stimulates regeneration of congested mucus membrane. It reheats congested mucous membranes so they heal. It also purifies the blood, kills microorganisms or stops their growth, is anti-inflammatory, and laxative.
SPIRIT OF PEPPERMINT
Spirit of Peppermint is made from combining peppermint essential oil and grain alcohol. It’s important for this formula because it alleviates pain. It can make pain go from sharp to a dull ache. It essentially sedates the nerve endings. And for anyone who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, Peppermint capsules work really well. Peppermint also makes you sweat, which helps release toxins; it relieves gas, is a circulatory stimulant, prevents vomiting, tones tissue, and kills damaging microorganisms or stops their growth. It is also one of only a few essential oils that are safe to take internally, and only in the tiniest of quantities. I want to drive this point home here because there is a lot of misinformation out there. Aside from peppermint, spearmint, lavender, caraway and cardamom, which all have benefits to our gut health taken in tiny quantities, no other essential oils should ever be taken internally. Over time, they will damage your liver, no matter how safe some companies out there promoting their internal use will say.
POTASSIUM CARBONATE
This formula can be made with sodium bicarbonate, as well, which is the active ingredient in baking soda. However, potassium carbonate works better as a tonic than sodium bicarbonate because, while both alkalize the stomach, potassium carbonate helps feed inflamed and dehydrated stomach mucous membranes and plumps up dehydrated cells. Dehydration is a result of too much salt and too little potassium, so the use of Potassium Carbonate over sodium bicarbonate is obvious.
SIMPLE SYRUP OR HONEY
The original formula uses a combination of sugar and water, called simple syrup. I’m just not convinced that using simple syrup is more beneficial than using honey, and I haven’t been able to find a truly compelling argument that it is. Both raise blood sugar levels, but you need less honey and it has other benefits that sugar does not. Other sweeteners, such as turbinado will ferment, but honey stored under 50 degrees (in the fridge) will not.
For questions about pricing, quantities, and to special order your organic, honey-sweetened one- or two-ounce bottle of Neutralizing Cordial, send an email inquiry with your request by visiting the “About/Contact” page at JillCunninghis.com.
There are many more herbs to use and many more ways to use herbs in our lives as we get them into our food, on our skin, and in our treats. These are just a few things you can use to support yourselves while you’re supporting others. As with all things we ingest, always check about contraindications and any possible interactions with a pharmaceutical you may be taking or a condition you may have.
I am one of the lucky herbal medicine makers who had the good fortune to spend four to six hours weekly for a couple of years learning from Tony Seifert how to honor the plants by turning them into powerful medicine. He taught us more than how to make a remedy. He taught us about paying attention to the details – about honoring the herbs as beings. He taught us about right harvest, taking no more than you need, using everything you take and leaving a gift as an offering of gratitude.
