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Healing & Alternative Health
The Love of Lavender
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by Kami McBride |
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Since my lavender patch has been blooming steadily for over a year and a half, providing me with countless bouquets of lavender flowers, I thought I should dedicate an article to its endless beauty and pleasure.
Having lots of lavender plants growing in front of my house is the best aromatherapy. Every time I get into my car and each time I arrive home, the lavender flowers brush up against my body and remind me of where I am. I pick a blossom for good luck as I leave. I smell the flowers when I arrive home giving thanks for a safe return. The lavender illicits a settled feeling inside of me and I know that I am in the right place.
We often think of aromatherapy as the use of essential oils but planting aromatic plants next to areas that you walk along and brush up against is also great aromatherapy. Almost every day I pick a lavender flower and smell it to soothe my nervous system. For the few seconds that I smell the flower, I become totally present and let go. Of course life comes rushing back in after that, but a few moments of true presence each day is worth a lot!
Lavenders name comes from the Latin verb, ‘lavare’ which means to wash. We use the medicine of lavender to ‘wash’ on many levels. I boil the leaves and flowers in a pot of water to clean the air of my house. Lavender is highly anti-bacterial and when boiled into the air, it dis-infects and kills air born bacteria. Because of this it is a great cold and flu prevention remedy. When someone sick comes over to your house, pick three cups of lavender leaves and or flowers and put them into a big pot with five cups of water. Turn the heat on low and just let it steam into the air for a couple of hours. This will rid the house of any sickness and have everyone feeling relaxed and happy.
Lavender is also very cleansing on an energetic level. The flowers and the leaves help to calm the nervous system and allow for the release physical and emotional tension. It is also a useful remedy for muscle spasms, headaches and topical infections.
I have several small pillows stuffed with lavender. Recently my nine month old son pulled the ribbon off the top of one of the pillows and lavender went flying all over my bedroom. I left the flowers in my bed and that night slept gloriously in a bed of lavender flowers. My husband went and slept in the other room, he said, “How can you sleep with all these things sticking to you everywhere?” I just smiled and thought how lucky I was to sleep in a bed of flowers! That is the difference between us, I like plants and he likes technology. He doesn’t mind little glowing lights from computers all over the room and I can’t stand it…anyway that is a different story.
Lavender is also known as the birthing herb. It has been long used to assist women in childbirth. The lavender helps the mother and everyone else to relax while it dis-infects the room. I have a student that is a labor and delivery nurse. She now has big bouquets of lavender in her area of the hospital.
Lavender is also a wonderful herbal ally for the nervous system. It helps with insomnia, nervousness, depression and exhaustion. It is a very relaxing herb yet is uplifting and promotes a sense of wellbeing. One of my favorite remedies for supporting an over-tired nervous system is lavender and Saint John’s wort. Mix together one half once of each of these herbs together in tincture form and take thirty drops once or twice a day.
Many people know of using lavender for relaxation but it is also a great herb for digestion. It is a valuable carminative which means that it helps to increase the flow of circulation and energy in the digestive tract. Drinking a cup of simple lavender tea after a heavy meal can help you digest things easier. Lavender helps with gas, bloating, indigestion and nausea. You can powder some lavender flowers and add it to food to help with the digestive process. It especially lends itself well to deserts. We have made lavender cake, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake and scones. Just add a couple of tablespoons of powdered lavender to the dried ingredients in the recipe.
It is said that having lavender in the home brings peace, joy and tranquility. In the garden it attracts bees and fairies. So if you don’t have any lavender plants growing, I recommend planting one. It is very easy to grow and also grows well in pots if you don’t have a garden space.
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Kami McBride,
Teacher of Herbal Medicine
& Women's Health
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Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. She has studied medicinal plants for almost 20 years and has taught Herbology at the University of California School of Nursing and Stanford Hospital. Her popular course, Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within is an experiential earth awareness and herbal studies program that is taught at her beautiful school and herb gardens in Vacaville, California.
An intuitive and inspiring teacher, Kami has helped thousands of people learn to use healing plants in their daily lives in ways that are healthy, safe and fun. Her extensive knowledge of herbal medicine along with a focus on teaching herbology as a relationship with the Earth and a way of life, help to fulfill her mission of reviving the cultural art of home herbal care.
Kami is an herbal consultant and an expert in the field of holistic health specializing in women’s issues. Her herbal consultations empower women to discover sacredness and pleasure in their healing process. Her educational courses provide a sanctuary for women to transform their relationship with their body and reclaim their heritage as healers and herbalists.
Kami is the author of 105 Ways to Celebrate Menstruation, available at www.amazon.com.
Visit Kami’s website at:
www.livingawareness.
com
Sign up for her free quarterly herbal e-newsletter.
kami@livingawarness.
com
For Classes, Books & Consultations:
Phone: 707-446-1290
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