Starting with Herbs
My experience with Herbs
As I listen, talk, watch and research I notice that…
Each day more people are becoming interested in the health benefits of herbs.
They are safe, effective, and easy to use.
They add natural minerals, enzymes, and vitamins to the body.
They restore the bio-chemical balance
in the circulatory, nervous systems and glands
which have been destroyed by a lifetime of eating over-processed foods.
I call them nature’s vitamins … natural, pure and honest … health from the earth.
I guess I started by being an avid gardener.
Then I had the privilege to work with Doctor Joe Turner
in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I participated on my first herb walk with a local herbalist: Jeanette Poirier.
And to walk through the Herb Gardens Retreat in Torbrook.
Also signed into a 10 week series of herbal lectures with Angie Jenkins (herbalist).
And I continue to research, learn, and apply herbs into my life today.
At first I thought it was very overwhelming, how does one possibly remember
all these plants and their benefits?
Which to pick, how much, too much, how to use it, combine it with which one etc etc.
But I have learned to relax, connect to one herb at a time,
and to treat it more as a vitamin, rather than a potent medicine.
So when I make soups and casseroles: I add fennel, oregano, thyme, basil etc.
When I make tea I use fresh from my garden: dandelion, mint,
wild strawberry leaves and add a slice of lemon.
My morning porridge of steel cut oats I add nettle flakes and dried elder berries.
I like to harvest as much as I can by myself, from my own gardens and backyard.
There are endless ways to add herb health into your life, I have only just begun.
And as I continue to research,
I read that one can have just a simple stock of 10 to 12 herbs on hand.
Each herb offers so many benefits.
And throughout the entire year,
at least one can always be accessed fresh from the earth.
In winter months it can be as simple as the leaves off a holly bush in a nice hot tea.
Herb practice is simply: the building up of the human body
to strengthen all natural eliminating and organ functioning.
The human body has a a better tolerance for natural products.
So I encourage you to start somewhere, start with one herb.
Learn how to use it, grow it, harvest it, apply it.
Then move onto another.
Herbs that can be grown indoors: basil, geranium, mint, sage, thyme, rosemary etc.
Gardens: rose, rose hips, nasturtium, lavender, marigolds, pansy,
honey suckle, strawberry leaves etc
Wild plants: dandylion, red clover, nettles, golden rod, lupins, plantain, raspberry, etc
Trees: hawthorne, cherry, willow, walnut, tulip tree, etc
If you are taking medication or are struggling with health issues
then I recommend making an appointment with a practising certified herbalist,
who can watch for contra-indications
and apply the researched knowledge of the best combination.