Five Essential Herbs to Carry With You
This is an excerpt from our FREE ebook, Five Herbs to Carrry With You. Download the full 31-page book at our home page - wait for the popup, enter your email, and you'll receive the link to the download instantly!
One of the things I love best about herbalism is that once you know a few of the plants, you are never without a friend. I'm not talking about learning the uses of 100 plants, or even 50. I'm talking about building relationships with one plant, or five. I'm talking about not simply the act of using the plants for their benefits, but the natural human instinct of coming into relationship with plants for surviving and thriving.
I know that whatever continent I'm on, whether I'm in the jungle or a strip mall parking lot, I have a good chance of looking around and being able to identify an herbal ally. It may be plantain. It may be dandelion. It may be an exotic vine that I'm only just getting to know. But once that 'green wall' is down - once you are comfortable with even just a handful of plants and their various uses, tastes, properties, and energetics - the whole world comes alive in a new way. It is full of friends.
1. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is one of those one-plant-fits-all treasure chests that is invaluable in promoting skin health, immune health, cooling first aid, and more. There are many different varieties and cultivars of yarrow, but only the wild, white yarrow is used in herbalism.Here are a few (of hundreds!) of our favorite uses for wound warrior yarrow:
- as a bug spray (alone or in combination) to fend off mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, etc
- in oral hygiene as a mouthwash, rinse, or brushing aid
- with skin abrasions, to promote a sterile environment, promote blood clotting, tighten tissues, and maintain healthy mucosa
- in menstrual or menopausal flooding, to promote healthy flow
- as a facial toner and astringent to the pores
- as an herbal steam promoting respiratory and sinus health as an antibacterial so promote healthy bacteria in the body to stimulate and optimize the immune system
- to encourage sweating by moving heat or immune challenges out of the body
- as a hand sanitizer
- to help maintain a healthy blood pressure
- as an herbal bitter to stimulate bile production and promote digestive health
- to help with mild discomfort
- to soothe a cough
- in a sitz bath for abrasion, irritation, and postpartum challenges
- for bladder support, particularly with urinary tract issues
- as a breast massage oil to move lymphatic tissue and blood
- ...many more uses of yarrow when you download the full ebook!
Along with offering yarrow as a simple extract by itself, we include yarrow in the following blends:
2. St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum/punctatum) is without a doubt an essential herb for anyone on the go in need of protection and positivity. With a strong affinity for the sun and a blooming pattern around summer solstice, St. John’s wort has long been considered a warder-off of evils, whether those are immune afflictions, injuries, or even the ‘blues’. It has at least as many useful external applications as it does internal. Eternal optimism is one way to think about St. John's wort. A guard for the immune system is another. Either way, don't be caught without it!
Here are a some of our favorite uses for uplifting St. John's wort:
- as a nervous system restorative
- to support a positive mindset
- to optimize the health of the nervous system
- to support skin health and address irritation and abrasion
- to take an anxious moment down a notch
- as a massage oil to relax the nerves and muscles, ease discomfort, and improve nerve issues
- to aid irritated, inflamed skin issues
- to nourish and increase the efficiency of the liver to enhance mood, particularly when seasonally affected
- to aid the skin and promote healthy skin tissue as an herbal ally during menopause to ease occasional hot flashes and other signs
- as an herbal ally for those going through addiction and withdrawal from various substances
- as a whole body tonic to aid in waste and fluid removal
- read our full favorite uses of St. John's wort here in the complete ebook.
PLEASE NOTE: St. John's wort contraindicates with SSRIs, SNRIs, and a variety of other pharmaceutical medications. Consult a trusted healthcare practitioner before using.
Along with offering St. John's wort as a simple extract and oil, we include this wonderful herb in the following blends:
3. Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea/angustifolia) is the secret spiky-flowered weapon in the bag of almost every herbalist. Its signature tingle activates the immune system and boosts the body’s innate ability to do what it does best: take care of itself.
I don’t go anywhere without it for fear that I might feel that dreaded throat feeling and not be able to match the scratch with this signature tingly herb. Taking echinacea at the very first sign of something coming on is often just the right first line of defense that is necessary to ward off any incoming gunk or funk. Echinacea is well renowned for supporting the body’s production of white blood cells-even in a matter of hours-and helping it to fight the good fight.
Here are a some of the most well-known uses for immune supportive echinacea:
- to support a healthy population of bacteria
- to support healthy sinuses and respiratory tract
- in oral care on the teeth and gums as a mouthwash or rinse
- to support digestive ease and mild discomfort
- to topically support discomfort and irritation
- as a gargle to support a healthy throat
- to topically support a skin abrasion
- when pregnant or breastfeeding as an immune system ally
- as a stimulating lymph mover
- and more in our full echinacea profile in the ebook download.
Check out our echinacea dosage chart to make sure you're using the correct amount of the tincture.
Along with offering echinacea as a simple extract, we include this wonderful herb in our Immune Blend.
4. Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) offers us qualities of lion-heartedness or strength-of-heart. Motherwort's species name--cardiaca--speaks to its extraordinary ways of growing and developing the circulatory channels of the body and turning everything back towards the heart.
There is no ‘ordinary mint’. Motherwort is more ‘mighty mint’. Like the abundant mother who always has a gift to give without expectation, Motherwort gives of herself, self-seeding freely. She mothers the mother, or anyone else in need of mothering.
Our favorite uses of magical motherwort are as a heart tonic and an anxiety-ally. The beauty of motherwort is that she can be used both in the moment and over the long-term as a way of restoring the body's innate sources of calm, tranquility, and nurturing.
A few of the remarkable uses of motherwort:
- normalize and maintain healthy blood pressure
- as an ally for those with nervousness and tension
- to promote cardiac rhythm regularity and stability
- as an ally for those with racing thoughts or feelings of mental angst
- as a tonic to help promote optimal cardiovascular function
- as a calcium and mineral-booming tonic, particularly when consumed as an herbal vinegar
- as an ally for those going through menopause
- to support emotional distress centered in the heart
- to help promote healthy and normal menstruation, used before, during, and after menses
- read more about the uses of motherwort here in the full ebook!
Along with offering motherwort as a simple extract, we include this wonderful herb in the following blends:
5. Holy basil/tulsi (Ocimum africanum or sanctum) is a cinch to fall in love with. This easy-to-grow, mint-family herb is luscious, gorgeous to smell and taste, simple and abundant to harvest and dry, and adds the most delightful aroma to any extract, vinegar, tea, or other recipe she goes into. Holy basil is famous for its smorgasbord of terpenes, one category of phytochemical which gives it its classification as an adaptogen which assists the body in doing whatever it needs to do-minimize stress, adapt to change, fight off germs or seasonal threats-with grace and efficacy.
An all-star adaptogen, as sacred and revered as its name suggests, and a bonafide queen in the herb kingdom is tulsi. With a tea, extract, or living plant of her majesty by your side, you have a powerfully peaceful friend for life.
- to freshen the breath, strengthen the gums, and improve the overall health of the mouth
- to protect and normalize against a variety of harmful environmental, biological, and other stressors
- as an ally for those experiencing stress, tension, or racing thoughts
- to nourish the upper and lower respiratory systems as a general tonic
- to stimulate and tonify the immune and nervous system
- to normalize and maintain healthy blood pressure and circulation
- to improve cardiovascular health
- to improve and enhance mood
- to help maintain a healthy cholesterol
- to allay cravings, particularly of sugar, and normalize appetite
- to promote a sense of calm and tranquility
- to help the body ease into a restful sleep state
- to promote the optimal health of the liver and the body’s natural pathways of detoxification
- and more uses in the ebook - download here.
Along with offering holy basil/tulsi as a simple extract and a dried tea of the leaf and flower, we include this wonderful herb in the following blends:
Thank YOU for reading! May the herbs be with you.
Grab the full text of Five Herbs to Carry With You by downloading the 31-page book at our home page - wait for the popup, enter your email, and you'll receive the link to the download instantly!
