Petaled Sunshine
Calendula is a classic remedy for skin ailments, helping heal in a gentle steady way. She's also a classic lymph mover, with the same energy, I feel. She's the draught horse, getting the deep work done. Or a nurse, kind and gentle but firm and inexorable. 

I have been using her infused oil topically with internal issues too. On the abdomen during difficult periods or over irritated intestines, on the jaw during my tongue-tie pain, on a joint when there's an -itis going on.

Helping to keep the inflammation fluids (aka the healing process) moving, helping repair, bringing brightness & cheer. She's easy to grow, abundant with flowers, and generously reseeds. Her resinous medicine under the petals dissolves best in an oil, but bath or tea water works well too.

Lymphatic Support and Sunshine
Think of Calendula as bringing sunshine into your lymph system. Did you know your lymph doesn't have a pump? Its movement relies on your movement- muscle contractions. When you don't move so much, or have too much trash (from illness) for lymph to move, things can stagnate and congeal- you've seen it happen in the fridge, or overnight in the kitchen sink.

With Calendula, fluid thins and flows, debris is carried away, congestion eases. Shining light into dark corners chases away monsters. (This is a METAPHOR people! If you want to learn about lymph physically check out @stopchasingpain)

Traditionally Europeans called this herb Pot Marigold. A 'pot herb' was a common ingredient in the dinner pot. Calendula helps prepare the immune system for a winter cold by cleaning out the old stuff, so it was harvested and dried all Summer to prepare for this. 

Fresh or dried, flowers and leaves can be made into a tea, or used directly on the skin, or infused into good oil. Dried flowers into tincture, bath mixes, hydrotherapy edema soaks. Also homeopathic creams/gels/tablets.

Read No You Don’t Need A Liver Cleanse! Not A Detox Program Either! I'll wait...

OK, good. We got that straight.

Now, I love this time of year. Everyone has their own special take on traditions, and my family is no exception. We have a Slovak Christmas, a dinner called Vilija with mushroom sauerkraut soup, homemade pierogies, a fish, peas, green jello and pineapple (hey now don't judge) and ohmygosh the cookies. The big focus is on sharing, so yesterday when the exterminator came my mom gave him a baggie of cookies along with his check. Everybody gets included! After I get home there's a couple parties, and some "special" eggnog that'll knock your socks off, and who knows what else. 

​It's a fun, adventurous culinary holiday, lovingly made and generously shared, that is not well suited for daily life. 

After the holidays I'm going to restart some physical and food choices that fell by the wayside this year. My goal is to improve my elimination, heal/repair my nervous and digestive tissues, and feel rested, clear headed, and inspired more often.

Do you want to Overhaul with me? Since I’m planning this out ahead of time and being more methodical, I thought some of you might want to join me for the ride. Here’s what we’ll do, from December 31 to January 20:

• You can follow along as I post online- Instagram (usually shared to Facebook too) will show you the daily journey, and I’ll be writing more in-depth information here on my blog

OR

• Let’s do this together! You’ll get my meal plans, breathing practices, personal development worksheets, self-care strategies, daily and weekly plans, and support from me and the community

I’m offering you the inside scoop on my annual New Year’s Overhaul. You’ll learn what I’ve been doing (abdominal breathing! intermittent fasting!) and all the deets on some new things I want to try (lymph support! meditation!) There will be herbs, fermented foods, exfoliation and dry brushing, digestive support and poop talk, gut health and sweating.

Simply put, we’ll try some new habits on for 3 weeks and see what sticks, while minimizing the demands put on our bodies.

Want to take part? 3 weeks of plans and descriptions, plus my support, delivered early so you have time to prep, is $30.

Sign up HERE, and look for your welcome email. I am traveling this week so you may not get it same day. I look forward to going through this with you!

Welcome to December, the waning of our year. It's not just our calendar that come to an end; we'll pass the Winter Solstice in a few weeks to mark the longest night and the lengthening of our days again. It seems strange to me that as this happens Winter is only beginning- shouldn't this be the middle of the season? But a favorite quote of mine says, "As the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen" so let's settle in.

As I write I'm in Florida with my family, and we're celebrating Christmas early with our Slovak tradition called Vilija. It includes sauerkraut soup, pierogies, and lots of cookies. So let's talk about digestive bitters!

Here's a repost from just a little while ago, describing the benefits of digestive supporters like Bitters, Enzymes, Apple Cider Vinegar, Probiotics, and Herbs. I always show up at holiday events with at least a travel-sized bitters spray in my purse, and after just one or two samples at a homemade food fest most of my friends are converts! #herbnerds

In the world of herbal potions, an elixir is at the top of my list. They're yummy, sweet, and are a fantastic way to capture the beauty of a fresh plant, not just its medicine. 

Here's how I made a Tulsi Elixir, but you can use all sorts of herbs- for example, try fresh Chamomile! This is a great time of year to make elixirs because any outdoor plants are about to die back for the winter, and potted plants moving indoors need haircuts too, so there's one last harvest available. 

Meet Your Weeds: Goldenrod
No, Goldenrod isn't Ragweed! It is true that when Goldenrod's bright yellow froth sweeps over roadsides, the tiny, unassuming Ragweed blooms too, and causes sinus misery all over.

However, Goldenrod is actually a great remedy for Ragweed allergies, among other complaints.

On one of our recent hot, swampy, rainy days I tried the loose Goldenrod harvested locally by Barefoot Botanicals in Doylestown. It has a unique flavor, almost menthol and refreshing, and it felt dry.

(You know what that means- wine can be dry or sweet, spinach feels mineraly on your teeth, butternut squash soup feels soft and moistening. This tea felt the opposite of the swampy day.)

The next morning, the boyfriend whumped down on our couch. He had sniffles (maybe allergies, maybe a little cold), a sore neck from sleeping funny, and a slightly upset tummy. Goldenrod tea to the rescue!

And it worked. Goldenrod tones mucus membranes- if they're loose and drippy, it'll tighten them up, and it's anti-microbial. This works in the nose and in the belly, and in fact it's been used for ages in the Urinary system too.

The awesome thing is, his sore neck felt better too. Goldenrod has a long history with pain relief, although it's usually infused in oil and applied to the sore muscle or joint or area topically.

How do you get Goldenrod?
Right now is prime harvest time, so local growers like Barefoot Botanicals might not have any in stock till it gets cut, dried, bagged and tagged. Or you might find some in person- visit your local farmer's market!

Picking your own is a fun, easy entry into foraging. Get a good field guide, like Petersons Edible Wild Plants or Medicinal Plants. Always use a guide when foraging.

Rebecca Altman of Kings Road Apothecary describes what to do next with your bought or foraged Goldenrod:

Gather the flowering tops, plus about 3-10 inches (depending on how big your plants are; ours here are quite short), on a warm, dry day, and make sure they are DRY. Then chop them up, into 1/2 inch pieces, and cover with an oil of your choice. I like coconut oil, castor oil, sesame oil, or jojoba oil for external use, but you can use what you have on hand. Now, heat it slightly. I do this in a crock pot and keep it at a steady low temperature but you can do it on the stove if you can make sure it doesn't boil. Yogurt makers also work... Steep for 5 hours or up to 5 days, and then strain and put in a bottle. 

And there you have it, homemade pain relief oil, made from stuff you can pick on the side of the road. Although I'd recommend someplace cleaner, like a park or preserved farm field.

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This is a picture-heavy post! Allow time for it to load, especially if you're using a smaller device like a phone. 
As requested, here are some resistance band exercises that can mimic the work of the Reformer, to an extent. Use your familiarity with my cues (Neutral Spine! Pelvic Floor! Shoulder Blades!) and your imagination to help bring these to life. Have fun! (Hover over the photo for a cue.)

A series like the opening leg presses, or footstraps too:

More moves like footstraps:

Here are some like single legs, from the bar or in footstraps, in parallel:

Even when I'm on vacation?? Well, OK!

Turns out I can't figure out how to actually repost an old entry on this blog. But, what I CAN do, is give you a link: 

https://www.paulasherbals.com/blog/an-anytime-workout

I put this together a few years ago when I went out of town, so no heckling about the longer hair, got it? It's a little mat Pilates routine that should feel familiar, I tried to mimic the Reformer moves. 

Hopefully I get another post like this up this week, using resistance bands to mimic the Reformer even more closely, so check back!

Here we are at the end of June, and some days it feels like winter isn't over yet. I'm talking to lots of people who are privately having a hard time coping. When it's sunny and warm, it feels 'right'. But then we get another cool, rainy, clammy day and I'm reminded that this is familiar, it has been since last Thanksgiving, and it completely erases the memory of that bright thing up in the sky. 

How can we manage this? I have some ideas:

First of all, keep your D up. I stopped taking my vitamin D supplement because, well, it's summertime now, right? Turns out no, not really. So the last few weeks I've been taking it again, and what a difference! I take a chewable tablet right now, but have done drops and liqui-gels and sprays. Find the kind you're most likely to actually use- compliance is everything. 

Next, seize the sun when it's there. When it gets bright out I'll force myself to weed, or read outside, or do anything in the fresh air, irrespective of what else is on my to-do list. Even short bursts outside help remind your brain of our place on the year's wheel, and getting hot and muddy and bug-bitten makes those cool days feel like some relief! Being uncomfortable is not the worst thing in the world, either, so go with it. 

Finally, try to re-frame your perspective. Years ago I heard Dr Dan Gottlieb on NPR talking to a caller about her depression. She had described feeling crushed, like a weight pushing her to the ground. His response was seared into my memory: Instead of being crushed, imagine the Earth holding you up, like a gentle hand cupping you until you are strong enough to stand on your own. The vision I have of this is way beyond my pathetic art skills but if I could draw you a picture, you'd hang it on your wall. I just love it.

But what about the HERBS?! I hear you cry in dismay. An Herbalist without herbal suggestions? Well, sure, herbs are great too. Herbs that help nerves, and are sunshiny, like Lemon Balm or St John's Wort or even hemp oils, would be great too. Remember though, herbs aren't like pharmaceuticals. They are only part of the solution. We are empowered to help ourselves, with herbs adding to the overall picture.  This is one of those situations where your choices clearly impact your wellness. Use your power!