A Work In Progress

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Barbarea vulgaris - very early growth wintercress

Following through the stages of plant growth is enlightening in many ways.  Watching growth in ANY living thing requires patience and persistence.  Growing takes time.  Healing takes time.  There will be detours and even roadblocks along the way, but persistence pays. 

This fledgling wintercress is part of the mustard family and will be quite tall with yellow flowers when it is mature.  The principles of holistic wellness embrace the ideas of patience and persistence. 

It can be challenging to wait, especially in a society bent on instant gratification.  Yet, much of life progresses as it has since Creation, plants begin as seeds, they need certain conditions to be met for germination.  They eventually grow, and if they thrive, they will flower and produce more seed.  But, this process is never instant.  It is never overnight. 


Rosmaranis officinalis - fresh cuttings to propogate

Holistic health is not instant, it is not overnight.  Foundations (nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, including spiritual and mental growth) need certain requirements to be met in order for sprouting to occur.  Then, the tender new growth will still need outside help (this is where herbal medicine and nutritional supplementation and various holistic techniques come into play).  At maturity, we still need to address specific acute issues that arise, like droughts, mildew, and slugs (in our metaphor these are the "big guns" of aromatherapy, trigger point massage, and clinical herbalism). 

Holistic wellness is much like Advent as well - it begins with HOPE.  Advent means "coming", and it starts with hope.  In our quest for better health, we have hope that improvement will be forthcoming.  Keeping the eye focused clearly on the goal, and not becoming discouraged along the way is the crux of holistic health.

Herbal tea

Sometimes, the simplest solution is best.  For example, replacing soda with herbal iced tea can work in at least three ways to improve health and wellness:

1) Elimination of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives

2) Greatly reducing or eliminating intake of sugar or high fructose corn syrup

3) Nourishing the body with water, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients

Herbal teas are easy to make and a delight to enjoy.  For flowers and leaves, add 2tsp of herb or blended herbs to a pot, pour 8-10oz of hot water over it and cover.  Let it come down to room temperature, strain, serve over ice.  To make 1/2 gallon at a time, increase the herbs to 1/4cup, follow the same process and store the strained refreshment in the refrigerator.

Useful souvenir

Our family recently took an extended vacation camping and driving to and from Alaska.  In , we stopped at the Alaska Bowl Company.  It is quite the place!  My sweet husband bought me a set including this knotty birch and a Ulu.  A ulu is a traditional native Alaskan knife.  

The ulu made quick and easy work of chopping this fresh anise hyssop.

Anise hyssop ready to be tinctured.  It smells so fresh and yummy!

The birch bowls from the Alaska Bowl Company are formed from the burls which form on birch trees.  It is pretty fascinating actually and many of them are genuine pieces of art!  

Aroma-gardening

I am currently taking two classes through Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine (highly recommend!) In the Immersion course, gardening is a theme, and is required for the certificate!  Although I am an experienced medicine maker, herbalist, and aromatherapist, I have never gardened other than a few vegetables and a lot of tomatoes.  Herbs are different, they are more tender, more sensitive, dare I say, more fickle.

From the beginning, my plan was an aromatic garden, growing a few of the beautiful volatile oil producing plants to be distilled in Rosie,the copper still, for hydrosol and essential oil.  Yarrow, oregano, spearmint, several varieties of basil, monarda, anise hyssop, and thyme, in addition to the rosemary and lavendin which is already established from the fall.  Additionally, calendula is in the plan to be distilled for its wound-healing hydrosol.  Other medicinal a such as spilanthes and star chickweed are also pictured.

These seedlings started indoors with a heat mat and a grow light.  Sadly, more than 95% did not survive after being planted in the garden.

Next, I tried direct seeding.  This went much better, some with excellent yield, such as Genovese basil, chickweed, yarrow, and calendula.  Some with very low yield, such as spilanthes and holy basil.  Others didn't come up at all (monarda, anise hyssop, spearmint).

For some of the non-sprouted, I was able to acquire established plants from the local garden store and from local gardeners (oregano, thyme, monarda, anise hyssop).  I also purchased two established "geranium" plants, again, to be distilled for hydrosol and essential oil in the fall.

Now, it is a matter of caring for the aromatic garden as it slowly grows.

Of course, the aromatic garden is not for distillation alone.  The culinary and medicinal uses of these plant-allies abound.

Culinary finishing salt made with fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano, and sage in Himalayan pink salt. (It is especially good sprinkled on fresh, ripe tomatoes!)

Catnip and lavendin for an evening cuppa.  Can't you just smell the loveliness?

The second course I am taking is Foraging.  Through it, I am learning about all the nutritious edibles which volunteer and grow wild all around me.  Violets, day lillies, mouse-ear chickweed, cleavers, lambs quarters, and more.  

I never imagined that I would enjoy gardening, but knowledge is indeed power, and now that I know more about the once-annoying-but-now-useful "weeds", such as purslane and lambs quarters, weeding has become a daily forage for dinner salad additions.  Pinching off the tops of the aromatic plants has added fresh herbs to our meals and teas.  

"Root yourself in this earth and it will root itself in you." -Sheniz Jammohamed 

Plants

Herbalism, aromatherapy, holistic nutrition.  It all boils down to plants.  

I am making a concentrated effort to learn more about the actual plants from which we derive our food and medicine,  As a little girl, I spend many a summer day out in the sunshine with a berry bucket, foraging from the hill behind our home.  I was intrigued by sumac as we drove by a huge grove of it near my grandparents home.  My mom treat common ailments at home with herbal teas and salves.  But it wasn't until I had my own children that I truly began to seek out the healing powers of plants and they various products.

This year, I am returning to those days of berry picking, by learning more about foraging and gardening through courses at Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine.  I am already adept at turning harvested and dried botanicals into medicine, and even using fresh aromatic plants to distill hydrosol and essential oil, but now, I am venturing back to the plants and soil.  To that end, I am also expanding my library beyond the materia medica to growing and gathering.

Whole30 Review - part2

Dairy reintroduction

I love cheese. Really, I LOVE cheese.  On dairy day, I only tried two items - butter and cheese.  I wanted to make certain I had no reaction to those before trying regular milk or egg nog or other more problematic dairy items. However, butter and cheese made me nauseous and even dizzy, as well as a slight headache.  I became stuffy the next day with itchy ears and all my skin issues returned with a vengeance.

Gluten reintroduction

So as not to contaminate my results with dairy, I chose cream of wheat, cooked in water and served with raisins as my gluten test, followed by a cup of Dandy blend (a coffee substitute with chicory, dandelion, beets, and BARLEY.). Within minutes of eating gluten my cheeks turned red and hot.  That evening, the headache began, followed by serious nausea and vomiting.  When I woke the next morning, I had terrible bad breath, neck ache, and headache.  

Now I am armed with new information regarding my body and the foods I choose to consume.  What I thought would be a month long experiment, one that I began on a whim in the doctor's office, is now the new normal.  I like feeling good.  I like knowing that my headaches are not a random, unavoidable occurrence which can steal away my days.  Christmas is coming, and with his new information, I can decide whether it is worth it to indulge at parties, or whether I want to feel great the next next day.  I may choose cookies at an event because I decide that I can lay low the next day, but I won't be shocked when I feel terrible.  I know to avoid the hummus if I don't want my knees to scream in pain.

Going forward, I plan to adopt a whole30-like Paleo diet full time, but make exceptions for extra special events such as our Super Bowl party.  But even then, I reserve the right to decide whether a favorite treat is worth the consequences.  Hopefully, with some herbal support and nourishing foods and lifestyle, my gut will heal and the next time I do a formal reintroduction, the consequences will be less or even non-existent.  But that takes time, and for now, I choose to avoid my food triggers and feel good!

Whole30 Review

Vines of Wellness isn't just about essential oils.  Holistic wellness encompasses all aspects of a healthy lifestyle and the promotion of vibrant wellness, not just the absence of illness.

Personal confession:  I have had the Whole30 book on my shelf for over a year, but didn't want to commit to it due to my love of black beans.  Legumes are eliminated for 30 days during Whole30.  I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in 2008, and recently, my dosage of Armour Thyroid has gone up.  I began consistently working out (lifting weights and cardio 5-6 days per week) back in February 2017.  I dropped from a size 14/16 jean down to a size 6.  But, the weight hung on.  I was thinner, but still very overweight and the scale just would not budge.  At my thyroid appointment, my doctor suggested I try Whole30, as she believed that food intolerance could be at the root of my stubborn weight issue.  My breakfast had been Whole30 compliant that day (I eat a clean diet to begin with); so, I went home, made myself a big salad with leftover chicken and oil & vinegar, and laid out the meal plan for the next month.





Honestly, the first week was not as awful as some people describe.  Because my diet was already fairly clean, I didn't experience the common detox symptoms.  However, my results at the end of the thirty days were none-the-less astounding.  Here are just a few of my successes during / after Whole30:

• Rings fit nicely (finally!)
• Clothes are loose
• Belly is much flatter
• NO.HEADACHES.AT.ALL
• Knee pain is gone
• Elimination of panic attacks and anxious thoughts
• Black tea consumption dropped without trying
• Lost 15 pounds even though I was eating a TON of food
• Eczema completely cleared
• Improved sleep, especially falling asleep better

I have never gone more than a week without a headache in over 30 years.  This alone makes it worth it for me to be extremely judicial with my reintroduction and highly motivated to stick to Whole30.  So far, I have only retintroduced two food groups.  

Legumes (no peanuts)

On legume day, I had lentils with my breakfast, hummus at lunch, and my beloved black beans with dinner.  That evening, my knees swelled up and were hot and painful.  Obviously, legumes are causing some serious inflammation in my joints.  I also noted that my muscles stayed very sore for a couple days after my workout on legume day.  They shouldn't have been that sore, I didn't add extra weight, reps, sets, or anything that would have caused my muscles to react this way.  My knees & muscles finally felt pain-free about 72 hours later.  My plan is to keep them out of my diet for several months while my gut heals, then try again.

Non-gluten grains (no corn)

On this day, I had brown rice with breakfast, GF oats, amaranth, and quinoa for lunch, and quinoa with dinner.  I experienced some very mild hearburn and gas that night, but the next morning, I felt drained of energy.  Zap, no more "tiger blood".  I am not quite sure what to think of this.  One possible issue clouding my finding here is that I accidentally bought and ate cashews that were roasted in peanut oil, so I am not sure if the grains or the peanut oil zapped my energy.  I will need to investigate this further.

I still need to reintroduce dairy, peanuts, corn, and gluten-grains.  This experiment is teaching me quite a bit about what I, personally, need to minimize, or eliminate from my diet.  I am also learning that I need to make an effort to re-establish microflora and heal my leaky gut.