Little article I wrote for natural news to spread my love for hydro! Alternating Hot and Cold Showers :)
May 26, 2012
The Original Gangsters of Naturopathic Medicine
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Shennong is my third submission to the history of natural medicine. Legendary ruler and Chinese hero Shennong lived over 5,00 years ago. He has not only been recognized for teaching the Chinese agriculture but also the use of herbal medicines. While credited with the use and discovery of many different herbs, he is most notably attributed to the use and promotion of tea leaves as a cure for a wide variety of ailments and poisons. In his quest for herbal knowledge he is rumored to have consumed samples of all the herbs he collected so he could experience and understand the plant on all levels. Many traditional chinese herbalist are still taught and practice this way.
For more of my artwork and info on hiring me for freelance work (logos, business cards etc) visit my site at atomicbrainstudio.com
May 26, 2012
Heal-all, Prunella Vulgaris- supreme anti-viral and plant medicine volunteer :)
WHY pay all this money for fancy herbal supplements when there are so many lovely plant volunteers and medicinal weeds (or what some fools would call pests!) abundant in our yards? Not only does harvesting our weeds save us money on supplements, but it also helps on the grander scheme, removing all costs and tolls on the environment of shipping and processing that goes into getting an herbal supplement.
This spring our gardens were covered in heal-all, a plant we had come to know and love the year before backpacking in the ADKs. We knew we had to harvest it.
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In Chinese medicine, it is refereed to as Xia Ku Cao and classified as an herb that clears heat and purges fire. It has been used especially for accumulations in the upperbody (chest, throat and head)(1).
Prunella vulgaris, self-heal or heal-all is one of the richest sources of rosamarinic acid, which can have an antithyroid effect because it binds to thyroid stimulating hormone, preventing it from stimulating the thyroid and thus lowering thyroid activity. One study found that the prunella spikes had a 6.1% rosmaric acid content, making it the most concentrated source known (2).
Prunella also has strong antiviral properties due to its ligand-polysaccharides complex that is specific to the herpes family viruses, appearing to inhibit viral binding and host cell penetration, again helping to address an underlying viral trigger(1). Heal-all also has a polysaccharide called prunelline that is immunomodulating(3).
Futhermore, Prunella is an extremely energetic herb, helping individuals come into their own healing process and believe in their ability to be well. It also has the TCM energetics behind it, helping to elementally balance this firey patient.
May 24, 2012
A little bit of magic at the castle…
May 23, 2012
ITMonline
Great Resource!!!
Institute of Traditional Medicine- itmonline.org
practicing cupping in our Acupuncture Techniques course
May 22, 2012
Astro Outlook
Overall Outlook: If you don’t feel, you’re not thinking, and if you don’t think, you can’t feel….so where does will reside?
May 7, 2012
Dr. Jim Duke and Jim Meuninck: 100 most important Edible Herbs
Dr. Jim Duke and Jim Meuninck: 100 most important Edible Herbs- 53 min in-depth plant identification video from 1988
Anytime your wild crafting, its best to follow the “rule of threes”. The rule of threes suggests that you don’t collect a plant from an area until the third time you come across it, to promise it’s presence in the area will perserved. This is a simple and easy way we can remember to protect the earth and her many plant spirits! United Plant Savers do a lot of great work to protect our healing herbs so make sure to check out there website, especially for lists of ”At Risk” and “To-Watch” herbs that we should all refrain from collecting at the moment.
May 5, 2012
Embrace your weeds!
WEEDS can save the world. So many of our every day, villainized weeds are actually highly useful- both medicinally and nutritionally. They are growing for a reason. Their pesky presence in your lawn or garden is working to purify the planet and restore the earth- through the soil, the air and it’s people. Check out the links below for some more information on our most nutritious and medicinal weeds from the one and only Susan Weed
Weeds in Your Garden? Bite Back
Edible Weeds: Herbal Medicine Chest in Your Backyard
Roadside Harvest
May 4, 2012
Naturopathic Comparative Curricula to both MDs and non-accredited natural health care providers
the numbers don’t lie!!!
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