January Check-in | Herbs

 

Hello again!

I hope y'all have taken a good look at my last check-in post for the beginning of the New Year, for sleep and regeneration. If you have not seen that post, check it out now! Along with the quick and easy sleep spell I included in my last post, I wanted to include some more information about nutrition and herbalism relating to sleep and immunity. To certify my knowledge, I have a certificate and minor in Holistic Health from San Francisco State University. 

I am a Pagan Practitioner, so I teach and practice paganism, yet I also follow and practice what I was taught about holistic well-being, eastern medicine, and herbalism. In my own life, I try to follow a holistic life path, meaning I aim to live by holism, taking in a whole perspective about my life. I will always engage in other practices, foods, and ways of being if it is beneficial in a respectful way. I am not a Pagan person who is bound by blood--we all can practice what feels most spiritually authentic to us, when done respectfully, respecting the people, the land, and all it's inhabitants. With this in mind, I will be discussing some basics of Eastern medicine below, things I have learned from many beloved mentors and teachers, including Emily Zola (Lola), Dr. Peper, Prof. Kenn Burrows, Prof. Uma Bhatnagar, and Marissa Nasca (LCSW).

Season and weather changes interrelate with our physical constitution. In Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, we are elemental beings where our physical conditions around us have an active relationship with our wellbeing. This means we want to try to remain in balance with our Dosha’s or Qi with our ever-changing elemental surroundings. This is why people are more vulnerable to illness in seasonal changes, as there is more energetic and elemental chaos, within and external. We get out of constitutional balance when our surroundings change and become vulnerable. 

There are ways to balance out with our surroundings with what we consume and how we live. This way of balancing with your elemental surroundings does change per person, as everyone has their own unique and personal constitution. Each unique constitution will have it’s own unique relationship to the elements and environment. With this in mind, I encourage you to take a quiz or research what Dosha and what Qi Constitutional Type you are. Research how to balance these constitution to your current season and elemental/physical environment.

Dosha Quiz and Qi Constitutional Type Quiz

Even though our constitutions are unique, I do recommend some general herbalism and health tricks to boost immunity regardless. 

Here are some of my recommendations:

Immunity: Elderberry (those ginger, elderberry, turmeric shots are so good!), Turmeric (w/ Black Pepper!), Ginger-Garlic-Onion (Trinity Herbs of Health!), any Mint! Echinacea, Rosemary, Fennel, Ginseng - (Rhodiola for more energy, take in the morning OR (not both) Ashwaganda at night, for more destress then uplifting, regard ginseng note at the bottom), Omega-3’s (Fish oil or sustainable fish), Vitamin D (2000 IU for anemic, fog-dwelling folks, and seasonal depression folks) or 30 minutes in the sun works great, Zinc (take a very low dose, overtaking Zinc will have an inverse immune response).

Sleep: Ashwaganda before bed, Magnesium (300mg-600mg), chamomile, mint, lemon balm, valerian root, holy basil, passion flower - teas, Melatonin - (take 1mg-3mg AT MOST -- regard note below).

Note of Ginseng: Never want to take Ginseng everyday all the time, the smaller the amount of ginseng the longer you can take it for. Take it mainly when you need it for a week, then take a break, and take it again when you are stressed. It is an adaptogen, so it helps you adapt to stress, but if taken all day everyday—it loses it’s affect and can weaken your immunity, like most herbs! All of too much ain’t good!

Note on Melatonin: I recommend to not take 5mg, the vitamin is produced in higher amounts due to branding, not because more is better -- more is actually worse and will keep you awake! If you have 5mg, I recommend you split them in 1/2's or 1/4's. Melatonin can affect people differently due to weight and age, if you are unsure of how it might affect you or notice negative changes in your sleep schedule--talk to your doctor!

All of these herbs can be found at your local organic grocery or herbal shop. I highly encourage all my followers to do their own research on how these herbs work for you and your own constitution. Some questions I like to ask my self when using a new herb/supplement is "How does this herb/supplement integrate with my own constitution?" Does this herb have more heat or cooling? Which do I need right now? How are these herbs used traditionally and why?" Make sure to do this research, talk to your local practioner and doctor. The best way to engage with herbalism is if all of these mentors in your life all know what is going on in your process--making a interconnected whole system to help you with your health, sleep, and immunity!

Keep breahting--Skål!