Results for Category: Live Well
How Much Do You Know About Herbal Preparations?
Making herbal medicine is easy! While it may seem overwhelming at first, a little coaching from a book, friend, or online resource is all you need to get started. Medicine making is not relegated to the domain of the scientist in a white lab coat! The folk method of herbal medicine making is particularly […]
Five Fun and Fascinating Facts about Honey Bees
I love honey bees! I love to work around them, talk about them and observe their behavior. When it was suggested I come up with f...
Safely Using Essential Oils for Children
With all the conflicting information out there about children and aromatherapy, it’s easy to feel confused. I hope the infor...
Promote Healthy Gut Flora With A Prebiotic Herbal Electuary
As a health conscious person, you are likely aware of the fact that digestive health is directly linked to overall health. This means that keeping our digestive systems healthy must be a priority in our lives if we want to be healthy and feel good. You may also know that a diet rich in probiotics is […]
A Deeper Look at Herbal Infusions
Water is a very commonly used solvent that extracts herbal properties in the form of herbal infusions, or tea. Most people associate teas with hot water infusions, but cold infusions are also an easy way to create teas, especially in the summer months when cooling the body is necessary. Each of the methods has benefits […]
Understanding The Simplicity Of Herbs
Some herbalists use a healing art called “simpling,” referring to the use of one herb at a time rather than in formula...
Flying and Traveling with Herbs
It’s easy to use herbs at home but what about traveling with herbs – especially plane travel when there are restrictions with ...
3 Ways To Prevent A Sunburn Naturally + A DIY Sunburn Relief Spray
Sunburns are such a bummer, but if you’re like me and you enjoy being outside when the weather is nice, getting a sunburn is a likely possibility. Today I’m sharing some tips that could help you to naturally prevent a sunburn as well as sharing a DIY herbal sunburn relief spray with you that you […]
How To Use Lemon Balm As A Natural Bee Sting Remedy
When it comes to natural bee sting remedies, what herbs do you think of? I’m sure there are many, but the first one I’ve always thought of right off the bat is plantain…until recently that is. Plantain is a great natural bee sting remedy, but I recently learned about lemon balm and its amazing ability […]
Yarrow as a Natural Support for Fever and Flu
Yarrow is a lovely wildflower. You can find it growing on roadsides, fencerows, fields, and meadows, the white bobbing flowerheads...
How To Make A Homemade Sugar Scrub with Calendula
Over the last 8-10 years, I’ve become more focused on living a healthier lifestyle and raising my kids with that mindset as ...
How to Use Chamomile to Reduce Stress
In our crazy, stressful, overly-busy and hectic lifestyle, people have lost the ability to slow down, relax, and nourish themselves. We keep trying to please everyone – our bosses, spouses, children, and random strangers on the street – to the point that we live in a constant state of agitation and hyper-defensiveness, and we lose […]
DIY Sweet Oranges & Rose Perfume
For Mother’s day this year, I wanted to make my mother something extra special that I knew she would adore. It wasn’t that hard to come up with the scent for this special gift–something with roses and sweet oranges, my mom’s two favorite scents. A Sweet Oranges and Rose Perfume seemed like a good place […]
Crafting a Natural Bug Repellent with Essential Oils
The warm weather has finally arrived. And so have the bugs. What kind of bug repellent do you wear? If you’re the type of person...
Bee Informed: The Bee Population Decline and What To Do About It
There are blares from car horns in the lines of traffic that stretch endlessly along paths of asphalt. We travel to and fro: to wo...
Cool as a Cucumber – 5 Ayurvedic Tips for Summer
June 1st marks the start of a new seasonal cycle in Ayurveda. We’re transitioning out of the thaw of spring and lightening the load, but we should also be preparing for nature’s warmer months and its more sharp and penetrating qualities. According to Ayurveda’s elemental theory, Fire and Water are most at play during the […]
How to Make a Happy Uterus with Lady’s Mantle Tea
Lady’s mantle cups her hands to hold the morning dew. Despite her inconspicuous flowers, gardeners adore her for the dew drops, formed by a process called guttation (Roshchina, 1993), that glisten on the tips of each of her scalloped leaves and captivate even the most casual observer who strolls by. The herbalists adore her for […]
Tips to Reduce Shopping-Related Plastic Waste
According to statistics, in 2012, the United States produced a staggering 32 million tons of plastic waste and only recycled a mer...
Herbalists Are CEOs
Herbalists are leaders. In our communities, our families, and in the world, every day herbalists make powerful, impactful decision...
Seed Cycling For Hormonal Balance
While there are countless advantages to being alive today, there are influences we must contend with in an industrialized world. Electric lights interfere with our sleep cycle hormones. Women long ago had children earlier and breastfed longer, which decreased their exposure to natural estrogen. We spend less time being physically active than our predecessors. Xenoestrogens and […]
Herbalists Are Academics
Herbalists are life-long learners. Our journey of knowledge never ceases, and we’re not afraid to put in the hard work that comes with that learning. The amount of research, preparation, and study that goes into herbal practice would astound many. Our numbers include doctors and scientists, teachers and farmers, students and parents, and many more […]
Spring Books for Children and Parents
Yesterday, I took a walk for the first time since winter made its hesitant retreat, leaving only a few remnants behind. These re...
4 Natural Allies for Allergy Season
With the recent passing of the vernal equinox, we have now officially entered the season of spring. For many of us, this time of y...
Bitter Integrations! Part 2: Making Bitters
In my previous article, Bitter Integrations! we saw how humans adapted to some bitter plants to not only attain precious plant vitamins and minerals, but also improve our digestion and lower organ performance of processing, elimination, and detoxification. Part 2 will discuss making bitters, the health benefits of bitters, and specifically how bitter herbs assist […]
Bitter Integrations! Part 1: History and Benefits of Bitters
Though bitter tastes are never our first choice on the menu, they are often the first choice in our survival. In the history of human evolution, we have created an on and off relationship with bitters that continues until today. In this article, the intriguing history and benefits of bitters is summarized, but I highly […]
Sheltering with Valerian
In January, I wrote about medicinal herbs in England use during World War II, and this month I would like to follow-up up with a b...
Firsts For Spring
To our dearest friends, The promise of spring is plip-plopping from our roof as icicles melt into puddles below. With spring comes...
Essential Oils for Anxiety and Stress Support
What Are Essential Oils? The sweetness of rose, the fresh greenness of pine, and the tangy fruitiness of orange: these scents are caused by unique aromatic chemicals that help attract or repel insects, play roles in the plant’s immune system, and perform other functions not yet known. Thousands of years ago, humans figured out how […]
Three Reasons to Eat Ginger During Wintertime
What is it that pops into our minds when we associate ginger with the wintertime? Perhaps baking gingerbread people and gingerbread houses with gumdrop trim. But these uses barely scratch the surface of ginger’s value during the coldest time of year. As an herb, ginger’s tongue-tingling zest can help us stay warm and healthy throughout […]
Meditation And The 2013 Winter Solstice
This article is written by Lena Yakubowski, yoga teacher and communications assistant at the Herbal Academy of New England. This t...
