Results for Category: Live Well
Herbs and Yoga: How Plant Wisdom Can Support Your Yoga Practice
Yoga has come to mean many things to many people. An ancient practice designed to serve as a path to self-liberation, there are almost as many approaches to yoga as there are people practicing. The practice of yoga asana (yoga postures) offers immense benefits—physical, physiological, and psychological. However, cultivating a nourishing yoga practice that stands […]
Cold and Flu Essential Oils for Children
The best way to avoid the tell-tale signs of cold and flu is to deter illness from entering your home in the first place. However,...
To Tonify or Purify? That Is the Question
As we bid ado to the year gone by and welcome a fresh new turn of the calendar, it is not uncommon to crave practices that create ...
The Majestic Honey Bee in Ancient Greece + 3 Recipes with Greek Honey to Try at Home
The majestic honey bee (Apis spp.) has been celebrated for thousands of years by civilizations across the world. In ancient Greece, the honey bee was a symbol of birth, death, and rebirth—transformational themes connected to the mysterious and supernatural realms. As the creator of honey, the first known sweetener in Greek antiquity, the honey bee […]
Embracing the Silence of Winter With Intention
We are now in the heart of the winter season here in the northern hemisphere. With its shorter days, longer nights, and colder temperatures, winter has not always been a season I’ve enjoyed. The lack of sunlight can lead to winter blues, now known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and poor weather can leave us […]
Herbal Wellness Routines On the Go For Travel and a Busy Schedule
Whether you are traveling, hosting guests, or taking a vacation or staycation, most of us experience some disruption to our daily ...
Holiday Home Essential Oil Diffuser Blend Recipe
Whether we’re baking our favorite pies and cookies, decorating with fresh greenery, or making crafts and gifts using herbs and s...
Herbal Support for Pregnancy Nausea
Pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting can affect up to 85% of pregnancies to varying degrees. Although a small amount of people do experience pregnancy nausea during their entire pregnancy (as in hyperemesis gravidarum), it normally starts around 4 to 9 weeks and usually subsides by 12 to 16 weeks (Romm, 2014). There are different theories as […]
How to Decorate Your Home With Fresh Greenery
Make your home come alive this holiday season by bringing the outdoors in with fresh greenery! The festive and cozy feeling that lush greens bring is enough to put anyone in the holiday spirit. With a little bit of planning and creativity, you can create stunning displays that you’ll find yourself wanting to repeat year […]
Cannabis and Adaptogens for Stress
When it comes to modern-day living, it can seem like there is no relief in the frequency of life’s demands and the required fast...
Troubleshooting Fire Cider: Answering Your Questions
Fire cider is a beloved and potent wellness tonic known for giving the immune system a powerful kick. Made from a variety of herbs...
Greek Olive Oil Traditions + How to Do an Olive Oil Tasting and Identify the Best Variety
Olive oil has a rich and magical history in Greece, where the landscape is dotted with millions of majestic olive trees. Derived from the pressing of ripe olives picked from the Olea europaea tree, this supreme food has been used for thousands of years in the Mediterranean region, Asia, and Africa. The magic of Greek […]
The Core Carrier Oils: How to Store Them Properly
This excerpt on core carrier oils is from the book The Carrier Oil Palette by Jade Shutes and Sherilyn Siegmund-Roach and is reprinted with permission from The School for Aromatic Studies. Carrier Oil Storage Carrier oils deteriorate via two separate processes: oxidation and spoilage. To prevent such deterioration, you must protect carrier oils from light, […]
Tincture, Decoction, Tea, or Ghee: An Ayurvedic Perspective on Herbal Preparations
We all have our preferred methods of enjoying herbs. Some love hot herbal tea, some like a cool infusion, and others reach for the...
Lavender, Lemon, and Peppermint Essential Oils: Boring? Or Powerful Allies?
Do you ever feel that your retailer or favorite essential oil blogger is always touting the benefits of new essential oils you hav...
Summer Solstice: Mark the Changing of Spring Into Summer With Intention
It seems to me as though the more years I accumulate the faster they seem to fly by, each racing past more quickly than the last. A core lesson of my adult life has been to find ways in which I can regularly slow down and honor the passage of time. One of my favorite […]
Triphala: Time-Honored Digestive Support for All Types
Most herb lovers have their shortlist of herbal essentials. These are the single herbs or formulas that you are sure to keep in stock, the ones that you always throw in the travel suitcase or day bag. If you were stranded on a desert island, which three herbs would you want to have with you? […]
Getting Ticked Off: An Essential Oil Blend to Repel Ticks
Ticks are arachnids from the order Ixodida, divided into three families, the Ixodidae (hard ticks), the Argasidae (soft ticks), an...
Agni: Understanding the Digestive Fire
Digestive fire or digestive strength is discussed with some frequency across different herbalism and wellness traditions. However,...
Undercover Women: Historic Botanical Illustrators
In the modern age, the title of “artist” is an acceptable profession for both male and female persons, but it wasn’t always this way. Historically, the art world was a male-dominated one. This was most likely due to the fact that men were considered the “breadwinners” of the family while women tended to more domestic […]
Herbs for Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and the Aging Brain: What the Research Has to Say
Most of us will be touched by the heartbreak of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Whether a parent, life partner, friend, or oneself, we face the slow loss of loved ones and difficult decisions about care. Research on herbs for dementia offers a ray of hope in this dark landscape. Research has focused on plants with […]
Hot ‘n’ Spicy Essential Oils for Winter
Winter season…snow season…holiday season…fireplace season…conifer season…cocoa and tea season…cold ‘n’ flu season....
Ayurvedic Holiday Gift Guide
The holidays can be a wonderful opportunity to show your love and thoughtfulness. Homemade gifts, party favors, and stocking stuff...
Essential Oil Perfume: A DIY Gift Idea
The holidays are a wonderful time to give something that the receiver wouldn’t normally indulge themselves in. Something pretty, or something sentimental, or something handmade. An essential oil perfume recipe checks all those boxes! Crafting a unique scent is a fun way to show care to the receiver, and to pull in special memories through […]
Plant Allies to Prepare Your Immune System for Winter
Winter stirs up nostalgic thoughts of evergreen trees and warm, cozy fires, but it can also cause increased stress and anxiety, with concerns of the approaching cold and flu season coupled with navigating a pandemic. Luckily, plants are available to us to help support the immune system, soothe the nervous system, and promote balance to […]
Balance Your Holiday Menu With Ayurvedic Six Tastes
Ayurveda teaches that all things in nature are made up of some combination of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and ethe...
Strange Ways to Heal: Medical Curiosities of Ancient Greece
Throughout history, humans have sought ways to ease many ailments. Some lasted through millennia. Others fell into disuse. The anc...
11 Ways to Save Money on Herbal Supplies
As your herbal studies gain momentum, we know how tempting it can be to purchase brand-new herbal supplies: herbs, books, materials, and equipment to bring your recipes and projects to life. Like any craft, there are baskets upon baskets of fun, exciting tools that you’ll want and need as you stock your herbal supply cabinet, […]
Essential Oils and Pets: How to Use Them Safely
If you use botanicals for your own health and wellness, you have probably wondered about essential oils and pets. How might you use herbs or essential oils with your pets and animal companions? Veterinary visits are expensive, so keeping our animal companions healthy is also often a financial priority. Yes, you can use essential oils […]
Ayurveda and Yoga: Yoga for Your Constitution
“Ayurveda is a paradigm, not a prescription” is a phrase that I commonly emphasize in my introduction to Ayurveda public lectu...
