Naturally Tinted Homemade Lip Balm Recipe
Autumn is here, showing its beauty again with warm and earthy colors and accents of red, yellow, and orange—which means time for cozy sweaters, colorful leaves, and final harvests from our gardens. The characteristic colors and flavors associated with this season are what makes it so wonderful. In addition to pumpkin pie, warming spices, and…
Soothing Herbal Cough Syrup with Elderberry, Elecampane, & Licorice
This herbal cough syrup recipe features a lovely and effective blend of elder (Sambucus spp.) berry, elecampane (Inula helenium) root, and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root, among other herbs. This recipe is a particularly good fit for dry coughs that need soothing or that contain stuck mucus that needs to be expelled without further irritation. Elder…
How to Make a Nutritive Pregnancy Tea Blend
Pregnancy is a really special time of life and so are the needs during this time. Besides a wholesome, colorful diet, and prenatal supplements, a nourishing herbal pregnancy tea blend can boost your wellbeing as well as the health and development of your baby. The mother’s requirements for many nutrients are heightened, to properly nourish…
Deep Breath Osha and Echinacea Syrup Recipe
A go-to urban herbalism recipe is the Deep Breath Osha and Echinacea Syrup Recipe below. This formula can be used for acute lung support or as a daily preventative and immune-booster. Although cities are full of exciting opportunities, culture, and entertainment, their industrial nature creates a polluted environment with compromised air quality. While the exact…
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 lectures. Ayurveda is integrated into the medical system in India and if you work with any ayurvedic practitioner anywhere in the world, they will likely suggest herbs, dietary modifications, and other practical measures. However, Ayurveda…
Flower Essence Formula for Healthy Boundaries
Since boundaries are often perceived and felt energetically and emotionally within a person, flower essences are a handy herbal tool to support healthy boundaries from the inside out. Below is a recipe for cultivating healthy boundaries. This blend works over a period of time and offers acute boundary protection when needed. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is…
Nerve Tea with Oatstraw and Skullcap
This herbal nerve tea recipe combines skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), a superior relaxing nervine, oatstraw (Avena sativa), a nervous system trophorestorative, and violet (Viola odorata), an overall nerve restorative, to simultaneously soothe agitation and strengthen the overall function of the nervous system (Holmes, 1989a; Holmes, 1989b). Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is another go-to herb for nerve support…
Homemade Bug Bite Salve for Itchy Spots
The summertime invites us outdoors to bask in the warmth of the sun and enjoy more physical activity. All of this time outdoors leaves us sunkissed, grounded, and also, in many cases, bug-bitten. Like all the best things in life, there’s always a little bitter with the sweet. A homemade bug bite salve is the…
Herbal Academy Student Feature: Jess Madsen @the.wildcraft
For the fourteenth installment of our Student Feature Series, we spoke with Jess Madsen (@the.wildcraft). Jess has completed Herbal Academy’s Introductory Course. She enjoys making her own herbal creations and works with herbalists and herbal companies as a designer and photographer. HA: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started your…
Motherwort Benefits + Recipe
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is a striking plant. Growing as tall as 5 feet, it bears the signature square stem and opposite leaves of the lamiaceae family. The leaves of this plant are toothed and palm-shaped, waving a warm hello to all that pass (Chevallier, 2000). In this post, we will discuss gathering and using motherwort,…
