Wise Woman Wisdom

Herbal Oils for Breast Self-Massage 1.1

Herbal Oils for Breast Self-Massage 1.1 
Excerpt from: Breast Cancer? Breast Health! the Wise Woman Way
by Susun S. Weed

 

Using infused herbal oils is an easy and pleasurable way to keep your breasts healthy, prevent and reverse cysts, dissolve troublesome lumps, and repair abnormal cells.Breast skin is thin and absorbent, and breast tissue contains a great deal of fat, which readily absorbs infused herbal oils. The healing and cancer-preventing actions of herbs easily migrate into olive oil—creating a simple, effective product for maintaining breast health.

Add beeswax to any herbal oil and you have an ointment. The antiseptic, softening, moisturizing, and healing properties of beeswax intensify the healing actions of the herbs and carry them deeper into the breast tissues. Whether you want to maintain breast health—or have had a diagnosis of cancer—infused herbal oils and ointments are soothing, safe, and effective allies.

 

Burdock seed oil (Arctium lappa) 
One of the world’s most valued allies for nourishing the scalp, thickening the hair, and restoring hair growth is burdock seed oil. It won’t make more hair grow on your breasts, but it will do a wonderful job of keeping your breast tissues healthy. Burdock seed oil strengthens cells and quickly relieves bruises caused by fine needle aspirations, biopsies, breast surgery, injections of chemotherapeutic drugs, and other medical procedures. If your breast skin breaks out in a rash (from surgical tapes or drains or nervousness), burdock seed oil offers quick relief.

Calendula blossom oil (Calendula officinalis) 
Calendula blossom oil is a reknowned old wives’ remedy against breast cancer, yet it’s gentle enough for regular use. Older books call it pot marigold, causing some people to confuse it with the unrelated modern garden marigold. In addition to keeping breast tissues healthy, calendula excels at preventing—and, with patience, removing—adhesions and scar tissue, even keloid scars. 

Keloid scars are elevated, hard scars, usually with irregular edges. They can be painful, especially when they occur as a result of breast surgery. Keloid scars are caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue at the site of an injury or incision and are more frequent in dark-skinned women than light-skinned women. Adhesions are bands of scar tissue that bind together internal body surfaces that ought to be free to slide by each other. Adhesions are common after abdominal surgery but can form after breast surgery.

For maximum effectiveness, infuse slightly dried calendula blossoms in lard (organic if possible). The animal fat is taken deeper into the tissues than vegetable oils and rapidly dissolves lumps.

Golden calendula oil brings new life to dull skin and is highly recommended for breast self massage. 

Cancerweed root oil (Salvia lyrata) 
This uncommon plant contains ursolic acid, and is a folk remedy for cancer. The roots of the more common ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) are similiar in action. Oil/ointment of either plant, used several times a day, is said to eliminate cysts and abnormal breast cells including indeterminate lesions and hyperplasia.

 

Castor oil (Ricinus communis)
The commercially extracted (not infused) oil of the seeds of this poisonous plant was the remedy most frequently recommended by the psychic healer Edgar Cayce for resolving lumps and growths. (The poison isn’t in the oil, but—if taken internally—castor oil is a strong laxative.) The classic application is a hot castor oil compress made by baking a flannel cloth saturated in castor oil in the oven until it is thoroughly heated. This hot compress is applied, covered with plastic and/or layers of towels to hold in the heat, and kept on as long as possible. In extreme cases, compresses are applied continuously, day and night. For small lumps, room temperature castor oil is applied morning and night ( before bed), and covered completely with a regular adhesive strip (or two). 

Comfrey root oil (Symphytum officinale)
Comfrey root oil/ointment is a specific remedy for those with sore breasts. It is especially wonderful for breast self massage.

Infused oil of comfrey root (best) or leaves is one of the most amazing healing agents I’ve ever used. Comfrey oil/ointment both strengthens tissues and helps them become more resilient and flexible. As a pre and post surgical ally, it has no peer. Time after time, I’ve seen deep wounds, old wounds, stubborn wounds, and persistent ulcers heal fast, with little or no scarring, when dressed with comfrey.

If you’ve heard scare stories about comfrey—or read elsewhere, even in this book, to use only comfrey leaves—this remedy may alarm you. Substantial, lengthy internal use of comfrey root can cause liver damage (not cancer) in rare instances. But external use of comfrey root, even for extended periods, has never been connected to liver damage, nor any other harm.

 

Dandelion oils (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelion has a special affinity for breasts. Regular use of dandelion flower oil promotes deep relaxation of the breast tissues, facilitating the release of held emotions. Applied regularly to the entire breast area, glowing golden dandelion flower oil can strengthen your sense of self worth as well as your immune system. Easily made, this oil is a superb ally for regular breast self massage, and highly praised by those doing therapeutic breast massage.

Dandelion root oil, used alone or in conjunction with the flower oil, can help clear minor infections, relieve impacted milk glands, and reduce cysts in the breasts.

 

Essential oils
Essential oils are concentrated oils obtained from aromatic plants by steam distillation or with chemical solvents. They are capable of killing normal as well as abnormal cells, and severely disrupting liver and kidney functioning. Essential oils are quite different from infused oils (which are made by steeping fresh plants in an edible oil). Essential oils can cause poisoning; infused oils cannot. Essential oils can’t be made at home; infused oils can. Essential oils can be costly (up to $300 per ounce); infused oils are reasonably priced (generally under $10 per ounce). Essential oils can irritate tender skin; infused oils rarely do. Essential oils are used in small amounts; infused oils are used lavishly.

Caution: Test your sensitivity before using essential oils. Put a drop of the oil on the sensitive skin inside your elbow. If your skin gets red or mottled, itches or burns in the next 12 hours, be very cautious with essential oils and certainly don’t use them on your breasts. My cat’s neck fur fell out after I anointed her chin with three drops of essential oil to (successfully) rid her of fleas!

Essentail oils of citrus, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, juniper, or clary sage—ten drops diluted in one ounce/30 ml of olive oil—have been used to increase circulation to the breasts, warm them, activate the immune system, and offer the healing benefits of their aromas as well.

 

Excerpt from: Breast Cancer? Breast Health! the Wise Woman Way
by Susun S. Weed

 

Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
The Wise Woman Way
by Susun S. Weed
Foreword by Christiane Northrup, MD 
380 pages, index, profusely illustrated. 
Foods, exercises, and attitudes to keep your breasts healthy. Supportive complimentary medicines to ease side-effects of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or tamoxifen.
Retails for $21.95

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Read some excerpts: 
Mammograms - Who Needs Them? from Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
Using Herbs Safely from Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
My Anti-Cancer Lifestyle from Breast Cancer? Breast Health!

Order BREAST CANCER? BREAST HEALTH! in our Bookshop

What a gift to women of all ages! This book helped me overcome my fear of what I might discover during self-examination. I am so grateful that this book came my way and I am healthier in mind, body, and spirit thanks to Ms. Weed's wise words! If I could, I would give a copy of this book to every woman in the world!

Digestion Workshop with Susun Weed

A Workshop with author Susun Weed

Digestion can be a problem. Should you drink with meals? How important is chewing? Is raw food better? Learn how to use simple, safe, effective herbal remedies to counter acid reflux, indigestion, flatulence, and even IBS, ulcerous colitis and Crohn’s. As usual the afternoon will include talking stick, stories, songs and fun. Cost: $25 if registered and prepaid by Sept. 28th; $30 if registering after the 28th.   Register here:http://www.mirabai.com/

Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her ~ Part Three

Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her

Part Three

c. 2012 Susun S Weed (Expert)

Author: Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

 

Herbal aphrodisiacs are fun and effective ways of improving overall health in addition to amping up sexual health and vigor. In the past few installments, we have dabbled with potions of ginkgo, ginseng, ginger, guarana, damiana, potency wood, and yohimbe. Does this exhaust the list? Are there any interesting herbs left to go to bed with?

Yes, indeed. Many more. To start with, let’s get it on with two of the sexiest herbs I’ve ever met: oatstraw and marijuana. Post-menopausal women and mid-life men will find these two green allies of special interest to them.

 

Oatstraw (Avena sativa) is the grass of the plant that gives us oats. Oatstraw is only the stalks; it is free of grain and totally gluten free. We speak of people “sowing their wild oats” and “feeling their oats.” And when we drink oatstraw infusion, we are the ones sowing and feeling! Whoopee!

Oatstraw infusion is my favorite sexual tonic for both men and women, especially those older than fifty. Regular use of as little as 2 quarts a week for several weeks, improves blood flow to the genitals (and the heart), increases engorgement, amps up interest, rekindles desire, turns on the faucets of lubrication, counters environmental estrogens, and helps lower cholesterol, too  

Oatstraw infusion dependably increases testosterone, thus increasing libido and enjoyment for both men and women. As a nutritive nervine, oatstraw nourishes the nervous system, allowing it to carrying a greater charge of energy, which translates into stronger orgasms.

The minerals so lavishly present in oatstraw also build strong bones, stabilize blood sugar, and moderate mood swings. Oats and oatstraw are valued highly as heart tonics. Drink the infusion to reduce bad cholesterol, maintain good blood pressure, and improve circulation. And don’t forget that a healthy heart and healthy blood vessels are necessary for more pleasurable and longer orgasms.

Soothing, calming oatstraw is a boon companion for the grandparents and parents of newborns, as well as for the baby. Infusion of oatstraw improves digestion (happy baby), deepens sleep (happy parents), counters fatigue and muscle pain (happy grandpa), and even reduces headaches and hot flashes (happy grandma). There’s nothing quite like a glass of iced oatstraw infusion to bring a satisfied smile to the face, a blessed coolness to the heart, and a naughty thought to mind.

From China to South Africa, from the plains of North American to the steppes of Russia, wild oats is a common weed in all grain fields. If you give her a chance, Madame oatstraw would like to turn the desert between your legs into an oasis, with date palms and dancing girls.

 

 Marijuana is a controversial herbal ally. Since being in jail is not so sexy, please be exceedingly careful if it is not yet legal in your state.

Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, like oats, grow wild wherever people cultivate crops. The mind-altering effects of smoking marijuana are quickly induced and rather quickly over as well, making it an ideal way to quiet the neocortex and make way for meditation, artistic expression, and sexual intimacy.

Smoking offers the most precise controls over the dose. Eating the herb or taking the tincture may result in inability to move, let alone have sex. And less is usually more when it comes to dose. Just enough to heighten the senses and quicken the impulses, but not so much as to make one lethargic, inattentive, or unresponsive. Stop after one toke, wait five minutes, and assess if more is needed.

Combining one toke of great smoke with tantric exercises heightens brain chemicals that make us feel very very good.  Try this one if you wish: Sit facing your lover, unclad or lightly clad. Look into each other’s eyes for a minute or two. Then each one place the palm of the right hand on the other’s heart. Begin to focus the breath through the hand. Become aware of the energy. Put your left hand on your lover’s right hand, which is on your heart. Keep breathing and looking into each other’s eyes. Stop when you wish, or move into more active lovemaking.

Coming up next, cunning commentary and penetrating penile insights on three herbs with funny-sounding names: fenugreek, schizandra, and tribulus.

Green blessings.

Herbal Intensive: Sexy Weeds the Wise Woman Way

Susun at the International Herb Symposium

Over 2 hours of information to pep up your love life, the Wise Woman Way!

Digital Download: 19.95

Click Here to Purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

Author: Susun S. Weed

Simple, successful, strategies cover the entire range of options -- from mainstream to radical -- to help you choose the best, and the safest, ways to optimize sexual and reproductive health.
Foreword: Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, 484 pages, Index, illustrations

Retails for $29.95

Click here to purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Replay Link - Teleseminar - From Knowledge to Action the Wise Woman Way with Susun Weed

Putting our herbal knowledge into action can be difficult for some of us. We must make a leap of faith to believe that herbs can be effective and safe. Join Susun in this teleseminar as she gives practical examples of ways to work more herbs into your life, your first aid kit, and your chronic care. Fewer drugs usually means a healthier you.

Click here to purchase the digital download!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her Part Two

Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her

Part Two

c. 2012 Susun S Weed (Expert)

Author: Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

Herbal aphrodisiacs are alive and well. How about you?

Now that we know how to use the three gees – ginkgo, ginseng, and ginger – to our sexual advantage, let’s expand our horizons to include some sexy herbs from exotic places – like India, South America, and Africa.

These herbs may be more difficult to find, more difficult to take (due to strange tastes), and more difficult to use, as most need to be taken daily for a month or more before results are evident. While herbal tinctures are generally preferable to capsules, as tinctures are safer and more effective, some of these sexy herbs are available only in capsules.

Looks explore. Let’s try something different, like guarana, damiana. potency wood, or yohimbe.

 Guarana is the favorite aphrodisiac and potency enhancer in Brazil. The peeled, dried, roasted, pulverized seeds are the part used, so it is almost always taken in capsules. Guarana not only increases desires in both men and women, it strengthens the nervous system, and it considered a potent aid to continued good health and freedom from chronic illness.

A cup of damiana leaf infusion — or a full teaspoon of the tincture — taken just before the fun begins, will improve her interest and his staying power. Damiana liquor, available where alcohol is sold, will do the same, if you stick to just one small drink. To make the infusion, pour a quart of boiling water over an ounce of the dried leaf and steep, covered, for 4-10 hours.

Potency wood, also known as muira puama, is a South American herb that helps us find the ecstacy when life seems like way too much. Potency wood is for those who are just too exhausted, too tired, too run down, and too weak to be lovers, even with themselves. From 50–70 percent of those using 1-2 cups of tea or 1-2 dropperfuls of tincture twice a day reported intensification of libido, stimulation of arousal and erection, and improvement in pleasure. Caution: May lower blood pressure.

Yohimbe bark, from a tropical west African plant, is a friend to old(er) lovers. Use of the tincture or capsules will improve blood flow to all of the erectile tissues, including the penis and clitoris), enhancing desire, and increase smooth muscle relaxation, enhancing orgasm. Yohimbe increases the amount of norepinephrine, a compound found in the blood which is essential for his erection and her heat, and which decreases with age. Yohimbe is especially helpful for those with diabetes or heart disease. Yohimbe hydrochloride is the only FDA-approved anti-impotence herbal drug. Its effects on men — and women — include increased stamina, heightened sensation, and greater sexual desire. Consistent use of yohimbe tincture helps 81 percent of impotent men achieve erections.  Cautions: Yohimbe can lower blood pressure or cause kidney problems. It is a short-term MAO inhibitor; do not combine with high-tyramine foods such as cheese, chocolate, nuts, beer, red wine, red grape juice, or aged meat; nor with tyrosine or phenylalanine supplements. Nor should yohimbe be used concurrently with antidepressants, sedatives, antihistamines, caffeine, or amphetamines. It may be agitating to the nervous system.

 Coming up, cunning commentary and penetrating penile insights into some down-home, down-right sexy herbs. Goodness gracious.

Green blessings.

Herbal Intensive: Sexy Weeds the Wise Woman Way

Susun at the International Herb Symposium

Over 2 hours of information to pep up your love life, the Wise Woman Way!

Digital Download: 19.95

Click Here to Purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

Author: Susun S. Weed

Simple, successful, strategies cover the entire range of options -- from mainstream to radical -- to help you choose the best, and the safest, ways to optimize sexual and reproductive health.
Foreword: Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, 484 pages, Index, illustrations

Retails for $29.95

Click here to purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Replay Link - Teleseminar - From Knowledge to Action the Wise Woman Way with Susun Weed

Putting our herbal knowledge into action can be difficult for some of us. We must make a leap of faith to believe that herbs can be effective and safe. Join Susun in this teleseminar as she gives practical examples of ways to work more herbs into your life, your first aid kit, and your chronic care. Fewer drugs usually means a healthier you.

Click here to purchase the digital download!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her ~ Part One

 Top Aphrodisiacs for Him and Her

Part One

 c. 2012 Susun S Weed (Expert)

Author: Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

 

Aphrodisiacs? Really? Are there herbs and supplements that can improve sexual functioning and sensual pleasure? Yes, indeed, there are, and they are generally safe to use, easy to find, quick to work, and simple to understand. And the same aphrodisiacs work for both men and women. Share!

In my next few articles, I’ll talk about some sexy herbs – like damiana, fenugreek, ginkgo, ginseng, ginger, marijuana, oatstraw, potency wood, schizandra, tribulus, and yohimbe. You will be able to use them immediately to enhance your intimate experiences. So let’s get started checking out some very sexy herbs

  Herbs can really hit the spot, the “G” spot, the gee! spot. Here are three gees to get you going: ginkgo, ginger, and ginseng.

Ginkgo tincture is the friend of old(er) lovers. Ginkgo increases blood flow to the erectile tissues. It stokes the fires of desire. It relaxes blood vessels and increases nerve sensation, heightening response in both men and women. Regular use of ginkgo tincture improves lubrication and desire in post-menopausal women, and reduces (by half) the risk of ovarian cancer. If there isn’t enough blood in a man’s body for both his penis and his brain to function at the same time, an herb that improves blood flow to the brain surely can counter erectile difficulties. Between 50–78 percent of men using 60–240mg of standardized ginkgo daily for at least six weeks regain the ability to have regular erections. Ginkgo leaf tincture is especially effective when fat deposits or diabetes restrict blood flow, and in men whose blood flow is not improved by papaverine injections, or where potency is diminished by antidepressants. It is considered safe to take 1-2 dropperfuls of ginkgo tincture, once or twice a day, for as long as 18 months. Caution: Avoid ginkgo before surgery and if taking blood-thinning drugs.

Ginseng tincture aids those who are stressed out and overworked. Doses of 10-30 drops of tincture of the root lower stress hormones and counter hormonal disturbances in both men and women. Ginseng is well known to improve sexual potency and enhance libido. Like ginkgo, it increases engorgement of the erectile tissues. Russian studies find it effective about 50 percent of the time. It is considered safe to take ginseng daily for many years if you can afford it. Caution: Avoid ginseng in capsules before surgery.  

Ginger stirs things up down there. It’s so easy to find and use, too. We can snack on crystallized ginger, add ginger to our food, or make ginger tea. Ginger brings blood and heat to the belly and genitals. It aids sexual functioning right away, while regular use can cure erectile dysfunction by removing atherosclerotic plaque from penile blood vessels and increasing penile circulation.

Coming up, cunning commentary and penetrating penile insights into more sexy herbs. Come and get it!

Green blessings.  

 

Herbal Intensive: Sexy Weeds the Wise Woman Way

Susun at the International Herb Symposium

Over 2 hours of information to pep up your love life, the Wise Woman Way!

Digital Download: 19.95

Click Here to Purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way

Author: Susun S. Weed

Simple, successful, strategies cover the entire range of options -- from mainstream to radical -- to help you choose the best, and the safest, ways to optimize sexual and reproductive health.
Foreword: Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, 484 pages, Index, illustrations

Retails for $29.95

Click here to purchase at the Wise Woman Bookshop!

 

Replay Link - Teleseminar - From Knowledge to Action the Wise Woman Way with Susun Weed

Putting our herbal knowledge into action can be difficult for some of us. We must make a leap of faith to believe that herbs can be effective and safe. Join Susun in this teleseminar as she gives practical examples of ways to work more herbs into your life, your first aid kit, and your chronic care. Fewer drugs usually means a healthier you.

Click here to purchase the digital download!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quench Your Thirst with Herbs

Quench Your Thirst with Herbs

by Susun S Weed

Summer solstice and the longest day are past. As we slide from summer into autumn, the sun seems hotter and fiercer than ever. And the summer's heat makes us thirsty. What shall we drink? There are so many choices. Since 2003 the number of new drink products on the market has tripled. How are we supposed to choose the best drinks? Does it even matter?

I think it does. The liquid portion of our diets is as important as the solid portion. That's why I drink herbal brews, nourishing herbal infusions to be exact, instead of juice or water. Some herbs are powerhouses of nourishment, energy, and health-promoting factors. By choosing those herbs as my drink, I increase the amount of protein, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients in my diet without consuming extra calories, and at a cost of only pennies a day. I'd rather drink nourishing herbal infusions than any other beverages. I drink infusion in the morning, throughout the day, and in the evening, too.

Water is a good drink. But what water? Is water from the tap safe and healthy? Is it better to buy bottled water?

I make my nourishing herbal infusions by pouring boiling water over dried herbs. Boiling the water removes chlorine and kills germs, so I feel safe using any water to make my infusion. I strongly prefer tap water over bottled water because I want to minimize the amount of plastic I consume. And I avoid mineral-depleted distilled water. But I only use cold water from the tap, as hot water can contain traces of plastic or lead leached from the water pipes.

Instead of making nourishing herbal infusions, I could buy vitamin- and mineral-enhanced water, maybe with some ginseng or green tea thrown in.

Bottled waters with added vitamins and herbs are big business, with more than $3 billion in annual sales. Unfortunately, neither the vitamins nor the herbs in "enhanced water" have any impact on energy or health. Energy drinks do contain caffeine, and that has a strong effect. But neither the herbs nor the supplements currently added to any bottled water have been found to have any nutritional effect. These waters are considered "non-functional," that is, they are colored and flavored water, not nutrition.

Worseyet, enhanced waters are sweetened, often heavily. Unfortunately, the body doesn't count the calories in what we drink, so drinking sugary beverages increases calories, and appetite, and - you guessed it - the size of your butt. I don't buy energy drinks; instead, I rely on stinging nettle infusion. Nettle gives me the energy of the earth: strong, solid, endless energy. Nettle infusion supplies me with enormous amounts of electrolyte minerals, lots of protein, and astonishing amounts of vitamins. And it tastes great iced on a hot day. Yum, yum.

Perhaps drinking juice is as good as drinking infusions, maybe better if the juice is fresh.

Americans bought more than $2 billion worth of organic juices last year. And more than that in non-organic juices. Neither packaged nor fresh fruit juices supply much nutrition however. (With two exceptions: freshly-squeezed citrus juices and tomato juice.) Juicing doesn't liberate minerals or vitamins, just fruit sugars, flavors, and colors. Nourishing herbal infusions are superior to any juice in both nutrition and cost. Most bottled juices, no matter what they're called, are made from high-fructose apple and grape juice concentrates. Sweet calories from fruit juice pile up around our waists. Instead of juice, I drink nourishing herbal infusions of linden or oatstraw. Both are slightly sweet, and taste even better with a little honey added. Linden infusion reduces inflammation and aids the heart. Oatstraw infusion provides generous amounts B vitamins, lowers cholesterol, and increases libido.

Tea has many health benefits. Surely drinking iced tea is a healthy choice for quenching summer thirst. Iced coffee sounds good, too.

All kinds of tea are healthy, and a few cups of coffee a day have been shown to decrease the incidence of some diseases. But bottled iced tea and iced coffee are heavily sweetened. Most bottled iced teas have no health benefit because they are not made from brewed tea but from tea concentrate. Iced coffee lattes add insult to injury by being rich in fat as well as too sweet. Brew tea at home and carry it, iced, in a thermos instead of buying bottled stuff. Better yet, brew yourself some red clover infusion. It tastes like black tea. Add lemon and a little mint, pour over ice, and you have a drink that is not only nearly calorie-free but also a tremendous source of nutrition, and a leading cancer preventative.

After nourishing herbal infusion, my favorite summer refresher is a chocolate malt.

Yes, malts, especially chocolate malts, are thirst quenchers that pack a nutrition punch with no more calories than sweetened teas, enhanced waters, or fruit juices. Malt powder is an excellent source of B vitamins. Milk is Nature's way of building strong bones. And chocolate promotes heart health. Now and then, in between quarts of nourishing herbal infusion, I cool down with a nourishing chocolate malt. Mmm-mmm.

Green blessings make the best drinks.

Give nourishing herbal infusions a chance this summer - and I wager you'll still be brewing them when winter solstice rolls around.

RECIPE BOX

My favorite herbs for making nourishing infusions are:

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) for lots of energy
Red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense) to forestall cancer
Oatstraw (Avena sativa) to be very, very sexy
Comfrey leaves (Smyphytum uplandica x) to help the memory
Linden blossoms (Tillia species) to counter inflammation
Chickweed (Stellaria media) to lose weight
Hawthorn blossoms (Crataegus oxycantha) for older hearts
Raspberry leaves (Rubus species) for uterine health
 
To brew a nourishing herbal infusion:

Herbal Medicine is People's Medicine

Herbal Medicine is People's Medicine

by Susun S Weed

 

Herbal medicine is people’s medicine. Herbal medicine is the primary medicine of most people on this planet, right now. It’s not something old and dusty. It’s not a bunch of doctors and chemists figuring out how to use herbs like drugs. Herbal medicine is a 3-year-old picking plantain and putting it on a skinned knee or an insect bite. Herbal medicine is the medicine of women and children. It is the medicine of the earth. It’s medicine that’s free. It’s not something that must be studied before it can help you. Start with one plant. Approach herbal medicine directly, hands on, in the back yard with your children.

You can be your own herbalist, if you keep it simple. First, divide herbs into four categories: nourishing, tonifying, stimulating/sedating, and potentially poisonous. Use nourishing herbs daily, tonifying herbs regularly, stimulating/sedating rarely, and potentially poisonous herbs almost never.

Nourishing herbs are nutritive plants such as kale, garlic, dandelion greens, rolled oats, plantain seeds, blueberries, and edible weeds - the powerhouses of nutrition. Nourishing plants can be used in any quantity for any length of time.

Nutritive herbs are rich in minerals and vitamins. One hundred grams of dandelion (about ½ cup of greens) has 14,000 IU of vitamin A.

Tonifying herbs are like exercise; they include such plants as burdock, dandelion root, yellow dock, motherwort, ginseng, astragalus, chaste berry, schisandra. One of the benefits of exercise, of tonification, is that it helps us when we’re stressed. You’re not necessarily going to feel better if you exercise once for ten minutes. But, if you exercise for ten minutes every day, after several months, you will notice changes.

What’s confusing is the difference between tonifying and stimulating herbs. When we take tonics, we feel better and have more energy. When we take stimulating herbs, we also feel better and have more energy, but only when we are stimulating ourselves. There are immediate uncomfortable effects when we lack our stimulant, but no decrease in health if we stop taking the tonic. Ginger and cinnamon certainly have their uses. But they don’t build health.

Over the long run, stimulants erode our health. Nourishing ultimately gives us more energy, though it will take a few days to feel it, whereas the effects of stimulants are immediate. My apprentices drink two or more cups of nourishing herbal infusion daily. And after ten days, their skin is nicer, they have more energy and stamina, they stop craving sweets, and they feel a lot better over all.

With nourishing and tonifying herbs in our daily lives, we have solid energy that adds to health instead of subtracting from it. Instead of raiding my storehouse with stimulants, I build my reserves with nourishing herbal infusions.

I recommend that people drink nourishing herbal infusions on a daily basis. Everything will follow from there.

I consider dark chocolate an important health food.

Stimulating/sedating herbs are some of the most widely used of all herbs. They include coffee, tea, cinnamon, ginger, hops, kava kava,licorice, passion flower, skullcap, valerian, willow, and wintergreen. They are best used when there is a specific need: A pre-diabetic might choose to take a teaspoonful of cinnamon daily. Ginger compresses are great, and I enjoy it in my food, occasionally. The point with these herbs is to avoid daily use.

The last category is potentially poisonous herbs, ones we only in extreme situations, to ward off death. I include goldenseal, poke root, cayenne, rue, sweet clover, and wormwood in this category.

Goldenseal is a broad spectrum antibacterial. It kills more gut flora than antibiotics. It negatively impacts kidney, liver, and gut function. In forty years as an herbalist, I have used it only once: externally. It is overused, to the detriment of people's health, and to the near extinction of the plant itself.

In "Healing Wise" I discuss different medical traditions; The Wise Woman Tradition, the Heroic Tradition and the Scientific Tradition. They overlap, but, in general, the Heroic Tradition is called alternative medicine. It dates back to ancient Greece and the idea that there are four "humors." Disease occurs due to disruption of the humors. George Washington got the flu. The best healers of the day, who were heroic healers, puked him. He didn’t get better, so they purged him. He got worse, so they bled him. He got worse. They puked, purged, and bled him again. He died.

That was the best medicine of the day. Today, we think of the humors as toxins, and people continue puke, purge, and poke, only now, we call it "cleansing." My experience has shown me that cleansing does no good and can cause great harm. The Heroic Tradition prefers stimulating, sedating, and potentially poisonous herbs; and they generally use complicated mixtures of herbs. They want to be the heroes. The problem with these very potent herbs, however, is that they must be given in very accurate doses. This is the beginning of the pharmaceutical industry. The active poisons were extracted from plants, and crude plant drugs became "safe" pharmaceutical drugs.

That is the Scientific Tradition, which tells us that our bodies are machines and they need to be fixed. In the Scientific Tradition, health is a measurement. We eat by the numbers. The advantage to treating bodies as machines is that it allows us to deal withintractable problems. My sweetheart’s grandfather died of a heart attack at 57. His father had his first heart attack at 57, survived that one, and died of a second one at 59. My sweetheart, at 59, had a triple bypass, not a heart attack. Now, you might say, “Well, couldn’t you have done something to prevent that, Susun?” No. Very, very high cholesterol runs in his family. But consider this: The surgeon said to him, afterwards, “Your heart was getting about a third of the blood it needed; it ought to have been damaged or even dead. But you have one of the healthiest hearts I've ever seen. What's up?” He's been drinking nourishing herbal infusions for 20 years. He doesn't eat any vegetable/seed oils, doesn’t take supplements, does do yoga, and leads a vigorous, healthy life.

My friend, Ellen, was hit by a tractor trailer, which ran a red light. Her neck was broken in three places. She was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a major medical center, where they took a piece of her thigh bone and fused it into her neck. She can walk -not well, but she can walk. I couldn’t have done that with comfrey, love, or my drum. But two weeks later, everybody in the hospital wanted to know what we were doing because Ellen was healing so rapidly. That's comfrey, love, and my drum. I’m one of the people who coined the term, "integrated medicine." I want all three traditions to be recognized for their strengths and weaknesses, so each person can have the health care that is best suited to them and their situation.

The third tradition is the oldest tradition of them all and the tradition that I speak for: the Wise Woman Tradition. In the Scientific Tradition (linear) we fix the broken machine; in the Heroic Tradition (circular) we cleanse the filthy temple. In the Wise Woman Tradition (spiralic), we nourish the unique wholeness of each individual. Nourishment certainly has to do with what we eat, but it is more. Everything we take in - sights, sounds, thoughts, stories, smells, everything - becomes part of us. Many people who eat well are on a diet of junk food when it comes to what they take in other than food. No, I don't watch television.

When you read about herbal medicine, for instance, or see a doctor or healer, you could ask yourself: "Which tradition is this writer or healer working with?”. The Scientific Tradition says herbs are dangerous; they are crude drugs, drugs with green coats. Drugs have been made from herbs; but that doesn’t mean all herbs are drug-like. The Heroic Tradition says herbs - like cayenne, goldenseal, and lobelia - cleanse. I teach my students that cleansing, in terms of a living body, really means damage and destroy. In the Wise Woman Tradition, we start from the understanding that we are created in perfection. We do not fall from that perfection, but we fall from our belief in that perfection. The Heroic Tradition encourages us to berate ourselves, to believe that any health problem is our own fault. There is power in those beliefs, but little healing, to my mind. To me, healing is wholing. To heal is to make someone more, not less. I strive not to take away, but to add, and let what isn't needed go as it will, and it will.

We recognize our wholeness/health/holiness when we accept ourselves exactly as we are, with love and compassion. In the Wise Woman Tradition, we nourish what we want to be, rather than rejecting what we don’t want. We trust our bodies, we trust the earth, we trust our gut feelings.

Cholesterol’s connection to heart attacks has never been proven. And we have virtually no idea what healthy cholesterol is in a post-menopausal woman. Remember, my sweetheart:  incredibly high cholesterol but never had a heart attack. Inflammation has been shown, over and over, to lead to heart attacks. You may want to consider reducing inflammation instead of cholesterol. One of the best ways to do that is to stop eating oils pressed from seeds, and to start eating olive oil, organic butter, and the natural fats from organically-raised, pastured animals.

Canola oil, flax oil, hemp oil, evening primrose oil, soy oil, sesame oil, almond oil, corn oil - all considered healthy, but examples of the oils I avoid when I want to avoid inflammation. And inflammation underlies and supports heart attack, joint pain, dementia, cancer.

The Scientific Tradition, says "measure and fix." For optimal health follow an anti-inflammatory diet - the first step is to remove seed oils from your diet. Then, reduce and remove stimulants – coffee, black pepper, cayenne, ginger, cinnamon, soda pop. Third, reduce and remove all sources of high-fructose corn syrup. Meanwhile, introduce optimally nutritive foods: nourishing herbal infusions, plain yogurt, fermented vegetables, whole grains, miso, seaweed. Give yourself at least a year to make these changes. You are already perfect; and you can create a greater perfection as you nourish yourself.

Slippery elm is wonderful herbal ally. I make lozenges by mixing slippery elm bark powder with a little honey. I stir until it clumps up, adding more honey if needed. It's just right when it's like pie dough. Using my hands, I make balls the size of hazelnut or bigger, and roll them in more powdered slippery elm so they don’t stick to each other. I store them in a small metal tin; and don't leave home without it. Slippery elm is so safe that you can dissolve a ball in your mouth as often as you want, any time you feel any distress. If you’re working with an ongoing condition, at least two a day is good. Slippery elm restores the lining of the intestines, prevents any agents within the body from disturbing the intestines, and neutralizes any poisons that are present in or around the intestines.

A great ally that you could grow is comfrey. There is some controversy about the use of comfrey root, so I restrict myself to the leaf. Also, I'm careful to use garden comfrey, which is less problematic. To make a nourishing herbal infusion with comfrey, weigh out one ounce of dried leaves and put that in a quartcanning jar. Fill it to the top with boiling water. Screw a tight lid on it and let it steep for at least 4 hours - or up to 9 hours at cool room temperature. Strain the herb out, squeezing it well. The liquid is what we drink; I put the spent herb in the compost. Comfrey leaf infusion can be drunk hot, with a spoonful of honey, or over ice. You can also heat it up and pour it over a mint tea bag. Comfrey gives the lining of the lungs and the intestines flexible strength and health.

Comfrey leaf infusion is good for people who have quit smoking, or even if they are still smoking. Comfrey leaf infusion is also a tremendous ally to bone flexibility and strength. It also heals and strengthens tendons and ligaments. Remember comfrey: it contains proteins that create short-term memory cells.

Teas and infusions are generally safe; tinctures are more concentrated and thus less safe, and capsules are the least safe of all. In fact, herbs in capsules are the most likely to create horrible side-effects. I tell my students to completely avoid herbs in capsules.

Let’s go back to our four categories – nourishing herbs contain vitamins and minerals, proteins and nutritive factors that are easily soluble in water and vinegar, but not alcohol. Stimulating/sedating and potentially poisonous herbs contain active ingredients that are more soluble in alcohol than in water. Thus, infusions and vinegars are nutritive, while tinctures are more drug-like.

An infusion is a large amount of dried herb brewed for a long time. A tea is a small amount of fresh or dried herb brewed for a short time. To make an infusion: Buy dried herbs in bulk - my favorites for nourishing infusions are stinging nettle, oatstraw, red clover, linden, and comfrey leaf - and place one ounce of dried herb in a quart canning jar; fill with boiling water; screw on a tight lid; steep for at least 4 hours; strain; drink the liquid hot or cold; refrigerate what's left and consume it within 36 hours.

A quart of nettle infusion can have 2000mg of calcium; and we could easily consume that in a day. A dropperful of nettle tincture would contain, at the most, 3-5mg of calcium.

The definition of a tincture is an alcohol extract. The active principles in plants - alkaloids, glycosides, volatile oils, and resins - generally dissolve poorly in water. Tinctures can make a plant act more like a drug, and allow finer control over the dose.

Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material herein is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.

If you wish to contact Susun with questions or comments, please email her or write her as follows: 
 
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498

LEARN HOW TO PREVENT ILLNESS AND HEAL YOURSELF safely and easily the Wise Woman Way. Women's health forum, FREE women’s forum, weblog, and email group. Topics include menopause, breast health, childbearing, fertility, disease prevention, nutritional advice, and cancer prevention. Visit the Wise Woman Web.

Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. To learn more, visit her websites The Wise Woman Center and Ash Tree Publishing.
 
For permission to reprint this article, contact us.

The Cervix

The Cervix

by Susun S Weed

I am the gateway; I am the door. I connect the inside to the outside. I decide which outside comes in. I control the flux and the flow. I hold the wise blood, or let it go. I protect the growing babe, or thrust it unformed into a world unsuitable. None leave, none enter, except by my grace, my decision. I am the passage of birth. I am the mark of the sun. I am as near as the reach of your finger, yet mysterious and hidden. Many women, most men, born through me, go their whole life without gazing upon me.

I offer blood to Mother Earth. I spin stretchy strings of fertile mucus to Grandmother Moon. I am as sensitive as the best hound’s nose, as authoritative as the wisest crone. I am not, and have never been, innocent. I am all seeing, though darkness is my constant companion, and my eye but single. (How curious that women in India believe I have two eyes.)

I know how to be firm and potent, how to stand strong against those who would storm my portal. I know how to be loose and soft, how to welcome those who bring future’s hope. I know how to efface myself and withdraw, making way, stretching myself to the utmost, opening wide in sweet surrender.

I pulse within you. I am your cervix, the mouth of your womb. 

WHAT IS THE CERVIX?

The cervix is the neck of the uterus. It projects into the upper part of the vagina and can be felt with the fingertips, especially in a squatting position. With the aid of a speculum, a mirror, and a flashlight, you can see your cervix, too.

During labor, the cervix dilates, allowing the baby to leave thewomb, enter the vagina, and be born. The cervix also opens, just a little, to help push menstrual blood out of the uterus, and to allow sperm inside so fertilization can occur.

Medical opinion holds that the cervix is “insensitive to pain,” a statement that I challenge.

The cervix is covered by a thin layer of cells, called the epithelium. And the epithelium has two kinds of  cells: ones that grow in columns, and ones that are flat and scaly. The columnar ones make up the inner surface of the cervix and are red, like our lips. The flat ones (squamous cells) make up the outer surface and are pink, like some skins. The place where they meet is the squamo-columnar junction, or transition zone, one of the most common sites of cervical cancer.

A healthy, fertile, cervix looks pink, with a pretty round, red mouth, the os. (Before puberty, the entire cervix is red as pink squamous cells have yet to cover it.)

A cervix that is infected, irritated, or growing abnormally usually looks lumpy, bumpy, very red, and weepy. (A vinegar wash is needed to make the white lesions of HPV visible.)

A variety of organisms, including parasites, bacteria, and viruses, as well as wear and tear from childbirth and intercourse can affect the health of the cervix. The major categories of cervical distress are - going from least to worst - cervicitis, erosion, dysplasia, HPV infections, and cancer.

Cervicitis:  Inflammation of the Cervix

Acute cervicitis is inflammation - reddening, swelling, and sometimes bleeding - of the cervix. Cervicitis can follow a difficult birth, vacuum aspiration, or trauma. It can be triggered by use of hormones such as birth control pills and menopausal hormone pills, or by irritation from the string of an IUD. But, usually, cervicitis is caused by a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection such as Trichomonas vaginalis, Candida albicans, or Haemophilus vaginalis. Cervicitis can be symptomless, or it can cause pain on intercourse, itching and burning of the genitals, and/or discharge. Specific treatment with drugs or herbs to eliminate the infective organisms is usually effective.

If redness and irritation continue in the absence of infection, daily application of aloe vera gel, honey, or vitamin E oil, directly on the cervix for 2-3 weeks is generally effective.

Chronic cervicitis occurs when inflammation and infection of the cervix continues unchecked for many years. The cervix thickens, cysts protrude, tears and scars from childbirth and gynecological procedures accumulate, and, depending on the infection, noxious-smelling discharges, sometimes with pelvic pain, may come and go. Orthodox medicine uses antibiotics and surgery to clear the inflamed tissue, rather like using a backhoe to clear the ground; feminist doctors consider this over-treatment. Alternative approaches, like a careful gardener, work to remove infections, reverse precancerous changes, and increase  the health of the woman and her cervix with as little disruption as possible. If the condition worsens or fails to respond to treatment within 3-12 months, surgical remedies are indicated.

Cervical Eversion/Erosion

Not the same thing, but frequently confused, even by doctors. When columnar cells grow too quickly, they push aside the squamous cells, causing eversion and erosion. In an eversion, there is generally a clear dividing line between the cells. In an erosion, there is no definite border. 

Cervical eversions show a clear dividing line between the two types of cells, though the columnar cells are spilling out of the os, instead of confining themselves to the inside of the cervix. Cervical eversions revert to normal when the hormones triggering them - such as birth control pills - are removed. Some women have a “congenital” eversion which is present at birth, regresses until puberty, may be especially prominent if she is pregnant, and regresses after menopause. Eversion generally requires no treatment; if confused with erosion, over-treatment is likely.

Surgical procedures - such as  endometrial biopsy, D&C, aspiration extraction of the contents of the womb, radiation implantation, cone biopsy, cryosurgery, and laser ablation - as well as trauma from childbirth and intercourse, can, in the presence of inflammation and infection, lead to cervicitis or erosion.

Cervical erosion is a term that is often applied to any redness seen on the cervix, from an abrasion to a full-blown infection. “[It] conjures up a frightening picture of the cervix wasting away like bare earth after a heavy rain, [and] is not only erroneous, but absurd.”(1)  Conservative doctors may suggest removal of the “eroded” tissue. Alternative methods are quite successful in healing cervical erosion; complementary medicines can ease side-effects and hasten healing if drugs or surgery are chosen.

Cervical Dysplasia:  Abnormal Cells in the Cervix

Dysplasias often regress with no treatment. Over-treatment in both orthodox and alternative circles is common.

HPV Infection

This silent infection rarely causes symptoms and usually is dealt with by the immune system. A few of the sixty known varieties can cause cervical cancer. Poor women are more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and more likely to die of it and more likely to be helped by mandated vaccination programs against it. Unfortunately, the vaccine is only useful before a woman has had any contact, sexual or otherwise, with HPV.

Cervical Cancer

When abnormal cell growth triggered by HPV is unchecked by the immune system, it can invade adjoining tissues and even spread through the blood to distant sites. Untreated, cervical cancer is lethal. Caught early, virtually all cases are cured.


YOUR HEALTHY CERVIX

Keeping your cervix healthy is a lot like keeping your whole self healthy, but with a few special considerations.

Imagine how difficult it would be to keep your face healthy if you never looked at it or touched it. Though it may seem odd, looking at your cervix and touching it, at least once in your life, is  important. And it’s easy.

You will need a mirror, a flashlight, a plastic speculum, some private time and space (though I have done this in groups), and a reference book like A New View of a Woman’s Body. With some wiggling and jiggling, you can arrange yourself, the mirror and the flashlight so you can see your cervix. Amazing!

How do you get a speculum? You can ask to keep the one they use the next time you have a gynecological checkup. Can you buy one at the drug store?

As part of the uterus, the cervix is made healthier by those herbs that nourish and tonify the womb: raspberry leaf infusion,motherwort tincture.

As part of the vagina, the cervix is exposed to dangerous bacteria, viruses, and fungi, usually from, though not limited to, sex. Additionally, the cervix suffers trauma when the vagina is traumatized. Keeping good gut flora keeps the gut healthy, and so keeping good vaginal flora keeps the cervix and vagina healthy. That’s why I start my day with a cup of plain yogurt, and avoid bubble baths, douches, and feminine hygiene sprays, and am very, very fussy indeed about what I allow to enter my vagina.

Footnote:

(1) How to Stay Out of the Gynecologist’s Office, Federation of Feminist Women’s Health Centers, 1981

Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material herein is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.

If you wish to contact Susun with questions or comments, please email her or write her as follows:
 
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498

LEARN HOW TO PREVENT ILLNESS AND HEAL YOURSELF safely and easily the Wise Woman Way. Women's health forum, FREE women’s forum, weblog, and email group. Topics include menopause, breast health, childbearing, fertility, disease prevention, nutritional advice, and cancer prevention. Visit the Wise Woman Web.

Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. To learn more, visit her websites The Wise Woman Center and Ash Tree Publishing.
 
For permission to reprint this article, contact us.

Memory

Memory

by Susun S Weed

Even a single family member who is senile or afflicted with Alzheimer's is enough to make anyone dread the possibility. Since women have always lived longer than men, the Ancient Grandmothers have a thing or two to tell us about how to keep our memory sharp until the day we die (at 100+). These remedies are taken from my book New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way. They are arranged in order of safety, with the safest first and the most dangerous last.

“Touch my face, granddaughter,” murmurs Grandmother Growth. “Feel the lines that time has worn. Each line tells a story. Feel the lines in my palms. Every line is a memory. Close your eyes and travel with me to your ovaries, real or energetic. They are your memory baskets. When you feel forgetful, close your eyes and journey to the place of memories. Touch your face, your palms, return to this place, and retrieve the memory you want.”

“And, dearest,” Grandmother's voice sighs with the wind, “Remember yourself.”

 

• Improve your memory fast with meditation. Start with five minutes a day. You can do it! Breathe out.  
• Researchers doing double-blind studies on treatments for those with memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s, consistently note that placebos generate a very strong response. In one instance, those on the placebo did so well that it was suspected that they did not have sufficient impairment at the beginning of the study. So get a bottle, label it “Memory Pills,” fill it with candy or nuts, and take one every time you forget to.
• Ginkgo biloba tincture has been well studied for the treatment of those dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia. In one study, of those taking the leaf extract, 27 percent maintained cognitive functioning and memory, while 86 percent of the placebo group lost functioning. CAUTION: Ginkgo increases aspirin’s blood-thinning effects.
• Mental exercise (word puzzles, reading, writing) and physical exercise are important aspects of nourishing and tonifying the brain and memory. Memorize poetry and recite it for friends. Volunteer for Community Theater and memorize your part. The more you use your memory, the stronger it will be.

 

• Lower your blood pressure and improve your memory. In a study of 200 men and women, those with even moderately high blood pressure (164/89) had more memory problems than those with normal blood pressures. A dropperful of motherwort tincture (Leonurus cardiaca) daily dependably lowers blood pressure and can generally be used safely with drugs if desired. (Do not use capsules of any herb while you are taking a drug.
• My father has been taking 400 IU of d-alpha tocopherol (supplement form of vitamin E) and 2-3 dropperfuls of ginkgo tincture (not capsules) since his non-Alzheimer's dementia was first apparent, more than fifteen years ago. His doctors remain amazed at the glacial pace of his losses.
• Think taking estrogen will save your memory? Think again. The largest (120 women) scientifically rigorous study (Journal of the American Medical Association, January 23, 2000), found 80 percent of the women taking estrogen replacement (and 74 percent of the women taking a placebo) had less memory, less ability to perform daily tasks, and less cognitive functioning after fifteen months of treatment.

 

 

To learn more, visit her Websites SusunWeed.com  For permission to reprint this article, contact us.

 

Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.

What is Menopause?

What is Menopause?

by Susun S Weed

WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?

To the MD, menopause is the last drop of blood a woman sheds. A woman can be peri-menopausal (around menopause) or post-menopausal (after menopause) but she can never be menopausal, according to this definition.

To most women, however, the years between the first suspicion of change and the final menses constitute the menopausal years, and we are menopausal throughout that time. This decade of transition is compared by some to non-stop PMS, by others to an extended pregnancy. I see it as a second puberty.

Menopause is puberty prime, and the change from a familiar, known self to new and unknown self is the same: amazing, difficult, rewarding, exasperating, and momentous.

"Do not become alarmed when you experience yourself in totally new ways," sighs Grandmother Growth tenderly. "You are changing, getting ready to be initiated into the third stage of your life. Are you ready for the ride of your life?"
 Susun Weed, Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, Woodstock: Ash Tree, 2002

THE STORY OF MENOPAUSE

The onerous physical/emotional changes that accompany puberty and menopause are strongly influenced - both positively and negatively - by cultural, familial, and personal beliefs.

If we expect our new self to be more powerful, more exciting, more interesting than our old self, we willingly undergo discomfort, pain, sleeplessness, emotional variability, and a host of annoyances and distresses. In America today, this is may be the case when we experience puberty, pregnancy, birth, and lactation.

If we expect our new self to be a weaker, less interesting, grayed-out version of our older self, we will naturally resist changing and find the normal abnormalities of change intolerable. This is often the case when American women encounter menopause

The purpose of this article is not to examine why this is so, or how it came to be so, but to offer a different view of menopause. I want to share with you the teachings I have received from the Ancient Ones, the ancient grandmothers who tell the women's mystery stories. That your journey may be made richer.

"The joy of menopause is the world's best-kept secret. Like venturing through the gateway to enter an ancient temple, in order to claim that joy a woman must be willing to pass beyond the monsters who guard its gate. As you stand at the brink of it, it can appear that only darkness, danger and decay lie beyond. [But] ... as thousands of women from all cultures throughout history have whispered to each other, it is the most exciting passage a woman ever makes."
Leslie Kenton, Passage to Power. London: Ebury Press; 1995

GREEN BLESSINGS

And let's take some simple herbal helpers with us on our menopausal journey. Their abilities are subtle and far-reaching. They can help us ease symptoms, provide us with optimum nourishment, help us create healthy hearts and healthy bones, and open us to the uplifting power of Nature.

Nourishing herbal infusions provide an abundance of minerals, vitamins, proteins, and phytoestrogens (plant hormones that are similar to estrogen) at low cost and with little effort.

To make a nourishing herbal infusion:

• Place one ounce by weight (about a cup by volume) of dried herb (do not use fresh) in a quart jar and fill to the top with boiling water.
• Cover tightly and allow to steep for at least four hours. Overnight is fine.
• Strain and refrigerate.
• Drink 2-4 cups a day, hot or cold, mixed with other liquids (water, juice, rum, coffee for example) or taken neat.

I rotate through four nourishing herbs: oatstraw, stinging nettle, red clover, and comfrey leaf. Each herb has special benefits for menopausal women. These four herbs, taken one at a time, and infused in water, are completely safe to use. (They may not be safe if taken in tinctures or encapsulated). I have drunk nourishing herbal infusions on a daily basis for more than twenty years.

But before we go further, let's talk about the purpose of menopause.

"She [the postmenopausal woman] is not a sentiment, she is a requirement."
Kristen Hawkes, 1997

THE PURPOSE OF MENOPAUSE

Menopause may be a prime factor in women's greater longevity.(1) 

Dr. Kristen Hawkes of the University of Utah reports that Hadza women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond gather more food than men or women of other ages and they are as important to the survival of their grandchildren as the children’s mothers are. (2)

The postmenopausal woman is the one who has the stored wisdom to help her community survive. She is the Wise Woman, the one who gives us all a survival edge. Dr. Jared Diamond of the University of California at Los Angeles Medical School maintains that menopause is "among the biological traits essential for making us human." (3)
   
Dr. Hawkes believes that not only did prehistoric women survive past the age of menopause, but that they were instrumental in freeing our ancestors to exploit new habitats, explore new places, and ultimately to spread across the entire planet. (4)

“Kundalini [is] the root [of] all spiritual experiences ....”
RE Svoboda, Kundalini Aghora II. Albuquerque, NM. 1993

MENOPAUSE AS ENLIGHTENMENT

As a long-time student of yoga, I am struck by the many similarities between menopausal symptoms and the well-known esoteric goal of “awakening of the Kundalini.”

Kundalini is a special kind of energy known in many cultures, including Tibetan, Indian, Sumerian, Chinese, Irish, Aztec, and Greek. Kundalini is said to be hot, fast, powerful, and large. It exists within the earth, within all life, and within each person.

Kundalini is usually represented as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, but women’s mystery stories locate it in the uterus - or the area where the uterus was, if a hysterectomy has occurred.

Yogis spend lifetimes learning how to wake up their Kundalini sothey may experience enlightenment. Success causes a surge of super-heated energy to travel through the body, firing the nerves, dilating blood vessels, and altering the nature of reality. Sounds like a hot flash to me.

If Kundalini is released over and over, as it is during menopause, it causes changes in the functioning of the endocrine, cardiovascular, and nervous systems.

Wise women use nourishing herbal infusions, especially nervous-system strengthening oatstraw, fermented foods, such as yogurt, and seaweed (as a food, not a supplement), to help ensure that these changes add to their vitality and longevity, creating what Margaret Mead called "postmenopausal zest".

MAIDEN, MOTHER, CRONE

When we are children, we exist within Kundalini; it is primarily outside the body. At puberty, a two-valved energy “gate” opens, and Kundalini circulates up from the earth and into the root chakra. The maiden becomes the mother. Kundalini builds up in the uterus and pelvic tissues, ready to create a new life. This stored Kundalini can intensify emotions and sensations, expose powerful feelings, trigger creative outpourings, and generate house-cleaning frenzies. If pregnancy occurs, the Kundalini continues to build for the duration of the pregnancy and is used in the act of birth. If no egg is fertilized, the Kundalini flows out with the menstrual blood, returning to the earth.

At menopause, one “valve” of the root chakra closes. The mother becomes the crone. The open valve allows Kundalini to enter; the closed one prevents it from leaving. When Kundalini collects in the uterus without an outlet, it causes problems including incontinence, broken hips, loss of libido, and excessively dry vaginal tissues.

STINGING NETTLE

But if the Kundalini is guided (by thought or by hot flashes, for instance) up the spine, then it confers enlightenment not incontinence, flexibility not fractures, vitality not debility, and abundance not withering. Stinging nettle infusion replaces the nutrients and proteins that Kundalini uses up. By strengthening the adrenals and kidneys, and increasing stamina, nettle helps us surf the waves and ski the slopes of our hot flashes.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a wonderful ally for the woman who is awakened by night sweats, whose hair is falling out or becoming brittle, whose energy is flagging (or gone!), whose vagina is dry, who wants to avoid adult-onset diabetes, for the woman who wants to increase her metabolic rate, improve the flexibility of her blood vessels, strengthen her immune system, and find ease for sore joints.

Loaded with folic acid, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, carotenes, zinc, boron, and iron, nettle is a nutritional powerhouse. One cup of infusion supplies 500mg of calcium plus vitamin D, vitamin K, protein, and special lipids, which contribute to magnificent bone health.

SEVEN ENERGY CENTERS

The root energy center is one of seven main energy centers, each of which corresponds to endocrine glands. In even the healthiest of women, disruption of some sort, in one or more of the energy centers (chakras), will occur for at least a short while during the menopausal years.

It is important to remember that the vast majority of uncomfortable symptoms caused by menopause and the movement of Kundalini will be short-lived (less than a year).

Healthy women who have had one or no children generally seem to have the strongest symptoms as Kundalini arises. Women with low vitality, including women who have given birth to six or more children, may have few or no symptoms at all.

• Menopausal symptoms at the root center include menstrual pain, growth of fibroid tumors, flooding, urinary problems, cervical/uterine/endometrial growths/cancers, brittle hips, constipation, diarrhea, vaginal infections and irritations, and hemorrhoids.

Get help from:

Motherwort tincture (Leonurus cardiaca). A dose of 10-15 drops counters cramps as it eases hot flashes.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense), the world's best-known, best-regarded anti-cancer herb, also improves fertility and helps normalize the bowels. If that weren't enough, red clover infusion (not tincture, not capsules) contains ten times more phytoestrogens than soy.

Whole grains and lentils, beets and burdock are also allies of the root chakra.

• Menopausal symptoms at the navel (or belly) center include bloat, gas, urinary infections, exhaustion, panic attacks, paranoia, and episodes of inexplicable sorrow.

Get help from:

Stinging nettle. It is the specific helper for this chakra.

Additionally, orange foods (especially baked winter squash and sweet potatoes) bring ease and health, improving energy and mood.

• Menopausal symptoms at the solar plexus include indigestion, disturbed liver function, gall stones, a sense of dissatisfaction with one's self, blood sugar and mood swings, adult onset diabetes, anxiety, phobias, and pathological shyness.

Get help from:

Herbs such as dandelion, burdock, or yellow dock roots, or milk thistle seeds, used as tinctures. They strengthen the solar plexus, improve digestion, moderate blood sugar and mood swings, help the liver clear excess hormones, and put you on the sunny side of life.

• Menopausal symptoms at the heart chakra include palpitations, breast changes, excess fat deposits on the back and upper arms, lessening of compassion, increase in blood pressure, unwarranted feelings of guilt, and lung problems.

Get help from:

Motherwort tincture (not capsules). A dropperful stops palpitations in minutes. Regular use helps stabilize the heart, decreases blood pressure, improves blood flow, and eases emotional distress.

Comfrey leaf (not root) infusion (not capsules) is a renowned lung strengthener. Popularly known as knitbone, comfrey leaf supplies lots of bone-healthy nutrients.

• Menopausal symptoms at the throat chakra include thyroid problems, excessive weight gain, incoherent rages, nausea, cough, and sore throat. Menopausal women who have swallowed too much "no" during their lives may find themselves making dramatic and amazing statements.

Get help from:

Seaweeds, the specific ally of the throat chakra. Soak kombu or wakame with beans and cook, add hijiki or alaria to soups, snack on dulse and kelp. I don't use tablets or powdered products, finding them inferior.

• Menopausal symptoms at the third eye center include headaches, eye problems, near-sightedness, sinus infections, depression, thoughts of suicide, obsessions, insomnia, and mental instability (visions and hallucinations).

Get help from:

The mint family. Skullcap tincture strengthens the nerves, eases headaches, and brings deep sleep. Sage infusion makes the mind coherent and clear. Rosemary oil aids the memory and improves concentration. Lavender blossom tea lifts the mood and unkinks wound-up nerves.

• Menopausal symptoms at the crown chakra include hair loss, dizziness, hearing problems, memory problems, dementia, nervous tics, shingles, and unexplained pain anywhere in the body.     

Get help from:

Comfrey leaf (not root) infusion (not capsules); it's brain food.

Nettle infusion (not capsules) restores hair and counters compulsions.

Hypericum perforatum (St. Joan's/John's Wort) tincture (not capsules), used freely (a dropperful every 2-4 hours) can relieve the pain of shingles within a day and often cure it within three. Eases sore muscles anywhere; helps prevent muscle aches too.

SHE-WHO-HOLDS-HER-WISE-BLOOD-WITHIN

As we leave our fertile years behind, so we leave behind our identity as "mother" (irrespective of whether we have physically had children or not). Ready or not, we are introduced to ourselves as old women. Yes, we are yet baby crones, not yet prepared to wield the Kundalini that now flows through us toe to tip. Yet we are crones, women of wisdom, women of power.

When menopausal symptoms are understood as energy movement (or lack of it), we can feel more at ease, not so afraid of being out of control. Instead of feeling victimized by our bodies, we can nourish our wholeness. We can view our symptoms as suggestions for improvement, instead of damning evidence of our mortality. We can focus in on areas that need special attention, extra nourishment.

Quiet time alone in nature, or sitting in a comfortable chair listening to soothing music allows thoughts and feelings to arise and opens the way for the flow of Kundalini. Specific exercises, such as those in Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and yoga can also be used to help ease into the increased energy flow. Green allies such as oatstraw, nettles, red clover, comfrey leaf, and motherwort strengthen us for the increased power. Because we know the outcome is worth it, the day-to-day annoyances are easier to take.

After years of practice, Kundalini moves freely up the spine and out the crown. Our symptoms subside, our overall energy is stronger, better. We hold our wise blood inside. We are the wise women. We are the crones.

Footnotes:

1.  Perls T MD, Fretts R MD. “Why Women Live Longer Than Men”. Scientific American, 1998 August: 102.

2.  Angier N. “Is Menopause a Key to Survival? The Grandmother Hypothesis”. New York Times, 1997:  August 18.
3.  Ibid.
4.  Ibid.

Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material herein is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.

If you wish to contact Susun with questions or comments, please email her or write her as follows: 
 
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498

LEARN HOW TO PREVENT ILLNESS AND HEAL YOURSELF safely and easily the Wise Woman Way. Women's health forum, FREE women’s forum, weblog, and email group. Topics include menopause, breast health, childbearing, fertility, disease prevention, nutritional advice, and cancer prevention. Visit the Wise Woman Web.

Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. To learn more, visit her websites The Wise Woman Center and Ash Tree Publishing.
 
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