When I had my herbal and natural products business, Mystic Naturals, the herbal heating pads were one of my biggest sellers. They are easy and inexpensive to make and also a much appreciated gift.

Not only are herbal heating pads great smelling; they provide warm moist heat to soothe sore muscles & aches. Moist heat therapy works wonders for sore neck and shoulder muscles, back aches, and menstrual cramps.

Only a few ingredients and just basic sewing machine skills are necessary.

• Select a soft fabric such as lightweight corduroy or a fleece without too much stretch. Flannels and cottons are a little thin and don’t hold up as well.
• Cut 2 pieces of fabric 8″ x 12″. Place right sides together and stitch along 3 sides leaving one of the 8″ sides open. Restitch over stitches for extra strength at the seams. Turn right sides out (so seams are on the inside and you have a bag/pouch).
• Fill with 2 cups of dried corn kernels (available at animal feed stores and doesn’t “pop” in the microwave). Add 1 cup of mixed dried herbs such as  eucalyptus, clove, lavender, rosemary, spearmint and cinnamon. Turn in raw edges of fabric and top-stitch closed. Again, stitch over this seam.

These herbal heating packs release a warm moist heat for about 30 minutes when warmed in the microwave for 2 – 3 minutes. The herbal scent is soothing and relaxing. These can also be used as a flexible cold pack by placing in freezer.

In October of 2000 I was fortunate to meet Stephen Harrod Buhner at a Sacred Plant Medicine Workshop he was teaching at Rosemary Gladstar’s Sage Mountain in Vermont. I received an autographed copy of his book “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers”.

The author has a magical way of drawing the reader into his book through interesting facts woven with quotes, stories, and folklore. This book is rich in the history of beer and mead making, healing properties of 200 medicinal plants and trees, and 120 recipes for ancient and indigenous beers and meads from 31 countries.

The chapter with the actual details of brewing, The Ancient Magic of Making Beer starts with this opening paragraph:

“Making a fermented beverage, a beer, is fairly straightforward. Many of the newer texts of the homebrewing movement, however, make it seem more complicated and intimidating that it really is.”

And his Rule Number One of Four Heretical Rules of Brewing:

“Don’t get tense, worried, or think you don’t know enough. Remember that although you are learning an ancient human art and expression of plant medicine, it is important to have fun.”

Chapters

• The Well of Remembrance
• The Mead of Inspiration: Mead, Honey, and Heather
• Yeast: A Magical and Medicinal Plant
• Sacred Indigenous Beers
• Alcohol: Aqua Vitae, the Water of Life
• The Fermentation and Sacredness of Grains
• Psychotropic and Highly Inebriating Beers
• Beers and Ales from Sacred and Medicinal Trees
• Beers and Ales from Sacred and Medicinal Plants
• The Ancient Magic of Making Beer
• Some Meads of the Middle Ages
• Herbs Used in Meads of the Middle Ages: A Brief Compendium
• Sources of Supply and Useful Books

Stephen Buhner is the author of over a dozen books covering plant spirituality, herbalism, natural health and his newest book Ensouling Language: On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writers Life.

1  cup herb infused oil
Approx. 4 Tbsp. Beeswax
½ tsp. Vitamin E oil (or oil from gel capsules)
Essential oil – (optional)

Very gently warm infused oil on stove in a stainless or glass saucepan. Add a piece of beeswax – when it melts, turn off heat. Melt most of the beeswax in the infused oil.  Add Vitamin E oil. Test thickness with some salve on a spoon in the freezer (don’t freeze, just cool). If too soft, add more beeswax; too hard, add more oil. Cool slightly. Add essential oil to scent and/or to add an additional healing quality. Pour into sterile containers. Cover tightly when cool.

Infused oils are used to create healing salves, topically applied healing oils or as part of the base for lotions and massage oils.

1. Olive oil is the best base as it doesn’t usually turn rancid, is easily absorbed, and has numerous healing benefits.
2. Chop plant coarsely.
3. Fill a clean, very dry jar with herb.
4. Fill jar completely with oil, removing all air.
5. Cover tightly. Shake well.
6. Infuse at room temperature for approx. 3 – 6 weeks.
7. Add more oil after first day if necessary.
8. Strain oil into clean jar & squeeze oil out of plant material.
9. If using fresh plant, let sit for several days for any water to settle to the bottom, carefully pour off infused oil.  Dried plant material will not have water.
10. Refrigerate.

JUST RELEASED …. “A Journey into Herbal & Natural Healing” eBook. From years of teaching herbal and natural healing, I have compiled a comprehensive eBook including my herbal “recipes” from Mystic Naturals’ product line.

Explore how herbs and other natural methods can enhance health and well-being. Discover how a healthy, holistic lifestyle works to balance mind, body & spirit.

Available in 3 formats: Kindle, Nook or .pdf

Order Kindle Version through Amazon  $5.99  A Journey into Herbal & Natural Healing

Order Nook Version through Barnes & Noble   $5.99  A Journey into Herbal & Natural Healing

View partial content (PDF File)

Contents

• Foreword
• How to Use This Book
• Herbal History

Collection, Drying & Storing Herbs

• Overview
• Wildcrafting Guidelines
• Drying & Storage
• At Risk List
• To Watch List

Herbal Teas, Infusions and Decoctions

• Herbal Teas
• Herbal Tea Blending
• Herbal Tea Recipes
• Infusions (Medicinal Use) Dry Plant
• Decoction (Medicinal Use) Dry Plant

Natural Ingredients for Body & Skin Care

• Oils & Butters
• Other Ingredients
• Essential Oils & Aromatherapy
• Flower Essences
• Homeopathic Remedies

Basic Herbal Preparations

• Infused Oils
• Tinctures
• Glycerites and Vinegars

Stress & Relaxation

• Herbs for Stress & Relaxation
• Herbal Bath Teas
• Herbal Eye Pillows
• Essential Oils – Aromatherapy
• Stress Reduction Techniques

Sleep & Insomnia

• Herbs for Sleep & Insomnia
• Essential Oils for Sleep
• Homeopathic Remedies
• Herbal Dream Pillows

Immune System

• Herbs for the Immune System
• Herbs Specific for Colds & Flu
• Elderberry Syrup
• Essential Oils – Aromatherapy

Herbal & Natural Skin Care

• Dry Skin Brushing
• Bathing Tips
• Herbs & Natural Ingredients for Skin Care
• Facial Steams
• Facial / Body Scrub
• Brown Sugar Scrub
• Natural Lotion – Base Recipe
• Essential Oils for Skin Care

Herbal First Aid

• Herbal Salves
• Compress
• Poultice
• Liniment
• Natural Insect Repellant
• Essential Oils for First Aid

Herbal Aphrodisiacs

• Herbs as Aphrodisiacs
• Essential Oils as Aphrodisiacs
• Warming Massage Oil
• Massage Oil
• Scientific Herbal Names

Recommended Resources

• Books
• Herbal Research
• Herbal Associations & Organizations

There are extensive options for herbal training. The following list is only a small percentage of herbal education schools. They are listed in no particular order. If you are considering an herbal education it is important to pick a school that resonates with you and your specific interests. The American Herbalist Guild (AHG) has a great article entitled “Guide to Getting an Herbal Education” that you may wish to read before choosing a school. Many of the following offer distance learning programs.

• California School of Herbal Studies
  Located in Sonoma County, the California School of Herbal Studies is one of North America’s oldest centers for herbal education. The school teaches from the tradition of western herbalism, with a materia medica primarily made up of North American and European herbs. Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives and herbs are used to complement the Western tradition. Offers full time, 8 month intensive offers students a broad based foundation in herbal medicine. For those who can’t make a full time commitment we also offer a broad range of weekend series courses and one day workshops.
• Sage Mountain Herbal Learning Center
  Founded 24 years ago by Rosemary Gladstar and Karl Slick, Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center & Botanical Sanctuary is one of New England’s foremost learning centers for Herbs and Earth awareness. The Center offers internships, herbal conferences, travel, workshops and The Science and Art of Herbalism distance learning course.
• Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute
  RMHI empowers independent herbalists and health care providers across the globe, providing quality distance-learning courses in Chinese herbology and environmental health. Offering: Interactive-learning and database software, Clinical-case-oriented curriculum, 3 levels of herbalist certification, Distance learning and Seminars.
• Northeast School of Botanical Medicine
  The Northeast School of Botanical Medicine offers two programs and a traditional styled herbal apprenticeship to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the clinical application of herbal medicine along with an informed respect of the plants vital to this medicine.
• Bastyr University
  Bastyr University, located north of Seattle, Washington, offers multiple degree programs. One of the world’s leading academic centers for education, research and clinical service in the natural health arts and sciences, Bastyr continues to be in the forefront of developing the model for 21st century medicine.
• East West School of Herbology
  The East West School of Planetary Herbology correspondence course trains home herbalists, health professionals and clinical herbal practitioners. Led by alternative health pioneer and American Herbalist Guild founder Dr. Michael Tierra, O.M.D., and clinical herbalist/acupuncturist Lesley Tierra, L.Ac., AHG, East West is the only course that teaches Planetary Herbology, a unique approach to herbal medicine which integrates plants and diagnostic tools from the three major healing traditions of the world.
• Pacific School of Herbal Medicine
  The Pacific School of Herbal Medicine offers community classes and a professional clinical training program in American herbal medicine based in Western physiology and anatomy, modern clinical use of plants, and the gentle traditions of simpling, wildcrafting, and folk medicine. All our teachers are experienced practitioners, wildcrafters and community health organizers. We teach people about their environment and bodies, raise people’s awareness of plants, and train practitioners to be physiologically literate, culturally competent and sensitive, and ecologically aware.
• Connecticut Institute for Herbal Studies
  Founded in 1992, the Connecticut Institute of Herbal Studies focuses on Traditional Chinese Medicine and offers a Certified Herbology Program with a foundation in both theory and clinical diagnosis as practiced in China today.
• North American Institute of Medical Herbalism
  The North American Institute of Medical Herbalism, Inc. offers introductory, advanced, and clinical training in medical herbalism and clinical nutrition in the vitalist tradition.  They offer classroom, clinical, field training, and distance learning formats.
• Heart of Herbs Herbal & Aromatherapy Education
  The Program encourages the student to develop the necessary skills to practice and live the herbal healing arts as well as a profound understanding of the spirituality and essence of Herbalism.
• Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine
  Offers classes in the tradition of Roots Herbalism – the kind where your hands get dirty as you develop life-long relationships with plants. Their classroom is the outdoors – garden, forest, field, mountain, and stream in Asheville, NC.  “We do not limit our focus to medical herbalism, but instead offer a total plant experience through our study of Botany, Sustainable Wildcrafting, Plant Ecology, Plant Identification, Wild Foods, Organic Gardening, and Permaculture.”
• PrairieWise Herbal School
  Located in Kansas, the school offers workshops, prairie plant walks, lectures, a one-year basic herbalism program and an extensive 3-year clinical program. PrairieWise Herbal School teaches herbal medicine using hands-on, experiential training. Within the school we explore the essence of the plant from a variety of viewpoints including shamanic studies, scientific research, folkloric uses, eclectic medicine and modern western herbalism.
• Tia Sophia Institute
  Tai Sophia’s Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program, the nation’s first, is designed and delivered by an international faculty with the clinical and research background to redefine the practice of herbalism.
• Clayton College of Natural Health
  Clayton College of Natural Health has the advantage of being one of the first schools to offer formalized distance education courses of study in the United States grounded in natural health sciences.

Elderberry, typically European or black elder (Sambucus nigra) has been receiving widespread publicity for its role in reducing flu symptoms, soothing sore throats and coughs as well as boosting the immune system. Numerous scientific studies on the effectiveness of elderberry have been conducted.

Following is an overview of studies on elderberry from Blackelderberry.info

• 2009 – (Catchpole) During an in-vitro study carried out in London by Retroscreen Virology in October 2009, black elderberry extract was found to be at least 68.37% effective against the H1N1 strain otherwise known as Swine Flu Pandemic strain.
• Black Elderberry has a more potent antiviral effect than Echinacea
• Black elderberry extract has been found to be effective against the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu  (Zakay-Rones et al 1995)
• Black elderberry extract contains a unique compound called Antivirin® that can help protect healthy cells and inactivate  infectious viruses
• When given to patients, scientists have found the black elderberry extract, has the ability to ward off flu infections quickly  (Zakay-Rones 2004)
• Black Elderberries are rich in anthocyanins which are a type of flavonoid –  anthocyanins are antioxidants that may protect cells from free radicals and support your body’s immune system.
• Black Elderberries have almost 5 times as many anthocyanins as Blueberries and twice the overall antioxidant capability of cranberries

Making your own elderberry syrup is an easy and inexpensive way to create your own cough remedy. One thing to keep in mind when making herbal medicines is to use the best quality herbs possible. The quality of your medicine will be determined by what goes into the making of it. Mountain Rose Herbs offers the highest quality organic, fair-trade elderberries.

Elderberry Syrup

½ cup dried whole  elderberries
3 cups of filtered water
1 cup of honey (local is best)

Place the berries in a saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Crush the berries. Strain liquid into a bowl. Stir in honey. Bottle and refrigerate. Will keep several months.

For coughs, colds and flu take 1 teaspoon every 2-3 hours. This also makes a delicious syrup for pancakes, ice cream or mixed into sparkling water for a refreshing and healthy drink.

Fresh elderberries are commonly made into jellies, pies and wine.

The elder plant has been used throughout history for it’s medicinal value and as such, has many folkloric uses.  In the Middle Ages it was considered a Holy Tree, capable of restoring good health, keeping good health and as an aid to longevity. All parts of the elder are useful. American Elder, Sambucus canadensis, is another common species to be used medicinally.

A hot infusion of dried elder flowers will induce sweating and drive out a fever. A cold infusion of the dried flowers is useful for sore and inflamed eyes as a compress.

Elder flowers and berries are gentler that the other parts and are safe to use in larger doses internally. In addition to the studies listed above, elder flowers and berries act as a blood purifier so they work on the entire body.

The leaves, flowers, bark and twigs can be made into a poultice to relieve soreness, inflammations, swollen glands, bruises and joint stiffness.

A salve or ointment  made from the elder is useful for burns and scalds.

All parts of the plant can be used externally for the complexion; removing spots, soothing irritation, removing freckles and preserving and softening of the skin if used faithfully both internally and externally.

The inner green bark is cathartic, purges the digestive system, so should be taken in small doses.

The leaves are typically used externally because of their strong purgative properties. They can be made into an herbal oil which can be used on the skin or the oil can be used to make a healing salve.

Elder berries are high in iron and thus good for treating anemia.

Additional historical information is available at the online version of A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve. This site also includes recipes for elderberry wine.

The printed version is available here: A Modern Herbal. This is a fun 2 -book series if you are interested in herbal history and folklore.

It was interesting to go through the web statistics and determine the most popular posts for 2009. Following are the 5 most popular posts for 2009 with a brief summary. If you haven’t had the chance, please click the link and read the entire article.  Thank you for reading and visiting A Journey into Herbal & Natural Healing. There will be more consistent postings and well as the release of the herbal eBook – A Journey into Herbal & Natural Healing.

• Detoxification with the 3-Day Detox Diet
  “There are many detox diets out there. One must realize that not all detox diet programs are suitable for everyone. A 3-day detox diet just might be wise to start with to test the diet program and it is also a milder way of detoxifying your body.”
• The Healing Properties of Our Local Weeds – Dandelion
  “Dandelion is a very safe, valuable and useful plant with many medicinal uses. It is considered a tonic (tones the body), reduces water weight gain, a mild laxative, helps to eliminate toxins from the blood, promotes healthy digestion and will soothe an irritated stomach, acts as an anti-rheumatic, helps support the liver and kidneys, keeps the bowels in a healthy condition, stabilizes blood sugar, reduces blood pressure, has shown anti-tumor properties and clears the skin of impurities.”
• Apple Cider Vinegar to the Rescue!
  “It assists in creating a proper functioning metabolism, aids in weight loss, boosts the immune system, reduces joint stiffness, reduces muscle pain from exercise, reduces cholesterol, regulates water within the body and reduces water retention, reduces excess sodium, reduces excess mucus, helps to regulate blood pressure, assists in blood circulation, cleanses the blood, inhibits unfriendly bacteria, increases concentration and memory, regulates body temperature, and increases vitality and energy. Natural apple cider vinegar aids the liver in detoxifying the body and helps to digest rich, fatty, greasy foods (which you shouldn’t be eating anyway!), and promotes the proper metabolizing of proteins, fats and minerals.”
• Herbal Associations
  A compilation of herbal associations and organizations, many of them with extensive online articles and newsletters.
• Breathe Freely
  Advantages of using a Neti Pot include: Soothes dry nasal passages, gently washes away dust, pollen, and environmental irritants, offsets the effects of breathing dry indoor air (especially in winter), removes excess mucus… naturally,helps you breathe freer when practicing yoga or meditation

Proper water temperature, tea-leaf volume and steeping time all effect the outcome of tea. Improperly brewed tea can be bitter or flavorless.