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"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong." Mahatma Gandhi
Forgiveness is a powerful tool in self-healing.
When we forgive others, we release the strangle hold of anger and frustration that prevents our own self from moving forward in our personal growth and development.
We release the person we forgive as well!
One of my favorite Don Henley songs. I wore out my cassette tape, in 1989, listening to this one song, over and over and over:
Amazing herbs for health, hair, skin.... Stinging Nettles, Yarrow, and Rosemary (in the order they appear above).
Recently, it seems, that many people have been asking me in my workshops:
"What can I do about hair loss, thinning hair as I age?" This is a topic that hits home with me as I have always had very fine and thin hair. More thinning with age? What will I have left?
So I decided to do an experiment with me as the guinea pig. This is all natural, no abuse to the guinea pig's (ME!) skin or eyes as happens in commercial body care product testing.
Keep in mind this is about hair growth. It takes time and a long term commitment (uh-oh!)
1. I have added the following herbal essential oils to my shampoo: Rosemary, oregano, peppermint, and yarrow. I add about 8 drops per ounce of shampoo and I recommend using an all natural shampoo. Chemicals in our hair care products clog the pores of the scalp and contribute to unhealthy hair, scalp, and hair loss. Aubrey Organics products are a nice choice, available at Nature's Storehouse in Canton. Read ingredients for "whole" ingredients, just as you would on a food product label and you can find other natural brands as well. Read the ingredients, not just the "all natural" hype label on the front of the product.
2. I make a tea and pour it over my scalp, making certain to soak my hair, well, through to the scalp, all over my head. It is made with the whole herbs yarrow, nettles, and rosemary. See pictures above. For information on making herbal teas, email me.
I make a quart every 4 days and use 1 cup per day after shampooing. Shampoo less often, the tea lasts longer. Keep it refrigerated and always label your quart jar. It is fine to drink, so no panic if someone should indulge in a 'lil of your herbal, scalp tea.
3. I then massage my scalp in two different ways. One is the general "rub my fingers and knead the scalp" method. The other is placing my fingers in a stationary place on the scalp and shifting the whole scalp back and forth and side to side underneath my fingers. This helps tremendously with scalp circulation and relaxing the scalp muscles around the actual hair shaft. Do this massaging when washing your hair, when applying the above scalp tea, and when spraying on the below concoction of herbs.
4. A scalp spray made up of about 1/3 cup of the above scalp tea which I then add the rosemary, peppermint, and oregano essential oils to it. I am thinking about adding drops of the tinctures of yarrow, nettles, and horsetail as well. This is made to spray onto the scalp, before bedtime, and massage the scalp as per above.
5. Oh, and I am taking a saw palmetto and horsetail herbal tincture (easy to make with the herbs, good vodka, and a month's time to let the herbs "steep" into the vodka. Horsetail is good for hair and skin health and saw palmetto is an herb for hair loss prevention / restoration.
Did I not say I was being a guinea pig?!
Today, as I write, it is November 9th. I have been playing this hair restoration game for about 1 month now. I imagine it will take at least 6 months before I can see any major changes (yes, my hair grows slowly!).
See what I mean about this being a long-term commitment... let's just see if I can stick to this hair restoration challenge and then report back my fabulous results. Then, I will patent my formulas and become the rich, modern day Lady Godiva (Yes, I will also need to make some more of that face cream and take care of aging on the face as well) riding the streets of Potsdam!
Horse or Harley? Horse called Harley?
If all else fails, I still have this gorgeous Doo-Rag (from my Harley riding days), graciously modeled by my Thanksgiving pie pumpkin! I will plop it onto my head and tie into place, forget about making any more scalp tea, and then, I will buy another Harley. Or maybe a horse and I will name her Harley!
Update March 2019: It is 5 1/2 years later, where the hell does the time go?
Time & commitment to the process is absolutely required. I cannot say I have been consistent with above stuff.
What I do now, 5 1/2 years later:
whole foods 100% (well, 98.435%) of the time.
take Synergy multi-vites for women (I only take 2 daily, not the 4)
take Synergy’s whole food vitamin c, magnesium daily, extra vitamin D 2-3 X weekly, and use wild yam herb capsules for general feminine health
rub this oily herb infused goop on my scalp 2-3 times weekly on the nights I am going to wash my hair the next day. Less is more and this bottle lasts for months.
herbal medicinal infusion “teas” for bone, skin, hair. Sometimes this is simple a stinging nettle only infusion. I make 2-4 quarts at a time so I have enough for a couple days to a week.
whole health living AND yoga every day. Well, seriously, yoga (links to many blog posts I have written about Yoga’s amazing benefits for health, weight loss, healing, inner peace…) in every moment but that’s because Yoga is not about the poses.
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Protein Powder I Use...
Wait...What? Protein, Paula... have I stumbled upon the wrong Paula's blog post?
I get questions from clients, quite frequently, on what I think is the best protein powder to use.
Stepping back a few years... protein powders come in and out of fashion like clothing styles. I know this cyclic pattern, I have plaid shirts purchased when I was 20 years old and 28 years later (yes, I still have those plaid shirts), I am right back in the swing of fashion!
Enter protein powders from the late 70's and 80's. With a processing makeover (claiming to preserve the vital nutrients of raw milk and colostrum... maybe, but I have a hard time believing that you can remove the liquid whey from the whole milk and then process it into powdered form and still retain all the vital nutrients...really?) and a new label, perhaps some updated, high tech marketing hype and voila... a new fad ready to sell to the newest generation.
My favorite protein powder is this: zero, zip, nada, zilch, none of them! In my eyes, they are very processed, refined, manufactured products... not food. When food is in its whole state, it is a nourishing, cell building gift to your body. Processed products by any name: rice protein powder, soy protein powder, whey protein powder, hemp protein powder (get the idea here?), well... not so nourishing.
Read more
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Dandelion: the flower, leaves, & roots are all used for liver healing nourishment. The part used depends on the season and strength of medicine desired.
Burdock Root: a powerful liver nourishing & healing herb.
"One of the biggest tragedies of human civilization is the precedence of chemical therapy over whole food nutrition.
It is substitution of artificial therapy over natural, of poison over food, in which we are feeding people poisons trying to correct the reactions of nutritional starvation." -Dr. Royal Lee
Herbs are Food
Herbs can be used in tea, tinctures, oils, poultices, and some eaten whole as food.
A common message heard from main stream media and western medicine is Do NOT use herbs as they are potentially dangerous.
As an Herbalist, I am here to remind you what we have known as humans interacting with the Nature: Herbs are plants with body cell nourishing capabilities.
When we know, or work with someone who knows, the nourishing and medicinal benefits of herbs we can use them to support our health and healing. Many factors are considered to help guide the decision as to which herb, or combination of herbs, would best support an individual’s health and healing.
Historically, people learned from each other which plants support which body organs and systems. We learned from our elders which plants supported the nourishing and healing of an individual’s needs.
Herbs are a plant: leaf, root, stems, bark, berries, seeds. Herbs are plants, similar to plants we eat as vegetables.
The individual herb has nutritional and healing properties with affinities for certain tissues. Some examples:
Hawthorne berry for the heart
Saw palmetto for the prostate
Red Raspberry leaf for the uterus
Rhubarb root for the colon
Milk thistle for the liver
Nettle as a general nutritive herb
Dandelion and burdock root for liver cleansing
The list of herbs and their benefits is as long as the list of plants we share this Earth with.
The above herbs are a few example of herbs and the tissue / organ they have affinities for healing. Healing happens because the herb adds whole food nutrition to your body cells. Plants we eat as food serve the same physiological process of nourishing our body cells.
Recommendations for working with herbal plants:
Read up on the herb you want to take. Learn about the herb and its healing affinities before you make the decision to take it.
Contact an herbalist for help in choosing the right herb, or blend of herbs, to add to your plan for health and healing. The herb or blend of herbs for one person may not be the best blend for another person with the seemingly same “symptoms presentation.” Healing is not a one size fits all experience.
Eat a whole food diet. Your body cells require whole food nutrition to function properly in each moment, replicate as normal & healthy cells, and keep your being whole for vital longevity.
Herbs are amazing nutrition for the body but they cannot make up for a refined, processed, junk food product diet.
Herbs are whole foods. Use them wisely for whole body healing.
Stinging Nettle, below, are one of my favorite herbs. Nettles are a powerhouse of nutrition and healing energy for the whole body.
