How To Make An Herb Infusion

Let's face it: Our soils are depleted of nutrients and we don't eat enough veggies or roots. Infusions of leaves, flowers and roots are an inexpensive, gentle and real way to incorporate essential vitamins and minerals on a daily level. With Infusions we steep leaves, flowers and roots in order to extract their medicinal properties. I notice that when I consistently make infusions, I do not get colds and I wake up in the morning without the need for caffeine although oxygenating my system with exercise is always a necessity.

To make an infusion, simply boil 1 quart of water per 1/4 cup of herb (or 1 cup of water to 1 Tablespoon of herb). Pour water over the herb(s) sitting at the bottom of a jar and let steep for a minimum of 4 hours. A canning jar holds the heat well. Be sure to use a cover on your jar. I make my infusions in the evening and let the jar sit overnight. In the morning I strain the herbs and pour off the liquids into another jar or glass. I drink the infusion as a tonic throughout the day. You can heat up the infusion or drink it cold depending on what is best for your constitution. The slightly bitter flavor of some infusions are beneficial for cleansing the blood of toxins.

Why Yin and Yang Matters

Why does it matter if yin and yang is in balance? Why do all these Chinese medicine practitioners, martial artists and Taoists keep bringing up the topic? The answer is that it is part of a larger description of the general structure of the universe; its dynamics and laws. It is relevant to me because it gives me a framework to understand why it matters if I maintain internal balance or not.

Yin and yang describe polarities that are in a dynamic tension at all times. Tension because they are in a forced relationship, one cannot exist without the other and dynamic because they are in constant motion, alternating and fluxing. When yang is strong, yin must be weak and visa versa. For example, when we have fever (too much yang) we often are dehydrated (not enough yin/water); when one person is too assertive (yang) in a relationship, the other is usually too passive (yin); when the mind is too active (yang) the body often cannot rest and get sleep (yin) or when we are stuck or depressed (yin) we lack activity and resist change (yang). When there is balance then harmony is experienced in one's health and wholeness in one’s spirit and relationships. There is a kind of dynamic flow which characterizes how one navigates and moves through their day. An out of balance state brings extremes and an uncomfortable feeling of tension within oneself. Obstacles present difficulties, we polarize and react, finding opposition at every turn. Recognizing the relative balance of yin and yang in my current life and then reconciling how I may need to shift my energy so balance is re-established is something I need to do daily, hourly. With awareness and a whole lot of Qigong practice I can do it instantly and flow from one moment to the next, naturally.

Learning Languages

This is a fascinating look into how an autistic woman experiences her world. She translates for those of us who interact on a more symbolic level with language and shows us that the interaction she has with her environment on a sensory level gives her just as much meaning. Very enlightening and moving.

Make Your Own Shampoo

If you are concerned about low-grade toxic chemicals in your body care products then go to www.cosmeticdatabase.com to check out what ingredients are in your products and how hazardous they are to your health.

Looking up my shampoo and finding the results sent me on a mission to make my own shampoo. This is a recipe from the herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar, that works for my hair and actually gives it more natural body than my previous expensive shampoo promised. It is quick and inexpensive to make and lends itself to experimentation in terms of which herbs you add to the recipe. I like to put rosemary in my shampoo because it has a refreshing and stimulating scent but use those herbs that give you a positive feeling or that you can pluck straight from your garden. You can get unscented castile soap (Dr. Bronner's) or ones with peppermint and lavender. I prefer the unscented one. This recipe did not leave my hair a tangled mess after shampoo so conditioner is not necessary but I often use a rinse of infused nettle after shampooing. Some herbs can be found at your local natural food store but www.mountainroseherbs.com has a complete selection of organic herbs and spices at a reasonable price.

8 ounces distilled water
1 house herbs (see below)
3 ounces liquid castile soap
1/4 teaspoon jojoba oil
25 drops pure essential oil (optional)

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the herbs, cover, and let simmer over low heat fo 15 -20 minutes. Strain and cool.

2. Slowly add the castile soap to the tea, then mix in the jojoba oil and essential oil. Store in a plastic container with a flip-top lid in the shower or bath. Shake before using.

Herbs for Dark Hair: mix a combination of any of these herbs. sage leaf, nettles, rosemary, black walnut hull (chopped), comfrey leaf.

Herbs for Blond Hair or highlights: calendula, chamomile flower, comfrey leaf

Herbs for Dry Hair: calendula, marsh mallow root, nettle leaf

Herbs for Oily Hair: rosemary, witch hazel bark, yarrow leaf and flower

Leap into Chaos

Last weekend Craig cut down a whole hedgerow along the property line between our yard and our neighbor's yard to make way for the northwest native plants we will plant this spring. Faced with extreme exposure because now we had no visual barrier between us and our neighbors and a HUGE pile of sticks, I decided that I needed to bundle the sticks and use them as a fence. An airy visual blur of slicks would give me the privacy I had grown accustomed to.

It seemed like such a good idea - right? Well, when I was suddenly faced with sorting through that pile of sticks, I felt annoyed that they didn't just all stand up and get into order for me so I could simply tie twine around them. No, I had to pull, yank; get scrapped and cut; prune, chop and saw the tough, lean long lengths of wood. At first I thought I could create some kind of order, get the thicker sticks in the back of the bundle, but after doing battle with too many sticks so I could get my desired thick stick, I realized that I had to abandon that plan. No, what was required of me was to just jump in to the pile, start pulling out sticks randomly and then make sense of them after they were tangled free. After I let go of my plan - I was able to move swiftly and piles of sticks started forming on the ground until I had enough for a bundle. And then another bundle. And then 12 bundles. When I tied up my first bundle, it occurred to me that humans have an instinct to create order out of chaos. The I-ching is just lines, originally yarrow stalks, which offers a structure and progression for all things human. Was I making my own hexagram in every bundle I made? From my experience, when I am dealing with raw materials whether it is a pile of sticks or a lump of clay or a dream state, I find it challenging but interesting and satisfying to render and manipulate it. It's not any single idea that will begin the progression from raw material to finished form but rather the sheer intention and energy to make it so. Only by leaping into the chaos will I ever progress.

wabi-sabi

I had spent the last few weeks not only learning how to make matcha, the traditional powdered green tea of Japan, but also how to make tea bowls, pinched and trimmed by hand. Tea bowls in Japan are highly valued as daily and ritual objects. They can cost between $100.00 and $10,000. These exquisite objects come from lineages of raku masters who express the wabi-sabi aesthetic: their perfection is in their imperfection because nothing exists without a mar, a dent, a showing of use or wear, Also, their completeness is in their incompleteness because every object is in a constant state of becoming, dissolving, changing. They emerge from nothingness and return to nothingness. Richard R. Powell summarized wabi-sabi as, “It nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.”

After learning the techniques of making a tea bowl out of clay, I started to feel a sense of quiet liberation. Not only was it OK for the bowl to be imperfect, it would be more prized if it were so. If I over-think or make corrections, the clay will reflect this state of mind and I will interfere with the natural spontaneous expression of the clay itself. I translated this to myself: I can be my authentic self and it is okay, imperfections are natural, beautiful even. I felt pressure dissolving inside me.

My mentoring in the art of tea making was not the ceremonial kind, but the daily drink kind. I was shown how to put the powdered green tea in a certain temperature water and whisk it until a light green foam forms on top and I was also shown how to drink from the bowl.

An order from Japan finally arrived which contained three different grades of tea, a bamboo scoop and a whisk. A tea bowl was given to me by my mentor. With supplies and training in hand, I was now ready to make my first cup of matcha. I put three scoops of the tea into hot water, whisked vigorously, got no foam on top but decided to drink the mixture regardless. A few minutes later, I had a distinct uprising feeling coming from my belly so I rushed to the toilet where I threw up my first cup of matcha. Empty. Back to the beginning. Perfect.