What a relief it was to wake up this morning and still have my health insurance! So deeply grateful to everyone who fought to keep so many of us safe and healthy, and I want to give a special shout-out to Indivisible (for mobilizing people like nobody's business) and ADAPT (you might remember seeing videos of their powerful protests in legislative buildings via social media), whose members literally put it all on the line to stand up for access to healthcare. My healthcare, maybe yours, too. These people are true heroes, and you can donate to help with their legal fees right this way.
I'm also grateful to fellow plant people, near and far, who are working to help us keep ourselves and our planet well using a holistic approach. I was lucky enough to trade a few things recently with the lovely Jennie of Kindred Naturals, and I just wanted to share how much I've been enjoying her beautiful formulations, as well as a few favorites from other plant people currently in heavy rotation.
Jennie is based near Cape Cod and offers a selection of organic and wildcrafted formulations especially for the female-bodied, here are the tinctures she sent my way:
Heart Mender - hawthorn berries, leaves and flowers, linden leaves and flowers, and motherwort
Rhodiola - a nervous system tonic for balance and resilience
Ever Thine - a rose love potion with rose, damiana, cinnamon, honey and brandy (mmmmm...)
Gentle Cleanse - burdock and red clover (I've been adding this to my morning triphala dose for a little extra oomph!)
Nervous Tension - blue vervain, chamomile, lemon balm and lavender (Needless to say, this is the one I've been using the most this week!)
I'm so looking forward to getting to know her formulations better, and to using them in support of my day to day well-being in these tumultuous times. Tulsi can't help but be attracted to all this new plant magic energy in the house right now, too. She did grow up in a community garden in Brooklyn, after all!
We've just returned from a week away visiting family and friends in Washington State, and I can say with total certainty that bitters are one of the most crucial apothecary items I pack for traveling. Time changes and weird flight-induced sleep cycle situations (not to mention unfamiliar foods and environments) can wreak total havoc on our digestion (the foundation of good health!), and having a little bottle of bitters along can bring quick relief to keep you in balance. This trip, I brought along the new Artichoke and Raw Honey Healthy Liver Bitters from Urban Moonshine (I am a huge fan of just about everything they make - hard to choose just one formula!) and they were just the thing. If you want a few more tips on traveling with bitters, check out the recent blog post by herbalist Lindsay Kluge of Ginger Tonic Botanicals over on the Urban Moonshine Blog.
I am also in a constant state of swoon over Rebecca's beautiful work over at Kings Road Apothecary. Most recently, I tried her Ocotillo + Rose surprise box, and have truly been reveling in the rosey goodness, while getting to know ocotillo a little better. I've been saving the Ocotillo + Rose Bathing Salts (with pedicularis, hawthorn, cardamom and sandalwood) for a quiet moment this weekend, it's going to be divine. Her next box, Summer Hours, comes out on August 10th, and I suggest you go take a peek ASAP!
And last but not least, I've been slathering myself nearly every night in one of Amber's beautiful herbal oils from Mythic Medicinals, in particular the Redwood + Mugwort oil and the Queen of Heaven + Earth breast oil. Outwardly simple, but deeply powerful formulas using wildcrafted botanicals from her bioregion near Nevada City, CA, her oils are buzzing with plant magic and are so grounding after a long and fizzy summer day in the city.
A deep bow of appreciation to all the plant medicine makers out there and to every one of you who has taken action to protect access to other types of crucial, lifesaving healthcare, too! Let's commit to the work of creating a world where different modalities (and those who practice them) function in harmony with each other in service of vibrant health and balance, for ourselves and for the planet!