Scarborough Fair

Most people have a body part that if they are going to get injured, it’s that one part. For my son, he seems to always bonk his head. Me, on the other hand, have a very long history of freaky occurrences causing me to sprain my right ankle. I’ve tripped over my cat, I have stepped in a gopher hole, and I have stepped down funny on something on the garage floor. The last one is my most recent incident, and man it was a doozy. My ankle swelled right away and it really hurt.

I iced it and kept it propped up at work all day, but the swelling was still there by the time I got home that evening. I had a very busy week and no time for an achy, swollen ankle. I needed fast relief.

 

Enter the herbal poultice.

 Note: not my ankle. It's some random dude's, thanks to google images 

It’s a herbal remedy that helps with swelling and reduces inflammation, all without taking medication. I am trying to limit the amount of NSAID’s that I use, due to having an issue with rebound headaches (years of chronic migraines and severe cramps have done me in), so I am always on the lookout for a herbal remedy that will work.

 

You need:

1 cabbage leaf

1 small potato

Mugwort

Goldenrod

 

Grate the potato. Chop the herbs and mix with the potato. Put the mixture on the injured spot. Wrap with cabbage leaf. Cover with gauze and tape down. Leave on for 6-8 hours. [note: I put a sock on and wear it to bed] Repeat if necessary

Medicine Show

I've been sick for the better part of this week. It's quite stunning because I don't get sick very often. I used to spend my winters in misery, suffering from colds that would inevitably morph into bronchitis.
I would be on antibiotics for months on end. My asthma would flare. I'd have all sorts of just feeling bad for months on end. Due to the copious amounts of pharmaceutical interventions, my stomach would be messed up and I would just feel like crud.
I made some definite lifestyle changes over the course of the last few years. Those changes I am convinced has allowed me to not get sick like I used to.
The first thing I did was to step up my yoga and meditation practice. I do my morning and evening asana practice, which I call my bookends. When I feel like I am getting the sniffles, I focus more on deeper stretches, like triangle and pigeon and camel. These open my hips and chest, and I swear my asthma has improved to the point I don't use my inhaler anymore.
I have a pandora station for my meditation practice. It's calming and beautiful. The mantra I use when I start feeling icky is hum fat swaha. You just repeat it over & over silently, and I visualize feeling healthy. At the same time I use a mudra for my hands that helps promote healing:

Put the tips of your thumb, middle and ring finger together. Do with both hands

I can't guarantee you will have the same success I have had, but it can't hurt.

I am also working on eating healthier and avoiding things that are bad for me. I get enough rest, or at least try to. Both of those make a world of difference.

Since I started eating better, I made a polar shift to wanting to use natural remedies as much as possible. I take zicam & sambucol when I start getting the sniffles. Both help with boosting the immune system, and don't have nasty side effects.

To help with congestion, I do extra neti treatments. It helps with swelling and gets rid of the gunk up in your head. It doesn't have the same issues as most decongestants, and the best part is you can do it as often as you need to.

The other thing I do is drink tea. Yogi tea makes a great cold season sampler, which is delicious and healing.

I'm just glad to not feel as cruddy as I used to feel, without the medicine show.