hey friends.
what do you know about lung health?
i am writing to ask for some guidance/advice/ideas. i just got back from quetzaltenango, guatemala, a wonderful place but a city polluted with diesel exhaust and the dust from a nearby active volcano. hot during the day's sun, and quite cold at night. and now i have (my third) bronchial issue in four months. (remember portland/seattle in november? or mexico last month?) it's productive and rumbly, but still small.
a fellow traveler and i mused recently about the connections between emotional/spiritual conflicts and their manifestations in physiological illnesses. a friend pointed out that this could be a dangerous thing to accept too wholeheartedly, as it could lead to needless blame for circumstances beyond one's control. still, i wonder what it means to have such sensitive lungs in an otherwise quite hardy body (nice curves too). its persistence reminds me of my own struggle with holding onto things (mostly emotionally, not materialistically), and with rushing myself--rushing myself to make decisions, and to get better, for example, often neglecting giving myself time to recover and rest.
anyway, i am only traveling with one book, and it's not about herbs or healing, so if you have any ideas (food, herbs, color meditations) about both how to treat and prevent this, i'd be happy to hear 'em.
grande love, scarrie sann
Yo snarls, I was nursing my lungs a bit this winter 'cause they were feeling kinda worn out from working outside in the freezing cold all day. I read about combining marshmallow root, elecampane root and licorice root for a lung tonic. Felt good to me! I liked making it as a cold infusion, about 1 teaspoon of each herb in 2 cups water soaked overnight or 8 hours-ish. Then strained and warmed it up to drink. Marshmallow seems to get thicker and nicer made that way, and the elecampane isn't nearly as bitter. That said, elecampane made as a decoction tastes real strong, but it makes its stimulating effects more pronounced. Of course you know about mullein too - I was finding that didn't help too much for me, I think because it's more soothing to dry irritated coughs (not my situation, though I have heard it's a good general lung tonic too - and as a side note, I also read it can help correct spinal issues by causing an increase in whatever spinal fluid that helps the vertebrae fall naturally into place. Drinking hella mullein tea I'm quite sure has been a big assistance in me recovering from a poorly done chiropractic adjustment!).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if you don't know them, a couple good online resources are www.healthy.net and www.henriettesherbal.com.
Oh, and without wanting to cause any undo reading into things, like you express caution about, I'll mention that my understanding is lung issues can be related to un-processed grief (got this from Caroline Myss's "Anatomy of the Spirit" I think... and also from some personal experience). But like you say, it quite likely could be a simple issue that your body hasn't had time to heal from given your adventurous cross-border wanderings as of recent. Speaking of body not healing - I was having a bloating stomach issue from like December-February and still can't handle spicy foods - what's up with that?
Well, hope things are otherwise well amiga, and that yer enjoying mucho sol in mexico or wherever you are.
Mucho <3
Nettles
thanks for the info, nettles! really helpful. sounds like the best cure for your stomach issues is to come practice eating spicy food in mexico...! :) thanks for the resources and recipes. i´ve tried and like marshmallow root, but not yet elecampane.
ReplyDeletetodo bien. feeling better, after some rest and rootedness, and still on the romantic path of adventure and self-discovery/awareness. even went to yoga this morning, after an encouraging and inspiring email from jaime, which she said i could share. here´s what she has to say about herbs and chakras:
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In association with feelings/emotions/energy work:
1) The heart chakra resides in the chest, covering the area of the heart, chest, breasts, lungs, arms and palm of hands (the hands are the extension of the heart, they say). Its color is green and its element air. The heart chakra reigns over love and relationship balance. (carrienote: traveling has meant lots of literal changes in the air...and in love/relationship balance...so this makes perfect sense.) Like Nettles said, you can tell your heart chakra is affected when you feel grief. In a chakra meditation where you move mind up and down your body, through the colors of the chakras and get stuck in the green zone, or are not able to see green in your mind, or if your chest is sunken or you have lung inflammation, you could have a block in your fourth chakra. Chakras are energy centers and therefore can manifest injury physically, mentally or emotionally. What was going on when the lung infections began?
I just got back from yoga teacher training. There, we learned that the chakras have poses that are associated with them. Yoga can be used as an emotional therapy, opening the chakras that we have blocks in. One day, we sustained bridge pose for a total of 33 minutes...pressing our 2nd chakra (the chakra of emotions, sexuality and pleasure) up into the sky. Most of the class, including myself, burst out crying during the experience. After I cried, I felt an immense relief, and felt as though I could hold the pose even longer. While I do not recommend holding any pose that long without guidance (we had a coach with us), it sounds like a few, what we call "heart openers" may help release a heart chakra block.
-the fourth chakra's right is: To love and be loved. (are either of these in jeopardy at the moment)?
2) If it is more in the throat, the infection could be associated with the fifth chakra (color: sky blue, element: light) associated with the neck, jaw, mouth and ears. The second chakra reigns over communication, creativity and speech. Is there something blocking you from communicating what you want to say? or do you feel like you have disclosed too much information about something? Is there anything discomforting in your life surrounding the act of speaking or not speaking?
-the fifth chakra's right is: To speak and be heard. (are either of these in jeopardy)?
In association with herbs:
1) when my sister got back from Beijing, China, one of the most polluted cities in the world, she had a deep cough that would not go away. I gave her some hot water with honey that was infused with mullein, peppermint and comfrey. I then added fir resin. I don't know if you have fir resin at your fingertips right now (are you still in Mexico), but that seemed to really help. Fir resin was used by native americans for chest infections, persistent coughs and asthma.
-and like Nick said, the marshmallow and elecampane look good. I've never tried these two herbs, but they seem to work for him.
2) if it is more in the throat, then perhaps go the more licorice, slippery elm bark.
Yoga Poses:
1) Some heart openers: Cobra, Camel, Bow, Fish, Mountain (dropping your shoulders blades back and down your back), sitting pigeon...
2) Some throat openers: Fish, Camel, Letting head tilt back (if your neck is not too tender) and opening and closing your jaw, plow pose, and half shoulder stand.
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thanks for your support, almitas. xoxo
Glad to hear you're better Scarrie Sann, and Jaime's message is super helpful - resonates alot with me to think about things that way. Makes me want to learn more! And one more reason for me too to get into some yoga. So necessary... springtime is the time I think...
ReplyDeletePeace, <3
N