Yarrow
Yarrow sings of fevers, of cold sores, and of flus,
And to intestinal pain he certainly rues.
Songs of rashes and scratches, clean blood and short fasting,
For help with all these, Yarow tea is quite lasting.
PERSONALITY PROFILE - YARROW
Yarrow is a medicinal herb with a strong mystical history.
The stems of the yarrow plant have been used for thousands of years,
starting in the Orient, for the divination of fortunes through the use
of the I Ching. Forty Yarrow stalks would be gathered, cut to the proper
length, and dried. Then the process of "throwing the stalks" would be
used to determine which hexagram (explanation of forces at play in a
situation) should be applied to the user's question. The use of plants
for physical healing often has an esoteric counterpart. In any case,
it is good to remember that "A Yarrow in the hand is worth two in the
bush", or "Some Yarrow, each day keeps the doctor away", or "Here today,
gone with Yarrow"... or however those old sayings are supposed to go
(my friends say I often get them a little mixed up). The point of all
this is that in addition to its mystical roots, Yarrow is so effective
in practical, everyday matters that it has a permanent place on my Ten
Essentials list!
Yarrow is often put in the category of "bitter herbs" because of the
powerful, volatile oil it contains. This oil, called Achillein, together
with tannin (tannic acid), gives a stimulating, astringent, and bitter
edge to the flavor and action. These properties, along with many others,
act on the liver to strengthen its efficiency and stimulate bile production.
Yarrow also functions as a strong antiseptic and viral inhibitor.
Yarrow's action as an astringent means that it firms and tones tissues,
including the tissues of internal organs that might have become flaccid,
inefficient, or tired out by abuse from unhealthy habits and/or a toxic
environment. While Yarrow tones the tissues, its stimulating property
also rehabilitates the body's systems into renewed alertness and immunity.
As an antiseptic and antiviral agent, Yarrow kills many harmful
microorganisms upon contact. Its volatile oil collects and absorbs many
impurities (I think of it as gathering the toxins into little packets)
and then, somewhat like a detergent, breaks down these "corralled"
toxins into forms much easier for the body to eliminate without the
usual illness symptoms. In many ways, Yarrow's inhibiting action is
similar to an oil spill cleanup job.
The best way to activate the healing properties of Yarrow is to make a
water extract, otherwise known as tea. If you want the most potent results
from any bitter herb, including Yarrow, it is best not to add any
sweetener to it. But, if you have not yet developed a taste for Yarrow
and feel you need to sweeten it, please use a little raw honey and forego
the use of any other type of sweetener. When you are steeping the Yarrow
to make tea, be sure to do this in a covered pot to preserve the volatile
oils and protect them from evaporating. If you start with freshly gathered
undried Yarrow blossoms or leaves, you must simmer them (rather than
steeping them) as slowly as possible, covered, to make the tea. The active
properties in Yarrow, can also be extracted in an alcohol-based tincture
(a way of making a concentrate) that may be convenient for use with
children, while traveling, or for immediate use when making tea is not
possible. If you want to experiment with a Yarrow tincture to see the
pros and cons of these different forms, see the basic formula under the
Yarrow Tincture application in the list below.
I have always gathered and dried the Yarrow blossoms for my own use and
this is the part of the herb that is commonly found in an herb store.
However, the leaves and stems are also potent and could be used medicinally
if you gathered your own. Since I am able to gather my own Yarrow easily
here in Arizona, 1 use the steins and lease, for making a wondertul
Yarrow bath and I save the blossoms for internal use
because of their flavor and action. In New England and Arizona I find and
gather white blossoms. In Colorado, Yarrow blossoms are often yellow, and
there is even a pink blossom that I have only seen growing cultivated.
Yarrow grows all over the United States and in many parts of the world.
A friend of mine who went mountain climbing in Austria told me that even
at timberline he found tiny Yarrow plants growing close to the ground - a
little sideways because of the winds, yet strong and lovely with their
perky white flower tops.
Some people find that there is an herb that is "their" herb - the one they
immediately reach for to rebalance the whole system if anything feels as
if it might be going wrong. Yarrow, works like that for me, and many of
my students have also found this to be the case. I use one cup of Yarrow
tea a day as a tonic.
TASOLE:
My friend Cynthia once told me about her regular bouts with
"the death and dying disease." In general, Cindy had excellent vitality,
energy and apparent health, yet every month when her menstrual cycle
was beginning she would suddenly get extremely nauseous, feel faint,
have trouble walking, and suffer diarrhea, painful cramps, and heavy
bleeding. Bodily shaking, together with everything else, would commonly
leave her collapsed on the floor. Cindy was always certain that she was
about to die, and no matter what help she sought, the problem stubbornly
continued. Occasionally a month would go by without this happening and she
would think that perhaps it was gone for good. But the next month it would
surprise her again - and I do mean surprise. It could happen at a moment's
notice.
Cindy learned from me that Yarrow greatly strengthens and cleanses the
blood and acts as a powerful tonic for female organs - actually balancing
the menstrual cycle - so she joined me one day to gather some. Taking some
Yarrow home with her, she began my favorite regimen of having one cup of
Yarrow tea each day. Several weeks later she reported to me that there
had been a dramatic and pleasing change in her monthly cycle. She had not
had the drastic menstrual experience that month and was experiencing many
of the tonic (strengthening) actions of Yarrow, including greater vitality,
better digestion, healthy skin, and stronger immunity to the common colds
and flu. She reported that the only thing she had done differently that
month was to
have that one cup of Yarrow tea each day. She admitted that she had started
using Yarrow mainly out of curiosity and had not really hoped for a change
in her menstrual difficulties. The enhancement of her general well-being
was very welcome, however, and she intended to continue using Yarrow as a
general tonic on the basis of all the benefits she had experienced so far.
The next month also passed with no menstrual upheaval and we began to hope
that there might be a real change in this longstanding problem. During the
third month there were mild signs of the old trouble, yet she found that
drinking an additional cup or two of Yarrow tea, taking doses of calcium
lactate, and drinking some electrolyte-balancing juice helped to remedy
this right away, and the "death and dying syndrome" never got under way
again.
Yarrow has become "her herb." Although she may occasionally skip her cup
of tea, if she ever feels discomfort around the time of her menstrual cycle
she brews up her Yarrow tea and takes extra calcium and some electrolyte
juice (easily found at a grocery store, as athletes commonly use this)
to give her body what it needs. These simple measures worked, I believe,
because Cindy had toned and strengthened the functioning of her internal
organs and her blood chemistry with the Yarrow - exactly what a "bitter
tonic" is supposed to do!
I had rarely seen a case as dramatic as Cindy's, and this experience
broadened my view of the possibilities for the slow steady use of Yarrow
as a tonic.
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Another use of Yarrow that has been especially helpful to me is as an aid
in waking up alert and "ready-to-go" in the morning. For many years I was
one of those people who has difficulty in being alert in the morning; since
I was not willing to become a coffee drinker or take harsh stimulants, I
just put up with it. This morning lethargy is a typical symptom of
hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) that can occur for a variety of reasons
which I won't elaborate here. Suffice it to say that hypoglycemia is a
common dilemma in our Western culture.
I began to drink a cup of Yarrow tea at night, the last thing before
going to bed. The Yarrow strengthened my body's ability to maintain a
balanced blood sugar level throughout the night, and I would wake up
alert and clear-headed in the morning. Yarrow strenthens and encourages
the natural action of important internal organs, including
the liver and pancreas, which in turn leads to more optimal functioning,
alertness, and available energy in a body that is otherwise in generally
good health. So give this Yarrow tea a try if you have any trouble
waking up alert in the morning.
Struggling with a caffeine addiction?
Use Yarrow tea at night and Cayenne herb in the morning.
Look in the Cayenne chapter (Chapter II) under the application
"Caffeine Withdrawal," and add this use of Yarrow to those instructions.
MENSTRUATION:
Look over the TASOLE at the beginning of this chapter. If I were inclined
to spend my time peddling tonics or elixirs on street corners, I'd put up a stand and strut
around shouting, "Git yer menstrual cure-all right here, folks!" while holding up beautifully
packaged bundles of Yarrow. Well ...maybe in my imagination I might.
Use Yarrow, 1 to perhaps 4 cups of tea a day, as a continuing tonic to promote menstrual
health and balance. A Yarrow poultice placed on the abdomen over ovaries and uterus, one to three
times a week, is an additional aid. If menstrual cramping is a problem, a calcium lactate or calcium
gluconate supplement, added to the diet on a daily basis or at least during the week before and during
the menstrual flow, further enhances the benefits of the Yarrow herb. Many women find that adding an
electrolyte juice of some sort during and/or just prior to the menstrual flow lessens or stops menstrual
pain. However these last two are are only suggested in addition to the Yarrow as helpful "extras."
Yarrow, can be used for: menses that are too heavy or too light; spotting between cycles; erratic cycles;
weakness/faintness; hot or cold flashes corresponding with ovulation or menses, and persistent menstrual
cramping (helpful to add calcium for this last one).
Chaparral is another major herb for balancing the female organs and menstrual cycle.
from 10 Essential Herbs Copyright 1992 Lalitha Thomas,
Published by Hohm Press, used by permission.
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This is brought to you by
Lalitha Thomas and is from her book 10 Essential Herbs.
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Lalitha Thomas is an educator and consultant who began her practice with herbs
as a child, caring for sick and wounded animals. For over thirty
years she has studied and tested her applications with clients
and friends, and trained hundreds of students in her herbal "magic."
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