Detox with Yarrow Flowers

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Yarrow Flowers

 

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

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http://eatmoreherbs.com/zine/15_yarrow.html

 

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.

 

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).

 

 

from 10 Essential Herbs Copyright 1992 Lalitha Thomas, Published by Hohm Press,

used by permission.

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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