This weekend I discovered a new-found LOVE for an incredibly beautiful and powerful plant spirit -
Inula Helenium
Also known as Elecampane and Elf-dock (did you know that faeries and elves just love to hide under the large leafy sanctuary of this plant?), Inula Helenium has become one herbal ally that I wish not to live without!
This past weekend we had decided to continue on with our external Spring Cleaning by hosting a yard sale. As a family, we are beginning to to fully understand the effects of house clutter but with accumulations of "stuff" in this very house over the past 10 years, we also realize that this process is one that takes time and careful consideration. We carry and hold on to memories of treasured family members through these objects and, well, some are harder to let go of than others. Preparing and gathering our once loved items to sell became a form of meditation and release. Slowly we are letting go, remembering that those that we have "lost" do not remain in the material gifts that they gave us, but in the gift of memories and LOVE that live everlasting in our hearts.
How does this relate to Inula Helenium you might ask? Let's get back to our family healing journey. You see, I mentioned that this past weekend we were preparing to do some Spring Cleaning of the house in which we live..the one that has a numeric address - I differentiate because, well, as it turns out, we needed to do some cleansing from within our bodily temples too, for we all (by Friday) had some sort of infection to get rid of.
You know how the routine goes when you have children, right? They get some sort of virus or infection and then you, (through worry, neglect of self-care and tireless nights) end up manifesting and taking on the ugly bug yourself. This is precisely what happened to me this past weekend. I took a half day off of work on Friday with the intention of getting everything prepped and set up for the big sale, but I sadly watched my good intentions blow like the breeze out of my window as I began to feel a familiar tickle in the back of my throat as I swallowed. I just wasn't feeling quite myself. I tried to rest, to take a nap with Eelyn, but by the time I got up (and in reality I never really fell asleep, just rested my body), a brief stint outside had me unable to shake the cold and I began shivering from within. I took a nice warm bath, infused with Epsom salt and lavender essential oil, and then decided to retire early for the night. By this time, my throat was throbbing so I knew I had to do a little kitch'n witch'n before I dare try to drift blissfully off to sleep.
I quickly and intuitively grabbed my bag of Elecampane root and decided to craft up a syrup made from the root decoction. After the Elecampane root had time to simmer for awhile, I turned the heat off and added in the leaves of some Ground Ivy that I had been using already in some herbal infusions for Traftyn (who was trying to part with a nasty cough). This cough had been aggravated by a sinus drip that Traftyn had been dealing with nightly over the past week, and I had just learned through Jim McDonald's Four Season Herbal Intensive, that Ground Ivy (or Gill over the Ground) has an affinity for respiratory issues associated with that dreaded "post-nasal drip". I also added in the remnants of what remained in a bottle of Echinacea root tincture that I had on hand. I let all of that infuse together for a bit and then added in some raw, local honey to make a syrup.
I was feeling quite miserable by this point and decided to take a couple teaspoons of this syrup before I went to bed. Folks, the tale of how my weekend ended is SO MUCH prettier than how it started. I can't say that I woke up feeling 100% better or that my sleep that night wasn't restless and feverish. But, what I can say is that with each teaspoonful of this syrup, the pain and swelling that I was feeling in my throat seemed to fade away.
So, INTUITIVELY I reached for this root but we had met once before about a year back. During a road trip to the New England Women's Herbal Conference with my graduating class and my little love bug Eelyn, my teacher Mary had kindly offered some syrup to Eelyn who was quite congested with thick, "stuck" mucous. That syrup seemed to really help her (what I was able to get in her lol) so we had at least made eye contact back then. But now, NOW, I feel as if I know Inula Helenium a bit more intimately. That through my own illness, she has shared with me her secrets..and now, here I am - reaching out to share her beautiful story with you!
The whole family has been drinking of this syrup since Friday night. Steve's cough and sore throat are pretty much gone, Eelyn's eye infection that was beginning to move down through her respiratory tract - never made it there, my sore throat is completely gone, and Traftyn's cough has calmed quite a bit and isn't nearly as frequent or aggressive as it was at night.
I love to read about the new friends I meet and so I decided to see what Matthew Wood had to say in his book The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. My jaw dropped as I began to read through each paragraph. Matthew says this: "Elecampane is a warming, stimulating, pungent, aromatic bitter that permeates the bronchial tree. It resolves bacterial infection, reducing heavy, thick, green mucus down to yellow and eventually to white or clear mucus as it sanitizes the lungs." He goes on to say that "The removal of the layer of old, adhesive mucus allows for the secretion of a new layer of thin, clear mucus that is impregnated with immune factors" - YAY! He also explains how this herb works so well with children who end up swallowing this mucus because, like Traftyn, they can't seem to spit it all out effectively. He believes that the bitter properties help to protect the stomach from the indigestion caused by this swallowing of the mucus. I must say I do believe he is right. Not only was this herb appropriate for the condition that I was in, I think it may have been truly calling out to work with Traftyn. His coughs over the past couple of days have been much more productive and the mucus has changed from yellowish brown to almost clear.
So, on a more spiritual/emotional level, Matthew Wood also ascribes Elf-dock for those with depression or even homesickness, feeling "torn away from home." Remember also that we were preparing for this garage sale and letting go of many items that have been a part of our "home" for many years. Could this be coincidental? Perhaps, Perhaps not. Illness can not be separated from our emotional state of being. It is all connected!!
And then, like clock-work, came the feelings of guilt for allowing myself to be swept away by the more "negative" yet highly influential states of thought. Yet I am grateful to have gone down this path..this healing path and to have personally experienced first hand the healing properties of a plant that did not want to be forgotten.
And so I find myself, always coming back to "center",
dancing between alignment and balance
Strengthening myself
through self-acceptance and LOVE
Discovering rejuvenation
through the sanctuary of rest and play,
Understanding that each cycle
allows the vital life-force energy
to burn within
Supporting each plane of my being
with the help of some powerful herbal allies
Ancient wisdom acting as the voice of reason
among the self-inflicted chaos of today's modern world
As I actively seek to slow down, I recalibrate each moment,
sending a message of SURRENDER and CO-CREATING a new reality
I surrender to the natural flow and rhythm of Nature
I AM Nature
I surrender to the perfection in the story of time
I AM the creator of my own story
I surrender to the web of life that we are woven in
We are all ONE
I surrender to this DIVINE connection
As I heal myself, I heal each other
or, as Phish would say - You Enjoy Myself
and that, my phriends, is a true celebration of LIFE!
LOVE, LIGHT, and RADIANT HEALTH!!
take care of yourself - and each other!!
