Bennett - The gift of healing herbs: plant medicines and home remedies for a vibrantly healthy life

Also by Robin Rose Bennett
Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living

Copyright 2014 by Robin Rose Bennett. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

Published by
North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover art courtesy of Matthew Wood
Illustrations by Karen Flood, www.karenflood.com
Cover and book design by Suzanne Albertson

The Gift of Healing Herbs: Plant Medicines and Home Remedies for a Vibrantly Healthy Life is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The following information is intended for general information purposes only. Individuals should always see their health care provider before administering any suggestions made in this book. Any application of the material set forth in the following pages is at the readers discretion and is his or her sole responsibility.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Bennett, Robin Rose.
The gift of healing herbs : plant medicines and home remedies for a vibrantly healthy life / Robin Rose Bennett.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
Summary: Guides and inspires readers to explore herbal remedies and home recipes for health and encourages readers to discover the personal, symbolic story that lies underneath manifestations of illnessProvided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-58394-762-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-58394-776-0
1. HerbsTherapeutic use. 2. Health. 3. Self-care, Health. I. Title. RM666.
H33B46 2014
615.321dc23

2013037861

v3.1

For Estherelke Keyawis Kaplan (June 18, 1940July 7, 2009),
my sister who loved Earth and the herbs so much. May we harvest together again one day, singing our songs.

I am writing this book to give back, to pass along what methods, skills, understanding, and wisdom have been gifted to me in the realms of healing your body with herbs and healing your soul by re-connecting with the Earth and realigning with your true Self.

This green path slowly but surely returned me to a natural yet heretofore elusive state of joy and delight at being alive in a body on this beautiful planet Earth. That is too good to keep to myself, and thus, this book is my sharing of what has filled me up, overflowing, because it isnt mineits ours. My prayer and blessing for each reader is this: May you live in joy, feel vibrantly well with the help of healing plants, and freely share your unique gifts with the rest of us for your own happiness and the benefit of all beings. I am dedicated to every child on Earth having a life to smile about. Adults need to wake up for this to happen. So, lets wake up! Our children are waiting.

Y OU HOLD IN YOUR HANDS A TREASURE , a book of green wisdom that delves deeply into the heart and soul of herbalism and retrieves an abundance of emerald jewels for us to savor. I have the good fortune to know Robin; we dance in the same herbal circles and play in the same green meadows. A true wise woman, deeply compassionate and heartfully giving, Robin Rose brings a joyful spirit and an open heart to all she does. So its not surprising that her books on herbal healing (this is her second in what we hope will be a series) are so heartful, wisdom-filled, and imbued with spirit. I read them as much for spiritual insights as I do for herbal information; both are so richly interwoven, embedded together, wedded like body and soul.

Robins own life was transformed by plants. In her late twenties she went through a period of great physical exhaustion and discovered she had severe anemia. While using herbs to bring her body back into balance, she also discovered a joyful awakening of her spirit: Plants transformed my health and my life, and enriched my spiritual practice by connecting me deeply with Earth. It is this soulful or spirited side of healing that she is most attuned to, and shares so enthusiastically, so gratefully, in all she does. As you read The Gift of Healing Herbs, expect to journey deep into the soulful healing of the plant world.

Herbal healing is far more than just a physical system affecting our physical bodies, and the pages of The Gift of Healing Herbs contain far more than the simple directives found in most herb bookswhat herb to take for what illness, proper dosages, and safety issues. While this information is, of course, sharedthere are very thorough instructions for using all of the herbs and herbal recipesRobin goes beyond the sharing of simple recipes and erudite information about herbs. She invites us to look at healing as a soulful journey, and plants as spiritual teachers: Soulful healing asks that while you are healing your body you look for the meaning as it relates to your whole being. And with simple and clear direction, she offers us techniques and gifts to do thishow to relate more deeply to the plants, how to seek their medicine gifts, how to offer them gifts in return.

And how to listen to our bodies. Bodies dont lie, she admonishes. They tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient that truth may be. And she goes on to instruct us how to listen to and love our bodies, because, when all is said and done, Love is what heals.

Butlest you think youll find only wise adages and spiritual passages in Robins booklet me assure you, in the tradition of the best of those well-written herb books, The Gift of Healing Herbs is filled with the practical as well. There is a full compendium of herbs, all of which Robin has worked with personally and knows well, so the writing is in-depth and thorough. There are excellent herbal recipes and remedies, and instructions for treating a variety of common health issues. There are suggested dosages and safety issues. In other words, one finds the practical advice one needs to put this information to good use. But its how Robin shares thats so unique.

She teaches through stories. If theres a case to be made, or a teaching to offer, theres a story to tell. Its the way I learn best, and the way many people learn bestand this book is rich with story. In page after page, Robin presents heartful sharings of her own healing journey and the healing journeys of those shes worked with in her herbal practice and met through her classes. We not only learn about red clover, yarrow, motherwort, and a host of other common medicinal herbs, we actually hear real cases of how these plants have helped various individuals that Robin has personally assisted. Each person is unique, so the formulas vary and change. Theres no standard this remedy for that illness; instead, Robin wisely attends to each person as an individual on his or her personal healing journey: I have found that if I tend to a persons illness, rather than to a person, I treat that person as if they