Lesley Tierra - Healing with the herbs of life

This book is a reference work not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. The information contained herein is in no way to be considered a substitute for consultation with a licensed health care professional.

Copyright 2003 by Tierra, L. Ac.
Illustrations by Akiko Shurtleff

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crossing Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Crossing Press and the Crossing Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tierra, Lesley.
Healing with the herbs of life / Lesley Tierra.
cm.

Includes bibliographic references and index

Herbs Theraputic use. 2. Medicine Formulae, receipts and
prescriptions. I. Title.

HD653.H632002
656.11021 dc21 2002165187

Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-58091-147-4
eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-81437-1

Cover design by Nancy Austin

v3.1

IN THANKS

Many people helped me bring this book into sharper clarity and purpose. I give my warmest thanks and appreciation:

All of my patients and students over the years, from whom Ive learned much; Michael Tierra, for his constructive input; Ben Zappa, for his expertise, invaluable advice and technical input; Marjorie Wolfe, for her domestic and technical support; and all my apprentices for their teachings and constructive insights: Jen Holding, Dov Shoneman, Lauren Ruby Miller, Shala Pullvermacher, Rasa Amster and Susie Norris.

Many thanks to those who helped with the original version of this book, The Herbs of Life :

Michael Tierra, my first and greatest herb teacher, from whom I am always learning more; Shasta Tierra for her tremendous enthusiasm and wonderful insights; Holly Eagle, Christopher Hobbs and Roy Upton who gave so generously of their time and expertise; Steve Blake for his ideas and clarity; Mariah Wentworth and Candis Cantin for their encouragement and support; John Gill for his openness and belief in me for writing this book; Baba Hari Dass and the Sri Ram Foundation for their unending inspiration; Senta Tierra for her unflagging support with the household; Richard and Mary Jane Gunsaulus, for their warm hospitality that supported me while writing part of this book; Chetan Tierra for sharing his mom with the computer!

INTRODUCTION

Healing with the Herbs of Life

A fter over 20 years of practice, Im still continually amazed at the effectiveness of herbs and the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). More and more people seeking alternative medicine experience healing results with herbs when nothing else works. Consequently, the last decade has exploded with herbal information and new herbals, all essentially summarizing these two small words: herbs work

Today, many people want to prove this scientifically. Studies regularly occur (particularly in Germany) to isolate a plants components and investigate their effects. While providing much useful information, such studies essentially validate the traditional uses of those plants known for thousands of years. The resulting message is loud and clear: its time to trust nature again.

For the last several years, Ive seen a need to update my own book, The Herbs of Life. I wanted to enlarge the herbal section to encompass the greater range of herbs popularly known and used now. Further, because my own clinical work and herbal teaching center around educating and empowering people to care for themselves, I wanted to emphasize its self-healing focus. I feel its important to not just help people heal, but to also teach them how their own body-mind-spirit complex works (from the viewpoint of energetic herbalism) so they can stay well and prevent disease.

The result is this herbal, Healing with the Herbs of Life . In it Ive added a new and quite large chapter, The Treatment of Specific Conditions , increased the section on herbs ( Materia Medica ) and expanded several other chapters. Lastly, Ive rearranged the sections, added a few more therapies, and addressed the contemporary issues of herbal safety and herb/drug interactions.

As I walk around my house and the neighboring roads, I see herbs everywherewalnut trees shading the yard, dandelions covering the lawn, horsetail lining the creek, coltsfoot dotting the woodsthe list is endless. If youd take a look about your own home, youd be amazed at how many surrounding plants are used as medicine. Purple coneflower decorating your garden, honeysuckle climbing your trellis, basil flavoring your pesto, chrysanthemum lining your window box, plantain cracking your sidewalk, jack-in-the-pulpit peeking through your woods, carnations scenting your bouquet, all are used as herbal medicines. Even cities are living concrete jungles harboring healing weeds such as plantain, comfrey, red clover, calendula, borage, rosemary, ginkgo, yarrow, chamomile and mint.

Take a look for yourself. Put on nature eyes and go for a walk. Search for plants wherever you live, work, drive, jog or eat. Soak in the vivid colors, inhale the fragrant odors, touch the rich textures. Then ask yourself, does this plant have any healing uses? More likely than not, it does, even if undiscovered yet. With all of natures vast richness, there is still more to unfold and learn. Join in this treasure hunt and learn natures secret for yourself: herbs work and its time to trust nature again.

FOREWORD

T he practice of herbalism can be defined as the systematic use and application of herbs and related materials for the purpose of healing. We find evidence of various systems and approaches to the use of herbs throughout ancient and native cultures of the world. Healing with the Herbs of Life shows how we in the West can benefit from the great herbal traditions of China and India which, as it turns out, are not unlike our own prior to the 18th century and the advent of so-called scientific rationalistic thought.

By offering a practical approach to the classification of the therapeutic properties of herbs and foods, this book integrates Eastern and Western approaches into a kind of Planetary Herbalism. Through a renewed appreciation of traditional energetic systems, especially Chinese herbal medicine, this allows us to go beyond the overly simplistic this for that approach so characteristic of many popular herbals.

It is at this point that one might ask what is meant by an energetic approach to healing and classifying herbs for medicine, and how or to what degree does it differ from the predominant Western medical model? To begin with, the Western medical model, which is often imitated by inexperienced herbal practitioners in a kind of allopathic herbalism, focuses almost exclusively on relieving the primary symptom of the patient. The traditional wholistic herbalist treats not only the primary symptom, but the underlying causes which precipitate it.

Healing with the Herbs of Life takes this second approachrecommending herbs and other foods which tend to strengthen underlying deficiencies as well as clear the body of toxic wastes. The reader will discover the true healing power of herbs and foods with absolutely no risk of the insidious long-term side effects of many, if not most, Western drugs.