INTRO TO HERBS SERIES: Getting to Know Your Body

Oftentimes when people come to me for herbal support or advice; the first question they ask is "What herb is good for____________?"

To which I always reply, "Well, it depends"

If we look at herbs through an allopathic lens of X treatment for Y symptom; we're missing not only a vast and vibrantly complex world of herbal support; but we also might be missing the mark entirely.

Symptoms are a language.

By listening and learning to understand the nuances of this language, we can begin to decipher their messages, to help address the deeper underlying imbalance (rather than just eliminating the language of the symptom) to help bring the body back into a more complete and nourishing state of balance. 

One of the easiest examples I can think of to explain this is a cough. If you have no idea what kind of cough you have, why you might have that cough, or any other vitally important details about the exact nature of your cough; then you might choose a "respiratory" herb that actually makes your cough WORSE!

If your cough is hot, dry, irritating and was caused by wildfire smoke or pollution; then you would be choosing a vastly different herbal support than if you had a lingering wet, sticky cough that was left over from your most recent cold. You would also be asking vastly different questions if either of those coughs just appeared out of nowhere and you weren't even certain WHY you were coughing!

So, you can see how the question "What herbs are good for coughing?" doesn't quite have a simply straightforward answer.

And at this point you may be thinking, "Ok, Lauren...so, how do I get to know my body better so I can begin to learn how to choose herbs that work for me?"

In this post, we'll be focusing mostly on the body itself; so that when you go looking for herbal remedies, you'll have a framework to start you looking in the correct place.

(We'll focus on getting to know some key components of the herbs themselves in the next blog post)

THE BIG PICTURE: BODY CONSTITUTIONS

To begin with, it is helpful for you to understand your overall body constitution; how your healthy body functions, manages stressors, and its general level of existence before digging into individual symptoms. Do you generally run hot or cold? Do you have an overall level of high energy or do you move more slowly and calmly? Is your skin generally oily, dry, or sensitive? Do you generally sleep well or struggle with sleep? Are you more sensitive to medications, scents, foods, or supplements? Things like that...

Globally there are a variety of systems to help you gauge your own body's constitution; ranging from Ayurvedic Doshas to Traditional Chinese Medicine; and any one of them can help you understand your unique constitution. You can also simply note these kinds of general observations about your baseline health somewhere and then return to them when you are experiencing symptoms or working with particular herbs to see how things shift.

DIGGING INTO THE DETAILS: TISSUE STATES Once you understand your body from a general big picture perspective; then we get into the little details of what happens when we develop a particular symptom. Knowing what the body’s tissues are doing during illness or imbalance can help you to tailor your herbal support to what your body specifically NEEDS, instead of just picking an herb because it’s “good for x, y, or z situation”

In western herbalism, these tissue states are categorized as the following: Heat/Excitation, Cold/Depression, Dry/Atrophy, Damp/Stagnation, Wind/Tension, and Damp/Relaxation.

Is the symptom causing the tissues to be hot or cold? Is there dampness or dryness? Are the tissues tight or relaxed? These key areas can be matched up to an herb's individual energetics to help you find something that brings you back to balance. Back to our cough example: If you have a hot, dry, irritated cough, you might choose a demulcent (moisturizing) respiratory herb rather than a stimulating expectorant (aka an herb used to stimulate productive coughs to clear out the lungs).  And on the other hand, if you have a wet phlegmy cough, you would want to choose a stimulating expectorant herb that moves that congestion out of the lungs rather than something demulcent that adds more moisture to an already wet and sticky tissue state. So, beyond just grabbing an herb that’s “good for coughs” we’re making our selections with more intention!

Learning to decipher and understand the various tissue states as they apply to different areas of the body and to different body tissues can take countless hours of study and learning; but this is where your local neighborhood herbalist can be of help! We can help you navigate through those nuances and ask the questions that help you to find the best suited plant allies in your time of need. However, it is always helpful if you have some idea of what the fundamental states are and have a framework language to help describe your experience.

AWARENESS + CONNECTION + TIME = DEEP HEALING

Herbal wellness is generally not like allopathic remedies; where you take a pill or apply a cream and poof! your symptom disappears; although some herbs are known to be quite potent and fast acting. More often herbalism is the slow and intentional practice of awareness, connection, and time. When we are deeply aware of our bodies, when we are connected to them, when we are connected to the plants we are working with, and we have the patience to give all of it time to work together...this is where the magic of herbalism is! So instead of just grabbing a pain killer every time you have a headache; you might start to notice when that headache is because of tension in your shoulders that maybe stems from carrying anxiety in your muscles all day. Then instead of reaching for the pain killer you choose to start drinking a gentle nervine tea to soothe that anxiety and nourish your nervous system; and you add an evening bath with herbs that relax those tense muscles and prepare your body for a more restorative sleep. And, over the next week or month, you begin to notice the headaches are no longer a daily occurrence or they aren't as strong as they were before; perhaps they even disappear completely. Because, when we really get to know our bodies and we listen intently to the language of symptoms; we can start to find those remedies that ease us gently back towards a more holistic sense of wellness. And, I will absolutely caveat this (as someone who lives with an incurable and chronic illness), by saying that sometimes we can't make it all the way back to perfect health or even to a level of health we would like, and sometimes herbs can't "cure" us. But, herbal remedies do allow us to be in deeper conversation with ourselves and to find paths that create a more holistic sense of wellbeing, rather than simply masking symptom after symptom.

Want to dig a little deeper? Please check out these additional resources:

The Allopathic Herbalism Trap; Evolutionary Herbalism Plant Path Blog

The Human Body: Machine or Ecosystem; Evolutionary Herbalism Plant Path Blog 10 Simple Vitalist Practices to Support Wellbeing; The Herbal Academy Blog

The content on this site is for educational purposes only. We cannot diagnose health conditions, nor prescribe medicines. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbal medicine, particularly if you have a known medical condition or if you are pregnant or nursing.

As with conventional medicine, herbal medicine is vast and complex, and must be used responsibly. People react differently to different remedies. Some herbs are contraindicated with certain pharmaceutical drugs.

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